Staff Reporter

THREE cheers for Frene Ginwala, speaker of the National Assembly, for apologising for the role of her predecessors, now colleagues in the government of national unity, in devastating neighbouring Mozambique. She said what had to be said, and she did it with appropriate dignity and forthrightness. It is unusual for a speaker of parliament to […]

Justin Pearce AIDS is the linking theme among the 70 films which have been brought together for a festival starting in Cape Town tonight — and they range from Aids — Life at Stake (a Kenyan Jim-goes-to-Nairobi tale about a migrant worker who contracts HIV in the city) to Safe is Desire (“learn how to […]

Opinions differ widely on how Muslim law can be brought into line with the new constitution, writes Justin Pearce When Nelson Mandela visited Cape Town in 1993, he made sure his itinerary included a turn through the Bo-Kaap, that venerable neighbourhood which is home to South Africa’s oldest Muslim community. Here the president- in-waiting assured […]

THREE times British wrestling champion Dave Morgan promises to have his opponent carried out of the ring in a coffin when he meets India’s Gama Singh at Turffontein’s Wembley Indoor Arena on Friday night. Described by promoters as a wrestling explosion, this is the first South African event to attract five international wrestlers. Four of […]

The property market has turned, but it has not yet gathered momentum. Reg Rumney reports The property market is at long last showing signs of a sharp revival. Boland Bank’s latest Economic Review notes that both the value and volume of property market transactions have been accelerating gradually for around 12 months. The reason is […]

The unbundling of Johannesburg Consolidated investments has been a damp squib. Reg Rumney reports The unbundling of Johannesburg Consolidated Investments into three, separate and more focused companies has been received with little enthusiasm. It was announced this week that JCI would be split into three separately listed companies on May 15: * Anglo American Platinum […]

Vusi Nhlapo is either hailed as a hero or reviled as a mindless militant. Eddie Koch meets the man in charge of the union behind the conflict at Wits BURLY, tough-talking, and uncompromising would be useful adjectives to describe Vusi Nhlapo, except for the fact that they belie an air of loneliness, a hint of […]

Analysis: Anton Harber AN Inkatha Freedom Party decision to quit the Government of National Unity will set the scene for a period of intense conflict between the central government and kwaZulu/Natal. The IFP agenda is clear and has been expressed by senior leaders: to cement their provincial base and launch a strong push for regional […]

As a ship filled with nuclear waste heads for South African waters, environmental groups are concerned by the government’s lack of action, writes Inge Ruigrok DOES silence mean permission? A ship conveying 14 tons of the most concentrated nuclear waste ever transported, including a deadly cargo of bomb-grade plutonium, is likely to sail through South […]

Julius Kaliya in Blantyre Malawians are up in arms over a unilateral decision by the government to triple the producer price of the staple maize. The government announced the producer price of maize will go up from April 1, but did not indicate how much the retail price will be. ”I don’t think most people […]

It’s been a long season for South Africa’s cricketers and in their final match they have a tough task against New Zealand CRICKET: Krish Mi’rams SOUTH AFRICA’s final international appointment of the 1994/95 season will be, perhaps, their most difficult assignment. On the face of it New Zealand would not seem to pose too many […]

Sugar cane fields are at the centre of a conflict involving a Natal community which says it has been left out of the land-restitution process. Weekly Mail THE electricity poles disappear on the road to Ezimwini just before the tarred road turns to dust, but sugar cane cloaks the surrounding hills almost to the first […]

SAILING: Jonathan Spencer Jones AFTER 29 days and 16 hours at sea, Frenchman Christophe Auguin on Sceta Calberson arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay, to win the third leg of the BOC Challenge singlehanded around the world race with a new record, some one day 11 hours better than the previous record set by compatriot […]

Stefaans Brummer THE detailed information on Winnie Mandela’s alleged corruption supplied by police immediately after their raid on her house and other premises came as a surprise to many, not least of them Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi. Police tend to play their cards close to their chest in investigations relating to corruption and […]

Native tongue Bafana Khumalo THE SAUK, nice place that is, has received more abuse than a whore on a good night for business. It started with the Nationalist white male going out of his way to make sure that the good aunt was going to prostitute herself for the cause of apartheid. Well, like a […]

Steuart Wright in East London FORESTRY officials are racing against the clock to find a mate for the sole surviving elephant of the world- famous herd which roamed the Knysna forest at the turn of the century. Trouble is, they’re not sure of the sex of the Three young Kruger National Park cows were relocated […]

Sources say the IFP has no alternative but to quit the government of national unity and form a vocal backbench opposition. Weekly Mail & Guardian Reporter THE Inkatha Freedom Party is likely to pull out of the Government of National Unity but return to parliament before the expiry of the 15-day deadline that could see […]

SOCCER: Clinton Asary WITH educational facilities around the country in the news as they fight for transformation, Wits University, at the forefront of the struggle, will be pleased to know that it’s soccer side has completed the process with unqualified success. On Saturday the “new” Wits face their first real challenge when they meet Kaizer […]

Clive Simpkins Talk about tweaking the tiger’s, or is it the pussycat’s, tail? There were howls of protest from the advertising industry at my comments in the February 17 column Selling with a nudge and a wink, on phallic or sexist advertising, defending their use of it in order to “stand out in a crowd”. […]

Mapula Sibanda A ONE-MAN strike by a University of the North (Turf- loop) academic has plunged the university’s optometry faculty into a crisis. Deputy dean Sipho Ndlela, who has worked in the department for 21 years, was suspended in the middle of January after refusing to mark 1994 third and final year examination papers. His […]

Lewis Machipisa in Harare Zimbabwe’s four-year-old economic structural adjustment programme (Esap) has failed to meet its key targets, despite strides to implement the austere measures, says a report by a leading Zimbabwean bank. According to the strategic planning division of Standard Chartered Bank, the government has not been able to check its extravagant spending, money […]

Stefaans Brummer ONE of the men allegedly involved in the 1982 bombing of the ANC offices in London is now an Anglo American security supervisor. John Adam is one of the seven alleged bombers named by former South African agent Craig Williamson two weeks ago when he confessed to his own role in the London […]

They may be provincial teams but the Super 10 matches will be vital as a pointer to the strength of the international teams for the World Cup RUGBY: Jon Swift THERE is more than just Super 10 points riding on the outcome of the opening games in this matching of the top rugby sides in […]

Late bloomer: Bungu can add to belated acclaim against BOXING: Gavin Evans VUYANI “The Beast” Bungu is a young man who was groomed to be one of life’s worthy supporting acts, and yet has somehow risen to the foothills of fame, fortune and more than a dollup of mass acclaim. Of all South Africa’s boxing […]

GOLF: Jon Swift WHILE this country basks in the glow of a memorable inaugural win in the Alfred Dunhill Challenge at Houghton, there are some areas which requrie some thought before next season’s professional tour kicks for next year, there is no Dunhill Challenge to take the edge off some of the problems which lurk […]

THERE is a common belief that the ANC’s fiery four — Winnie Mandela, Bantu Holomisa, Peter Mokaba and Rocky Malebane-Metsing — are too powerful and too popular among the grassroots for the party to deal with them firmly and adequately. This is a myth that needs to be Most of the power and influence of […]

Eastern Cape Premier Raymond Mhlaba sent an uncompromising signal to civil servants throughout the country last weekend, reports Steuart Wright THE quelling of a police strike in Transkei at the weekend is the first decisive step the government has taken to bring the troubled former homeland to heel. The siege of Umtata by about 200 […]

SAILING: Jonathan Spencer Jones THREE weeks into the third leg of the BOC Challenge single-handed around the world race and Christophe Auguin sailing Sceta Calberson has become the first of the entrants remaining in the fleet to round Cape Horn. Auguin, who days earlier had notched up a record 350,4 mile 24-hour run, passed about […]

Weekly Mail Reporter READY or not, Africus: The Johannesburg Biennale — South Africa’s debut on the global fine arts circuit — will be throwing open its doors to the public on Tuesday, February 28. With luck, buildings and roads will have been completed, a dignitary secured to make the opening speeches, and art works will […]

Apartheid policies turned the Transkei homeland into a disaster area which will take years to repair, writes Louise Flanagan IT’S underfunded, marginalised, demoralised, has little infrastructure or communications, and its services are collapsing. It’s one of apartheid’s worst legacies and it’s now the Eastern Cape’s biggest nightmare. It’s the former Transkei homeland. Since the April […]

SOCCER: Clinton Asary THE South African under-23 squad is currently on a two- pronged mission as it aims to qualify for the All Africa Games finals in Harare this September, and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Should they beat Lesotho in their All Africa second round second leg encounter in Maseru on Sunday, the Super Squad […]

THEATRE: Guy Willoughby IN a programme note to Macbeth, at the Alexander Theatre, director Craig Freimond observes that Shakespeare’s great plays “are so well known that it becomes difficult to find fresh readings of them, and even if you do, there will be many who disagree with your interpretation”. Quite true, but the inevitability of […]