It is unacceptable that the government fails to pay small business enterprises on time, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Tuesday. ”The turnaround time when it comes to servicing SMMEs [small, medium and micro enterprises] is something that I’m not proud of,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
Minister of Education Naledi Pandor on Tuesday encouraged women to study science and technology — fields where they are ”traditionally under-represented”. She said the government has placed ”specific emphasis” on increasing and improving the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in secondary schools.
The JSE was down for the second straight day on Wednesday as the profit-taking that started on Tuesday, following the bourse’s rally to several successive record highs, continued. The local bourse’s losses were in line with the trend on world
markets.
The sentencing of a longtime serial killer this week will allow the families of his victims to confront him in court for the first time. But they also will hear in graphic terms the depravity of the crimes that terrorised this community for more than three decades.
South African Rugby’s president’s council has rubber-stamped a decision to return to strength versus strength for South Africa’s premier domestic competition, the Currie Cup, it was announced on Tuesday. At the same time, the organisation admitted to ”poor corporate governance”.
Over the past five years, average attendances in the Bundesliga have been recorded at a respectable 30 000, but crowds have soared since the introduction of World Cup stadiums last season. Many believe this is due to 2006 World Cup fever, but maybe there is another reason why German stadiums are full — affordability.
Listed staffing and marketing advisory company Adcorp Holdings has reported a 28% rise in its headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June 2005, to 87,5 cents from 68,7 cents a year earlier. The company declared an interim dividend of 35 cents, representing a 40% increase from the halfway point in 2004.
Ricky Ponting’s 156-run innings that led Australia’s ”great escape” in the third Ashes Test against England marked the Tasmanian batsman’s true graduation as Test captain, according to Steve Waugh, cricket’s most successful leader to date. ”Ricky Ponting led from the front … as all influential leaders should,” Waugh said.
Rafael Nadal’s 16-match winning streak ended when the 19-year-old Spaniard was beaten on Tuesday night in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters by a less-celebrated teenager. Tomas Berdych wore down the second-seeded Nadal in a two-hour, 57-minute match. Lleyton Hewitt played in his first match in the tournament.
Phil Mickelson might be the new PGA champion but it is Tiger Woods who will be firm favourite to collect the ,3-million first prize at this week’s WGC NEC Invitational. In the six previous NEC’s, Woods has amassed a stunning -million in prize money. He has won three times and never finished worse than fourth.