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/ 11 November 2005
In the face of widespread poverty in rural Mpumalanga, some schools serve as the glue in an environment where family units are disintegrating. They provide much-needed comfort and sustenance to orphans and children with poverty-stricken parents.
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/ 11 November 2005
South Africans, on average, buy 2,2 pairs of shoes a year, but only make 0,6 of a pair (a bit more than a single shoe) locally. Compare this with Poland, for instance, where 2,2 pairs of shoes are bought each year, on average, but which manufactures 1,8 pairs of shoes (almost three shoes) annually. Brazilians buy slightly more shoes: 2,6 pairs on average, of which they make 3,5 pairs.
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/ 11 November 2005
<i>Insig</i> magazine out of New Media Publishing has won the Rossi Trophy for the best consumer title in the country. The announcement was made at last night’s Sappi Pica Awards, hosted by <i>Sunday Times</i> columnist Barry Ronge. <i>Finweek</i>, entered under its former name <i>Finance Week</i>, was a virtual runner up in the category with a "highly commended" mention.
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/ 11 November 2005
Like many other citizens, I wait anxiously for the latest news on the condition of the South African Constitution, which was admitted to intensive care yesterday afternoon. According to a statement issued by the head of the Critical Political Afflictions Centre in Midrand, the Constitution is in deep coma and has been on life-support since admission to the centre.
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/ 11 November 2005
Anglo American’s search for a global identity entered a new phase recently when the company announced its strategic review. It is the latest in a series of restructuring exercises the group has undertaken since 1997 and is arguably the most radical since the group listed in London in 1999. It adds a potentially fascinating chapter to the stewardship of Tony Trahar, CEO since July 2000.
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/ 11 November 2005
"It is a struggle for the reconciliation of public and private that this book charts," JM Coetzee wrote of Nadine Gordimer’s essay collection <i>The Essential Gesture</i> in a 1989 review. "This book has attempted to chart that as well," says Ronald Suresh Roberts on the penultimate page of <i>No Cold Kitchen</i>, his unauthorised account of the Nobel Laureate’s life and work.
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/ 11 November 2005
Weh Nengon arrived at St Peter’s Lutheran church at 5am on Tuesday to cast his vote in the Liberian presidential run-off. Under the asphalt at his feet lay his 18-year-old nephew, George, one of more than 600 unarmed men, women and children who were massacred by the Liberian army. Like the hundreds of other voters patiently queuing around him, Nengon has faith that the elections will finally bring peace.
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/ 11 November 2005
The De Beers empowerment deal announced this week appears to be on shaky blue ground, and heavily dependent on solid dividend flows and rand depreciation. This week, the world’s largest diamond miner unveiled a R3,8billion deal in which the Ponahalo consortium will acquire 26% of De Beers Consolidated Mines, the South African arm of the group.
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/ 11 November 2005
Late into Zambia’s long, dry season, the Victoria Falls are not at their most spectacular. Undeterred, bus loads of tourists still stop here daily to view the torrent. Most are unaware that a scarcity of water in the surrounding area has driven many rural communities to the brink of starvation. Poor rains early in the year saw the total failure of most crops in southern Zambia.
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/ 11 November 2005
It was another momentous week for South Africa’s waBenzi, as three major black empowerment deals were announced in the diamond, hotels and casinos and aerospace sectors. But the deals by De Beers, Sun International and Aerosud, two of them worth R4,2-billion, have poured fuel on the smouldering Âcontroversy around black economic empowerment (BEE).