However, CEO Michael van Straaten says the company is now making a concerted effort to find buffers against the rand’s swings. One of the strategies the company will employ is sourcing products locally — for example, an exercise video by South African celebrity Somizi. "We unfortunately can’t do it for all Verimark’s products, but we are working on what we can." The harmful legacy of old gold mines on the East and West Rand on human health through radiation and contamination of air and water is not news to residents of Johannesburg, although it seems to have shocked the researchers of the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic. What is new in their report, The Cost of Gold, released this week, is that they lay most of the blame for the harm squarely at the government’s feet. For more than 10 years, relevant government departments have tried to avoid the responsibility of informing residents of the dangers, making decisions on a comprehensive solution to acid mine drain...
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