South Africa has suffered a number of government scandals since liberation: Sarafina II,the Mpumalanga housing scam, Baleka Kgositsile’s driving licence, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and Emanuel Shaw II … Few of them, however, point to failure of government in quite as stark a fashion as the scandal we break in this edition of the […]

Ann Eveleth Suspended Transnet executive director Joe Ndhlela’s fate will be decided next Tuesday after an internal probe found he committed several acts of misconduct and impropriety. The transport parastatal’s board of directors is due to meet on Tuesday to consider disciplinary action against Ndhlela after an internal disciplinary inquiry found he committed an act […]

Andy Duffy Colin Stanfield is expected to return to his Cape Flats roots this weekend to meet the mother of a 22-year-old who died on his doorstep. Stanfield has done well from his time leading the powerful gang cartel, The Firm. The alleged drug baron lives in a plush house in Baltinore Road, one of […]

David Shapshak joins the Mail & Guardian as technology editor, overseeing the new Frontiers section, which will cover cutting-edge developments in information technology, the Internet, science and technology. He was seduced from a news reporting position at the South African Press Association. Belinda Beresford (above left) joins us as Smartmoney editor, after a baptism of […]

Madeleine Roux: Moveable feast James Bond may be as as old as bri-nylon, but he is still the stuff of fantasy. So say the latest press releases about this old chauv and his three squeezes, who are appearing in yet another Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies. Suspecting an end to our long suspension of disbelief […]

Johannesburg’s night A Johannesburger through and through, Mark Varder has realised, after a hijacking, that his city is the near-death experience I am sitting on a green vinyl chair on the second floor of the Bramley Police Station. It is 7.30am. The man across the room is about to speak on the phone. “Hell-o-o-o-oh,” he […]

David Beresford : A Second Look Life tends to be made up of a series of images, snapshots from the past. One particularly powerful image from my past is of cricket. It was the early 1970s and I was living in Richmond, near the park. I had shaken the dust of South Africa off my […]

Anthony Kunda in Lusaka The detention of former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda in connection with the botched military putsch of October 28 last year has brought frustrating privations for journalists. The government has not introduced any new legislation to restrict the media. But the police seem to have become paranoid, especially about journalists from independent […]

Metro The positions of station and programming manager at Radio Metro are up for grabs. Maria McCloy reports on the likely candidates Three of the countrys top radio personalities are tipped to be in the running for top jobs at Radio Metro, one of the SABCs biggest money-spinners. The three Bob Mabena, Tim Modise and […]

Ferial Haffajee The Independent Newspaper Groups ambitious transformation programme has been dealt a blow by labour protests against its plans. All four trade unions at the groups flagship Gauteng Newspapers have resigned from the regional affirmative action monitoring committee. Sparked by a disputed appointment in the advertising department, the row has grown. Now staff allege […]