Matthew Burbidge FOOD Woolworths, the home of the unblemished tomato, launched its stylish site www.inthebag.co.za last week and is betting its repu-tation that its tomatoes will arrive unbruised, slightly chilled and on time. Jessica Knight, CEO of inthebag, said while its client base is currently relatively small, its business model conservatively plans on having 300 […]

The fallen giants of South African rugby watch from the sidelines as the revamped Currie Cup brings back the excitement Andy Capostagno The Super Eight section of the Currie Cup comes to an end this week and, strange but true, it has been an unqualified success. Natal and Western Province have emerged as the teams […]

PAUL KIRK, Johannesburg | Friday THE CEO of a cash-strapped NGO has allegedly allotted himself a salary package of more than R500000 a year – for only two days work a week. This week the chair of the Kokstad branch of the South African National Tuberculosis Association (Santa) and executive committee member of Santa KwaZulu-Natal, […]

ITALY’S Agip and state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp signed a memorandum of understanding this week to jointly develop two new oil fields in an offshore Nigerian block. The signing followed NNPC’s selection of Agip Energy and Natural Resources Ltd last month as partner in developing the Okono and Okpho. Agip said it expected to produce […]

SOUTH Africa’s 2000/01 maize crop has begun in the east amid mixed reports on weather conditions in the west, cooperatives said. The maize crop is estimated to be 23.6% smaller according to intentions-to-plant released by the National Crop Estimates Committee in September. However, a number of big cooperatives said the figure meant very little and […]

SOUTH African financial services group FirstRand this week launched its R300m consumer e-commerce initiative called eBucks.com. The financial services portal will give users access to the group’s online product portfolio and will offer a secure online payment solution and an electronic currency. FirstRand, one of the country’s big four banking groups, will invest R300m over […]

ELLIS MNYANDU AND OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday SOUTH African Airways’ (SAA) efforts to extend its African reach moved a step further this week when the carrier announced three new weekly flights to the Ugandan city of Entebbe, starting on December 1. SAA Chief Executive Officer Coleman Andrews said the carrier also planned to increase […]

ZIMBABWE could lose its international tobacco market share if plantings, down by 20% over land grab worries, show no signs of recovery within the next two years, an industry official warned this week. Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) Marketing Director Pat Davis said early indications were that tobacco output would fall to around 170m kg next […]

THE Nigerian government has approved the establishment of a new bank to help the country’s struggling agricultural sector. The Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank, formed by the merger of three existing agencies, will help the sector to expand, said Agriculture Minister Hassan Adamu. The minister did not set out how the bank would work […]

TRADITIONAL leaders have expressed hope that President Thabo Mbeki will find an interim solution to their concerns to avoid conflict with municipalities after the local government elections on 5 December. The government and traditional leaders have been at loggerheads on the new municipality boundaries, which the chiefs say encroach on their powers. The dispute resulted […]