Vol 48 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA A highly political budget 2nd March 2007 Higher spending and a budget surplus smack a tasty pre-election mixtur The budget was full of handouts. On 21 February Finance Minister Trevor Manuel dished out tax cuts, paid off apartheid-era debt, and boosted public spending on almost everything...
Vol 48 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Mining revolt 2nd March 2007 The global stock market jitters on 27 February - prompted by 9% falls on the Shanghai and Hong Kong markets - hold two lessons for South Africa. Firstly,...
Vol 48 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Raining on the parade 16th February 2007 Heated arguments about crime and unemployment draw attention away from the government's economic successes Cape Town was gripped by a heat wave with temperatures soaring into the high 30s, in the days leading up to the opening of parliament on 9 February...
Vol 48 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Women in power 16th February 2007 Who are the women vying for the top jobs in the African National Congress, and what are their chances? The National Assembly has 131 female members out of 400, up from just 12 before the 1994 elections. This places South Africa twelfth in the global league of...
Vol 48 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Cyril eyes the presidency 16th February 2007 Union leader turned tycoon Cyril Ramaphosa has discreetly informed senior members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions that he is prepared to be a candidate for...
Vol 48 No 2 | SOUTH AFRICA South Africa's spat 19th January 2007 South Africa, host to the New Partnership for African Development (NePAD) Secretariat and driving force behind the African Peer Review Mechanism, should have run a model assessment, bringing...
Vol 47 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICA Help, murder, police! 1st December 2006 The investigation of a fraudster's murder raises doubts about the national police chief's position President Thabo Mbeki and Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula are so far standing by National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is at the centre of a bizarre...
Vol 47 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICA The police chief, his friends and foes 1st December 2006 Jackie Selebi's appointment as the first black Police Commissioner was initially well received. In August 2004, he was elected as the first African President of the International Criminal...
Vol 47 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICAECONOMY Powering up 1st December 2006 Overseas investment in aluminium helps the Eastern Cape and requires more investment in power Alcan is to build a US$2.7 billion smelter at the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) in South Africa's Eastern Cape. This could salvage the Zone's faltering fortunes -...
Vol 47 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICAECONOMY Forget the politics, say advisors 1st December 2006 An overpriced rand and government protectionism block foreign direct investment and economic growth. That is the view of a team of Harvard University economists, who are advising the...