THE mayor of Tobatse in the Northern Province has come under fire for wanting to take a trip to China that is expected to cost R180_000. The council has not budgeted for Mayor Pinky Morena’s trip, said Pan African Congress (PAC) chief whip in the Sekhukhune region, Nyankane Masilela. He alleged that PAC councillor Joel […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maputo | Wednesday FLOOD victims in central Mozambique are being plucked from treetops as at least two large settlements were swallowed by the Zambezi river this week, sparking emergency operations to evacuate people from affected areas. The Jardim and Chirembwe settlements in the Mutarara locality of Inhangome were reported to be under water. […]

STEVEN SWINDELLS, Johannesburg | Wednesday MAJOR South African mining firms have started to test miners anonymously for Aids in an attempt to come to terms with a disease that threatens to devastate their workforce. The testing of miners’ saliva is expected to show that roughly a quarter of the country’s 500_000 miners are living with […]

FRENCH judges looking into allegations of unauthorised arms sales to Angola are focusing on the gift of a luxury armour-plated car to President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. The vehicle – worth 1.3 million francs ($186 000) – was paid for partly by Brenco International, the arms trading company whose president Pierre Falcone is in prison […]

DUTCH Prime Minister Wim Kok will make an official three-day visit to South Africa later this month at the invitation of South African President Thabo Mbeki. Kok will meet with Mbeki and members of his cabinet on February 26 and 27. He also will address the South African parliament. On February 28, the Dutch premier […]

KENYAN President Daniel arap Moi has launched a scathing attack on donors to the east African country, accusing them of creating a culture of corruption. The comments come a week before Moi meets World Bank President James Wolfenson and International Monetary Fund head Horst Koehler at a regional heads of state meeting in the Tanzanian […]

SOUTH African Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri is expected to award the country’s long-delayed third mobile phone licence this week, say industry players. The three main contenders in the race are Cell-C, backed by Middle Eastern conglomerate Saudi Oger and US Verizon; NextCom, backed by Hong Kong’s Distacom; and Afrozone, supported by Swedish Telia and Telenor […]

BILLITON’S Mozambique aluminium smelter, Mozal, says a strike called to protest pay discrepancies had come to a peaceful end and the impact on production was slight. A dayshift of 200 people downed tools in a wage protest, but after long meetings between government ministers, union leadership and management the strike was called off by the […]

THE rebel leader in Sierra Leone has returned nine vehicles and 56 weapons stolen from the UN peacekeeping force last year. UN associate representative Marie Okabe said the weapons ”appeared to be in decent condition” but the vehicles – armoured personnel carriers seized by the United Revolutionary Front (RUF) – had been ”cannibalised”. The RUF […]

SOUTH Africa’s largest sugar producer, Illovo, says it will sell its 80.25% stake in Mauritius company Mon Tresor Mon Desert (MTMD) for R472m in cash. Illovo said that agreement in principle had been reached for the sale to a consortium advised by South African financial services firm Brait International and PriceWaterhouse Coopers in Mauritius. It […]