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
legalnews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to
contributors-legal@bizcommunity.com.
PRETORIA: Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has appointed retired Constitutional Court judge, Justice Zak Yacoob, to head up an enquiry into allegations of impropriety made against South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Oupa Magashula. 
It's gratifying to see that when the SA Revenue Service comes knocking the money it collects doesn't just go to buying piles of The New Age newspaper for security guards at the SABC and Eskom to prop their coffee on. 
Some days Erik Venter must wonder what he's got himself into. After 17 years in one of the toughest businesses there is, he still gets up every morning and drives to Comair's head office at OR Tambo International Airport for another day of oil prices that cruise as high as any airline, a major competitor on a permanent drip-feed from the state, and the drag of a prolonged global recession. 
An entrepreneur is accusing MTN of stealing his intellectual property after the cellphone giant invited parties to send proposals for a travel-booking product he has been working on with MTN since 2010. 
The government could bring greater stability to the agricultural sector if it speeds up the settlement of gazetted land claims in the sugar industry, which is reeling because of unresolved cases affecting 40% of commercial, productive cane farms, according to the South African Sugar Association (Sasa). 
The history of prohibition reveals that legislators are slow learners. There is no doubt that irresponsible alcohol consumption damages the fabric of home and community life. However, the idea that partial or complete prohibition is a solution tells at least as much about human stupidity as it does about poor faith and even - on occasion - pure malice. 
LONDON, UK: Millions of emails and leaked records from offshore tax havens have exposed the identities of thousands of holders of offshore accounts, including the family of the president of Azerbaijan and French President Francois Hollande's one-time campaign treasurer, The Guardian and Le Monde newspapers reported on Thursday (4 April). 
NEW YORK, US: The Cannes Lions advertising awards announced last week that they are changing their judging system after what Advertising Age described as "Last Year's Media-Judging Scandal" with "widespread accusations of cheating." 
Smaller users of piped gas might see prices drop soon, according to the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) although larger users may face price increases. 
93 pages
