Acclaimed Flemish artist Frans Claerhout (87) has died in a Bloemfontein hospital, radio news reports said on Tuesday. He died in his sleep, two weeks after being admitted for pneumonia. Born in Belgium in 1919, he became a Catholic priest and came to South Africa as a missionary in 1946, ministering to the people of the Free State.
A ”frightening” number of police officers have died in Gauteng so far this year, with almost as many slain in the first six months of 2006 as in the whole of last year, said the office of National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi. The deaths of four police officers in a bloody siege in Jeppestown last Sunday brought the tally to 19 since the start of the year.
Now that all the fuss and bother have died down, I find myself feeling a sort of empathy for our genial Minister of Safety and Security, Charles ”Whingers Beware” Nqakula. I have seldom seen such a flurry of outrage and hurt feelings in response to an idle remark tossed off in Parliament by the minister.
The chasm between Super 14 experience and Vodacom Cup rugby was further exposed when defending champions the Cheetahs hammered Griquas 55-14 in a one-sided opening Currie Cup encounter played in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Cheetahs surprisingly won the Currie Cup last year.
Gold Fields confirmed on Wednesday that one mineworker was killed in a surface blasting accident at its Beatrix Mine in the Free State shortly before 9am on Wednesday morning. Three other workers were injured and taken to the St Helena hospital in Welkom, the group said.
The Department of Transport is committed to the introduction of a nationwide, integrated fare-collection system that would include the taxi industry in the taxi-industry subsidy net, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe reported on Tuesday. The ticketing system is included in the department’s 2006-to-2009 strategic plan.
Invalid decisions by the Free State premier, unlawful payments by two Northern Cape municipalities and problems at the Commission on Gender Equality were the major focus of reports released by Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana on Tuesday. He has also completed his probe into Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s controversial trip to the United Arab Emirates.
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.