African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Gwede Mantashe has accused University of South Africa principal and vice-chancellor Barney Pityana of refusing to be challenged about his views on Jacob Zuma. Mantashe said he tried several times to meet Pityana, who ignored his overtures.
Hundreds of delegates arrived at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein on Thursday for the national conference of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Although the programme for the day had not started by 11am, delegates already inside and outside the Callie Human Centre were dancing and singing songs, waiting for proceedings to start.
The Minerals and Energy Department has terminated a R5-billion contract with a consortium led by United States power producer AES to build two open-cycle turbine gas stations, Business Day reported on Thursday. The contract was announced with much fanfare by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica last August.
A R5-billion contract to privately build and operate two turbine gas stations was cancelled because the bidder was unwilling to commit to the agreed terms of the tender, the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs said on Thursday. The tender was cancelled after it failed to meet commitments in respect of price, commercial terms and the dates for the generation of power.
Strong closes on Wall Street overnight and on Asian markets on Wednesday morning, led by financial stocks, have inspired similar local counters to extend earlier gains. By noon on Wednesday, the JSE’s broader all-share index had gained 1,14%, as banks advanced 3,4%.
France will not support bids by the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine to become members of Nato, putting it at odds with the United States, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday. ”France will not give its green light to the entry of Ukraine and Georgia,” Fillon told France Inter radio.
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The African National Congress (ANC) has come out in defence of its president, Jacob Zuma, after scathing criticism of him by University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana on Monday. ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe described Pityana’s statements as ”spurious” and a reflection of ”intellectual bankruptcy”.
The establishment of a media appeals tribunal as proposed by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) threatens the right to press freedom, the press ombudsman said in Durban on Monday. Ombudsman Joe Thloloe warned that ”once media freedom is threatened, it is an individual’s freedom of expression that is threatened”.
The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League on Monday called for the immediate closure of Johannesburg’s Noord Street taxi rank after a second woman was assaulted. Spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the continued abuse and harassment of women by taxi operators at the rank undermined the dignity and freedom of women.
Zambia has ended talks with a unit of Standard Bank after failing to agree conditions for a ,2-billion oil-financing deal, Energy Minister Kenneth Konga said on Monday. Konga said negotiations with Stanbic Bank Zambia, a subsidiary of Standard Bank, had ended and the government would soon start talks with another bank.