Leonard Chuene will have the last laugh on Sunday over his number-one enemy, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), when he is re-elected as president of Athletics South Africa. No one is standing against him. In the run-up to the elections, Chuene has been under pressure to resign.
South Africa’s transport services are ”sure to improve dramatically” in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday. ”It will be a defining moment for our transport system,” he told reporters in Pretoria. The tournament will not be a world-class event if the majority of journeys by visitors are not completed efficiently, he said.
Gerhard Zandberg’s South African swimming contingent was caught up in the chaos at Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport in London, which caused the swimmers to miss their connection flight to Manchester. The terminal opened recently only to descend into disorder as its baggage-handling system broke down.
Weather-pattern changes are expected to have a negative effect on health and quality of life, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Monday. ”We need to take actions aimed at strengthening our infectious-diseases control, ensure safe use of water supplies and coordinate health actions in order to respond,” she said.
Schools ranked "the poorest of the poor" will be bolstered by an increase in support staff to free teachers from administrative duties so that they can spend more time on teaching and delivering quality Âeducation. The government has allocated just less than R1-billion that will provide for an extra 14 000 support staff posts.
Awaiting-trial prisoners at Johannesburg Prison embarked on a hunger strike on Sunday following the removal of radios from their cells, the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) said. Spokesperson Miles Bhudu said Sapohr was informed of this action on Saturday.
Warren Foster speaks to stand-up comedians about the Heavyweight Comedy Jam.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Friday condemned alleged death threats made against South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) journalists. ”Sanef condemns the attack on SABC 2 weather presenter Tshidi Diphoko and the death threats against SABC political reporters Miranda Strydom and Sophie Mokoena,” it said.
A couple of months back, driving past one of those service stations that advertises its prices on a large board on the street, I noticed that diesel was quite a bit more expensive than petrol. I thought that whoever had the job of putting up the prices had got the two mixed up, writes Kevin Davie.
The Department of Transport has put aside R55-billion as part of the government’s plan to improve traffic flow on Gauteng highways, it said on Wednesday. Department spokesperson Collen Msibi said the Highway Improvement Scheme would take effect in phases to expand the carrying capacity of existing roads.
Six additional Gauteng highways will become toll roads. The cost to motorists for using the roll roads would be about 50c per kilometre.
A 44-year-old pilot who died in a light aircraft crash in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve on Tuesday had requested to make an emergency landing at Lanseria Airport, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. Captain Jacob Raboroko said that the pilot, Trevor Emmanuel, was flying from Durban to an unknown destination when his aircraft ran low on fuel.
Police have warned people in Gauteng who sell goods through advertising publications to meet their prospective buyers at police stations because robbers and fraud convicts have been targeting advertisers. Police spokesperson Captain Jan Sepato said that criminals had been responding to advertisements and then either defrauded the seller with false cheques or robbed them.
Police were searching for three men — one of whom raped a 35-year-old woman in front of her six-year-old child in their house in Leeufontein in the Roodeplaat area. Captain Jan Sepato said the woman and her husband were asleep on Monday night in their house in the Pebble Rock complex in Leeufontein when the gang struck.
Poverty mostly affects women, Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramakgopa said on Tuesday at a two-day conference on poverty reduction and community development in Pretoria. ”Poverty involves not only the lack of necessities of material well-being, but the denial of opportunities to lead a tolerable life,” said Ramakgopa.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) expressed disappointment on Tuesday over Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s decision not to hold a commission of inquiry into the affairs of the department of agriculture, conservation and environment. DA spokesperson Jack Bloom said it was ”discourteous” to hear of the decision through the media.
In the latest blow to South Africans already reeling from scheduled load-shedding, entire cities will now be plunged into darkness as Eskom institutes even more extreme power cuts. The shock development, which will be known as sector-sharing, will see the country divided into four vertical zones, each spanning many thousands of square kilometres.
The Western Cape’s economy remains extremely healthy, although some factors are hampering accelerated growth. This is one of the key findings of the new Sake24 Western Cape Barometer (WCB) launched in Cape Town on Monday. The WCB is a unique statistical index that measures business activity in the province.
Hikes in the petrol price will impact negatively on motorists’ and commuters’ disposable income, the Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa warned on Monday. ”The impact of the highest fuel prices ever in the history of transport in South Africa will without doubt be felt on the supermarket shelves,” the AA said in a statement.
When it comes to rushing around like the proverbial blue-arsed fly, I’m guilty as charged. So when new Lexus GM Kevin Flynn told us, at the recent launch of the Lexus SC430, that the new addition to the range was about "savouring the moment", I cynically wondered to myself if he was stationed in sleepy Cape Town, writes Sukasha Singh.
Ferial Haffajee on why she agreed to model for Clover.
In the aftermath of his failure to become the president of the South African Rugby Union (Saru), Mike Stofile said the elections at the annual general meeting held on Friday proved there was no place for black people in South African rugby. Stofile, the former deputy president of Saru, was the only candidate opposing Oregan Hoskins for the top post.
The retail price of petrol will increase by between 66 cents and 68 cents a litre (c/l) on Wednesday April 2, the Department of Minerals and Energy announced on Friday. This follows an increase of 61c/l last month, and 17c/l the month before. The retail price of a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol in Gauteng increases to R8,91 and to R8,67 at the coast — new highs.
An Eskom appeal board has rejected an application for bulk electricity to a new mixed housing development on the West Rand, a media report said on Friday. It said the flagship public-private partnership near Kagiso in Mogale City was to provide 9 315 residential units.
Thirteen reserve constables charged with corruption were set free after they appeared in the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. This was because the prosecutor had misplaced the charge sheet, said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi. The 13 were arrested last Wednesday.
Johannesburg’s metro police have deployed 34 officers to help police by-laws in Johannesburg’s parks, cemeteries and open spaces, City Parks said on Tuesday. They will work with 30 park wardens already policing the areas, as well as community policing forums and the South African Police Service.
For thousands of patients quarantined for up to a year with multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, the Easter holiday period only reinforces their loneliness. Last December, patients in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape broke out of TB hospitals to be with their families during the festive season.
Racism, discrimination and the cultural divide were causes for concern in South Africa, political parties and organisations said on Human Rights Day. Western Cape acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane said a number of projects would be implemented to combat racial discrimination in the province.
The Gautrain’s management on Thursday rejected suggestions that the project’s costs will rise to R35-billion. The project was well within budget, Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe said. He was reacting to statements made by National Assembly transport committee chairperson Jeremy Cronin during a debate on Tuesday.
Three men lounge on plastic camping chairs at what looks like a picnic site. Three of them are shirtless, their fat bellies sagging over their trousers.
Eskom’s application to the national energy regulator for a 53% hike in electricity prices could well have been an application to Reserve Bank boss Tito Mboweni for yet another interest-rate hike. Experts estimate that, if granted, Eskom’s request to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa could hike the annual rate of inflation by at least 2%.
The Gauteng provincial government is ”well on course” to supply all households in the province with clean water by the end of this year. The local government department said in a statement: ”We are working closely with all municipalities in the province to ensure that all households have access to clean water.”