Numsa’s ambitions spell game-changer for SA politics
By QAANITAH HUNTER – It was around this time last year, when the initial signs of deep divisions in Cosatu surfaced and the ANC made its first attempts to place the proverbial lid on a sizzling pot. In the wake of the suspension of Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, the ANC called for an “alliance summit” […]
Africa Check: The trouble with statistics about Africa
By GEORGINA ALEXANDER and JOHN ENDRES for AFRICA CHECK. The Africa growth story is making headlines: Africa’s population is rising faster than that of any other region in the world. Its cities are growing. Its middle class is getting bigger. The youth bulge is expanding. China’s trade with the African continent is booming and Nigeria […]
Shoprite shoots lights out
By Reuters – Shoprite’s share price jumped over 7% yesterday, making its biggest daily gain since 2008. Its revenue for the three months to the end of September rose by 12.3% from the previous year, with its core South African supermarket business seeing a similar increase. That performance far outstrips the local industry average of […]
No protests over ‘selling the roof to pay the rent’ plan
BY PHAKAMISA NDZAMELA – AS TALK of a sale of “non-strategic government assets” to strengthen Eskom’s balance sheet went into overdrive last week, I wondered whether the government was now looking to “sell the roof to pay the rent”, to borrow a phrase used in the South African Communist Party in the 1990s. Many of you will […]
No place for disabled children in KZN’s rural schools
By Victoria John – A shortage of staff and dedicated educational facilities is depriving many with special needs of an education. Eight-year-old Boniswa Mthembu loves holidays and weekends, not because it’s a break from school but because it’s the only time he gets to play with other children. He doesn’t go to school with the […]
The University of the Western Cape hosted a state-of-the-art experience on World Food Day 16 October 2014
The University of the Western Cape hosted a state-of-the-art experience on World Food Day 16 October 2014. Food insecurity needs to be approached in several ways, one of which is being concerned with sufficient income with which to purchase food that is healthy and wholesome and which contains sufficient calories and nutrients. Food insecurity needs […]
Retirement funds – no need to
John Anderson from Alexander Forbes explains what’s actually happening from March 1, 2015. Johannesburg – Rumours and misunderstanding of the government’s retirement reform proposals have resulted in workers wanting to resign in order to access pension savings. This is based on a perceived threat to nationalise retirement savings or to stop the access to the […]
AFRICA CHECK: Does SA really employ more civil servants than the US?
By Anim van Wyk for AFRICA CHECK – The size of South Africa’s civil service has increased dramatically in recent years. But are there really more civil servants in SA than in the United States, as has been said? The claim is false. The claim crops up frequently in tweets, blog posts and comment pieces. Even Sunday Times columnist […]
Prove e-toll money will be spent on roads: ANC
By Olebogeng Molatlhwa – Even as taxpayers are faced with a R20-billion bill for tolled freeways in Gauteng, no evidence exists that fees collected through the system will ultimately build roads. This is the contention of the ANC in Gauteng, which yesterday effectively rubbished the rationale relied on by the SA National Roads Agency Limited […]
African leaders: Ebola could lead to food crisis
Des Moines – Financial aid and global co-ordination are needed to prevent the Ebola health care crisis from becoming a food emergency, agriculture ministers from West African nations at the centre of the Ebola epidemic said on Wednesday. In Sierra Leone, where thousands are infected and more than 900 have died, 40% of the nation’s […]
