Two more senior officials within the Department of Labour are being ”forced” to vacate their positions following the department’s disastrous performance in the past three years. Masodi Xaba, the deputy director general responsible for corporate services, and chief financial officer Chris van der Merwe have resigned.

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool is likely to face his biggest credibility crisis after revelations that he ordered the Auditor General’s staff out of the offices of a provincial government department where they were set to begin a special investigation into suspected financial maladministration and fraud.

With the African National Congress’s (ANC) elective conference a few weeks away, allegations are doing the rounds that those with deep pockets are using their money to sway voting delegates. This issue has come up on the fringes of the recent meeting of the national executive committee.

Fired Rapport columnist Deon Maas slays holy Afrikaner cows with the skill of an abattoir boss, but that is not to say the cows will not put up a fight. And some especially vicious ones bite back, as Maas found out last week. Recently Maas still exhibited the scars from his fight with Rapport readers, which ultimately led to his dismissal.

The decision by President Thabo Mbeki to address the issue of presidential pardons during his most recent speech to Parliament this year has been seen in some ANC circles as an attempt to polish his image before the party’s elective conference that starts in just more than three weeks.

With weeks to go before the ANC national conference, Cosatu has toned down its radical rhetoric against alliance partner ANC. After its central executive committee meeting this week, the trade federation tabled policy proposals about socio-economic matters that it believes the ANC should consider at the conference.