GOLD fever is set to grip South Africa’s most famous historical mining town next week when thousands of gold panners gather in Pilgrim’s Rest to battle it out at the annual National Gold Panning Championships. Mpumalanga Tourism Authority (MTA) spokesman Norman Madzhiga said the annual championships on November 11 had attracted 120 ‘professional’ entries, with […]

FORMER Swazi Prime Minister Prince Mbilini Dlamini, who was demoted after a spate of anti-government demonstrations in the mid-nineties, has bounced back into politics as an adviser to King Mswati III. Dlamini was appointed Prime Minister in 1993, and his tenure was marked by political unrest as pro-democracy activists staged demonstrations to push for political […]

PHILLIP NKOSI and JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Thursday THE much-delayed disciplinary hearing into Mpumalanga’s suspended parks board chief, Alan Gray, wrapped up testimony this week after four days of legal argument. Gray, who was suspended on 20 internal misconduct and alleged fraud charges in September 1998, will however only learn his fate on November 23 […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Thursday TWO foreign ombudsmen attending a conference in Durban have been robbed at knifepoint by gangs of brazen teenage muggers in two separate incidents – with one being bitten by his young assailants when he resisted. Belgian ombudsman Herman Wuyts said he had a tetanus injection after being bitten by one […]

A BRITISH private firm, Crown Agents, caught a customs officer red-handed as he was taking a a bribe in what it called “the most flagrant act of corruption” since it took over the management of the Mozambican customs service about three years ago. The company said revenue collection had improved since Crown Agents started cracking […]

JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Johannesburg | Thursday AN international conference of indigenous communities from five African countries has condemned alleged human rights abuses against the Kalahari Desert San people by the Botswana government. Describing the San as Africa’s oldest inhabitants, the conference accused the Botswana government and its wildlife authorities of an alarming pattern of forced removals […]

NIGERIA’S state carrier has agreed a three-month extension of its current joint venture accord with British Airways for the operation of the Lagos-London route. The debt-ridden and near-bankrupt Nigeria Airways sought the help of British Airways to run the lucrative Lagos-London route on daily basis in 1998, but there had been moves by the Nigerian […]

DARREN SCHUETTLER, Johannesburg | Thursday THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) said this week it did not expect competition from a rival African free trade area and said its own deal was on track to begin cutting tariffs early next year. ”I don’t see competition necessarily,” SADC acting chief economist Angelo Mondlane said after the […]

ZIMBABWE has raised fuel prices by up to 14.6%, the fifth hike this year, citing increased procurement costs and the devaluation of the local dollar. In a statement, state oil procurer National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) said the retail price of unleaded petrol had gone up to Z$46.77 per litre from Z$40.80 while diesel […]