CAPITAL: The Voice of Business Issue 1, 2015 | Page 13

EDITOR’S NOTE

hat we do
“You are really not doing badly,” he said, adding that we
have “tremendous opportunities” here. The “messiness” we
perceive today in South Africa, he pointed out, is a feature of
democracy experienced in all developed countries.
Another “messy” issue faced by countries around the
globe – especially developing ones – is the renewal of their
urban areas. We look at what Pietermaritzburg is doing in
this regard, and then we go to selected Pietermaritzburg
organisations and individuals, and ask what they think urban
renewal should be. It’s an interesting example of how residents
in the same city see the needs of their home town so differently.
Our digital edition is something new for a print-based publication.
It follows the metaphor of a paper magazine, in that you can page
though it like the print issue. But it contains extra content that can
only be viewed online – video, animation, links to other online resources
and more. It extends the print version of Capital far beyond its 60 pages
and we are confident that it will add much value to our stories.
We are proud of what people from this part of the country are doing: the local
university students who are using their newly acquired academic skills to help
people in need (page 76); the PCB’s entrant in the provincial “The Entrepreneur”
competition, Phila Ngcobo, who outperformed strong competition from four
other business chambers to win (page 66); and Pietermaritzburg’s own Lindani
Mnyandu, general manager for marketing communications at one of the world’s
hottest fast-food restaurant chains, who credits Pietermaritzburg for giving her
a solid base in life (page 84).
We continue to be pleasantly surprised by the stories we uncover here and we
look forward to bringing more of them to you.
We are now busy with the next edition of Capital and there are some really
great tales in store for you.

Barry du P \