A group of about 150 Capetonians, waving posters proclaiming ”Cannabis Can Make Petrol and Paper”, ”Go Green” and ”Grow with the Flow” marched to the gates of Parliament on Saturday afternoon calling for the legalisation of dagga. The marchers released a bunch of green balloons with alien faces drawn on them; these flew over the wall and into the grounds of the parliamentary complex, where they were quickly gathered up by police.
Cape Town judge Siraj Desai, cleared of a rape charge, wants to spend time with his family before dealing with the media, his lawyer said on Friday. An Indian judge on Thursday acquitted Desai, who serves on the Cape bench, of raping Aids worker Salome Isaacs in his Mumbai hotel room three months ago.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool on Friday named a male-dominated ten-person cabinet, a team which he said was ”destined to deliver” to the people of the province. ”Our goals are clear: our mandate is decisive,” he said. ”There is much to celebrate. But the work starts immediately.”
An urgent meeting of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) national council was being held in Durban late on Wednesday evening to discuss the party’s future in national government — after Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi was left out of the new cabinet line-up.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority was on Wednesday waiting for a plan of action to be determined by the Taiwanese owners of a stricken bulk carrier, Cape Africa, currently under tow to a rendezvous point off the Cape coast. On Monday the 270 metre vessel sent out a distress signal after a hole was discovered near the bow of the ship.
A tough municipal by-election in a Chatsworth, Durban, ward will see the African National Congress-aligned Minority Front — led by new KwaZulu-Natal sports MEC Amichand Rajbansi — fight it out to retain a marginal seat from a determined challenge from the official opposition Democratic Alliance.
While Inkatha Freedom Party supporters protested against the declaration of the elections as free and fair, the party leadership continued talks with the African National Congress on setting up a broad-based provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday.
IFP ‘regrets’ king’s statement
The inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday will be sullied by the attendance of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the official opposition Democratic Alliance said on Monday. Mugabe was reported to have arrived in South Africa on Sunday.
The circus is over, newly elected Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Monday in his inaugural speech in the provincial legislature where he, together with a new speaker, deputy speaker and 42 other MPLs were sworn in. Rasool said the possibilities are greater than ever before for having a dignified and stable provincial government.
Morkel loses bid for W Cape seat
The official opposition Democratic Alliance has selected its team representing the nine provinces in the National Council of Provinces but former Western Cape premier and former Cape Town mayor Gerald Morkel failed to be selected for one of two Western Cape seats available.
Food retailer Shoprite Holdings will be announcing a black economic empowerment (BEE) initiative with the Department of Trade and Industry’s credit facilitation agency for small and medium enterprises, Khula Enterprise Finance, on Wednesday. Shoprite said the business venture will create positive spin-offs for BEE in South Africa.
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s specially convened national council meeting late on Saturday evening endorsed the withdrawal of two of its officials appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial cabinet by Premier S’bu Ndebele. Earlier on Saturday the IFP said the two ministers were appointed without the party’s approval.
South Africa’s new Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete — elected unopposed by Assembly members on Friday — says she hopes to contribute ideas on how to ”jack up” the debate in the 400-member assembly — possibly without the aid of written texts that are then read out.
Baleka Mbete, previously known as Baleka Mbete-Kgositsile, was elected unopposed to the position of Speaker in the National Assembly on Friday, where the process of swearing in of MPs was in full swing. Gwendoline Lindiwe (Gwen) Mahlangu was elected as the Deputy Speaker, succeeding Mbete.
New Speaker wants more natural debate
African National Congress leader Thabo Mbeki has been re-elected as President of the Republic of South Africa for his second term by the National Assembly. He was elected unopposed on Friday after nominations were called for by Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=58684">Where will Ginwala go?</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=58668">Mbete, Mahlangu elected to top posts</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=58678">New Speaker wants more natural debate</a>
Former speaker of the National Assembly Frene Ginwala looks set to be deployed by the organisation but her decision not to take the oath of office as a newly re-elected MP on Friday appears not to have been the decision of the ruling African National Congress.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=58668">Mbete, Mahlangu elected to top posts</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=58678">New Speaker wants more natural debate</a>
Talks between the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party on an ”ANC-led broad-based government” continued on Friday ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of MPLs in Pietermaritzburg. IFP national spokesperson Musa Zondi said ahead of the ceremony that both parties were in caucus and no decision had been made.
The African Christian Democratic Party will throw its weight behind the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal but only under certain conditions, the party announced on Thursday. Before the election, the ACDP supported the IFP in principle in the legislature, as it had the majority support of the province’s voters.
Frene Ginwala, who has been Speaker of the National Assembly for the past 10 years since democracy, got the axe on Thursday from ruling African National Congress MPs. The speaker will be replaced by the Deputy Speaker, Baleka Mbete, who has served in that position since the first Parliament.
The African National Congress on Thursday rejected suggestions the party is behind moves to evict journalists from their offices in the parliamentary precincts. Vienna-based International Press Institute director Johann Fritz on Wednesday suggested the "size of the ANC’s majority means it no longer needs to worry about the media".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=34512">’Media need proper access'</a>
There was excitement and relief in the halls of Parliament on Thursday as MPs arrived to register for the third term of the African National Congress government. Pamela Mnandi, an ANC MP from KwaZulu-Natal, said the third term of government would represent her ”liberation” from the Inkatha Freedom Party’s rule in her home province.
The Independent Democrats and the Vienna-based International Press Institute added their voices on Wednesday to those condemning Parliament’s moves to evict the media from their offices in the institution. Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said the party was ”shocked” by the moves.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress named its candidates for premiers in the nine provinces on Wednesday night, after a national working committee meeting was held in the Mother City. It is the first time that candidates have only been named after the election.
Journalists at Parliament each received a notice on Wednesday warning them to vacate their offices within the Old Assembly and New Wing buildings by noon on Friday, or face eviction ”without further notice or delay”. The eviction notices were hand delivered by a parliamentary official; most reporters operating out of the institution’s Press Gallery refused to sign for the document.
The Western Cape department of health has asked the Scorpions for help in busting a suspected crime syndicate stealing hospital linen. ”In the past three years we have lost hospital linen to the value of more than R23-million,” provincial minister of health Piet Meyer said on Wednesday.
The Inkatha Freedom Party says it has no intention of ending its Coalition for Change agreement with the Democratic Alliance, even if it is invited to govern KwaZulu-Natal with the ANC. IFP national spokesperson Musa Zondi said on Wednesday that he did not understand what all the ”fuss” was about.
NNP, ANC talk about govt posts
The New National Party and the African National Congress held talks on Tuesday night to discuss the representation of the NNP in the Western Cape government. It is understood that the NNP are unhappy with the offer of two posts in the 11-seat Cabinet.
The United Democratic Movement is to negotiate with the African National Congress regarding a provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said on Tuesday. Holomisa said he was approached by President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday ”with a view to resolve the stalemate in KwaZulu-Natal”.
In a move that has called into question the freedom of journalists to report on proceedings within its two Houses, Parliament has threatened to evict media organisations from their offices within the parliamentary precinct. The threat came in the form of a letter from Secretary to Parliament Sindiso Mfenyana.
There were virtually no surprises on Tuesday as political parties finalised the names of candidates to be sworn in to the National Assembly on Friday. The African National Congress’s list includes President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Jacob Zuma, and there are 21 new faces who will represent the Democratic Alliance.
The jostling over the spoils of Cabinet posts in the Western Cape and possible representation for the New National Party in the national Cabinet will begin this week. The NNP on Monday went out of its way to underscore the point that there was no suggestion of any calls for its leader to resign.
Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi had not been deceitful when he promulgated the controversial immigration regulations, says the Cape High Court. The court was handing down the reasons for ruling in favour of President Thabo Mbeki in his immigration regulations dispute with Buthelezi.