cost housing? Mail & Guardian reporters The first official figures for new housing for the poor show a massive gulf between the government’s boasts to the electorate and the reality for South Africa’s homeless. The information, which the Department of Housing has so far kept under wraps, shows that fewer than 200 000 low-cost houses […]

FRIDAY, 12.30PM: AFTER sharing the lead with five other players on Thursday, defending champion Zimbabwean Nick Price has taken the lead in the $2-million Dimension Data Pro-Am tournament at Sun City on Friday. Starting the second round on three under par, Price was eight under after 12 holes on the Lost City course. Overnight co-leader, […]

Nicholas Fraser: Down the tube Oprah Winfrey is Chicago’s sustaining local deity, a queen of popular consciousness whose every alteration of size or mood is avidly followed. Green signs direct proud bus drivers under the E1 to the Harpo (“it’s her name spelled backwards”) studios. You enter a marble and cream lobby, traverse a human […]

Suzy Bell Allegations have surfaced that the newly appointed deputy director general in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Musa Xulu, has given false testimony and participated in a fraudulent substitution of documents in an attempt to prove a case of misconduct against a former colleague and teacher. Jeff Robinson, who has taught […]

Thabo Mbeki is an intelligent man with long experience of the press. When he complained this week that the press was failing to inform the public – pointing out that only 17% of Nelson Mandela’s Mafikeng speech had been conveyed to readers – we initially assumed he was making a joke. In the absence of […]

The Vita awards have been reorganised, but they could still do with a tweak or two, writes Brenda Atkinson If South Africa’s annual FNB Vita Art Prize can achieve the degree of angst, ecstasy and public attention surrounding its British counterpart – the prestigious and controversial Turner Prize – local contemporary art might just be […]

Wally Mbhele There is a distinct sense of urgency in the office of the African National Congress’s “chief executive”, secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe. With less than 15 months before next year’s general election, Motlanthe knows a difficult task lies ahead. He has to ensure the ANC scores a decisive victory at the polls on behalf […]

Belinda Beresford Banks want to train you to use virtual cash – electronic payments and cards – rather than banknotes and cheques. The carrots waved under customers’ noses include greater security and theoretical ease of use. The sticks include higher charges for those who insist on using the more traditional ways of paying. Cash-based transactions […]

Bongani Siqoko When Makhaya Ntini led the South African national cricket team on to the pitch in New Zealand recently, black South Africans were filled with pride. People who could hardly tell the difference between a goalpost and a wicket were glued to their television sets to witness the lad from KwaMdingi near King William’s […]

Bongani Siqoko There was a time when all the Letlake twins knew about squash was that it was a flavoured drink mixed with water. Now they have become national stars in the game. James and Jonathan Letlake, from Chiawelo in Soweto, have been playing for more than 10 years, winning many trophies and medals. They […]