President Thabo Mbeki’s questioning of employment statistics is not in any way denialism, but rather an "explanation-seeking necessary interrogation", says Haroon Bhorat, director of the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. More importantly, as Mbeki concedes, the questioning should not distract from the serious lack of formal, quality employment.
Statistics South Africa is facing a crisis, in the short term at least, in its attempt to improve the quality of its output. This is according to Dr Hillary Southall, chairperson of the Statistics Council. Southall describes the agency as being "woefully short of capacity" and says that if it is left unattended it will just "fall apart".
The bail-out of embattled clothing-maker Rex Trueform was stitched up this week: while the legendary factory will survive, over three-quarters of its workers are likely to get the chop. In addition, the last-ditch deal rests on the company’s commitment to stock its retail outlets with garments from the factory. Rex Trueform owns the Salt River, Cape Town, factory plant where 1 000 jobs are currently at risk.
The Durban Institute of Technology pioneered the radical transformation of higher education by venturing out as the first merger in higher education under the democratic dispensation. It is a highly contested terrain. It is against this background that I take issue with Sam Sole’s loose assertion that, "Merged KZN technikons ‘remain deeply divided’".
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Buyelwa Sonjica has a tricky job. She needs to manage the implementation of the 1998 water Act, and try to ensure that black farmers gain access to water resources without cutting into the productivity of commercial farms. All of this work overlaps the responsibilities of other Cabinet portfolios, but Sonjica manages almost no implementation budget.
In Johannesburg this morning the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of T-shirt makers and parody specialists Laugh It Off, bringing to an end the heavily publicised legal battle between the tiny company and multinational brewing giant South African Breweries (SAB). But media excitement has been marred by the gag order placed on <i>Mail & Guardian</i> last night.
"The idea that you are a moderniser just because you can appear on television without a tie is wrong. It is not just about not wearing ties." So said a man called Tim Yeo, a British Conservative Party MP who, along with what seems to be every man and his dog, is a contender to succeed Michael Howard as Tory leader. It is depressing to see how low British politics has stooped.
Racial tension and anti-foreign sentiment grew in Kenya this week as outrage continued following the release of a white farmer who confessed to killing a Maasai game ranger. The country’s attorney general, decided there wasn’t enough evidence against Tom Cholmondeley, a member of Kenya’s most prominent white settler dynasties, the Delameres, to sustain a murder charge.
What kind of higher education system do we want, and what is actually emerging? These are surely the fundamental questions beneath the noise engendered by the government’s intention to cap student enrolment numbers at all tertiary institutions, starting from next year. An equally urgent question concerns who speaks for higher education.
Trucks, socks and even soft drink cans are being pressed into service by Zimbabwean gold smugglers desperate to avoid trading their treasure for worthless currency at rock-bottom rates. One man’s favourite method involves putting his gold dust into an opened Coke can.