Even if Thabo Mbeki wins the African National Congress (ANC) leadership at Polokwane — and this looks increasingly unlikely given the outcome of the provincial general councils last weekend — he will face a totally new power configuration after December 21.
More than 28 000 animals were stolen from farms around the country over the past 18 months, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Less than 40% of the stock — including game, cattle, sheep and goats — was recovered, DA rural safety spokesperson Ryno King said in a statement.
The African National Congress Women’s League is to finalise its nominations for the party’s leadership on Monday. Earlier, it was reported that the women’s league favoured Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The league, however, refuted this saying it would ”speak for itself” once it had consolidated the provincial nominations.
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma leads the race for nominations for the post of party president with five provinces supporting him, to President Thabo Mbeki’s four, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Sunday.
Ajax Cape Town registered a 1-0 win against Amazulu in an entertaining Premier Soccer League match at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu on Sunday. The score was 0-0 at half-time. In other matches, Free State Stars moved to position two on the log against Platinum Stars and Lamontville Golden Arrows beat Black Leopards 1-0.
The African National Congress (ANC) in the North West has come out in support of President Thabo Mbeki to retain his position as the party’s president, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Saturday. Mbeki also received the Western Cape’s support.
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has been hoarding candidates for the South African squad to participate in the African Nations Cup in Ghana early in the new year. On Friday, he added to his not inconsiderable collection when he introduced a host of new names in the squad to play Lesotho on Tuesday night.
De Beers Consolidated Mines, the South African arm of diamond giant De Beers, on Thursday said it had agreed to sell the Cullinan Diamond Mine as a going concern to the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium for a consideration of R1-billion payable in cash.
A police officer was killed and eight others seriously injured in a South African Air Force helicopter crash in the Free State on Wednesday, the military said. Seven other people suffered minor injuries. The Oryx helicopter was carrying 19 people when it crashed at about 11.40am near the Lesotho border.
Work is to resume at Goldfield’s Beatrix mine in the Free State on Thursday following clashes between workers that saw four people die. ”Employee groups have been in discussions all day and have reached agreement to return to work and deal with the issues they’ve had in an amicable manner,” said a Goldfields spokesperson.
The death toll following a clash at a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)’s meeting at Goldfields’ Beatrix mine in the Free State, has risen to four, a mine spokesperson said on Thursday. Two people were clubbed to death and died at a meeting of about 750 NUM members on Tuesday night.
Lock Victor Matfield has withdrawn from South Africa’s squad for the one-off Test with Wales on November 24, becoming the 12th member of the World Cup-winning squad to miss the tour. The South African Rugby Union (Saru) announced he had been released due to personal commitments.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Gordon Igesund faces arguably the toughest test of all Premier Soccer League (PSL) coaches as he guides his team towards a third consecutive league title as well as a third cup final this year. ”The better the team becomes, the more challenges you face and have to accept,” Igesund said on Monday.
With one day left in their SuperSport Series match at Buffalo Park in East London against the Warriors, the Dolphins were poised for the kill at the close of play on Saturday. The sun in Paarl shone slightly more on the Cape Cobras than on the visiting Lions, and in Benoni, the Titans and the Diamond Eagles appeared to be heading for a draw.
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Brian Baloyi was unflappable, stopping numerous goal-scoring attempts from the Free State Stars, as his team won 2-1 in the extreme heat of Kimberley where they played their Telkom Knockout Cup soccer semifinal match.
Responsible batting by the Dolphins enabled them to end the second day’s play in their SuperSport Series match against the Warriors in East London 206 runs ahead with two wickets in hand on Friday. In Benoni, the Diamond Eagles’ Pieter Koortzen struck his eighth first-class 100 in their SuperSport match against the Titans.
The case against a 36-year-old man accused of murdering 10 KwaZulu-Natal women and dumping their bodies in sugar-cane fields was remanded on Friday in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court for further investigation. The courtroom was packed with relatives, and outside the court there was a heavy police presence.
Mamelodi Sundowns are without a doubt the favourites in Saturday’s Telkom Knockout semifinal clash against Free State Stars at the Absa Stadium in Kimberley. The defending league champs knocked out Golden Arrows and Thanda Royal Zulu 3-0 and 3-1 respectively en route to the Telkom semis.
Springbok wing Bryan Habana was crowned the 2007 Absa South African rugby player of the year at the SA Rugby awards banquet in Sandton on Wednesday
night. The other nominees in this prestigious category were fellow Springboks Victor Matfield, Percy Montgomery, Fourie du Preez and Juan Smith.
Jomo Cosmos and Orlando Pirates clash in round eight of the Absa Premier Soccer League at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Wednesday night, and Owen da Gama wants his charges to take all three points. Pirates are 11th on the league table with nine points from seven outings, and Da Gama wants the best result against Cosmos.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) has ratified four new national records following a meeting of the ASA executive board last Saturday. Louw Smith of Boland province clocked 13,73 seconds to set a new South Africa junior men’s 110m hurdles record. He achieved this landmark on April 13.
Andre Petim, the Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper, was his side’s hero as he saved a late penalty to share the spoils with Free State Stars in a goalless Absa PSL match at the Athlone Stadium on Sunday evening. Ajax were out to avenge the 1-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of Stars, who eliminated them from the Telkom Knockout competition.
With prospects of yet another foreigner winning the Soweto Marathon, Athletics South Africa has decided to invest in the future of the sport. And that future, it says, lies with middle-distance runners such as 24-year-old University of Free State star Boy Soke. On Sunday, Soke will run the 10km route of the Soweto road race.
The rugby season is over and the foot-shooting season is upon us again. On the field the game in South Africa is stronger than it has ever been. Proof came in Bloemfontein on Saturday when the Free State Cheetahs took two tries on the chin from the Lions, then scored two of their own to win the Currie Cup final 20-18.
It might not have been the kind of ”Hand of God” goal that Diego Maradona immortalised, but battling Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns secured a much-needed 1-0 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic at the Free State Rugby Stadium on Wednesday night with what could be termed ”a gift from the gods”.
Kaizer Chiefs left behind their inconsistent ways by taking down Free State Stars 3-0 in wet conditions in their Absa Premiership match played at Olympia Park in Rustenburg on Wednesday night. Kinnah Phiri’s charges collapsed when it mattered most — in the second half — as Mabhuti Khanyeza, Onismor Bhasera and Shaun Bartlett scored goals.
Call it an amazing coincidence or something worth a disbelieving mention in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. But with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs kept apart and drawn to play Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic in Telkom Knockout semifinals in 10 days, finding the match-ups reversed in league games on Wednesday is undoubtedly a mathematical phenomenon.
A superb strike by Siphiwe Tshabalala earned Kaizer Chiefs a semifinal berth in the Telkom Knockout Cup when they beat SuperSport United 1-0 at the Loftus Stadium on Sunday. Ironically, SuperSport had the better chances to win the game but bad finishing and the crossbar denied the hosts victory.
An enterprising and attack-minded Free State Stars gobbled up Jomo Cosmos’ cup hopes at a rain-soaked Goble Stadium in Bethlehem on Saturday afternoon and qualified for the semifinals of the Telkom Knockout competition with a deserved 1-0 victory.
Three yellow cards, two of them on the advice of the touch judges, played a huge part in the Absa Currie Cup final played at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Saturday, which saw the Free State Cheetahs beat the Lions 20-18. The Cheetahs, with the victory, retained their hold on the Currie Cup that they had shared with the Blue Bulls in the 2006 final.
The Free State may have lost the ”Orange” part of its name in the new South Africa, but Bloemfontein was a sea of orange as the city prepared for the Currie Cup final between the Cheetahs and the Lions on Saturday afternoon. Almost every vehicle in the city streets sported an orange Cheetahs flag, and orange was the colour to wear.
Oom Os du Randt — the Springbok loosehead prop — is one of the most experienced sports stars in the country. At the ripe old age of 35 and with two World Cup winners’ medals around his neck, he has a lot to pass on to younger players, especially those who do not know how to handle success and end up in self-destruct mode.