Tourism authorities have embarked on an aggressive registration drive to flush out fly-by-night establishments, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal said on Wednesday. ”Tourism establishments that fail to register … face stiff penalties of up to R10 000”, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal official James Seymour said in a statement.
Two days is ample time for people to get their tax returns in order, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Wednesday, in advance of Friday’s deadline. ”Sars offices around the country are also extending their office hours,” Sars spokesperson Sechaba Nkosi said in a statement.
With anger mounting that Saddam Hussein has not been charged over his invasion of and use of chemical weapons against Iran, MPs called on Wednesday for the ousted Iraqi dictator to stand before an international court. ”The crimes of Saddam go beyond the national Iraqi framework,” said a statement.
Zimbabwe’s information minister blamed the main opposition for a damning report on human rights abuses in the country that was discussed ahead of an African Union summit in Ethiopia, state radio reported on Wednesday. The report, claimed there had been serious human rights abuses committed by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s government continues to step up its crackdown on dissent, using new repressive laws and state-sponsored violence to create a pervasive atmosphere of terror, critics said on Wednesday. Archbishop Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe’s western Matabeleland, told a news conference that the new repressive laws show ”Mugabe’s regime has made sure they can beat anyone into submission”.
Opposition is ‘selling out’ Zimbabwe
Zim govt shrugs off damning report
Four more football referees were arrested in Gauteng on Wednesday as part of the police’s ongoing crackdown on match fixing, police spokesperson senior superintendent Selby Bokaba said. Three were Premier Soccer League (PSL) referees and the fourth was a retired referee connected with the Vodacom league.
In what will be the first major inner-city development in South Africa for a black economic empowerment group, South Africa’s Coessa Holdings — acting in partnership with a Johannesburg businessman — plans to develop a new, R390-million residential, commercial and retail lifestyle centre in Cape Town, to be known as Icon.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela is to address a major international Aids conference in Bangkok, Thailand, next week.
While the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) argued on Wednesday that it is too early to call for a strike in the car industry, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) remained adamant that strike action is on the cards before the end of the month. Numsa on Monday declared "war" against Ameo.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services said on Wednesday it has assigned its B long-term and B short-term sovereign credit ratings to Mozambique. The outlook is positive. The ratings on Mozambique are supported by high export-led GDP growth — albeit from a low base — and strong donor support.