Twelve people were killed and four left in a critical condition when a tour bus overturned near Kroonstad on Monday, Free State police said. Captain Rosa Benade said 35 people were treated for serious injuries on the accident scene and moved to the Boithumelo and Kroon hospitals.
President Thabo Mbeki has reached new heights of public popularity, with current job-approval ratings matching the best ratings given to Nelson Mandela, the Afrobarometer survey said on Wednesday. According to the survey, conducted in January and February, nearly eight in 10 South Africans approved of the job Mbeki was doing as president. When asked about the way Mbeki had performed his job over the past year, 77% said they approved, with 28% strongly approving.
About 200 white Afrikaners met ceremonially at the historic Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein on Saturday in a bid to ensure that the monument remains an Afrikaner symbol. The event, organised by the Afrikaner Kultuurbond, started with the hoisting of the old Orange Free State and Transvaal Boer Republic’s flags.
A wave of anger and indignation has met remarks by Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula that ”constant moaners” about crime should rather leave the country. Accusing Nqakula of insensitivity, political parties, agricultural leaders and non-government bodies said on Friday the minister is out of touch with reality.
The disciplinary inquiry into allegations of corporate mismanagement against former SA Rugby boss Brian van Rooyen ended without him on Wednesday. South African Rugby Union (Saru) CEO Johan Prinsloo, who testified at the hearing in Bloemfontein, said Van Rooyen’s absence was a matter of regret.
Springbok rugby coach Jake White testified behind closed doors on Wednesday while former rugby boss Brian van Rooyen remained absent from a disciplinary inquiry, which is hearing corporate-mismanagement allegations against him. White was the day’s first witness at the closed hearing in Bloemfontein.
The South African Rugby Union’s disciplinary inquiry into corporate mismanagement allegations against its former president, Brian van Rooyen, started in his absence in Bloemfontein on Tuesday. Neither Van Rooyen nor any of his legal representatives were present when the proceedings started.
The icy weather experienced over the country was set to continue until about Thursday when the days will become slightly warmer, the South African Weather Service said on Sunday. Forecaster Ezekiel Sebego said another cold front would move in over the Western Cape on Monday night, bringing with it rain for that area, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Bitterly cold weather around the country is likely to result in snow on higher ground, hail and sleet in the interior and rough seas in the Cape, meteorologists said on Friday. The National Forecasting Centre said the central and eastern parts of the country are being invaded by very cold weather.
The third annual Mutual & Federal South African Cricket Awards, held on Thursday night at a glittering function in Johannesburg, saw Makhaya Ntini walk away with the prestigious South African Cricketer of the Year Award, as well as the Castle Test Cricketer of the Year Award, both for the second consecutive year.
World number four gold miner Gold Fields announced on Friday that it had acquired an extra 18,27-million Western Areas shares at a price of R40 per share for a purchase consideration of about R731-million. The acquisition increased Gold Fields’ total stake in Western Areas to 23,27-million shares, or 15,47% of that company’s total issued share capital.
Thousands joined marches throughout the country on Thursday to protest against job losses, but the impact of the one-day strike varied across the sectors of the economy. The strike, called by the Congress of South African Trade Unions, was felt hardest in the mining industry, followed by car manufacturers, retailers and the textile industry.
Thousands of workers heeded a call by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to down tools on Thursday in protest against South Africa’s high levels of unemployment and poverty. The mining and car-manufacturing industries appeared to be hardest hit.
Two buses were set on fire by a mob and about eight others damaged by stone throwing in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha before dawn on Thursday as the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ national strike got under way. Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesperson Vuyisile Mdoda said the incidents were reported to the company at 6am.
A new book, Foul, by British journalist Andrew Jennings, exposes the corruption and power plays at world football’s governing body, Fifa. Jennings’s previous investigation into sport, The Lords of the Rings, led to a radical shake-up of the International Olympic Committee.
The Wildebeest continued their inexorable march towards the final of the Vodacom Cup with a 49-29 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park this weekend. The log leaders scored seven tries, six before half-time, to move to 54 points on the standings, nine ahead of the Blue Bulls and Falcons.
Free State Stars’ players slumped to the turf and others shed tears openly after the goalless draw against Dynamos at Giyani Stadium on Sunday afternoon ensured their relegation from the PSL. In other matches, Bush Bucks drew 1-1 against Santos and Moroka Swallows and Tembisa Classic played to a 1-1 draw.
President Thabo Mbeki weighed in on Friday in the succession debate raging in South Africa, saying he wants the next president to be a woman. ”As far as I am concerned, the next president of South Africa should be a woman,” Mbeki said. Mbeki named Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as the first woman deputy president in June after he fired Jacob Zuma from the post in a major corruption scandal.
World number-five gold miner Harmony Gold is taking a fresh look at its business model in the light of the prevailing bull market in gold, which is creating a new generation of investors who are keen to invest in bullion, Harmony Gold CEO Bernard Swanepoel said on Friday.
It took two and a half months, but finally there was a week of Super 14 rugby where all five South African teams were competitive. Springbok coach Jake White must be thankful for small mercies, for a number of his favourites are finally hitting their straps a month ahead of the international season. Imagine if they’d peaked in February and faded in June?
The nine provinces spent on average 98% or R214,8-billion of their adjusted budgets of R219,2-billion in 2005/06, the National Treasury said on Tuesday. This was a significant spending increase year-on-year of 13,5% or R25,5-billion over the audited R189,2-billion spent in 2004/05.
The Wildebeest all but secured a home final in the Vodacom Cup when they thumped the Mighty Elephants 71-20 in Port Elizabeth this weekend. The win took the Natalians eight points clear of the Blue Bulls, who moved into second place on the log with a 45-35 win over Western Province at Loftus Versfeld.
Thousands of rands were stolen when three men posing as clients robbed a Virginia bank in the Free State on Saturday morning, police said. Spokesperson Inspector Stephen Thakeng said three employees were serving clients at the bank while two security officers stood by, when the robbers entered the bank.
The fat lady might not be singing, but by all rational and logical assumptions Mamelodi Sundowns are the Premier Soccer League champions for the 2005/06 season. Sundowns staged a stirring fightback on Wednesday at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium to beat Classic 3-1 and rivals Orlando Pirates drew 1-1 with Bush Bucks.
The council of the University of the Free State (UFS), which after eleven years of democracy still practises segregation in its student hostels, said the name change of a hostel for white men, named ”Verwoerd”, is a priority and will be finalised in June. The Mail & Guardian on February 17 reported that the university’s student hostels were still racially segregated.
A hiatus in South Africa’s biodiversity legislation, dealing with a proposed national electronic permit system, is inadvertently aiding a run by traffickers on the country’s endangered wildlife. According to Traffic, the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring organisation, global wildlife trade was huge, with an annual turnover estimated at billions of dollars.
The Falcons would have come away from this weekend’s Vodacom Cup action full of self-belief as they charge towards a place in the final of the competition. With the Blue Bulls beaten by the Lions and the Falcons beating the Leopards, it looks likely that the men from the East Rand will join the Wildebeest in this year’s final on May 20.
Free State Stars beat Black Leopards 2-1 in their entertaining Premier Soccer League game played at Goble Park Stadium in Bethlehem on Saturday. In other matches, Golden Arrows drew with Ajax Cape Town, Thembisa Classic beat Santos, Bloemfontein Celtic beat Bush Bucks, and Moroka Swallows beat Jomo Cosmos.
While the intriguing Premier Soccer League title race enjoys a ”rest period’ this weekend, there is no respite for Orlando Pirates as they take on Sudan’s AlHilal in a first-leg, third-round Caf Champions League game at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon — easily the most prestigious, lucrative and testing challenge that confronts Pirates.
The race to reach the Vodacom Cup final has been narrowed down to the top three teams on the log — all of which face tricky encounters this weekend. The Wildebeest, Blue Bulls and Falcons have opened up a significant gap between themselves and the rest of the competition’s sides.
Life-long champion of women’s rights Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo died at the age of 92 in Soweto in the early hours of Wednesday after a long illness. Her son Bobo said Kuzwayo, who was until June 1999 South Africa’s longest-serving parliamentarian, died in the Lesedi private clinic at 2.30am.
Just after South Africa were beaten, and just before they were beaten again, Graeme Smith was interviewed by the eternally blithe Dave Papenfus on Radio 2000. Papenfus is that admirable breed of commentator who, like Parkinson, makes his guests feel utterly adored. One hesitates to say he shields his subjects from harsh questions, but in the world of sports writers — most of us Pinocchios — he is Jiminy Cricket and Tinkerbell rolled into one.