SIX West African nations have signed an agreement to adopt a common currency by 2003, the Wall Street Journal reports. A joint declaration last week by leaders of the English-speaking countries of Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia, as well as French-speaking Guinea, also calls for possible monetary union with eight francophone West African […]
Peter Dickson and Barry Streek One of the Eastern Cape’s most influential lobby groups for farm workers and dispossessed rural communities, the Transkei Land Services Organisation (Tralso), warned this week that the slow processing of land claims in the aftermath of apartheid could lead to Zimbabwe-style property invasions in the impoverished region. “The issue cannot […]
In her next book, JK Rowling’s trainee wizard Harry Potter will discover that ‘girls are quite interesting’ Stephen Moss There was no sex in the books I read as a child – and I rather liked it that way. Would William have thought of kissing Violet Elizabeth Bott? Did Julian harbour fantasies about George (or […]
Air Gabon flies to Libreville from Johannesburg and back once a week on a Sunday. Tickets cost about R3 880, call (011) 289-8114. Before you leave, a yellow fever injection is a state requirement: your certificate will be checked at the airport on arrival in Libreville. You will also need to take malaria medication. We […]
Andy Capostagno RUGBY The Super 12 has reached the point of no return. Those coaches who have invested in slide rules to calculate the lowest number of log points required to reach the semi- finals can throw them away on Monday if their teams lose this weekend. That goes for John Connolly of the Reds […]
A BI-NATIONAL agreement aimed at boosting trade between South Africa and Vietnam was signed in Pretoria on Tuesday. Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Lindiwe Hendriks said the agreement will open the doors of trade for both countries and that it will serve as a legal framework to safeguard the interests of the businessman. Amongst other […]
Maggie Davey On my first day of boarding school, at evening prayers in the chapel, the clergyman played a trick on us. He whispered something to the people seated in the pews nearest to him and asked them to relay the message to those of us in the back pews; a distance covered of at […]
Mary Dover Taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Burj Al Arab or Arabian Tower – the world’s first seven star hotel – has opened in Dubai. The hotel is part of a three-part leisure paradise along the Jumeirah coastline, combining the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the recently opened Wadi Wadi waterpark, which boasts […]
Claude Kabemba CROSSFIRE In his book, Africa works: Disorder as Political Instrument, Patrick Chabal gives an account of African leaders who orchestrate violence for political gain. This book gives a clear account of what is going on in Zimbabwe. While President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu- PF’s approach to land can be justified, it is also true […]
Heather Hogan Home owners, already taxed to the hilt, can expect to face yet another burden if the new Property Rates Bill, which aims to tax the public on the value of all improvements made to their properties, is passed. Ratepayers who already pay varied amounts on the value of the land will now have […]
THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission has about R290-million sitting in its coffers, but cannot distribute it to apartheid victims because it does not have the necessary clearance from the government. To date about R31-million in urgent interim relief has been distributed to victims, Hlengiwe Mkhize, head of the TRC’s reparations committee, said on Monday. The […]
World-wide, rap is a billion-dollar industry, but in South Africa it still has a way to go Thami Masemola Myth: country music outsells everything in the United States. Fact: rap music is the biggest selling genre in the $6-billion annual US market, capturing close to 15% of it. Myth: only black inner-city youth are into […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The family and widow of a Witwatersrand University security guard who was arrested, shot and killed while in police custody in March are to sue Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete for R400 000. The family has instructed the Wits Law Clinic to demand the compensation after their son, Nicky […]
Africa Sechaba ka’Nkosi Angolan journalist Andre Domigos Mussamo went on trial this week, charged with revealing state secrets in an article that never appeared in his newspaper. Authorities described Mussamo’s critique of President Jos Eduardo dos Santos, based on a provincial governor’s letter, as containing “highly important information of a military nature”. Mussamo, who wrote […]
offensive Howard Barrell President Thabo Mbeki jetted to Algiers on Friday, taking his diplomatic offensive on the crisis in Zimbabwe a step further amid grave concern in South African circles about pre-election violence against opponents of President Robert Mugabe. Mbeki was expected to meet privately with Mugabe in the Algerian capital over the weekend. Observers […]
SOUTH Africa’s roads have claimed 170 lives since the start of the Easter break, Arrive Alive said on Thursday. The highest incidence of fatalities was recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, with 33 people losing their lives. The Northern Province, Mpumalanga and the Free State each reporting 24 deaths. Sixty five pedestrians, 71 passengers and 34 drivers have […]
Didi Kriel is the driving force behind the music of Antjie Somers, the musical currently playing to excited throngs at the Nico Theatre Guy Willoughby Didi Kriel is a self-confessed theatre workaholic: “God knows how many shows I’ve created, arranged, accompanied since 1983! When did I last have an evening off?” He kindly squeezed in […]
Attempts to revive the Boy Scout movement in Gauteng are underway following falling membership numbers Thebe Mabanga There was a time, in many townships, when the sight of young boys clad in khaki uniforms was a common one. Boy Scouts have always enjoyed a curious and ambivalent relationship with society, soliciting admiring stares and inane […]
survivors Khadija Magardie A joint venture between the private sector and the government to set up “one- stop”rape clinics across the country is floundering amid concerns that the government is not fulfilling its side of the deal. The clinics are supposed to offer rape survivors medical treatment, counselling and facilities to make a police statement […]
Jaspreet Kindra A fresh cycle of political violence has gripped KwaZulu-Natal in the run-up to the November local government elections, with Inkatha Freedom Party stronghold Nongoma the centre of this storm. The town has been witness to the killing of at least two IFP leaders in a fresh burst of violence in the past two […]
ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Friday 11.00am THERE was a big win for Orlando Pirates, a little win for Kaizer Chiefs and a thrilling draw between Free State Stars and SuperSport United when the dust had settled on the Wednesday night Castle Premiership action. Pirates were five goals ahead of hapless Mother City within 35 minutes […]
Michael Grant is toned and in tune for his fight with Lennox Lewis Donald McRae ‘Hold on, baby,” a strange voice whispers down the phone, “the man is on his way. He’s runnin’ at ya …” I can hear him coming. Michael Grant is 2m tall, weighs over 115kg and slams across the floorboards in […]
Bryan Rostron Recently I sat for half an hour with a man from an NGO and hardly understood a word he said. The way his words washed over me, you might have thought we didn’t share a common language. In fact, he was English-speaking. But he talked in “NGOese”. It is striking that those who […]
Mabel Banda would like to take her child back to Malawi, but the nine-year-old’s South African guardians are applying for custody Heather Hogan A Rhema pastor is embroiled in a custody battle over a nine-year-old girl, left in his care by her mother, an illegal Malawian immigrant, who now wants her back. To complicate matters, […]
Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH The scene: Mid-morning at Stagnant Pool. Many insects are flapping about in the greenish-brown-black water, which smells badly. Some are fanning themselves on blades of grass. Male Anopheles mosquito:Whnnnnngggggg! [Translation] Hey, Mama, feel like a little fooling around? Nothing like a warm morning like this to make you remember […]
Matthew Krouse CDs OFTHEWEEK Ns (Hannibal) is Virgnia Rodrigues’s second album. According to Internet sources she is a 35-year-old ex- manicurist and domestic worker from the slums of Salvador. On the cover of her latest album you can see the star of Salvador, who now makes her music in Brazil – centre of the Latin-American […]
ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Johannesburg | Friday 3.00pm BAFANA coach Trott Moloto’s late naming of his squad for the Cosafa Cup match against Lesotho has had two casualties in more club-versus-country rows. His surprise recall to Switzerland-based striker George Koumantarakis has been turned down by his club Basle, while Free State wing back Thembe Seli will also […]
It may seem that unions’ days are numbered, but labour is devising new ways to deal with globalisation Glenda Daniels Trade unions locally and internationally are on the defensive. They appear to be faced with the challenge to submit or fight changes in the economy. In reality, something in between, a third way, is emerging […]
John Matshikiza WITH THE LID OFF Everybody’s an expert on racism these days. Even people of historically racist stock (HRS for short) have a born-again take on the subject. It was supposed to be an easy-going, late-night ramble in Lusaka. I was talking to Sakala, the Nyanja-speaking Danish Viking, about When We Were Kings, the […]
Ex-premier Mathews Phosa is the major shareholder in a company offering the public a ‘budget price’ legal service Khadija Magardie Mathews Phosa, the former premier of Mpumalanga and the head of the African National Congress’s legal department, has reinvented himself as “the people’s lawyer”, selling his legal services to the public – for R30 a […]
Ike Broslovski For most South Africans, the words Krushed’n’Sorted (K&S) are directly associated with their favourite pastime: a dope-induced suspension of reality that happens when the job is done and the toys have been scattered out to play. In Cape Town, however, those very same concepts have been given a new dimension by drum’n’bass DJ/producers […]
Shaun de Waal MOVIE OFTHEWEEK It was Edward Said who, in his book Culture and Imperialism, pointed to an aspect of Jane Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park that had not been much remarked upon. It was slavery. Such a heavy issue may seem at odds with the sequestered world of Jane Austen, who compared her […]