The banks may yet repent if money market stability does not hold, writes Madeleine Wackernagel A volatile interest rate climate is not conducive to long-term investment planning, either by individuals or big business. And while the surprise rate cut by Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (Absa) this week — closely followed by the other leading […]

Stan Katz There has been much criticism, debate and misinformation surrounding the sale of six SABC radio stations and the role of the Independent Broadcasting Authority in the process. This is a pity because the environment which will ultimately be created, will in all likelihood, be much healthier for broadcasters. The IBA is faced with […]

Philippa Garson MASSIVE security force deployment, recent peace initiatives and a desire to get local elections over with have contributed to a significant decline in violence in KwaZulu-Natal in recent weeks. Although more than 50 people have died in the province so far this month, and intimidation and tension are still widespread, peace monitors report […]

Belgians are joining the protests against a costly armaments plant in Kenya, reports Greg Barrow from Nairobi THE citizens of Eldoret, a small town at the top of the Rift Valley, cannot believe their luck. Eldoret, once known only for its mushroom farming and world- class middle-distance athletes, has become Kenya’s main beneficiary of government […]

DONIZETTI: La Fille du Regiment (Nightingale Classics) ONE of the leading coloratura sopranos of our time (perhaps even of all time), Edita Gruberova is busy recording all the lesser-known Donizetti heroines for this small Swiss company. The added attraction of this recording for South African listeners is that it features Deon van der Walt in […]

Marion Edmunds THE Labour Market Commission has recommended that the Home Affairs Department relax its immigration selection policy to allow more skilled foreigners to settle and work in South Africa. And in its report, released by the government last week, the commission recommends that immigration policy be overhauled completely to suit the economic and social […]

CINEMA: Andrew Worsdale CINEMA audiences, it seems, have fallen in love with drag queens. Mike Nichols’s The Birdcage, a distinctly unfunky remake of La Cage aux Folles, grossed $18-million on its opening weekend in the US, and is still going strong at over $117-million; Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes in frocks drew over $40-million in […]

Superb training facilities and southern hospitality at the LaGrange camp will help the South African team acclimatise before Atlanta, writes Julian Drew WHEN South Africa went to Barcelona for the 1992 Olympic Games it was a hastily assembled and rather under-prepared team that marched into the Montjuic Stadium. On July 19 it will be an […]

Guy Standing sets out the principles for a social accord, labour creation and wage levels IN recent days there has been much talk about an incomes policy or social accord to help realise the government’s economic growth strategy. It is important to appreciate the rationale for such a policy, and to know what type of […]

South Africa’s top linguists are to wrestle with the practicalities of 11 official languages at a conference in Midrand this weekend. Marion Edmunds reports FORMER Robben Islander Dr Neville Alexander has to unravel one of the tightest knots tied by the politicians of the post-apartheid order. At a crucial conference on Saturday, Alexander and the […]