As I heard the church bells toll on the evening of March 16 – which is when I wrote this piece – I was reminded of the phrase 'for whom the bell tolls'. It refers to the church bells that are rung... 

“Beautiful to look at, lovely to hold, but if you should break it, consider it sold.” This rhyme evokes memories of the terror I experienced as a youngster when I was about to enter a shop... 

The National Budget has always tended to be an uninspiring affair as far as customs, excise and international trade are concerned. Its focus tends to be limited to increases in the so-called sin... 

The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO's) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the first multilateral deal concluded in the WTO’s 25-year history, celebrated its third year of existence on February 22.... 

To avoid embarrassing him, I will not mention the name of my economics professor from Eastern Europe who had a small bust of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, on his desk. Although,... 

For as long as I can remember, my favourite meal, if it qualifies to be called that, has been a toasted cheese-and-tomato sandwich. I fondly recall many an afternoon at what was then Café 101,... 

As I gazed across SW15, the postcode of the city famously known as London, at 00:01 GMT on January 31, Brexit – a portmanteau of ‘British’ and ‘exit’ – which signifies the withdrawal of the UK from... 

During the week of January 20, the UK-Africa Investment Summit took place in London and the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. As I contemplated the two events from a... 

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) announced on January 8 that the seventh edition of the Harmonised Commodity, Description and Coding System (HS) nomenclature, used for the uniform... 

The year 2020 is the Year of the Rat. This is according to the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese believe that the rate signifies wealth and surplus. In South Africa, 2020 is anticipated to be the polar... 

To complicate something simply means to make something more difficult to deal with or understand. Why not simplify it? Take the South African economy and its performance – it is no more difficult... 

We live in a world where words have been deprived of their original meaning. So accustomed have we become to seeing and hearing some words that they have lost their impact. We have become numb to... 

The above headline is part of a sentence in a report released by the Auditor General on November 20, which reads: “The overall audit outcomes of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the worst they... 

You might have one schoolteacher or more who made an enduring impression on you. It might be something that they said or that they attuned you too. Although their name might have faded in memory,... 

There is one word missing from the title that, in biology, refers to the process where many invertebrates and animals routinely cast off a part of there body, which, in many instances – but not... 

I write this column at a time of celebration. 32-12. Need I say no more? Capturing the English psyche on the day, the advertised prime-time programme is about that ‘unsinkable ship’ – the RMS... 

You may be familiar with or have used or still use the phrases ‘knock off’, ‘fast and loose’ and ‘happy hour’. What you might not know is what the three phrases have in common. A hint: they all... 

Speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit, in London, on October 13, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the cost of this predecessor’s decade-long rule “runs way beyond, in my view, more than... 

The word ‘mirage’ originates from the Latin mirari, which means to look at, to wonder at, to mirror or to admire. There are, in fact, three categories of a mirage: inferior, superior and Fata... 

A mounting challenge facing all South Africans is not what you might might think of. The challenge facing us is that we are confronted with words and phrases that simply do not mean what we might... 

US satirist and mathematician Tom Lehrer is credited with saying: “The ‘new’ approach, as you know, the important thing is to understand what you are doing rather than to get to the right answer.”... 

I concluded the August 30 instalment of this column, which was titled ‘Brexit – we’re not gonna take it’, with this sentence: “It is time for South Africa to step up and take the game to Britain.”... 

This week I continue my trip down memory lane. I focus on that formation – economic or political, depending on your preference – that was in 2001 referenced as BRIC by then chairperson of Goldman... 

Do you recall 'the butterfly approach to trade? Do not judge yourself harshly if you don't; even the most effective of search engines does not recall. But it does recall the effect, 'the butterfly... 

On August 27, the National Treasury released a 59-page economic policy paper titled 'Economic Transformation, Inclusive Growth, and Competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa'.... 

To nationalise or to prescribe? In South Africa, a case of ‘potato potato’, as the saying goes, which I appreciate, makes no sense when writing it. Although incorrect, altering it to ‘potato... 

October 31 is only 76 days away – well, at the time of writing. It should be close to 62 days away as you read this piece. Although Brexit – that is, Britain exiting the European Union (EU) – is... 

“Round and round the circle / Completing the charm / So, the knot be unknotted / the cross be uncrossed / the crooked be made straight / And the curse be ended” wrote TS Eliot in his poem, Family... 

It might well be a case of mixing metaphors, for which Mrs Weston, my much-revered English high school teacher of many years past, would, without a shadow of a doubt, have my guts for garters. So,... 

Is the South African economy down on its luck, down on its knees, face down, downtrodden, or simply down and out? What is without question is that the South African economy is letting South... 

“My heart turns my mind into circles / As I lie here all alone in my bed / The moon shines brightly through my window / And I wonder if it's true what they say / That there’s a man... / A man on... 

The words in the headline were uttered by Agent H with an appropriate pause and desperate sigh. Agent H is the lead in Men in Black – International, the latest and fourth instalment of the MIB... 

The opening verse of The Flying Lizards' song, Money (That's What I Want), remind us: “The best things in life are free.” But the band goes on and spoil it with “But you can give them to the birds... 

“We cannot turn our fortunes around without a relentless focus on economic growth. Price stability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth. Our Constitution also requires... 

When I read President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation on June 20, all 6 741 words of it, the chorus of rock group Nickelback’s song Rockstar – "So how you gonna do it?” – kept reverberating... 

“What is the cost of lies? It is not that we will mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognise the truth at all. What can we do then? What... 

Now tell me that the headline did not evoke the thought of Donald Trump – even though there is an ‘h’, and not an ‘r’ after the “T”. The principle in question is also known as the Thumper’s Rule.... 

President Cyril Ramaphosa's appointment of former Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel the Minister in charge of the new Department of Trade and Industry , which was merged with the... 

In 2003, the International Trade Centre (ITC) published a 290-page book on trade remedies, titled Business Guide to Trade Remedies in South Africa and the Southern African Customs Union –... 

May 18 was Tax Freedom Day in South Africa. Do I hear you asking why this could not be on January 1? Tax Freedom Day in 2019 did not come soon enough. If anything, it should be celebrated on the... 

I must admit: I too had to reread the headline. If, like me, you need reminding, a buttress is an architectural exterior support or structure of masonry that is built against, or serves to support... 

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) informed on May 6 of a trade dialogue held with senior representatives of consumer organisations, during which they sent a strong message of support for the WTO...