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/ 18 January 2005
Both established and emerging farmers are facing massive losses and possible bankruptcy as the drought tightens its grip on the country. Crop failures and lower market prices are making it impossible for farmers to afford wages. Almost a third of the 3Â 000 workers on wheat farms in the Western Cape may be retrenched.
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/ 17 December 2004
South Africa is in the grip of the worst drought in recent history, with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry declaring that the lack of rain and falling dam levels are more acute now than they were during the droughts of 10 and 20 years ago. Recent downpours in parts of Gauteng, the Free State and North West have not had much impact.
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/ 13 December 2004
Between the Shashe and the Limpopo rivers, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe come together to form a special place filled with history and wildlife memories — the Tuli Block. Husband and wife team Roger and Pat de la Harpe studied and photographed the region in detail and wrote the book <i>Tuli- Land of Giants</i>. <i>Earthyear</i> reviews.
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/ 5 November 2004
Students and staff at North-West University’s Mankwe campus near Rustenburg fear that the campus will be closed down and say the university has reneged on promises that the campus will stay open. Staff and students blame only one man — vice-chancellor Theuns Eloff. ”Now he has shown his true colours,” says Daisy Sedumedi, convenor of a staff and student task group to save the Mankwe campus.
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/ 5 November 2004
The Department of Education turned up the heat on Thursday by dismissing teachers’ claims that the government has betrayed its salary promises. Buck-passing within the government over teachers’ salaries has let down teachers and now puts the future of 700 000 matric learners currently writing exams at risk, all four teacher unions say.
Controversial mining plans in Pondoland, Eastern Cape, could be halted if a new government assessment decides there are better ways to use the land. But there is confusion about which department will have the final say. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA), scheduled to be done early next year, will advise the government on the best uses for land in the ecologically sensitive Pondoland.
A day before the third anniversary of 9/11, Cape radio listeners were told that Jews are murderers of babies and children as well as conspirators who want to control the world. This week the radio station both broadcast and put on its website an apology to the Jewish community, after the M&G e-mailed questions to the station about the show. But a Jewish community leader says the apology is ”not good enough”.
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/ 22 September 2004
A Groot Marico community has slipped through the cracks of the restitution process after purportedly being promised houses after the 1994 election. The people of the 1972 Wonderfontein community, now living in Lehurutshe, were evicted from their land during the apartheid years. These apartheid-era evictees have missed out on housing compensation because of broken promises and red tape.
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/ 17 September 2004
The national public service strike did not succeed in shutting down South Africa on Thursday. But the government was wrong-footed by the strike turnout and the extent of public sympathy for the action, according to a strategically placed observer. While the strike call appears to have drawn a patchy response, the government was caught on the hop by the extent of public sympathy for teachers, nurses and other civil servants.
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/ 10 September 2004
Efforts to accelerate change in the agricultural sector without disrupting production have run into stiff resistance from both established and emerging farmers. The Black Economic Empowerment in Agriculture (AgriBEE) charter published by the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs in July was not well received by most stakeholders.