Economy

The challenges of running a business in a poor community

There are many challenges when starting a business. Planning and marketing the business, determining prices, and managing the day to day running are not simple tasks. But entrepreneurs in low-income communities face additional challenges when starting out.

Margo FortuneSean Robson

News | 15 May 2013

17 years defending the right to fight

May Day last week should have been a time for reflection, not celebration; reflection about the potentially dire situation the labour movement now finds itself in. It is a situation brought about by tensions largely resulting from the ongoing global economic crisis that has impacted on every aspect of society. To help with this reflection, Business Report is this week making available copies of my book, Right to Fight, to the first five correct answers drawn from responses to the question below.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 8 May 2013

Vital issues clouded by ambition and bad journalism

Politics and personal ambition compounded by some sloppy journalism have clouded and confused the issues surrounding the bitter internecine feud within Cosatu and the governing ANC-led alliance. This has also confused the legitimate complaints that teachers have about the state of education in South Africa and the way the system is being administered.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 30 April 2013

Telkom accused of dismissing interns without pay

Telkom is being accused of dismissing 23 learner interns without pay. The matter is going to the CCMA.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 3 April 2013

South Africa should learn from Brazil’s Bolsa Familia

BRICS has come and gone. It has been driven from the headlines by Jacob Zuma using the hopes and aspirations of the millions who vote for the ANC as a means to enrich his narrow circle of crony capitalists through misuse of the SANDF in the Central African Republic. But before the memory of BRICS fades, let's remember the B in BRICS is for Brazil, a country with which South Africa is often compared.

Jack Lewis

Opinion | 3 April 2013

Facts and myths about the wineland value chain

The causes of the poor and the dispossessed continue to be manipulated by politicians
and unscrupulous individuals bent on accumulating power, personal wealth or both.
As a result, there is much cynical use and distortion of the evidence and of statements
emanating from painful occurrences such as the deaths at Marikana or the conflict in
the Boland winelands.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 27 March 2013

South Africa under construction: Give public works a chance

The Expanded Public Works Programme aims to create millions of short-term jobs every year while also providing the county with much needed infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools in areas that need it.

Amelia Midgley

Opinion | 13 March 2013

The South African labour market: All the facts

The South African workforce is composed of all the people who are either working or available to work and are actively seeking work. Not everyone of working age participates in the work force. In South Africa the overall percentage of the working age population that participates in the work force is about 62%.

Issa Saunders

News | 13 March 2013

Women’s day ideals: still a long way to go

It was International Women’s Day (IWD) on Friday. And it seemed an appropriate
time for a reminder about the labour movement origins of the day and of its noble
aims and egalitarian promise. This because several recent studies reveal that the
female half of humanity is once again bearing the brunt of the global economic crisis.
After all, when it began in 1910, IWD was rich with the promise of equality.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 13 March 2013