MARIAM ISA, Johannesburg | Monday ABSA, South Africa’s dominant retail bank, hopes to cut its cost-to-income ratio to the 60% level and boost its return on equity above 21% by March 2002. Group Chief Executive Nallie Bosman told reporters after the group unveiled its interim results that he believed it could speed up its previous […]

PHILLIP NKOSI, Piet Retief | Monday HIGH-flying Piet Retief mayor Andries Gamede, who is facing an investigation into false expense claims – and a R500000 lawsuit for unfair dismissal – is throwing a bumper year-end party for local councillors with about R70000 of unbudgeted taxpayers’ money. Gospel singer Rebecca Malope has been offered R27900 to […]

SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki has held private talks with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on the problems Mugabe faces at home and on the Democratic Republic of Congo, aides said. Their 45-minute talks took place at Johannesburg International Airport, where Mugabe stopped off en route to an economic conference of developing countries in Malaysia. – […]

SOUTH African Internet recruitment portal CareerJunction’s traffic volumes have soared by more than 100% in the past three months on the back of an aggressive online strategy sparked by new partner Johnnic e-Ventures. The effect of the Johnnic e-Ventures deal – which saw JeV buy 51% of CareerJunction in June – has been dramatic.

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Monday NIGERIA’S top lawmakers take home pay and allowances worth more than $9 000 a month, most of which they have awarded themselves, in a country where most people earn less than a dollar a day. Members of the 109-seat Senate, or upper house, and the 360-seat House of Representatives, or […]

THE military command of Angola’s UNITA rebel movement has “totally and irrevocably” rejected an amnesty offered last week by the country’s government, saying the offer from Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos was “nothing more than a bait”. UNITA recently presented the government with a series of proposals, including the setting-up of a new government, the […]

THE High Court in Zimbabwe has ordered the state to immediately return broadcasting equipment it seized from the country’s first private radio station a month and half ago. Anthony Brooks, the lawyer for Capital Radio, said the government would return all the equipment save for the transmitter and antenna, which cannot be owned without a […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday THE eight former Civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB) operatives who attempted to kill Transport Minister Dullah Omar, his wife Farida and journalist Gavin Evans should be denied amnesty because they gave only “glimpses of the truth”, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has heard. Ferdi Barnard, Carl “Calla” Botha, Joe Verster, […]

FREE State Premier Winkie Direko has expressed shock at the arrest of the speaker of the province’s legislature on murder charges, SABC radio news reported on Sunday. Joe Mafereka was arrested on Saturday at Johannesburg International Airport by members of the Special Investigation Unit on murder charges related to taxi violence in 1989. Before joining […]