Economy

How poverty interferes with dreams: Andiswa Nkuphe’s story

Andiswa Nkuphe lives with her eight siblings. Their house is a shipping container. Despite good school results and ambitions of becoming a nurse, she has to take care of her siblings, because their mother has been sick for almost two years and she's been in hospital since January this year.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

News | 8 September 2015

How South Africans are learning from Somali businesses

Saeed Furaa arrived in South Africa in 1998 after fleeing Somalia where he had worked as a shepherd. Against the backdrop of xenophobic violence in April, Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said that foreigners needed to share their business practices with local business owners. Yet this is exactly what Furaa and other Somalis have been doing.

Yumna Mohamed

News | 7 September 2015

Cape Town’s informal recycling squad

Robert Thompson has been collecting material for recycling in Cape Town since 1999. On an average day he makes R100, selling the cardboard and paper he collects to Harrington Buy Back Centre (HBBC) in the city centre.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 7 September 2015

Jobs more important than smells, say Hangberg residents

The proposed closure of Oceana’s Hout Bay Fishmeal and Fish Oil Facility is worrying people of Hangberg, where many employees live.

Ashleigh Furlong

Feature | 2 September 2015

Rhodes Must Fall, UCT, Lonmin and pension funds

As it started, by targeting the legacy of one dead white male, the Rhodes Must Fall campaign claimed morality. As it progresses, by targeting the activity of two living white males, the rump of campaigners cannot claim credibility. Members of a university as distinguished as UCT might have been expected to prefer substance over sloganeering.

Allan Greenblo

Opinion | 1 September 2015

At what level should a national minimum wage be set?

The struggle for a national minimum wage in South Africa has a long history, having been waged, largely by organised worker formations, since the 1930s. These efforts have taken various forms, from open class conflict to more subdued trade union representations to the various governments of the day.

Eddie Cottle

Opinion | 31 August 2015

What solution to a world in crisis?

Oh, when will they ever learn? It’s the last line in every stanza of a famous Pete Seeger anti-war song. And it is wholly appropriate this week as we digest the latest GDP figures against a background of ongoing crises especially in the steel, mining and manufacturing sectors. Along with, of course, the continuing collapse of the rand.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 31 August 2015

Making a living from pap

Ketayi Madzokere, 34, affectionately known as Mai Mutsa by Zimbabweans and her customers, is a soft spoken but determined business woman.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 28 August 2015

Copyright bill will empower blind people

Just over two years after the books for the blind treaty was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, South Africa has finally taken steps toward ratifying the treaty.

Marcus Low

Analysis | 26 August 2015