Well, here's your chance to pay tribute to the memory of the statesman who contributed so much to this country. But don't mourn... Rather celebrate Madiba's life... (After all, it's what he would have wanted, don't you think?)

And now for something completely different...Honestly now - that Nkandla media leak... Who would you believe? Nelson Mandela donated a large chunk of his salary as president of SA to charity; only a few million was spent on his home and security. And then we have Nkandla and what the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has found; in short that we, the taxpayers, have been ripped off... Enough said?

On the education front, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has released the Annual National Assessment (ANA) results, which show that our education system is nothing to be proud of.

Finally, the festive season is approaching and, while the decent among us are filled with goodwill to all, there are scum-suckers out there who are the dregs of society and will be out to relieve you of your hard-earned cash, among other things. So... here's how to stay cyber-safe this holiday season.

For those of you starting your end-of-year break this Friday, take care, drive carefully and remember... everything in moderation.

Rod Baker, Content Director

Comment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your industry-specific news and event invitations to manufacturingnews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-manufacturing@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news".