Weekly Mail Reporter THE chief does not reign. He rules. He allocates land=20 to his subjects for a fee. He presides over a tribal=20 court to pass sentence on minor offenders. He decides=20 where schools can be built and where boreholes can be=20 The chief is the supreme ruler over his subjects: they=20 either submit […]

Justin Pearce in Cape Town ASSASSINATIONS in squatter camps and high-handed=20 manoeuvrings by an Eastern Cape MEC: these two=20 occurrences in the Western Cape in the past week have=20 more in common than meets the eye. Both threaten the process of local government=20 transformation, but in a way that may not be obvious:=20 the National […]

BOXING: Gavin Evans THE notion of a “Great Black Hope” may seem a little odd in South Africa — particularly in a sport where blacks outnumber whites by nine to one — but boxing’s 1995 Prospect of the Year is not shy about embracing this dubious label. Courage Tshabalala shrugs his massive shoulders, nods his […]

OVER the next few weeks, experts will debate the=20 details of the new Labour Relations Act, a draft of=20 which was published this week. This fine-tuning should=20 not detract from the central import of the document.=20 At one level, it is a technical feat to produce so=20 quickly such a comprehensive Bill that deals with […]

THE spat over the passing out parade for 650 kwaZulu=20 Police trainees is a baptism of fire for new police=20 commissioner George Fivaz. There is far more to the=20 dispute than the question of whether a few men with=20 criminal records should be allowed to become policemen. It is now common knowledge that hit men […]

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Coenraad Visser TWO violin soloists in one week, one accomplished, one dismal. The dismal one remains in Johannesburg in a prominent position. With the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Braginsky’s account of Beethoven’s violin concerto was polished, most convincing in the refined but heartfelt Larghetto and buoyant rondo. The first movement was occasionally marred […]

The Taiwanese government is wooing MPs with free trips=20 in an attempt to retain a good relationship with South=20 Africa, writes Gaye Davis Scores of parliamentarians are believed to have enjoyed=20 all-expenses paid trips to Taiwan as part of a massive=20 campaign by that government to ensure its relationship=20 with South Africa is not downgraded […]

Amid the scar tissue of District Six, a new museum is helping to heal its ravaged community. Tony Morphet reports THE buzz around the museums and galleries gets louder all the time. Like a beehive after a long winter, the political spring has suddenly brought a lot of fresh activity. New collections, exhibitions, policies, even […]

Mapula Sibanda A BUS boycott seems to be the spark that set off last=20 week’s violence at Vaal Reef’s No 8 Shaft in which 12=20 people were killed and 36 admitted to hospital, three=20 with critical injuries; 62 miners were treated for=20 minor injuries and discharged.=20 The boycott started in September last year, after a=20 […]

Justin Pearce THE Western Cape education department made a dramatic=20 about-face this week to concur with the National=20 Education Crisis Committee over the utilisation of=20 unused former school buildings. The department has recognised schools created when the=20 NECC arranged for students to occupy unused classrooms=20 in District Six in defiance of official policy. After a […]