First and foremost, have fun - 2 Jul 2013[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] Work on work that is meaningful. Cape Town's Black River Office Park is taking sustainable development to a whole new level. They're in the process of installing the largest solar PV system in Southern Africa. Two green thumbs up to you lot! Take risks. There's a new SA radio station lurking on the interwebs, and it goes by the name of EuroTrashMusic - not your cup of tea? Don't be put off by the name - it's more a reference to a type of music rather than the location of the music, explains the station's founder Craig Steyn. read more Madiba critical but comfortable - 25 Jun 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] The news is topped right now, quite rightly, by reports around Nelson Mandela's health status, which is reported to be critical, but his medical team is ensuring he is as comfortable as possible. If you're cohabiting, you may need to cough up in the event of an insurance claim... apparently, unmarried couples who live together or keep their possessions at their partner's residence face an increased risk of insurance claim rejections for personal belongings if they fail to fully disclose their living situation to their insurers. Ouch! The Competition Commission has reached a settlement with 15 construction firms, who have agreed to pay fines to the tune of R1.46bn for collusive tendering. read more Banning, a bad idea - 18 Jun 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] That's the message according to research released last week by Econometrix. The results show that a ban on alcohol advertising would cost nearly 12,000 jobs and almost R1.8bn in tax revenue. The government has, as expected, dismissed the findings as one-sided etc, but one has to ask whether the full implications of banning alcohol advertising, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's latest target, have been properly thought through. Econometrix senior economist Rob Jeffrey said his research also revealed that there was no statistical relationship in South Africa between advertising expenditure and the consumption of alcohol. read more Fraudsters named and shamed, but… - 11 Jun 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] It's all very well for Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe to tell us that the naming and shaming of a list of convicts shows government's commitment in fighting fraud and corruption. However, there are many of us out there who would like to see a few people higher up, so to speak, not only go to court and answer charges, but also be named and shamed if found guilty. We have a massive unemployment problem in this country, right? But the ANC is hell-bent on banning labour brokers. read more Rhino poacher gets 11 years - 4 Jun 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] ... and there are many of us out there who wish Abel Mashabane had got more than 11 years in prison for poaching. read more Whale watching? Watch out! - 28 May 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] "Hello? Hello? Hellllooooo? Ah! Is that Tina? Listen, I want to go and watch some whales off Hermanus... is that OK with you..?" Bureaucracy going overboard... read more Cloaks without daggers? - 21 May 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele says that a solid case is being built against South Africans suspected of having links with terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab; arrests can be expected soon. In passing, however, he also mentioned that the government wants to recruit more spies. That begs the question for some: what for? It also makes some people wonder... read more 'Dirtbin' needs a paint job - 14 May 2013[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] Durban's city centre has never been my favourite place; I always find my senses being thoroughly assaulted. Don't get me wrong, I grew up in Durban and still feel very precious about my home town, and I'll defend it to the summit of Tafelberg because I have always seen its potential - in my mind all it's ever needed is a fresh coat of paint. KZN MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu sees that same potential, calling for the recently held Tourism Indaba to make Durban its home. And why not, really? In its 34 years, the conference has more often than not been held successfully in Durban. read more Turbulent times for SAA - 7 May 2013[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] SAA has found itself in a spot of bother yet again. Anyone surprised? This time round it's had to borrow R1,5 billion just to keep the airline operating. read more What's Kookin'? - 23 Apr 2013[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] British band The Kooks were cookin' in Cape Town and Joburg last weekend, all part of the latest #5GumExperience - a brand activation that had fans fighting servere cases of FOMO in their efforts to win tickets. Ruth Cooper travelled to the secret location in Cape Town, a film studio warehouse in Salt River, for a Flippin' Kooky night. While being in a band like The Kooks must seem like all play and no work, there's always some ground work to be covered to make sure your IP rights are covered. read more Oh, the shame! - 16 Apr 2013[Rod Baker: Content Director] So you thought it was beef you were eating? Well, yes and perhaps no... It seems - and if you haven't been made painfully aware of this issue over the past weeks then you are not on this planet - that some tried-and-trusted supermarket chains have been stocking incorrectly labelled meat products. read more Horn o’ puke - 9 Apr 2013[Rod Baker: Content Director] In a bid to counter rhino poaching for their horns, the horns are being given non-lethal toxic infusions so that consumers overseas will risk becoming seriously ill. There are many people in this country who probably wish that the infusions were lethal, so that the trade dries up altogether. Meanwhile, our president is a bit miffed over what he terms newspapers' 'selective' reporting. read more BRICS for Africa - 2 Apr 2013[Rod Baker: Content Director] The fifth BRICS Summit ended recently and was marked by Jacob Zuma's call for the organisation to create a new funding model in Africa. He wants regional projects to be favoured for finance. read more Pule pummels paper - 26 Mar 2013[Rod Baker: Content Director] Via the Department of Communications, the communications minister Dina Pule has come out firing on all barrels and has taken on the Sunday Times over what the department claims is a smear campaign against her. The final straw was apparently the newspaper's call on Sunday to Zuma to fire Pule. On a happy note, and this is not an April Fool's joke so there's not need to check the calendar, Bizcommunity.com has instituted a price freeze on most of our rates for 2013! Also on a happy, more melodious note (pardon the pun), the 19th Annual MTN South African Music Awards has announced this year's nominees. Ford is doing its bit for the environment, and to combat water shortages, has cut its global water use by 62% since 2000. read more Do not waste that water! - 19 Mar 2013[Rod Baker: Content Director] We live in a country in which water is not as plentiful as we'd like, so it makes sense that conserving water is the theme of Green Office Week (GOW). GOW this year takes place from Monday, 22 to Friday, 26 April. TopTV wants to broadcast porn, and many people and religious groups don't want them to - so it seems there is a TopTV porn boycott looming. read more |
