The Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party will have to account for damage caused during May Day’s march against name changes in Durban. This is according to eThekwini Municipality’s municipal manager, Michael Sutcliffe, who said on Wednesday that the ”thuggery, looting and criminal behaviour” would be dealt with.
The Sharks scored four tries to earn a valuable bonus point when they beat the Lions 33-3 in Durban at the Absa Stadium on Saturday. The victory took the men from Durban into second place on the Super 14 points table and kept alive their hopes of hosting a home semifinal in two weeks’ time.
KwaZulu-Natal’s transport minister, Bheki Cele, on Friday accused the Witness newspaper of being manipulated by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the ongoing issue of provincial ministers’ vehicles speeding with blue lights. IFP national organiser Albert Mncwango said: ”He’s talking absolute rubbish.”
Motorists caught speeding because they are late for meetings will face the full wrath of the law, KwaZulu-Natal traffic authorities said on Friday. Asked whether motorists who are caught speeding will be able to have their fines quashed, eThekwini metro police spokesperson John-Thomas Tyala said: ”We can’t allow that. The Act [National Road Traffic Act] does not allow for that.”
The Witness newspaper on Thursday said it would not hand over the details of a motorist who used his cellphone to provide the newspaper with video footage of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele’s convoy doing 160km/h. Witness deputy editor Yves Vanderhaeghen said: ”We have spoken to our lawyers. Our lawyers have advised them that we cannot do this.”
Organisers of the Comrades Marathon have fielded a string of complaints as a result of the decision to hold the country’s premier marathon on a Sunday, the Mercury reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, more than 100 churches on the route will be affected by road closures as a result of the marathon.
Opposition parties are set to march through Durban on Workers’ Day on May 1 in protest against the eThekwini municipality’s proposed name changes of streets and buildings. Announcing the march in Durban on Tuesday, the Inkatha Freedom Party’s eThekwini caucus leader, Themba Nzuza, said the party would be marching ”against the blatantly flawed” process.
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African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma and French arms-maker Thint have been granted leave to appeal a Durban High Court ruling that Mauritius can be asked to provide documents relating to alleged arms-deal corruption, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Monday.
A Durban policeman was shot dead on Thursday morning, apparently accidentally, by a man seeking revenge against two suspects the policeman had arrested. Zakhele Nxumalo of the organised crime unit was shot as he was driving away from the house of the two suspects in Dube Village.
It was all about Paul Canning on the morning of day two of the Quiksilver Pro Africa at Durban’s New Pier on Tuesday. Surfing in the last heat of the round of 192, ”PC” went ballistic in his heat to win convincingly against Australian Paul Parkes in a high-scoring heat. The Durban goofy-footer found form and won convincingly.
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Jacob Zuma has lodged an application for leave to appeal against the Durban High Court’s decision to request documents from Mauritius that may relate to arms deal corruption. The African National Congress deputy president, who celebrated his birthday with a lavish party in Durban at the weekend, lodged the application on Monday.
Sophie Edington of Australia picked up six gold medals at the 2007 Telkom National Aquatic Championships, which ended at the Kings Park pool in Durban on Sunday night. She took both the 100m and 50m freestyle medals, the 50m butterfly, and the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke races in her stride.
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There is no truth in media reports that Cosatu leaders have ”dropped” their support for Jacob Zuma as a candidate for the African National Congress (ANC) presidency, the union federation said on Sunday. According to the Sunday TImes, Cosatu leaders had expressed reservations with regards to Zuma becoming ANC president.
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Hundreds of people converged on Durban’s International Convention Centre on Friday night for the 65th birthday of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma. Those attending included South African Communist Party secretary general Blade Nzimande and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Six people, including four foreign nationals, were arrested in Camperdown near Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday morning in what South African Revenue Service (Sars) officials claimed was the country’s second-largest seizure of perlemoen yet. Between five and six tonnes of perlemoen (abalone) were found.
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Jacob Zuma’s ongoing spat with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) was ”resolved” in Durban, the attorney for the African National Congress deputy president said on Wednesday. Media reports in February said Sars had questioned the completeness of Zuma’s disclosure of his income and his failure to submit a tax return.
A keenly contested final of the women’s 400m freestyle is expected on the opening night of the 2007 Telkom South African National Aquatic Championships at the Kings Park Aquatic Centre in Durban on Tuesday following the heats on the first morning of the six-day event.
Police investigating the recent discovery of bones on a beach at the KwaZulu-Natal holiday resort of Umhloti are expecting to receive an ”interim analysis” from the state pathologist this week. The bones were discovered protruding from the sand on March 21 after the KwaZulu-Natal coast had been pounded by heavy surf.
Orlando Pirates were lucky to collect valuable points when they beat Jomo Cosmos in a fast and entertaining game played before a capacity crowd in a Castle Premiership at Durban’s Absa Stadium on Sunday night. Both sides were below-strength, with Pirates missing Benedict ”Tso” Vilakazi, Innocent Mdledle and Jabu Mahlangu.
Sunny, humid weather greeted beachgoers at the fifth annual Vodacom Easter Adrenaline Extreme-Sports Beach Festival held at North Beach, Bay Lawns, Bay Beach and the Skate Park on Friday. The Vodacom Paddle Challenge was one of the highlights as top men and women battled it out for a total prize pool of R17 000.
Human bones found near the resort town of Umdloti following the heavy waves that hit the KwaZulu-Natal coast recently are in Pretoria for forensic testing, police said on Thursday. Some media reports have said the bones may be those of young girls who disappeared about 18 years ago, allegedly kidnapped by Gert van Rooyen and his lover, Joey Haarhoff.
A mineworker at a coal mine near Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal died on Wednesday when a roof support apparently collapsed and struck him. Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said the miner was brought to the surface by the mine’s own rescue team. The miner had suffered severe head injuries that probably led to his death.
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Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint are to appeal against the Durban High Court’s decision to allow prosecutors to ask authorities in Mauritius to release documents about meetings believed to relate to arms-deal corruption. Speaking on Monday afternoon, Zuma’s attorney said Zuma will lodge an application for leave to appeal against the decision.
Bookings for the Easter holidays have not been seriously affected by storm damage along KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) coastline, the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) said on Thursday. Fedhasa’s East Coast chairperson, Alan Vels, said: ”There has been no impact in Durban. In fact there seems to be a curiosity factor more than anything else.”
KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) coastal municipalities will get help from the National Treasury in footing the bill to clean up in the wake of the freak surf that battered the province’s coastline, Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi said on Tuesday. However, Mufamadi refused to be drawn on how much aid would be forthcoming.
The renaming of Durban’s Mangosuthu Highway has raised eyebrows and left the Inkatha Freedom Party threatening to march through the city in protest, media reports said on Monday. Also, the decision by the city fathers to rename Point Road after Mahatma Gandhi has generated huge debate within South Africa and India.
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Former deputy president Jacob Zuma made a surprise appearance as the battle over the release of documents from Mauritius got under way in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday. A small group of Zuma supporters was outside the court and a media scramble ensued as Zuma entered the court room.
Africa’s first power plant to run on methane gas extracted from a rubbish dump began generating electricity in Durban on Tuesday. The plant, built with funding from the French Development Bank, was officially opened by eThekwini mayor Obed Mlaba at the city’s Mariannhill landfill site.
Durban’s beaches will remain closed for at least another five days as the city’s authorities clean up in the wake of the heavy surf that battered the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coastline. eThekwini deputy head of fire and disaster management Mark te Water said on Tuesday evening that he expected the city’s beaches to remain closed for at least five days.
Authorities and residents of seashore properties in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have begun the process of cleaning up and assessing the damage caused by the massive surf that pounded the province’s coastline on Monday. Swells recorded at between 6m and 8m dissipated on Tuesday morning.
Durban’s beachfront areas were pounded by massive surf in the early hours of Monday morning, leaving the city’s famed Golden Mile littered with debris and emergency services scrambling to rescue numerous people. The South African Weather Service in Durban said winds in excess of 40 knots (80km/h) were reported on Sunday night.
South Africa’s Sharks made it six wins out of six and top the table after a 27-14 victory over New Zealand’s Wellington Hurricanes in Durban on Saturday. It wasn’t pretty, but Dick Muir’s charges did the business to remain the only unbeaten side in this year’s Super 14 southern-hemisphere interprovincial competition.