It’s quiet for now in Bujumbura but the South African troops know things could change Gregory Mthembu-Salter A total of 651 South African soldiers are in the Burundian capital Bujumbura on a mission to contribute to a peaceful transition to democracy. Officially titled the South African Protection Support Detachment (SAPSD), it is South Africa’s biggest, […]

Unilever is spreading the message of the importance of water conservation Sheree Russouw Deep in the rural hinterlands, classrooms in Khula village in northern Dukuduku are becoming true reservoirs of learning. The faces of children attending school here are animated as they discuss the importance of conserving water. The teachers and the eager pupils are […]

Kevin Scott It will always influence you. No one can avoid it, some have even worshipped it, and whether you hate it or love it depends on your location. Good or bad, there’s no argument that the weather always serves as an excellent conversational gambit. And so it’s no surprise that Mnikeli Ndabambi, deputy director […]

Jaspreet Kindra An imbongi (praise-singer) heralding Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has fuelled African National Congress-Inkatha Freedom Party tensions by hurling insults at senior ANC members, including Nelson Mandela. The IFP insisted on the imbongi’s inclusion at the recent opening of the legislature, despite official ANC pro-tests. At last year’s legislature opening the singer […]

You managed to cut the guts out of my reply to the critics of the government’s water policies and left it meaningless. What you cut out was as follows: “We (the government and NGOs) know we can work together. We demonstrated that internationally, at the recent Bonn Water Conference. The government’s delegation, with strong support […]

Marianne Merten The Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party diverged sharply on “floor-crossing” legislation approved by the Cabinet this week, underlining the different impact the package of laws may have on different parties. The proposed measure stems from last year’s split in the DA and the subsequent co-operation pact between the New National Party […]

In Oom Krisjan we get a white male take, sublime as it is, on the South African situation. What we don’t have though, is a female take, unless we like it in drag that is. For that we have Evita. She pisses standing up, though. For women that means she has terminal trouble with the […]

Chris McGreal in Harare President Robert Mugabe has put Zimbabwe’s army in charge of this weekend’s presidential election and vote count, compounding fears that his government’s campaign of intimidation will follow voters right up to the ballot box and that widespread vote tampering will be used to try to keep him in power. Almost every […]