Department of Health Director General Thami Mseleku ordered the release of a shipment of tablets, imported by controversial Aids quack Matthias Rath, after Port Health officials in Cape Town had impounded it about five weeks ago. Mseleku’s intervention raises new questions about the Department of Health’s close relationship with Rath, whose claim that his vitamin supplements can "reverse Aids" has earned him national and international condemnation.
Ordinary South Africans with knowledge of and access to technology are increasingly doing the police’s detective work and helping to solve crimes. Take the case of Sylvie and Deon Robertse of the Cape Town suburb of Vredehoek. Early one Sunday morning last month, burglars broke into their split-level home after unhinging a sliding glass door. They made off with a cellphone and a wallet but luckily left the sleeping occupants unharmed.
Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s medical school believe they are racially victimised while staff counter that personality clashes and academic rigour are being misconstrued as racism. Over the past three years escalating racial tension at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine has seen black students alleging racial discrimination by Indian academics.
The business of building and selling motor cars, as the modern world knows it, is changing. While the established mainstream manufacturers struggle to keep costs down to remain competitive, their workers demand even higher wages. China, in the meantime, has an already enormous motor industry, largely owned by the state.
"Sometimes, I can really take my hat off to marketing folk in the motoring industry. Of course, not all of them work off the same page and even in this day and age there are still some who are prejudicial and rude. But there are some who are exceedingly cunning and clever, such as the Renault team," writes Sukasha Singh.
Supporters of embattled African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma have embarked on a new grassroots attempt to bolster his popularity, which appears closely related to his launch of a series of record-breaking defamation suits against the media.
Alan Coxon’s commitment to South Africa’s eating habits has taken him to the playing field writes Matthew Krouse.
Acclaimed Zimbabwean Yvonne Vera writer died at the very young age of 40 last week. Shereen Essof and Daniel Moshenberg pay tribute to the writer, who challenged the mainstream in her country.
Mark Sampson’s comedy is hilarious – yet heartfelt. These days, he ventures to the place of human origin in search of the first joke. Rick Crosier shares a few laughs with one of South Africa’s favourite jokers.
Drawing on models in London and New York, Pallo Jordan advises that local artists form unions to deal with working conidtions, regulation and a number of other issues frequently raised by the arts community. Brent Meersman reports.