Staff Reporter

Four of South Africa’s leading apparel retailers — Edcon, Foschini, Truworths and Woolworths — have announced the establishment of a trust fund to help research and implement solutions to sourcing in the local apparel manufacturing industry, as well as confirming their commitment to local sourcing.

The world seems to be swiftly and quietly stepping into the Twilight Zone, on a number of different fronts. This is the week that an extinction-level asteroid is flying past us — with almost no mention of it in the mass media, US warships are off the coast of North Korea, there appears to be something happening with the position of the Moon, and most frightening to me — I can’t find the organic shampoo I like.

Trade liberalisation alone will not boost growth and poverty reduction in Africa, says the United Nations (UN) in its Economic Report on Africa 2004 (ERA 2004), published by the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa and released on Wednesday.

For months they were confined in anonymous boardrooms, breathing the recycled air of stalemate as a red wedge of social forces gathered itself outside for an assault on the simpler, better blue of the financial sector charter. And then, all of a spring afternoon, a thousand flowers bloomed: Blade Nzimande didn’t have to break down the door to the charter council, because Finance Minister Trevor Manuel had opened it for him.

There is a growing body of evidence that Gauteng education minister Angie Motshekga and her family benefited financially from the trust that she helped to land a stake in the lucrative provincial pension payout contract. There is also now proof that the trust did not benefit only from the pension deal, but that it also applied for direct government funding when Motshekga was minister of the Gauteng department of social development.

Every time there is a finding, or even an allegation, that a member of Parliament has failed to declare some or other asset or shareholding, there is a temptation to argue that MPs should be prohibited from having business interests. Though tempting, such a position would be a mistake. Every South African has a right to engage in any lawful business activity they wish.

Last week’s decision by Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to grant a licence to the second national operator (SNO) seems calculated to galvanise the foot-dragging SNO contenders into action. But the SNO faces a number of obstacles — the first being persistent bickering among shareholders, with threats of legal action.

After visiting Sudan last week, Amnesty International has refuted the Khartoum government’s claims that it is taking action against the Janjaweed militia who have been accused of raping, killing and scattering the people of Darfur. Amnesty International is the first foreign human rights NGO to have been given free rein to travel through Darfur and meet with senior members of the Sudanese government.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation was under investigation by a media commission on Thursday for airing footage of the beheading of a United States hostage in Iraq during its early-evening news programmes. "Everybody was shocked by the viewing," said Donna Mohamed of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=122740">We didn’t show it, says e.tv</a>

South African brewing giant SABMiller on Thursday reported that group financial performance in the five-month period to August 31 this year was strong, and earnings growth was recorded in all of its businesses. In a trading update ahead of interim results in November, SABMiller said for the same period, the group’s organic lager volume growth was more than 4%.

How to tell if you should go it alone Published: July 12, 2004 By Keeran Sewsunker for The Daily News Considering whether to take the plunge and make a business of one of your hobbies? Here are some questions to answer (truthfully) before you make the leap from hobbyist to full-time entrepreneur. There is obviously […]

Assemble a portrait of your customer Published: July 26, 2004 By Keeran Sewsunker for The Daily News Before your research is over, your ideas about your target customers may change several times. Add explanations and qualifiers under each category as they occur to you; these will document your thought processes and remind you of how […]

It is easy to fault the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for boycotting next year’s parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe. Critics fear that conceding every parliamentary seat to Zanu-PF will merely force the party to the margins and prevent it from yellow-carding the ruling party over electoral abuses. At the same time, one should not fall into the error — common among South African officials — of victim-blaming.

I guess the only thing that can be said is what Bra Hugh said: that there is nothing more to be said except that Dolly Rathebe was about laughter, joy and music. Sis Dolly Rathebe passed on when nobody expected her to on Thursday last week. The question is: Why did nobody expect her to? She was born, after all, in 1928, which is quite a long time ago. John Matshikiza plays tribute to this lady of jazz.

<b>Executive Director: People and Conservation, SANParks</b>

Razeena is intent on healing these divides. When SANParks identified a need to involve local communities in conservation efforts within parks, the Directorate for People and Conservation was created. “It is important to bring people into conservation. Our parks should no longer be silos of isolation,” she says.

Chief Operating Officer: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism It takes a very special person to keep DEAT running smoothly. Like the mother of a large household, Pam’s job is to ensure that the disparate parts of this diverse government department run like a well-oiled machine. ‘I thrive under pressure,” she says. ‘Every day is […]

It’s funny that the guys who probably personally ordered 9/11 (Haliburton Oil’s ex-CEO Dick Cheney and the son of the former head of the CIA, George Bush) had to hold each other’s hands during the whitewash known as the 9/11 commission. It’s also funny that you never really got to read what they said, as they sat side by side (but not under oath). Ian Fraser reveals little-known transcripts, and much more.

It is not often that an empowerment deal is hailed as "profound" — the term applied to Dimension Data SA’s recently announced agreement. Though it may not be as unique as the praise suggests, it has touched a chord among empowerment analysts. Its outstanding feature is that it goes beyond a simple equity deal, building in a defence against the "enrichment" criticism by insisting on specific value-add.

Programme Director: Integrated Rural Development, Southern African Region, W K Kellogg Foundation With a background in development planning, Vuyo now works to uplift the rural poor of Southern Africa. This work is close to her heart, to the extent of personally investing in their craft projects. Her work entails finding growth-oriented opportunities and sustainable funding […]

Environmental Management Consultant, Acer Africa While studying for a BSc towards a medical career, Bongi had to do research on wetlands at the Environmental Education Centre in Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal. This experience motivated her to major in ecology and microbiology. After graduating, she worked at the centre as an environmental officer, guiding school groups and […]

<b>Director: Water, Environment and Forestry Technology, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Environmentek</b>

South Africa continued its record performance to become one of the fastest-growing payment-card countries in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (Cemea) region in the year to the end of June, Visa International Cemea announced on Monday. South Africa witnessed exceptional growth on all key parameters.

Sudan’s justice minister told visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour that there was no genocide or rape in the strife-torn region of Darfur, a newspaper reported on Monday. But Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin said ending the crisis in Darfur is at "the top of the government priorities".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=122458">Khartoum to abide by ‘unfair’ resolution</a>