If you are planning a trip to South Africa this summer/winter, you could do a lot worse than tune in to Cape Talk radio and get a feel for the hot topics affecting daily life here. You can tune in over the internet to get live streaming topical radio and get a head start adjusting to our guttural accent 
Lisa Chait, John Maytham and Barry Ronge are my favorites although I do suspect John Maytham as not being a real human, you be the judge. You can see their website here.
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Leonard Ramatlakane, the Community Safety MEC, Western Cape has saved his job, by promising to pay back the R250 000 he overspent on “beefing up security” at his home.
The total amount spent by the community safety MEC, was R347 716 (nearly $50K). “The Ministry is accountable to the public for the performance of the Department and for the service delivery of the Minister’s portfolio. It formulates and develops policy and law reform in accordance with the Minister’s mandate, and oversees the implementation of projects that ensure accountable and responsible expenditure of public revenue” Hehehehe….
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As of yesterday Thursday 30th November, South Africa became the first country in Africa to offer the legal right of marriage to same sex couples. The legislation was approved in Thabo Mbeki’s absence, by deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The talk radio stations are abuzz with heated debate on the subject. The black majority, hold mainly conservative views about homosexuality as too, do the relevant faith groups. However, as it played out, our constitution which is one of the most liberal in the world (quite a recent thing), was found to be at odds with the definition of marriage act of 1961.
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The price of gold - a South African economic bellwether since the late 1800s - has breached the $700/ounce mark for the first time in decades, staking out yet more pasture for local business bulls to romp around in.
South Africa is the world’s largest gold producer, and its economy is heavily influenced by precious-metal production. A strong gold price means a strong rand (the name of our currency) - which, in turn, means that visitors to SA have to search a bit harder to find real bargains.
Here’s one: why not toast “the great gold comeback” with a bottle of …
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The South African property market has boomed for the last five years, and, despite property slowdowns in other parts of the world, looks set to keep up its good steam until the 2010 World Cup.
Foreign ownership of land here is currently a political lightning rod, however - the issue was fodder for some shameful election bluster before the recent local government elections - and regulation has been threatened. Whether this threat will actually materialize is anyone’s guess.
For now at least, anybody can buy property here - and there are plenty of people eager to sell it.
For the best …
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Brett Kebble is the mining magnate and general fat cat, that was shot dead in his car earlier this year.
Rumors of shady business deals and death threats have flowed, the most recent being that the murder was in fact a staged suicide attempt. A number of insurance policies were taken out in the months prior to the “murder” as well as Kebble being recently baptized. The flipside to that coin is that Me Kebble may have known that his life was in danger which prompted him to get his affairs in order, so
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Seemingly not all Capetonians are keen on hosting the world cup semifinal, at least not in a revamped Greenpoint stadium. The “Greenpoint common association” seeks to block the reconfiguration of the commons area including a golf course and football clubs, with court action.
If it goes to court, the delayed start may well put us out of the running for a 2009 completion, which is the condition of the event organizers. No No No!
The stadium plan is a very ambitious one and will most definitely transform the whole area, which at present is quite higgledy-piggledy.
For the most
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Alert! In the past several weeks, South Africa’s currency, the rand, has depreciated to a fairly significant extent, sliding from R5.90 to the dollar to R6.50.
This is good news for tourists with dollars, of course (the decline against the euro and pound has been less steep). Meanwhile, economists tracking the rand’s medium-term outlook seem to favor a continued, if gentle, decline, to about R7:$1.
Best live exchange rate site: XE.com.
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Meet the South African currency - the rand! It’s symbolized with a capital “R”, or the letters “ZAR”, and is denominated into notes - R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200 - which feature Africa’s Big Five animals, and coins - 1c, 2c, 5c, 20c, 50c, R1, R2 and R5 - which feature other African animals, the national seal, and certain indigenous plants.
The R5 coin comes in two casts - with a raised, serrated circumference and without - and is often used for commemorations. Count your lucky stars if you find one featuring the face of Nelson Mandela, the Union Buildings, or a soccer player in action.
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South Africa’s decade-long bull run showed continued stamina yesterday, as the JSE snorted to a record 20,000 points.
Foreigners continue to invest in our resource-driven economy in droves - though we can always use more.
Interested? Read more on the JSE’s run: Business Day | iAfrica | JSE
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