Why does photographer Ian van Coller cut off the heads of his subjects? SUZY BELL finds out IN the beginning, the gods gave all the seeds and plants to the animals of the world to grow. Mabuyu was given to the hyena, who unfortunately was very last in line, and he was so upset he […]
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 […]
Justin Pearce JOHN ASPINALL, right-wing zookeeper, multimillionaire gambler and friend of Mangosuthu Buthelezi, is eyeing KwaZulu-Natal as the site for his next casino. This was confirmed by Lazelle Krog, the province’s director of policy and legislative development in gaming and betting. Aspinall’s casino empire is based in London, with operations in France and New Zealand. […]
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 […]
Controversy over the government’s banning of the gay rights group Galz is jeopardising the future of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, reports Iden Wetherell IT would be difficult to imagine a more tranquil scene: the Harare Gardens in early August; the first hint of summer as temperatures climb; the scent of jasmine and the tinkle […]
Stefaans BrUmmer A WEEK after Major Pierre Buyoya seized power in Burundi, South Africa is still wondering what to do about it. While Buyoya has been told his government will not be recognised, there is no clear path for South Africa’s policy-makers. Western powers have put considerable pressure on President Nelson Mandela — most recently […]
TELEVISION: Charl Blignaut AS the public broadcaster of a developing nation, the SABC was given all its Olympic footage for free. But, not the type to pass up an opportunity to prove its commentators “can match the world’s best”, the corporation decided to make up for all the money it had saved by sending no […]
The Tembisa tragedy has highlighted South Africa’s disastrous public transport system. Stuart Hess, Joshua Amupadhi and Justin Pearce report Wednesday’s disaster at Tembisa station on the East Rand, which left 15 dead and at least 50 in hospital, was a bloody reminder of a deep crisis in South Africa’s public transport system. “Some stations are […]
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 […]
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 […]
Nine murders, five attempted murders — that’s this year’s toll in Jo’burg’s roughest `hood. Angella Johnson visited Westbury this week JOEWA BOTHA leaned nonchalantly against the graffitied wall. He knows the risk of standing on a street corner — a target for drive-by gang shooting. “Look!”, he said, as he pointed excitedly at pock-marked plaster. […]
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 […]
OLYMPIC athletes looking to work off the effects of too many steroids had better watch out: they could run foul of some bizarre laws dating back to the days of Scarlett O’Hara which were designed to keep Southern morality intact. Oral sex carries a possible life prison sentence in the state of Georgia. There are […]
Marion Edmunds IT’S being called the Group Areas Act for immigrants. Foreigners who acquire permanent residence status in the new South Africa will not be allowed to move home from one province to another for a year after their application is approved. Nor will they be able to change jobs without permission from the Home […]
Human rights abusers are staying away from the truth commission — and the attorneys general are being blamed, reports Stefaans BrUmmer THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been left in the lurch by those it needs most to solve the mysteries of the past — human rights abusers — and attorneys general are being blamed […]
Eddie Koch South Africa’s first legal dagga plot — an experimental project near Rustenburg in the North West province — has just completed pioneering research which could provide farmers with a lucrative new cash crop. The Tobacco and Cotton Research Institute (TCRI) recently produced a report on a two-year research project aimed at developing a […]
Alliances are unlikely to make opposition parties more powerful against the ANC, writes a sceptical Marion Edmunds Opposition parties have begun flirting with each other in the post-election political lull, in an attempt to find common ground and sharper definition against the ANC, before the1999 ballot. And while meetings between political parties lead to speculation […]
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 […]
The Media Monitoring Project has charged that the media industry is understaffed, under-resourced, and not critical enough of the government, writes Jacquie Golding-Duffy MEDIA coverage of the government is more positive than negative, reports an independent monitoring group. The report, in which the Media Monitoring Project (MMP) considered print and broadcast media between April and […]
Richard III, on circuit this week, was sent into the world as a play. Ian McKellen talks to MARK LAWSON about bringing the killer king to cinema IT is a depressing fact that most of the best comic anecdotes turn out to be false. European movie fans last year enjoyed smugly chortling at the story […]
Eddie Koch The Post Office, the institution which once symbolised bureaucratic incompetence, could be converted into a rural bank which will stimulate a thriving small-farm economy in the countryside. The lack of banking services in the platteland — along with soaring levels of rural crime — is fast becoming a major block to the government’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
Justin Pearce SOUTH African Airways’ sponsorship of the Olympic team’s trip to Atlanta cost about R25-million, the Mail & Guardian has learned. SAA spokesman Leon Els would not comment on the sum involved, but said the sponsorship money came from SAA’s promotions budget and was part of a broader business plan. SAA has recently been […]