AHM Scholtz published his first novel, Vatmaar, in 1995 at the age of 72. This acclaimed debut won the M-Net Prize, the Eugne Marais Prize and the CNA Literary Award. The panoramic tale of a small town in the Northern Cape has been translated into Dutch and German. Chris van Wyk’s new translation brings A […]
Thebe Mabanga IN YOUR EAR Johannesburg-based adult contemporary station Kaya fm 95.9 is steadily making inroads in winning over a fastidious and habit-driven audience – the black middle class – using retro sounds with a world music slant. Since its August 1997 launch, Kaya has entrenched its distinct sound. Its music selection is astute, yet […]
What took place this week at the Department of Education’s 123 Schoeman Street headquarters, soon to be renamed after Sol T Plaatjie, was profoundly significant. A team of educationists was given the platform to pronounce judgement on one of the government’s most flashy and therefore politically laden flagship projects – Curriculum 2005 – in the […]
Traditional financial services are no longer confined solely to the ‘big fish’ or the conventional banking sector Alan Finlay With the hostile bid by Nedcor to acquire banking rival Stanbic dominating the headlines a few months ago, one might be forgiven for thinking that the health of the sector is entirely dependent on what the […]
Duncan Campbell Ridley and Tony Scott, two of Britain’s most celebrated film directors, reacted with fury and more than a little embarrassment to an advertisement placed by their company that critics say is offensive to black people and women. They apologised profusely for the advert, in the trade weekly Shoot, which has led to picketing […]
Barbara Ellen BODY LANGUAGE It seems to be the fate of some women to become relationship universities. What usually happens in these cases is that the woman in question is involved with a man for many, many years. They grow and learn together. Often they will cohabit, and buy lots of “stuff” to cement their […]
David Beresford ANOTHER COUNTRY Leafing through an old copy of the Penguin Book of Lies (out of which falls a dusty gift card fondly admonishing me not to “take it personally”) I am moved to a confession, not as to a lie, but a resource. Parkinson’s gets one down from time to time – times […]
commission Khadija Magardie The Human Rights Commission (HRC) is investigating possible criminal charges against Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe. This follows an application by the Mail & Guardian to investigate Radebe, after remarks he made in a submission to the HRC during the racism in the media hearings earlier this year. Radebe accused M&G […]
Paul Kirk The ease with which a child molester can escape prosecution came into sharp focus this week when a lowly suspected car thief was caught red-handed with a sensitive and stolen police investigation docket into the rape of a teenage girl. Had the docket not been recovered the rapist may well have escaped scot-free […]
Ivor Powell With Parliament gearing up to act and the auditor general questioning the probity of the process, the lid could finally be coming off South Africa’s controversial R32-billion weapons procurement programme after a report in the Mail & Guardian last week (“Nepotism in R32bn arms deal”) showing irregularities in the awarding of contracts. Both […]