Ufrieda Ho The number of animal experiments in South Africa is anybody’s guess. South African vivisectors are left to police themselves and are governed by a voluntary code of ethics. Despite calls by anti-vivisection lobbyists and some scientists for the government to produce transparent monitoring of the industry, the government is still to act. “It’s […]
Paul Kirk Armscor bosses are set to make a killing by buying arms from companies of which they are shareholders or directors. This week the Mail & Guardian obtained Armscor documents showing that Armscor chair Ron Haywood is a director of another company, Dynamic Cables, which is among the front runners to supply key components […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Carson City, Nevada | Friday SEBASTIAN Stephanus Bridges, the South African national sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife’s lover in Nevada, is ready to die. Bridges won’t appeal, even though he has said he is not guilty and was treated unfairly in court. Governor Kenny Guinn said this week he would […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The head of Sanco Investment Holdings (SIH), the investment arm of the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco), has accused the president of Sanco of conspiring with a former employee to destroy the company. Moses Mayekiso, the managing director of SIH, and Sanco president Mlungisi Hlongwane are both contesting the presidency […]
Nearly 90 years after its birth Alexandra township, renowned for its squalor, is to undergo a revamp Ntuthuko Maphumulo As you enter Alexandra township you are greeted by the smell of rubbish and toilets. It comes from shacks on the pavements. Women wash and rinse their clothes on the road, which is also a playground […]
Robert Kirby CHANNELVISION It’s hard not to be cynical about the media response to the fatalities at Ellis Park last week. Print was bad enough, but South African television once again showed itself up as an institution almost completely devoid of dignity or restraint. I am sure that in the television newsrooms they hang a […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday FORMER Umkhonto we Sizwe commander and current foreign affairs official Robert McBride, former Vlakplaas police commander Eugene de Kock and rightwing leader Piet Skiet Rudolph have been given amnesty for various attacks committed during the apartheid era. McBride and ANC special operations senior commander Aboobaker Ismail were given amnesty for […]
Martin Gillingham road running South Africa might be without a royal household but this weekend one of the republic’s subjects could well find himself crowned monarch of his own kingdom in a ceremony performed right in front of Buckingham Palace. There may be nothing blue about the stuff that flows through Hendrick Ramaala’s veins but […]
Mboniso Sigonyela Stubborn inflation figures continue to threaten the Reserve Bank’s inflation targeting measures, but the hard-pressed retail sector may breathe a sigh of relief after March’s broad-based price increases. The uninspiring inflation release confirmed the market’s fears as the bank’s inflation targeting measure, consumer price inflation excluding interests on mortgages (CPIX), posted a 7,5% […]
This weekend sees the second leg of the MotoGP championships at Phakisa Raceway in Welkom. Gavin Foster expects fireworks Take two young men of immense talent, mix in a couple of egos the size of watermelons and set them loose on a racetrack on equal machinery and you’ve got a great sporting event. But add […]
AN Islamic court in northern Nigeria has sentenced a man to 80 lashes for falsely accusing his neighbour of sodomy, court officials said on Wednesday. Ibrahim Mamman Na-Wurno was found guilty on Tuesday by the Sharia court in Gusau for lying against Lawal Idris, a court official said. He said court judge Dahiru Mohammed Gusau […]
Barry Streek African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni has been summonsed by the Blaauwberg administration for the non-payment of R3?281,89 in rates and a further R84,78 in interest. The Blaauwberg administration, which is now part of the Cape Town Unicity, instructed its lawyers to issue the summons against Yengeni on February 19 this year […]
About 60-million youths worldwide are struggling to find employment Glenda Daniels Youth unemployment has soared to more than 50% in South Africa and is expected to rise to between 60% and 70% in the next few years. It is one of the biggest social crises the country has faced. To address it the government, business […]
Jubie Matlou Adifficult choice confronts the South African Revenue Service (Sars) regarding the taxation of intangible digital goods purchased over the Internet. This includes digital messages, software, multimedia files and film and audio recordings. A tax void exists for both local and international transactions of such goods. Electronic commerce business transactions operating in cyberspace create […]
Andy Capostagno rugby It may be too soon to start talking of another golden era in Natal and Springbok rugby, but when New Zealanders start to complain of illegal tactics you know that something radical is happening. New Zealanders like to praise South African teams for trying hard and losing. It is not in their […]
Barry Streek Crossfire The silence in political circles ranging from the ever-critical Democratic Alliance to the African National Congress, the government, the South African Communist Party and the apparently land-conscious Pan Africanist Congress about the legalistic judgement in the Land Claims Court rejecting the claim of the Richtersveld people to their land is revealing. It […]
With annual wage talks deadlocked, workers are steadily losing faith and confidence in local government, reports Glenda Daniels Poised on the brink of a massive strike, municipal workers are expressing bitter disillusionment with the African National Congress, saying they have been betrayed. Representatives of more than 200?000 members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union […]
The government has won its fight with pharmaceutical companies over parallel importation and other methods to reduce drug costs Belinda Beresford At the 13th hour the pharmaceutical industry backed down. The law it fought for three years to prevent being enacted will go ahead, unchanged. And the ramifications go far beyond South Africa’s borders. By […]
Greg Mills Second look Former United States president Bill Clinton has said: “The worst sin America ever committed about Africa was the sin of neglect and ignorance.” Under his presidency Africa’s profile rose in the US. Clinton made the first proper visit by a US president to Africa in 1998, and followed this up with […]
Thebe Mabanga The process of trying to analyse the cause of the Ellis Park disaster and avert a possible future occurrence got under way this week with the release of the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry into the disaster. The commission’s chair, Gauteng Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, expressed appreciation for the eagerness […]
Mboniso Sigonyela Metro Cash & Carry’s newly appointed investor relations director, George Cocolas, has his work cut out as the market softens its stance on the share. This follows a deal that will almost double the group’s revenue from its Australian operations. Things have not gone well for the group recently. The share went on […]
Justin Arenstein The Dolphin Group has closed its South African head office and is fighting to save two of its local flagship hotels after mismanagement plunged the leisure group into financial crisis. Dolphin officials confirmed that the Dubai-based corporation retrenched its head office staff in January after failing to pay rent at its plush Sandton […]
Console Tleane a Second Look The recent furore surrounding Max du Preez’s comments on radio about President Thabo Mbeki’s alleged infidelities, and later carried by a daily newspaper, begs a relook at the role of the press in South Africa. Such a retrospection becomes even more critical following a call by the Western Cape African […]
John Young South Africa’s cricketers had two reasons to celebrate last Tuesday. The series was in the bag and the Caribbean Sea had finally produced waves big enough for body surfing. All of Antigua’s 365 beaches are picture-perfect, even those with silly names like Jolly Beach, venue of the celebratory night swim. Tourists don’t go […]
Ntuthuko Maphumulo cycling The Vodacom Ride for Victory cycling competition will showcase some of the top cyclists in the country. The May 6 cycling challenge is a 115km route through the picturesque Suikerbosrand nature reserve. The morning race will be for the top cyclists, followed by amateur cyclists and enthusiasts. The professional cyclists will gain […]
Unions at Vista University have formally declared a dispute with the institution over its planned retrenchment of 20% of its staff David Macfarlane In a bizarre move, Vista University is planning to shed 365 of its staff at the same time as the government proceeds with plans to dismantle the institution. Even more bizarrely, there […]
Is Lennox Lewis too decent to be a world boxing champion? Gavin Evans When Lennox Lewis chose South Africa as the venue for his next defence of his world heavyweight title, he met with concerted opposition from within his own camp. HBO, the American cable television network which puts up most of the money, objected […]
Mail & Guardian reporter Last week’s soccer tragedy highlights the need for a closer inspection of rules and terms governing the broadcasting of matches still shrouded in secrecy on the nation’s airwaves. The televising of soccer matches in South Africa is an incestuous circle whose power relations are determined by the highest bidder. At the […]
Barry Streek The notorious tot system the payment of workers in liquor, normally cheap wine is to be banned in the Western Cape. The outlawing of the centuries-old tradition is part of proposed changes by the Democratic Alliance-controlled provincial government to the liquor licensing system that are aimed at bringing the 18 000 to 20 […]
Stefaans Brmmer and Jaspreet Kindra A pamphlet said to have originated in the African National Congress alliance calling for “one president, one term” has fuelled the latest round of accusations around supposed plots against President Thabo Mbeki. This has been the month in which tensions around the president, long simmering in the ANC and tripartite […]
Jaspreet Kindra It is boom time for the Pan Africanist Congress. The probe into the arms deal and the controversy surrounding the African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni’s acquisition of a Mercedes 4×4 has raised the party’s public profile tremendously. The PAC emerged from its annual policy conference last weekend with a real chance […]
Paul Kirk A top detective from the Durban murder and robbery unit is being investigated on at least six counts of murder and attempted murder. This emerged after Detective Inspector Robin Singh appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrate’s Court last week on a murder charge. It is suspected the murder may be related to a […]