Drew Forrest

"Regrettably he was buried in Durban," Masterbond campaigner Don Mackenzie reportedly said of one of the collapsed company’s curators. "Otherwise I’d go and piss on his grave." The Masterbond curatorship dragged on for more than a decade amid bitter claims that investors were milked. Its ghost hangs over the biggest South African corporate scandal

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>At his official residence in Pretoria on Wednesday, President Thabo Mbeki gave the first interview of his eight-year presidency to the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>. Looking tired and vulnerable, the president exposed the softer side of his complex personality, which South Africans hardly ever see.

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan fears that the politics of the African National Congress is being "Yankeefied" by a growing fixation on personalities rather than policies. And he blames the media for fuelling the process. "You have to get away from this personalised contest between [Jacob] Zuma and [Thabo] Mbeki," he said this week.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has thrown its considerable weight behind Jacob Zuma as its preferred candidate for the ANC presidency, in defiance of objections by ANC chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota. At its central committee meeting on Thursday the federation also endorsed ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe for the ANC deputy presidency.

Cosatu’s push to break President Thabo Mbeki’s hold over the African National Congress (ANC) is set to move up several gears next week, as it lists its preferred candidates for the ANC leadership and firms up a radical election pact with the ruling party.

The government is dusting off a 2002 plan to deal with a feared mass influx of Zimbabweans into South Africa, amid a growing official recognition that economic migration is snowballing towards crisis. Last week Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told a media conference in Pretoria that the Zimbabwean influx was "a serious problem" and that it was "vital for South Africa to act".

Author Richard Dawkins defines faith as "belief without ­evidence". In fact, faith often seems to involve gymnastic contortions to keep the evidence at bay. Take the outraged letters from some Christian readers in response to the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s recent religion edition. Particularly at issue was the statement, in the article "Was Jesus the first socialist?".

"’It would be a good idea,’ Mahatma Gandhi famously remarked when asked what he thought of European civilisation. It is a useful perspective for Europeans, many of whom still tend to think of themselves as God’s gift to the world." Drew Forrest argues that to understand Europe’s unique taste for organised violence, we must delve into pre-history.

Two of the best-known anecdotes about Wilton Mkwayi, the African National Congress leader who died last weekend, underscore his virtual invisibility outside the movement he served so single-mindedly for 60 years. Although little-known outside ANC ranks, "Bri-bri" stands alongside Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo in the ANC pantheon.

"I disagree with what you say, but would defend to the death your right to say it," runs the well-worn maxim, wrongly attributed to Voltaire. Would Smuts Ngonyama or Dumisani Makhaye of the African National Congress defend to the death Tony Leon’s right to speak his mind? Doubtful. It is time for South Africans to outgrow the intolerance, hysteria and ideological hype of the past.

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>United States senator Eugene McCarthy once remarked that politicians react to the cold in much the same way as pigs — they stand in a circle with their snouts between the hind legs of the pig in front. This is the likely outcome of election 2004 for the main opposition parties, none of which can be overjoyed with the results at national or provincial levels.

"I’ve never disappointed them [whites] in any way, but like all human beings they have poor memories." Drew Forrest hands out this week’s <i>imivimbo eyi-10</i> to Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>""It would not be possible to ask every job applicant whether he’s a homosexual, but if someone wants to promote the homosexual lifestyle and influence others, we would object to that." Drew Forrest scourges African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe with the cat-o’-ten-tails.

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>"We do have different policies from other parties — on women and child abuse, for example, and on the environment. We’re disappointed there’s no concerted campaign by all party leaders to dispel the myth that baby rape cures Aids." Drew Forrest turns his 10-shooter on Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille.

In a remarkable shift, <i>The Economist</i> magazine has acknowledged that controls on the movement of capital are necessary to safeguard the interests of poor nations.

Black economic empowerment (BEE) is regaining impetus after the big slump of four years ago — but new complexities and challenges are emerging, particularly around the financing of deals.

"I hate George Bush." Johannesburg domestic Christina Cele’s four-word philippic appears to sum up the black South African view of this war.

A draft black empowerment charter for banking and insurance sets no targets for black ownership in the sector, while acknowledging that the "banking of the unbanked" must follow sound business practice.

In Parliament for his State of the Nation address President Thabo Mbeki showed why his sway over the ANC remains unchallenged. He has outstanding gifts for instilling sheep-like obeisance in his party and neutralising and cutting down to size perceived or real opponents