AT the tail end of a surreptitious visit to South Africa, a prominent Dutch rightwinger last week declared South African rightwingers as being “too lazy to work” and “not prepared to do kaffir work”. In an exclusive interview with the Weekly Mail & Guardian, Henk Ruitenberg (47), chairman of the rightwing CD-86 Party in the […]

Pat Sidley FINDING a school for your child that will give him a “good education” has to be one of life’s major decisions. Who would know better about good schools than the MECs for education in our nine provinces? And if they decide on a school, is that not likely to be an indication of […]

Steuart Wright: East London THE birth of the Eastern Cape province has been traumatic and the new government is sweating to curb a slide into anarchy. For the ANC-dominated provincial government its initial period in power has been a baptism of fire, with a strike by Transkei Police, a mutiny by Transkei soldiers, blockades on […]

The police and Kathorus residents are working together to bring peace to the townships, reports Mduduzi ka Harvey FOR East Rand policeman Godfrey “Godfather” Maditsi (34), Thokoza was once a place where he feared to tread — with police targeted by self-defence unit youths at the height of political violence in the 1980s, harassed by […]

The daft, clever, stupid, witty things South Africans said in 1994, compiled by Jennifer Crwys-Williams * Nelson Mandela has so much egg on his face he needs two bars of soap to get it off. — FW de Klerk (before the election) * Mr Mandela has walked a long road and now stands at the […]

Conventional logic has it that a flag with six bright colours is beyond the pale, writes Eddie Koch. So why is the new South African flag such a resounding success? VIVA condom, viva! That was the cry of a volunteer who handed out leaflets decorated with pictures of a prophylactic draped in the flowing red, […]

Do you read the Weekly Mail & Guardian often enough? Write down your responses, avoiding the temptation to check them against the answers printed below. Then turn the page around and score one point for each answer you got right 1. What magazine did Nelson Mandela edit this year? 2. How many cars were stolen […]

`Gauties’ who’ve been left behind this Christmas need not despair, writes Hazel Friedman: they’ve got the wildest wildlife IT’S that time of the year again and the Great Trek to trendoid holiday spots is already well under way. To those depressed “Gauties” who’ve been left behind, the only way of getting into the festive spirit […]

Vuyo Mvoko JANE HLONGWANE (28), her face exuberant with the satisfaction of pregnancy, smiled as she was asked how she felt now that she and her unborn child could take advantage of free medical care from the government. “Happy, really happy …” she said, in search of better words to describe her pleasure. Two years […]