WEDNESDAY, 6:30PM: FIVE million people in Southern Africa will require food aid over the next nine months as ‘El Nino’ begins to bite, causing what is expected to be the worst drought in a century. World Food Programme executive director Cathrine Bertini said in Johannesburg on Wednesday that about US$200 million will be required to […]

WEDNESDAY, 8.55AM: PERCY Montgomery will again play at fullback for the Springboks in the second test against France this week. First choice, No 15 Justin Swart, who injured himself at training prior to the first test against France, has fully recovered but is not well enough to play in Saturday’s game. Coach Nick Mallett said: […]

TUESDAY 8.30AM: THE Western Cape finally won its stalled attempt to become the first South African province with its own constitution after the Constitutional Court on Monday unanimously approved the province’s latest draft. The province, ruled by the National Party, submitted a request for a constitution of its own in September, but it was only […]

TUESDAY, 5:30PM: INDONESIA’S President Suharto arrives in South Africa on Thursday for a three day visit — but a demonstration by senior Cosatu officials outside the Indonesian embassy made it clear that not everyone will make him welcome. Cosatu has departed from the cautious stance of its alliance partner, the ANC, by making a blunt […]

EMPLOYMENT BILL FINALLY PASSED The Basic Conditions of Employment Bill finally passed through the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday, despite National Party attempts to block it with 20 last-minute amendments. Debates on the amdendments delayed the bill by just 24 hours. The defeated amendments aimed to limit the labour minister’s powers and slow a […]

TUESDAY, 9.15AM: The black empowerment group Real Africa Holdings has announced its most ambitious deal to date, buying up half of the country’s largest information technology group. Real Africa, headed by Don Ncube, will pay R1 billion by May next year for half the South African operations of PQ Data. PQ Data was itself only […]

TUESDAY, 5:30PM: The concept of a wealth tax to correct past economic imbalances received strong support on Tuesday from South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris, who told the truth commission that a number of Jewish businessmen supported the idea. He said he would throw his weight behind the proposals as well. “I really feel that […]

TUESDAY, 6.15PM: THE JSE had a lacklustre day, in which only R802-m worth of shares was traded. Rises in Tokyo coupled with losses in Hong Kong led to a directionless local market. At the close of trade the all share index was 8,8 points lower at 6 419, the all gold index had lost 2,1 […]

TUESDAY, 5:00PM: Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano told an investment summit on Tuesday that Southern African countries should guard against competing among themselves to attract investment. Presenting the keynote speech at the International Herald Tribune Southern African trade and investment summit in Gaborone, Botswana, he said such competition would be counter-productive, whereas the emergence of Southern […]

TUESDAY, 9.15AM: MINERALS and energy officials, instructed by minister Pennuel Maduna to investigate the appointment of a mysterious Liberian consultant to the Central Energy Fund, will make a decision by the year’s end. But the man whose job is most on the line is the non-executive chairman of the fund, Don Mkhwanazi, who made the […]