The former secretary general of the South African National Civics Organisation, Thozamile Gwanya, has been appointed Director General of Agriculture and Land Affairs, the department said on Monday. Gwanya, who matriculated in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, holds a BCom degree from the University of Transkei.
A third person has been arrested in connection with the murders of 18 people in the Mzamba area in the Eastern Cape, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Wednesday. A special police task team set up to investigate the murders arrested the man in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Bestselling author Eoin Colfer, whose Artemis Fowl series of action-fantasy novels has sold more than nine million copies worldwide, may well wish to operate under a cloak of secrecy — as his famous teenaged creation does — when he arrives in South Africa this week.
A 57-year-old German tourist died at St Francis Bay when he apparently choked on his food at a restaurant, Eastern Cape police said. Victor Bhor was at a restaurant on Sunday when the incident occurred, said Inspector Gerda Swart. She said Bhor’s friends, who accompanied him to dinner, tried to assist him but were not successful.
If you’re worried about rocketing petrol prices — which hit R8,25 a litre in Gauteng last week and are set to increase further — you can take some comfort from the fact that reform of the fuel sector is finally under way, with the promise of a freer, more efficient fuel market kicking in early next year.
Hundreds of members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) were arrested on Thursday after invading the Nelson Mandela 2010 Stadium in Port Elizabeth, the union said. Branch chairperson Nomvula Hadi said workers were leaving the stadium when police opened fire with rubber bullets and teargas.
The government’s failure to extend the child-support grant to all vulnerable children under the age of 18 will leave about two million children without social support for the foreseeable future. Last month’s budget, which capped the age for children on the grant at 15 from January next year, was severely criticised by civil society.
Four accidents on Monday claimed the lives of 31 people in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), prompting the province’s premier to declare this coming Thursday a day of mourning. KwaZulu-Natal health spokesperson Leon Mbangwa said a collision between a coal truck and a minibus taxi near Dundee claimed the lives of 15 people, while another 12 were killed on the outskirts of Durban.
No image available
/ 29 February 2008
Media24 on Friday announced the closure of the Gauteng and Free State editions of its Afrikaans tabloid, Son, citing weak growth prospects. The Western Cape and Eastern Cape additions would continue to publish, a statement from Fergus Sampson, CEO of the emerging markets division, said.
No image available
/ 29 February 2008
A passenger rail service between East London and Mthatha will be inaugurated this weekend, Eastern Cape provincial transport minister Thobile Mhlahlo said on Friday. The Kei Rail Service would start operating on Saturday, transporting 216 passengers between the two towns, he said.
No image available
/ 29 February 2008
The possible loss of 6 900 jobs at Gold Fields mining company will affect more than 50 000 additional South Africans, deepening the economic impact beyond the numerical cuts alone. According to research by the mineworkers’ union, NUM, each miner supports an average of between six to 10 dependants.
No image available
/ 24 February 2008
Western Province (WP) laboured to a 51-7 Vodacom Cup victory over the Griffons at Bellville South on Saturday afternoon, after leading 32-0 at the break. In Wellington, the Boland Kavaliers scored an unconvincing 31-22 win over the Valke, and the Leopards ran out a comfortable 32-14 win over Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
Provinces will receive R238-billion this year, a whopping 16% higher than last year’s allocation. By 2010/11, provincial budgets will have doubled on their 2004/05 levels. All increases to key portfolios outstrip inflation by significant margins. But will they spend it well?
No image available
/ 21 February 2008
Percy Zvomuya reports on the recipients of the Academic and Non-Fiction Authors’ Association of South Africa grants.
No image available
/ 21 February 2008
Education Minister Naledi Pandor wore the broadest smile among her counterparts on Wednesday as Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was once again in a generous mood towards her department. But some education analysts are sceptical about provinces’ capacity to deliver on disbursing the billions allocated to general education.
No image available
/ 18 February 2008
An Eastern Cape gardener accused of raping an 11-year-old girl was sentenced to 54 months’ imprisonment by a Grahamstown High Court judge on Monday after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of statutory rape. The state initially charged Khulile Ntshabase (24) with raping the girl at a house in Hogsback on August 4 last year.
No image available
/ 15 February 2008
Author Jonny Steinberg’s <i>Three-Letter Plague</i> has attracted serious critical and retail attention in the US, writes Charlotte Bauer.
No image available
/ 14 February 2008
The power situation has eased somewhat over the past few days and there has been no load-shedding since February 4, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga told reporters on Thursday in Sunninghill, near Johannesburg. Maroga was announcing measures to be taken by Eskom to resolve the country’s electricity crisis.
No image available
/ 12 February 2008
A man trying to outrun police in a stolen tractor was arrested in the Eastern Cape early on Tuesday. East London police spokesperson Superintendent Mtati Tana said police were told the tractor had been stolen from a farm in the Blue Water area outside East London at about 4am.
No image available
/ 12 February 2008
Former mineworkers on Tuesday listened during the resumption of former miner Thembekile Mankayi’s bid to secure R2,6-million from AngloGold Ashanti after he contracted silicosis. One of the group, Willie Fuledi, said he hoped the court would make a ruling for other mineworkers seeking a payout for the disease.
No image available
/ 8 February 2008
Parts of the Eastern Cape are experiencing an outbreak of African horse sickness, which led to the death of 11 horses in the past six weeks, said the province’s department of agriculture on Friday. ”Fifteen cases have been reported to state veterinarians over the past six weeks alone, mainly in the Ndlambe (Port Alfred) and Makana (Grahamstown) areas.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
While it was designed to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy, a new video-conference facility launched in Parliament on Thursday gave MPs the chance to see what their colleagues in the provinces look like. National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete hoped the project would one day link the government to rural areas.
No image available
/ 5 February 2008
The African National Congress in the Eastern Cape was awaiting details on Tuesday regarding a brawl at a branch meeting which apparently landed some people in hospital. It was reported that a number of ANC members in Alice had sustained injuries after the meeting ended in an exchange of blows on Sunday afternoon.
No image available
/ 5 February 2008
A number of African National Congress (ANC) members at Alice in the Eastern Cape have sustained injuries after a branch meeting ended in an exchange of blows, it was reported on Monday. Reports said a group of party supporters arrived at Khayalethu village during the registration process for an AGM and called for its dissolution.
No image available
/ 4 February 2008
African National Congress (ANC) leaders who supported President Thabo Mbeki in the build-up to the party’s elective conference in Polokwane will not be victimised, the party’s newly elected leadership said on Monday. The ANC said fears that there would be a purge were baseless as the party had no intention to change its traditions.
No image available
/ 4 February 2008
The African National Congress was not aware of any imminent visit to its Johannesburg headquarters by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool, a spokesperson said on Monday. Rasool’s spokesperson Shado Twala also said she did know about the reported visit.
No image available
/ 3 February 2008
Fear now stalks the corridors of African National Congress (ANC) power as the party’s new president, Jacob Zuma, asserts his authority in Parliament, the provinces and the party structures, the Sunday Times reported. ANC MPs made their anxiety known in a closed meeting of the ANC’s parliamentary caucus on Thursday.
No image available
/ 2 February 2008
An Eastern Cape police captain charged with the possession of stolen goods was released on bail by the Qumbu Magistrate’s Court on Saturday. The charges relate to the possession of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, stolen vehicles and stock cards, as well as defeating the ends of justice.
No image available
/ 31 January 2008
An Eastern Cape man accused of three counts of rape and two of attempted rape is to be referred to a doctor specialising in erectile dysfunction. Mcebesi Noji (28) of Nkululeko, Barkly East, has pleaded not guilty to the five charges before judge Elna Revelas.
No image available
/ 27 January 2008
A guard in a surgical mask patrols a wire fence designed to keep dozens of patients with a lethal form of tuberculosis at Cape Town’s Brooklyn Chest hospital isolated from the rest of the world. Sufferers of extreme drug resistant tuberculosis, a near untreatable strain, battle boredom, depression and the side-effects of a daily palmful of pills.
No image available
/ 26 January 2008
Residents of the impoverished Skielik community on Saturday buried three loved ones who were gunned down last week, allegedly by 18-year-old Johan Nel. Enoch Tshepo Motshelanoka (10), three-month-old Keditlhotse Elizabeth Moiphitlhi and her 31-year-old mother, Anna, were buried at the Swartruggens cemetery.
No image available
/ 26 January 2008
Racism was still a key issue in South Africa, political party representatives said as they addressed a gathering at Saturday’s funeral of the murdered Skielik victims. Congress of South African Trade Unions secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said alleged killer, Johan Nel (18) had ”no regard for human life”.