Re-skilling and counselling are the new norms for retrenchments, writes Charlene Smith More and more people are facing retrenchment as companies have to let go of the old to make way for the new – take the large corporation that recently retrenched 80 top managers to make way for affirmative action appointees. Restructuring – and […]
Charlene Smith A retrenchment package will often be the largest lump sum a person ever receives and the temptation is to spend all the money, hoping tomorrow will take care of itself. Each year employees contribute R27-billion to retirement funds – and those who lose their jobs rarely make sensible re-investment decisions. Hermie Rossouw, regional […]
Mail & Guardian reporter The value of pregnant women’s urine just hit the equivalent of a Wall Street high this week, when scientists published the discovery of a protein that can reportedly wipe out tumours caused by Kaposi’s sarcoma, an Aids-related cancer, and inhibit the reproduction of HIV, the virus that causes Aids. The protein […]
Dawood Dithato International tributes poured in this week for President Ketumile Masire of Botswana, who resigned this week before his term of office ended. After 18 years as head of state, Masire ducked out of office as his party began to face the challenge of preparing for its toughest election battle next year. The tributes […]
Mungo Soggot The liquidators of mining company Amalia want to undertake a forensic audit into how the company raised money from the public, how the money was spent and whether insolvency laws were broken. Auditors Coopers & Lybrand were called in to liquidate the company last month after a high court order which followed Amalia’s […]
Wally Mbhele, Stefaans Brmmer and Carlos Cardoso The military “disinformation” report handed to President Nelson Mandela in February and the arrest of Robert McBride have backfired on old-guard remnants within the country’s security forces whom the government believes could have been involved in a huge destabilisation campaign against the democratic order. It appears increasingly likely […]
Stefaans Brmmer Mininster of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi has shrugged off murder claims against Superintendent Lappies Labuschagne, the member of the police team investigating Robert McBride – but now Mufamadi faces civil action for the death of one of Labuschagne’s alleged victims. Mufamadi and police Deputy Commissioner Zolisa Lavisa have resisted calls for Labuschagne’s […]
Paul van Woudenberg : Mountain biking Dutch-born athlete Bas de Bever has claimed his greatest downhill mountain biking victory in Stellenbosch, the serene town Afrikaners see as their cultural home. This time last year, he hurtled down the vineyard-clad slopes of Botmaskop, about a kilometre east of Die Moederkerk in the centre of town, to […]
Andy Duffy A teacher at a state school in the Northern Province has shot himself, apparently because he was caught netting four salaries a month for one job. The Gazankulu teacher was trapped when he tried to collect the pay cheques during a sting operation the province set up last month to expose “ghost workers” […]
Wally Lambert and Charlene Smith : Share World Top-performing redevelopment share African Harvest is looking to list in Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania and will at a later stage seek a banking licence with Coronation Holdings. African Harvest is one of three companies listed in the redevelopment sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the most […]
Jonathan Proctor is the former head of Bop Broadcasting Corporation. The bte noir of Lucas Mangope, he aired certain programmes well before Aunty-SABC dared. Publicity-shy and independent, this is a broadcaster with a plethora of skills. He will lead e.tv for five years with Richard Magau as his deputy. Magau is an all-rounder from Bop-TV […]
Mail & Guardian reporter Chief land claims commissioner Joe Seremane is threatening to take the government and the African National Congress to the International Court of Justice in a desperate attempt to solve the murder of his younger brother, Timothy Seremane, at the infamous ANC Quatro camp in 1982. Seremane’s latest salvo against the ANC […]
Ronald Suresh Roberts : Crossfire In an unprecedented and conspicuously fact-free attack on the personal integrity of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (“A short leap to dictatorship”, March 27 to April 2), Lizeka Mda explicitly elevates what she herself calls “urban legend”, “rumours” and “perception” to the realm of serious political analysis. To her, Mbeki is […]
Lizeka Mdacity limits To create room for visitors to her home, Noluthando Mrasi takes out a bucket filled with soiled diapers and a laundry basket. Then she pronounces the place ready. It isn’t really. You step in and then don’t know where to go, and step out again. Mrasi’s 3m-by-2m shack is home to her […]
Dirk Hartford : Right to Reply The Mail & Guardian last week published suggestions that Yfm radio secured its licence through improper political intervention by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (“A short leap to dictatorship”, March 27 to April 2). Let us state at the outset that Yfm never sought, nor are we aware of, any […]
Mish Middelmann ‘To hell with having our cake and eating it,” Microsoft seems to be saying, “we want the whole damn bakery!” Two weeks ago, Reality Bytes said Microsoft products were declining in quality, while the company begins to undermine its own flagship of universal compatibility. But neither Microsoft nor Bill Gates are stupid or […]
Dror Eyal The dust is blowing in from the east. Sand clouds that whip the air, flay my skin, sting in my eyes. Dust in each breath I swallow, grit grating between teeth, sticking in my throat. Dust in my food, dust in my beer. Winds blowing up a storm in front of the main […]
Tangeni Amupadhi Members of a vigilante group in Alexandra township have vowed to continue fighting crime despite the killing of two of their members by alleged criminals in one year. Petrus Mathibela (30) was shot dead on Sunday when he and 100 other Comrades – the name the vigilante group uses – tried to raid […]
A broadcasters’ bid. That’s what Midi believes won it the right to run South Africa’s new private television station. Other bids may have been stronger on business plans (Midi’s plans were criticised for changing after the closing date) and legal agreements (other bidders suggest that they still haven’t yet seen a watertight shareholders agreement from […]
Johnny Masilela Now that the censorship restrictions of the old order are no more, are South African writers tackling political issues with vigour? No. As they emerge from the influence of the so-called language boards, which directly or otherwise restricted South African writing in the African languages, our new writing is not necessarily about politics. […]
Robert Kirby : Loose Cannon Squinting down from my ivory tower of white privilege, I am wont to say just how encouraged I am to be called a snobbish elitist, hardly distinguishable from a khaki-clad Neanderthal. What’s more, called all these names by someone who knows exactly what he’s talking about. And no, this column […]
In the hotseat at Midi TV Swapna Prabhakaran At first glance, Jonathan Proctor does not look much like the television executive he is. He wears no tie and has an open, immediately likeable face. He looks controlled and calm – he could be an aeroplane pilot or a professional golfer just off the green. Look […]
Charlene Smith South Africa has one of the fastest growing franchise markets in the world and with retrenchments on the increase, interest in the sector is growing. Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said franchising had proved to be successful in 65 industries in 100 countries around the world and would continue to […]
Telebook, a recently launched international online bookstore, has established a Cape Town branch. Adatabase of more than 1,2-million books can be searched, by title, author, key word, subject, publisher or ISBN number. At present there are four databases: English, German, Spanish, and Dutch titles, with the addition of Afrikaans and French soon to take place. […]
Arnab Neil Sengupta : A Second Look For weeks now, the Congressional Budget Office and the White House have been crowing about the United States government’s first budget surplus in 30 years. The rough estimate – $8-billion – is small change by US standards, but it is likely to grow over several years. Whether this […]
Manne Dipico : Right to Reply I categorically deny the allegations made against me by Dean Snyders (“Manne Dipico framed me”, March 13 to 19) and wish to draw your attention to several distortions. The journalist who wrote the report did so without reference to my office. I believe that Sechaba ka’Nkosi, despite being a […]
The finale of the private TV channel bid was nail-biting and the fall-out spiteful, writes Ferial Haffajee Around the world, races for private television licences are known as beauty competitions. While the finalists in the contest for South Africa’s prized new private television licence didn’t parade in swim-suits and the judges didn’t make flimsy jokes, […]
The editor, Phillip van Niekerk, replies to claims against Mail & Guardian reporter Lizeka Mda: Lizeka Mda’s article was merely pointing to a pattern of perception about the leadership style of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. In politics – despite what Ronald Suresh Roberts says – perception is everything and even hallucinations, if they are genuinely […]
Ann Eveleth South Africa’s rural poor gave a stern warning to the government this week as the first round of Speak Out on Poverty hearings opened in the Northern Province. Dozens of rural participants from across the arid, sun-drenched province crowded into church halls and community centres to tell their stories of desperation and survival […]
For the time being, war-torn Sierra Leone has no standing army of its own. But Chief Sam Hinka Norman, reappointed as deputy minister of defence, says he has other forces to call on. “If you point your rifle at me, you may believe it, it will not strike me,” he says. “When all this is […]
David Shapshak The South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) can retain the Springbok emblem, but it will have little significance if the National Sports Council revokes Sarfu’s national representation, says council president Mluleki George. “They can use it if they want, but not on behalf of South Africa. It can only be a national emblem […]
Emeka Nwandiko They sell from beneath tarpaulin tents, on top of planks of wood, at street corners and on pavements, at half the price in stores, but street hawkers find that even selling at rock-bottom prices does not attract buyers. “There has been no business this year,” says Hibrahime Theophile from Togo, who sells fresh […]