Over the past months this column has devoted space to the analysis of the way in which the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal have responded to the challenge of developing the body of South African law in the image of the Constitution. In this regard, judicial appointments become critical. And recent appointments point to progress on the part of the Judicial Service Commission.
Capetonian band The Rudimentals spearheads the resurgence of interest in multiracial, politicsed music. Their latest album is a worthy tribute to ska. Dave Chislett lends an ear.
The Public Investment Commissioners (PIC) — which has a 12,5% shareholding in Standard Bank — will "in principle" vote in support of the financial group’s plan to sell a 10% stake of its South African banking operations to an empowerment consortium. PIC CEO Brian Molefe is seemingly not overly concerned that the big empowerment deals always seem to involve the same big names.
A referee fingered by the 1998 Motimele commission of inquiry into allegations of bribery, corruption and match-fixing in soccer continued to officiate for another six years before being arrested three weeks ago during a new crackdown. This has emerged from scrutiny of the Motimele report, which has never been released; a copy is in the possession of the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>.
In an about-face, the South Africa Medical Association (Sama) has written to the Department of Health and dissociated itself from further court action by doctors aimed at forcing the government to drop new medicine dispensing regulations. This comes after Sama has spent months urging doctors not to comply with the new dispensing regulations.
Sudan on Thursday warned Britain that it risked becoming bogged down in an Iraq-style quagmire if it sent troops to Darfur, where more than a million refugees face the threat of famine, disease and attacks by pro-government militia. The country’s foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said British soldiers would be seen as an occupying force and face a backlash from the people of Darfur.
Burundi’s main Tutsi party said on Thursday it had rejected a proposed deal to share power with Hutus, despite claims by South African mediators that they had achieved a general agreement in Burundi’s peace talks. Uprona, Burundi’s main party representing minority Tutsis, called this week’s talks ”a big setback” and said it did not sign the draft proposed by South African mediators.
There’s a scene in Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11 in which United States President George Bush addresses the assembled press from a golf tee. ”I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you.” Then he pulls back his club and says: ”Now watch this drive.”
Prospects for the South African economy have continued to improve despite the fact that the rand is at a five-year peak to the dollar, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday. Mboweni said that tourism had fared better than expected and manufacturing output had improved significantly.
A powerful car bomb exploded on Friday on a busy road on the outskirts of Kandahar in Afghanistan as a convoy of United States military vehicles was passing, raining debris over a wide area and damaging several cars, police officials said. There was no immediate word on casualties, said General Salim Khan, the deputy police chief for Kandahar province.