The Open Democracy Bill has already been before a Cabinet committee and is expected to go before the full Cabinet in the next three weeks. It is a long and complex Bill intended to give teeth to the government’s undertaking to give meaning to the idea of open democracy. If enacted, the Bill would give […]

Breastfeeding has become an issue of marketing, rather than motherhood, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy The health department is still debating whether to legislate against the advertising of infant formula milk, in its bid to encourage pregnant women to breastfeed. While mothers remain stripped of information relating to infant formula milk, government could further smack down on […]

1996 Budget: We asked several people how they live now, and how this week’s Budget would affect them in the year to come The teacher Belinda Wort, 29, a Mitchells Plain high- school teacher for nine years, lives barricaded in a comfortable house with a sparkling pool. Her husband, Logan, is a personnel officer at […]

Finance Minister Chris Liebenberg was quick this week to deflect any charges that his Budget was a holding exercise, insisting that “this must be the year to get points on the scoreboard”. He is trying to get the government’s fiscal ducks in a row and, while this is commendable, the route he has taken has […]

Cawe Mahlati, acting CEO of Bop Broadcasting, in The Mark Gevisser Profile NIGHT has fallen over dirty-grey veld around Mmabatho; the sun has set behind the hulking Rhino Recording Studios, built by Bop Broadcasting during the height of its deluded grandeur. Cawe Mahlati and I wander through the boma and along a water feature, back […]

Advertising agencies remain hesitant of pumping money into Video Cab’s new medium, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy Some in the advertising industry regard the Video Cab concept — a television monitor in minibuses — as a viable means of advertising. But they are hesitant to put their money where their mouth is. Monitors fitted in taxis was […]

One of the questions most frequently asked of President Nelson Mandela at the Park Lane Clinic last week was whether he was scaling down his activities. To find out, Rehana Rossouw peeked at his diary for this week This is what President Nelson Mandela’s diary looks like this week. There are early morning dashes to […]

Justin Pearce Etienne le Roux used to install carpets in Heidelberg. Nicolaas Barnard, Abraham Myburgh and Jan de Wet farmed in the North West province. These four men, who escaped from Diepkloof Prison last weekend, are among those who could have the most to lose when the Witwatersrand Supreme Court delivers judgment on March 29. […]

THE chief executive officer of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Dr Biki Minyuku, says he will not differentiate between the victims of apartheid atrocities and those who suffered at the hands of the liberation movements. Minyuku says it is his overall objective to unify individuals who have suffered losses during the years of apartheid, irrespective […]

The revamp of the public sector is a major thrust of government’s commitment to delivery, reports Madeleine Wackernagel The 10,4% increase in total expenditure is higher than expected, mainly owing to the R6- billion allotted to improvement of conditions of service. The process of restructuring the public service is expensive in the first year, says […]