Andy Capostagno : Rugby Des McGahan said: “The Hong Kong Sevens is bulletproof,” and the Irishman who has looked after the international media contingent for years may well be right. The Asian stock markets crashed last year and one of the victims was a loan company which had taken over the title sponsorship for the […]
Andy Duffy The University of the Transkei (Unitra) is to embark on a massive reshape involving widespread job losses after a drop in its government funding. Management plans include rebuilding and streamlining the university’s academic programme, merging operations, farming out non-core activities and cutting staff perks such as housing allowances. The proposals follow a large […]
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 […]
Andy Duffy The African National Congress is engaged in frantic lobbying among its Western Cape branches to ensure that Ebrahim Rasool is the only contender to succeed Dullah Omar as the party’s provincial leader. Nominations for the post are open until April 13, but insiders are already spinning the line that Rasool, the provincial caucus […]
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 […]
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 […]
Andy Duffy The government is poised to again delay the introduction of the new school curriculum after its launch earlier this year missed at least 20 000 primary schools, one in five of the schools targeted. Provincial report-backs for the first term of the school year show that up to half of the primary schools […]
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 […]
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 […]
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” […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Andy Capostagno : Cricket It must be something in the genes. National team selectors of any sporting code from any country are usually men (or women) of experience and intelligence with an understanding of the pressures and complexities of their particular game, individuals who talk genuine horse sense on the golf course or in the […]
FRIDAY, 1.45PM: THE new “Get Tough” policy of the Premier Soccer League’s disciplinary committee was demonstrated first hand to Kaizer Chiefs on Thursday night, as they were fined R77500 on two counts of bringing the League into disrepute. The club has to pay R52500 within 30 days after admitting to both charges against them. Chiefs […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Alan Henry : Formula One Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard crushed the opposition for the second time in a month as their McLaren-Mercedes cars sauntered to an unchallenged one-two in the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday. McLaren’s domination of this second round of the championship, without the benefit of their controversial secondary braking system, was […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Suzy Bell Clay – ubumba -has never looked so glamorous. “Ceramics!” sniffs Kobus Moolman, the education officer of the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg, as his hand waves at the magnificent historical and contemporary collection of ceramics now on exhibit. There are delicate animal studies by Hezekile Ntuli from the 1930s, voluptuous beer vessels in […]
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. […]
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 […]
Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer It has been the worst of times and the best of times for Doctor Khumalo, the Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana icon, who comes closer to walking on water than any other South African soccer star. Just how popular Doctor is was driven home with a forceful bang at FNB Stadium […]