Sunday Times E-Edition

LOOKING BACK

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES 50 YEARS AGO

Dr. Connie Mulder, Minister of the Interior and leader of the Nationalist Party in the Transvaal, warned South African newspapers on Friday that the Government would introduce Press censorship if they were convinced it was in the interests of the country to do so. This was the second time this week that Dr. Mulder had threatened action against the South African Press. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, he said that if it were in the interests of South Africa to inhibit the freedom of the Press, he would take such action. However, he appealed to the Press to act in such a manner that it would not be necessary and said he placed a “high premium” on the Freedom of the Press. — May 20 1973

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES 25 YEARS AGO

In what must rank as the most exhaustive study ever written of what’s wrong with the government and how it can be fixed, the Presidential Review Commission has recommended sweeping changes to the way South Africa is ruled. The more flashy of these are to do with the culling of ministries the public have long known to be of little use. The proposal to disband Stella Sigcau’s Public Enterprise Ministry is hardly breath-taking. Nor is the suggestion that the number of deputy ministers be cut sharply. But the report has gone a lot further than this. It has proposed that the government — and the presidency in particular — “get a grip”. At the heart of the recommendation is a substantial beefing up of the president’s office to improve its supervision of the civil service, which the report argues should be substantially reduced. — May 17 1998

Opinion

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2023-05-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

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