• With a more efficient criminal justice system, South Africa would not be able to accommodate all convicted criminals. Despite protests from government about unfair criticism, it does not look as though significant progress is being made in the war against crime. p 1

• The latest available figures in tabular form on violent crimes and property related crimes. pp 2–4

Fast stats pp 5–8

• It is a tragedy that the management inefficiency of the current schooling system is resulting in a provision of inferior education to black people that is not noticeably different from that of the previous government. p 1

• A brief window of opportunity for investors has opened from amendments to the tax laws on dividends from a foreign source. p 2

• Teachers are demoralised by poor planning and the way in which the potentially good OBE system has been introduced and administered. pp 3–4

• Parents are not satisfied that OBE will maintain satisfactory standards. At the same time many seem unaware of the importance of mother-tongue instruction at primary level. pp 5–7

• Macro-economic data on 18 countries. p 8

Fast stats pp 9–12

• Results of a recent opinion poll suggest few people believe the allegations of the minister of health that the private health care system in South Africa is a ‘ravenous monster that preys on our people’. But the country also seems resigned to government inaction over HIV/AIDS. p 1

• A digest of the latest available statistics covering productivity, wages, and trade unions. pp 2–3

• What price intellectual property? SARS’ statutory attempts to limit tax arbitrage attack ‘capital assets’ in this area. p 4

Fast stats pp 5–8

• Let’s hope that history is not repeating itself as companies quietly shut up shop — or decide in the first place that doing business in South Africa just isn’t worth the effort. p 1

• A recent statutory amendment that attempts to restrict tax arbitrage is likely to lead to long-term uncertainty for businesses. p 2

• Comparative statistics on 58 indicators, including demography, the economy, health, living conditions, and crime. pp 3–12

Fast stats pp 13–16

• The minister of minerals and energy deserves full support for her endorsement of nuclear energy, which is clean, safe, and cheap enough to make  provision of electricity feasible for 2.8m poor households in this country. p 1

• John Kane-Berman examines South Africa’s future and the role of opposition parties. p 2–5

• International comparisons. p 5

• Basic indicators for Sub-Saharan Africa. pp 6–7

• Three-year forecasts. p 8

Fast stats pp 8–12

• How the African Union’s Peace and Security Council tackles the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Sudan will tell whether the union and its member states can keep its mandate to lead  the African Renaissance. p 1

• Mr Brian Molefe, CEO of the Public Investment Commissioners, compares current policies of black economic empowerment with economic policies of the apartheid era. pp 2–4

Fast stats pp 5–8

• As no party won an absolute  majority in KwaZulu-Natal, the province will  have to be ruled for the  next five years by coalitions.  Deals initially struck may not last until the next  election, so the province  could be a laboratory for  democratic competition —  with major consequences. p 1

• Drawing on the experience of various other countries, John Kane-Berman argues the case for changes to our labour law. He suggests that change is most likely to issue from steady erosion of the current labour regulation regime. pp 2–4

Fast stats pp 5–8

• The four-year moratorium on crime statistics has encouraged the perception that crime has stabilised. Until unvarnished data substantiate stabilisation claims, the latter should be treated with scepticism. p 1

Crimewatch

• Figures issued by the South African Police Service show an increase of 29.5% in the total number of serious crimes reported over the past eight years. pp 2–3

• Robin Friedland discusses tax problems that arise in the context of mergers and acquisitions. p 4

Fast stats pp 5–9

• The National Health Bill threatens to do away with private sector healthcare, and the proposed certificates of need will put the livelihood of every  doctor, and those of their patients, at the mercy of the minister of health. p 1

• Dr Kgosi Letlape briefed Institute members on the crisis confronting health care in South Africa, pointing out how the government’s intention to control doctors and drug manufacturers by dictation from above threatens to put ‘the South African miracle’ at risk. pp 2–3

• Our comprehensive yet compact analysis of the national budget. pp 4–8

Fast stats pp 9–12

• Sub-Saharan Africa’s per capita GDP shrank by 5% between 1990 and 1999, but rose in East Asia and the Pacific by 75%. In South Africa growth is subordinate to redistribution. p 1

• John Kane-Berman’s political scenario, with comments on the government’s Ten Year Review, economic performance, and the lessons of events in Zimbabwe. pp 2–4

• Can our nation find unifying symbols? Extracts from Professor Elwyn Jenkins’s presidential address. p 5

• South Africa is running out of electricity but has the potential to develop limitless reserves of nuclear energy. pp 6–7

• The slippery territory of VAT. p 8

Fast stats pp 9–12