To date South African consumers have done well to drive economic recovery in the country, but dark cost inflationary clouds are gathering on the horizon and the economy is in need of more balanced growth. Business investment will be needed to create some symmetry, experts are warning.

While South Africa has seen a wide range of policy documents of late aimed at addressing economic challenges, including growth and job creation, the latest Going for Growth report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says rather than using policy, governments should reform the underlying structure of their economies to boost economic growth and create jobs.

South Africa should introduce a systematic Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for all new regulations, and review existing legislation with a view to reducing administrative burdens, recommends the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its latest Going for Growth report.

When you entrust your hard-earned savings or, for that matter, the quick bucks you made with a lucky break to an investment professional such as a fund manager, you would not want him to go gambling with your money. Rather you would expect him to invest it in solid blue chip companies, but with investments you never really get away from some gambling.

It’s going down to the wire in this year’s Absa Premiership football league with only four rounds to play. Pirates are leading the pack on goal difference, while Ajax wasted an opportunity to  go top of the log on points.

Market volatility in the wake of the recent spate of natural disasters around the world is causing many investors to reassess their off-shore investments. However, investors are urged not to make emotional investment decisions that could negatively affect their long-term investment goals, writes Rob Macdonald.

When Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande last week announced that all university students may in future be required to learn a South African language other than English or Afrikaans in order to be allowed to graduate, he unleashed a rather controversial cat among some pretty emotional pigeons.

The military intervention in Libya, which is not all that slowly escalating into a full-blown war, was launched in terms of the post-Second World War  doctrine of humanitarian war. It is, however fast proving yet again that the concept of humanitarian war is a contradiction in terms.

Despite assurances by president Jacob Zuma and other cabinet ministers that nationalisation of mines is not the policy of the ANC-led government, they were again contradicted this weekend by ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, while how dangerous this game of double-speak has become is illustrated by the results of a survey also released this weekend indicating that Malema is winning the popular support battle for his stand.

“Don’t panic. Remember Pearl Harbour,” is the phrase used by a friend after a tough sporting weekend. True, but South African rugby and specifically Peter de Villiers, the Springbok coach, will have to do some soul-searching after a weekend in which the performance of the Bulls and, to a lesser degree, the Stormers, would have been sources of concern.

South Africans cannot safely ignore those who want to go the Zanu-PF route in the country says Appeals Court Judge Azhar Cachalia, reflecting on “the dangers that lurk in our country,” and warning that what has happened in Zimbabwe “has lessons beyond it, including our own.”

As news of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in Japan in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 disappears from the front pages of the newspapers, some experts warn that the threats from the power plant can persist indefinitely, with one saying the mess cannot be cleaned up and “no-one will live in that area again for dozens or maybe hundreds of years.”

Pro-democracy campaign groups are calling for an ‘April 12 Uprising’ in Swaziland. Peter Kenworthy assesses the potential impact of the campaign.

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The formalities with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were completed today (12 April) for the more than 55 555 municipal election-candidate throughout the country. The campaign for the May 18 elections has, however, been in full swing  for a few weeks with some trends emerging.