Jaspreet Kindra The word has been passed around in the hijacking circles of Alexandra that Democratic Party MP Vincent Gore’s car is not “hot” it is fitted to enable a disabled person to drive it. Gore grins when he talks about his “unofficial meeting” with the Alex hijackers he is attempting to rehabilitate. He was […]
Timothy Wood american notes New York April 16 is the most important day in the United States calendar. At no other time is the nation as united in its purpose as when tax returns are to be filed. President George Bush has a deft appreciation for the populist possibilities surrounding April 16, specifically tax cuts. […]
Michelle Pressend Crossfire It’s a shame that 90% of the Draft Minerals Development Bill debate is on mineral rights and the discretionary powers of the minister to grant those rights, when mining by its nature has caused huge environmental damage and has severely affected the health of workers and surrounding communities. One would think that […]
Alex Sudheim Though celebrating only its third anniversary this year, the Southern Cross Music and Outdoor Experience has made the leap from cute and cuddly toddler to strapping youth in a burst of accelerated growth. Originally conceived as a purely folk festival for diehard hippies with a penchant for softly strummed guitars among rolling green […]
Letters to the best man Chez Uhuru 228 Musgrave Road iThekwini To:Dr Essop Pahad The Presidency Union Buildings Tshwane Dear Dr Pahad, It is with a sense of both accomplishment and distress that I write to inform you of my efforts to fend off the counter-revolution. As you have warned, the presidency is being subjected […]
Steven Friedman worm’s eye view Freedom is of little use unless you know what to do with it. Good democrats are, no doubt, expected to react with righteous indignation to the police who misled journalists about a fake hijacking. This democrat finds that a little difficult. Yes, police representatives who confirmed a leak when they […]
Jaspreet Kindra Johannes van Wyk clutches his crutch firmly for support each time he rises from a chair as he goes about his household chores. Certified disabled, he has lost the use of his left leg. His cheekbone is also shattered. His scars bear testimony to his three-year incarceration in African National Congress detention camps […]
Grant Shimmin athletics The three track and field meets that justify Andy Norman telling Athletics South Africa officials that they have “the premier circuit in the Southern Hemisphere” are upon us, starting on Friday night at Roodepoort. In keeping with previous editions of the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series, the first meet, which has traditionally […]
Roger Ronnie Right to reply The article “Water contract won’t mean job losses” (March 2 to 8) hid the truth about Suez-Lyonnaise, the multinational company that Johannesburg unicity has privatised the city’s water to. The article gave the company’s representative, Jameel Chand, free rein to make unchallenged and untrue assertions about the company’s poor track […]
camp Faith ka-Manzi It is raining in Cato Crest, a squatter camp outside Durban bordering the Umkhumbane river. Parents are cautioning their children to wear shoes and to look out for live electricity wires. The squatters divert electricity illegally from nearby Cato Manor and their uninsulated cabling has caused the deaths of at least 11 […]
Tim Wood Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has made it clear that she is satisfied with proposed mining legislation despite industry protests. Unmoved by the current brouhaha, the minister says the legislation must be judged by its ability to deliver jobs, protect the environment and deliver shareholder returns. At a breakfast in […]
Deon Potgieter boxing The irrepressible Baby Jake Matlala is the most popular boxing world champion produced in South Africa in 23 years. This title was bestowed upon him recently following a nationwide competition held by Old Buck Gin, who awarded him with a special Old Buck Belt. The belt is a prestigious memento in any […]
Lynda Gilfillan ‘I have an overwhelming rage at completely innocent things and people. Like my son jumping on my back in the pool and wanting to drown him because I get so angry, and the dog eating chicken eggs and me wanting to beat the dog to a pulp.” Mark Coetzee (45) has a finely […]
Despite two reports recommending the inclusion of vulnerable workers in society in unemployment benefits, a new Bill expressly excludes them Marianne Merten By excluding South Africa’s approximately one million domestic workers from unemployment benefits, the government is failing in its constitutional duty to extend social security to all, says the Black Sash. The NGO will […]
Paul Kirk Durban’s first citizen made his own small contribution to cleaning up the city’s beachfront this week when he took on a group of what he described as “half-naked loafers drinking in public”. The men he confronted were members of the South African Police Service. While going for his usual afternoon jog along the […]
Barry Streek, Marianne Merten and Glenda Daniels Documents in the possession of the Mail & Guardian show that Bheki Jacobs, the man the presidency sought to rubbish this week as the alleged source of information suggesting wrongdoing in the R43-billion arms deal, is a highly trained intelligence operative who, until the end of last year, […]
South Africa’s batsmen might not relish the prospect of playing at Queen’s Park Oval, where seven of 16 innings have fallen short of 200 John Young The Proteas arrived in the Caribbean on Wednesday with good memories of South American hospitality. A cricket writer’s 30-year-old verdict still applies: “Hospitality is more than a preoccupation, it […]
The Mole, a bizarre tracking device that was rejected by the British, is burrowing its way into South Africa Mail & Guardian reporters They did it in Star Trek, and now they think they can do it in downtown Johannesburg. A security and surveillance company based in Selby is planning to import a device from […]
whipping boy You’d have to be a pathetically easy touch to get excited about the modest horseracing fare on offer this weekend. A couple of grey cards at Scottsville in KwaZulu-Natal and Gosforth Park in Gauteng make up the Saturday programme and on Sunday the action, such as it is, takes place at Durbanville, in […]
David McKay Anglo American plc appears to be winning greater acceptance in its adopted country after shifting its primary listing to London during 1999. This follows a vigorous shakedown in the group’s non-resource businesses as well as signs that the long-standing and unpopular cross-holding between Anglo and De Beers is to be unbundled. These developments […]
But some organisations argue that might still not be enough to compensate the qualifying 17?000 victims of apartheid Jubie Matlou The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) estimates the costs for reparations to victims of apartheid atrocities will be R3-billion. The amount is cited in a final report the TRC will submit to the Office of […]
Pat Schwartz The subject was “What the f … [sic] is going on with theatre in South Africa”. The panel consisted of theatre luminaries, critics, a representative of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST), a university cultural officer and a web master (yes, well, you may ask). The audience was a mixture […]
David Macfarlane Vastly changed global trends in the job market, in combination with South Africa’s massive unemployment rate, now place unique pressures on individuals seeking to make themselves employable. And with the government having launched its National Skills Strategy in February at a major conference in Midrand, private-sector initiatives to help people help themselves should […]
Township tourism has vast potential to attract foreign visitors to South Africa, but amateurism and mediocre standards could have the reverse effect, reports Khadija Magardie Like their famous television namesakes, the South African version of “The A-Team” are proud of their ability “to get the job done”. But where the guys on the box relied […]
Paul Kirk One of Durban’s top policemen resigned this week after allegedly being caught attempting to extort R10 000 from a city doctor. The resignation of Superintendent Christie Marimuthu comes days after he was arrested by members of the police anti-corruption unit and formally charged with extortion. Marimuthu had allegedly called a Durban doctor into […]
A close partnership between organised labour and the government has contributed to turning Singapore into an economic success Glenda Daniels In a matter of a few years, Singapore transformed its economy from that of a developing country to a high-tech, knowledge-based system by restructuring its economy and upgrading the skills of its people. There are […]
The ANC attempted to end a Scorpions investigation into corruption in the province and instead deal with the matter ‘internally’ Justin Arenstein Former Mpumalanga premier Mathews Phosa’s allegations about a plot to discredit him in top political circles look set to backfire after a key witness dramatically retracted his affidavit this week. The retraction came […]
Thuli Nhlapo This week Alexandra residents who were forcibly relocated to Diepsloot Extension One last month waited in vain for a delivery of water. “The people who bring the water in a truck said we must go and ask [Nelson] Mandela to give us water because they are not paid to provide for so many […]
JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Friday FORMER Mpumalanga premier Mathews Phosas allegations about a plot to discredit him in top political circles look set to backfire after a key witness dramatically retracted his affidavit this week. The retraction came amid suggestions that Deputy President Jacob Zuma had attempted to quash criminal investigations into Phosas associates. The […]
Why has the world No 1 lost his aura of invincibility? Because he has been left trailing in a technology war, says Bill Elliott He is known as the genius of the greens, the phenomenon of the fairways and the most awesome golfer ever. But the supposedly unbeatable Tiger Woods has apparently been cut down […]
Belinda Anderson Energy group Sasol predicts that it will earn at least R12 a share for the year, which at a share price of R60 is a price to earnings ratio of five, compared to a market price to earnings ratio of about 13. In other words, it would theoretically take investors just five years […]
Jaspreet Kindra Delegates to an international body studying guidelines for intervention in the affairs of sovereign states have expressed concerns about Zimbabwe during discussions in Maputo. Meeting last weekend at an African Round Table discussion hosted by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, delegates expressed “real anxiety” about the situation in Zimbabwe. The […]