The vuvuzela has made its debut on the catwalk. Its blasts egged on the 64 clothing factory workers competing for the title of Spring Queen in Cape Town’s jam-packed Good Hope Centre. Cape Flats machinists swapped the shop floor for the catwalk to kick off a nine-day clothing industry spectacular.

While it is the Democratic Alliance’s racial profile that is often quoted as the factor limiting its ability to expand into black areas, its foreign policy is a forgotten conundrum. While most black South Africans view Cuban leader Fidel Castro and deceased Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat as heroes, the party seems to see them as anti-heroes.

It would take someone with dedication and superhuman skills to drive an institution with the mission to bring down South Africa’s unacceptably high level of unemployment and, thus, poverty. Dr Mbuyiseli Vanguard Mkosana, the new Director General of the Department of Labour, concedes the difficulties. Mkosana’s appointment was announced by Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana last week.

Although data on the extent of HIV/Aids and its impact on the South African economy vary, analysts agree that government and businesses need to take urgent action to combat the virus. Some analysts believe the country’s gross domestic product will be 17% lower by 2010 than it would have been without Aids, wiping -billion off the country’s economy.

National government is rejecting calls to bail out delinquent provinces brought to the fiscal brink by chaotic accounting, social grant fraud and inadequate budget controls. And with even well-off provinces squeezed for cash, the debate over provincial taxation is gaining a sharp new edge as some provinces plan to impose their own fuel tax.