Agri SA says that the
choices on labour unrest will be decisive for South Africa. It says in a statement that it is evident that the wage and related challenges are not exclusively, but mainly that of seasonal workers who have to earn their annual income over a period of a few months.
On the education front, something really needs to be done to jack up our education system after the latest results show that
maths and science skills remain poor, with grade nine pupils recording a dismal average score of 12.7% in mathematics and 35% in first additional language in the Department of Basic Education's second annual national assessments of pupils' mathematics and literacy abilities.
Such results will have a massive impact on school-leavers' ability to find employment.
On the tourism front, Chris Moerdyk asks:
Is SA being priced out of the tourist market? As comments on the article seem to have it, the answer could be a big "Yes!" and remember, once tourists have been ripped off - or feel they have been ripped off - they will never come back, and they will tell everyone they know.
Finally, Amelia Jones reckons that the
proposed BEE amendments are nonsensical, immoral and counter-productive and will hamper social development efforts in the Western Cape and elsewhere.
Rod Baker: Content Director
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Local company sustainableIT has been nominated in two categories for the international Tech Trailblazers awards. The Tech Trailblazers awards were designed specifically for tech start-ups and not only recognise innovation, but also proactively helps companies to grow their businesses with exclusive coaching, mentoring and development services. The awards are focused on the key enterprise IT sectors of cloud, infosecurity, mobile, networking, storage and virtualisation. 
Vodacom South Africa's 4G users can now enjoy voice calls and text messaging (SMS) along with their 4G service. To provide this service continuity, the operator has selected Nokia Siemens Networks' Liquid Core to enable circuit switched fall-back (CSFB) functionality in its LTE network. This functionality allows 4G users to make and receive voice calls using either the GSM or 3G network while retaining the benefit of ultra-fast data services via LTE. 
South Africa's tax system measures up well against those of other countries, but will need to reform further as other countries are catching up. 
GABORONE, BOTSWANA: Botswana on Monday (3 December) became the second African country to be featured on Google Maps' Street View, allowing users to explore landmarks such as the Okavango Delta. 
WASHINGTON, USA: Google and Twitter announced Friday (30 November) they have reactivated a voice-tweet program to allow Syrians affected by the shutdown of the Internet to get messages out. 
RESTON, US: comScore, Inc has released data from the 
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Microsoft announced on Thursday (29 November) that its Surface Pro tablet aimed at business users, would be available in January next years starting at US$899. 
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Samsung Electronics on Thursday (29 November) launched a new Internet-connected camera in South Korea, as the electronics giant intensifies efforts to expand its dominance in the mobile phone market to other sectors. 
HELSINKI, FINLAND: Finnish mobile giant Nokia said on Wednesday it had filed lawsuits in the US, Britain and Canada against Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) claiming it has breached patent agreements. 
LOS ANGELES, USA: General Motors said on Tuesday (27 November) it will integrate Apple's voice-activated software Siri in some of its cars next year to allow iPhone users to perform hands-free tasks. 
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Apple has ousted the executive who oversaw the mobile maps program which was a spectacular flop, a report said Tuesday (27 November). 
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson said on Tuesday (27 November) that it was suing South Korean rival Samsung in a US court for violating patents. 
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Facebook said on Monday, 26 November, it was adding Apple iTunes digital credits to its new gift service at the social network. 
A new record of 5.66m income tax returns have been submitted during this year's tax season‚ the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Tuesday (27 November), 16,4% higher than the previous year. 
