On the African continent, growth is projected to accelerate to 4,5% in 2004 — the highest since 1996, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) says in its latest quarterly economic bulletin released on Friday. The SARB said global output growth gained momentum from about mid-2003.

An unprecedented agreement among tertiary institutions will see all higher education institutions implement a single entrance exam by 2008. This could soon clear up widespread confusion about what entry requirements school leavers need for higher education, raise the quality of tertiary graduates, and in turn enable higher education to address the dire skills shortages far more effectively than it now does.

Lindiwe Mvula is eighth in line, waiting with her trolley outside a recycling plant in Johannesburg’s Newtown. She’s there to sell the used cardboard and plastic she collects and she isn’t pleased with her haul. At the rate of 25c a kilo of cardboard she reckons it’s worth about R20 — not a lot for a hard day’s work. Mvula is just one of many who collect Jozi’s consumer cast-offs to make a living.

”What about the MPs?” was the question on Monday when the seven travel agents arrested in connection with the R16-million Travelgate — Parliament’s travel voucher scam — appeared in court. Almost six months after the travel agents’ arrests, Travelgate remains a tangle of legal proceedings — from liquidations of the four implicated agencies, to high court action by Parliament to reclaim owed monies.