A policy review process, which includes questions on whether provincial government should even exist, was launched by Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi in Pretoria on Tuesday. ”We have to have a re-look at the way powers and functions have been distributed across the three spheres of government,” Mufamadi said.
A French trade union leader on Tuesday warned that the Rugby World Cup could be disrupted by industrial unrest unless the government changes a Bill intended to limit the impact of transport strikes. Bernard Thibault, of the General Labour Confederation, said the Bill was an ”intimidatory measure” because it restricted the right to strike.
Zimbabwe’s central bank on Tuesday introduced yet another higher denomination banknote as it grappled with runaway inflation that is rendering lower-value banknotes useless. The new ZÂ 000 bearer cheque is the latest addition to a series of temporary bank notes introduced as a stop-gap measure at the height of a critical shortage of bank notes.
Wallaby coach John Connolly has dismissed suggestions that a rift in the coaching staff threatens to ruin the team’s chances at the Rugby World Cup in France, which starts in September. A report has claimed that the relationship of the four-man coaching staff of Connolly, Michael Foley, Scott Johnson and John Muggleton was ”edgy” and there were intense divisions within the camp.
The JSE was firmer at midday led by the resources sector which was being driven by stronger precious metal prices. At 12.03pm, the all-share index was up 1,39% as resources added 1,80%. The platinum mining index climbed 1,29% and the gold-mining index gained 1,03%.
Springbok loose-forward Pierre Spies has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup in France following the detection of blood clots in his lungs. Springbok team Doctor Yusuf Hassan said late on Monday the player may not participate in any contact sport for a period of between six and eight months.
AngloGold Ashanti posted a worse-than-expected 17% fall in second-quarter adjusted profit, hit by stronger currencies and more exploration costs, and said its chief executive Bobby Godsell would retire. AngloGold, the world’s third biggest gold producer, said on Tuesday Mark Cutifani from Brazil’s CVRD Inco would become new chief executive.
Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones’s defection to the Springboks has upset his former protégés but they remain upbeat about their prospects for the World Cup, coach John Connolly said on Tuesday. Connolly and new captain Stirling Mortlock admitted that seeing Jones in a South African tracksuit was an unpleasant surprise.
The United Nations Security Council reached broad agreement on a draft resolution to authorise up to 26Â 000 troops and police for Sudan’s Darfur region, with a vote anticipated this week. Britain and France distributed a fourth revised text late on Monday to be sent to governments of the 15 council members.
Russian rugby has come a long way since the Stalinist dark days when the former Soviet dictator banned it for being too bourgeois. Now with a French coach in charge and with a marketing guru in place, the Russian federation is aiming to qualify for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.