10. The Daily Dispatch story on how one of the Eastern Cape's oldest churches - the 156 year old St Luke's Mission in Newlands - was completely looted ahead of Easter:

Asa Sokopo reports that four break-ins over a three week period "have left the church stripped of all electric wiring, a chalice, all silver ware, Ciboriums and a R10,000 lawn mower.... Canon Louis Flint said what was most devastating for him was the loss of the one of the biggest pieces of history the church owned - their 100-year-old brass bell weighing about 50kg. ‘This is a huge tragedy for us. That bell is over 100 years old and was imported from Scotland'."

9. Kevin Bloom's article in the Daily Maverick on how CNBC Africa has been getting around $3m/R25m a year from the Gauteng government - until Gauteng MEC Firoz Cachalia pulled the plug on the deal:

A memorandum of understanding had apparently been signed a couple of years ago between CNBC Africa and Paul Mashatile, the former MEC for the Department of Economic Development in Gauteng, committing the province to pay the broadcaster $3m per annum over five years. Bloom says that according to Marc Schwinges of the South African Screen Federation (Sasfed) until they "raised the issue nobody had questioned the legitimacy (or otherwise) of the payments. ‘The Gauteng Film Commission started a film-friendly investment initiative,' Schwinges informed us, ‘and they asked Sasfed to endorse the campaign. We were happy to, but we raised concerns about the CNBC payments. They were shocked we knew about the contracts.' The understanding of Schwinges is that Mashatile... allocated funds to the GFC on the basis that around half those funds be forwarded to CNBC Africa... Why then, in Schwinges's estimation, were the CNBC payments made? ‘That's a very good question. Nobody has given me an answer to it. It doesn't make sense, there's no reason. It certainly doesn't build an independent film industry'."

8. The Daily Dispatch story on how the Bhisho government had shot itself in the foot after going for a two-year extension of an expensive fleet tender for which it is currently paying R35m a month:

Mayibongwe Maqhina reports that "the government will pay nearly R1 billion to Fleet Africa when the extended two-year contract ends in 2012. The amount is almost a third of the R3bn, five-year tender awarded to Phakisa Fleet Solutions, which was cancelled late last year. This flies in the face of a R2.6bn bid submitted by losing bidder Makhubu Consortium to provide the fleet service for five years. The ‘transfer extension agreement', in possession of the Dispatch, was signed by acting head of Transport Linda Salie and Fleet Africa director Kamogelo Mmutlana."

7. Justice Malala's column in The Times on the tender bedtime talk between ANC politicians and their spouses:

Malala writes: "The wives of many politicians are ‘in business', spouses and partners of directors-general are ‘in business' and girlfriends, sons and daughters of politicians are ‘in business'. Very gentle probing of what ‘in business' means will show these family members trade on political connections they have. They bid for and almost inevitably receive tenders from government departments on the basis of their names and connections." Whatever the Left may say, he continues, "The ANC has no intention or will to deal with this scourge. A scan through the companies linked to the large First Family indicates the rot starts at the top. This scourge does not go unnoticed at ANC branches in villages and townships across the country. At that level, it is pretty much the same, too: councillors' wives, husbands and other relatives win all sorts of tenders, too. After all, if it is happening with ministers' wives, why shouldn't it happen at their level, too?"

6. The Beeld story on the demotion by NDPP Menzi Simelane of three senior deputy directors of prosecution in the National Prosecuting Authority:

Philip de Bruin reported that Retha Meintjes SC was being sent to the magistrates court in Soshanguve, North West of Pretoria, George Baloyi to the Pretoria's magistrates court, and Connie Erasmus to the court in Mamelodi. Prosecutors who spoke to Beeld expressed their shock at the move. "Dit is net so goed hulle word al drie afgedank," one senior prosecutor told the paper.

5. Anthony Butler's column in Business Day pointing to the tension between the Left's two key goals of fighting corruption and building a developmental state:

Butler argues: "The battle against patronage and graft can only be fought in alliance with the rational centre of the ANC. But leftists' developmental initiatives have instead placed them in the same camp as a minority of corrupt and greedy ANC cadres." He concludes: "The left has a handful of ministers in a Cabinet of 30, and greedy sharks circulate beneath the calm surface waters of government. Rather than associating with crooks and incompetents, leftists need to build alliances with rational centrists to advance the fight against corruption and to build state capacity."

4. The Beeld editorial on how, with his demotion of 14 senior state prosecutors to lower courts, all the fears over Simelane's fitness to serve as National Director of Public Prosecutions have become a reality:

The newspaper states that "Simelane is fooling nobody. The demotion of fourteen prosecutors is a deliberate effort to replace the top level of the National Prosecuting Authority with people sympathetic to him and President Jacob Zuma. They will be replaced with pliable individuals who'll dance to the tune of Zuma and the ANC elite."

3. Rebekah Kendal's exposition on iafrica.com of the "Malema decoy theory":

Kendal argues that the sound and fury of the ANCYL president often has the effect of misdirecting attention from more serious issues. This means that while Malema's outrageous statements consume all the media's attention, sinister developments go unchallenged. Whether this is the result of a well planned conspiracy is a matter of conjecture. But Kendal notes: "The danger of paying Malema too much attention lies not only with the divisive rubbish that spews forth every time he opens his mouth, but also with that which is overlooked. Malema may be a dangerous character, but the quiet assaults on our justice system, the systematic abuse of power and widespread corruption are far more insidious threats to our democracy."

2. Anton Harber's column in Business Day on the booting upstairs of Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya to the position of editor-in-chief of Avusa newspapers:

Harber rejects the notion, put out by Avusa's spin-doctors, that this was a promotion as "the bald fact is Makhanya is now an editor without a newspaper." Noting that Avusa CEO Prakash Desai had credited Makhanya "with taking Sunday Times readership from 3,2-million to nearly 4-million" Harber observes: "A more relevant figure might be that street sales and subscriptions have fallen below 400000 and its total (including bulk sales and educational giveaways) to 464000, about 50000 less than the year before. This is way more than the circulation dip that led to the dismissal of Makhanya's predecessor, Mathatha Tsedu... A better tribute to Makhanya's tenure at the Sunday Times would be to say that he bravely carved out valuable political space for his editorial team and protected it with unwavering fortitude."

1. The concurrent Mercury and Beeld reports on how northern KZN chief prosecutor, Andre Laubscher, died of a heart attack triggered by the stress caused by his demotion by Simelane:

Beeld's Philip de Bruin quoted Laubscher's wife Annerine as saying: "I was married to Andre for 30 years. I have not a moment's doubt that the stress of his demotion caused his death. He handled the news very badly, stopped eating and did not sleep at night. He was terribly tense. I know my man. He was broken." A colleague of Loubser told Tania Broughton of the Mercury that "He was absolutely devastated. He was not losing his salary but he considered it a demotion. He was very stressed. I am absolutely convinced there is a link between this and his untimely death because as far as I know he had no health issues."

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