Heavy rains over parts of the central Karoo at the weekend have inflicted millions of rands of damage to roads and bridges in the region, and caused at least one dam to overflow, the Western Cape government reported on Monday. Communities downstream have been warned about possible flooding.
As the clock ticked away before new immigration regulations come into effect at midnight on Tuesday, litigation challenging the regulations was adjourned in court on Monday. Allegations were made that Minister of Home Affairs Mangosuthu Buthelezi had acted in a mala fide manner by agreeing to a court order to publish the controversial regulations.
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The Democratic Alliance’s attorneys will approach the Cape High Court’s judges’ chambers on Monday morning to inform the presiding officer in an urgent application that an out-of-court settlement had been reached over the weekend.
Special Report: Elections 2004
South African-listed diversified industrial company Bidvest Group has made an offer of Aus$6 per share to buy out minorities in Bidvest plc, its food service distribution subsidiary listed on the Luxembourg and Australian Stock Exchanges in which it has an 81% interest.
Sales at South Africa’s 30th annual Nederburg Auction on April 2 and 3, arguably the highlight of the wine industry’s calendar, saw wine sales fall by 11,2% to R6,73-million from the record R7,58-million achieved in 2003, the first time a decline has been recorded since 1993.
South African Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe has announced that Umthunzi Telecoms Consortium is the preferred bidder on the MTN tender that was placed on September 19 last year. The government expects the transaction to be about R2,5-billion.
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The Democratic Alliance has accused the NNP/ANC alliance of trying to buy the votes of ”70 000 poor people” in Cape Town by reducing the rental debt for council tenants. Nevertheless, the DA still welcomed the relief being granted on rental arrears to reduce the debt burden on struggling families.
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Freedom Front Western Cape leader Corne Mulder is suing the Democratic Alliance’s provincial election coordinator, Robin Carlisle, and his party in the Cape High Court for damages to the amount of R250Â 000. The damages are being sought for alleged slander and damage to Mulder’s reputation.
Special Report: Elections 2004
The South African Revenue Service was just more than R500-million short of its revenue target of R303,3-billion at the end of the 2003/04 financial year, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Thursday. The Budget deficit for the financial year is likely to be less than the 2,6% of gross domestic product estimated in the February 2004 Budget.
Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi issued a statement after Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting — the last before the national election — indicating strongly he thought it would be his last as part of the government. In the statement, he admitted that at times Inkatha Freedom Party participation in the Cabinet had ”not been easy”.
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Democratic Alliance chief whip Douglas Gibson on Wednesday disagreed with one of his MPs when he contended that the DA is not actively campaigning for the lesbian and gay vote in the April elections. Gibson and gay MP Mike Waters were responding to a statement from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Special Report: Elections 2004
The Democratic Alliance has welcomed the British Parliament’s investigation into the activities of Britain’s Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) — which will probe part of South Africa’s arms deal. BAE Systems is one of the biggest clients of the ECGD, which has financed the purchase of BAE arms by South Africa.
Old Mutual plc, the London- and South African-listed financial services company that is South Africa’s largest life insurer, has reinforced its support for troubled banking subsidiary Nedcor, while maintaining a tough line on its future performance.
The DA has requested that the National Prosecuting Authority investigate whether the government has contravened the National Conventional Arms Control Act by shipping arms to Haiti using a South African Air Force aircraft. The DA has dismissed responses from the presidency on the matter as being ”evasive”.
The South African government signed the sale agreement for 75% of the state Komatiland Forest assets, which will place R396-million in the fiscus, at a ceremony in Pretoria on Wednesday. This follows the Cabinet’s announcement in December to appoint Bonheur as the preferred bidder.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>Polls indicate that South Africa’s former ruling party will be lucky to get 15% in the upcoming election — down from about 38% in 1999 — in its stronghold of the Western Cape. But there was no sign of despondency in its ranks when its leader, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, took to meeting voters on the West Coast on Tuesday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=40922">Special Report: Elections 2004</a>
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The United Democratic Movement on Monday lodged a formal complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission against an African National Congress Cape Town city councillor, following a weekend incident in the city. The incident happened during a UDM election rally in Philippi on Sunday.
Special Report: Elections 2004
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>The African National Congress is demanding a public apology from the <i>City Press</i> newspaper following what the party calls "false" reporting of its campaigning in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, at the weekend. The ANC said the newspaper had reported that the ANC campaign there had "ended in disarray".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=40922">Special Report: Elections 2004</a>
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Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille says that the 500 members who allegedly left her party at the weekend had not been members of the party and she intended to take legal action against at least one defector. She was responding to an announcement on Sunday by Charles Golding, who claimed to be from the Welcome Estate branch.
Special Report: Elections 2004
South Africa’s traditional leaders, once scorned as ”servants” of the apartheid regime, have since had their powers legalised, but the chiefs say the government wants to take away control of what matters most — land. The amakhosi say their real power and influence lies in the land.
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The battle between the official opposition Democratic Alliance and the fledgling Independent Democrats took on a new election campaign spin with a battle of wills between veteran liberal politician Helen Suzman and ID leader Patricia de Lille.
Suzman versus De Lille
Special Report: Elections 2004
There has been a strengthening of businesses in townships across South Africa over the past decade, Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin said during a small-business breakfast meeting in Langa on Friday. He urged Langa business people to come together to help establish a business centre.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>President Thabo Mbeki launched a scathing attack on the Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party on Friday, saying voters will decide the fate of this "right-wing coalition". He accused the IFP of siding with various right-wing groupings to protect "white interests" since 1992.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=33240">Haiti inspires Africans, says Mbeki</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=40922">Special Report: Elections 2004</a>
Following this week’s approval by South Africa’s competition authorities, global energy group ExxonMobil and South Africa’s Engen Petroleum will be teaming up in a lubricants deal, under which Engen becomes the sole marketer and distributor of a range of ExxonMobil’s lubricants in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
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In a protest on Thursday against the unequal donation policies of big business during the elections, the Freedom Front Plus handed back R10Â 000 to Sanlam at its head offices in Bellville, near Cape Town. ”We don’t want this donation … it is humiliation,” FF+ leader Dr Pieter Mulder told journalists.
Special Report: Elections 2004
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South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande says the alliance of the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party represents the most backward elements created by apartheid. ”These two parties represent not only the interests of beneficiaries of apartheid but are reluctantly part of the new order,” he said.
Special Report: Elections 2004
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Western Cape Premier and New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk has emerged as the most popular premier candidate in that province in a Markinor poll conducted in January/February. In KwaZulu-Natal, the African National Congress’s top-ranking candidate for the legislature, S’bu Ndebele, won the popularity stake in the poll.
Special Report: Elections 2004
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South African official opposition leader Tony Leon has questioned the shroud of silence which hangs in ruling African National Congress circles over the prospect that Finance Minister Trevor Manuel could be deputy president one day.
Special Report: Elections 2004
The Western Cape director of public prosecutions has decided not to prosecute three men arrested in connection with a fatal shootout last week in front of former president Nelson Mandela’s Constantia home, SABC radio reported on Tuesday. The three men had been facing charges of attempted murder.
Education Minister Kader Asmal’s intention to appoint a truth commission to deal with the damage of apartheid education would be a divisive step, says Western Cape education minister Andre Gaum. It would merely open up old wounds and not contribute to improving the education system, says Gaum.