A black empowerment contractor was financially ruined after he won the contract to refurbish Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the presidential residence in Pretoria, in 1999. He says the government never paid him in full for work he had done on the residence.
Joseph Manonga lost his business after the supposedly sweet deal turned sour for him.
A pioneering R175-million game park development inspired by former president Nelson Mandela has run headlong into a court challenge by evicted farmworkers.
Marakele National Park, near Thabazimbi in Limpopo, is a public-private partnership widely seen as a model for the African continent, where many impoverished national parks are under severe threat.
The new Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, is powerless to stop controversial mining in one of South Africa’s most pristine and ecologically sensitive areas. It is the Department of Minerals and Energy that has the power to grant a licence to the consortium that is currently prospecting in the Eastern Cape’s Pondoland area, says Van Schalkwyk.
Northern Cape businesswoman Maud Dikgetsi was adamant this week that she had done nothing wrong by doing business with the Northern Cape government while her husband was a provincial minister. Dikgetsi also insisted no conflict of interest could arise in such a situation. She emphasised that she was only empowering herself ”as an African businesswoman, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination”.
”Once you start to find the balance between what you are actually disturbing and the benefits that you are going to bring in, the disturbance is minimal.” The planned N2 toll road through Pondoland in the Eastern Cape is a hotly debated subject. Earthyear quizzes Nazir Alli, CEO of the South African National Roads Agency, about the impact, consequences and potential benefits of the road.
”It is too dirty,” said Mama Mahlangu describing the stream flowing next to an informal settlement outside Bethal in Mpumalanga. She has no access to running water and the stream is being polluted by a waste water treatment plant. Every day Mahlangu walks 5km to collect clean running water. The M&G reports that alleged bad management at a sewerage plant is posing a risk to families in Bethal.
Confident that South Africa is now a stable democracy, the African National Congress has appointed the premiers in all nine provinces. While many of the new premiers have been branded unknowns, most have a record in the ranks of the ANC. ANC officials also underline that the new premiers, overall, are relatively young.
![]()
The appointment of the Cabinet and provincial premiers is the prerogative of President Thabo Mbeki — and one which he has so far determinedly exercised on his own. In part, Mbeki most probably does it to avoid the manoeuvring and the creation of cabals that would almost be sure to follow if African National Congress officials felt they could campaign their way into Cabinet.
The Passion of the Christ has already outgunned blockbusters such as Titanic and Harry Potter in South Africa. But while some religious leaders welcome the movie, others call it sensationalist. Is Mel Gibson’s new film a cheap portrayal of the Saviour or the moral regeneration SA has been waiting for?
In just 10 years, South Africa has been able to build itself into a top-drawer tourist destination that is currently outperforming every other market in the world, according to Southern Sun Hotels managing director Helder Pereira. The local tourism industry bucks sharp international downturn, but there is still room for improvement.