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/ 27 November 2007
With oil nudging $100 a barrel this week, I did a set of test rides of vehicles that are so cheap to run you can travel 100km for as little as 40c. These vehicles — electric scooters or bikes — potentially solve two problems that characterise motorised travel in Johannesburg: rising energy costs and increasing gridlock.
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/ 27 November 2007
Scenes of bloodshed and outright fraud characterised primary elections for the three main political parties, one of which will form the next government in Kenya after the general election set for December 27. The Party of National Unity (PNU), the Orange Democracy Movement and Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya, the platforms on which President Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka are gunning for the presidency, held primaries last weekend.
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/ 27 November 2007
Virtual bank Wizzit, which provides low-cost cellphone banking to lower-income earners, has received major backing from the World Bank. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group which provides finance to commercially viable businesses that promote development, has signed an agreement to take a 10% equity stake in Wizzit.
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/ 27 November 2007
Consumer efforts in the United Kingdom to go green could spell the end of South Africa’s fresh produce appearing on their shelves. Environmental groups are campaigning to convince British consumers to buy local to avoid the costs of "food miles", the distance food travels from field to plate.
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/ 27 November 2007
Global warming will send Asia’s social and economic progress into reverse unless action is taken to tackle climate change, according to a report released on Monday. Wealthy countries should slash greenhouse gas emissions and help Asian countries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by promoting and investing in sustainable and renewable energy across the region, according to the report, entitled Up in Smoke?
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/ 27 November 2007
The press recently had a field day with reports that poverty in South Africa had doubled since 1994. The story seems to have originated with a press release from the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) that was picked up by major media. This is shocking news. But is it true, asks Miriam Altman,executive director of the Employment Growth and Development Initiative at the Human Sciences Research Council.
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/ 27 November 2007
The latest economic releases from the United States point to the growing twin threats of slowing economic growth and rising inflation. Some analysts are beginning to pencil in a US recession in the near future. The problem at home is similar: consumer inflation is above the South African Reserve Bank’s target range still, but the growth trends of leading economic indicators, like vehicle and retail sales, are declining.
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/ 27 November 2007
The traffic intersections of our major cities have two permanent fixtures: there are the intrepid, streetwise vendors, who, ducking cars, can persuade you that the cheap sunglasses, cellphone chargers and many other wares they sell are the genuine articles. Less combative, but an equally insistent presence, are the beggars, from other Southern African countries, who operate as individuals or as teams.
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/ 27 November 2007
Ian Smith, the former Rhodesian prime minister who unilaterally declared independence from British rule, has died aged 88. Smith ruled the country for 15 years from 1964 to 1979, in an ultimately futile effort to maintain white minority rule.
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/ 27 November 2007
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The Mail & Guardian publishes the text of Joel Netshitenzhe’s stunningly frank assessment of the deep rifts that have opened up in the ruling party, presented at last weekend’s national executive committee meeting.