Gauteng commuter bus operators have received some outstanding subsidy payments but are still owed a substantial amount, their association said on Monday. ”All of them got payments from the Gauteng transport department at the weekend but not all were payments in full,” said South African Bus Operators’ Association executive manager Eric Cornelius.
South African stocks pulled back from modest gains achieved in early deals to trade flat at noon on Monday, as traders struggled to find a clear-cut path. At midday, the JSE’s broader all-share index was neither here nor there (+0,06%) at 32 154,700. Resources were up 0,20%, while the gold- and platinum-mining indices added 0,53% and 0,22% respectively.
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The Scorpions must be disbanded because they are a counter-revolutionary force out to destroy African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma and destabilise the party, the Umkhonto weSizwe Veterans’ Association (MKVA) said on Saturday.
You would expect Sello Maduma, South Africa’s fencing hope at the Olympics, to be at his happiest. But the 21-year-old athlete is a worried man. He is already looking beyond the Olympics and what he sees is bleak. ”I’m worried about life after the Olympics,” he says.
Allegations that the Gauteng Transport Department (Gautrans) owed commuter bus operators payments as far back as June 2007, were untrue, the department said on Thursday. ”Hence, the department strongly condemns any attempts aimed at causing uncertainty and divisions within the bus industry.”
Salaries should increase on average by about 11,8% in 2008, an employment report released on Thursday shows. ”Higher inflation makes for high salary increases,” said economist Mike Schussler, who compiled the report for the United Association of South Africa trade union.
Although crime levels were lower, most South Africans thought crime was on the increase and had lower confidence in the police, said a survey by the Institute for Security Studies. ”Since 1998 house breaking and burglary has been the most common crimes that South Africans report,” said researcher Antoinette Louw.
The real reason for the suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Vusi Pikoli related to a criminal probe into police chief Jackie Selebi, Pikoli’s lawyers said on Wednesday. ”It was to put a spoke in the wheels of the investigation and prosecution of the police National Commissioner, Mr Jackie Selebi,” they said.
The non-payment of subsidies by the Gauteng transport department to bus operators could cost thousands of employees their jobs and affect 300Â 000 commuters, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday. In a statement, the union said the jobs of approximately 2Â 000 employees may be threatened.
Gold Fields’ South Deep mine remained closed on Monday ahead of a meeting between the company and the Gauteng mines safety inspector to determine whether conditions were safe enough for operations to continue. Nine people died at the company’s South Deep mine last Thursday.
When was the last time you heard from Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff, Northern Cape’s Dipuo Peters or even KwaZulu-Natal’s S’bu Ndebele? I reckon not lately. It may be true that some, such as Marshoff and Peters, have always had a low public profile anyway. But Shilowa and Ndebele?
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has dissolved the executive committee of Basketball South Africa (BSA) and appointed an interim committee. This follows allegations that Vusi Mgobhozi and Eric Nkosi — who were respectively president and treasurer of BSA until Sascoc’s move — are guilty of financial mismanagement.
Nine miners have died after an accident at the Gold Fields South Deep mine near Randfontein in Gauteng, the chief inspector of mines said on Thursday. Thabo Gazi said he received a report about the accident at about 12pm. It is believed that a conveyance in an inclined shaft fell down the shaft after the rope snapped.
South African petrol pump prices and wholesale diesel prices will rise sharply next week, the government said on Wednesday, adding to inflationary pressures. The Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs said all grades of petrol would on May 7 rise by 55 cents, or 6,2%, to R9,46 a litre in Gauteng.
Power was restored to Kempton Park on Gauteng’s East Rand at about 3.30am on Tuesday after just under seven days of darkness, the Ekurhuleni municipality said. Spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said an investigation into the cause of the power failure was under way.
About one third of posts for environmental impact assessment (EIA) officials are vacant, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday. DA spokesperson on the environment Rika Kruger said 37% of all posts in the directorate were vacant, while 25% of the managerial positions were also vacant.
About 170 accidents occurred in Gauteng since late Friday afternoon, Netcare 911 said on Sunday. In one incident, a three-year-old boy died and two other children were in critically injured following a head-on collision on the N12 near Xavier Road off-ramp on Saturday.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee will this weekend probe allegations of financial mismanagement at Basketball South Africa (BSA). The probe follows complaints by Gauteng basketball officials, who have accused the national federation’s president, Vusi Mgobhozi, and treasurer Eric Nkosi of turning BSA into their personal bank account.
Gauteng has allocated more than R640-million for the upgrading and development of roads in terms of the ”Twenty Prioritised Townships Programme” since 2006. The provincial government said on Wednesday the programme seeks to ensure the tarring of all roads in historically disadvantaged areas
Listed food retailer Pick n Pay is ”very aware” of the increase in food prices, it said on Tuesday. ”We are very aware of the inflationary pressure on basic foods and are doing everything we can to minimise its impact on customers,” the company said in its results for the year ended February 29.
The escalating fuel price has seen South Africans discarding gas guzzlers in favour of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.Although car sales overall are down 23% compared with last year, small car sales are up by 25%, according to figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa.
South African employers have short-changed the country’s intellectually impaired by employing only workers with physical disabilities and not intellectual ones. An oversight in the Employment Equity Act groups the intellectually impaired with citizens with other disabilities for job opportunities. Employers tend to opt for the physically disabled over the intellectually disabled.
Economists say it is only a matter of time before the rising price of oil puts pressure on the petrol price, causing it to rise yet again. Econometrix’s senior economist, Tony Twine, says that it is too late for the oil price to affect the current petrol price, but that it would certainly take the petrol price up in May by another 25c.
While commuters are still digesting last month’s rise in minibus taxi fares of as much as 20%, the bus industry has announced that the latest increase of diesel by R1,28 a litre will add between 3% and 4% to the cost of operating bus services. Diesel costs represent between 20% and 30% of the total operating cost of a bus.
Composer Philip Miller tells Percy Zvomuya and Yunus Momoniat about the ethical consideration of making music from human tragedy.
A downtown "fash off" will highlight clothing as a unifier of circumstance and culture.
The Cabinet is concerned about ”collusive behaviour” in the food industry, leading to higher prices, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. Meanwhile, thousands of people were expected to take part in a protest against high food prices in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon.
Two ATMs, one in Boksburg North and one in Brakpan, were bombed early on Thursday morning by gangs of about 20 people, Gauteng police said. Brakpan police spokesperson Captain Petros Mabuza said an ATM at the Dalview Shell garage was blown up after about 20 people held up garage staff at about 1.30am on Thursday.
Thousands of people are expected to take part in a protest against high food prices in Johannesburg on Thursday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Wednesday. ”We expect more than 5 000 people from trade unions, non-government bodies and community organisations to turn up,” the Cosatu Gauteng secretary said.
Wintry weather conditions are expected to appear this weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Wednesday. ”The first outbreak of cold weather this year will occur from Saturday, taking more effect on Sunday,” said forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng. He said rain-free conditions were expected until Friday.
About R6,9-million has been spent on nine cases pertaining to Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride and senior officers, Ekurhuleni mayor Duma Nkosi said on Tuesday in reaction to photocopies of three invoices given to the media by Ekurhuleni councillor Izak Berg.
The informal motor mechanic industry is big in most townships and it comprises specialists in different mechanical areas. These include panelbeaters, electricians, welders, gearbox fitters, engineers, wheel alignment and diff adjusters. Most of these specialists operate on street corners and in backyards and employ several helpers each.