Staff Reporter

Mail & Guardian Reporters PUBLIC Protector Selby Baqwa’s baptism of fire over the Sarafina II debacle has drawn a mixed reception from political parties and commentators. The Inkatha Freedom Party slammed his performance, saying Baqwa had been “unfair to the public which demands transparency”. The party’s health study group deputy chair, Jeanette Wilikazi, said he […]

Rehana Roussouw The public protector, Selby Baqwa, has been asked to investigate alleged corruption by senior government officials during a takeover of Paternoster Fisheries. Paternoster’s plight was highlighted at a parliamentary portfolio committee hearing in June which investigated complaints in the fishing industry. The committee decided Baqwa should investigate the downfall of the village. “The […]

Fay Davids Linda Adams of Corporate Childcare leads the pack in lobbying for the provision of childcare at work. She’s knocked at the doors of this country’s major corporations to get them to start creches. Her perseverance is paying off. “More companies are requesting feasibility studies.” The Liberty Life creche is one of three that […]

Max Gebhardt South Africa’s censors have banned public viewing of the movie Kids and are even considering prohibiting private ownership. Kids is by all accounts a disturbing movie. While HIV-positive Jennie lies half-comatose on ecstasy after visiting a night club, she is raped by a teenage boy — just one scene from the new movie […]

Shaun de Waal DURBANITE folkie and sometime leader of The Utenstils, Syd Kitchen, plays jazz-singer/guitarist on City Child. The opening song is a charming if ambivalent miniature of growing up “to city freedom” and “city hatred”, and from there on the songs flow easily one after the other. In terms of its sound, the album […]

The failure of inflation figures to reflect the rand’s plunge raises doubts about the data’s accuracy, report Madeleine Wackernagel and Mungo Soggot SCEPTICISM about the reliability of South Africa’s statistics is spreading to inflation figures in the wake of repeated complaints about the accuracy of the monthly trade numbers generated by Customs & Excise (C&E). […]

Angella Johnson Police say they are beginning to make significant inroads in the fight against organised crime, following the arrest of a seven-man gang in connection with the manufacture of mandrax tablets. The men, including a British chemist, were nabbed last Monday after a month-long police surveillance operation in Lichtenberg unearthed a major drug- making […]

Max Gebhardt Mega-university Unisa is sinking under the weight of deepening labour-related crises. Vice-chancellor Marinus Wiechers says he is considering using deadlock procedures and dispute resolutions allowed under labour law to resolve continuing troubles on campus. Staff and academics on the Pretoria campus have called for his resignation, saying Wiechers failed to provide effective leadership […]

THEATRE: Andrew Wilson OPENING night of Return To The Forbidden Planet at the Victory Theatre was a riot. Amid tables sagging under schnapps and snacks, the audience, before the show, mingled with crew members of the space ship that was to take them on a lavish rock-and-roll space adventure. Two hours later they left with […]

Marion Edmunds The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), in a quandary after the snubbing of the KwaZulu-Natal constitution, cannot decide whether or not it should return to the national constitutional negotiating table. And while the Constitutional Court did refer the issue of provincial powers back to the national constitution-makers for revision, the judgment allows little scope […]

Censorship may be at an end in South Africa, but can the public accept the ramifications of this freedom? Katy Bauer reports ON Monday this week the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) heard two submissions from the public which challenged the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s revolutionary broadcasting of controversial gender material. What linked […]

FINE ART: Hazel Friedman Local Colours is like a one-stop spaza experience for the new South African. Mind you, while it doesn’t quite match the hyperrealism of a Disneyland tour, it also serves as a sort of technicolour theme park for the culturally curious. Curated with a quirky eye by Karen Harber, Local Colours is […]

Next week the world will gain insight into the mind and motives of South Africa’s most accomplished assassin as he enters the dock, writes Eddie Koch Colonel Eugene de Kock, the man billed as South Africa’s most accomplished assassin, will round off one of the country’s most extraordinary murder cases when he goes into the […]

Staff reporters The National Party has refused to confirm or deny that it received a multi-million rand donation from business tycoon Sol Kerzner. The Mail & Guardian understands Kerzner gave the NP about R2-million before the 1994 elections. Sun International had not responded to questions put to it before going to press. “The NP regards […]

Lynda Loxton The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) this week gave notice that it was losing patience with the way the African National Congress-led government, in its rush to attract foreign investment, was failing to consult its old alliance partners. General Secretary Sam Shilowa told the parliamentary finance committee that it was “unacceptable” […]

Ann Eveleth MBONGENI NGEMA’S musical career has not fallen apart in the midst of the Sarafina II controversy, but the financial uncertainty around the future of the Aids education musical has angered some of his friends in the entertainment industry. Ngema, whose production company Committed Artists was evicted from its Durban offices last month after […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Trade and industry minister Alec Erwin has confirmed that long-awaited discussions over the new competition legislation begin in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) today (Friday), two years after the government first drew up plans for a new framework. Says Erwin: “In terms of an agreement reached between Nedlac and [former […]

A DOCUMENT that dissects weaknesses crippling the African National Congress’s potential to overturn National Party dominance in the Western Cape and spells out a new strategic path for the party has given a fresh twist to the race for ANC leadership in the region. The 16-page document, ANC: A Home for Everyone — A Political […]

A Home Affairs employee went to the ends of the earth on a hunch he had about a `refugee’, reports Marion Edmunds Home Affairs official Jaco Duckitt is a man of initiative. In a bid to do his duty and uphold the law, he flew to Tanzania this year to establish the identity of man […]

William Fotheringham surveys the history of cycling’s most coveted record, which Chris Boardman broke this week CYCLING’S greatest of greats, Eddy Merckx, rated the one-hour track record as a “once in a lifetime” test of willpower and strength. Miguel Indurain, five- times winner of the Tour de France, struggled to break the record in 1994, […]

With Alan Greenspan changing his views on inflation, a split in the Federal Reserve may be a possibility, reports Mark Tran in New York It is time to reassess Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s image as a party pooper. The usual view of Greenspan is that of an anti-inflation hawk, quick to tighten and slow […]

A CONFIDENTIAL briefing document sent to African National Congress organisers warns that sacked deputy minister Bantu Holomisa intends mobilising support against the decision to expel him and suggests urgent action to “neutralise” his campaign. And it emerged this week that senior ANC members tried to warn President Nelson Mandela that his decision to axe the […]

Ann Eveleth DURBAN millionaire Vivian Reddy this week hit back at the Democratic Party with claims that the party’s “vicious” criticism of Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma were backed by powerful interests in the pharmaceutical industry. Lashing out at DP health spokesman Mike Ellis after he gave credence to reports linking Reddy to Sarafina II’s R10,2m […]

Designed to get working mothers back on the job as soon as possible, many businesses are opening up their own childcare facilities, writes Fay Davids THE high-pressure environment at Liberty Life is getting to Kyle and Wesley. It’s only 11am and already they’re at blows. It happens often these days, say staff, looking on wearily. […]

WARRING factions in the African National Congress Women’s League have been told to patch up their differences and come together to jointly plan a crucial and long-overdue national conference to take place before the end of December, when fresh leadership elections will take place. The move marks the start of what ANC leaders hope will […]

Jodi Sherlock The South African magazine market has become increasingly competitive in the past two years and aggressive marketing has become essential in order to ensure that readership levels are maintained. As part of a magazine marketing plan, the subscription drive may prove to be a vital element. Not much is known about how subscription […]

South Africa have lost twice to Australia and coach Clive Barker will want to rectify that, but he also has Ghana and Kenya to worry about SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi HAVING already established their reputation on South African rugby and cricket fields over the years, Australia will make their soccer debut in the Simba Four Nations […]

Jacquie Golding-Duffy provides a first taste of Comtask’s findings on the South African Communications Services and the print industry Deputy president thabo Mbeki’s task group on government communications — Comtask — will recommend that the South African Communications Services (Sacs) be dissolved and replaced with a new and much leaner government structure. This will allow […]

Sandton businesses and residents are boycotting rate hikes. But residents of Alexandra — a Sandton suburb where people are more used to boycotts — told the M&G they thought Sandton residents should pay up ` It is very infair for the government to increase rates by 300%. I think the residents of Sandton are right […]

TELEVISION: Jacquie Golding-Duffy SOME people regard Rescue 911, the American show that follows police, paramedics and/or firemen on emergency calls as a “gripping show” where ordinary people are recorded in moments of absolute terror. The show, say some, offers descriptions of unbelievably scary moments, of stories thatdefy belief and keep viewers glued to their seats; […]

Mungo Soggot Now that the dust has settled on the Constitutional Court’s ruling, federalists are realising that they got less than it had at first appeared. Only a fraction of the main political parties’ complaints succeeded. Said the court: “The basic structure of the Constitution is sound and the overwhelming majority of the requirements of […]

Happy Tom Thousands of poor people in the Eastern Cape are benefiting from cattle and sheep rustling which is devastating commercial farmers in the region. “Thandi”, a 45-year-old woman who lives in the Joza township, Grahamstown, has three hungry children to feed. Tonight they will feast. Thandi has a whole sheep in her fridge. It […]