Of course, the big news over the past few days has been Pravin Gordhan's budget speech, which has been dissected and analysed, as usual. Not least of these analyses is that by Nedbank Private Wealth, which provided its
observations on the 2013-14 Budget Speech.
Gordhan's budget, as usual, was somewhat of a balancing act, but what taxpayers everywhere would like to see is action, not just words, on corruption, mismanagement and waste. After all, we all realise we have to pay taxes, but we want to see our tax monies being used where it matters - and properly, across the board.
Our planet is our only home, so we'd better do better in looking after it. One way of doing so is through protecting and nurturing biodiversity, which, says minister of water and environmental affairs, Edna Molewa,
contributes to economy - she says the benefits derived from biodiversity or ecosystem services are estimated at R73bn, contributing to 7% of South Africa's GDP per annum.
We've heard it all before... this plan and that plan to create jobs - or "job opportunities" - and this time it's the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government that says it will
assist in creating 11m jobs by 2030.
Job creation is absolutely vital for the future of this country; some fear the levels of frustration and despair among the unemployed could rise to such levels as to lead to civil unrest. Hence, any plan to create jobs is to be welcomed... but how many have there been, and what successes have they achieved? Governments - provincial and national, need to be wary of over-promising and under-delivering.
Is it the end of the land line? Mitchell Barker says that landline users in South Africa are cutting the cord.
Finally, our not so frugal, but fast and fancy motoring editor Henrie Geyser reckons that the new Ford Fiesta is just that...
frugal, fast, fancy.
Rod Baker: Content Director
Submit your company news to
environmentalnews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to
contributors-environmental@bizcommunity.com.
Green technology is essential to guarantee South Africa's energy security and reduce reliance on imported oil, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said in Pretoria West on Tuesday (26 February). 
Nominations are now open for the second annual Green Heart Award to recognise and reward those workplace eco-champions who have inspired green behaviour in the office. 
Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has been asked to explain the "sudden change of heart" that led to the approval of a R6bn golf course development after it had been blocked by her department. 
WWF South Africa (WWF-SA) welcomes President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the importance placed on social infrastructure. As a conservation organisation that understands the socio-economic needs of the country and its people, it will continue to explore ways in which to support or strengthen government efforts in this regard. 
The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, says the benefits derived from biodiversity or ecosystem services are estimated at R73bn, contributing to 7% of South Africa's GDP per annum. 
The South African National Parks (SANParks) is refuting a report made in Beeld regarding rhino DNA samples. The paper's report is based on an unnamed source within the Kruger National Park (KNP), who alleges foul play and the deliberate switching off of fridges storing the samples, a claim rejected by the Kruger National Park Environmental Crime Scene Investigations Unit representative, who said that data was never lost. 
93 pages
