Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer Developments during the opening days of the new year suggest that South Africa could soon have the best administered and worst attended national championship on the continent. Let us begin with the good news that the sponsors of the Castle Premiership have increased the prize money this season to R3,5-million, give […]

With the trade talks on track, the EU’s first man in South Africa is returning to Brussels confident his time has been well spent, writes Madeleine Wackernagel Erwan Four has a knack for leaving a posting just before disaster strikes — once in Venezuela, prior to the 1989 riots; and again in Mexico, ahead of […]

FRIDAY 5.45PM: THE African National Congress in Gauteng has denied covering up evidence of financial impropriety by provincial Premier-elect Mathole Motshekga. In a statement on Friday, the party said: “Last October Comrade Tokyo Sexwale informed Comrade Motshekga in writing about the existence of certain documents alleging impropriety on his [Motshekga’s] part. The documents were made […]

Peter Makurube When you hear Philip Tabane play guitar you know you are in the presence of greatness. Tabane is the spiritual and creative force behind Malombo, a band that is a national institution or would be if South Africa cared much about original music. This weekend, those who do care will once again have […]

Stefaans Brummer and Mungo Soggot Documents in the possession of the Mail & Guardian show that the deputy president of the Constitutional Court accused Mathole Motshekga, the man who is to be sworn in as Gauteng premier on Monday, of fraudulently administering international donor money. These, or similar, allegations have been known to senior African […]

of education Mail & Guardian reporter More popular and less pie-in-the-sky. Thats what The Teachers new editor Philippa Garson has set out to do with the publication she took over last month. Readers may not notice the subtle redesign, but the new columns and features tailor- made for teachers cannot go unnoticed. A Day in […]

Hard Livings, but the living is easy Alex Duval Smith Hard Livings gang leader Rashied Staggie’s favoured hood-wear of the moment is a bright orange cap that he wears slightly set back on the head to reveal the green- coloured underside of its visor. This, reflected in the gold-rimmed mirror sunglasses which are perpetually perched […]

Robert Kirby : Loose cannon If you’ve kept your finger on the pulse, you will have been as delighted as I was to see that torturous old South African racism has at last taken a refreshing turn for the worse. Like many pernicious things in our history, racism has always had a tendency to flourish […]

Duncan McKay The discovery of 13 vials containing human growth hormone in the luggage of a Chinese swimmer as she passed through Perth customs on her way to the World Swimming Championships is another indication of extensive drug abuse in China. The Chinese have been accused of taking drugs since their women won 13 out […]

Steve Morris : Rugby We are barely a month away from the start of another round of Super 12 and a season which surely spells the end of the age of innocence for this country in a game which has mirrored the South African condition of blending the cutting edge of excellence with the desperate […]