<i>The Time of the Writer</i> festival kicks off in Durban this week, attended by over 25 writers from South Africa and abroad. One of the key themes to be explored is negotiating identities.
There is a significant South African business presence in Zimbabwe. About 27 of our biggest listed companies have operations there, and a number are also listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Some of these are its top performers. Strong economic ties were maintained despite the often mismatched political dispensations on either side of the border.
‘In support of Fifa’s campaign to stamp out racism in football, I, the representative of my national team, hereby pledge myself and my teammates to the eradication of all forms of discrimination in the beautiful game, a game that is almost as beautiful as my girlfriend’s new knockers, but not quite, because there is nothing quite like a pair of 36Fs, even though my mates say they make her look matronly.
Richard Branson certainly knows how to shake up the market. Banks have been in a frenzy during the past week, issuing releases and highlighting areas where they are actually cheaper than the Virgin Money offering. It has been quickly pointed out there are credit cards on the market such as Edcon’s and Pick ‘n Pay’s Go Banking, which also have no annual fee.
One of the catchy slogans from Zimbabwe’s former information minister Jonathan Moyo’s propaganda factory was "Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again". The wheel he set in motion continues to turn with the amendment of a section of the Witchcraft Suppression Act from 1899 that said witchcraft does not exist.
At 22, Sam Brett is one of Australia’s most widely read writers. But it’s not her insights into politics, the economy or even sport that have her readers hooked. The pithy columns on Brett’s blog are far more personal, delving instead into the intricacies of sex and relationships in the cyber-age. One day’s talking point will be why men cheat; another’s whether office relationships always end badly.
<b>MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> While not an uplifting experience for the moviegoer, <i>Vera Drake</i> makes for a touching, sometimes funny, and in the end strangely satisfying movie, writes Shaun de Waal.
The suspension of Connie Molusi as the chief executive of the media group Johncom this week is being treated as a standard boardroom drama, pitting the CE against the board chairman Mashudu Ramano. The word is that Ramano is in alliance with Caxton’s majority shareholder, Terry Moolman, the enigmatic media baron who reportedly wants to step into Molusi’s shoes.
<i>We Remember Differently</i> is an exceptionally moving treatment of major South African preoccupations: race, identity, memory, desire, love, eroticism, women’s domestic and social entrapment, mothers and daughters. This short film will provoke rich debate, suggests David Macfarlane.
The good news is house prices are up 14% on last year. The bad news is this is the slowest growth in prices in four-and-a-half years. While lower transfer fees — after lower transfer fees were announced by Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel in the Budget — were expected to bring resilience to the sector of the market up to R1-million, the cooling down in prices is across all sectors.