Niki Moore ‘Politicians have forgotten what it is like to be hungry.” These are the words of 12-year-old Mbali from a poor KwaZulu-Natal South Coast family. Although Mbali comes from a poor family she does not qualify for a child support grant because she is above the cut-off age of seven. She has four brothers […]
Barry Streek Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya has ordered an immediate inquiry into the delay earlier this week in the payment of about 400 000 of the more than 3,5-million social grants. People receiving grants should have received a minimum 5,6% increase at the beginning of the month, but instead had to wait because […]
Barry Streek The African National Congress has taken a strong stand against its members who regard their positions as a source of material wealth for themselves. It says its elected leaders should not only be free of corruption, but should also actively fight against corruption. This tough position on leadership within the party was taken […]
They’re probably not aphrodisiacs but oysters are still reason to celebrate Jo-Ann Bekker Growing up inland, my idea of seafood was grilled sole. When someone pulled a mussel off a rock, prised it open and gave it to me to eat, I tried to keep an open mind, but it tasted slimy and horrible. So […]
Mango Groove’s Claire Johnston spoke to Adam Haupt about her debut solo album, Fearless W hen I heard that Claire Johnston had released a solo album, Fearless, my response was, “What happened to Mango Groove?” Who could forget their celebration of Sophiatown’s finest hour? Their retro-blend was typically 1980s and early 1990s pop and back […]
Despite pollution and criticism of its human rights record, Beijing looks set to host the 2008 Olympics Steven Mufson Measured against Toronto, Paris and Osaka the other finalists bidding to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing leaves some things to be desired. Like clean air. In the mid-1990s the World Bank declared the Chinese capital […]
Valentine Cascarino They’re sour. They’ll get you drunk easily. And they’ll prepare you for your grave sooner than you expected. They’re called mbamba, bitla le ahlame and mqomboti, are made from fermented maize or bread and are drunk mostly by the homeless, sometimes with a bowl of sugar. This is the new stuff provided by […]
REVIEW David Shapshak Rex 6000 personal digital organiser Technology is a wonderful thing, in case you hadn’t noticed. I have in my hand a device the size of a credit card (and the thickness of three) that has nearly as much functionality as my PalmPilot, and it has a touch screen on it. The Rex […]
Turn on, tune in, feel nothing. Has pop culture finally eaten itself? Charles Shaar Murray reports ‘Bloodbath,” whispers the voice on the phone from Manhattan. “It’s a killing field out there. And they’re dropping like flies.” Not junkies, crackheads, gangstas in the projects; not Aids sufferers; not even Ethiopian immigrants who’ve fallen foul of the […]
Ngwako Modjadji and Nawaal Deane Confusion reigns among squatters in Bredel, Kempton Park, with many so-called “land invaders” uncertain of what action to take. Most of the squatters have come in search of “promised land” without a clear idea of who owns it, but determined not to be evicted. Tensions are high and many promise […]
The National Arts Festival is taking place amid uncertainty, but major works show cultural maturity Thebe Mabanga The 27th edition of the Standard Bank National Arts Festival survived its tacky motif and lived to fight another year. The image used to promote the festival in print adverts, that of Ellis Person and Bheki Mkhwane clad […]
The American has overcome testicular cancer to bid for a third consecutive crown Martin Gillingham Robert Hunter is barely a household name in his own household. But on Saturday in Dunkirk, as he rolls up the start ramp for the 8,2km prologue of this year’s Tour de France, he will do so as the first […]
Barry Streek The move towards the payment of a monthly R100 basic income grant gained momentum this week when 12 non-government and religious organisations handed over a memorandum to Vivienne Taylor, the chairperson of the Department of Social Development committee investigating the issue. The principle of a basic income was endorsed in a government White […]
More arms officials admit to getting discounted cars Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Ron Haywood, the head of Armscor and one of the most influential players in the arms deal, is the latest senior figure to appear on the “Yengeni” list senior politicians and civil servants who got discounts on luxury cars from DaimlerChrysler South Africa […]
A SECOND LOOK Howard Barrell Members of Thabo Mbeki’s Cabinet were in respectable company at Sun City last weekend. I refer not to the editors with whom they spent the better part of two days but, instead, to those with whom they shared a common opinion about the media. It was apparent at the outset […]
THE Zimbabwe government on Tuesday sacked the governing body of the country’s Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in a bid to ensure food security, Lands and Agricultural Minister Joseph Made said on Tuesday. Made said the move was to allow the government to be directly involved in the operations of the parastatal which is responsible for […]
AT least 10_250 workers in the timber industry will lose their jobs if the government goes ahead with its planned compulsory acquisition of forest plantations for its land resettlement programme, the Zimbabwe Standard reported on Tuesday. The Zimbabwe Timber Producers’ Federation (ZTPF), which contributed significantly to Zimbabwe’s industrial output last year, has registered its displeasure […]
THE Nigerian government Tuesday announced the names of 16 prospective bidders for a majority stake in its state-run telecoms company, Nitel, drawing an instant denial from France Telecom. The government privatisation agency, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), in a formal statement given to reporters, named France Telecom and firms from Egypt, Korea, Malaysia and […]
NIGERIAN police on Tuesday shot dead a suspected armed robber, and a mob set ablaze and killed five of his colleagues after they failed in their attempt to rob a bank, Lagos police boss said. The six were a part of a 14-man gang which had attempted to rob a bank at noon in central […]
PRESIDENT Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arrived in Dar Es Salaam on Tuesday for unprecedented talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, who has troops backing rebels in the DRC. On Wednesday, he is due to have his first meeting as head of state with Museveni. – AFP
PRESIDENT George W. Bush on Tuesday announced he had picked career diplomats Robert Geers Loftis and Michael Malinowski as US ambassadors to Lesotho and Nepal, respectively. Both nominations require US Senate confirmation. Loftis has held the post of deputy chief of mission in Maputo since 1999, while Malinowski has served as Deputy Chief of Mission […]
SWAZILAND sugar tycoon Dumisa Dlamini has filed papers with the Pretoria High Court to sue Absa Bank Limited for over R120-million for the collapse of his hotel empire in South Africa. In court papers filed on June 27, Dlamini claims that Absa debited R12,7-million from his account without authorisation. The bank is also accused of […]
SWAZILAND authorities have been urged to shed an age old tribal custom that discriminates against widows. The custom forces widows to wear distinctive black gowns for two years and ostracises them from society. Widows have to sit at the back of public transport buses and churches so as not to cast the ‘shadow of death’ […]
NORTHERN Province’s Elim Hospital, which has earned an international reputation over the past 100 years for its community work and eye treatment, has been revamped at a cost of R14-million. The new hospital complex, called the Centenary Building, was officially opened in Elim outside Louis Trichardt on Tuesday. Until the early 20th Century, Elim Hospital […]
MALAWIS President Bakili Muluzi on Monday ordered the release of 880 prisoners convicted of minor offences. “You are here to be reformed and not to be punished,” Muluzi said when he visited Zomba prison, the biggest in the country, situated about 60 kilometres outside Blantyre. He explained that the gesture was to mark Malawi’s Independence […]
THE Land Claims Commission has moved its offices to Northern Province and Mpumalanga in a bid to speed up the processing of about 11_000 land claims that have been lodged in the region since 1996, African Eye News Service reports. An additional commissioner has also been appointed to help speed up the process. Before, only […]
THE head of the west African regional grouping Ecowas, Lansana Kouyate, is a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity, his representative said on Monday. “His candidature for the … top job has been approved by Guinean President Lansana Conte,” said Mohammed Diakite, adding that the OAU secretariat in […]
SEVER flooding has claimed 22 lives and driven about 1,000 people from their homes in the Cameroon coast town of Limbe, local officials said on Monday. Heavy rains have struck a number of west African countries, causing floods in low-lying districts and claiming several dozen lives, according to reports across the region in the past […]
THE White House on Monday announced President George W. Bush’s picks for US ambassadorships in Madagascar, the Central African Republican, Cameroon, and Ecuatorial Guinea. If confirmed by the Senate, Wanda Nesbitt will go to Madagascar, Mattie Sharpless will be off to the Central African Republic and George McDade will represent Washington in Ecuatorial Guinea and […]
A REBEL leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday said more than 100_000 refugees from the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) were in urgent need of help. “More than 100_000 Central Africans” have crossed the Oubangui river into areas in northeast DRC controlled by the Congolese Liberation Front (FLC), said the rebel […]
GERMAN Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and South African Vice President Jacob Zuma met in Berlin on Monday to discuss bilateral relations and developments in the southern Africa. Zuma said he was “very satisfied” by the talks and expressed satisfaction with Germany’s efforts to support the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme (Map) to address the continent’s gravest […]
THE tomb of a priest who served under an Egyptian pharaoh has been found outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo, antiquities officials said on Tuesday. The tomb in Abu Sir, Giza belongs to a priest named “son of Amon” who led the worship of Ptah, a deity of Memphis viewed as creator of the universe […]