Stefaans Brummer BOTSWANA is rapidly expanding its defence force, bucking a trend of demilitarisation in Southern Africa and sparking fears that the region’s most peaceful country may be heading for instability. A controversial order of an estimated 50 tanks from the Netherlands this year follows closely on that of another 36 British tanks. Botswana, which […]

The firing of Pallo Jordan from his Cabinet post had more to do with clashes with the president than his performance on the job, writes Gaye Davis Pallo Jordan was fired from Cabinet as a result of sharp differences with President Nelson Mandela and other senior African National Congress members — including a stand he […]

Confusion over South African visas put paid to a meeting of Nigerian opposition groups in Johannesburg, writes Justin Pearce A CONFERENCE in Johannesburg intended to bring together the fragmented Nigerian opposition groups had to be put on hold after the majority of the delegates failed to obtain visas to come to South Africa. The prospective […]

Hazel Friedman Secret liaisons with the Soweto Committee of Ten. Dangerous midnight manoeuvres through townships to meet banned activist Albertina Sisulu during the height of South Africa’s State of Emergency. This is what it took to maintain one of the best-kept secrets of the anti-apartheid struggle: a clandestine Israeli-ANC initiative — the Israeli and South […]

Simon Segal A repeat performance two years later, and still the markets and critics did not learn. The sky did not fall in when Derek Keys resigned as finance minister in October 1994. The equally sudden resignation of Keys’ successor from the private sector, Chris Liebenberg, again caused an over-reaction, especially from those traders who […]

Everyone pitched in to make the Klein Karoo’s outreach project a success. But was it? BAFANA KHUMALO was there MIDDELPLAAS looks like the kind of place where the arrival of a train makes the front page of the local newspaper (if there is a local rag). Desolate, it lies in a valley 20km from Oudtshoorn. […]

TENNIS: Jon Swift THE Italians are a people full of surprises. It is difficult to get things moving in the beautiful country, yet the nation had the sensitivity and foresight to sandbag the wall which carries the breathtaking fresco of the Last Supper during the time of the last global nastiness. And the chapel of […]

A proposal for a government news agency has fuelled the debate on the control of the media. Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports The South African Communication Service (Sacs) has thrown itself into the debate on the ownership and control of the media and has drawn strong criticism from some major newspaper groups. Sacs head Solly Kotane proposes […]

Thabo Mbeki’s task team is fine-tuning a strategy to tackle its brief on government communications, writes Jacquie Golding-Duffy THE 10-member media task group appointed late last year by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki plans to take trips abroad in a bid to conduct in loco inspections of foreign government communication departments. Task group convener Mandla Langa […]

Archery isn’t a big sport in South Africa, but members of the Olympic team are out to show that they can shoot with the best in Atlanta ARCHERY: Julian Drew COUNTRIES like Korea and Japan count their competitive archers in the tens of thousands and most of them compete in the recurve (Olympic) bow category. […]