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/ 10 July 2007

Wedding on a shoestring

At the time of writing, I am a mere week and a half from joining my partner in marriage. Elopement is looking decidedly attractive. When we first started planning, nine months ago, we decided we wanted something small, intimate and, preferably, cheap. This is more or less what we are getting, but it is certainly not going to be the budget affair we thought it would be, writes Jocelyn Newmarch.

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/ 10 July 2007

Doctors’ favourite schemes

Specialists have compiled a survey of the medical schemes they would recommend. The results: Camaf, Fedhealth, Liberty and Profmed. They judged these according to the level of interference with the doctor-patient relationship, balanced billing, efficiency with accounting and pre-authorisation, co-payments, rate fixing, reversals and formularies.

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/ 10 July 2007

Rather a saver be

As a result of interest rate hikes in the past year, a homeowner with a bond of R500 000 is paying an extra R1 000 a month to his or her bank. Where does that extra mortgage payment go each month? Who benefits from the billions of extra rands that are paid by homeowners? The short answer is: the savers.

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/ 10 July 2007

State pensions cannot be split

I will be resigning from the public service at the end of June 2007. Please advise me on what I should do with my pension. Should I open a retirement annuity, according to this week’s article? The article also spoke of the split, which is transferring half of the money into the annuity and cashing the rest, writes reader Phuti.

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/ 10 July 2007

How men can become partners in maternal health

What is a common factor in ensuring that women do not marry too young, do not have more children than they can cope with, do not die giving birth — and contract HIV in smaller numbers? The answer is men. That is the message for World Population Day 2007, which is being marked on Wednesday under the theme <i>Men as Partners in Maternal Health</i>.

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/ 10 July 2007

Growing empowerment

With global diversified mining major Xstrata having met its 2014 targets in respect of ownership by historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs), and making good progress on employment equity, you would expect them to be happy with the status quo. Not entirely, writes Erik Ratshikhopha.

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/ 10 July 2007

An ideal economic world

I was not a South African according to the South African government. Now, did I consider myself a South African after 1994 or was I always a South African in my mind? I will never know the damage that was inflicted by a system that intended to deprive me of my national identity, and saw me as nothing more than a maid in someone’s home, writes businesswoman, Wendy Luhabe.

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/ 10 July 2007

Mickey Mouse in Mandarin

A cheeky, speaking vegetable is just weeks away from bounding on to Chinese cinema screens. When <i>The Magic Gourd</i> opens at the end of this month, the Chinese-language film will mark a departure for Walt Disney and a step-change in its charm offensive in emerging markets.