15 Oct 2013

Government

Ramphele: Drop BEE

Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele has called for SA to abandon empowerment, which, she says, has not worked. A great many people would agree with her. She also said that under an Agang government, officials found guilty of corruption would be jailed for a minimum of 15 years. Do we hear calls of "More!" "More!"?

Our education system is generally considered by quite a few people to be in a shambles, so it's not surprising that it's bleeding teachers. According to Angie Motshekga, some 14,000 teachers left the education department in the 2012/13 financial year. Of these, 6,272 resigned. If one reads media reports of teachers being assaulted, disruptive pupils and what-have-you, the only real surprise is that there are not more teachers taking the gap and taking up less onerous jobs in which they will have the respect they deserve... from all quarters.

We need entrepreneurs here, but Canada plans to lure SA entrepreneurs to Canada with a Start-up Visa. So what are we going to do to keep our budding entrepreneurs and future employers here?

Come fly with me - but only if you have a bit of cash... Rob Baker (no relation, as you can see he's far better looking than I am) makes some points about what the role of a state-owned airline should be, and also, what the state should not do that might stifle competition.

Rod Baker, Content Director

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Weekly top stories


Government
The role of a state-owned airline
[Rob Baker] Whilst government has a clear role in delivering essential services to the needy, you won't find many of the millions of suffering South Africans at airports or on flights. Quite the opposite in fact, as once you've become a "jetsetter" you've arrived at a space unavailable to the poor. So, why are government involved in the airline industry? Read more >>


Administration
Commission awaits 'sensitive documents'
The arms procurement commission resumed on Monday, 14 October, and cynics are waiting to see whether the Department of Defence and its procurement agency, Armscor, have declassified "sensitive documents". Read more >>

Angling for the big fish
With leisure tourism somewhat curtailed by recession, a diversified strategy has become the best bet for sustained growth into the next decade. As a result, SA Tourism is looking at aggressively driving gains in business-related tourism through hosting more conventions, exhibitions and international meetings on SA soil. Read more >>

DA bemoans hurdles for 'urgent' youth wage bill
[Linda Ensor] Considerable obstacles stand in the way of the adoption by Parliament of the draft Employment Tax Incentive Bill‚ which is required urgently to address the crisis of youth unemployment‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday, 15 October. Read more >>

No locomotive deal probe needed says Prasa
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has rejected the DA's call for the auditor general to investigate a R3.5bn locomotive deal that was outsourced because Transnet would not have been able to deliver the trains. Read more >>

High malnutrition rates in De Doorns
De Doorns in the Western Cape has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, the social development department said. Read more >>

Pule sanctioned SABC/MultiChoice deal?
[Rod Baker] NEWSWATCH: According to an ITWeb report, quoting City Press, former communications minister Dina Pule sanctioned the controversial R550m SABC/MultiChoice deal. Read more >>

ANC tightens its grip on the SABC (part two)
[Ed Herbst] President Jacob Zuma appointed a new SABC board of directors two weeks ago. Veteran SABC reporter Ed Herbst, in the second part of his essay (see part one here, looks at the history of board interference and political control of the SABC. Read more >>

Gauteng Health spends R30m on linen
The Gauteng Department of Health has spent R30m on buying new linen for hospitals and clinics that currently facing acute shortages of bedding. Read more >>

Health care for military veterans
A total of 4,800 medical health cards are expected to be issued to military veterans so they can have free access to health care services in different military health facilities across the country. Read more >>

UIF set to extend benefit payment period
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is on the verge of expanding the period of benefit payments from eight months to 12 months, says the fund's commissioner Boas Seruwe. Read more >>

Gordhan is Finance Minister of the Year
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was on named Finance Minister of the Year (2013) in the sub-Saharan Africa category by Emerging Markets. Read more >>

Hartbeespoort becomes 'water desert'
Pollution from 2.7m people living in areas surrounding the Harbeespoort Dam is turning the dam into a "water desert". Read more >>

Divisions over 'aggressive' tax planning
[Amanda Visser] Tax authorities are being more aggressive in challenging companies' tax practices, but this is leading to a disparity over what tax practitioners and politicians consider aggressive tax planning. Read more >>

14,000 teachers leave education department
More than 14,000 teachers left the department of basic education in the 2012/13 financial year, Minister Angie Motshekga said in a parliamentary reply. Read more >>

Tolls are like toilets says Peters
[Adam Wakefield] The user-pays principle to be implemented on Gauteng's freeways was comparable to paying to use a toilet, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Thursday (10 October). Read more >>

SA welcomes Global Fund's R3bn HIV grant
Cabinet has welcomed and thanked the Global Fund for its R3bn funding grant to support HIV and TB programmes in the country. Read more >>

Shale gas exploration an opportunity for SA
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu says the potential for shale gas exploration and exploitation provides an opportunity for South Africa to begin exploring the production of its own fuel and marks the beginning of the re-industrialisation of the economy. Read more >>

Calls for speedy resolution of labour disputes
President Jacob Zuma has urged labour and business to work on any unresolved labour disputes so that the economy can return to full production. Read more >>

Business must help in Youth Employment Accord
[Nthambeleni Gabara] Business should partner with government in devising an intervention anchored on the pillars of the Youth Employment Accord, says Transport Minister Dipuo Peters. Read more >>

Birth, death registration on farms set to become easier
The Department of Home Affairs has partnered with Agri-SA to make the registration of births on farms easier for parents, farm owners and Home Affairs officials. Read more >>

Imperial Car Imports takes bigger stake in Renault SA
Imperial Holdings, through its Imperial Car Imports division, on Thursday (10 October) has been given approval to raise its ownership of Renault SA to 60% by the Competition Commission. Read more >>

Drug makers battle over Pill
One of South Africa's most popular contraceptives, Yasmin, is the subject of a bitter court battle that pits a generic drugs company against a multinational. Read more >>

Calls to halt policy drift in wake of BMW snub
[Karl Gernetzky‚ Ntsakisi Maswanganyi‚ Nicky Smith] The government is facing a growing chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum over the uncertainty of its economic policies‚ with strikes‚ inflexible labour laws and a sharp slowdown in its infrastructure roll-out being identified as brakes on growth. Read more >>

BMW not leaving South Africa says Davies
German car manufacturer BMW is not ceasing its production in South Africa‚ Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said in Pretoria on Wednesday (10 October). Read more >>

Dti to launch informal sector scheme
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will launch an informal sector scheme, which will give grants to the country's informal sector, dti Director General Lionel October said on Wednesday, 8 October. Read more >>

More needs to be done for SMMEs says Thabethe
Although there has been progress on policy and the development of support infrastructure for small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), more still needs to be done, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe. Read more >>

IEC unveils election plan
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Wednesday, 10 October, unveiled an elaborate election plan that includes a voter registration campaign to attract as many South Africans as possible to participate in next year's general elections. Read more >>

Department welcomes e-toll court verdict
The Department of Transport has welcomed a Supreme Court of Appeal verdict on the matter of the challenge regarding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP). Read more >>

Vodacom‚ MTN shed R31bn in market value in 2 days
[Andries Mahlangu] Vodacom and MTN Group shares suffered a further knock on Tuesday (8 October)‚ bringing their combined losses in market value to about R31bn since Monday (7 October)‚ when investors first had a chance to react to last week's proposed cut in the mobile termination rate Read more >>

Ignorance about retirement funds problematic‚ OM survey shows
[Evan Pickworth] Households are looking to external sources such as the government or working children for support after retirement as the economic squeeze continues. Read more >>

SA is only Brics nation without maritime policy
[Linda Ensor] SA was the only country in the Brics bloc that did not have a maritime policy or strategy and that owned no ships‚ Transport Minister Dipuo Peters noted in the annual report of her department. Read more >>

Transformation too slow says Pityana
Progress in transforming South African workplaces is too slow says Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (CASAC) chairman Sipho Pityana. Read more >>

Patel reports funding records
Industrial funding disbursements and a crackdown on cartels was at a record high in the 2012/13 financial year, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday (8 October). Read more >>

Cell C takes bigger rivals to Competition Commission
Cell C announced on Wednesday (10 October) that it had formally lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission against the dominant incumbent mobile operators‚ MTN and Vodacom‚ for anti-competitive conduct. Read more >>

Sama wants student doctors withdrawn
The SA Medical Association has called on the Health Professional Council of SA to withdraw student doctors from Tembisa hospital. Read more >>

SA soldiers missing at sea after training
A Malawian soldier was killed and two South African soldiers are missing after a joint military training exercise went wrong in Namibia. Read more >>

Beat the rush for e-tags urges Sanral
Gauteng drivers should register for e-tags now to avoid the rush when e-tolling begins, the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) said on Tuesday, 8 October. Read more >>


International

Kenya not lobbying for ICC pull-out: minister
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: Kenya is not lobbying for an African withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, its foreign minister said last week as African leaders prepared to debate the issue. Read more >>


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