<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>It’s not every day that a trial judge, hearing a case that could culminate in a 15-year jail sentence, wishes the accused a happy birthday. Even more eyebrow-raising was the rider: "I hope your next 64 years are better than your first."
"We must encourage the growth of a cadre of black intellectuals who can produce discourses to rigorously engage with the transformation of our society. Alongside the decline of civil society we have seen the decline in black intellectual production. There is a resulting dearth of independent and committed black intellectuals," writes Ebrahim Harvey.
Scratch a South African industry, it seems, and expose excessive prices over and above what companies would earn in a competitive market. In fuel, cement, cars, life insurance, telecommunications (both fixed-line and mobile), steel, chemicals, sugar and now banks, this familiar story has emerged in recent months.
Over the past decade, Gold Fields and AngloGold have entered Ghana respectively through the purchase of mines in Tarkwa, a town about 45 minutes by plane north-west of the capital Accra, and the merger with Ashanti Gold Fields. The ventures present more than geological and mining challenges; there are social challenges that at times seem insurmountable.
It came as no surprise to read reports of African National Congress hoodlums throwing chairs and half-bricks at the mayor of Cape Town, threatening her with knives, all because she dared to enter Crossroads, an area deemed to be “no go” for white politicians. Such brutish behaviour is becoming sadly typical of the ANC.
Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have been touted as the future of energy. Cleaner, home-grown and potentially cheaper than petroleum, countries such as Brazil and Britain have already made biofuels a major part of their energy consumption with many others expected to follow.
The advent of democracy saw Franschhoek, the model Afrikaner village of apartheid mythology, ill prepared to deal with transformation. Under apartheid the dream of a "pure" white town had seen the forced removal of 40 coloured families who had owned homes there, and the creation of a separate coloured municipality, with a buffer zone of farms in between.
Sweeping new legislation aimed at enhancing the ability of police and intelligence services to eavesdrop on cellphone calls and other forms of electronic communication will soon come before Parliament. The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Amendment Bill was approved recently by Cabinet.
As a black man in Russia, life for Gabriel Anicet Kochotfa means always being home by 9pm, never using public transit and hearing abusive remarks when he goes out in public with his white wife. ”Sometimes I even go to the shop with my wife and we go separately, so nobody knows that we are together,” the native of Benin says.
There’s a hushed silence and 750 eager faces turn to watch a bronzed man walk to the podium, his golden hair swaying behind him and his face split by a dazzling smile. There is no white smoke or drum roll, but for the students and alumni of one of the world’s leading business schools, Sir Richard Branson is as close as it gets to a rock star.