Simon Segal JUST what does the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) office, officially called the Development Planning branch of the President’s Office, do? Is criticism around its delivery fair? Deputy director general Bernie Fanaroff is clear that the office has three primary functions: l Development planning: This is the mobilisation of resources to match societal […]

Bop Broadcasting is forging ahead with new programmes despite the prospect of losing its government funding, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation (BopBC) is digging in its heels against integration with the SABC, despite having only two months before government funding is cut-off. Representative of the North-West premier Willie Modise said BopBC were intending to […]

Louis Farrakhan visited South Africa to spread his message of segregation, to search for a homeland for the United States’ convicts and to try and borrow a bit of Nelson Mandela’s aura. One could not help but notice that he connected best in radio talk-back shows with South Africa’s far-rightwing ethnic separatists. It is coincidental […]

THEATRE: Hazel Friedman Those who are unacquainted with Greek tragedy may yet be vaguely familiar with the myth of Medea — the woman who murdered her sons when her husband dumped her to become king. But even audiences who were struck by Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1970 film version — with its bizarre exploration of Freudian […]

Sam Shilowa, Cosatu secretary general, in The Mark Gevisser ONE of Sam Shilowa’s previous employers tells the story of meeting him across a picket line and being so impressed by his performance in negotiations that he suggested he be groomed for management. Sorry, said Shilowa’s immediate boss: nice enough chap but he really doesn’t have […]

The debate over unbundling is once again heating up, reports Aspasia Karras Unbundling has, to a large extent, been viewed as one of the panaceas of the South African economic environment. The Reconstruction and Development Programme considered unbundling as a major solution to the question of competition and black business empowerment, arguing that if the […]

Preserved heads found in a British museum are set to stir up a diplomatic controversy, reports Eddie Koch Hard on the heels of well-publicised plans by Chief Nicholas Gcaleka to set off for Scotland in search of Xhosa warrior king Sandile’s skull comes news of another grisly discovery: five dried-out `bushmen’ heads stored in cardboard […]

When Ulysses is unavailable, the ordinary mortal who gets to work on one corner of the Augean Stables is to be commended, puny though his or her efforts may be seem relative to the task at hand. It is in that sense that we offer our congratulations to Sydney Mufamadi’s Ministry of Safety and Security […]

Philippa Garson MANY Soweto primary schools are half empty this year as tens of thousands of parents have chosen to send their children to schools in wealthier suburbs. In yet another irony thrown up by our skewed education system, many previously crowded Soweto schools have been abandoned by the township constituency. Instead, parents are sending […]

Karen Harverson The development of a positive enterprise culture is not solely the responsibility of the government but also of the private sector. South African Breweries (SAB) recently hosted a prize-giving function for the winners of its Kick-Start programme, a joint initiative set up in May last year between SAB and youth business organisations. The […]