Your daily dose of good news!

Rural boy sets sights on bright future in engineering

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:28:30 +0100

Tumelo Lengoabala is the first person in his family to pass matric. Having lost his mother when he was just 14 years old, Tumelo is determined to succeed in her memory by going to university and becoming an engineer. In his hometown of Phamong Village near Qwa-Qwa where unemployment is at 48%, Tumelo is already a shining star.

SA set for massive infrastructure drive

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:14:29 +0100

South Africa will spend billions of rands on new infrastructure in the coming years, focusing on rail and road projects, economic links in five regions in the country, new universities and refurbished hospitals, President Jacob Zuma said in his 2012 State of the Nation address.

Unemployment down

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:22:46 +0100

The unemployment rate fell to 23.9% between the third and fourth quarters of 2011, Statistics SA said on Tuesday. Between the third and fourth quarters of 2011, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 198,000, Kefiloe Masiteng, deputy director general of population and social statistics, told reporters in Pretoria.

Eskom corruption inquiry formalised

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:19:42 +0100

A Presidential Proclamation has formalised an inquiry that will see Eskom and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) cooperating in rooting out possible corruption at the power parastatal.

Nationalisation is not an option, says Manuel

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:21:32 +0100

Nationalisation is not an option for the mining sector, Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel said on Monday. The minister [Susan Shabangu] was pretty forthright in saying that there will be nationalisation over her dead body. Now you couldn't ask for a clearer statement than that, he told the Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

PetroSA funds schools programme

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:13:38 +0100

PetroSA is to fund an eco-schools programme aimed at encouraging environmental responsibility among the youth to the tune of R4.5 million.

Blade Runner scoops Laureus award

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:11:47 +0100

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius was last night Monday presented with the Laureus Award for the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, at the 2012 Laureus Awards ceremony held at Central Hall, Westminster, in London.

South African living standards 'on the up'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:36:39 +0100

The proportion of adults with the lowest living standards has decreased by 77% over the last 10 years, according to the latest South Africa Survey, published last month by the South African Institute of Race Relations.

Premier's Hotline set to improve service delivery

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:15:43 +0100

The Gauteng provincial government has launched the Premier's Hotline in a move aimed at accelerating service delivery in the province.

Making a difference for Cancer

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:08:44 +0100

R380,620 was handed over to Reach for Recovery recently, the result of a fundraising initiative between the South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association (SAMFA), Pick ‘n Pay and Yucca Packaging who joined forces to make a difference.

Samsung honours first graduating class of the Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy in SA

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:26:11 +0100

The Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy’s first class of Grade 12 students graduated earlier this week at a ceremony held at the Alberton Civic Centre in Boksburg.

Africa targets free trade area by 2017

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:13:00 +0100

Africa will target the establishment of a continental free trade area by 2017, said a document issued at the closing of the 18th summit of the African Union (AU) on Tuesday.

Open letter to our President

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:56:41 +0100

Making the National Development Plan part of our national conversation by Steuart Pennington, CEO of SA - the Good News Dear Mr. President The end of 2011 saw the printing and submission of The National Development Plan to the public for general comment. Please understand, as you prepare the State of the Nation Address, that it is my hope that you will refer to the plan in your address. In this context I hope you will accept my comments as an attempt to focus on what will make this plan relevant and meaningful for us as citizens as we think about our future here. The plan represented the culmination of two years of hard work by the National Planning Commission. This much awaited 430 page document detailed the road map to achieving our Vision 2030. Sadly, it received a fairly mooted response from our media, mostly because the disciplinary enquiry of Julius Malema, protestations on the Protection of Information Bill, and the re-opening of the investigation into the Arms Deal occupied more space. All, it seems, much more important than where this country is headed over the next 18 years. Personally I found much of the detail in the plan to be sound, it is very comprehensive. But I was disappointed that there is no reference anywhere to improving our global competitiveness, little mention of the contribution of tourism, and hardy any measures of what ‘success’ in a global context will look like. I found the plan too inwardly focused. It is true that very few people will labour through the 430 pages, and for many the plan will be difficult to understand, comprehend and remember. So in this open letter I will try to reduce the 430 page work of the commissioners to one page with the primary purpose of making the plan accessible and understandable. The great majority of what I have written is taken from the plan, however some of the measures are mine, particularly those that refer to our global competitiveness.

Africa takes centre stage at Davos

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:22:40 +0100

Brand South Africa brought together global leaders from business and politics to discuss the role of Africa in the Global Transformation, the key theme of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Alcohol-free February Charity Challenge 2012

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0100

South Africans Against Drunk Driving (SADD) is launching its 2012 campaign Alco Free Feb, encouraging the public to sign up for the challenge of not drinking in the month of February.