David Lewis and Jayendra Naidoo South Africa has chosen a path of social dialogue – but is it working? Social dialogue reflects the unique national pressures and circumstances of a state making a transition to democracy and introducing far-reaching economic reforms. A social partnership that is associated with a reduction in inequalities of wealth, income […]

Vuyo Mhlati In response to the article “Tempers Flare on the Wild Coast” (Monitor, May 8 to 14), I’d like to make it clear that the call from communities on the Wild Coast is not for more consultation, but for economic development and jobs. At the launch of investment projects on the Wild Coast, the […]

Anthony Egan CHRISTIANITY IN SOUTH AFRICA: A POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY edited by Richard Elphick and Rodney Davenport (James Currey/David Philip, R120) Christianity as a historical subject in South Africa has been largely under- researched and rarely studied. Given that almost three- quarters of South Africans regard themselves as Christians, this is surprising. Given […]

An offensive by southern Sudan’s secessionists will fuel famine, writes Peter Beaumont from Wun Rog The wind was blowing dust devils in Bahr el Ghazal, southern Sudan’s arid plain of thorns. It promised to bring rain but in some areas few farmers will be ready if it comes. There is little sign of any attempt […]

Paul Wilson FA Cup Final If Arsenal against Newcastle United has the ring of a real cup final about it, for all the traditional reasons, then it is also a final in which neutral viewers would traditionally have known which side to support. But if a week is a long time in politics, a couple […]

Mark Tran `People laughed at us when we told them that Yahoo! would be worth more than Netscape – `they’re just a bunch of kids’, we were told,” recalls Andrew Nibley, president of Reuters New-Media, a subsidiary of the British news group created in 1994 to position the company for the Internet age. Nibley, who […]

Mukoni T Ratshitanga Police and home affairs officials in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province are deporting large numbers of former Mozambican refugees despite a 1996 Cabinet resolution that gave them citizenship, according to reports from the provinces. Last week 120 former refugees were arrested in Giyani while travelling to work, says Nicola Johnston of the […]

Chris Roper The saga of censorship at Stellenbosch University took a new turn last week when students exhibiting at the university’s gallery took down their work because the show had been tampered with. A triptych by Mark Coetzee, featuring erect penises, was removed from the exhibition by Professor Greg Kerr, head of the Stellenbosch art […]

Saul Klein A business exists to satisfy its customers. But South Africa’s poor service attitude is an important factor in the country regularly being ranked near the bottom in terms of competitiveness. One component of competitiveness that captures our poor performance has to do with the market orientation of local business. Market orientation means designing […]

Phola Park’s economy Sechaba ka’Nkosi A housing project that started as part of the Reconstruction and Development Programme in the one-time battlefield of Phola Park on the East Rand is paying dividends to the community. The project – a joint venture between low-cost housing contractors Ecodev, the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs and […]