Since its launch in 2007, the United States Military Command for Africa, known as Africom, has been controversial. Nevertheless, the US's military footprint on the continent has been growing, a trend that is set to continue.

Private healthcare, which consumes the lion’s share of the health spend in South Africa but serves only a small minority of the population, is at a crossroad. The minister of economic development, Ebrahim Patel, last week announced that it would become the subject of a sector-wide investigation by the Competition Commission (CC). There has been concern about the health of the sector for some time now.

Financial misconduct in the public service has grown rapidly over the past three years. According to a report by the senior forensics manager at law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenberg, Peter Allwright, the majority of the officials responsible do not only avoid real sanction but are often allowed to move on to other public service jobs.

With the Gupta wedding hogging the limelight, South Africans may be forgiven if they failed to notice another snake in the grass: the latest ominous developments on the employment front. Some labour unions have already been laying the groundwork for what could be another “strike season” from hell.

Zambia’s deputy president, Guy Scott, the week before last, in the most arrogant of ways, described South Africans as thinking “they are the bee’s knees”. His remark came at the same time that the super-rich and well-connected Gupta family displayed the arrogance of bees that think they can fly anywhere they like to feast without proper permission.

This past weekend was one that the South African conference of Vodacom Super Rugby would love to forget in a hurry. The challenge of the local conference is done and dusted; Pierre Spies will collect the trophy on behalf of the Bulls for winning the SA conference at the end of the season.

Even the news of Kaizer Chiefs’ title glory after a drought of eight years and their return to the summit of domestic soccer, as well as their chances to clinch the Nedbank Cup on the 25 May, was overshadowed by the announcement of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.