Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa has promised to speed up the issuing of valid taxi permits after facing a crowd of protesting taxi drivers in Johannesburg on Monday. In the meantime, those with temporary permits would not have their vehicles impounded except when they are found to be unroadworthy.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=32340">Call for official’s sacking</a>
A Japanese husband and wife apparently hanged themselves on Monday after he was accused of covering up a bird-flu outbreak in his family’s poultry business, police said as experts warned that wild crows may be spreading the disease to new locations.
Analysts are expecting another strong performance from Standard Bank when it presents its results for the year to December on Wednesday — underpinned once again by strong advances growth. Dividend per share is expected to be up by about 21% from 124 cents to about 150 cents a share.
The long-running strike by airport baggage handlers continued on Monday while the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) considered a revised pay offer. Equity this weekend made its sixth revised offer over pay and conditions, which Satawu had taken to its membership for consideration.
Several thousand National Taxi Alliance members have converged on the offices of Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, reportedly demanding the sacking of provincial minister of transport Khabisi Mosunkutu. Police said about 5Â 000 protesters marched to Shilowa’s offices in Johannesburg.
A plan should be devised to cap the level of benefit black empowerment companies receive to avoid an endless round of public and private tenders going to the same people, says South Africa’s small African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).
South African Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has warned farmers not to threaten their workers with retrenchment in the wake of the severe drought that has negatively affected the farming sector in most parts of the country. "The law does not allow farmers to retrench workers at their whim," the minister said.
Emmanuel Amoko shrugs off the social stigma attached to Aids in his southern Sudanese community. Instead, the 16-year-old — who lost his father to the disease — is determined to increase awareness among his peers about the dangers of Aids and to help orphans left behind.
The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) was weaker at midday on Monday on the back of a stronger rand and general lack of buying interest in the market. Volumes were extremely light — less than R400-million-worth of shares had changed hands.
Business was good in the taverns of Kano as the city’s football fanatics gathered to watch the English FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend, and as the beer sellers stacked crate after crate of empties back onto their trucks they seemed unaware that this might be one of their last loads.