© 2017 South Africa - The Good News by Steuart Pennington In the 15 years that I have been populating www.sagoodnews.co.za with ‘positive and informed’ articles and facts – and in the 600 or so presentations that I have done on SA around the world – I have always been able to refer to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (WEF-GCR) and the surprising number of measures where we are WORLD BEATERS. The WEF-GCR evaluates the world’s 137 largest economies, as measured by GDP, and compares their competitiveness across 12 pillars using +/- 120 measures. SA has never ranked lower that 56th (2014). In fact over the past two years we improved to 49th (2015) and then 47th (2016). This year we slipped to 61st (2017) – the lowest ever. (It breaks my heart ) The devil is always in the detail. ...[read more] By Alec Hogg For most South Africans, whistle-blower Bianca Goodson is a hero in the war against state capture. She is the whistle-blower who, at great personal risk, named and shamed the Gupta associate Trillian which worked with multinational McKinsey to plunder billions from Eskom. After a short stay as a senior executive at Trillian, Goodson joined the SA office of Sage, a global accounting software business listed on the London Stock Exchange. Goodson kept her employer fully informed of her intention to blow the whistle. But when she actually went public last week, Sage lost its nerve. Instead of watching her back, in a clear case of constructive dismissal the multinational enforced a resignation that had been offered as a courtesy. This appalling behaviour by Sage tumbled into the public arena yesterday during my interview with Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka, who shared Goodson’s story. She said: “I have never been so disgusted in my life…this is a woman who is placing her life at risk…doing it for SA and for all the right reasons. For a company to treat her this way is breath-taking.” ...[read more] Learnerships seek to make positive contribution to SA’s disabled workforce With Deaf Awareness Month in full swing, it is important to identify positive and powerful stories that empower our fellow deaf South Africans. Employment for disabled citizens is currently an issue with around 2.9 million South Africans living with disabilities, yet only one percent having jobs. With this disappointing statistic in mind, iLearn has partnered with Altech Netstar, in pioneering the vehicle tracking and recovery industry while empowering deaf South Africans. An integrated, robust effort from the public and private sector is required to boost employment levels among the country’s disabled workforce. As the country observes Deaf Awareness Month, Richard Rayne, CEO of iLearn – a leading South African learning solutions company, which offers a range of Learnerships, short courses and digital learning solutions says, “an urgent intervention is necessary” to boost employment levels among the country’s disabled. ...[read more] THIS WEEK'S FAST FACT 2017/2018 South Africa was ranked 61st in the WEF Global Competitiveness Report, our lowest ranking ever. A RADIO STATION FOR CHILDREN BY CHILDREN UCT GENESIS PROJECT DRIVES ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT WITH SIX START-UP VENTURES PROMOTING GIRLS HEALTH EDUCATION AND EQUALITY DEAF EMPLOYED AND EDUCATED – 500 000 UNEMPLOYED NATIONALLY MONEY MANAGEMENT FOR FREELANCE AND CONTRACT WORKERS WHAT HAPPENS TO LIFE COVER AFTER DIVORCE? South Africa - The Good News You are receiving this email Newsletter as a subscriber to our Newsletter group Like Tweet Share Forward Preferences | Unsubscribe |