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/ 28 September 2007
As speculation grows that President Thabo Mbeki will appoint Christine Qunta as chairperson of the SABC’s next board, civil society has expressed its dismay. Qunta is tipped to take over from current chair Eddie Funde. Qunta made it on to the final shortlist of 12 names recommended by the communications portfolio committee earlier this month.
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/ 28 September 2007
South Africa got tough on global warming recently, urging United States President George W Bush to commit his country to combating climate change. President Thabo Mbeki and Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk made strong statements in the US about the slow pace of addressing climate change. ”The pace of climate change negotiations is out of step with the urgency indicated by science,” Mbeki told the United Nations.
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/ 25 September 2007
A small inedible seed from a Mexican tree is seen by some as the answer to the world’s fuel crisis. But the seed from the jatropha tree, used to make biofuels, is still hugely controversial in South Africa and the government is not at all sure that the plant will solve the country’s biofuel woes.
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/ 25 September 2007
Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production systems in the world. Yet Africa, with all its resources, makes up less than 1% of global production, with South Africa contributing only 1% of the continent’s production. Statistics from the Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa show that the world aquaculture industry contributes 30% to total food fish production and is worth -billion.
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/ 25 September 2007
Illegal farm evictions took centre stage at the South African Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) hearings this week in Johannesburg on labour conditions on the country’s farms. Yet some participants expressed immediate scepticism about whether the hearings would lead to any meaningful improvements for farm workers.
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/ 17 September 2007
South Africa’s decision to invest in a nuclear power future has raised concerns about what will happen to the nuke waste generated. Last week it emerged that nuclear power would account for about half of Eskom’s planned new generating capacity. At present South Africa’s nuclear waste policy is vague and does not list a clear end-plan of what will happen to high-level nuclear waste.
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/ 14 September 2007
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Across South Africa there is a feeling of dissent growing. As men gather around the television, grumbling wives are eyeing uncut grass with concern. They know there are still weeks to go before their men even think of looking at a lawnmower, let alone use one.
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/ 12 September 2007
Can an English translation of an award-winning Afrikaans novel ever do the original justice — especially if it is a complex and finely nuanced literary work? This is the question many asked Afrikaans novelist Ingrid Winterbach when two of her best-known works were translated into English. But the other question is: Can high-profile Afrikaans writers afford not to have their work made available to an even bigger audience?
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/ 11 September 2007
What do you when you are offered the chance to have a hot date on a Tuesday afternoon, even though you are married? You invite your husband to share the experience with you, of course. Yolandi Groenewald had an amazing afternoon with an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster and her hubby (in that order).
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/ 11 September 2007
A new report on South Africa’s energy future warns that if the nation does not rethink its development strategy it could herald ruin for local farmers and the poor. It calls for a long, hard look at the accelerated and shared growth initiative for South Africa. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas’s South African chapter released its report on the country’s energy future last month.