South Africa is rolling out a new lightning detection system to track the atmospheric phenomenon across the country. ”The need for real-time lightning information to supplement the advanced high spatial and temporal weather radar and satellite systems in a lightning-prone country is regarded as an essential component to the services required by the South African community,” said South African Weather Services spokesperson Bheki Zwane.
The City of Cape Town, rocked by allegations of corruption and tender irregularities, is a target for fraudsters, a leading forensic investigator said on Thursday. Steven Powell, a director at Sonnenberg, Hoffmann and Galombik forensics, spoke on corruption and white-collar crime at a Cape Press Club function.
Sporadic incidents of ill-discipline, including the hurling of glass bottles at Cape Town city manager Wallace Mgoqi, marred an SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) march on Wednesday. The march follows a deadlock in wage negotiations between the SA Local Government Association and Samwu.
As the Aids pandemic cuts a deadly swathe across Southern Africa, a multidisciplinary research team is looking at developing intervention strategies to care for affected children and orphans. The five-year, donor-funded project is concentrating its work on Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe at first.
South African teachers are being lured to Britain by unscrupulous British recruitment agencies, a post-graduate dissertation for the IMM Graduate School of Marketing suggests. ”The vast majority of British recruitment companies recruiting in South Africa are guilty of gross unethical misconduct,” said the researcher, Guy Mulvaney.
There must be no room for corruption or nepotism in municipalities, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Thursday. ”Nobody’s going to benefit, nobody’s spouse is going to benefit. The rules are going to be clear and we will ensure that the incentives and disincentives are in place,” he said on Thursday.
Relief and joy were etched on the faces of women who were among the first Western Cape prisoners to be released on Monday as part of the government’s remission of sentence programmes. ”Ek is te bly. Ek wil net by die huis kom. Dis al. [I am so happy. I just want to go home. That’s all],” said Dorieca Demas from Bishop Lavis.
It is inevitable that poor countries will compete for donor aid, Tanzania’s President Benjamin Mkapa told delegates at the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Thursday. Steve Booysen, chief executive of Absa, said business has been slow to take advantage of the changing political landscape in Africa.
With Africa expecting $25-billion by 2010 if the Commission for Africa’s recommendations are implemented, Tanzania’s President Benjamin Mkapa said each country should be assessed individually to see if previous aid was misused. Mkapa was part of a panel that spoke on how aid can be allocated and used effectively.
International business and political leaders have a unique opportunity to recognise the ”moral reprehensibility” of what is allowed to happen in Africa, Reuters chairperson Niall FitzGerald said on Wednesday. He addressed media at the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town.