African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Gwede Mantashe has agreed to meet the Democratic Alliance (DA) to discuss the future of the Scorpions, DA leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday. ”Unfortunately, Mr Mantashe’s letter indicates that [ANC president] Jacob Zuma will not be attending the meeting, as I originally requested,” she said in a statement.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) expressed disappointment on Tuesday over Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s decision not to hold a commission of inquiry into the affairs of the department of agriculture, conservation and environment. DA spokesperson Jack Bloom said it was ”discourteous” to hear of the decision through the media.
A Cape Town councillor who allegedly encouraged the invasion of new homes at Delft on the Cape Flats is to go before a disciplinary committee, city speaker Dirk Smit said on Tuesday. Smit said in a statement that he had completed his own probe into whether the councillor, Frank Martin, had breached the councillors’ code of conduct.
Zimbabwe’s opposition was level with President Robert Mugabe’s party and two of his ministers lost their seats on Monday as election results trickled out, but counting delays fuelled suspicions of rigging. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said unofficial tallies showed Morgan Tsvangirai had 60% of the presidential vote.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Monday again asked African National Congress president Jacob Zuma for a meeting to discuss the Scorpions’ future. ”In a press interview published on the weekend, Jacob Zuma declared that he is willing to ‘debate anything’ — even the future of the Scorpions,” said Zille.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister lost his seat on Monday and first election results showed the opposition level with President Robert Mugabe’s party, but delays to most results fuelled opposition suspicions of vote rigging. Results of the parliamentary election began trickling out on Monday, 36 hours after polls closed.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday called for a constitutional amendment to grant school principals the power to appoint teachers. Presenting proposals on education, party spokesperson George Boinamo said school principals could only be held accountable for the performance of their schools if they were given the power to hire and fire teachers.
Zimbabweans woke up on Monday morning still not knowing if a new future had dawned on the country plagued by political and economic strife. On Sunday night, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission headquarters — called the national command centre — was deserted while the commission insisted it was verifying votes.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change and ruling Zanu-PF were running neck-and-neck, according to the first election results issued by the Electoral Commission on Monday. The commission started announcing the results from Saturday’s election shortly before 7am after a long delay.
The opposition claimed victory on Sunday in Zimbabwe’s election as concerns mounted over a delay to the results of a contest that could see President Robert Mugabe turfed out of office. Meanwhile, the election was a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people, observers from the Southern African Development Community said.
Legislation is in the pipeline to have pseudoephedrine — a key ingredient in the manufacturing of the drug tik, or methamphetamine — reclassified, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday. The restriction of these drugs would make it more difficult for backyard tik manufacturers to produce the drug.
The Presidency and the African National Congress moved on Friday to dispel Democratic Alliance (DA) allegations over President Thabo Mbeki’s refusal to release the Khampepe commission’s report on the Scorpions. There was no intention to ”cover up” the report as alleged by DA leader Helen Zille, the Presidency said.
It is a matter of hours to go before voting stations open for Saturday’s elections in Zimbabwe. The Mail & Guardian Online spoke to South African political parties and NGOs ahead of the controversial poll. ”Mugabe will rule again. It would be a miracle if he didn’t,” said the Inkatha Freedom Party’s Musa Zondi.
Metro police chief Robert McBride has signed official documents but is not working, Ekurhuleni mayoral spokesperson Prince Hamnca said on Friday. ”Robert was never suspended but was put on special leave, that means that if we want to consult with him we can — because he is the chief of police,” Hamnca said.
Releasing the Khampepe commission’s report on the Scorpions at this juncture will ”cause prejudice” to South Africa’s national security, says President Thabo Mbeki. In a letter faxed to the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday night, Mbeki’s office refused the DA’s request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act for access to the report.
Cape Town’s director of health, former anti-conscription campaigner Ivan Toms, was found dead in his home on Tuesday morning, police said. Police spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones said foul play was not suspected at this stage. He said police used a key from a neighbour to gain access to Toms’ Mowbray home at about 9.30am.
Ncumisa Kondlo, a member of the African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee (NEC) and deputy chairperson of the South African Communist Party, died in East London on Monday, the ANC said. Kondlo was elected to the NEC in December 2007 and also served on the party’s national working committee.
Racism, discrimination and the cultural divide were causes for concern in South Africa, political parties and organisations said on Human Rights Day. Western Cape acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane said a number of projects would be implemented to combat racial discrimination in the province.
The African National Congress (ANC) will not make its arms-deal report public, the ruling party reiterated on Wednesday. In a statement, the ANC said it noted a call in the media by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to have the outcome of its arms-deal report made public.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool says he has scrapped the Erasmus commission and reappointed it with expanded terms of reference. Rasool appointed the commission, headed by judge Nathan Erasmus, in December last year, to probe allegations that Cape Town mayor Helen Zille’s administration illegally spied on renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has come out in support of a Johannesburg businessman’s attempt to seek an interdict from the Pretoria High Court to stop the disbanding of the Scorpions crime-fighting unit. ”Just call me a concerned citizen,” said businessman Hugh Glenister. ”I believe our constitutional rights are being violated.”
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa on Monday criticised the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for claiming that President Thabo Mbeki had not been an ”honest broker”. He was briefing Parliament’s portfolio committee on foreign affairs ahead of his country’s ”harmonised” March 29 elections.
The African National Congress (ANC) wants its new deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, in government, ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe said on Monday. There has been much speculation on whether the ANC’s new leadership would want one of its own present in President Thabo Mbeki’s government.
Although crime in public places has decreased, there has been an increase of crime in residential areas, Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa said on Friday. Delivering her State of the City address at the council offices in Pretoria, the mayor said that the city is concerned about the increase in ever more violent crimes in residential areas.
Recent revelations on how the African National Congress used its investment arm Chancellor House to divert taxpayer’s money into its own coffers explains the ruling party’s obsession with black empowerment policy, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday.
The Democratic Alliance has lambasted the Mpumalanga Rugby Union for including a convicted murderer in the Vodacom Pumas rugby team. Gert van Schalkwyk (22) — one of the infamous ”Waterkloof Four” — has been included in the starting line-up for the provincial team.
Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana is studying a response from Eskom regarding allegations about a contract awarded by the electricity utility to a company linked to African National Congress investment firm Chancellor House. Mushwana’s office said he had noticed reports stating that Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille intended lodging a complaint.
Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats (ID) are calling on the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance to join them in setting up a multiparty committee to debate party political funding. ID chief whip Lance Greyling said on Monday: "South Africans have been exposed to scandal after scandal when it comes to party funding."
Tony Leon, the former leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), is writing to the chair of the foreign affairs portfolio committee in Parliament, asking him to summon Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to explain what the government is doing to protect South Africa businesses from being nationalised by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Heroin is more easily obtainable than a hamburger nowadays, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille told an anti-drugs rally in Johannesburg on Saturday. This was after she led marchers — wearing DA T-shirts bearing the slogan: ”No to drugs and save our children” — through the streets of Vrededorp in Johannesburg.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille led a march against drugs through the streets of Johannesburg on Saturday. A main concern is that drugs are being brought into areas once considered safe for children, said Westsiders against Addiction group chairperson George Pappas.
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African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma asserted, in an interview published on Friday, that power in South Africa rests with the ruling party, not with his rival, President Thabo Mbeki. ”Power lies in the ANC,” Zuma — who ousted Mbeki in a bitter ANC leadership contest three months ago — told Britain’s Financial Times newspaper.