"I was invited to join the Native Club last week, so that should put paid to all those horrible rumours that the Native Club is racist, ie for black intellectuals only. I know that to many a blacks-only thing sounds terribly familiar, but in a democratic multiracial society, we have the right to decide," writes Gogo Evita Bezuidenhout.
<i>Stille waters, diepe grond</i> (Still waters, deep ground), runs the Afrikaans saying, but perhaps not in this case. In a move likely to heighten the row over Western Cape farm evictions, a farm workers’ compound on businessperson Christo Wiese’s Stellenbosch wine estate, Lourensford, has been converted into a set for an Afrikaans TV comedy series about pensioners.
With mud spattered over a dress that looks like a selection from the cheap Chinese imports so readily available in Zimbabwe today, Griffin Chawatama bends over a home-made metal bowl, sifting through the crushed rock for gold flakes. Chawatama is one of hundreds of illegal gold panners engaged in a cat-and-mouse battle with the police since descending in Shurugwi last May.
The cellphone and financial service sectors are in for a shake-up following the entry of Virgin into both markets. Virgin launched its mobile offering on Thursday and next week will see the unveiling of its credit cards. Virgin Mobile CEO Sajeed Sacranie says help is on the way for consumers who are fed up with South Africa’s existing mobile operators.
The battle for the soul of empowerment group Foundation of African Business and Consumer Services (Fabcos) moves to the Johannesburg High Court on Friday. The court battle is the latest chapter in a month-long battle over allegations of breaches in corporate governance. It follows a disputed resolution, which endorsed Fabcos’s investment arm Fabvest’s sale of 15,5-million shares
The announcement by First National Bank that it will be paying out R154-million to Saambou customers for incorrect interest calculations by Saambou on their home loans may have homeowners wondering if their bank has overcharged on interest payments. According to Ed Grondel, CEO of FNB Home Loans, the way Saambou calculated the interest on its home loans was out of line with the rest of the banking industry.
The negotiator gave up just before noon, and returned to the shade of the command centre behind the potted strelitzia in the main terminal. It was simply no good. “He won’t respect the talking stick,” he said, his face in his hands. “I’ve told him it’s a sharing experience, and that his comments are only embraced by his holding the talking stick as a physical representation of his identity.
Thank you for your application to join the newly formed intellectual <i>esprit de corps</i>, The Native Club. As expected there has been an overwhelming response to the formation of this provocative new cerebral delegation. In announcing The Native Club, our honourable President, Thabo Mbeki, said it should be an association of the very cream of African intellectuals.
India and China have signed an agreement to resume trade across the Himalayas along an ancient artery of the Silk route that has been blocked for 44 years. Giant warehouses and roads have been constructed on both sides of the 4 500m Nathu La pass, which once accounted for 80% of the border trade between the two neighbours.
When Venezuelan trade union officials attacked the ”dictator”, Hugo Chavez, his popularity leapt.