Mail & Guardian reporters “South Africa’s success stories of tomorrow are not yet in business today,” says Hugh Herman, chairperson of the Investec Group. “If meaningful empowerment comes with the creation of sustainable employment, then we all have a role to play in helping small business take root.” Investec feels strongly about stimulating a vibrant […]

Tusi Fokane There are just days to go before the 30-day Arts Alive Television (ATV) broadcasting licence expires, with-out any part of the promised Johannesburg spring cultural festival being broadcast. Instead, the programmes packaged for the festival may find a slot on Lesotho Television. ATV cites a number of reasons for this failure, ranging from […]

After years on Mount Baldy, a Buddhist retreat, Leonard Cohen has finally found peace. He talks to Nick Paton Walsh about drink, drugs and women Leonard Cohen is the high priest of pathos. His voice exudes misery. A suicidal Kurt Cobain, when describing the most melancholic place imaginable, in his dirge Penny Royal Tea, sang […]

Khadija Magardie A combination of poorly run, decrepit facilities, untrained technicians and the use of inferior-quality animals could lay waste to claims by vivisectionists in South Africa that their experimentation on animals is of any scientific benefit. A recently released study commissioned by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) warns […]

Paul Kirk The total cost of providing bodyguards to politicians may amount to more than R250-million a year. This week the office of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi confirmed that a total of 2 740 bodyguards are placed at the disposal of politicians. Mail & Guardian sources estimate that their salaries amount to about R200-million, […]

David Macfarlane The South African Universities Vice-Chancellors’ Association (Sauvca) announced this week that it has secured the support of all universities for a code of conduct to regulate partnerships between public and private providers of higher education. New Sauvca chairperson Professor Njabulo Ndebele says Sauvca wants to build good relationships with the private sector. “There […]

Mail & Guardian reporter Sugar is not dubbed KwaZulu-Natal’s white gold for nothing it employs thousands of that province’s people, but also ploughs back in kind to deserving groups and communities. The sugar industry employs about 85000 people and an additional 400000 largely small-scale farmers and cane growers depend on the industry for an income. […]

There were more surprises in store for competitors in the recent Brait Grace to Grace 42km mountain bike challenge in the Magaliesberg than just the treacherous inclines and rocky and sandy terrain, writes Ntuthuko Maphumulo. They also had to contend with a redoubtable mother-and-son team who pedalled off with the top prizes. Jean Paul Pearton […]

Experts also warn that south-eastern Zimbabwe is sitting on a foot-and-mouth time bomb Jenny Sharman In the excitement about the formation of the Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou trans-frontier park, a looming problem has been overlooked: land invasions in the Zimbabwe section of the park. The planned “peace park” includes Zimbabwe’s second-largest game park, the Gonarezhou National Park and […]

analysis Jeremy Rifkin For the first 10 days we worried about commercial aeroplanes being hijacked and used as missiles. Now the American people are worried about a new, even more deadly threat: bacteria and viruses being released in populated areas, infecting and killing millions of people. Policymakers are scurrying to catch up, by allocating funds […]