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THULI MADONSELA: Law and the economy through a social justice lens

Renowned Scottish economist Adam Smith once said, “Justice ... is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society ... must in a moment crumble into atoms.” The edifice Smith spoke about was an orderly, peaceful society. It is…

16 Aug 2020 11AM 8 min

Strikes loom as public-sector wage dispute set to drag on

It is highly unlikely that the dispute over the implementation of wage increases for 1.3-million public-sector workers will be resolved before the next round of wage negotiations start later in 2020, setting the scene for aggressive talks that could be accompanied by strikes. Frikkie de Bruin, general secretary of the…

16 Aug 2020 10AM 4 min

SA looks set to remain only option for tackling Zimbabwe crisis

Harare — President Cyril Ramaphosa’s three envoys have come back into the picture as the only possible mediators to Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis after it emerged that the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) is unlikely to discuss the troubled country at its heads of state summit on Monday. The…

16 Aug 2020 10AM 3 min

Adapting is the name of the game in a topsy-turvy time

At the end of 2020 SA’s economy is likely to experience shrinkage five times greater than that experienced a decade ago during the global financial crisis. Global trade is also expected to decline by a fifth, severely curtailing our exports, with inbound tourism being severely hamstrung. During the second quarter…

16 Aug 2020 10AM 5 min

How workplace democracy can undo many of apartheid’s ills

SA’s apartheid-era corporate model, which has been unchanged in the democratic dispensation, is one of the main reasons for conflict, poor productivity and violence in the country’s labour market since 1994. Whether in mining, agriculture or retail, the model has been based on low wages, migrant labour, minimal skills transfer…

16 Aug 2020 2AM 7 min

Heat makes workers and entire economies less productive

New York — It’s hot out. Cue the headlines showing yet another temperature record above the Arctic Circle, fires deep in the Amazon, and more intense floods and droughts anywhere in between. Also look for the self-described rational sceptics, the eco-pragmatists, and other hyphenated attention-seekers pointing out how, yes, it’s…

16 Aug 2020 2AM 3 min

Has the pandemic changed US political conventions forever?

Washington — The US political convention, a presidential campaign ritual dating to the 1830s, is being re-invented on the fly after being short-circuited by the coronavirus pandemic — much like the campaign itself. Here is a look at how the Democrat and Republican conventions will be different this year —…

16 Aug 2020 2AM 4 min

READ IN FULL: Cyril Ramaphosa’s full address on lockdown level 2

My fellow South Africans, It has been five months since we declared a national state of disaster to combat to the coronavirus pandemic. As I said then, and as I repeat now, never before in the history of our democracy has our country been confronted with such a severe threat…

15 Aug 2020 3PM 14 min

BREAKING NEWS: SA moves to level 2 as alcohol and tobacco bans are lifted

Lockdown regulations will ease from Tuesday, removing almost all restrictions on the economy and seeing bans on the sale of tobacco products and alcohol lifted. Provincial borders will also reopen. On Saturday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country would move to level 2 of the risk-adjusted strategy from…

15 Aug 2020 3PM 3 min

How many promises on immigration has Donald Trump kept?

Los Angeles — US President Donald Trump took a hard line on immigration in the 2016 election, making it his signature campaign issue. Now, as he runs for re-election, he is highlighting the promises he says he kept and warning that his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, will roll them back…

15 Aug 2020 2AM 4 min

Pandemic purchases in the US reveal a surprisingly mixed bag

One of the more striking features of the pandemic is the inequity of the pain it has inflicted. It has disproportionately affected black and Latino communities. More than 16-million Americans are unemployed, nearly triple February’s levels, but investors in the S&P’s 500 Index are back in the green for the…

15 Aug 2020 2AM 9 min

Europe’s summer madness as the virus creates travel chaos

Edinburgh — If this summer was supposed to offer hope that coronavirus was under control in Europe, spikes in cases across the continent and ensuing travel chaos have given governments a worrying reality check. From France to Ukraine, the number of positive tests for Covid-19 is rising sharply as more…

15 Aug 2020 2AM 4 min

We are not there yet, says Mkhize on a possible Covid-19 surge

Although there has been a notable decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases recently, SA is not yet past the surge in infections, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Friday. He was welcoming the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) “surge team”, brought into the country to assist in the…

14 Aug 2020 4PM 3 min

Cash-strapped Tshwane agrees to pay workers R300m in salary benchmarking agreement

The Tshwane metro, which houses SA’s administrative capital, has bowed to pressure again from unions, implementing an agreement that will put its employees’ wages on par with those of other top municipalities in the country. This is despite protestations by city administrator Mpho Nawa that such increases could lead to…

14 Aug 2020 3PM 3 min

Crime in June quarter markedly lower — thanks to the lockdown

Crime in April to June quarter was significantly lower than the previous quarter, with marked declines in contact crimes, police minister Bheki Cele said on Friday. “We will not claim easy victories. The conditions were completely different. As they change, life will be tougher. We will work hard and not…

14 Aug 2020 3PM 2 min

Trump is not entitled to extra protection from subpoena, says top US prosecutor

New York — In a court filing on Friday, the Manhattan district attorney said US President Donald Trump was not entitled to greater protection from a grand-jury subpoena for his tax returns just because he was president. District attorney Cyrus Vance was responding to an argument by Trump's lawyers that…

14 Aug 2020 12PM 1 min

US seizes four Iranian petrol shipments en route to Venezuela, it says

Washington — The US said on Friday it had seized four Iranian fuel shipments en route to Venezuela and confiscated the cargoes, disrupting a key supply line for both Tehran and Caracas as they defied US sanctions. “With the assistance of foreign partners, this seized property is now in US…

14 Aug 2020 11AM 1 min

Vietnam to buy up to 150-million doses of Russian Covid-19 vaccine

Hanoi — Vietnam has registered to buy a Russian Covid-19 vaccine, state television reported on Friday, as it fights a new outbreak after going several months with no local cases. Russia said on Wednesday it would roll out the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine within two weeks, rejecting the concerns of…

14 Aug 2020 11AM 2 min

Chinese wary of frozen food imports as virus found on some foods

Beijing/Shanghai — Chinese shoppers have expressed dismay at news that traces of the coronavirus had been found on imported frozen food, with some saying they would avoid the products. On Thursday, two cities in China found the virus on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil and shrimp from Ecuador, raising…

14 Aug 2020 7AM 1 min

Who will pay for the Mauritius oil spill?

Tokyo — A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of “environmental emergency”. Scientists say the spill is the country’s worst ecological disaster, killing wildlife and damaging pristine…

14 Aug 2020 7AM 4 min