Staff Reporter

David Macfarlane Staff at Vista University, who are withholding their identities for fear of victimisation, have sent a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, Minister of Education Kader Asmal and Parliament’s public accounts committee detailing a horrific history of mismanagement, embezzlement of funds, abuse of power and nepotism at the university. The letter recalls the hopes […]

Catherine Woeber the coyaba chronicles: reflections on the black experience in the 20th century by Peter Abrahams (David Philip) Coyaba is the name the writer Peter Abrahams gave to his home in the hills above Kingston, Jamaica, in which he settled with his wife Daphne in 1956. It signifies a place of refuge and tranquillity, […]

Gwen Ansell theatre It’s 20 years since Gibson Kente’s Mama and the Load played at the Market Theatre. So the playwright/director’s return last night with his new play,?Ezakithi (It Is Us), was something of an occasion. But although it won him a standing ovation from much of the audience and gave him a chance to […]

Maureen Freely Body Language Do you ever look at your husband when he’s fast asleep and wish he were someone else? If you answered yes, Laura Doyle, America’s new self-help queen, has some bad news for you. The person you should be blaming is yourself. The biggest mistake you ever made was throwing away your […]

David Macfarlane and Glenda Daniels The hot seat of Wits University vice-chancellor looks set to be occupied for the first time by a woman. Two of the three shortlisted candidates are women: Professor Leila Patel, currently Wits’s deputy vice-chancellor and vice-principal, and Professor Norma Reid, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Plymouth in the United […]

The Forum for Debating Aids in South Africa responds to ‘All the president’s scientists diary of a round-earther’ On September 8 2000 the Mail & Guardian published an article entitled, “All the president’s scientists diary of a round-earther”. On December 14 2000 the Appeal Panel of the Press Ombudsman decided in favour of a complaint […]

Pat Schwartz food They do everything better in Cape Town. We know this because Capetonians keep telling us they do. So when I set off to compare the buffet lunches at Cape Town’s Melissa’s and Johannesburg’s The Service Station, I expected to return home humbled and destined to be perpetually dissatisfied. Not at all! Melissa’s […]

ANC parliamentary committee members could become more cautious about questioning the executive for fear of losing favour with the leadership Barry Streek The controversy surrounding the role Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) will play in the inquiry into government’s R43-billion arms deals and the determination of the African National Congress to whip its […]

The trial of one-man entertainment empire Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs began last month. Gary Younge on the case that will bitterly divide America whatever the verdict Take one African-American star with crossover appeal, add mixed-race relationship and heat until steaming. When simmering, place in a city with a recent, well-publicised history of racist policing. Bring to […]

Several South Africans on expeditions to find the famed fossil fish have died in diving-related incidents, reports Niki Moore It is the classic stuff of horror movies: intrepid adventurers open a tomb or explore uncharted territory and unleash a terrible curse. One by one, the expedition members die a horrible death. Several South Africans have […]

Khadija Magardie There is at least one case of cancer in nearly every family and the children have been diagnosed with stunted growth in Steel Valley, a collection of smallholdings about 10km outside the industrial town of Vanderbijlpark. Now residents are asking the courts to intervene to stop a mining company from polluting their land. […]

Michael Johnson, the greatest athlete of his era, is about to retire. In a rare interview, he talks about his rivals (or the lack of them), relaxing (he can’t), and the one race he’d like to be able to run again Laura Thompson So what does the world think of Michael Johnson? That he is […]

Most government departments have failed to submit their annual reports on service delivery to the HRC Fred Esbend The South African Human Rights Commission has identified gross ineptitude among heads of government departments as the number one contributory factor hampering effective social service delivery. This shocking public disclosure emerged during its hearings held in Port […]

Lorna Sage’s prize-winning Bad Blood is just the latest sensation in a growing trend, writes Claire Armistead The late Lorna Sage was a professor of English with some distinguished academic books to her name. But the work she will be remembered for is a childhood memoir. Bad Blood carried off the Whitbread biography award, only […]

Cedric Mayson Spirit Level Let us hope we hear plenty about sex from our pulpits this weekend. Next week is National Sexually Transmitted Disease and Condom Week, and understanding about controlling sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and HIV/Aids is needed in every sector of society. Many of our friends are HIV-positive and we may be ourselves. […]

Phumla Mthala Crossfire Rehana Rossouw questions the South African Human Rights Commission’s recommendation that the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions should consider a prosecution of Shane McCallaghan, the alleged producer of a racist CD (“Have we lost our sense of humour?”, February 2 to 8). While the commission recognises McCallaghan’s right to freedom of expression, […]

Ntuthuko Maphumulo The administrator of the University of the North and his management team were forced to leave the campus last Friday when about 100 students and non-students occupied their offices. Professor Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed by Minister of Education Kader Asmal last year after the university’s vice-chancellor, Biki Minyuku, was suspended following staff complaints […]

The ANC’s reaction to inquiries into the arms deal is not surprising considering its steady centralisation of power Tony Leon The decision by South Africa’s Parliament in November last year to launch an investigation into the R43-billion arms deal was seen by some as evidence that Parliament was finally flexing its constitutional muscles. One prescient […]

Dave Simpson CD OFTHEWEEK Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst has made a career out of dividing people. For the eight million fans who bought his band’s two albums, he is an iconic spokesperson of post-millennial alienation. For the rest, Limp Bizkit are social pariahs in bad shorts, whose on-stage behaviour was widely blamed for last year’s […]

The Angolan rebel movement appears to be stockpiling weapons from new sources Sechaba ka’Nkosi Former Eastern bloc countries have emerged as the main suppliers of arms to Angola’s Unita rebel movement as fears mount in the international community that rebel leader Jonas Savimbi may be stockpiling weapons. A report by the United Nations monitoring team […]

Jaspreet Kindra A SECOND LOOK Should a developing state lose strategic control of assets that provide basic services? Debates are raging within the government and the tripartite?alliance over whether the state will be able to fulfil its social and?developmental obligations once privatisation takes hold.? This debate has been rekindled with the expected market entry of […]

Guy Willoughby theatre Continuing the buoyant spirit of the festive season, the Cape revels in a new batch of intriguing new home-brewed shows that foster, in different forms, the unfolding cusp-millennial local genius. Most curious is the odd congruence of two dance-theatre explorations, Tango del Fuego (just ended at the Oude Libertas, Stellenbosch) and Sex, […]

A ruling to reinstate workers has stirred debate over the Labour Relations Act Glenda Daniels The controversial Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) arbitration ruling to reinstate 1300 workers who went on an illegal strike a year ago is exposing serious flaws in labour legislation. It also reinforces a disturbing trend in which courts are failing to […]

Marianne Merten Township homes in Hermanus, a seaside resort near Cape Town, are being auctioned off because of service arrears dating back to 1994 despite an innovative “pay as you use” scheme meant to ensure access to water for everyone. This Friday seven homes are on auction in Zwelihle; six homes went under the hammer […]

Andy Capostagno golf Woodhill Country Club in Pretoria celebrates its second birthday in style this week by hosting the South African PGA Championship. Through a deal with the Sunshine Tour, Woodhill will be the host for South Africa’s second-oldest event for the next three years. The prize fund is R1-million, which might appear small potatoes […]

Graham Welch and Justin Arenstein Irate staff at the beleaguered Afrikaans talk station Punt Radio laid criminal charges against their managers this week and ordered attorneys to apply for the company’s urgent liquidation. The staff including high-profile presenters, journalists and former managers have not been paid salaries for two months. They allege that Punt has […]

Roshila Pillay British recruitment agencies are aggressively poaching South Africans to address the severe teacher shortage in that country. The head of education personnel for Britain’s Department of Education, Chris Williams, will arrive in South Africa this month on yet another recruitment drive. “They [the recruitment team] went last year, and they were really successful, […]

Barry Streek Parliamentary oversight over the Cabinet should play a significant role in ensuring the delivery of constitutionally guaranteed socio-economic rights and the entrenchment of a rights-based culture, delegates to a seminar in Cape Town said in a declaration this week. They also concluded that the separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and […]

Neal Collins soccer Europe looms. Months ago, the only thing we footie freaks talked about was the Champions League. You remember those heady days in early December: Leeds beating Lazio, Arsenal getting stuffed by Spartak Moscow and boring Manchester United winning both of their second phase games so far. Seems like years ago, doesn’t it? […]

SWAZILANDS central bank has proposed far-reaching tax reforms to lure lifeblood investors following a 31.5% drop in foreign direct investment in 1999. The bank said the slump in investment flows – largely a result of the poor performance of key players in the export sector – coincided with a deteriorating trade account balance. The central […]

SEKUNJALO Investments, which has obtained a R92m 13% share in Siemens Southern Africa, was interested in acquiring a further 10% holding in the electronic and electrical engineering giant, Sekunjalo chief executive Iqbal Surve said this week. Siemens Southern Africa chief executive Klaus Doring said a price could not be put on the 10%. Sekunjalo, which […]

SCIENTISTS working on a primate research project near the Kenyan coast fled a protest by more than 300 naked women against plans to turn their land into a national park, newspapers reported on Wednesday. The dozen scientists carrying out a census of rare red colobus monkeys in the Mnazini area of Tana River district last […]