“The election of Joe Biden as United States (US) president-elect could eventually create an opportunity for South Africa to buttress its economic narrative with the US from both a trade and an investment point of view.”

According to Prof Raymond Parsons, economist at the North-West University (NWU) Business School, the difficulties and dilemmas facing Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni in the latest MTBPS must be acknowledged, and the credibility of the latest fiscal framework will now largely rest on the extent to which the growth plan and other structural reforms are actively implemented and deliver a better economic performance.

What does it mean to you to be elected to the board?
The board of The South African Academy for Science and Arts (SAASA) consists of a number of outstanding and authoritative academics – all of them heavy-weights who have made their mark internationally.

The Trade and Development (TRADE) research entity at the North-West University (NWU) and the TRADE Research Advisory, a spin-off company of the university, hosted the eighth TRADE-Decision Support Model User Group webinar, drawing more than eighty international attendees.

While some people consider it a taboo, swinging - the act of allowing one’s partner to engage in sexual intercourse with other people - has been practised around the globe for decades.

The North-West University (NWU) Anthropology subject group is growing from strength to strength, and aims to make the NWU one of the top universities at which to study this field. 

The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on our mental health cannot be understated. From a South African perspective, months of a hard lockdown has changed the way we live, the way we work and the very way we operate. Mentally we have not escape unscarred.

“To my mind, the project has progressed exceptionally well. Not only have technology and infrastructure been established for sound research in the years ahead, but we have also gained a large number of registered users.”

The month of October marks breast cancer awareness month – also known as Pinktober. This is an annual campaign to increase awareness of this dreaded and dark disease – ironically, at the time of the year when most trees here are blossoming and beautifully covered in pink. Cancer is often a very lonely and emotional battle to fight, but it does not have to be. There is hope and support out there – you just need to reach out.

While there are positive features to the latest economic reconstruction and recovery plan, it needed to say much more about implementation processes and timelines, says North-West University (NWU) Business School economist, Prof Raymond Parsons.