Zwelinzima Vavi does not seem to run out of hyperbole to illustrate what is wrong with the government’s economic policies. "It is like a doctor saying an operation has been successful when the patient is dead," he said to great laughter when addressing a youth rally in Mangaung in the Free State last Saturday.
What can trade unions, employers and the state do to reduce violent intimidation during strikes — which all observers agree is on the increase? <i>Matuma Letsoalo</i> asked Grahamstown-based advocate John Grogan, and Frans Baleni, the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, for their practical proposals.
Forget Freddy Krueger and Norman Bates — here comes Burqa Man. The first serious Pakistani horror flick for a quarter of a century features a psychopath dressed in a blood-soaked version of the traditional garb of Islamic women. Hordes of zombies, including an undead dwarf, add to the gore in the self-financed <i>Zibahkhana (Hell’s Ground)</i>.
More strikes loom in major sectors of the economy, with labour watchers suggesting that the worker militancy surrounding the public-service strike is feeding into other pay disputes. Strikingly, many of the disputes involve black and white unions.
In a rapidly converging telecoms sector, the big question on everyÂbody’s lips is when Telkom will sell Vodacom and who it will partner to re-enter the mobile market. MTN might seem a perfect fit with its large African footprint, but analysts feel the price tag of between R250-billion and R300-billion is too costly for Telkom. The deal would be unlikely to get approval from the competition authorities.
Senior company officials have confirmed that a shortage of skills has been one of the most costly and troublesome issues affecting the management of South African businesses in the past two years. This was a finding of a recent Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) survey, which included a cross-section of 40 businesses recruiting skilled labour in Gauteng.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders returned to their supporters eager to report some progress after their first direct talks with the ruling Zanu-PF recently, but found fresh evidence of widespread concern that infighting in the ruling party poses a threat to dialogue. The first round of formal talks has been overshadowed by the story of how four travel agents planned a military coup to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
As the African National Congress reflects on the state of our nation in the coming months, and reviews policy and direction, it must be evident that the government’s substantially punitive response to crime and violence has not been successful. If anything, this stance has exacerbated an over-reliance on criminal justice processes in responding to the social ills of the nation.
SACP Gauteng chairperson Nkosiphendule Kolisile has stepped down from his administrative post as assistant organiser, throwing the SACP into a fresh controversy. Kolisile’s resignation came in a week when SACP leaders tried to fend off allegations by its national treasurer, Phillip Dexter, of ”Stalinist” tendencies in the party.
Ecotourism outfits based in one of South Africa’s most fragile ecosystems are discovering that coal mining and prospecting permits have been granted on their land without their knowledge or participation. Landowners in the Mpumalanga highveld have gone to court to stop the miners. Some have vowed to deny the miners access to their properties.