South Africa’s department of trade and industry said last week that it was concerned the Employee Share Ownership Scheme (Esop), proposed under Sasol’s R17,9-billion BEE deal, "falls short of the level of empowerment envisioned in the codes". "The BEE Act and its accom-panying Codes of Good Practice were specifically intended for the benefit of black South African citizens," the department said.
Rural areas — in any country — have always presented a challenge to both the inhabitants and local government in terms of infrastructure and services. This makes economic viability of these areas difficult to achieve. But in South Africa no one is Âsitting still when it comes to Âfinding alternatives to conventional Âinfrastructural delivery — whether in the area of telephony, internet access or power Âgeneration.
People’s assumptions about post-school studies may lead to recommendations that are not necessarily in a school-leaver’s best interests. For too long, a matric exemption has been hailed as the be-all and end-all, giving rise to expectations that, while well-intended, could end up pushing people into university who should never be there. Matric is a milestone, but any milestone is only one point on a journey.
When is a company empowered? For me, this goes beyond a mere stamp of verification. It is when there is a sustained sense that there are no unfair obstacles preventing you from realising your potential. As this is a sustained state, there is no need to celebrate occasional events of affirmation, writes Nkosinathi Chonco
The Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies based in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, has received a major funding boost of £15-million over a five-year period from the Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom to undertake cutting-edge research in HIV/Aids. The Africa Centre is a joint initiative of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the Medical Research Council of South Africa.
Image processing is being developed around the world for the manufacturing environment, but a South African research team is pushing the boundaries and finding ways in which the technology can be used to provide better healthcare. Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, the chair of systems engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, says his passion for science became deep-rooted when he won the National Youth Science Olympiad in 1989.
This month the University of the Western Cape (UWC) formally approved the formation of the Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics (IMBM). Comprising more than 30 researchers and support staff, the institute is led by Professor Don Cowan of UWC’s department of biotechnology.
During Ramadan, a time of well-being and positive thoughts, my world seems governed by food, sleep and work. As the weeks pass, you start wondering what Ramadan really is all about. It’s not just the eating, though it is an integral part of my fasting day, writes Zahira Kharsany in the second of a three-part series on Ramadan.
There is a tacit belief in a number of archival disciplines that making documents related to the history of liberation struggles in Southern Africa more widely accessible via the Internet and stockpiling new resources on the web will result in new and better histories. However, a survey of a range of digitisation projects currently underway in Africa suggests that this may be a naïve expectation, writes Premesh Lalu.
”What did you bring to read?”: the usual question I put to my academic guests. For renowned Marxist critic Terry Eagleton’s week of classes at the University of Cape Town last month, there were three authors: Marcel Proust, Fredric Jameson and John le Carré. ”It’s funny, isn’t it?” notes Eagleton. ”You mention the name Proust and it’s so immediately offputting.”