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/ 11 October 2002

Short-term losses mean long-term gains

I read with shock the sentiments of my colleague, Mathew Blatchford of the University of Fort Hare, in his letter in the Mail & Guardian (October 4) criticising President Thabo Mbeki for his attack on the ultra-left. It is misleading for people who have elevated themselves to the rank of intellectual to conclude that African National Congress and government policies are a source of disillusionment for the masses.

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/ 11 October 2002

Inkatha, DA setting sights on KZN?

Talk is growing in DA and IFP circles of a deal which could push the two parties into government in KwaZulu-Natal in an anti-ANC alliance — particularly if they retain the seats of four of their defectors. This comes at a time when relations between the IFP and the ANC are at rock-bottom.

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/ 11 October 2002

Zwartkop’s one-stop service shop

The Aganang Community Centre is a beacon of hope for thousands of informal settlement dwellers in Zwartkop, north-west of Johannesburg. The modest office boasts the barest necessities, but a stone’s throw away is a prefab structure housing a thriving basket-weaving project and a creche.

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/ 11 October 2002

Is a dose of principle too much to ask for?

The New National Party trumpeted its triumph over the Democratic Alliance as a victory for those committed to the improvement of poor people’s quality of life. The African National Congress hailed the week’s developments as a boon for the cause of non-racialism and the efficient delivery of social services.

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/ 11 October 2002

Aids drugs for Mpumalanga

The Mpumalanga Department of Health announced last week that it has begun a programme to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV, days after the Mail & Guardian exposed provincial inaction in complying with a court order to provide anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women.

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/ 11 October 2002

Valli acts on donkey bonking

Donkeys with soft hooves caused Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Mohammed Valli Moosa to intervene when he learned that his department’s conservation policy prevented communities in the Baviaans Valley conservation area in the Eastern Cape from going to church.

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/ 11 October 2002

Kortbroek’s revenge

The visdorpie awoke to the thundering sound of tons of prime bull on the hoof on Tuesday, as dozens of NNP politicians stampeded across the floor to join the ANC. The massive defections tilted the balance of power away from the DA and left Tony Leon as a notch in Marthinus van Schalkwyk’s bedpost.