While the fate of two South Africans being held for suspected terrorist activities in Pakistan remained unclear on Friday, an independent analyst described their situation as bleak. If tried in Pakistan, the death penalty is mandatory for terrorism and the definition of the crime very broad, the analyst said.
An impasse in free trade talks between the Southern African Customs Union and the United States is unlikely to be resolved before the US presidential elections. ”The political climate leading up to elections may not lend itself to any material shift in US positions,” the Department of Trade and Industry official said on Wednesday.
Small entrepreneurs, not a handful of magnates, were benefiting most from black economic empowerment, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday. More than 90% of the beneficiaries of cheap loans, incentives and contract opportunities were black, small, medium and micro enterprises, deputy director-general Lionel October said in Pretoria.
Retiring South African Army Chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Ramano bade the institution farewell on Tuesday, hailing its achievements and urging for its rejuvenation. Perhaps the biggest challenge the army faces is the introduction of programmes to attract young blood, he told a military parade in Pretoria.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is to challenge the Pretoria High Court’s partial dismissal of her appeal against a fraud and theft conviction on Monday. ”I have instructed my lawyers to appeal against a judgement that is completely wrong,” the former African National Congress Women’s League president told reporters outside the court.
Thousands of doctors were stripped of their powers to issue drugs when a Pretoria judge dismissed a constitutional challenge on Friday to regulations obliging them to acquire special dispensing licences. The regulations came into effect with the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of the bid.
Court rules on dispensing doctors
Doctors may appeal ruling
Medical doctors will consider appealing against the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal on Friday of their constitutional challenge to regulations obliging them to acquire special licences to dispense medicines. Should an appeal be pursued, the process could be initiated as soon as next Monday.
The new Municipal Finance Management Act will boost transparency in the financial affairs of local authorities and improve service delivery, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Tuesday. To date, local councils have tended to make their own rules and draw up indecipherable budgets, making municipal oversight very difficult.
The State’s fraud and theft case against Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and broker Addy Moolman was criticised by a Pretoria judge hearing the pair’s appeal on Monday. Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann expressed doubts about the credibility of State witnesses relied on, and questioned whether the prosecution had succeeded in proving some of the charges.
Seventy South African suspected mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe lodged an application on Monday for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court after a Pretoria judge refused to order their extradition home. They would contest Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe’s ruling on the grounds that a South African’s constitutionally-entrenched rights had to be enforceable in a foreign country.