Schools in Khutsong township near Carletonville remained empty on Thursday as pupils continued boycotting classes, the Anti-North West Forum said. Spokesperson Jomo Mogale said only teachers were present in schools around Khutsong. Pupils are protesting against the incorporation of the Merafong municipality into the North West from Gauteng.
Shaun Pollock was named the Cricketer of the Year at the fourth Mutual & Federal South African Cricket Awards held in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The Proteas legendary fast bowler scooped the prestigious award ahead of Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Ashwell Prince, who were all strong contenders.
President Thabo Mbeki should personally intervene in the Merafong municipality demarcation issue, religious leaders in Khutsong said on Wednesday. ”We ministers of religion want to see peace restored and we plead with the president … to personally intervene …,” they told reporters in Carletonville.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will be picketing outside the Constitutional Court on Tuesday in the hope it rules that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has the final say in labour disputes and not the courts.
Pupils in Khutsong township on Monday continued boycotting classes in protest against the Merafong municipality’s incorporation into the North West. Anti-North West Forum member Paul Ncwane said there had been no schooling in the area for four weeks. He said only teachers were present in all township schools.
M&G Media, which publishes the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> newspaper in Johannesburg, has been contracted by Mafube Publishing to take over its key management functions, it was announced on Monday. M&G Media will market and distribute all magazine titles published by Mafube — including <i>Enterprise</i> magazine — and assist with advertising sales.
The general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Zwelinzima Vavi, has fired one of the first salvos in the festival of ideas that will culminate in the 52nd ANC national conference. His points on whether the current draft elaborates sufficiently on progress made by progressive forces internationally are well made, writes Mandla Nkomfe.
South Africa’s drive to abolish colonial and apartheid-era place names has met resistance in parts of the black community, where activists accuse the ruling African National Congress of honouring only its own heroes. Thousands of demonstrators thronged the streets of Durban on May Day to protest proposals to rename close to 200 buildings, roads and other landmarks.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille was on Sunday elected as the new leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). The announcement was made by DA leader Tony Leon to over a thousand delegates at the party’s federal congress in Gauteng. She beat two other contenders for the position, Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip and federal chairperson Joe Seremane.
Hard labour should be reintroduced as a mandatory sentence for murderers, rapists and armed and violent robbers, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) federal congress urged on Sunday. It accepted a resolution condemning rampant crime that was ”undermining the fundamentals of our democracy”.
The first round of talks between Eskom and three unions representing over 20 000 employees was described as a failure by trade union Solidarity on Friday. The electricity public utility company offered workers a 4% wage increase while the unions want 15%.
In yet another attempt to rescue the beleaguered Department of Home Affairs, the South African Cabinet this week approved the appointment of a new director general, the latest in this department, which has the highest turnover of directors general in the government.
Eskom has launched a probe into the power disruption that left Bedfordview without electricity for three days this week. While national spokesperson Fani maintained that installation of closed-circuit television cameras along the R24 was to blame for the disruption, he conceded it was only partly responsible.
Women, especially black women, are still largely absent from the higher ranks of South Africa’s media organisations — and they earn considerably less than their male colleagues do. These are the findings of a new study by the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) that was released on Thursday, World Press Freedom Day.
Bedfordview residents east of Johannesburg were still without electricity by 6pm on Wednesday, the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality said. ”It’s still not on,” said spokesperson Zweli Dlamini. Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu could not be reached for comment. The company has repeatedly had to push back its self-imposed deadline for resolving the problem.
The rape case against Orlando Pirates player Jabu Mahlangu was thrown out of the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday. ”The case was thrown out because of insufficient evidence, so he’s a free man,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht.
Orlando Pirates player Jabu Mahlangu was arrested and charged with rape on Wednesday morning, Gauteng police said. Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht said the 26-year-old soccer player handed himself over to police. ”He was brought in by his lawyers and arrested at about 10am.”
About 2 000 Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) supporters marched to Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s office on Monday to protest against crime and a lack of service delivery, the party said. Azapo’s provincial secretary for political education said his party is concerned about the high level of crime.
The North West education department ventured into Khutsong on Thursday under police protection to act against teachers supporting ongoing class boycotts. A spokesperson said three teachers and a principal were notified of their suspension, while 10 other teachers from various schools were asked to explain their actions.
”If ever anyone thought Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza was passing the buck when he explained his club’s poor run at the start of the season as a result of the cyclical nature of the game, the timing of Saturday’s fixture should vindicate him.” The outcome of the derby has huge implications for Chiefs, writes Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Wednesday added more than 1 000 new applications to the small-business tax-amnesty process through an extensive registration campaign across the country. Several thousand Sars and police officials visited 4 160 small businesses in 30 towns and cities.
Life-insurance companies have uncovered 20Â 000 fraudulent claims worth R1-billion over the past four years, the Life Offices’ Association (LOA) said on Wednesday. However, only 2Â 844 fraudulent claims were recorded last year, the lowest number since 2003.
If ordinary African National Congress (ANC) members want a say in their party’s leadership in December, they have until June 30 to get organised. Briefing reporters in Johannesburg, ANC spokespersons on Wednesday outlined the process of electing the new leadership — including the hotly contested race for the top job.
The retail price of all grades of petrol will rise by 34 cents per litre (c/l) from May 2, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Wednesday. The latest changes bring the retail price of a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol in Gauteng to 701c/l and to 677c/l at the coast. During the period under review, the average international product price of petrol increased.
The South African Weather Service has warned beach revellers to brace themselves for chilly conditions over the country’s coastal areas during this long weekend. Mark Todd, a forecaster from the National Forecast Centre, said on Wednesday that it was going to be cold and windy over the Southern parts [of the country].
Starting on Wednesday, businesses in 30 towns and cities across South Africa will be checked for tax compliance and briefed on the government’s tax amnesty, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said. Spokesperson Adrian Lackay said about 10Â 000 Sars officials and police officers will check if enterprises are on the business register, and inform them of the tax amnesty.
A Sunday tabloid aimed at the ”new, modern Afrikaner” is to be launched in May, its editor said on Tuesday. Sondag’s Mike Vink said it would offer less sleaze than weekly Afrikaans tabloid Son. This will entail, among others, a page three pin-up girl, who will not be topless. ”It’s not going to be sleazy, but a genuine Sunday newspaper with a sports, news and business section.”
Two shots were fired at Johannesburg’s busy Bree Street taxi rank on Tuesday, just a day after a taxi driver was shot and killed at the same rank, Gauteng police said. Meanwhile, commuters were left stranded at Dobsonville in Soweto on Tuesday morning as taxis were not operating in the area.
While business activity levels in Gauteng slowed down in March, overall performance remains at a high level and businesses in virtually every sector should experience healthy activity, according to the latest Gauteng Business Barometer.
President Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, the African National Congress deputy president, and other top ANC leaders are expected to meet the party’s KwaZulu-Natal leadership on Monday. This followed newspaper reports that some ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal were plotting to make the province a no-go area for the president.
Gauteng’s Vaal Rand police arrested a man after 55 refuse bags filled with dagga were found in his car on Sunday. The stash was estimated to have a street value of R1-million, Superintendent Maria Mazibuko said. Police began pursuing a man driving a Toyota Corolla at about 9am in Sebokeng.
The most dangerous places in South Africa are not big cities but scantly populated rural or border areas, a new crime-mapping tool showed on Sunday. Although Johannesburg is synonymous with crime in the minds of many overseas visitors, the new computerised map showed that the chances of being murdered or raped were higher in isolated rural areas.