Jabulani Sikhakhane appointed editor of Business Report

Independent Newspapers has appointed seasoned journalist Jabulani Sikhakhane as editor of Business Report. Sikhakhane joined Business Report, Independent Newspapers' national business daily insert, in February 2005 as deputy editor.

"With his wealth of experience, we have no doubt Jabulani will play the pivotal role in the growth strategy for Business Report. We are fortunate to have such an experienced and well-regarded editor at the helm," said Independent Newspapers' chief executive Tony Howard.

He paid tribute to Business Report's outgoing editor Alide Dasnois, who is currently acting editor at the Pretoria News. Howard said that Dasnois had shown her versatility first as editor of Business Report and currently as acting editor of the Pretoria News. She will be taking up the position of deputy editor at the Cape Times from 1 December 2006.

Sikhakhane's relationship with the Independent Group dates back to 1989 when he was a financial journalist for The Star, writing on company developments and trends in black business, before joining international news agency Reuters.

A recipient of the coveted Nieman Fellowship, Sikhakhane has worked for top business publications, including Enterprise, FinWeek, Business Times, Financial Mail and most recently was editor of City Press Business before joining Business Report.

He has 18 years experience in the journalism field. Originally trained as a business journalist by Wits Business School, Sikhakhane was part of a leadership exchange programme organized by the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. A Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University followed in 2001.

Sikhakhane was part of the Black Economic Empowerment Commission (BeeCom) established in 1998 and chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa, which reported to President Thabo Mbeki in July 2001. The BeeComs report became the basis of the BEE Act.

"I am honoured to be given the opportunity to edit Business Report... this must rank as one of the very best jobs in journalism in South Africa today. It will be a challenge to build on the work that Alide Dasnois did during her tenure at Business Report, but it is a challenge that I will relish because of the great team with whom I will be taking Business Report into the future," Sikhakhane said.

Sikhakhane has won several awards, including Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa's outstanding journalist of the year, 1999; CNN African Journalist of the Year in the Business category, 2000 and the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals journalist of the year, 2005.