Business

Something strange happened last week. An international credit ratings agency told us we should act more like a developmental state. Standard & Poors — which does credit ratings of countries and large companies — warned that South Africa’s power utility Eskom needed a financial injection from the government in order to cover the costs of […]

The past week, I have been busy taking electricity-evading classes from my township mates in preparation for the 14,2% electricity price increase. Just as I was beginning to learn the basics of electricity evasion, an announcement arrived that said bread would increase in price too. In this blog I was going to talk about electricity, […]

This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Load-shedding: Who do you blame?

There is a disease called fibromyalgia whose existence is questioned by a fair number of the medical profession. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer says it has a cure for it, according to the New York Times. So here we have a disease which might not exist, but there is a definite pharmaceutical cure for it? Far […]

The Indian Tata group has unveiled the Nano, an aptly-named new car that will sell for just R17 500 (Rp100 000, or $2 550), not counting taxes and import duties. One would think that promising to improve the quality of life of millions of people who previously couldn’t afford the luxury of a motor vehicle would be hailed as tremendous news.

South Africa’s current conditions of misunderstanding and intolerance of difference, of leadership disconnection with the people and of business misalignment with holistic human development are screaming for something fresh. The manner in which we relate to each other as people sharing the same space (in all its manifestations!) is unsustainable and demands change. Here’s an […]