The Labour Court on Friday ruled that Harmony Gold’s retrenchment of 5 000 mineworkers at its Free State mines was illegal. According to the National Union of Mineworkers, the court ruled that all the workers should be reinstated with immediate effect. A Harmony spokesperson said the company is extremely disappointed.
South Africa’s MTN Group is committed to realising its growth road map in Africa despite hurdles associated with investing in the mobile telecommunications sector on the continent. MTN’s Ugandan operation, which currently boasts a 66% market share, will potentially face fierce competition when markets open up from July.
The South African rand was weaker in afternoon trade on Friday after the United States non-farm payrolls came in better than expected, giving the dollar a boost. At 2.45pm, the rand was quoted at R6,0576 per dollar from R6,0151 just prior to the release of the data. The dollar firmed against the euro.
Once again my mole in high places has come through with some fascinating information; information that is being withheld from release to the public on the grounds that it might cause ”unnecessary panic”. In the spirit of fearless exposure for which this newspaper is so admired, I am publishing the information here. It has leaked from the Department of Celebrations, Festivities, Commemorations, Ceremonies and Revelry.
The JSE Securities Exchange was firmer in noon trade on Friday as the bullish trend that has seen the bourse stage a recovery over the past few days continued. The market was quiet, however, with less than R900-million worth of shares changing hands.
For years, Foli Nyassia watched as his neighbours were beaten, arrested and snatched away in the night by soldiers under Togo’s late dictator. A newly elected president — and son of the late dictator — professes to have embraced democracy and vows to unite his divided country.
Former director general of communications Andile Ngcaba, African National Congress head of the Presidency Smuts Ngonyama, and the Public Investment Corporation will all do very nicely out of a deal to transfer 15,1% of Telkom to empowerment groups — but the benefits will be more widely spread than Ngcaba initially envisaged.
Mandla Langa, the author and the outgoing chair of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), will be the next chief executive of the SABC — if, insiders claim, the Presidency has its way. Langa, who has built a reputation for independence at Icasa, last week confirmed that he had been approached to ”put my name in the hat”, but denied it had been from the Presidency.
A broad-based black investor group, the Elephant Consortium, is to acquire a 10,1% stake in fixed line telephone operator Telkom. It will acquire the stake from the Public Investment Corporation, which will retain 5% of a 15,1% stake it bought in Telkom in November last year for R6,6-billion.
Police were searching on Friday for two men who stole one-million Hong Kong dollars worth of diamonds as a 23-year-old salesman went to the toilet. The thieves struck as the man opened one of the cubicles in a shopping centre in the North Point district of Hong Kong Island.