I’ve been speaking to a guy this morning who complained of being put on “short-time”. The factory where he is employed only has enough work to allow employees to work two days a week — meaning they only get two days’ pay per week. I used to work in a factory. And there, the marketing […]
Business
The silence of the frogs
Frogs. It’s all about the frogs. Or at least not just about frogs as such, but about what our little amphibian neighbours teach us. Ecologists call frogs an indicator species because, with their highly permeable skins and living both in water and on land, frogs are among the first species to show if something is […]
Private healthcare’s ‘super’ profits
People often accuse journalists of profiting from the misfortune of others. So do private hospitals, except they do much better. According to Business Day, the Hospital Association of South Africa, which represents the private hospital industry, is stepping up its campaign to convince the government not to regulate private hospital fees. It is arguing that […]
Give me the info, but make it quick
I’ve developed a curious reading disorder and I’ve established that I’m not alone. I hardly read in the strictest sense any longer. I’m stretching if I have to read a piece of more than 500 words without getting to the point. I ignore articles that have vague headlines. Ninety percent of my knowledge of current […]
Maybe the bar is just too high for the ANC …
I forget what the column in the Pretoria News was called, but it was one that writers would take up for a season and then move on to something else. The column retained its name and identity, but different styles, perceptions, questions and answers came and went. During my tenure there, Rob Fysh — now […]
Power to the people, but not through a plug!
I am surprised I am even able to begin this column; this is not to suggest that I will finish it, though. You never know when load-shedding will visit. Electricity is truly scarce nowadays. It is either taken away by load-shedding or through cut-offs of those who do not pay. Load-shedding prevails, whichever way you […]
The ‘wine of the bean’
I am a slave to the “wine of the bean” more commonly known as coffee. If I don’t have a cup of coffee before I start my day, I am just a ______ (I think vulgarities are not allowed on this blog) — well, let’s just say that I am a bad, unfriendly person. The […]
Time to get your own back
While competition, we have been told ad nauseam, is good because it forces prices down and service up, I am not so sure any more. If we take an example at one extreme, the ANC government — which has no competition, is free to do pretty much as it wants and does just that and […]
Shut down the aluminium smelters
Friday’s news that South Africa’s gold and platinum mines had been forced to suspend operations because Eskom could no longer guarantee the power supply has emphasised just how bad our electricity crisis has become. We can switch off lights, swimming pool pumps and geysers to our heart’s content but the reality is that we need […]
The paranoid Mr Zuma
Daniel Gross, financial columnist for online magazine Slate, bumped into Jacob Zuma at Davos this week and nominated him as “the world leader with the most aggressive bodyguards“. It seems that Mr Zuma’s paranoia is not limited to the remote possibility of being molested in the Swiss Alps. He also believes the media in his […]
The Budget Game
Trevor Manuel once remarked that “to budget is to choose”. The Budget Game puts participants in the position of being a decision maker, and making choices with a defined set of possible programmes and a defined budget. The intention of the game is for participants to make choices and then motivate them. In addition, it […]
The first time I met Mandela
The first time I met Nelson Mandela I learnt some important things. The second time I met him those things were confirmed. Like all journalists I’ve met presidents, prime ministers, legends and numerous real celebrities, but I didn’t meet Madiba as a journalist. I’ve met Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, John Vorster and PW Botha […]