SHOPRITE, one of the largest retail chains in southern Africa, will invest an initial $25-million in Zimbabwe this year as part of a regional expansion plan that will see the supermarket giant using this country as a base to supply goods to other African countries, Shoprite official Toby Wieser said this week. Wieser said the […]

Ferial Haffajee:TAKING STOCK `Sjoe! I gave it to him,” says Nocwaka Lamani in an interview at her parliamentary office. The man she gave it to was former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok, whose forces had arrested Lamani’s son, Tango. “I told him, `I am demanding my son back by May 11 1989 because I […]

The assumption that anyone who does well in one area of public life is some sort of “renaissance man” – able to turn their attention to any other field and succeed – is a fallacy to which South African society has recently shown itself unfortunately prone. Mr Justice Johann Kriegler performed admirably on the Bench, […]

The municipal demarcation board is a milestone for local democracy, writes Minister of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development Valli Moosa The president appointed the municipal demarcation board, chaired by Michael Sutcliffe, on February 1. It is charged with probably the most critical task in the transformation of local government. An independent selection panel, chaired by […]

Ken Daniels Horse racing Picking a Fort Wood horse to win a feature race is about as easy as predicting that the price of alcohol and cigarettes will go up in the budget. After picking off three of the four choice plums in the Cape racing feature season, the Mike de Kock/Weichong Mawing combination returns […]

The failure of the law to address the problem of rape was highlighted by the Italian Court of Appeal last week. It overturned the conviction of a 45-year-old driving instructor found guilty of raping an 18-year- old pupil on the grounds that she could not have been raped as she was wearing jeans. The defendant […]

Globetrotting for his new book Eat the Rich, America’s favourite rightwing iconoclast found laughter in squalor and corruption everywhere. PJO’Rourke speaks to the Mail & Guardian Eat the Rich contrasts different economic systems around the world. What gave you the idea? I wanted to find out why some countries are so rich and others are […]

The millennium budget has proved to be a pleasant surprise for foreign and local investors alike, reports Donna Block Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel should stand up and take a bow. His end of the millennium budget has been a crowd-pleaser in international money circles and foreign analysts are “pleased as punch”. They were somewhat […]

OFFICIALS in a leading Nigerian party are seeking to postpone the West African country’s February 27 presidential elections to give the party more time to campaign, Nigerian newspapers reported on Thursday. Ayo Fasanmi, vice-chairman of the Alliance for Democracy was quoted in Lagos dailies asking Nigeria’s electoral commission that the presidential vote be pushed back […]

Friday night:Emeka Nwandiko Friday night and I’m at a loose end. Verbal sparring with the other half and the best laid plans for the evening are up in smoke. Or are they? I decide to head for a little- known nightclub called Sankayi. It is gem of a place tucked away between a diamond merchant […]