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Power-broker Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats (ID) wants to convince Cape Town’s two major political parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) to work together in a unity government in Cape Town and 23 other Western Cape towns.
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The Democratic Alliance said on Monday afternoon that it had been offered a deal that would give it control of the city of Cape Town. DA Western Cape leader Theuns Botha said the offer would give a grouping of 106 seats — enough for a clear majority in the 210-seat council.
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The Independent Democrats, who emerged kingmakers in the Cape Town metro and also holds the balance of power in various other municipalities in the Western Cape after Wednesday’s election, remains adamant it will not enter into coalitions with any other party.
A South African record haul of 6 for 22 by Makhaya Ntini saw South Africa inflict its biggest victory over Australia in the second Standard Bank One-Day International at Newlands on Friday. South Africa now lead the five-match series 2-0. ”It was fantastic,” said South African captain Graeme Smith.
Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin has been derided for his apparent denial of statements he made earlier this week that sabotage was behind the problems being experienced by the Koeberg nuclear power station. Democratic Alliance spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said on Friday Erwin was deliberately misleading the people of Cape Town.
A South African record haul of 6 for 22 by Makhaya Ntini saw South Africa inflict its biggest victory over Australia in the second Standard Bank one-day international at Newlands on Friday. South Africa now lead the five-match series 2-0.
South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Friday that he had never referred to saboteurs at Koeberg. Speaking at a press conference at Koeberg, outside Cape Town, he said this had been media spin. ”I did not use the term ‘sabotage’,” Erwin said.
Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana announced on Friday that his office has reopened its investigation into Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya’s role in the Oilgate affair. This comes after his office found in July last year that there was no evidence that Skweyiya performed ”any official act or omission” that could have favoured oil company Imvume in any way.
The Cape High Court on Friday ruled for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in its application for an interdict against vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath. The HIV/Aids lobby group was seeking to stop Rath and his Dr Rath Foundation from claiming the TAC was acting as a front for the multinational pharmaceutical industry by promoting anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV/Aids.
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The Democratic Alliance has emerged the victor in the election in the Cape Town metropole taking 41,85% of the vote and with it 90 of the 210 seats on the city council. The DA won 61 of the 105 wards and 29 proportional representation seats.
On the back of a strong run over the last three years, South Africa’s listed property sector is expected to produce a total return of 16% over the next year — made up of 10% growth in distributions and 6% growth in capital. This is according to Metropolitan Asset Managers (MetAM), a division of Metropolitan.
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South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has polled over 70,3% in Wednesday’s election in the latest results provided by the Independent Electoral Commission. The key Cape Town metro result has still not been finally declared but it is expected later on Friday morning.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/262374/vote-box_blue.gif" align=left>Deal-making on Cape Town’s future became reality early on Thursday evening as available results showed neither the African National Congress nor the Democratic Alliance emerging as outright winners. With less than five percent of the vote outstanding, the DA was leading with 42,45% over the African National Congress’s 37,3%.
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The Democratic Alliance was leading the race in the closely contested Cape Town metro council with just over 95% of the vote captured and audited by 10.30pm on Thursday. A final result would not be available before Friday morning, provincial electoral officer Courtney Sampson told reporters.
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Talks on coalition-forming have started even before the announcement of the final vote count in the Cape Town Metro Council. Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidate Helen Zille said her party had approached the Independent Democrats (ID) and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) ”to say let’s talk, we’re available”.
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The Democratic Alliance stands ready to co-operate with other parties on a case-by-case basis in the interest of good government, DA leader Tony Leon said on Thursday. ”Although final election results are still awaited, it is clear that in a number of towns and cities around South Africa, no party has a clear majority,” he said in a statement.
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/ 28 February 2006
Suspects who allegedly sabotaged a generator at Koeberg power station which has triggered months of off-and-on power outages in the Western Cape have been identified, the 702 radio station quoted Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin as saying on Tuesday.
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/ 28 February 2006
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The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Western Cape is planning to conduct Wednesday’s municipal election as if there will be no power available in the province. ”We are planning for no electricity. That is the safest,” provincial electoral officer Courtney Sampson told a media briefing in Bellville on Tuesday afternoon.
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/ 28 February 2006
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/262374/vote-box_blue.gif" align=left>The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has made "a final appeal to all its members, to all workers and to the people as a whole" to vote for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress on Wednesday in the nationwide municipal poll.
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/ 27 February 2006
The Democratic Alliance has renewed its call on President Thabo Mbeki to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into certain aspects of the arms deal. The party has written to Mbeki ”in an attempt to jog his memory” of an alleged meeting he had with French arms company Thomson-CSF senior executives when he was deputy president.
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/ 27 February 2006
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism will in due course be identifying ways of exploiting inshore fish and marine resources to alleviate poverty and create jobs in the fishing industry, says Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
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/ 27 February 2006
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Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon expects the party to win back a ”significant number” of municipalities lost to the African National Congress through floor-crossing during Wednesday’s election. Leon started a two-day whirlwind tour of ”winnable municipalities” in the province on Monday.
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/ 27 February 2006
Old Mutual South Africa, the South African subsidiary of listed insurance and financial-services group Old Mutual, has seen its operating profit grow by only 2% in 2005 due to only modest 2% growth in its life-assurance profits and a 13% reduction long-term investment return.
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/ 26 February 2006
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The election race between the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance for the Cape Town metropole is too close to call, DA leader Tony Leon told supporters on Saturday. He was speaking at the DA’s final election rally in Goodwood in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.
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/ 25 February 2006
The ACT Brumbies recovered from 15-3 down in the second half to draw 15-15 in their Super 14 match against the Stormers at Newlands on Friday evening. Kobus van der Merwe’s Stormers, however, will again reflect on the match as a missed opportunity as they played a good first half to lead 9-3 at the break.
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/ 25 February 2006
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The power cuts that have cost Cape Town businesses millions of rands over the past two weeks are the result of Eskom’s incompetence, says Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille. ”We must not allow them to get away with this,” she said at an election rally in Mitchells Plain on Friday evening.
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/ 24 February 2006
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In the Western Cape, traditionally a province where the opposition has been predominant, the ruling African National Congress is likely to see a more rosy result than in Cape Town in next Wednesday’s municipal election. In Cape Town, the official opposition Democratic Alliance is likely to make gains.
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/ 24 February 2006
Interested parties welcomed the election of Oregan Hoskins as the new president of the South African Rugby Union. Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile congratulated Hoskins on his victory and said he hopes the problems within Saru will now be sorted out.
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/ 24 February 2006
SA Rugby turned a R12,8-million loss incurred by the end of 2004 into a R6,4-million net profit in the past financial year. The figures were contained in the company’s audited annual financial statements, adopted at Friday’s annual general council meeting at the Newlands rugby stadium.
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/ 24 February 2006
The African National Congress has cautioned against ”alarmist responses” to the electricity outages that have affected especially the Western Cape over the past couple of days. In a statement on Friday, the ruling party criticised ”some parties” that ”seek to gain political mileage from these technical problems”.
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/ 24 February 2006
Sharks president Oregan Hoskins has been elected president of the South African Rugby Union, defeating incumbent Brian van Rooyen at the annual general meeting held on Friday. Former vice-president Mike Stofile was elected deputy president and Western Province’s Koos Basson has been appointed as vice-president.
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/ 23 February 2006
The historic town of Tulbagh is anxiously waiting to see if Eskom goes ahead with a proposed power line to supplement the electricity needs of the Western Cape. ”We are watching developments [in Cape Town] with concern,” said John Veschini, property developer and secretary to the Tulbagh Action Committee, on Thursday.