Staff Reporter

In June, the <i>M&G</i> ran a series of letters and articles that claimed the social movements and "radical academics" do not get their facts right. Our research on water cut-offs was included in this criticism. In our 2002 publication, we argued that at least 5,5-million people, and as many as 9,8-million people, had been affected by water cut-offs over a seven-year period. David McDonald exercises his right to reply.

For all his extraordinary track record (movies, record albums, live performances, political interventions that have placed him centre stage in a number of extraordinary debates and confrontations) Harry Belafonte at the age of 77 remains his tall, handsome, gracious self.

It was with a sense of grey despair that I read of a young father in England being forbidden, by some politically constipated magistrate, either to live in his home or to see his son for six months. Daddy had – in my opinion, quite rightly – given his son a smart couple of smacks on his backside when the boy tried walking in front of a moving car.

Swaziland’s diminishing indigenous tree species will be exhausted within 20 years at the current rate of exploitation, nature conservationists warned this week. "This disappearance of Swaziland’s fuel wood is imminent in some areas, while other areas face the extinction of all indigenous trees in a matter of years, based on the rate of current consumption," said a leading nature conservationist.

A Zimbabwean commuter will spend Christmas in jail for calling President Robert Mugabe "thick-headed", the <i>Herald</i> newspaper reported on Wednesday. Arnold Bunya (29) was arrested on December 1 after an argument with his brother on a bus during which he admonished his sibling by saying: "Do not be thick-headed like Mugabe."

"In keeping with the holiday mood, the "oh, who cares about the horrific state of the world and all the suffering" theme more or less continues this week, with a selection of odd sites with which to kill time. (To help cover all the bases as the year winds to a close — if you’re curious about what you didn’t hear about in 2004, take a look at The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2004.)" Ian Fraser reveals these and much more.

Brian Molefe personifies the activist new leadership of the Public Investment Commission that has forced the PIC to centre stage in the past 12 months. For years the PIC was the dozing giant of asset management, socking away billions of rands in government pension money and keeping a low profile. But that has changed dramatically. We speak to Molefe, the CEO who is trying to use the PIC’s muscle to force changes in corporate South Africa.

Twelve pre-schoolers from Roodepoort in Gauteng have silenced sceptics by learning to read in just four weeks. The children, aged five and six, are in Grade R at King’s School and were selected to participate in a four-week programme developed by a company specialising in literacy programmes.

Debtor delinquency, the need for notarial bonds and the number of judgements have all declined over the past 12 months. This is according to the latest KreditInform barometer, based on a survey of more than 100 major corporations, with the majority from the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, mining and agricultural sectors.

Standard Bank has further extended its positioning as a global emerging-markets specialist with the conclusion of a sizable, mortgage-backed securitisation transaction in Hong Kong. Standard Bank Asia, the Asian arm of the Standard Bank Group, has closed a landmark securitisation transaction for Hong Kong-based Pan Asian Mortgage Company.

Eskom recently launched the Dindi Fish Farm in the Dindi community near Pietermaritzburg, as part of its programme to establish sustainable projects in needy communities. The fish farm is a small remote facility specifically for the raising of African catfish, <i>Clarias gariepinus</i>.

The Sudanese government said on Friday that peace negotiations will be meaningless if ceasefire violations persist in crisis-torn Darfur, just hours before talks were to resume in Nigeria. "The recent violations by the holders of arms will cast shadows on the negotiations," Cabinet minister Abdallah Safi al-Nur said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=176405">UN envoy fears failure of Darfur talks</a>

On the African continent, growth is projected to accelerate to 4,5% in 2004 — the highest since 1996, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) says in its latest quarterly economic bulletin released on Friday. The SARB said global output growth gained momentum from about mid-2003.

A letter from Sasol chief executive Pieter Cox to two senior government ministers over the nomination of a black female director to the liquid fuel giant’s board illustrates how fearful the company is of the presidency. Cox wrote to Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel last week to "clarify matters" about his company’s clash with the Public Investment Commission.

South Africa’s inflation outlook generally remains positive, but there are certain developments that will have to be monitored closely by the monetary policy committee to ensure that inflation remains within the target range, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Business&ao=176320">No change in interest rates</a>

Sixty-four suspected mercenaries accused of participating in a foiled coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea have won the right to appeal their sentences for minor offences in Zimbabwe, court officials said on Thursday. Judge Chenembiri Bhunu granted their request to appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.