analysis Duncan Hindle Khulekani Mathe raises important issues about the role of adult learners in policy formulation processes, and the extent to which their needs are addressed in those processes (“Is anybody out there listening to the learners?”, October 5). The Department of Education appreciates his comments in this regard, but wishes to respond. Mathe […]

Mail & Guardian reporter Food becomes theatre this month when Gauteng launches its annual Gourmet Festival in an attempt to steal some of the limelight from the Cape as the fine dining province of the country. Indeed, the festival aims to promote itself as a positive part of what its press release refers to as […]

Three cheers for the bravery of our communications minister comment Suzanne Vos Very early last Thursday morning, the day of Parliament’s debate on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill, I received a telephone call at home from African National Congress MP Nkenke Kekana, the (genuinely excellent) chairperson of the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Communications. He uttered […]

The truncated version of my letter, published under the provocative title: “Pious Seepe hasn’t read the literature on political parties” (October 26) contributed little to an important debate. My point was that Sipho Seepe’s sweeping claim that the “silence” of members of the African National Congress on important issues “is a reflection on either their […]

Jaspreet Kindra The New National Party’s fears of being outmanoeuvred by the Democratic Party in the Democratic Alliance were raised by NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk in the party’s provincial structures as early as March this year. This emerges from the minutes of a meeting of the NNP provincial executive committee in the Northern Province […]

SOCCER James Richardson As football crises go, the one running at Fiorentina right now takes some beating. Tuscany’s top team are up to their teeth in trouble: without an owner, stripped of their best players, and threatened by both relegation and bankruptcy. And to top it off, this week there’s the real risk their own […]

Sundowns have to overcome Petro Atletico to reach the Champions League final Ntuthuko Maphumulo Some teams make history, others are part of history, and Sundowns will be looking to add a new chapter to the history books of the African Champions League this weekend. Only one team from Southern Africa has won the continent’s top […]

North American responses to anthrax highlight the apparent hypocrisy of the developed world’s position on patents Belinda Beresford Faced with the threat of a killer disease invading its borders, the Canadian government acted with commendable swiftness, acquiring a stockpile of one of the best antibiotics to treat it. But because the patent holder couldn’t supply […]

Granite: Granite, like the gladiators of ancient Rome, is the toughest of the tough, the meanest of the mean. His motto is: “You can achieve anything in life as long as you believe in yourself.” Spider: Take heed of what this “hanging man” has to say: “Make as many friends as possible and have lots […]

Niki Moore In a high-tech, sealed room in the Sugar Experimental Station at Mt Edgecombe, human figures move around in white lab coats and sterile coverings. No, they’re not developing a new killer virus to wipe out mankind as we know it they’re actually breeding thousands of caterpillars. The caterpillar in question, however, has the […]