Tom Lodge The last time an election for the African National Congress presidency was contested was 50 years ago when a minor chief from Groutville, Albert Luthuli, displaced the incumbent, James Moroka, at the ANC’s annual conference in 1952. Moroka’s fall resulted from his decision to adopt a separate defence from his colleagues when on […]
Sipho Seepe no blows barred Stripped of all the hype and pomp, the Millennium African Recovery Programme (MAP) amounts to no more than Africans committing themselves to continental economic recovery, sustainable development and democratic governance. It is a recycling of ideas articulated by leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and our own Mangaliso Sobukwe […]
Bread and Tulips. A middle-aged housewife (Licia Maglietta), her plumber husband and two sons go touring their own country. But when the bus accidentally leaves her behind, fate or circumstance or both guide her towards Venice. There she starts a warm, simple, semi-new life and meets all kinds of ordinary but interesting people. Her husband […]
Barry Streek French scientist-artist Jean-Marc Philippe came to South Africa this week to promote the world’s largest and, perhaps, wackiest art project: to launch a satellite into orbit with six billion messages that will come back to Earth in 50 000 years’ time. “It is a gift from man of today to the man of […]
The horror of addiction can be replaced with a new threat in rehabilitation centres Hazel Friedman “I began my life right on track Then my enemy appeared. His name is crack. But as the vapour explodes in your head, Be prepared for an early deathbed.” These are extracts from a poem penned by Kevin Castle […]
Martin Gillingham athletics South Africa’s top-ranked athlete, shot putter Janus Robberts, has admitted that until last month he had no intention of competing at the world championships and changed his mind only when the world governing body’s rulebook was waved at him by local athletics officials. The 22-year-old from Louis Trichardt, who studies and competes […]
Eddie Butler rugby Without wishing to be too catty, the touring Lions are not great time-keepers. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Graham Henry is notorious for losing track of the clock in training. And if he’s bad, then Andy Robinson is worse. And Phil Larder worse again. It’s quaint […]
Tracey Farren A Cape Town photographer was robbed, stripped and left in the bush with a sock stuffed in his mouth in February. A policeman rounded up the culprits on the same day and returned the man’s goods to him. Three of the suspects were below the age of 18 and this was their first […]
The Australian leg-spinner brought colour to cricket but his powers have been fading recently David Hopps The one thing that can be predicted with certainty about Shane Warne’s Ashes summer is that there will not be another Ball of the Century. The bleach-blond Australian may still be one of cricket’s leading attractions, but life does […]
Nawaal Deane Gauteng schools will soon receive guidelines on how to interpret official policy dealing with promoting to a higher grade pupils who have failed. Teachers in the province are complaining that schools’ matric pass rates are dropping because the Department of Education has introduced a policy that pupils should be promoted to a higher […]