The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to reject any "crony capital deals" such as that involving the purchase of 15,1% held by Thintana in the monopoly fixed line company, Telkom.

They earn a lot more than the president of South Africa. They depend almost entirely on public money for their income. And they head relatively small institutions. Meet the new mega-earners of academe. Leading the pack is Professor Aaron Ndlovu, vice-chancellor of Mangosuthu Technikon, who last year somehow made ends meet with a shade under R3-million. President Thabo Mbeki earns R964 000.

”Stellenbosch stands for an idea.” This was the popular intellectual war cry the old Afrikaner Nationalists used to influence and mobilise (rather, immobilise) Afrikanerdom of yore. But the Stellenbosch University of the 21st century stands for a new idea: of being an agent of change, a transformer in co-creating the country all South Africans deserve to live in. It was almost a case of ”too little, too late”.

This week’s revelation that senior African National Congress members may have bagged the lucrative foreign-owned stake in Telkom could uncork a debate on empowerment which is simmering in the ruling party. The consortium is led by Andile Ngcaba, the former director general of communications and a powerful ANC personality; Smuts Ngonyama, the party spokesperson and national executive committee member; and businesswoman Gloria Serobe.

Telkom has denied allegations that it embarked on a share buy-back programme early this year to artificially boost its share price and secure a cushioned exit for its strategic equity partner, Thintana. This week questions were asked in Parliament about Telkom ”ramping” its share price, following the spectacular surge in the utility’s share value over the year, and allegations in noseweekthat this had resulted from Telkom buying its own shares.

Members of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) were back in court on Wednesday. The 52 activists arrested for demonstrating on polling day are facing charges of contravening a section of the Electoral Act, which states that ”on voting day, no person may hold or take part in any political meeting, march, demonstration … or engage in any political activity, other than casting a vote, in the area within the boundary of a voting station”.

It took about four calls before someone finally told me what Sithengi means. It was research officer Joy Lekgau, who presumed the word had Nguni roots, meaning ”market”. Uncharacteristic of the glamour the movie industry courts, Africa’s fastest growing film gathering has an ordinary name. If it were happening in the Arab world it would simply be ”Souk”. And it’s currently happening in Cape Town.

Students and staff at the University of Stellenbosch have united against a group of alumni, widely described as ”conservative old-timers”, who are opposed to a posthumous honorary doctorate for communist leader and advocate Bram Fischer.
The award has triggered a battle between the university’s council and senate, and the body of graduate students and academic staff, highlighting how deeply divided die volk still is.

Assets belonging to Donovan Moodley, who is accused of murdering Johannesburg student Leigh Matthews, were seized on Thursday, his lawyer said. Jonathan Minnie said Moodley was notified on Thursday morning and the Asset Forfeiture Unit served a court order on him at the Johannesburg prison.