South Africa’s consumer price index excluding mortgage rate changes (CPIX) for metro and other areas, which is used by the South African Reserve Bank for its inflation target, rose by 3,8% year-on-year in April after increasing by 3,6% in March, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
Andre Markgraaff, Mike Stofile and Theunie Lategan have resigned from the South African Rugby Union’s (Saru) management committee, media reports said on Wednesday. This follows the request on Tuesday by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee that the whole committee step down.
The government threatened on Tuesday to demolish squatter shacks in what it calls an urban beautification campaign, following the arrests of about 10Â 000 street traders in the capital, a stronghold of the opposition. The campaign against vendors has already sparked clashes between traders and police and unrest has been reported elsewhere.
Western Cape police used teargas, rubber bullets and stun grenades on Wednesday morning to break up a group of protesters in Blackheath, Cape Town. Captain Billy Jones said police warned the group of about 600 protesters to disperse but they refused. He said the police then opened fire.
South African retail group Mr Price on Wednesday reported a 35% increase in headline earnings per share to 120,4 cents for its 2005 financial year ended March, from 89,1 cents in the previous financial year. The group increased its final dividend per share by 71% to 60 cents, from 35 cents previously.
The South African housing market is most probably in the process of cooling off after a strong boom phase over the past few years, according to commercial bank Absa. "House-price growth is currently on a downward trend," Absa senior economist Jacques du Toit wrote in the latest <i>Property Trends</i> newsletter.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says junior miner Simmer & Jack Mines is "ready" and has resources and skills to take over DRDGold’s mining operations in the North West province. An NUM spokesperson said labour is convinced that thousands of mineworkers left without jobs in the North West might soon be redeployed.
South African Rugby Union (Saru) deputy president Andre Markgraaff on Tuesday welcomed Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile’s call for a formal investigation into the management of the organisation and has announced his conditional resignation from Saru.
A recent imbizo (meeting) to discuss the future of the Zulu nation had been unnecessary, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. ”I am a Zulu. You didn’t see me at the imbizo,” Zuma told the South African Broadcasting Corporation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Modderklip’s 12 000 illegal squatters are to be shifted from their present location, and the government will not be buying the invaded land from the farmer who owns it. This decision follows a recent landmark Constitutional Court judgement, which ordered the authorities either to buy the occupied land from the farmer or to find an alternative site to house residents of the ”Gabon” shack settlement.