An ”egregious carpetbagger” is a sobriquet coined by Ken Owen, former editor of the Sunday Times, which he applied with some enthusiasm to Ronald Suresh Roberts, former authorised biographer of Nadine Gordimer. I hope Owen will forgive my borrowing his words to describe the BBC World’s television interviewer, Tim Sebastian, for if ever there was a carpetbagger it is he.
Trade unionists and industry heavyweights have poured cold water on a claim by a leading South African economist that South Africa is entering a "golden era" of rising employment. Michael Schussler, the CE at T-Sec, said that, for the first time since 1982, the country was enjoying "massive employment growth at 1 400% quicker than America’s monthly employment growth".
While the militias and government troops battle it out in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s premier oil-producing city, an uneasy peace has descended on its twin sister in the west. For eight years the city of Warri in Delta State was convulsed by violence far worse than that in Port Harcourt today. At the height of the crisis, tens of thousands of people were displaced and thousands died.
The success of Barclays’s R20-billion-plus bid for control of Absa may hinge on which tool the government trusts to crack open the cosy oligopoly of the big four banks. Any transaction that results in control of a bank changing hands — whether to a local or a foreign buyer — requires regulatory approval. Several analysts suggest that the lack of competition will be a key factor in Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s decision on the deal.
The African National Congress’s powerful Gauteng provincial structures have insisted on starting the debate about who should be the next president of the organisation — and South Africa — seemingly in an effort to prevent the succession of Deputy President Jacob Zuma to the top spot after President Thabo Mbeki steps down.
Americans won’t have much to go on when it comes to casting their ballots in November, unless of course you count the revelation that John Kerry once rescued his daughters’ drowning hamster. Sean Jacobs considers the triviality of U.S. presidential race coverage.
South Africa’s Indian community is being fed with images of Bollywood and homeland culture that are way off the mark, argues Dr. Jyoti Mistry. To grab the potential of this niche, research and hard facts are desperately needed.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has promised President Thabo Mbeki that he would adopt confidence building measures to iron out differences with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to avert a boycott of next year’s election. Diplomatic sources have said that Mugabe made the pledge in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Kaizer Chiefs enter this weekend’s South African Airways Supa 8 final against Supersport United looking to re-establish a tradition and, at the same time, overcome a hoodoo. Since the reinstatement of this competition in the 2000/01 season after a four-year absence, no reigning league champion has managed to add the Top 8 to the trophy cabinet — something that used to happen regularly.
Prosecution documents repeat claim that the deputy president was a conscious party to corruption.