Staff Reporter

Thabo Mohlala Not so long ago, it was a rare sight to see a black person, let alone a woman, driving a train. This was because certain categories of jobs, including train drivers, were reserved for white people. However, as political change gains momentum, some black people have broken job barriers, but the beneficiaries are […]

analysis Richard Tomlinson When it comes to housing, the worst off are the worst served. Housing international best practice is based on delivery to a family, and so too is South Africa’s housing policy. In both, the conception of the family is that of a Western nuclear family. The consequences are to bar access to […]

Glenda Daniels More than 50 000 delegates from around the world are expected at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa next year making it a bigger event than the recent United Nations conference on racism. South Africans have begun to formulate their positions and representation for the summit, due to be staged […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The Eastern Cape legislature this week reacted with shock at a damning report showing horrific details of sexual abuse, rape and exploitation of teenage pupils at provincial schools. The report, which was compiled by the legislature’s standing committee on education, revealed how teachers at a number of provincial schools used their […]

Telkom plans to provide South Africa with direct telecommunication links to the rest of Africa in the near future Jubie Matlou Apartheid South Africa’s isolation was not confined to political, economic and cultural areas alone, but also extended to telecommunications links with the rest of the world. Before 1994 direct telecommunications links between South Africa […]

A 21-year-old rape survivor has decided to pursue her attackers in a civil court action Sizwe samaYende An angry Mpumalanga woman who believes she has been betrayed by the country’s justice system is quietly making history by suing the two men who allegedly raped and impregnated her. The 21-year-old teaching graduate decided to take up […]

Ngwako Modjadji It has taken five years for tertiary student organisations across South Africa to discuss and prepare to launch a national federation to unite students and their organisations. But now politics is threatening to derail the plans. The Pan African Students’ Movement Association (Pasma) and the Azanian Student Congress (Azasco) say the National Student […]

Michael Hartnack With the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Brisbane, Australia, scheduled to start on October 6, hopes are high in Zimbabwe that President Robert Mugabe will face censure from world leaders. Leaders of the 53-nation grouping will consider whether Mugabe’s regime is beyond the pale on human rights after nearly two years of […]

The disgraced former cricket captain went to court to try to overturn his life ban from the game Khadija Magardie Given all the claims of impecuniosity from the gabled manors of Fancourt beforehand it should come as no surprise that when his day in court finally arrived this week, Hansie Cronje’s chief objective was to […]

Story and photographs by Fanie Jason The trigger for this photo essay was a news story. In December 2000 I covered a story about a family of three in Khayelitsha a young mother, father and their three-year-old daughter who died of Aids-related illnesses within 24 hours. At that stage, I was becoming aware of the […]

Justin Arenstein and Dumisane Lubisi Kruger National Park’s new intelligence unit has exposed and fired a “racist mole” accused of leaking damning evidence of corruption in the game reserve’s Satara Camp. Mariet Bodenstein allegedly stole and leaked a forensic report detailing corruption, mismanagement and theft by three black senior park officials that resulted in losses […]

Horse of the Year Celtic Grove will be a warm order to win his debut as a four-year-old in the R200000 grade 2 Skeaping Trophy over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday. The handsome Fort Wood gelding has notched up four of his 10 wins (from his past 13 starts) to date over this testing mile, […]

Mail & Guardian reporter A milestone that marks Telkom’s evolution is the upgrading of its network facilities from analogue to digital all to ensure network reliability, efficient service delivery and the expanding of its range of services to corporate and individual clients. Today Telkom boasts more than 200000km of fibre-optic cable in its network and […]

Shady, quiet streets featuring bougainvillea, backgammon, coffee and persecuted felines still exist on the Greek islands, writes Angus Begg It’s late May 1987. The time is somewhere around 8am down at the harbourside in Piraeus, Athens, and hundreds of backpackers and students are milling about, smoking, sitting on pavements, hassling for cheaper tickets … waiting. […]

Two professionals working in corporate social investments are clear about what it takes to make it effective. Jackie Mondi spoke to them You have to have the CEO or company chairperson committed to Corporate Social Investments (CSI) for it to be effective, say Lulu Letlape of Telkom Foundation and Mercia Maserumule of Murray & Roberts. […]

Julia Beffon A couple of days ago, thinking about writing this article, I hauled out some pictures from the first Johannesburg gay march. The photos show a younger, rain-drenched me tarting a banner for the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (Glow) along the streets of Hillbrow. Eleven years down the line I cannot […]

The theme of the M&G for the last fortnight has been: “Of course it was horrid to kill all those Americans but …” In terms of editorial integrity, this fits snugly with your snivelling apologies for giving the Democratic Alliance too much attention. So, the Americans have warts; they have prosecuted unseemly policies and promoted […]

analysis Thabo Masebe South Africa’s democratic government stands accused of serious crimes against its own people. Is it guilty as charged? Methinks the charges are based on fallacious and dangerous hype. Much has been said about our government’s economic policies that might convince a casual observer that the government is pursuing policies inimical to national […]

Mail & Guardian reporter After the success of its 2000 academic bridging programme, Gensec Bank has extended the programme and is now investing a further R817500 in upgrading the skills of promising formerly disadvantaged students. A year ago 20 young people who matriculated in 1999 were given the opportunity to improve their matric results to […]

By end of March 2001, Telkom had: * 129 ATM points of presence across the country. * Installed 374 062 Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) channels providing end-to-end digital connectivity to business. * About 1 196 000km of optical fibre in the network. * Installed 343-million kilometres of transmission circuits with 792 000 ports. * […]

Glenda Daniels and Nawaal Deane Amid signs that half a million public service workers have voted to strike, government upped its wage offer in state sector wage talks to 8,5% for lower paid workers and 6,5% for others. Indications from a nearly completed ballot process show that the majority of union members has voted in […]

My name is Phumzile Dlamini. I am a postgraduate student of Museum and Heritage Studies living on Robben Island. I am writing to respond to “Lesotho steps intto Robben Island ray” (September 21) The article used a fictitious name for a survivor of sexual harassment on the island that resembles my own. The names Phumla […]

Bongani Majola Vista University continues to appoint senior management personnel despite its imminent dissolution. This is prompting Vista academics to question the institution’s commitment to the National Plan for Higher Education. And Vista unions have formally declared a dispute with the university over the management appointments. Minister of Education Kader Asmal’s national higher education plan […]

crossfire Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Sipho Seepe’s No Blows Barred column (September 21 to 27) lacked focus and was difficult to follow. Most of the issues raised amounted to his usual tirade against President Thabo Mbeki and the African National Congress. The most interesting point to come out of it was, perhaps, that the Mbeki […]

RUGBY Andy Capostagno When the Falcons Rugby Union decided earlier this year to relocate from Brakpan to Kempton Park the headline writers did not stir, even though the final match at the Bosman stadium unfolded in surreal circumstances. Quarter of the way through the Vodacom Cup match between the Falcons and the Lions one floodlight […]

Preying on public sentiment is the new line of virus attack Sarah Left It took just two weeks for the inevitable to occur: someone has written an e-mail virus that exploits the World Trade Centre tragedy, disguising itself as a call for peace. Security experts say that distribution of the virus is limited at this […]

Jaspreet Kindra Moses Mayekiso is vague when asked whether he has the blessing of many African National Congress leaders for the launch of a civic association in opposition to the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco). Rumour has it that key members of the ANC’s national executive committee, angered by Sanco’s support for the union […]

The article by Belinda Beresford (R2,7-billion needed to fight Aids”, September 21) missed the point of the government’s pathetic HIV/Aids policy. At the root of the President’s attempts to block the use of anti-retroviral drugs for the poor are his desperate attempts to privatise the public health services. Reports that contradict his view are suppressed, […]

channel vision Robert Kirby I’ve spent a rather pleasant week being escapist, reading stories about a fascinating young fellow called Harry Potter. I don’t know why I’ve waited this long to have a peep at what’s earned JK Rowling such obscene amounts of money, at the same time wondering like every other writer why I’ve […]

I entirely agree with Robert Mattes (September 17) that there is no logic to blaming the United States for the terrorist attack on itself. It is contrived (by long-standing axe-grinders) and disingenuous to do so. The litany of sins usually brought against the US stem from, among others, real and perceived abuses during the Cold […]

Barry Streek South African Airways (SAA) has indicated to the government that it will approach it for assistance to cover the increased insurance costs of its aircraft following the terror attacks in the United States. A government spokesperson on Thursday said the plea would be sympathetically considered. Business Day reported this week that SAA stood […]

Kenya boasts a phenomenon that every lover of Africa and its wildlife should get to see, writes Angus Begg It is a story that has been told, filmed and read on numerous occasions: of the million-plus wildebeest that every year make the trek north from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara. More than a million […]