Last week’s right-wing spookstorie (scare story) about Nelson Mandela’s “death” revived a recurrent theme in the mythology of the Afrikaner far right. Rumours first swept the right that Mandela would die on September 13 2002. When this did not happen, the Boeremag hatched plans to kill him in a bomb explosion on October 11 2002.
The sudden upsurge in right-wing Afrikaner mobilisation and the purge of Somali traders from Port Elizabeth’s Motherwell township both underscore how far South Africa still has to travel in dealing with diversity and xenophobia to stem inter-group hatred and find the holy grail of non-racialism.
Coal may be Shanxi’s black gold, but it is the peasants of this north Chinese province who have to live with the consequences as their homes sink, water supplies dwindle and pollution worsens. Xiaoqinghe, a small market town perched on top of a hill in Shanxi, has a beautiful name that is somewhat at odds with reality.
The Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation recently seized all unedited tapes of President Robert Mugabe’s exclusive birthday interview with state broadcaster ZBC after sensitive comments about the controversial succession issue were leaked. In a rare outburst, Mugabe had lashed out at his Vice-President, Joyce Mujuru, for demeaning him.
Crooked debt collectors and attorneys are pulling in close to R1-billion a year by overcharging often financially illiterate borrowers, estimates a company that helps employers rehabilitate debt-trapped employees. And there are fears that corruption in the debt-collection system will undermine the good intentions of the National Credit Act, which kicks in on June 1 this year.
Zimbabwe is going to be rocked by more ”illegal” protests following recent demonstrations in which 50 people were arrested for defying the recently imposed three-month ban on public protests, says Lovemore Madhuku, chair of the National Constitutional Assembly.
Trade union federation Cosatu has called on its members to “recapture” the ANC, echoing the South African Communist Party’s call last weekend for a major transformation and renewal of the ruling party. Cosatu’s statement, after a central executive committee meeting this week, signals an open campaign by the two ANC allies this year to shape the outcome of the ANC conference in December.
The Scorpions investigation into Brett Kebble’s murder is shifting focus from Glenn Agliotti as the main target to Clinton Nassif, the mining magnate’s security consultant. Nassif’s house in southern Johannesburg was among the premises raided countrywide by Scorpions investigators this week — even though Nassif’s status has been that of cooperating witness.
Joe Seremane, a former inmate of Robben Island, member of the PAC and ANC Youth League, joined the then Democratic Party in 1994 to provide stronger opposition to the ANC. As national chairperson, he remains the only senior black official in the DA, which is desperately trying to attract more black support.
Mozambican marines rescued more than 1 700 people, including 900 children, from flooding in central Mozambique on Friday. The marines used eight boats to mount the rescue operation in the central town of Buzi in the province of Sofala, where at least 28 000 people have been affected by the floods.