AN AMBITIOUS SOLUTION
By Thebe Mabanga
SA's housing backlog rises almost as fast as government is building them. According to the department of housing, the backlog of 2,15m homes is just short of the 2,54m houses built since 1995. Government's targets of eliminating the...

A NEW WAVE
By Carol Paton
Crime, power cuts and political uncertainty are driving a new wave of emigration from SA - though, for the first time, somewhat countered by new inflows of skilled people recruited for large government infrastructure projects. Immi...

RIGHTS GONE WRONG
By Prakash Naidoo
SA's human rights policy came under scrutiny from the United Nations last week amid criticism that concerns around HIV infections, sexual violence and asylum procedures could mar an otherwise respectable record. At the universal per...

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
By Prakash Naidoo
Does the ability of a public servant to manage his personal finances reflect on his ability to handle large amounts of public money? The Public Service Commission (PSC), in its latest annual report on the state of the public service, s...

MORE CLEANING UP TO DO
By Sven Lünsche
After almost three years at the helm of state-owned arms manufacturer Denel, outgoing CEO Shaun Liebenberg can look back on a rescue package that has worked - to a degree. Like many turnaround programmes - Transnet springs to mind -...

WHEELS ARE COMING OFF
By David Furlonger
Car rental companies say crime and out-of-control accident rates are destroying profits. In an environment where business is already hurt by rising interest rates and reduced resale prices for vehicles, the added challenges are proving...

A SMALLER SUM OF ITS PARTS
By Claire Bisseker
From January 2009 Stats SA will use a new consumer price index (CPI) basket - one in which the weight attached to food is lower, and that attached to transport higher than it is now. The net effect should be that CPIX (CPI minus mor...

BANKS BRING IN A BUFFER
By Claire Bisseker
Economic policy authorities have downplayed the impact of the rising current account deficit because it continues to be financed by capital inflows despite global financial turmoil. The latest Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin ...

CONSTRUCTING COMPETITION
By Robert Quarshie
The SA cement industry has for years been a closed shop between three large producers - PPC, Lafarge and Holcim. Short of being a monopoly, the three companies have a stranglehold on the economy that has been exacerbated by the surge i...

BIOFUELS VS FOOD CROPS
By Shannon Sherry
Consulting firm Accenture has not picked the best time to release a study on the world's fledgling biofuel industry: headline-grabbing global food shortages, riots around the world and soaring agricultural commodity prices have put pr...