Business Day (South Africa) articles from May 2009

Business Day (South Africa) archives from May 2009

Call her on the carpet (not the red one).
May 30, 2009... Byline: Bryan Rostron Call her on the carpet (not the red one) SHAME, should've been in Cannes last week at the film festival, sipping aperitifs along the Croisette with Quentin (Tarantino to you), or swapping Hollywood gossip with Brad...

Judge president a liability Zuma must deal with.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Carmel Rickard Judge president a liability Zuma must deal with LET's give credit where it's due: this judge president is a man with ideas to match his gumption. No wonder he has such a brilliant academic record. His English alma mater...

Changing your mind is not a weakness.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Xolela Mangcu Changing your mind is not a weakness DEAR President Zuma, I have one little piece of advice for you. Please disregard all those people who say you should be tough with the workers. Unilateralism is the curse of the...

Appointment shows Zille up.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Xolela Mangcu Appointment shows Zille up US PRESIDENT Barack Obama made a decision that should put Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to shame not that they are in the same league, of course. The stakes are also vastly different which...

P.S.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Xolela Mangcu I DISAGREE with African National Congress secretary-general Gwede Mantashe about the march on the Reserve Bank by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa). Here, again, the issue comes back to that of goodwill...

Racial hint magnifies warlike sentiment.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Xolela Mangcu Racial hint magnifies warlike sentiment WHILE on the subject of double standards and contradictions, I was struck by an article that was written by one Prince Mashele in the Sunday Times last week. Mashele was upset that...

Explaining the crisis in layman's terms.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Xolela Mangcu Explaining the crisis in layman's terms I ADMIT to being a little slow on the uptake when it comes to economic matters. And so I have been plodding for the longest time through Paul Krugman's Depression Economics. To...

Proof that we're herd animals.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Paul Theron Proof that we're herd animals Stop trading like a wildebeest Robert Olsen of California State University just published an important paper in the US Journal of Investing. His groundbreaking research identifies striking...

Fun you can have with your clothes on.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Ian Franks Fun you can have with your clothes on MY DEAR sainted mother has never understood what I do for a living. When passing round the afternoon scones and Chianti with her sisters, she has for many years now simply fudged the...

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
May 30, 2009... HERO-RATED Maite Nkoana-Mashabane WHAT will China think? That might seem a tad simplistic as a substitute for a foreign policy, but it just about sums up the approach of the previous government, which was well on its way to restoring SA's...

Running the Comrades because we're mad, but able to.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Jacob Dlamini Running the Comrades because we're mad, but able to ANOTHER year. Another Comrades Marathon. Another sheer act of madness. Yes, it is the ultimate human race. Yes, it requires more than fitness to complete the 89km that...

Acquiescence is safer option.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Pierre du Preez Acquiescence is safer option Since when does election to the high office of president of SA imply canonisation of the incumbent? Are we, the citizenry, expected to suspend disbelief and pretend that the ostentatious...

We're not all serious intellectuals.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Bruno Madonsela We're not all serious intellectuals I would be sorely disappointed if the Sunday World takes up the challenge" by the self-proclaimed intellectual Xolela Mangcu in, There is still a lack of black intellectuals (May...

Information is free but sound advice is worth the fee.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Debbie Netto-Jonker Information is free but sound advice is worth the fee INFORMATION has seldom flowed as fast as it does nowadays. For most of us, access to the internet is a reality and most investors have access to the information...

Real weak spot in new Super Rugby deal is of SA's own making.
May 30, 2009... Real weak spot in new Super Rugby deal is of SA's own making Contrary to what Van Rooyen says, it's not about Saru getting a raw deal in Sanzar, but how the Southern Kings will be accommodated FORMER South African Rugby Union (Saru) president...

Scope for rate cuts limited.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Mariam Isa Scope for rate cuts limited Reserve Bank governor blames food prices, electricity hikes for 'sticky' inflation, writes MARIAM ISA RESERVE Bank governor Tito Mboweni has called for action to remove some of the structural"...

Good deeds build brands.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Jocelyn Newmarch Good deeds build brands JOCELYN NEWMARCH BUSINESSES need to align their corporate social initiatives with their brand values, especially as the recession starts to bite and businesses are tempted to cut expenditure on...

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK 30/05/2009.
May 30, 2009... THOUGHT OF THE WEEK Before having sex with anyone, people will have to check their partners' buttocks before proceeding. Swazi MP Timothy Myeni, who proposed branding the buttocks of every HIV-positive person in Swaziland.

Cabinet's ambitious grand plan.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Karima Brown and Amy Musgrave Cabinet's ambitious grand plan Focus on education, rural towns, health and jobs as global crisis demands tough choices, write KARIMA BROWN and AMY MUSGRAVE THE Cabinet's three-day lekgotla this week...

Hlophe appeals for 'unbiased bench'.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Franny Rabkin Hlophe appeals for 'unbiased bench' FRANNY RABKIN WESTERN Cape Judge President John Hlophe said on Friday that the way forward in the latest episode of his dispute with the judges of the Constitutional Court is to...

Zille tries to make peace.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Linda Ensor Zille tries to make peace Despite her claims, the Western Cape premier is still seen as antagonistic by the national government, writes LINDA ENSOR WESTERN Cape Premier Helen Zille has extended an olive branch to the...

Takalani children abuse informant arrested.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Sarah Hudleston Takalani children abuse informant arrested SARAH HUDLESTON THE whistle-blower in the fraud and abuse case against Lynn van Rooyen, director of Takalani Home for the Mentally Disabled in Soweto, was arrested in the...

Heads may roll in Cape ANC.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Hajra Omarjee Heads may roll in Cape ANC HAJRA OMARJEE THE African National Congress's (ANC's) Western Cape provincial executive could be dissolved this weekend. With the ANC's provincial leadership already stripped of political...

What's an idea worth?
May 30, 2009... Byline: Sue Blaine What's an idea worth? SUE BLAINE looks at what makes a public intellectual as opposed to a mere commentator WHILE the very distasteful fight between Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and the African National Congress Youth...

Price of petrol to rise, diesel decreases.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Siseko Njobeni Price of petrol to rise, diesel decreases SISEKO NJOBENI THE retail price of petrol will increase by 16c/l next week, the Department of Minerals and Energy says. The wholesale price of diesel 0,05% sulphur will,...

No western aid, please, we're Africans!
May 30, 2009... Byline: Patric Bulger No western aid, please, we're Africans! DAMBISA Moyo bears a passing resemblance to the African supermodel Iman, and her ideas are sublime too. For the ultimate catfight, I propose Moyo against that diva of lost causes,...

Ready to fight the good fight.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Karima Brown Ready to fight the good fight International relations minister confident her work on the world stage will prove her detractors wrong, writes KARIMA BROWN MAITE NKOANA-MASHABANE THE Art of War, written by Sun Tzu in the...

SA shouldn't pay for comedy of errors.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Rehana Rossouw SA shouldn't pay for comedy of errors I DON'T have a television licence and seldom watch anything besides Special Assignment on the SABC's TV channels, but I'm a taxpayer who's mad as hell, and can't take any more...

Competitive politics benefits everyone.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Tim Cohen Competitive politics benefits everyone WHERE does the Democratic Alliance (DA) go from here? Has its leader Helen Zille blown it just moments out of the starting gate? When fair-minded commentators now say they are ashamed...

Battle of the flyhalves.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Craig Ray Battle of the flyhalves Morne Steyn's sterling work of late is probably not enough for a Bok call-up, writes CRAIG RAY Morne Steyn unlikely to get Springbok No10 jersey WHEN the final Springbok squad for the British &...

SA has a strong chance in Twenty20 World Cup.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Daryll Cullinana SA has a strong chance in Twenty20 World Cup THE IPL was not only a remarkable success for cricket, but also one for SA. The closing ceremony was spectacular and we may have to wait a while before we see another one...

Long stint in goal for fallible football hero.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Dave Gemmell Long stint in goal for fallible football hero Andre Arendse talks about dropping the ball, muti in the change room, playing in the snow and the possibility of hanging up his boots soon You started football as a striker...

Boks need to find something special to take on the Lions.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Edward Griffiths Boks need to find something special to take on the Lions IN BUSINESS, in sport, in any walk of life, the central challenge of any team is to become greater and stronger than the sum of its parts. If anything is...

Why the 'massacre of Rome' brought joy to so many.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Mninawa Ntloko Why the 'massacre of Rome' brought joy to so many WHAT is it that makes so many people harbour such an intense dislike for Manchester United? What is it about this English club that almost always manages to evoke some...

WHO ARE SA's TOP PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS?
May 30, 2009... WHO ARE SA's TOP PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS? THE Weekender invites readers to nominate the country's top public intellectuals. There is huge debate in intellectual circles about who qualifies to be one, whether we have any good intellectuals, and what...

SABMiller to take on home brews.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Nicola Mawson SABMiller to take on home brews NICOLA MAWSON BREWING giant SABMiller aims to have 55000 subsistence farmers providing it with raw materials in Africa in the next five years. The brewer is also in trials to use a...

Key events shape character.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Colin Anthony Key events shape character Golf offers important lessons in becoming a winner in the game of life Businessmen often discover they themselves are their most difficult opponents in tackling the vagaries of a course, writes...

Residents want no truck with rapid bus system.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Michael Bleby Residents want no truck with rapid bus system MICHAEL BLEBY VERA Beljakova brings tea. She hasn't been shopping lately, as she doesn't drive and depends on public transport. The five-week-long Metrobus strike (which...

Movie shorts.
May 30, 2009... BLINDNESS A motorist (Yusuke Iseya) suddenly loses his sight. He is helped by a passerby whose wife (Yoshimo Kimura) takes him to a hospital, but then also becomes blind. The ophthalmologist (Mark Ruffalo) then falls victim to the mysterious...

Women and wine: a match made on many a mattress.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Katy Chance Women and wine: a match made on many a mattress I HAVE a passionate hobby: the study (moderate), enjoyment (immeasurable) and drinking (measurable) of red wine. Goodness, you may say, TV and booze what a wonderful life....

Lament for the Zimbabweans.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Lauren De Beer Lament for the Zimbabweans Short stories deal humorously with the lives of ordinary people, writes LAUREN DE BEER AN ELEGY FOR EASTERLY Petina Gappah Faber and Faber PETINA Gappah describes her debut book, An Elegy for...

Vive la Franschhoek.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Penny Haw Vive la Franschhoek Boasting a beautiful mountain setting, the South African valley settled by the exiled Huguenots 300 years ago is a living memento to its Gallic heritage and will go completely French for one day this...

Country lifestyle boosts growth.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Penny Haw Country lifestyle boosts growth Franschhoek property has been attracting the interest of investors, writes PENNY HAW FRANSCHHOEK has shown strong growth in recent years. The scenic beauty of the area, country lifestyle,...

Nurturing inner beauty.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Marianne Gray Nurturing inner beauty Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow gives as much to her life and family as she does to acting, writes MARIANNE GRAY AFTER taking time off to look after her two children, Gwyneth Paltrow, 36, has returned...

Absa's patronage puts artists on the global stage.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Sarah Hudleston Absa's patronage puts artists on the global stage CECILE Luedoff is possibly responsible for Absa having one of the most valuable corporate art collections in the country one organically grown from a small base, with a...

Valley with a growing sense of place.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Michael Fridjhon Valley with a growing sense of place FRANSCHHOEK has long been considered part of the Cape wine industry's heartland, one of the appellations whose status and intrinsic qualities were known well beyond the national...

History has to repeat itself.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Chris Thurman History has to repeat itself CHRIS THURMAN learns much from the SA National Museum of Military History, like how little we learn ONE of the more curious phenomena at the SA National Museum of Military History it can be...

Merry Widow gets an African interpretation.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Heather Mackie Merry Widow gets an African interpretation ONE of the many mysteries of our cultural past is the lack of revisionist art. In the good old, bad old days (depending on your preference), high art was untouchable. ...

Lulu Xingwana.
May 30, 2009... ZERO-RATED Lulu Xingwana WHAT exactly does President Jacob Zuma have against artists? Might his decision to switch Lulu Xingwana from agriculture and land affairs to arts and culture have anything to do with his antipathy towards a certain...

Driving towards the speed of sound.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Alexander Parker Driving towards the speed of sound The Bentley Continental does its job, no questions asked unlike the British MPs, who aren't quite sure what their job is THE Times in the UK reckons more than 300 British MPs will be...

After a lifetime of learning, you still won't master the game.
May 30, 2009... Byline: Leigh Page After a lifetime of learning, you still won't master the game WHEN asked by his son how long it takes to learn to play poker, screenwriter Michael Pertwee reputedly answered: All your life, son. I've been playing poker for...

Amazing display by Barca duo a warning, says Booth.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Mninawa Ntloko Amazing display by Barca duo a warning, says Booth MNINAWA NTLOKO Sports Editor AFTER watching Barcelona midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta dismantle an outclassed Manchester United at Rome's Stadio Olimpico...

Banks miss golden opportunity for goodwill.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Colin Anthony THE BOTTOM LINE COLUMN Banks miss golden opportunity for goodwill ANOTHER word on the debate that Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni triggered when he questioned the margin between the repo rate and banks' prime rate. ...

Limits to growth.
May 29, 2009... Limits to growth Further rate cuts may be worth the inflation risk THINK about it. Interest rates have now been cut by more than a third in just five months, with the Reserve Bank having taken the repo down from 12% late last year to 7,5%...

Cash and the soldier.
May 29, 2009... Cash and the soldier Let's not invite the battlefield into public places DESPITE frequent exhortations from politicians that police should shoot the bastards, the law is clear on how a police officer should behave when on duty. The doctrine of...

Arts & Leisure. Film.
May 29, 2009... Film PHILLIP ALTBEKER AT A time when Hollywood seems determined to dumb down its films, the smart, sophisticated DUPLICITY bucks the trend, proving that intelligent adults have not been completely forsaken. Julia Roberts plays Claire and Clive...

The stand-up achievements of a hardened cartel buster.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Hilary Joffe Competition tribunal The stand-up achievements of a hardened cartel buster DAVID Lewis was completely taken by surprise the first time people stood up when he walked into the room 10 years ago. A former trade unionist...

Bus drivers now earn more than doctors.
May 29, 2009... Byline: LUPHERT CHILWANE Bus drivers now earn more than doctors General Reporter A DEAL sealed by Johannesburg's Metrobus drivers will soon have them earning more than junior doctors in the public sector. After a month-long strike, Metrobus...

Mantashe lambasts Cosatu for threat of strikes.
May 29, 2009... Byline: AMY MUSGRAVE Mantashe lambasts Cosatu for threat of strikes Political Correspondent AFRICAN National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe read the riot act to unions yesterday, a week after the Congress of South African...

Rate cut could be SA's last for now Mboweni.
May 29, 2009... Byline: MARIAM ISA Rate cut could be SA's last for now Mboweni Governor warns of inflation risk, says Bank has done what it could Economics Editor THE Reserve Bank cut interest rates by a percentage point yesterday, as most had expected, but...

Downturn shrinks Standard earnings.
May 29, 2009... Byline: EDWARD WEST Downturn shrinks Standard earnings Finance Editor STANDARD Bank Group, the biggest bank in Africa, said headline earnings fell 14% to R4,1bn in the four months to April after economic conditions deteriorated worse than...

Watchdog warns against centralisation trend.
May 29, 2009... Byline: LINDA ENSOR Watchdog warns against centralisation trend Misalignment of national priorities and provincial budgets is an obstacle to delivery, says finance commission Political Correspondent CAPE TOWN The way that powers and funds...

IDC lands French aid to support SA's export industry.
May 29, 2009... Byline: KGOMOTSO MATHE IDC lands French aid to support SA's export industry Staff Writer THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) yesterday signed a R360m loan agreement with France-based investment agency Proparco, aimed at supporting...

Enterprise propeller at standstill over wages.
May 29, 2009... Byline: SIBONGAKONKE SHOBA Enterprise propeller at standstill over wages Staff Writer SMALL businesses needing help from the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller were turned away yesterday as the body's employees stopped work over a wage dispute. ...

NUM rejects calls for wage restraint.
May 29, 2009... Byline: AMY MUSGRAVE NUM rejects calls for wage restraint 'Unemployment is a visitor to every house,' says union chief Political Correspondent THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says it will not accept low wage increases this year, amid...

COPE fury with ANC convening meetings of MPs in its absence.
May 29, 2009... Byline: WYNDHAM HARTLEY COPE fury with ANC convening meetings of MPs in its absence Parliamentary Editor CAPE TOWN - Even as the fourth democratic Parliament is preparing for the pomp and ceremony of next Wednesday's state of the nation...

'Rent-a-cop' for Cape schools, MEC urges business.
May 29, 2009... Byline: SUE BLAINE 'Rent-a-cop' for Cape schools, MEC urges business Education Correspondent WESTERN Cape education MEC Donald Grant wants some of the province's public schools to join the City of Cape Town's rent-a-cop drive in an effort to...

Test run for Jo'burg bus lanes.
May 29, 2009... Byline: MICHAEL BLEBY Test run for Jo'burg bus lanes Service gets go-ahead despite no finality being reached with taxi bosses Writer at Large THE City of Johannesburg would use its new Rea Vaya rapid bus transit (BRT) lanes and buses during...

Advocates turn down role in Hlophe case.
May 29, 2009... Byline: FRANNY RABKIN Advocates turn down role in Hlophe case Staff Writer LEGAL body Advocates for Transformation (AFT) yesterday turned down an invitation by Chief Justice Pius Langa to enter the fray in the ongoing dispute between Western...

Government must act on SABC crisis, says Mkonza.
May 29, 2009... Byline: JOCELYN NEWMARCH Government must act on SABC crisis, says Mkonza Media Correspondent THE government needs to take swift action to resolve the crisis at the SABC, says the public broadcaster's chairwoman, Kanyi Mkonza. The...

Ruling 'creates a loophole for spouses of criminals'.
May 29, 2009... Byline: ERNEST MABUZA Ruling 'creates a loophole for spouses of criminals' Court orders wife be paid half the proceeds of seized farm's sale Legal Affairs Correspondent THE door was now open to spouses married in community of property to...

Hard to get data out of public bodies.
May 29, 2009... Byline: ERNEST MABUZA Hard to get data out of public bodies THE South African Human Rights Commission has criticised as inadequate the legal recourse available to individuals denied information by public entities. The commission, in a...

The Third Umpire. In: Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane.
May 29, 2009... Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane seems to have been instrumental in ending the five-week Metrobus strike, averting a wider municipal sympathy stayaway.

The Third Umpire. In: Barcelona Football Club coach Pep Guardiola.
May 29, 2009... Barcelona Football Club coach Pep Guardiola and his charges handed Manchester United a soccer lesson in the Champions League final on Wednesday night.

The Third Umpire. In: Seacom CEO Brian Herlihy.
May 29, 2009... Seacom CEO Brian Herlihy. The Seacom undersea cable has passed some crucial milestones, bringing SA closer to the faster, cheaper broadband we so desperately need.

Experience on bench to help Bok XV.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Zeena Isaacs Experience on bench to help Bok XV Senior players to guide starters in game with Namibian Invitational ZEENA ISAACS Rugby Correspondent SPRINGBOK captain John Smit and a few players from national coach Peter de Villiers's...

Bulls have what it takes for victory.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Zeena Isaacs Bulls have what it takes for victory SA team desperate to make most of their first home final, Chiefs vow to fight to the bitter end ZEENA ISAACS Rugby Correspondent SEVERAL months' preparation and hard work and 15 weeks...

McGeechan names mixed bunch in Royal XV prep match.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Zeena Isaacs McGeechan names mixed bunch in Royal XV prep match BRITISH and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan has wasted no time in exposing his players to the rich traditions of Lions rugby and named a mixed bunch of players for their...

Bonanza Auction has properties in Pretoria up for grabs.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Madden Cole Bonanza Auction has properties in Pretoria up for grabs ALLIANCE Group is gearing up for Pretoria's property Bonanza Auction where 85 properties will be auctioned in a day. The Bonanza Auction is an extension of the...

Best bid received for four-star hotel in Hout Bay.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Madden Cole Best bid received for four-star hotel in Hout Bay EIGHT-figure bids were received for an hotel in Hout Bay and a residential complex in Krugersdorp on Wednesday at the Aucor property auction in Sandton, when 11 lots came...

Pala denies it is staging takeover at Rockwell.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Charlotte Mathews Pala denies it is staging takeover at Rockwell CHARLOTTE MATHEWS Resources Editor SWISS-based group Pala Investments has strongly rejected the suggestion that its call for a change in management at Rockwell Diamonds...

Tawana to finalise sale of stake in Rakana.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Charlotte Mathews Tawana to finalise sale of stake in Rakana CHARLOTTE MATHEWS Resources Editor MINERALS explorer Tawana Resources expects to finalise the sale of its minority stake in the Rakana coal and manganese exploration...

Coricraft expanding as 'demand for value' rises.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Nicola Mawson Coricraft expanding as 'demand for value' rises NICOLA MAWSON Consumer Industries Correspondent FURNITURE retailer Coricraft is moving into an expansion phase, and plans to open six stores this year and another three in...

Group using software to solve crimes says it should be adopted by police.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Lesley Stones Group using software to solve crimes says it should be adopted by police LESLEY STONES PRIVATE crime fighters are using sophisticated software to solve burglaries, hijackings and kidnapping cases, but the South African...