Mzamo Xala disavows the term ”black diamond” — conferred on members of South Africa’s booming black middle class who now hold nearly a third of the country’s buying power. The expression implies superiority, he protested, which offends the collective-mindedness of his cultural background.
The African National Congress (ANC) on Monday condemned what it said was ”abusive ranting” by union leader Zwelinzima Vavi on Cabinet ministers. Vavi, who is the general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said at the weekend that some ministers were ”deadwoods who remain untouchable”, and that some were ”dying on duty”.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is demanding the Sunday Times retract ”malicious, untrue and injurious statements” made about her. This follows a weekend front-page report, under the headline ”Manto’s Hospital Booze Binge”, in which it is alleged the minister consumed excessive amounts of alcohol while in hospital.
The Presidency has dismissed newspaper allegations concerning Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, saying they do not warrant President Thabo Mbeki taking action against her. Earlier, it was reported Tshabalala-Msimang was to seek legal advice about a Sunday Times report alleging she went on a ”hospital booze binge”.
An American fingerprint expert on Monday accused South African police of fabricating fingerprint evidence to secure a conviction in the Inge Lotz hammer murder. The expert, Pat Wertheim, was the first witness called in defence of accused Fred van der Vyver, who has elected not to testify himself.
Springbok coach Jake White has named a near full-strength side for South Africa’s first World Cup warm-up match against Namibia at Newlands on Wednesday. The match will see the return to action for the Springboks of scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who’s recovered from injury that kept him out of action during the Boks’ other Tests this year.
Former Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) leader Motsoko Pheko is an opportunist who wants his dismissal from the party postponed forever, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. Opposing Pheko’s court bid to stop the PAC replacing him as an MP, PAC legal representative advocate Thami Ncoagwane said Pheko had been making contradictory requests to various courts.
President Thabo Mbeki must convince his counterparts in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that the time has arrived to impose limited sanctions against Zimbabwe, says acting Democratic Alliance leader Joe Seremane. In his party’s weekly online newsletter, he said Mbeki had to admit the talks he brokered had ”gone nowhere”.
Sacked deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge has confirmed she was dismissed by President Thabo Mbeki for her unannounced visit to East London’s Frere Hospital and her unauthorised trip to Madrid. Addressing a press conference broadcast live on Cape Talk radio on Friday, she said she wanted the facts, ”as I see them”, to receive an airing.
The South African Cabinet has rejected as ”baseless” suggestions the state is waging a witch-hunt against former members of the apartheid-era regime. Government spokesperson Themba Maseko on Wednesday said a Cabinet meeting had noted the process by the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute members of the apartheid government.
The South African Cabinet on Wednesday approved the settlement reached with the Richtersveld community on their land claim against Alexkor and the state for land situated in Alexander Bay. The Deed of Settlement, which concludes a protracted court case in which billions of rands were claimed from the state, was signed in April, said government spokesperson Themba Maseko.
The South African Cabinet has effectively vetoed the Soweto monorail project announced by the Gauteng government in May this year. There were major shortcomings in the process leading to the announcement of the project, government spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists in Pretoria and Cape Town on Wednesday.
Rumours that President Thabo Mbeki has asked Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge to resign could not be confirmed by the Presidency on Wednesday. Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday that it was a ”rumour with no substance” and that he had heard about it from the media.
Tracking down rape suspects has been made a police priority, Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Susan Shabangu said on Wednesday. ”One of the issues we are going to make a priority is to ensure that where we have warrants of arrest for rape suspects, the police go down and hunt those individuals and bring them to book,” she said.
Six-year-old Steven Siebert’s murderer, Theunis Olivier, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Cape High Court on Wednesday. Handing down sentence, Judge Essa Moosa described Olivier as a cold and callous murderer. ”The victim must have endured excruciating pain,” he said.
While most electricity users are being urged to switch off to save energy, Cape Town authorities are keeping street lights switched on day and night in large areas of the city. According to city public lighting manager Charles Kadalie, this is being done in a bid to combat the widespread plundering of copper.
Some MPs protested on Wednesday at the Bill to regulate internet gambling. The National Gambling Amendment Bill was introduced to the trade and industry portfolio committee by Fungai Sibanda, the acting director general of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Thomas Siebert shifts uncomfortably on the wooden court bench and flinches occasionally at the testimony of the man who sodomised and then strangled his six-year-old son to death 18 months ago. He tries to avoid staring at the 48-year-old killer, Theunis Olivier, instead peering around the courtroom and making occasional notes.
The National Lottery, stopped at the end of March, appears set to start up again within the next fortnight. Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa will announce the name of the preferred bidder to run the operation in Pretoria within days, his spokesperson, Vukani Mde, told the South African Press Association on Tuesday.
Hammer-murder accused Fred van der Vyver could have been tipped over the edge by a quarrel with his girlfriend, a Cape High Court judge said on Tuesday. Judge Deon van Zyl made the remark in a ruling rejecting Van der Vyver’s application for discharge at the end of the state’s case.
Legislation paving the way for regulating interactive gambling, such as on the internet, has been tabled in the National Assembly. According to a memorandum attached to the draft National Gambling Amendment Bill, the interactive gaming industry in South Africa is unregulated.
Convicted child killer Theunis Olivier is a serial liar who deserves no mercy, the father of murdered six-year-old Steven Siebert said on Tuesday. Briefing the media at the Cape High Court, Thomas Siebert said Olivier had told a lot of lies regarding the events leading to Steven’s death.
Convicted child killer Theunis Olivier should spend the rest of his life in jail, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. Testifying in court, Eileen Siebert, mother of murdered six-year old boy Steven Siebert said Olivier deserved to die in prison. ”Steven posed no threat to him [Olivier], and yet he choose to kill him for his own pleasure,” she said.
The body of an American tourist who died on a solo rock-climbing excursion on Table Mountain was found on Monday afternoon, rescuers said. David Andretta (31) had planned to scale the mountain on Sunday while his wife took a walking route up Plattekloof Gorge, spokesperson for Wilderness Search and Rescue Anwaaz Bent said.
The suspended chief executive of the Transport Education Training Authority, Piet Bothma, has become the third person to be arrested in connection with the Fidentia affair. He appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday where he was released on R200 000 bail. Bothma has been charged with fraud, theft and with corruption.
Child murderer Theunis Olivier had threatened to throw Steven Siebert into the sea if he resisted being sodomised, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. Giving evidence in mitigation of his sentence, Olivier said he told the six-year old to cooperate or face death. ”I told him that I was going to throw him into the sea if he protested,” he said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused South African Rugby Union deputy president Mike Stofile of placing the interests of South African rugby secondary to ”pleasing his African National Congress bosses”. ”New calls for increased racial quotas are once again tainting the Springbok squad,” DA spokesperson Donald Lee said on Monday.
Western Province ended a four-match losing streak in the Absa Currie Cup rugby competition by running out comfortable 47-18 winners in their match against the Valke at Newlands on Saturday. Province started off brightly and were up 17-0 after just 12 minutes, but their performance petered out and they carried only a 20-10 lead into halftime.
There have been ”significant breakthroughs” in several police investigations into organised crime, the Safety and Security Ministry said on Friday. The latest was the arrest of 13 members of a gang suspected of carrying out a spate of cash-in-transit heists in the Eastern Cape, it said in a statement following Thursday’s meeting of the Anti-Crime Leadership Forum.
The tens of thousands of Zimbabwean refugees streaming south are a threat to South Africa’s stability, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Their numbers had increased from 4Â 000 a month in 2004 to 20Â 000 a month, he said in his weekly newsletter on Friday.
President Thabo Mbeki should be commended for promoting the appointment of women to senior posts in his government, Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said on Friday. ”As we look forward to celebrating Women’s Day next Thursday, it is heartening to track the progress we have made in advancing gender rights in the last few years,” she said.
South African central bank chief Tito Mboweni warned on Friday inflationary pressures were ”more worrying”, hinting interest rates may have to rise again in Africa’s biggest economy. The Reserve Bank governor told Parliament’s finance committee that rates were the only way to rein in inflation.