On Monday Sanlam will be the first life insurance company to challenge the ruling of the pension fund adjudicator in the case of Mr de Beer in the Cape High Court. De Beer wanted to reduce the premium on his policy. Sanlam sought to penalise him R43Â 000 — the value of the policy was R46Â 000.
Jendayi Frazer, the United States ambassador to South Africa, speaks to the <i>Mail and Guardian </i>about the the primary strategic cosiderations driving American policy on Africa and the continent’s prospects for the G8 summit in Gleneagles.
The National Prosecuting Authority is preparing the ground for charges against Deputy President Jacob Zuma, and President Thabo Mbeki is ready to announce his decision on Zuma’s future. But they may both hold their fire until the appeal process in the trial of Schabir Shaik is concluded.
”We as PetroSA are concerned that in the course of what’s become known as the Oilgate affair (‘The ANC’s Oilgate’), the public was left with an impression that there was something sinister about the payment PetroSA made to Imvume; and that Imvume was used as a cover to channel the public money towards the African National Congress election campaign.”
Bolivia’s outgoing president, Carlos Mesa, who has offered to resign to help defuse three weeks of crippling protests, has warned that the country could slide into civil war unless early elections are held. ”The country cannot continue playing with the possibility of splitting into a thousand pieces,” he said.
Hillbrow’s once-dilapidated Smithshof building has undergone an extreme makeover by the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) — while tenants continued living in it. The renovation, which took place over six months, is seen as breaking new ground in the field of affordable inner-city housing.
Zimbabwe’s worst economic recession in years has given rise to a thriving black market in fuel, basic commodities and foreign currency. Basic foodstuffs are no longer available in shops. Shortages have pushed prices up by about 100% in the past six months.
To hear many South African Zionists, one would think there can be no good grounds, or unsullied motives, for impugning the state of Israel. All criticism apparently boils down to ignorance or worse, anti-Semitic prejudice. The Mail & Guardian, which makes no bones about its hearty dislike of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government, has been repeatedly accused of anti-Semitism in recent years.
Spraying walls or cloths with spores of a fungus that kills mosquitoes could greatly reduce malaria transmission, according to a report on the non-profit Science and Development Network website. Two studies were published on Friday on the issue in the reputable peer-reviewed journal Science.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw this week told Palestinian leaders in Ramallah that the creation of a Palestinian state was in their own hands, whatever the intentions of the Israeli government. Straw brushed aside a growing belief among Palestinian politicians that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has no desire to return to peace negotiations.