A South African law firm that acted as a conduit for information between a ”whistleblower” and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is instituting legal action against the central bank. It alleges the bank withheld its client’s payment after helping the police nab a high-profile businessman and political figure.
Nedbank says that while the short-term inflation outlook remains encouraging, the strong growth in credit poses dangers to longer-term price stability and it therefore feels that interest rates will be left unchanged in 2005. It says that as imports are rising rapidly, reserves in relation to import cover have remained static for several months.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information, Jonathan Moyo, is suing Munn Marketing for Z$100-million (about R109 000) for allegedly distributing in Zimbabwe the <i>Sunday Times</i> of South Africa — a newspaper he is also suing for carrying an allegedly defamatory article. Moyo said the article insinuated that he does not care about the people of Matabeleland.
The Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) is not considering a civil claim against the English cricket fan who scrawled swastikas and racist graffiti on seats at Newlands. ”The less we have to do with this person the better,” WPCA president Norman Arendse said on Thursday after Matthew Weller was fined R4 000 or six months in jail.
The South African Communist Party has launched a year-long programme to commemorate Joe Slovo’s life, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news reported on Thursday. Slovo, the SACP’s former chairperson and South Africa’s first housing minister, died on January 6 1995.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi paid tribute on Thursday to former president Nelson Mandela for his courage in announcing the death of his son to Aids. Makgatho Mandela (54) died in a Johannesburg clinic on Thursday. He was Mandela’s eldest child.
Mandela admits son died of Aids
Nelson Mandela’s son dies
Zimbabwe Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo’s bid to appeal against his exclusion from the ruling Zanu-PF’s primary elections in Tsholotsho will not succeed once the party’s central committee adopts the decision to reserve the seat for a woman candidate, Zanu-PF’s secretary for administration said on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=177561">Sunday Times article upsets Moyo</a>
Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika on Thursday accused his predecessor of complicity in a plot by his own party to assassinate him — but said he forgave all those involved. Former president Bakili Muluzi’s spokesperson and a representative of the governing United Democratic Front rejected the claim as outrageous.
New evidence of serious irregularities in South Africa’s multibillion-rand arms deal has emerged from confidential documents wrestled into the public domain by defence contractor Richard Young. The documents were given to Young last month after a marathon legal battle.
The South African government has strongly denied that it was slow in reacting to the tsunami disaster in South-East Asia. Opposition parties and the public have criticised the government for taking too long to help victims of the disaster, comparing it with civil society organisations that sprang into action when the extent of the devastation became apparent.