South Africa’s National Treasury said on Monday the country will not impose a windfall tax on synthetic fuel producers such as Sasol and PetroSA. ”[The] government has also decided not to proceed with a tax on the windfall profits earned by existing synthetic fuel producers,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe criticised what he called unfair media reports aimed at muddying the image of developing countries, as Asian and African leaders held talks on Monday on fighting poverty. Mugabe slammed news reports that are ”quite often deliberately intended to tarnish and mislead”.
Allegations of embezzlement against South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande were unfounded, the Young Communist League said on Monday. YCL chairperson David Masondo said: ”We as the youth wing have engaged with Nzimande, and he said the allegations were untrue.”
Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica on Monday assured South Africans that an end to the strike in the liquid fuels sector is in the offing. She asserted: "I initiated meetings with both the employer and employee organisations last week to stress the importance of resolving this salary dispute as a matter of urgency."
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused South African Rugby Union deputy president Mike Stofile of placing the interests of South African rugby secondary to ”pleasing his African National Congress bosses”. ”New calls for increased racial quotas are once again tainting the Springbok squad,” DA spokesperson Donald Lee said on Monday.
Although still 117 points in the red, the JSE perked up in midday trade on Monday after news that the government would not impose a windfall tax on petrochemicals giant Sasol. The local bourse received added support from signs that global markets were beginning to turn around after last week’s huge sell-offs.
Darfur rebel factions meeting in Tanzania have reached a common negotiating position and want ”final” talks on peace with Sudan’s government within months, United Nations and African Union mediators said on Monday. The rebels had been meeting over the weekend in a Tanzanian luxury resort in Arusha.
South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday that the overall International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment report on South Africa was optimistic about robust growth, rising employment and further improvement of the fiscal position. "There is agreement between South African authorities and the IMF about these economic prospects," stated Manuel.
Striking fuel industry workers would decide on Monday whether to accept a pay offer which might end a week of industrial action and fuel shortages. ”We are meeting our constituencies today to get a fresh mandate,” said Keith Jacobs, spokesperson for the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers’ Union.
By the time the Wallabies get to France for next month’s Rugby World Cup, training and match days will look easy after their commando-style ”boot camp”. On their first night on Sunday, the players were woken at 10pm, forced to leave camp and taken on a 3km march before swimming 300m across a lake.