A struggling behemoth hamstrung by bureaucracy and underfunding is how doctors at Chris Hani Baragwanath describe the country’s largest healthcare facility. Last week photographs of babies in a cardboard box at Bara prompted the national and Gauteng departments of health to announce the appointment of a surgical strike management team to look at ways of improving the running of the hospital.

President Thabo Mbeki has told the nation in the past that if anybody has evidence of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s involvement with organised crime figures they should bring it to him. Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said the same. People are afraid to speak out.

A special task team representing South African universities is expected to report to Education Minister Naledi Pandor early next year about the feasibility of government regulation of tuition fees. The task team was set up under the auspices of Higher Education South Africa, which represents all universities, following a request by Pandor earlier this year that the sector consider whether fees should have a ceiling or be determined within certain parameters.

International research has shown that households can save as much as 10% of their annual electricity bill by reducing their ”phantom” power or standby power consumption. But South Africa has no research examining this energy- sucking phenomenon and shows little interest in the international community’s moves to curb standby power waste.