Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Lindiwe Hendricks is guilty of ”denialism” when she says South Africa is not facing a water crisis, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. The country faces serious problems stemming from polluted water sources and the poor management of dams, sewage works and treatment plants, the DA said.
The government has approved an R8,6-billion road and rail improvement scheme to help cater for thousands of visitors expected for the 2010 soccer World Cup, a spokesperson said on Thursday. The Moloto rail corridor project will link Gauteng with Mpumalanga in the north-east close to the popular Kruger National Park.
National People’s Party (NPP) leader Badih Chaaban on Thursday made his third appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court for allegedly throwing a cup at former NPP official Johan van der Merwe. According to the charge sheet, the incident happened in September last year, but the document gave no further details.
Seven new Bills have been approved by South Africa’s Cabinet to be submitted to Parliament. They include the already controversial Expropriation Bill. The Expropriation Bill seeks to replace the Expropriation Act of 1975, which, Cabinet spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Thursday, does not conform with the Constitution.
The Cabinet has given the assurance that everything possible is being done to address the British government’s concerns about the security of South African passports. ”South African passports are among the safest … in the world, and that’s the reason why they are being targeted,” government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday.
The South African Cabinet has condemned recent incidents of racism and sexism around the country, saying they have the potential to undermine South Africa’s Constitution, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. ”The transgressors must know that there will be legal consequences,” government communications head Themba Maseko said.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has won his high court bid to stop an activist claiming he is guilty of corruption over the arms deal. The ruling was handed down on Thursday morning. The court ordered that Terry Crawford-Browne be interdicted and restrained from ”publishing any matter in which it is alleged that the applicant is corrupt”.
South African crane operator Zoliswa Gila rises high above the pervasive chauvinistic view that her job should be reserved for members of the male sex. ”Most people think I am crazy to do the job I am doing, saying it’s only for men,” the 31-year-old said at Green Point in Cape Town where she is helping build a 68 000-seater stadium.
The government is considering the division of South Africa into two time zones. This is according to Portia Molefe, Director General of Public Enterprises, who was on Wednesday briefing the minerals and energy committee in Parliament on the present electricity crisis.
Santos continued their fine form of late when they secured a 2-1 win over Wits at the Athlone Stadium on Tuesday night. Wits started the game brightly and had early chances through Noah Chivuta, but his long-range shots did not have the beating of Wayne Roberts.
Security guard Richard Engelbrecht was on Wednesday given two life sentences — one for the rape of Mitchells Plain schoolgirl Annestacia Wiese and the second for murdering her by strangulation. He was also sentenced to ten years imprisonment for indecently assaulting his three-year-old stepdaughter two years previously.
South Africa’s advanced nuclear reactor technology programme will include United States-based Westinghouse Electric as a partner and a new shareholders’ contract is expected by the end of the month, an official said on Tuesday. South Africa is currently testing elements of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and wants to build 24 to 30 reactors for its own energy needs.
A defence request on Monday for a two-month postponement in Najwa Petersen’s trial for the alleged murder of her husband led to acrimonious exchanges between her new senior counsel and Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai. Senior counsel Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau told the court he had only been approached late last Friday by new attorney Joshua Greeff.
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/ 29 February 2008
Industrial users of electricity feel that they are bearing the brunt of electricity rationing, while more needs to be done to involve other sectors of society, an energy working group said in Cape Town on Friday. ”Busa [Business Unity South Africa] said that businesses are bearing the brunt of this and need the rest of the economy to come in,” Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said.
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/ 29 February 2008
Architect Luyanda Mpahlwa describes the process of creating and realising new housing solutions on Mitchells Plain.
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/ 29 February 2008
Private hospitals have rejected the minister of health’s call for CPIX (consumer inflation less mortgage costs) to be used as a benchmark for their tariff increases. ”CPIX is not an accurate benchmark of healthcare costs,” the Hospital Association of South Africa said in a statement on Friday.
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/ 29 February 2008
New Zealand’s Canterbury Crusaders maintained their winning start to the Super 14 season with a third successive victory in beating the Stormers 22-0 in Cape Town on Friday. They dominated all aspects of the game and denied the Stormers even the chance of a kickable penalty until the final 10 minutes.
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/ 29 February 2008
Murder accused Najwa Petersen made an unexpected appearance in the Cape High Court on Friday in a bid to find out what was happening with her legal representation. She and three alleged hit men are scheduled to go on trial on Monday for the slaying of her entertainer husband, Taliep, in 2006.
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/ 29 February 2008
France will renegotiate all its defence accords with African countries, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday in a move that could scale back France’s military support for some of its closest allies. France has defence cooperation agreements with several former colonies under which its forces provide varying degrees of military assistance.
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/ 28 February 2008
France will invest about R114-billion (€10-billion) in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, creating about 300 000 jobs, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Parliament on Thursday. He said there is a need for renewed African-French relations based on transparency and contemporary realities.
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/ 28 February 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is to seek changes to legislation in a bid to contain spiralling private healthcare costs. She made the announcement at a meeting in Cape Town on Thursday with representatives of the country’s leading private hospital groups. She also held a separate meeting with medical-aid industry representatives.
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/ 28 February 2008
The Cape High Court on Thursday rejected the alibis of two young men who last year gunned down Woodstock police detective Inspector Lourens le Roux, who had been investigating them for another murder. The men were both found guilty on two counts of murder each.
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/ 28 February 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is taking her department’s healthy lifestyle campaign seriously, according to her spokesperson. The campaign encourages at least 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week, whether it be jogging or merely household chores such as sweeping the yard or gardening.
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/ 28 February 2008
Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin should refrain from making unsubstantiated comments on the job-loss threats faced by thousands of mineworkers, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. On Wednesday Erwin said that it was unclear whether proposed job cuts in the industry were caused by power cuts and electricity rationing.
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/ 28 February 2008
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning for a two-day state visit, which will include discussions with President Thabo Mbeki and top business leaders. Sarkozy was welcomed by Mbeki at Tuynhuys, where a 21-gun salute was fired in his honour while a military band played the French and South African national anthems.
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/ 27 February 2008
The elephant management norms and standards published this week are not a decision to cull, and should not be interpreted as such, global wildlife fund WWF said on Wednesday. It said it welcomed the rules, which would provide a uniform framework for the management of elephants in South Africa.
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/ 27 February 2008
It is unclear whether proposed job cuts in the mining industry are caused by power cuts and electricity rationing, or other factors, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said in Parliament on Wednesday. ”I’ve been a trade unionist for many years, and you often use an event like this to explain something you’re going to do anyway,” he said.
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/ 27 February 2008
The Cape High Court on Wednesday rejected a second bail bid by murder accused Najwa Petersen, expressing scepticism over her ”almost miraculous recovery” from mental illness. ”The appellant’s case relating to her precarious state of health, as presented in the first bail application, appears to have undergone a complete volte-face in the second,” the judges said.
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/ 27 February 2008
South Africa’s government threw its weight behind embattled Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Norman Arendse on Tuesday by calling for an increase in the number of black players in national teams. Arendse angered selectors and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola by vetoing the squad chosen by national selectors to tour Bangladesh.
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/ 26 February 2008
Security guard Richard Engelbrecht on Tuesday persisted in his defence of ”temporary, non-pathological criminal incapacity” due to his abuse of the drug tik as his trial for the alleged rape and murder of 11-year-old schoolgirl Annestacia Wiese drew to a close.
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/ 26 February 2008
The government is to intervene to curb rocketing private healthcare costs and prevent the sector’s ”demise”, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Tuesday. The health charter task team, among others, has been discussing the challenge of making healthcare more affordable, she told the National Assembly’s health committee.
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/ 26 February 2008
The number of foreign visitors to South Africa grew by just under 9% last year, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday. ”I am pleased to announce that the overall foreign arrivals increased by 8,6% from January to November 2007,” he told a business tourism conference in Sandton.