organisations

South African retailer Woolworths' efforts to establish a local source for organic fibre for their clothing has been given a major boost, with the country's first commercial scale trial crop of organic cotton being planted this summer.

Eight years of economic growth have combined with increased social spending to improve the income and living standards of South Africa's poorer citizens, a report by the Presidency finds.

South Africa's JSE was named Africa's best stock exchange, New York-based Citigroup its best investment bank, and Kenya Commercial Bank its top performing company at the 2007 Africa Investor Index Awards.

South Africa's economy is growing like never before, says President Thabo Mbeki, with investment rising from 14.7% to 19.2% of GDP over the last four years and more than half a million new jobs being created every year since September 2004.

South Africa's spending on research and development has increased by about R4.5-billion over the last five years, an indicator of the growing competitiveness of the country's economy.

Johannesburg has opened a migrant helpdesk to provide legal migrants and asylum seekers with information on basic services such as housing, education and healthcare in the city.

Rural schools in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will soon enjoy the benefits of well-equipped computer centres, thanks to a multi-million rand sponsorship from British Telecom and the United Nations Children's Fund.

South African chefs are coming into their own, dominating teams in international cook-offs, winning places in posh restaurants - and some of them starting their own restaurants.

South Africa is to increase its public spending on a variety of social programmes including teachers' salaries, health, welfare and housing, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in his 2007/08 Budget speech.

The University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, an institution established during the worst excesses of the apartheid era, has been awarded the prestigious Unesco Prize for Human Rights education for 2006, beating 49 candidates from 37 countries.