An ANCproposal to scrap parliamentary interpellations has caused a controversy, report Howard Barrell and Barry Streek The African National Congress is proposing radical changes to the rules governing question time in Parliament which will cause a major row with opposition parties. The ANC is suggesting that the number of questions to Cabinet members should be […]

Donna Block SHARE WORLD There are days when I really miss the action on Wall Street, the rush that comes with the execution of a great trade and the hustle and bustle of trying to stay ahead of the market. Then, of course, there are the days when the wild volatility that is characteristic of […]

Peter Dickson A week after the government unveiled its controversial National Aids Council (NAC), Aids activists around South Africa have united online to form an alternative watchdog body, the Shadow National Aids Council (SNAC). “Every move, statement and omission will be monitored by SNAC,” outspoken Eastern Cape health official Dr Costa Gazi announced this week, […]

Khadija Magardie CROSSFIRE The lead article in the Mail & Guardian (January 28 to February 3) on “Africa’s new slaves” demonstrated a one-sided view of the civil war in Sudan. The three crucial flaws in the article were Cameron Duodu’s failure to probe the role of Christian Solidarity International (CSI) in the alleged “slave trade” […]

Philippa Garson CLASS STRUGGLE The decision by Minister of Education Kader Asmal to appoint an independent panel of educationists to review Curriculum 2005 is welcome news indeed. After so much speculation, confusion and controversy about the new curriculum and its bumpy implementation, a cool, collected look by a group of people who do not have […]

David Le Page TAKING STOCK As dot.coms scream up the graphs in the United States and Europe, it’s hard for local investors to ignore the lure of the information technology sector. Media stories about the Y2K problem have been replaced by predictions for likely IT developments in the next 20 or 30 years that would […]

John Matshikiza WHO ARE … THE HAINS? ‘Liberal” was a term that was often (and sometimes still is) regarded as a swear word on both sides of the South African political divide. Liberals were either thought of as being the ones who sat on the fence and held back the tide of revolution, or as […]

Bhorat Haroon Minister of Welfare and Development Zola Skweyiya recently announced his department’s intention to pursue the feasibility of setting up a national income grant scheme. There can be no doubt that such a grant system requires serious consideration, to buttress the current suite of social assistance programmes directed at the country’s most indigent. One […]

Brett Morris It was purely by accident that I found Peace in Jo’burg the other day. I was driving along Louis Botha Avenue, on my way to do all sorts of pre-planned Saturday afternoon things, when my clutch cable snapped. I managed to push my car on to a side street amid a barrage of […]

Andrew MuchineripiSoccer The African Cup of Nations quarter-finals showdown between South Africa and Ghana in Kumasi on Sunday brings together teams that can only improve after disastrous endings to their mini-league programmes. I have never been more ashamed of wearing Bafana Bafana colours than in midweek, when even a first-minute goal from Shaun Bartlett could […]