The Human Rights Commission says that it served subpoenas on newspaper editors, including the editor of the Mail & Guardian, Phillip van Niekerk, because it believed this was the only way of ensuring their attendance at the hearings. The Mail & Guardian never refused to attend. What we did do was seek to establish the […]

Donna Block Foreign investors this week gave Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s budget speech the thumbs up, noting that it appeared designed mainly to secure a credit upgrade from leading rating agency Standard & Poor’s. “All in all this has been a very market friendly, economically orthodox budget,” said one London banker. But, he added, […]

John Matshikiza WITH THE LID OFF So my friend and colleague Phillip van Niekerk might find himself in jail in the next few weeks, if he isn’t careful. I have been telling him that if it does come to the worst-case scenario, and he defies the Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) summons to appear before it […]

CONTROVERSY over the radical revamp of New Africa Investments Limited took a new twist on Wednesday when co-founder Jonty Sandler denounced the group’s planned restructuring. In a full page advertisement in South Africa’s leading business daily, Sandler said the unbundling of Nail, which has been held up as a model of black advancement, will undermine […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Abuja | Friday 3.35pm NIGERIAN President Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken out for the first time against legal implementation of Sharia, stating that punishments meted out under the Islamic law violates the constitution. “For any law to be, it must be codified. Sharia is not codified. They just make references to the Koran and […]

THE government has decided to retain the current asset swap dispensation, but to change the definition of the 15% limit from total assets employed in South Africa, to 15% of total assets. Unit trusts would be permitted to invest up to 20% of their total assets under management by way of asset swaps. Pension funds, […]

EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak welcomed Pope John Paul II to Egypt on Thursday with a call for a joint battle against fanaticism and hatred in order to fulfill the hopes of the new millennium. “We should oppose all forms of discrimination, injustice and double standards if we are to establish a new viable world order,” […]

THE SA Revenue Service plans to recruit about 100 additional full-timeauditors and about 30 forensic auditors in the coming months in order to deliver on its undertaking to collect R210,4billion in taxes in 2000-2001. Business Day reports that this would be 7,2% higher than this year’s achievement. It reports that SARS commissioner Pravin Gordhan said […]

LESOTHO have named three foreign-based players in their 20-man squad for a Cosafa Castle Cup first round match against Zimbabwe in Harare on March 5. South African-based Lebajoa Mphongoa and Lehlohonolo Seema of Bloemfontein Celtic and goalkeeper Thabo Khoboli from second division Ria Stars join up with 17 Lesotho-based players in the squad. The team […]

A MAN suspected of murdering his lover’s three-year-old son over the weekend has been handed over to police. The suspect’s brother found him hiding in a mealie field at Rietfontein 7 farm, 30km from Lydenburg, where both of them work. Provincial police spokeswoman Inspector Olga Marais said the suspect was taken to the farmer, who […]