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. Well, what about giving us a complete and believable account of how 13 of our troops ended up dead in the CAR?

Have you flown SAA recently? No, nor have I - but quite a bit of my tax monies are going to the airline anyway. One who is not taking it lying down is Comair's Erik Venter, who's flying high as his court battle looms. Quite rightly, in the eyes of a great many people, he's sick of seeing our inefficiently run national carrier being bailed out by the billions. Private and state airlines in SA should compete on a level playing field - and that's not what is happening now.

Feeling like you're being taxed into poverty? Join the club - because you have contributed your bit to SARS collecting R814bn in taxes for the 2012/13 fiscal year. That's R4bn more than what Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had projected when he delivered the National Budget in February.

Any chance firm measures - more than merely meaningless words - can be taken to ensure ALL of our hard-earned cash is used properly? You know... not stolen, not misspent, not wasted on new ministers' cars and luxury travel and luxury accommodation... and parties?

Finally, Zando.co.za, together with its partners Bizcommunity.com, Build-A-Bear Workshop, CourierIT, Dialogue and Infidels have set up a campaign to get those less fortunate school kids shoes in time for winter. Join in - do the right thing.

Rod Baker: Content Director

Submit your company news to agriculturenews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to contributors-agriculture@bizcommunity.com.