Wednesday 18 November, 2015 - 11:20
This month (November 2015), media reports averred that a decision had been taken to purchase a new presidential aircraft, at a cost of around R4 billion. “Jacob Zuma to get new R4 billion presidential jet,” was the headline on the Times LIVE website, while News24 at least put a question mark at the end of its headline, “R4 billion VIP jet for Zuma?”
Wednesday 18 November, 2015 - 10:59
In an ironic twist, the students were not the ones to blame for the suggested hike in fees - but the class of 2015 would literally have been the ones paying for it.
A zero percent increase in fees has now been clarified and confirmed by President Jacob Zuma, and the Department for Higher Education and Training is facing a long task of truly providing free tertiary education for everyone. But are we looking at this from the wrong angle: can the private sector help solve the problem?
Tuesday 17 November, 2015 - 11:28
The United Nations Children’s Fund says about 11million children in Eastern and Southern Africa face hunger, disease and water shortages due to the strongest El Niño weather phenomenon in decades.
Food and water shortages brought about by drought and floods are causing malnutrition, which increases vulnerability to killer diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, cholera and dengue fever.
Tuesday 17 November, 2015 - 11:18
Telkom has said it is in talks to buy Cell C as it seeks to boost its fledging mobile phone business.
Mybroadband spokesperson, Jan Vermeullen, says Telkom’s plans to buy Cell C will be a good idea as it will gain a very significant mobile phone operator.
Buying Cell C, the third largest mobile telecoms network in Africa, to boost the fixed line operator’s fledging mobile phone business, would give Telkom about 20 million mobile phone users.
Tuesday 17 November, 2015 - 11:08
Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, says that illegal mining is behind 10 percent of the overall murder rate in the province.
Nkosi-Malobane says it is not only illegal immigrants who were involved, adding that, “There are those rich people who use some of the less fortunate people to mine illegally on their behalf.”
She argues that the kingpins are the ones that we need to act against in order to close this illegal market before we can deal with the small men on the street.
Tuesday 17 November, 2015 - 11:04
While university students fight for their rights, just over 50 percent of the country's youth are unemployed.
The Child Gauge 2015 report, released by the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town, states that 51 percent of those aged between 20 and 24 are not employed or studying, while 21 percent are employed, 16 percent are still completing school and 12 percent are studying or training.
Wednesday 11 November, 2015 - 15:17
Today, I’m excited to announce that the Ford Foundation’s two-year transition is over. In this message, I share a number of major decisions and offer details on FordForward - our blueprint for changes in our culture, our programmes, and our assets. I invite you to read about these decisions and my reflections on them below, and to explore the details of Ford’s programmes throughout our new website.
Challenging inequality
Wednesday 4 November, 2015 - 9:22
The National Development Plan's (NDP) trajectory of a 5.4 percent average economic growth rate per year is realistically impossible.
Members of Parliament (MP) have weighed in on the debate about this, after the chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Jeff Radebe, says they are not going to revise it downward, as the National Treasury and all other financial institutions have done recently.
Tuesday 3 November, 2015 - 14:23
The Finance Minister’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was overshadowed by the student activism outside Parliament as the #FeesMustFall campaign gained momentum. We have withheld this Response pending further details of how President Jacob Zuma’s assurance that there would be zero increase in fees next year would be financed, as this would impact on the MTBPS. To date however, no details have been revealed.
Monday 2 November, 2015 - 16:22
On the occasion of World Cities Day, top United Nations (UN) officials are highlighting the key role of urban design in building sustainable, socially integrated and prosperous cities and human settlements.
"Good design can help tackle climate change. It reduces the impacts of disaster. It can help make our cities safer, cleaner, and more equal and integrative.
It promotes equal access to services, jobs and opportunities, and fosters contentment," explains UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.
