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Tax breaks for low income earners, but an increase in the fuel and road accident levies and in sin taxes. The finance minister pulled off a careful balancing act in a slow economy and an election year, tightening the reins on public spending but laying the foundation for the National Development Plan.

While jobs have been created since the "low point of the 2009 recession", the 24% unemployment rate was "still too high", Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said in his annual Budget speech in parliament on Wednesday. Watch video of the speech and view and download key documents.

Several international films have already been shot in South Africa, but there is potential for so much more. A group of Hollywood producers is in the country to hear what it has to offer, and learn more about the locations, professional talent and services available, as well as the government incentives for the industry.

Luvuyo Rani's decision to swap teaching for computer sales has brought much-needed IT skills training to Khayelitsha residents. His brainchild, Silulo Ulutho Technologies, supplies hardware and software, and trains customers in basic and advanced computer skills.

From Cida to the Maharishi Institute, Taddy Blecher is taking his inside-out approach to education and philanthropic philosophy to a whole new level. There are no hand-outs at this business school – each graduate pays for another student who takes his place in a cycle aimed at improving the community as a whole. We can end poverty, he says.

Wake up: Africa is no longer "the dark continent". It's a growing consumer market, and by 2020 it will be worth a trillion dollars, driven by demand for technology-based goods. Indeed, everything you think you know about Africa is about to change.

Journalists record history and ensure transparency, a task that is rewarded through the SADC Media Awards. The awards seek the good stories about the region. They are driven by the desire to promote unity in the region and strengthen the economic, political and social ties that already exist.

Get out your car and on your bike, skateboard or feet. Cape Town's new Open Streets movement takes an old idea from Bogotá, Colombia, and turns city thoroughfares over to residents, who use the space for breaking down social barriers – and having a lot of fun.

The third International Trade Programme trip, taking businesspeople to the United Kingdom to make deals and forge partnerships, was a success. More than half of the 14 people on the tour came back having concluded agreements. The focus this time was on the ICT sector.

It was another wild ride down The Dusi this year, with winners Andy Birkett and Sbonelo Zondi delighted with their performance. It was Birkett's 10th marathon, earning him his green number. The rapids, the heat, the uphill portages and the unpredictable water levels combine to make the Dusi Canoe Marathon one of the toughest endurance races in the country.