SA Airways (SAA) is currently one of the most critical issues dominating the public debate. This is not entirely surprising considering the staggering amount of public funds that have been used to support it over the years. I have argued that behind this erratic performance is the failure to confront the objective question: Should the national airline fulfil a commercial […]
Read MorePoor families have been cutting down on buying proper nutritious food by as much as 26%, and need another R1 062.38 a month to be able to afford it. The August 2018 Household Affordability Index was compiled by NGO the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group. It is in response to the government-commissioned panel of experts’ report on VAT, released […]
Read MoreCosatu is warning that job cuts in the public sector will lead to a skills exit, leaving departments with no option but to rehire those who left to work as consultants. Speaking to City Press this week following a special sitting of the trade union federation’s central executive committee, general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said that Cosatu was “furious” with the […]
Read MoreTrade and Industry Minister Rob Davies this week endorsed a massive hike in protection for the sugar industry following a recommendation from the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac). Sugar, like wheat, is protected by a special variable tariff based on a dollar reference price. This price is effectively what a fair price for sugar is deemed to be, and the […]
Read MoreWashington — Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the US, the Trump administration declares in a major new policy statement that threatens to undermine decades of government campaigns for gas-thrifty cars and other conservation programmes. The position was outlined in a memo released last month in support of the administration‘s proposal to relax fuel mileage standards. The […]
Read MoreLondon – Reclusive titan of industry Jim Ratcliffe has found himself under unusual scrutiny after being declared Britain‘s richest man, with his political leanings and tax affairs coming under the microscope. The 65-year-old head of the Ineos chemicals group has assets worth an estimated £21bn ($26.7bn, €23.5bn), putting him top of the 2018 Sunday Times rich list. He was only […]
Read MoreIn the spring of 1994, Abdoul Salam Nizeyimana’s executioners arrived. It was about two weeks after the Hutu majority-controlled government stepped up its decades-long persecution of the Tutsi minority, calling on citizens to slaughter all Tutsis. Nizeyimana’s family was Tutsi, and it didn’t take long for the killers to come knocking. Nizeyimana, who was three years old at the time, […]
Read More