Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday thumbed her nose at her critics, saying she was there to stay. The media quoted her as telling reporters in East London she would not resign amid accusations that she is an alcoholic who abused her position to get a liver transplant. ”I’m not stepping down,” the minister said.
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South Africa captain John Smit, who has not played since injuring his hamstring against Australia on June 16, will miss Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against Scotland in Edinburgh. Smit was not among the 22 named by the South African Rugby Union on Thursday, although he travelled with the team on their two-match trip to Ireland and Scotland.
A new energy-saving initiative, targeting Johannesburg businesses and homes, has begun. Launched by Talk Radio 702 presenter Jenny Crwys-Williams, the Power to the People campaign urges Johannesburg residents to save energy and protect the environment.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif can return home after seven years in exile, the chief of the court said. Sharif, a two-time prime minister, has vowed to oppose a bid by President Pervez Musharraf for another term in office. Sharif (57) was overthrown by army chief Musharraf in a 1999 coup.
South Africa needs to produce more scientists in order to compete in the global academic arena, the National Research Foundation (NRF) said on Thursday. Speaking at the Johannesburg Press Club, NRF vice-president Albert van Jaarsveld said it was necessary for students to study science to compete with countries such as Germany and the United States.
Nigeria’s new Finance Minister Shamsuddeen Usman said on Thursday he would accelerate economic transformation and sustain macro-economic stability achieved under a reform programme launched in 2003. In his first news conference since taking office, Usman also said the government would amend the 2007 budget, mostly to fund a 15% public-sector pay rise.
Most of the 10 000 refugees who fled to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday have returned home, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday. UNHCR said more than 8 500 refugees went back on Wednesday, a day after fleeing their country fearing fresh violence there.
The South African government expressed confidence on Thursday in free and fair elections in neighbouring Zimbabwe, even as the ruling party and opposition there remained at loggerheads. The Cabinet accepted a report by President Thabo Mbeki that his attempts to broker a stalemate between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition were ”on track”.
One of Jacob Zuma’s attorneys has rejected an out-of-court settlement offer by the state over search-and-seizure warrants executed by the Scorpions in their investigation of the former deputy president. In papers filed at the Supreme Court of Appeal, the attorneys for Julie Mahomed said they had discussed the state’s offer with her on Monday.
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African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma does not have the right to look over the shoulders of investigators all along the way, lawyers for the state argued in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Zuma brought an application to stop the national director of public prosecutions from extending an investigation to the United Kingdom.