The United States Africa Command (Africom) should stay out of the African continent, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Wednesday. Africom was not really a new development, as the US has always had some kind of focus on the African continent, he told a media briefing in Cape Town.
South Africa is at the forefront of research into so-called clean-coal technology, aimed at reducing the huge volumes of greenhouse gases emitted by its power stations, MPs heard on Wednesday. The country’s high-quality coal was mined out, leaving more environmentally harmful, lower-grade coal for use in the country’s power plants, MPs were told.
President Thabo Mbeki and Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille met in Cape Town on Tuesday to discuss a range of current issues. These included crime, skills shortages, floor-crossing and the dismissal of former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille and Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille put up a united front on Tuesday against the floor-crossing onslaught of controversial city councillor Badhi Chaaban. Chaaban is facing a disciplinary inquiry over claims that he offered ID and Democratic Alliance councillors cash and positions to join his yet-to-be-formed party.
The NPA is appointing 18 dedicated advocates and prosecutors to focus exclusively on organised crime in the Western Cape.
South Africa’s demand for fresh water will exceed its supply by 2025, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned on Tuesday. Urgent and immediate action must be taken to stave off massive social, economic and environmental damage, the conservation organisation said in a statement, released at the launch of the WWF Sanlam Living Water Partnership in Cape Town.
Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has rejected suggestions the government is seeking to create one public-service administration for all tiers of government. ”What the initiative seeks to do is to harmonise the conditions of service across government, so that government is able to work better,” she said on Tuesday.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) failed to pose critical questions when reporting on the South African Communist Party ‘s (SACP) R500 000 missing donation saga, MPs heard on Tuesday. SACP member Sizwe Shezi told the National Assembly’s communication committee that the public broadcaster’s current reporting style left much to be desired.
Fraud, theft and unauthorised spending are on the rise in government departments, according to a Public Service Commission (PSC) report tabled at Parliament on Tuesday. The PSC’s Report on Financial Misconduct for the 2005/06 Financial Year says this cost the taxpayer at least R45-million at the time.
A Cape Town city councillor on Monday lost a high court bid to keep his Independent Democrats seat as floor-crossing fever hotted up in the city. Cape Town mayor and Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille was scheduled to meet her ID counterpart, Patricia de Lille, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss floor-crossing.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday welcomed the dismissal of Central Karoo district municipality manager Truman Prince, saying it had lost confidence in the controversial politician. DA Western Cape chairperson Theuns Botha said the party was glad Prince has been ousted.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union has called off its planned strike in Cape Town following a Labour Court ruling on Monday that the action would be unlawful. The strike, in protest against what the union claimed was unilateral staff restructuring by the city, was to have started at midnight.
Confusion and a lack of communication among prison officials on Monday led to a delay in the start of former Hard Livings gang leader Rashied Staggie’s murder trial in the Cape High Court. The chaos also caused a frustrated Judge Nathan Erasmus to warn all involved that he would not tolerate unnecessary delays.
Former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) director general and sports commentator Steve de Villiers died in Johannesburg on Monday after a lengthy illness, his family said. He was 84. De Villiers’s career in broadcasting spanned more than 40 years.
The national office of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has once again called its Western Cape region to order, this time over a call to boycott all Chinese imports. Last week, the region called on its members and working-class communities ”to not purchase Chinese-made products”.
Five months after the suspension of the Lotto, Trade and Industry minister Mpahlwa is yet to announce the date when it is to resume. Mpahlwa’s spokesperson, Vukani Mde, on Monday said the minister still had not made any announcement.
New land acquisitions have enlarged two of the Northern Cape’s national parks to more than 100Â 000ha. The parks’ bigger footprints will allow them to cope better with climate change, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
In a dramatic finale at the Spar Women’s Hockey Interprovincial Tournament, Western Province (WP) retained their title when they defeated Southern Gauteng on sudden-death penalty strokes at the Hartleyvale Astro in Cape Town on Saturday. The finalists were locked at 2-2 in regulation time.
Sameehg Doutie, the 18-year-old winger sensation, was the hero of Ajax Cape Town’s 1-0 victory over Black Leopards in the Castle Premiership game at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium on Saturday evening. There was drama late in the second half when the referee red-carded an Ajax substitute striker and a Leopards defender.
Zimbabweans fleeing into South Africa are not entitled to refugee status and border camps should not be set up to accommodate them, a senior Department of Home Affairs official said on Friday. South Africa has received the largest number of people escaping food and fuel shortages in Zimbabwe.
Writing in his weekly newsletter, President Thabo Mbeki has accused Business Day newspaper of publishing a ”wholly fabricated story” alleging Southern African Development Community leaders were divided over Zimbabwe, and describing a discussion at last week’s SADC summit ”that never took place”.
It is disturbing that public servants who blow the whistle on corruption, maladministration and other abuses risk being fired and sued, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Friday. Further evidence of this trend is provided by a defamation suit filed recently by the correctional services minister, it said.
The General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB) has questioned the purpose of a Bill that, if enacted, would require retired judges to obtain permission from the justice minister to undertake paid work. The GCB has expressed its concerns to Parliament about the proposal.
Cheslyn Williams, the former boyfriend of Idols winner Karin Kortje, appeared again in the Bellville Regional Court on Friday, charged with the murder of a Durbanville guest-house owner. Prosecutor Herculene Swart told magistrate Johan Vermaak that the trial was expected to start before him on September 26.
Botswana has repeated its criticism of the unhealthy trade balance with South Africa, saying it is heavily skewed in favour of its economically stronger neighbour. Speaking on Friday, Botswana’s newly appointed High Commissioner, Motlhagodi Molomo, said Botswana President Festus Mogae was concerned about the trade inequality between the two countries.
More than half the construction sites visited by inspections from the Labour Department in the past week failed to comply with safety regulations. A statement from the Department of Labour said that inspectors visited 115 construction sites and of these, only 55 contractors (47,8%) were found to be fully compliant.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has responded to President Thabo Mbeki’s call for those with evidence of a Cabinet member neglecting their duties to send him the proof. In an open letter published on the DA’s SA Today website on Friday, it has offered the president a list of reasons why he should sack controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Business was committed to finding solutions for the country’s skill-shortage problems, South African business leaders told President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday. Briefing the media on Thursday, Safika Holdings deputy chairperson Saki Macozoma said business had assured Mbeki that it was committed to working with the government.
South Africa’s Cabinet has approved R6,1-billion in funding for a national literacy and numeracy campaign. ”Eighty thousand tutors will be engaged to enable 4,7-million adults to achieve basic literacy and numeracy by 2012, at a cost of R6,1-billion,” Themba Maseko, government spokesperson, told reporters on Thursday.
A presidential bodyguard facing a murder charge was rearrested on Thursday after allegedly breaking his bail conditions. Timothy Sabata Mvula will spend a night in the Kuils River police cells before appearing in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Friday to apply for bail on the new charge.
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South Africa captain John Smit, who has not played since injuring his hamstring against Australia on June 16, will miss Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against Scotland in Edinburgh. Smit was not among the 22 named by the South African Rugby Union on Thursday, although he travelled with the team on their two-match trip to Ireland and Scotland.
The South African government expressed confidence on Thursday in free and fair elections in neighbouring Zimbabwe, even as the ruling party and opposition there remained at loggerheads. The Cabinet accepted a report by President Thabo Mbeki that his attempts to broker a stalemate between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition were ”on track”.