Features

Who can forget the year 2008, when parts of South Africa were thrown into darkness on a daily basis as a result of load-shedding? Those were the tough times for the country.

The year 2005 saw the beginning of government’s new thinking around housing development, a period where a ground-breaking approach of Integrated Human Settlements was adopted.

September is tourism month in South Africa and the continuous increase in the number of tourists visiting our country remains one of the biggest success stories of the past 20 years.

Mention the word nuclear and most of us think of the Fukushima or Chernobyl disasters. But, a young South African woman has made a career out of one of the most feared and misunderstood sectors.

Listed among South Africa’s youngest Members of Parliament at age 25 in 2009, Mduduzi Manana is passionate about changing the lives of young people.

The news that Cabinet has approved the tabling to Parliament of the Expropriation Bill 2014, has set off a flurry of discussion. This is a natural reaction in South Africa where the question of land still looms large in the hearts and minds of most people.

From an early age, Kenosi Setlhako Machepa was already making her voice heard, thrusting her ideas and views forward in her school debating team. Engaging in strong debates and arguments with senior learners excited and intrigued her.

Democracy is a much yearned for and sought after system of governance. As a system where the popular will of the people is superior to the will of individuals, democracy represents the Elysium of multitudes of people around the world. Democracy and its actors are seen to bring policies and frameworks that will safeguard a well-run, productive, efficient and competitive state.

At only 34 in 2011, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams became the youngest Deputy Minister in President Jacob Zuma’s executive.

Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says she is ready to become the voice of small business in South Africa.

In some communities, it’s still regarded as a job only designed and fit for men. But, for Lieutenant Colonel Thandi Mbambo, being a police officer is the only job she’s ever enjoyed.

If anything, US President Barack Obama needs to use this week’s first US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington to throw his weight behind the extension of the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) for another 15 years.

Wage negotiations between government and public service unions often deadlock, resulting in employee representatives taking time to put ink on paper in wage bargaining chambers.

Ever since President Jacob Zuma announced the creation of new ministries in May, a lot of commentary has emerged through media reports seemingly suggesting that increasing the size of the Cabinet has resulted in a “bloated” public service.

We are often taught that doing something good in someone’s life will make a difference to them. For example, if you help someone paint their home – they will have a home that looks beautiful and you would have contributed to that beauty and the joy it brings them. What we don’t really bank on though is the impact that a single selfless action can have on us.