ANOTHER WEEK

AT HOME Free State PM Beatrice Marshoff fires two MECs: environment & economic affairs' Benny Malakoane, and agricultur...

PAY THE PIPER FOR NOT PLAYING THE TUNE

"It's not what you know, it's who you know," was the old saying about getting on in life. In fact, both deep knowledge and personal connections are seen as vital at senior executive level. That's why top government figures who go into the private s...

THE CHURCH NEEDS TO FIND ITS WAY IN THE WORLD

The death of Pope John Paul II received such obsessive attention that it must have given modern sceptics pause. Such religious devotion often embarrasses rationalists who stand a little open-mouthed at evidence that their world-view, which they bel...

EDITOR'S NOTE
e-mail: fmeditor@fm.co.za
The party of Malan, Strijdom, Verwoerd and P W Botha - rock-solid defenders of the volk all - has finally given up the ghost. It ended with a whimper at the weekend. For a gargantuan monster that had terrorised the populace for decades, the end was a...

THE STATE WE'RE IN
Jamie Carr
BLAND PORKERS DO NOWT FOR THE RAINBOW The boy wonder never ceases to remind me how quite astonishingly old I am, and I suspect he has a point. I am beginning to feel as though the Heritage Department should be...

OVERTHROW MUGABE - HOW?
Ken Owen, Claremont.
Forgive me for returning so soon to the subject of Zimbabwe but the vacuous piety of your editorial ("Prolonging SA's shame over Zimbabwe" April 8) should not go unchallenged. Your conclusion is identical to that of Presiden...

CATCH IN DRAFT POLICY
Roy Gordon, CEO I&J Holdings.
The environmental affairs & tourism department has surely missed the message in your article (Business April 8) and the message so clearly enunciated by the president in his opening address to parliament - that job creatio...

BANK ON CHANGE
Greg Harwood, Nedbank Media Relations.
Lindsay Madden (Letters March 25) refers to Nedbank not being prepared to change coins for notes. This is untrue and Nedbank policy clearly states that change-for-change will be provided to clients and non clients. ...

FOR SALE SHOCK
Tony Bowen, Observatory, Johannesburg.
I recently sold my house. The buyer paid R1 495 600, including "costs". I received R1 282 995 after the agent's commission had been deducted. Therefore all the many "third parties", including government, creamed off R212 605 or 1...

ZANU-PF LEGITIMATE
Morgan Phaahla, Ekurhuleni.
SA has a moral and political responsibility to take part in restoring peace and stability in the continent, including Zimbabwe. But as long as there is no legitimacy crisis in Zimbabwe, SA has no moral authority to interfere on domes...

SCARCE OBSERVERS
Simon Spooner, MDC activist, Bulawayo.
In 21 hours of visiting polling stations in Zimbabwe (more than 350 km of travelling), I did not witness one election observer. When we were unlawfully restricted in our activity, there was not one in sight to whom we could report th...

USE TAX WINDFALL
Alf Abrahamsohn, Johannesburg.
We have all read recently about the tax windfall enjoyed by the taxman. It should be put to good use in two ways. Firstly, annuity payments should be made tax-free. The insurance companies making these payments have already been taxe...

BEEF ABOUT BEEF
Alan Cranfield, Kloof.
How can the FM be so irresponsible as to call SA beef "a healthy menu option" (Innovations April 1)? It is common knowledge that the saturated fat in red meat is the biggest contributor to high blood cholestero...

BEST LETTER

Each week, the best reader's letter will win a Motorola cellphone valued at between R4 500 and R5 000. The winner this week is Ken Owen of Claremont, who submitted a letter by e-mail. The judge this week was associate editor Amarnat...