Justin Pearce Telkom has taken to barring certain phone lines to international calls, in an attempt to “protect” its clients from fraudsters. A Johannesburg Telkom official admitted this to the Mail & Guardian after the newspaper was approached by a telephone user who found certain international numbers were blocked to her after hours — even […]
Vuyisile Hlatshwayo After four years of lying idle, the Maputo Sugar Terminal is now in full swing following overhaul and modernisation by the Swaziland Sugar Association and the Zimbabwe Sugar Association. Since June 10 1995, the two associations have exported 283 000 tonnes to the European Union (EU). Mozambique and Zambia also send small consignments […]
There is a temptation to dismiss Robert Mugabe as a figure of fun. But the time has come — following his government’s attempt to ban the participation of gays in the Zimbabwe book fair — to get serious with the man and let him know that we regard his continued displays of homophobia as a […]
French producer Anatole Dauman, in SA for a festival of his films, is one of a kind: an entrepreneur with artistic vision. He spoke to ANDREW WORSDALE ANATOLE DAUMAN, one of the leading figures in European auteur cinema, wastes no time on pleasantries. No sooner were we introduced than this legendary French producer burst into […]
If Bantu Holomisa had heeded President Mandela’s appeal that he apologise, his sacking could have been avoided, writes Gaye Davis PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela tried to persuade axed deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism Bantu Holomisa to apologise for remarks he made about Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau before the truth commission, saying this would […]
Justin Pearce The State Archives has allowed the Mail & Guardian access to cabinet memoranda, which were for years kept locked away in terms of the Archives Act. But a search through the papers revealed nothing that would have caused the collapse of the South African state — though some very telling documents do stand […]
Tentacles of the fraud octopus will `be chopped off with a sharp machete’, reports Justin Arenstein THE former head of one of Mpumalanga’s regional councils, Gerhard Smith, went down in history as the main tentacle of a “muddy and smelly octopus” this week after he was fingered for milking at least R3,24-million from the province. […]
THERE is much wailing in the ranks of the medical profession at plans to extend the qualification period for doctors by two years. While there are grounds for protest at the way the issue is being handled, it is difficult to understand what is wrong with the principle. Unfortunately the proposal is surrounded by a […]
In art-world terms, he’s not even out of diapers — but everyone wants a piece of Moshekwa Langa. HAZEL FRIEDMAN finds out why MOI? Artist Moshekwa Langa doesn’t exactly respond “But why me?” to my request for a meeting, and certainly not in French. But everything about his reaction — from the almost hysterical giggle […]
Apart from six palaces — one for each wife — Swazi King Mswati III earlier this year bought a hotel, it has been discovered SWAZI King Mswati III has bought an R8-million hotel in Mbabane at a time when the homes of many of his subjects are being repossessed by Swaziland’s banks. Both the price […]
South Africa’s giant port authority, under new directorship, faces up to the growing pressures of burgeoning trade, writes Lynda Loxton Newly appointed Portnet executive director Sipho Nyawo had an unusual brainstorming session in Cape Town this week to help him map out what should be done to the giant port authority to meet the needs […]
Kevin Watkins FIVE years into an economic reform programme that was supposed to transform Zimbabwe into Africa’s answer to the Asian “tiger” economies, Edith Chido is still waiting to see the miracle unfold in Epworth, a dusty settlement a few kilometres from the capital Harare. “They speak of the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Programme (Esap) on […]
Lynda Loxton Amid signs of slower economic growth and continued lower inflation, Sanlam this week launched a gilt unit trust to provide mainly institutional investors with an alternative to equities. Senior portfolio manager Kobus Louw told a media briefing that the upsurge in share prices after South Africa’s re-entry into the world economy had just […]
Mungo Soggot THE petrol price is expected to drop 8c/litre from Wednesday in the wake of a stable rand for most of last month and a softening in international fuel prices. Motorists would have enjoyed a 9,5c a litre decrease, but it is understood Transport Minister Mac Maharaj has taken advantage of the favourable fall […]
No one prospered more than the Suharto clan as Indonesia escaped from grinding poverty, writes Paul Hunt FOUR government ministers mingled in a crowd of thousands at the launch in Jakarta of the Cakra and Nanngala, characters in the Ramayana epic whose names now adorn two sleek saloon cars. Organisers laid on models, traditional puppet […]
Black empowerment means more than just having black faces in the newsroom, argues Jacquie Golding-Duffy MAJOR newspaper companies seem to be lagging behind on the issue of black empowerment, focussing instead on doing their bit for affirmative action by training journalists and other staff. Although some print conglomerates have attempted to address black empowerment, others […]
Justin Pearce Sponsored programming continues on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in defiance of its own policy. Until last year, a regulatory vacuum left the way open for programmes which promoted commercial products under the guise of educational material, in return for sponsorship. Late last year, the SABC introduced a policy restricting the screening […]
Elsa Semmelink A platform for South African businesses to establish new contacts in the United States and Canada has been established by Rainbow Business Network International (RBNI), a Gauteng-based company which will present trade and tourism networking sessions and mini-expos lasting two days in major commercial centres in the US and Canada in October and […]
Bank chiefs condemn `blatant misinformation’ in a confidential report, writes Madeleine Wackernagel The Reserve Bank has hit back at accusations of racism, brought by Cosatu at last week’s bank collusion hearings and based on a confidential report by CS First Boston. Says deputy governor, Dr Timothy Thahane: “I took up my appointment in April, some […]
Tebello Radebe Do not unbundle or break up South African conglomerates; rather hit them with heavy fines if they abuse their power, says a United States specialist. “Breaking up a monopolist does not necessarily create competition. A small economy might not be able to support a large number of competitors in an industry which requires […]
Despite two losses, South Africa are showing plenty of promise, except when it comes to handling the referee RUGBY: Jon Swift `SEAN FITZPATRICK,” remarked South African coach Andre Markgraaff dryly, “tends to have that effect on people.” The reference was to the now infamous head-butt laid on the All Black skipper by John Allan in […]
With 2% at stake, Western Cape clothing workers are to make history by striking for higher wages, writes Rehana Rossouw The clothing workers’ strike is their first in the Western Cape for higher wages. Although there have been work stoppages over the years, never before has there been a co-ordinated strike by the overwhelming majority […]
DONNING a security uniform and patrolling one’s campus may seem as uncool to students as belonging to Girl Guides. But these days, soaring crime on campuses has led students to rethink the value of “cool”. With armed robberies, car hijackings, rape and even murder becoming increasingly commonplace on campuses, the idea of being a student […]
Rob Davies discusses the implications of a free trade agreement for South Africa’s neighbours with Lynda Loxton As the South African government continues to finalise its mandate for negotiations with the European Union on a free trade agreement (FTA), the ramifications of such a deal are becoming more complicated. African National Congress MP and trade […]
SWIMMER Penny Heyns has shown the way for the South African team with two gold medals for the 100m and 200m butterfly evets. Marianne Kriel also finished among the medals with a bronze in the 100m backstroke. Now it’s the turn of the athletes and none has a better chance than 800m sensation Hezekial Sepeng. […]
RUGBY: Jon Swift THROUGHOUT the tragically under-promoted Student Rugby World Cup which came and went with barely a ripple over the past month, there was the feeling that this was a shop window of one of South African sport’s biggest failings … the big things we do well, in the lesser concerns we do dismally. […]
The world has learnt some sobering lessons about intervention in civil conflicts in the past few years. The United States experience in Somalia led to a consensus that it was foolhardy for an international power to intervene when the political groundwork had not been done beforehand. Peacekeeping could only work when the parties wanted a […]
Chris McGreal in Kigali Burundi’s beleaguered Hutu president, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, has sought refuge at the United States ambassador’s residence in the capital, Bujumbura, and appears ready to relinquish office amid fears that he could become the third successive leader of his country to be assassinated. The overwhelmingly Tutsi army denied this week that there had […]
A group of black farmworkers and a few tough white boers in khaki have worked together to turn their farm into a record-producing money-spinner, reports Eddie Koch The Lomati Valley, a fertile piece of subtropical bushveld that lies in the shadow of the Lebombo Mountains in Mpumalanga, has produced some of the hardiest of South […]
delivery Tebello Radebe Private developers look set to be next in line for criticism over slow housing delivery. So far, the government and the banks have borne the brunt of most of the attacks. A report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), the focus of a housing workshop in Johannesburg next week, recommends that […]
Lynda Loxton A leading member of the South African Communist Party has called on the government to take tough action to stop the “investment strike” by the private sector. African National Congress MP and SACP central executive committee member Philip Dexter told the Mail & Guardian that business seemed intent on pitting members of the […]
A feud between Iscor and a Namibian businesswoman over a zinc mine has taken a new twist, reports Mungo Soggot A Namibian zinc mine is the focus of an acrimonious billion-rand battle between the daughter of a German Jew who fled the Nazis to prospect in Africa and steel giant Iscor. When Mose Kahan on […]