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 […]
Gaye Davis PETER MOKABA’S elevation to deputy minister has brought a sigh of relief by members of the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Environment Affairs and Tourism. They hope that as deputy minister he will make the portfolio more of a priority than he did when he was chair of the committee. Intended to function […]
Philippa Garson WHETHER doctors should get more training and give some service to society at the same time is less in dispute than whether the country — and the students — are ready for it. The Interim National Medical and Dental Council has been criticised for implementing radical changes to the profession before the legwork […]
White strategists were the main beneficiaries at the IFP’s national conference, reports Ann Eveleth The Inkatha Freedom Party stood on the brink of the 20th century last weekend, but its leadership took one look into the future and scurried back to the 18th-century domain of kings Shaka and Cetshwayo. Joining forces with conservative British advisers […]
Forget city-centre clubs. An innovative label is taking jazz back to the townships, reports GWEN ANSELL LAUNCHING new music into South Africa’s notoriously conservative market isn’t easy. So, you ask youself, is the B&W label entirely sane to mix new music with an equally innovative marketing strategy? Very much so, according to the label’s South […]
Angella Johnson and Stuart Hess Crime fighting in South Africa is being hampered by a 22 479-person staff shortage in the South African Police Service, according to a study carried out by the SAPS. Research conducted by the police human resources division found that the ideal national headcount for the SAPS to function effectively should […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Mark Gevisser Profile A voice of truth and dissent My comrades and friends killed my granny with fire… But before that, they sucked her breasts dry… so that she could burn well This poem by Sandile Dikeni, soon to be published in the upcoming two-volume edition of Staffrider, must be the most devastating and […]
Jacquie Golding-Duffy IN the next five years, the effect of strikes in the clothing industry will be minimal as the clothing sector will have collapsed. South Africa will be forced to embrace imports, argues Econometrix economist Tony Twine. Twine says the economy, while in a transitional phase, will not benefit from a strike in the […]
Large multinationals in Zimbabwe have been criticised for not putting blacks in top spots, reports Iden Wetherell Sixteen years after Zimbabwe’s independence, company chairmen may be black but chief executives are still mostly white. This is so even in companies where the government has a majority share. Skewed recruitment patterns which overlook local talent led […]
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 […]
CRICKET: Barney Spender MAYBE it was the belated arrival of the sun. Maybe it was just that the cobwebs were well and truly shaken off. Maybe it was simply that the getting-to- know-you process was over. Whatever the formula, the South African A cricket tour to England took a noticeable turn last week as everyone […]
Art was put in service of advertising in the spectacle that was BMW’s Sandton Square sculpture garden. IAN TROMP reports `IN the beginning there was silence.” Not even powerful lighting and loud music could redeem the voice-over accompanying Revelations in Form, an exhibition that was really a product launch for BMW’s new 5 Series. A […]
In the wake of the disastrous Mossgas `market testing’ exercise, it has emerged that the government effectively turned down a R1-billion bid from the Saudis. Mungo Soggot reports In the week that President Nelson Mandela led a top- level delegation to Europe on a “sell South Africa” mission, the government turned down an offer by […]
WHEN University of Zululand lecturer Mandisa Hlatshaneni resisted hijackers who were trying to steal her car on campus recently, she was shot dead. The evening before, student Sibusiso Mehlo was murdered two kilometres from the same campus, allegedly by the same notorious “Khumalo gang”. Incidents like these are becoming almost commonplace, shattering the illusion that […]
Joshua Amupadhi The University of the Orange Free State (UOFS) has at last admitted there may be racial tensions on its campus and has agreed to investigate the causes of campus violence last week — which university authorities earlier dismissed as the result of drunkenness. UOFS Dean of Students Professor Teuns Verschoor said both black […]
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 Western Cape ANC is under pressure to abandon an unwritten rule that its chairperson be coloured, Rehana Rossouw reports SENIOR sources in the Western Cape ANC say a major shake-up is required if the party expects to challenge the National Party in 1999 for control of the province. Following their crushing defeat in urban […]
A TRICKLE of mourners gathered at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg this week to pay their final respects to Peta Teanet, the king of Shangaan disco who was killed on July 13. Apart from Mzwakhe Mbuli who acted as master of ceremonies, there were few high-profile artists to honour their slain colleague, and no […]
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 […]
Leading into the the last round of a major tournament is one of the greatest tests of nerves, especially if it’s the British Open GOLF: Mark Lamport-Stokes AMERICAN golfer Mike Reid, on leading the 1989 US PGA going into the decisive fourth round, expressed a common human reaction to the pressure-cooker situation in which he […]