is an in-house squabble between the generals while the soldiers sit forgotten at the side, argues Prishani Naidoo THE irony of the William Makgoba saga is that while there were two distinct camps at the beginning of the battle for transformation in 1991, there seems now to be a narrowing of interests which may fit […]

Andrew Sillen The storage and study of human body parts has stimulated intense debate, pitting scientists and museum authorities, on the one hand, against ethnic, national, and religious groups on the other. But, the issues are not always The issue first emerged in North America, where the violent history of expansion has created an enduring […]

Private sector investment is on the up, but may not be sufficient to generate real economic activity, writes Simon Segal Nedcor’s Economic Unit estimates that R137-billion will be spent on capital expenditure by the year 2001. This is 20% higher than estimates of R114-billion a year ago for the five year period to 2000. The […]

FINE ART: Hazel Friedman FOUR Young Artists, at the Newtown Galleries, is more than a showcase for new kids on the block. Consisting of works by artists with little prior exhibition experience, it successfully creates a series of correspondences and juxtapositions based — refreshingly — as much on serendipity as on artistic intention. And the […]

The Masakhane campaign is floundering as politicians dither over ultimate control, reports Gaye Davis THE three ministers in charge of the Masakhane Campaign are unable to agree who should take ultimate control of it and are fighting what one official described as an “unseemly turf battle” — putting the R30-million strategy to improve living conditions […]

Thabo Mbeki’s media task team has ruffled the feathers of the major newspaper conglomerates, writes Jacquie Golding-Duffy Major newspaper conglomerates are worried that the 10-member media task team appointed late last year by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki will exercise its power to ensure large scale affirmative action at newspapers — up to the level of […]

Deficits are still the norm in many OECD member countries, and South Africa is no exception, reports Simon Segal GOVERNMENT’S budget deficit, now likely to be above 6% of gross domestic product (GDP) for this fiscal year (5,8% or R29-billion was budgeted for last March), blights an otherwise impressive economic record that boasts the most […]

David Beresford in Luanda Sitting on a hotel balcony, the ambassador recounted with gleaming eyes how a diamond prospector had invited him to grab a random handful of gravel from a river bed, and had then picked three precious gemstones from the palm of his hand. Below, in Luanda’s stinking, garbage-strewn streets, a street-urchin kicked […]

THEATRE: David Le Page KAFKA Dances is not an attempt at dramatic history. That the character Franz Kafka is obviously based on the well-known writer is no more important than that entirely fictional characters may be born of the real experiences of those who create them. As Australian playwright Timothy Daly writes: “Better to try […]

Mail & Guardian Reporter There has been a shake-up at Independent Newspaper’s golden egg, Natal Newspapers. Loss-making Natal Mercury editor John Patten has suddenly taken early retirement. It is due to be announced next week that his place has been taken by David Wightman, editor of the massively profitable Sunday Tribune, which went down-market in […]