Prepaid water meters are at the centre of a war for water waged by a group of informal settlement residents who will challenge Johannesburg Water in court over the lawfulness of these devices. The residents have enlisted leading constitutional lawyer Wim Trengove, SC, to fight their corner. The case is likely to be precedent setting, with implications for municipalities and the delivery of services around the country.
The two South Africans detained in Pakistan as suspected al-Qaeda terrorists are now effectively in American hands, according to a range of sources in Lahore and in South Africa. Asif Shahzad, crime reporter for a Pakistani daily, The Dawn, who has followed the arrests closely, said the interrogation of Feroz Ganchi and Zubair Ismail was being driven by the United States, with Pakistani intelligence only assisting.
The Medicines Control Council has pulled the generic anti-retroviral drug Duovir off the shelves because of concerns about the manufacturer’s studies that deal with the drug’s efficacy. The tablet, which combines zidovudine and lamivudine, is widely used by NGOs. This week the Treatment Action Campaign and Medecins Sans Frontières expressed concern about the council’s decision.
Mpumalanga’s ”romeo mayor” Jeri Ngomane now faces possible censure from his own comrades within the council. The Enhlanzeni District Municipality has established a five-person committee to probe allegations of wrongdoing against Ngomane and any other councillor implicated in multi-million rand wrongdoing in the province’s second largest municipality.
African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president-elect has warned that ”there is no room for careerists and opportunists who merely seek to advance their own interests and disregard the collective” in the lead-up to the league congress next week. Fikile Mbalula is standing unopposed for the position of president of the league at its national congress, to be held in Johannesburg from Wednesday.
Part of the forensic audit carried out at the instruction of Parliament into ”Travelgate” — the parliamentary travel voucher scam — points to a potential legal nightmare for investigators to unravel. At first glance, MPs’ travel vouchers have been misused through the booking of flights and cancellation of tickets. But it remains unclear whether the MPs are guilty of anything other than a lack of attention to detail.
With minimal interruption to traffic flows, not having to build any new stadiums and the vast amounts saved by MPs on travel vouchers, there are some advantages to not having won the Olympic bid for this year, writes Mike van Graan.
On Wednesday miners and their bosses marched to demand lower interest rates. On Thursday the Reserve Bank lowered rates. Also drawing attention to the currency were last week’s comments by Bobby Godsell, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti. The Mail & Guardian asked four pundits to respond to Godsell’s three pertinent posers.
The rand lost about 20 cents against the United States dollar on Thursday at the news that the South African Reserve Bank dropped the repo rate at which it lends money to commercial banks from eight percent to 7,5%. The move, which saw commercial banks lowering their interest rates by the same margin to 11%, has taken economists by surprise.
Mboweni surprises, cuts interest rates
South Africa, riding the wave of a tourism boom, is bracing for record numbers by promoting the neglected African side of one of the world’s most beautiful and culturally diverse nations. The brains behind the strategy is the chief executive officer of South African Tourism Cheryl Carolus, who has shifted the focus from game reserves, wildlife and what she calls the ”pseudo-European” attractions that had been touted so far.