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/ 10 November 2004
Isn’t it getting to you that the decade of democracy still seems so far from overcoming poverty? That South Africa is still lined with shacks, and that Reconstruction and Development Programme matchbox dwellings — where they exist — are no different in size and uniformity to the houses laid out during apartheid? Then, in this mindset, you read that Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has said, ominously, there is too much money going to social grants.
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/ 10 November 2004
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was running normally after technical hitches on Tuesday saw delays, the JSE said on Wednesday. Due to a problem experienced with the JSE’s primary and back-up transatlantic communication links, trading on the equities market was halted at approximately 3.29pm on Tuesday.
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/ 10 November 2004
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Doubts surrounding the black economic empowerment (BEE) suitability of Schabir Shaik’s Nkobi Holdings resulted in two meetings between Deputy President Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thomson-CSF, the Durban High Court heard on Tuesday. Shaik has pleaded not guilty to two charges of fraud and corruption.
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/ 10 November 2004
John Ashcroft, the United States Attorney General and the embodiment of the Christian right in the Bush administration, announced his resignation on Tuesday night, marking the start of a second-term reshuffle. He was ill with pancreatitis earlier this year and had his gall bladder removed.
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/ 10 November 2004
Palestinian officials said Yasser Arafat was close to death on Tuesday night after suffering a brain haemorrhage and sinking deeper into a week-long coma. The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, visited Arafat at a Paris military hospital to try to establish the true state of his health after two weeks of confusing and contradictory claims.
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/ 10 November 2004
The pre-Christmas rush period typically means more employment, as retail chains take on extra staff to cope with holiday shoppers. But low pay and limited working hours often mean a less than festive season for many recruits. "I’d rather stay and clean toilets for R1 300," says Lindiwe Khumalo, a cleaner who investigated the possibility of working as a shop assistant at Edgars over the festive season.
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/ 10 November 2004
It’s all in the body-language: During the entire United States election campaign, Mister President’s body language and TV presence just screamed out: "I’m the man and I’ve arrived." And though we’re unlikely to be shoving dollar bills down his thong anytime soon, Dubya’s bonhomie leaves that of the lantern-jawed Mister Kerry in the shade.
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/ 10 November 2004
The Reserve Bank’s push for overambitious inflation targets is a deeply flawed policy at the heart of South Africa’s modest growth and chronic joblessness. Even if inflation dropped to zero and stayed there, the primary toxin — uncertainty — would remain. The economy’s fundamental structure ensures volatility and uncertainty. Policymakers should accept this and move on.
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/ 10 November 2004
Fraser’s weekly round-up: the theft (again) of the US elections, Zimbabwean propoganda, fake dismissal letters to send to colleagues, virgins online, celibacy FAQs, people modelling toilet paper, 20 things that only happen in the movies, and more.