South African scientists have documented what organisations have warned about for years; water privatisation in African countries, which means denying access to safe drinking water to the poor. In South Africa alone, there have been 10 million water cuts since commercialisation started in 1994.

The Democratic Alliance has urged Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel to create a fund for the distribution of Lotto money allocated to the RDP and other miscellaneous projects. Non-governmental organisations are also worried by unallocated funds as many of them are faced with dire financial constraints.

Last week the Mail & Guardian reported that the Gauteng Department of Social Services and Welfare had shut almost all its poverty relief projects, citing corruption, fraud and mismanagement of funds. The Gauteng Department of Social Services and Welfare is blamed in the report, compiled by Mulalo Nemavhandu, manager of the provincial poverty programme, for not having monitoring and management mechanisms.

The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Diana, The Princess of Wales Memorial Fund will join forces to help reduce the suffering of Aids orphans, those dying of Aids and the bereaved they leave behind. The joint initiative aims to build on the existing work of both charities.

In a move to develop sport in rural areas, Transnet has announced a R150,000 development project.Transnet Foundation’s senior sport development manager Sepedi Moloto said at the launch at the University of the North (Qwaqwa Branch) that the project, which was aligned to the Government’s Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy, sought to create sporting opportunities for youths aged between 17 and 21 in the province’s rural areas.

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) will start a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience if Government has not adopted an HIV/AIDS treatment plan, that includes antiretroviral therapy in the public sector, by the end of February 2003. In a document circulated on the Internet, the TAC said it had initially planned the campaign for December, but had been told that government needed until February to implement a national treatment plan, leading to the decision to postpone the disobedience campaign until February.

Chairperson of the first South African AIDS Conference 2003, Prof Jerry Coovadia, says, "There is a complaint, probably justifiable, that there are too many meetings and conferences on HIV/Aids. While this may seem to be so, we in South Africa are exposed to a catastrophe of massive proportions. This conference aims at nothing less than providing a comprehensive, holistic and precisely relevant programme for all stakeholders, including community representatives, business and the media. There is no equivalent meeting serving such a purpose. This conference leads directly from the hugely successful and landmark AIDS 2000; and one has the organisers promise of a worthy successor to the 2000 conference."

A rift appears to be developing between the country's largest union federation and the government over the fate of Farm Kalkpan, which hit the headlines after the farm manager, sought the eviction of six families.

Residents of Sydenham Heights have been under attack from the City Council since Wednesday, with mass electricity disconnections taking place. The illegitimacy of these disconnections has been confirmed. In terms of the Rental and Housing Act, Section 13 (7) no action should have been taken by Council from the date a complaint was lodged with the Rental Tribunal, until resolution, or for a period of three months.

South African company Scientific Development and Integration produces laser systems bought by the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), which discovered the SA company on the internet. Nasa will use the system for trace gas detection in the upper atmosphere.

In a South African first, ten orthopedic surgeons watched a live operation in Australia via the Internet from Johannesburg last week. It was made possible by using fibre optic connectivity and streaming technology provided by Internet Solutions (IS) and The Antfarm.

Langa was 26 when he died a few weeks ago. He was a young black guy who was completely open about his homosexuality. Robert Mugabe's worst nightmare. Although he was fearless as a gay activist, he never came to terms with his HIV status. He died quickly once his immune system became depleted. He lost weight and in the end he could not walk. His friends had to visit him at his bedside in a hospice. It is time, Ralph Berold of the WITS HIV/AIDS Campaign and the TAC argues, for each of us to take an active stand against denial and for life.

The Centre seeks to appoint a dynamic and visionary Executive Director. He/she will ensure that the Centre fulfils its mission and goals; has a high level of expertise in relation to these goals; retains its national and international reputation for excellence; adapts to significant political and other changes in the external environment; conducts its business in a professional manner; is financially viable and sustainable; and has strict financial controls.

Neighbouring farmers looked down at them as they were farmworkers who knew nothing about "running a viable, sustainable commercial farm". Lenders refused to give them a loan as they believed they would lose on the deal. Besides, they were ordinary farmworkers and had no experience in running a business. Today they are the envy of their neighbours in Ceres, their farm is a success and they have a Christmas contract worth millions of rands with a leading chain store.

The Scorpions have arrested six senior Eastern Cape government officials at their offices in King Williamstown. This was apparently linked to government transport subsidies to bus owners.

Political parties gave mixed signals last Friday on their willingness to reveal their sources of private funding. Their views, voiced at a seminar in Centurion, ranged from conditional support for disclosure to calls for a proper inquiry into the matter. The Institute for Democracy in SA (Idasa) is currently conducting a campaign to obtain details of private funding for political parties by using the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

Since the advent of constitutional democracy in South Africa eight years ago, the crucial rights of freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration were, for the first time perhaps, brought into sharp focus during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002. This much was borne out by the nature of the relationship that existed between the state and individuals regarding how these essential rights could be exercised during the summit. At best that relationship was steeped in confrontation. It is against this simmering background that the "right to dissent" workshop has been planned. By and large, the workshop aims to explore the tension between the right of individuals to express themselves freely through the medium of assemblies and demonstrations as guaranteed by the constitution, and the state's authority to regulate such right in terms of national legislation.

Although the majority of South Africans have never directly helped a child affected by HIV/AIDS most would if they knew how. This vast untapped reserve of goodwill will hopefully prompt South Africans to open their hearts and pockets and make a donation to the Pick 'n Pay, Khomanani, Caring Together initiative to collect as much as possible for children affected by HIV/AIDS before November 24, 2002.

Have just heard about it and am keen to follow-up. Keep up the good work.

Agricultural services group Afgri (formerly OTK) has made a cash offer of R59m for agricultural co-operative Laeveld Korporatiewe Beleggings (LBK), a move that will see it diversify from its core grain-handling business.