These days, most people wish to have highly paid jobs so that they can enjoy higher level of living and can fulfil their needs and desires. Acquiring a highly paid job completely depends upon the level of education. If a person is a graduate and just holds a degree, he might not be able to settle to a salary what a post graduate can earn easily. Sometimes, it takes years for people to reach a good salary bar, so the level of education is important while searching and bargaining for better paying jobs.

Highest paid jobs are sorted and determined by the level of education required by a paying employer to enter a particular field of expertise. Highest paying employment research is mainly determined by the hourly wage earned and cannot necessarily be taken for granted that the largest salaries can be earned in those particular fields. For instance a lot of building construction work can earn a qualified employee a lot of money but is often seasonal and employee?s working in this area may only work on projects at certain intervals. Getting to work on an oil rig is similar in that although the salary may be a lot, the work is normally on a per project basis and may only be for a few months in a year.

Paying jobs

* Petroleum Engineers: This is a field which requires a lot of dedication towards work and along with this, a candidate should hold a masters degree that can help him to get promoted or enjoy a revised salary on a yearly basis. The average amount that a person can earn in this profession is R 572,600 per year.

* Air Traffic Controllers: There might be a few people who consider this profession as their line of work. This occupation also requires lot of devotion and some experience in the same field. Most of the companies opt for those candidates who have prior experience in this field and offer good pay scale around R 583,450 per year.

* Computer and Information Systems Mangers: This is a field where people need to have good experience in the field of Information Technology and computers. On an average, if the candidate has experience of four to five years, in this line of work an organization can easily offer him a starting salary package of R 587,230 per year. Depending on the capability, performance and quality, people can get promoted and will also be proffered an increase in salary.

* Lawyers: This profession is considered good as here people get paid for their abilities. If a candidate has been practicing for three to four years, he can easily work under a reputed and recognized name. The starting salary package of a lawyer can vary from R 643,440 to R 665,000.

* Airline Pilots, Co-Pilots and Flight Engineers: This is a field where a candidate needs to spend some time in education and training, but once a person is done with these two aspects, he can easily get a job in this industry and get highly paid for different posts starting with a salary package of R 695,800 and above.

Led by Chief Princess Sinethemba, one of the King’s daughters, the procession presented their reeds to his majesty who patiently waited for the virgins to come through.
The yearly reed dance was held yesterday (September 10, 2011) at King Goodwill Zwelethini’s Kwa-Enyokeni royal palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal. Below: More than 20 000 maidens from around Zululand participate in the reed dance.

Organised by the Grahamstown Foundation, Africa’s largest and most colorful cultural event offers a choice of the very best of both indigenous and imported talent.
Every year for 15 days Grahamstown’s population almost doubles, as over 50 000 people flock to the city for a feast of arts, crafts and sheer entertainment. Every hall or large room becomes a theater, parks and sport fields become flea markets, normally quiet streets have to be managed by an army of temporary traffic wardens, and every available bed in the city is booked. The festival offers more than 500 shows from opera, cabaret, drama and jazz to stand-up comics and folk music.

While many come to take in the arts, others simply want to be here for the spectacle or to market products ranging from tie-dyed T-shirts and woven rugs to handmade jewellery and customized telephones. The festival operates out of the 1820 Settlers National Monument and is organised by the Grahamstown Foundation.

Date: 29 June – 10 July 2011

United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, is expected to visit South Africa and Botswana later in June, the US embassy said on Friday.

She would be on an official visit in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and then move on to Gaborone, Botswana from June 21 to 26, the embassy said in a statement.

US first lady Michelle Obama

Obama’s visit was a continuation of her work in Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom, to encourage young people to excel academically, serve and lead. She would be accompanied by her mother Marian Robinson, and her daughters Malia and Sasha.

“This visit to two critical countries will underscore that the United States has an important stake in the success of Africa’s many nations, and underscore the historic connections between the American people and those who live on the African continent.”

The South African government on Friday welcomed the embassy’s announcement.

The embassy said South Africa was a vital global partner for the US, as a political leader and economic engine on the continent, and an example of democratic transition.

Obama’s engagement with the people of South Africa and Botswana, particularly women and youth leaders, was expected to further strengthen connections between the US and Africa.

Botswana’s democracy showed how good governance and strong institutions could create prosperous and stable societies.

“The First Lady’s visit will further enhance the already close ties between South Africa and the United States of America. South Africa looks forward to hosting this historic visit by the First Lady of the USA,” international relations and co-operation department spokesman Clayson Monyela said in a statement. -

South African cricket enters a new era when Gary Kirsten is named as coach of the Proteas on Monday.

Kirsten is set to be joined by his former Proteas team-mate and fast bowling legend Allan Donald and Warriors coach Russell Domingo, who are expected to be included in his management staff pending a Cricket South Africa board meeting regarding contractual and personal terms.

South African cricket enters a new era when Gary Kirsten is named as coach of the Proteas

The former South African opening batsman was widely expected to replace Corrie van Zyl after the 43-year-old Capetonian led hosts India to World Cup glory for the first time in 28 years earlier this year. Kirsten also took India to the No1 position in the ICC Test rankings.

CSA have had an extensive interview process that began two months ago with various ex-international coaches, including Australian John Buchanan, Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher and Englishman Richard Pybus, in line.

The country’s cricket bosses are not commenting at this stage as CSA are expected to unveil Kirsten at an official press conference. The details in terms of the length of Kirsten’s contract will also be made public there.

CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, Van Zyl (high performance manager), Andrew Hudson (selection convener), Andrew O’Connor (chairman, cricket committee) and Boeta Dippenaar (SA Cricketers’ Association representative) formed the panel responsible for selecting the new coach.

It is understood Kirsten has rescinded on his initial plan to oversee the national team as a “director of cricket” or the more radical approach of having different coaches for each format.

“Gary will be good for South African cricket. He has done unbelievably well with India. He has a great work ethic and knows what is expected of a coach at international level,” former Proteas captain Kepler Wessels said on Friday.

He has been part of the England set-up previously, while he was also short-listed for the Australian post and was expected to take up a similar role with New Zealand before the Proteas position became available.

The Kirsten-Donald partnership also dates back to the early days of South Africa being reintroduced to international cricket. Donald, a veteran of 72 Tests and 164 ODIs who claimed 572 wickets in his career, has been a much sought-after bowling coach recently.

Donald, 44, was part of the Black Caps management at the World Cup, which oversaw the Proteas’ shock exit in the quarter-finals. He is expected to replace Vincent Barnes, which would see Barnes close off an eight-year career with the national team.

Current SA Coach of the Year Domingo has been rewarded for his consistent good work with the Eastern Cape franchise over the past two seasons, when he won the limited-overs double with the Warriors in 2009/10 and led his side to the T20 Champions League final last year.

“Allan has wanted to be involved with the Proteas for a long time. He is very passionate about South African cricket and he will do a good job. He has coached quite a lot and is good technically and tactically,” Wessels said of Donald.

Further leadership changes are expected. Test captain Graeme Smith has called an official press conference in Joburg on Sunday when greater insight will be provided into his future leadership plans. Johan Botha replaced Smith in the T20 format, but it is understood AB de Villiers will be captain of both limited-overs formats. – Weekend Argus

The cost of operating Gauteng’s toll roads may be as high as R14 billion – more than the R6.22bn the roads agency said it would cost, The Star newspaper reported on Friday.

The cost of operating Gauteng's toll roads may be as high as R14 billion - more than the R6.22 billion the roads agency said it would cost, The Star newspaper reported. Photo: Itumeleng English, The Star

This amount excludes the cost of feasibility studies, the design of the toll system and the supply of e-tags.

The cost of upgrading the roads is estimated at R17.5bn.

The inflated operational costs were contained in a confidential report which was sent anonymously to The Star. The report is dated April 2010 and it discusses, in detail, the operation progress report on Gauteng Open Road Tolling.

The SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) denied the tolls were costing so much and said the tender to build and operate the toll roads was R6.22bn over eight years.

However, Sanral in its report indicated that the R6.22bn did not include VAT and that there were additional costs – but would not reveal these specific amounts to the newspaper. – Sapa

The retail price of all grades of petrol will drop by two cents a litre on Wednesday, the energy department said on Friday.

The retail price of all grades of petrol will drop by two cents a litre on Wednesday, the energy department said on Friday

The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin would drop by 32 cents a litre.

The single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin would decrease by 42 cents a litre, the department said in a statement. – Sapa

The ANC cannot understand the pain Afrikaners feel when they hear “dubula ibhunu” (shoot the boer) being sung, a lawyer for AfriForum said during closing arguments in ANCYL president Julius Malema’s hate speech trial on Friday.

“White Afrikaners and white people in general will never understand the suffering those people (blacks) went through in the struggle, no matter how many times it is explained,” Greta Engelbrecht said in the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting as the Equality Court.

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema.

Engelbrecht recited the words to “dubula ibhunu” in Xhosa to the court and said she had studied the language for 10 years. She did not need a translation of the song to know it meant “shoot the boer”, she said.

The people to which Malema sang the song were not there during the struggle, and so did not understand what the words meant to soldiers then, Engelbrecht said. He first sang it to a gathering at the University of Johannesburg last year.

AfriForum’s lawyer Martin Brassey said he personally could not understand why the ANC would come to court and support Malema’s behaviour.

He said Malema had admitted the song had commemorative and contemporary significance.

“Singing of the song indicates that you should hate the boer, he’s worthy of being killed and you should hate him more,” Brassey said.

He said he agreed with friend of the court professor Koos Malan that the court should protect minorities, and that this was a pillar of democracy.

Earlier in the day Malema’s lawyer Vincent Maleka said AfriForum and Tau-SA were trying to “muzzle” the youth league president.

“The entire body of evidence relates to the political ideas of Mr Malema. Mr Malema is being muzzled.”

He was referring to Malema’s ideas on issues such as land reform and the nationalisation of mines. He said the claim the song intimidated people was not borne out by logic or evidence. Singing the words did not demonstrate a clear intention to be hurtful, incite violence or propagate hatred.

He said AfriForum’s case was “found upon a misconception” caused by the translation of the song, which was an “otherwise harmless art form”.

“Since this has started there has been no act of violence or attempt of violence (against farmers).”

If an order was handed down stopping Malema from singing it, it would not stop others from doing so, Maleka said. -

The African National Congress won control of the Johannesburg metro receiving more than 1.2 million votes, the Independent Electoral Confirmed early on Friday.

According to the final results released, the ANC received 1 272 354 votes and as a result secured a total of 153 seats out of a total of 260 seats.

ANC members already started celebrating. Several groups of people congested some intersections in Galeshewe flashing their T-shirts and holding ANC posters in the air

The party received 59 percent of the 2 154 506 votes cast while the Democratic Alliance was the second largest party with almost 35 percent of the vote that secured them 90 seats.

The Inkatha Freedom Party and Congress of the People secured four and three seats respectively.

The ANC, DA and IFP were the only parties with win wards while the other 10 parties secured seats by virtue of proportional representation.

The ANC was also confirmed as the largest party in Ekurhuleni when it received 62 percent of the more than 1.55 million votes which helped to secure 125 of the 202 seats up for grabs in the metro.

The DA was again the second largest party with a little more than 30 percent of the votes and 62 seats.

The ANC and the DA were the only parties that won ward seats. Ten other parties secured the balance of seats through the proportional representation vote.

On Thursday the ANC was confirmed the winner of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in a tight contest with the DA, winning 52.72 percent of the vote and securing 63 of the 120 seats up for grabs.

The DA received nearly 41 percent of the votes and 48 seats, while Cope received five percent of the vote and six seats.

The next result for a metro that was expected to be confirmed was that of Tshwane where by late Thursday 99 percent of votes had been counted. The ANC was know to have won 55 percent of the votes counted while the DA had won 38 percent of the votes.

Results from Cape Town and eThekwini (Durban) were expected to be finalised later on Friday with the the DA being the largest party in Cape Town and the ANC the largest in Durban. – Sapa

The African National Congress (ANC) had garnered more than 60 percent of the 10.9 million local government election votes counted by 7am on Thursday morning.

According to figures from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), 6,548,709 votes had been cast in favour of the ANC while the Democratic Alliance (DA) had secured 2,790,862 votes or 26.03 percent.

It was still not clear how many of South Africa’s 23,65 million voters took part in Wednesday’s election.

Chief Electoral Officer Pansy Tlakula told a press briefing on Wednesday that she hoped that at least 40 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots.

IEC officials monitor the results of the 2011 local election at the IEC Result Centre in Pretoria, Tshwane

Of the 10.9 million votes cast by 3.73 million voters counted by 7am, 201,385, or 1.8 percent, were spoilt votes

At 7am the IEC was reporting that the ANC had secured 826 council seats, the DA 358 seats, the Congress of the People (Cope) 40 and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) 16.

It was not known which wards these were, but the DA’s Tshwane spokesman said the party had secured 38 of 105 wards in Tshwane, with results still outstanding.

The IEC had yet to record the Tshwane results.

In the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, the DA and the ANC appeared to be in a bruising battle with the ANC edging ahead of the DA.

At 7am, the IEC was reporting that the DA had garnered 167,561 votes to the ANC’s 172,379 votes.

Attempts by the ANC to regain control of Western Cape municipalities did not appear to be bearing fruit.

According to IEC figures, the ANC had secured 30.1 percent of the vote in the province compared to 59.4 percent for the DA. This was based on 1,604,389 votes cast by 567,360 voters.

A ward in Randfontein west of Johannesburg was the first to complete its vote counting. The ANC won 57 percent of the vote and the DA 43 percent.

Nine people were registered in Ward 74802011. Seven of them voted, with the ANC receiving four votes and the DA three.

Early results out of Gauteng indicated that the DA was leading in Midvaal, while in KwaZulu-Natal the IFP was doing battle with the National Freedom Party (NFP) for second spot.

The NFP, which was created by the IFP’s former national chairwoman Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi earlier this year, had secured 225,041 votes to the 326,438 of the IFP. – Sapa