Service delivery is a major problem as it is, but what exacerbates the issue is when those charged with using our tax monies to deliver services too often use it to further their own ends and enrich themselves. So it is to be welcomed that Minister of Justice and Reconciliation Jeff Radebe has announced that the
names of those government officials convicted of corruption are to be published.
In a similar vein, National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel says there should be
consequences for public servants who do not deliver. Many people might add to that: "What about adding non-performing government ministers and provincial MECs to the mix?"
Writing from the US, Reuben Yonatan tells us
what we can expect from VoIP in 2013. As he says, the future is always bright for any kind of computer-related or especially internet-related technology so we can always expect new innovations, but just what sort of innovations can we predict?
It is the government's job to provide the environment in which business can thrive, and it is the job of business to then provide employment. Unfortunately, it appears that in SA much conspires against the establishment and healthy growth of SMEs; a recent
study finds South Africa is hostile to SMEs.
Finally, the thought of our tame motoring editor Henrie Geyser in makeup - fancy or otherwise - is, well... deeply disturbing. But the same cannot be said, thank goodness, for Opel's new OPC rocket, which Henrie reckons is
a rocket ship with fancy make-up.
Rod Baker: Content Director
Submit your company news to
manufacturingnews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to
contributors-manufacturing@bizcommunity.com.
Mining equipment manufacturer Joy Global Mining has awarded the outsource contract for its distribution service to Imperial Distribution, part of the Imperial Logistics Group. The three-and-a-half-year contract, which was won on open tender, represents the company's first in the mining industry. 
Packaging conglomerate Nampak's share price has stuck fairly close to its 12-month high in spite of increasing evidence of tempered consumer demand for fast-moving consumer goods. 
According to the second round of the SME Growth Index™, 'Easier/Harder for Small Business in South Africa', produced by business environment specialists SBP, the survival of South Africa's Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) community, is under both immediate and long-term threat. 
BARCELONA, SPAIN: Mozilla Foundation is to launch its widely anticipated Firefox operating system for smartphones in a direct challenge to the duopoly of Apple's iOS and Google's Android. 
BARCELONA, SPAIN: Nokia, once the leader of the mobile phone world, unveiled two new Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones aimed at the cheaper end of the market. 
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: The incoming chief executive of BHP Billiton, Andrew MacKenzie, said on Sunday (24 February) he will maintain focus on costs and productivity when he takes the helm at the world's biggest miner in May. 
WASHINGTON, USA: The global market for tablet computers surged 78.4% last year, with 128m of the devices sold, a survey showed on Thursday (21 February). 
South Africa 's massive infrastructure plan should not be allowed to be impacted upon by the global economic slowdown or derailed by a lack of funding, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said this week. 
Substantial progress has been made the past decade and a half in relation to schooling, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande claimed on Tuesday (19 February). 
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