A former mayor and senior politician in the party of Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi was convicted on Monday for fraud and theft of public funds and sentenced to three years and two months in prison. John Chikakwiya is the ex-mayor of the commercial capital, Blantyre, and served as governor for the south.
Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) on Monday announced that it will invest R750-million in a new, state-of-the-art paint shop in Uitenhage. Addressing the media, VWSA MD Andreas Tostmann said construction of the facility will start in May and is anticipated to be completed and fully operational in the first half of 2007.
Listed supermarket group Pick ‘n Pay is expected to report a 21% increase in its headline earnings per share for the year to the end of February this year, to 135 cents from 111,6 cents the previous year, when it announces its final results on Tuesday morning, according to a consensus of seven investment analysts.
South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sue van der Merwe on Monday officially congratulated Zimbabwe on its 25th year of independence from Britain, praising it for its role in fighting apartheid. She did not mention the concerns of Zimbabwe’s official opposition about the fairness and freeness of the March parliamentary election.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave a strong indication on Monday that he will delay the withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip to avoid clashing with a Jewish mourning period. Sharon said: ”I think a decision will be taken tomorrow [Tuesday] during a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee” that is coordinating the withdrawal.
A teenager with a train "obsession" took a stolen tram for a joyride through Australia’s second-biggest city at the weekend, picking up several unsuspecting passengers along the way, police said on Monday. The unidentified 15-year-old allegedly stole two trams within the space of two days from a depot in Melbourne, they said.
A task team has been set up to find — within two months — ways to speed up the provision of classrooms, the education and public works departments said on Monday. The team will report by June with concrete plans to end the practice of teaching children outdoors, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor told reporters in Pretoria.
Feuding taxi organisations in the Western Cape have pledged peace as provincial transport minister Mcebisi Skwatsha announced the reopening of violence-racked taxi ranks closed a week ago. Skwatsha also said he has not been facilitating negotiations with a gun against his head.
South African power utility Eskom and BHP Billiton coal subsidiary Ingwe Collieries have given notice they that are planning to retrench 200 and 1Â 000 workers respectively, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday. Ingwe has already served the NUM with a retrenchment notice in terms of Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said on Sunday that the independence of the judiciary will never be compromised, after reports that judges were up in arms over apparent plans to do just that. ”There is no such thing as taking away independence. This government made sure this was protected in the Constitution,” said the department’s spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.