Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon met South African President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday ahead of bowing out as official opposition leader on Sunday. Leon’s spokesperson, Martin Slabbert, said it was a chance to ”say goodbye”, but it had been a private meeting.
Spending by South Africa’s provincial governments dramatically improved in the past year as they managed to spend 98,7% of their budgets in the 2006/07 financial year, the National Treasury reported on Thursday. The provinces spent R185,6-billion of their combined adjusted budgets of R188-billion.
South Africa’s main opposition party, widely seen as the voice of the white minority, has a rare chance to shake off its conservative image when it elects a new leader this weekend. A black man, a woman and a farmer are all vying for the leadership of the Democratic Alliance (DA) at a party conference near Johannesburg.
President Thabo Mbeki is to meet outgoing Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday. The meeting appears to be a first for the two men with Leon, head of South Africa’s main opposition party, reportedly describing their relationship as strained.
Two children died of smoke inhalation after their mother fell asleep leaving a stove on, Eastern Cape police said on Monday. ”The mother, who was preparing vetkoek for their builder on Sunday night, put a batch on the stove and then fell asleep,” said Captain Jackson Manatha. ”It started to burn and there was a lot of smoke.”
A boy was shot dead and two others wounded, allegedly by a man who had a quarrel with his brother, Eastern Cape police said on Friday. Captain Jackson Manatha said the three youngsters were shot at a homestead in Nxaxo near Centane in the old Transkei on Thursday night.
Thousands of South Africans gathered in various locations across the country on Friday to celebrate the country’s 13th year of freedom from apartheid rule. In the Eastern Cape, President Thabo Mbeki addressed the packed Bisho Stadium and urged South Africans to join the fight against crime and corruption.
All South Africans were called upon to join the fight against crime and corruption by President Thabo Mbeki in his Freedom Day speech at Bhisho in the Eastern Cape on Friday. ”There is a minority in our country who have made crime their business, who terrorise our communities, robbing our people … raping women and children …,” Mbeki said at the Bhisho Stadium.
Teenage girls, many of them in school uniforms, are flocking to Port Elizabeth’s Dora Nginza Hospital to have abortions, the media reported on Wednesday. It said more than 160 abortions were performed at the Dora Nginza Hospital last month. A health worker said on Tuesday there was an alarming increase in girls under the age of 18 going to the hospital for abortions.
The South African Weather Service has warned beach revellers to brace themselves for chilly conditions over the country’s coastal areas during this long weekend. Mark Todd, a forecaster from the National Forecast Centre, said on Wednesday that it was going to be cold and windy over the Southern parts [of the country].
The murder of a Mount Frere teacher in front of her grade two pupils raised the issue of security at schools, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Wednesday. ”It is intolerable that teachers and learners should face such horrific incidents when they are in school,” spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.
A Sunday tabloid aimed at the ”new, modern Afrikaner” is to be launched in May, its editor said on Tuesday. Sondag’s Mike Vink said it would offer less sleaze than weekly Afrikaans tabloid Son. This will entail, among others, a page three pin-up girl, who will not be topless. ”It’s not going to be sleazy, but a genuine Sunday newspaper with a sports, news and business section.”
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says that President Thabo Mbeki is quite right to criticise ruling party African National Congress (ANC) councillors for not doing their jobs — but it argues that words must be turned into action. On Tuesday, DA local government spokesperson Willem Doman said: "A year after the local elections it is clear that many councillors are not effective."
The prospect of President Thabo Mbeki staying on as African National Congress (ANC) head would harm the country, official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon said on Monday. At a farewell meeting in Port Elizabeth the DA leader said an anointed presidential successor would become a ”puppet president owing his or her position to Mbeki”.
The most dangerous places in South Africa are not big cities but scantly populated rural or border areas, a new crime-mapping tool showed on Sunday. Although Johannesburg is synonymous with crime in the minds of many overseas visitors, the new computerised map showed that the chances of being murdered or raped were higher in isolated rural areas.
A draw to determine the order in which candidates’ names will appear on the ballot for a new Democratic Alliance (DA) leader was held at the party’s parliamentary offices in Cape Town on Friday. Top spot was won by DA federal chairperson Joe Seremane.
A petite Eastern Cape girl cornered two burglars with her motor scooter this week, attacking one with her crash helmet, media reports said on Friday. Marilee Hibbers (18), of Despatch, said on Thursday she never thought of the danger in which she could have been. Her only goal was to get the two criminals arrested.
A Port Alfred National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander rescued her own Hobie Cat, which had been stolen, the institute said on Thursday. Keryn van der Walt said the NSRI responded to reports of a capsized yacht off-shore off Bhirah in the Eastern Cape at about 11am on Wednesday.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) will on Friday finalise the order in which the names of candidates will appear on the ballot-papers that will be used during the election process at the party’s congress in Gauteng in May. This will be done by means of a draw.
Six warders from Krugersdorp Prison appeared in the town’s magistrate’s court on Monday in connection with the deaths of three inmates over the weekend. The men are alleged to have seriously assaulted the prisoners on Saturday night after an apparent gang fight. The prisoners were taken to hospital, but died shortly afterwards.
South Africa’s upgraded transport information system was off to a shaky start on Monday, with some testing stations failing to reopen. Authorities in most provinces reported hiccups and constant technical failures. Testing stations in Midrand, Randburg, Sandton, Langlaagte and Pretoria were still closed due to technical glitches.
The elimination of the defending champions and a spirited performance against the odds were two of the features of a thrilling final weekend of league fixtures in the Vodacom Cup competition, which enters its quarterfinal stage this weekend. Holders the Valke went down 17-8 to the Blue Bulls last Friday.
The son of a senior Eastern Cape politician has been arrested for theft from a Bisho ministerial residence, the Dispatch Online reported on Monday. It said the grade-10 student (19) is suspected of breaking into the ministerial-complex home of MPL Pemmy Majodina at the Easter weekend.
Vusi Mahlasela, Simphiwe Dana and Siphokazi Maraqana vie for the big one at this year’s South African Music Awards ceremony, writes Nadia Neophytou.
A 47-year-old man has died of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the Eastern Cape, bringing the number of deaths to 14 since November, the provincial health department said on Thursday. It also denied reports that XDR-TB patients were walking around freely at a hospital in the province.
Former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla has dedicated his graduation from Grahamstown’s Rhodes University to his grandfather and late father Makgatho Mandela, who died in 2005. The graduation ceremony comes only days before another historic moment in Mandla’s life.
A candidate for a post on the bench of the Cape High Court faced tough questioning at the Judicial Service Commission on Tuesday over her claim that judicial appointments were often steeped in racial and gender prejudice. Advocate Nona Goso was also quizzed over incidents in which she appeared to have signed off review cases without reading them.
The number of people killed on South African roads over the Easter weekend has risen to 181, the Department of Transport said on Monday night. Of the 181 people who lost their lives in 143 crashes, 41 were drivers, 71 were passengers and 69 were pedestrians, spokesperson Ntau Letebele said.
A deaf-and-dumb woman was raped, allegedly by two men, in Butterworth on Saturday morning, Eastern Cape police said. The 20-year-old grade-11 pupil from Gauteng, on holiday in the area, was accompanied to her family’s house following a party in the Bungeni informal settlement, said Captain Jackson Manatha.
Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan has paid tribute to renowned academic Professor Archibald Monwabisi Mafeje, who died in Pretoria on March 26. ”The demise of a pioneering intellectual powerhouse will always be a great loss to a nation,” Jordan said in a statement.
The use of government-issued condoms as business cards at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in Oudtshoorn has irked Eastern Cape authorities. The culprit was a T-shirt and clothing company, Gooi Mielies, which was distributing promotional stickers stuck on to free government condoms.
Eastern Cape traditional leaders want the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to slaughter an animal to apologise for screening a documentary on circumcision, media reports said on Wednesday. The leaders found SABC1’s drama Umthunzi Wentaba insulting because it stripped the tradition of its secrecy and sacredness.