Allowing a hostile takeover of mining company Gold Fields by rival Harmony is not in the public interest, the Competition Tribunal heard in Pretoria on Monday. A merger could be to the detriment of the industry, to empowerment and to at least 1Â 500 Gold Fields employees who stand to lose their jobs, lawyers for the company said.
The Gold Fields mining company painted a grim picture on Thursday of the financial state of rival Harmony, whose hostile takeover bid it is seeking to halt. Figures presented at the Competition Tribunal in Pretoria showed that Harmony’s cash burn for the year June 2004 to March 2005 amounted to R1,75-billion compared to Gold Fields’ R748-million.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila on Friday suggested the creation of permanent structures to ensure agreements signed between his country and South Africa are put into practice. He was speaking at the start of a Binational Commission meeting he is to co-chair with President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria.
Taxi owners cautiously welcomed a new government code unveiled on Thursday for minimum wages and basic employment conditions in the industry. Workers embraced the announcement and warned employers that attempts to violate or undermine the initiative will face ”vigorous challenge”.
Preparations for South Africa to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup are on track, chief executive officer Danny Jordaan said on Monday. ”Anybody who suggests otherwise must have their heads read,” he said in response to news reports on Monday that said South Africa was lagging in its preparations for the event.
A sea of umbrellas met Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti as the skies over Pretoria opened on Saturday night for his farewell concert from Africa. Persistent rain did little to dampen the spirits of the thousands of faithful, but an undisclosed malady compelled the Maestro, as he is popularly known, to finish his performance early.
Diesel and 95-octane petrol users will feel the pinch when new fuel specifications come into operation next year, eliminating leaded petrol from the market. Diesel users will fork out more for a new, low sulphur version of the fuel, while motorists insisting on using 95-octane petrol rather than 93- or 91-octane will pay a special levy, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Thursday.
Universities have a key role to play in raising the quality of life of all South African citizens, President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday. ”Education is the key to unlocking each person’s potential and improving the quality of life in general,” he said on opening the University of Pretoria’s new law-faculty building.
Some of the 62 South African suspected mercenaries who had been due to be freed from a Zimbabwean jail this week became tearful upon learning on Thursday morning that their release has been put on hold. ”They are not doing well,” lawyer Alwyn Griebenow said from Harare after visiting the men at the Chikurubi prison.
Crime cost South Africa’s 46 000-odd commercial farmers about R1,2-billion in the financial year ending February 2002 — more than a quarter of their total losses, Statistics South Africa revealed on Thursday. Stock theft accounted for about R484-million of farmers’ total R4,4-billion losses for the year.