crossfire Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Sipho Seepe’s No Blows Barred column (September 21 to 27) lacked focus and was difficult to follow. Most of the issues raised amounted to his usual tirade against President Thabo Mbeki and the African National Congress. The most interesting point to come out of it was, perhaps, that the Mbeki […]

Glenda Daniels and Nawaal Deane Amid signs that half a million public service workers have voted to strike, government upped its wage offer in state sector wage talks to 8,5% for lower paid workers and 6,5% for others. Indications from a nearly completed ballot process show that the majority of union members has voted in […]

The theme of the M&G for the last fortnight has been: “Of course it was horrid to kill all those Americans but …” In terms of editorial integrity, this fits snugly with your snivelling apologies for giving the Democratic Alliance too much attention. So, the Americans have warts; they have prosecuted unseemly policies and promoted […]

Horse of the Year Celtic Grove will be a warm order to win his debut as a four-year-old in the R200000 grade 2 Skeaping Trophy over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday. The handsome Fort Wood gelding has notched up four of his 10 wins (from his past 13 starts) to date over this testing mile, […]

Ngwako Modjadji It has taken five years for tertiary student organisations across South Africa to discuss and prepare to launch a national federation to unite students and their organisations. But now politics is threatening to derail the plans. The Pan African Students’ Movement Association (Pasma) and the Azanian Student Congress (Azasco) say the National Student […]

analysis Richard Tomlinson When it comes to housing, the worst off are the worst served. Housing international best practice is based on delivery to a family, and so too is South Africa’s housing policy. In both, the conception of the family is that of a Western nuclear family. The consequences are to bar access to […]

Mungo Soggot and Stefaans Brmmer Telkom has stepped up its purge of its security network, cancelling its contract with Royal Security, the company at the centre of a long-running investigation, and axing two more managers. The investigation initially targeted the parastatal’s former deputy chief operating officer, Bheki Langa, who resigned in July ahead of a […]

Jaspreet Kindra Moses Mayekiso is vague when asked whether he has the blessing of many African National Congress leaders for the launch of a civic association in opposition to the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco). Rumour has it that key members of the ANC’s national executive committee, angered by Sanco’s support for the union […]

Barry Streek South African Airways (SAA) has indicated to the government that it will approach it for assistance to cover the increased insurance costs of its aircraft following the terror attacks in the United States. A government spokesperson on Thursday said the plea would be sympathetically considered. Business Day reported this week that SAA stood […]