School transport will be back to normal on Monday for thousands of Gauteng pupils following an end to a two-week dispute between the education department and bus operators. Education spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi on Friday said pupils will have ”normal transportation” from Monday.
The risk of ever-higher fuel prices should be negated by the South African National Treasury, as one of the functions of the Treasury is to provide macro-economic stability, but currently the volatile and rising international oil price is creating instability.
Lawyers for six suspended United Democratic Movement (UDM) politicians will argue their case in the Cape High Court on August 29 — only three days before the opening of the September floor-crossing window. The six were suspended on August 5, apparently after rumours that they intended to defect to another party.
Johannesburg braced itself on Thursday for the next in a series of South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) pay protests which have so far been characterised by clashes with the police. Metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar warned they would not tolerate unruly behaviour.
Action aplenty, goals in abundance and controversial incidents were the features of the 2-2 Premier League draw between Supersport United and Santos at the Loftus stadium in Pretoria on Wednesday night. It was ultimately a result that will provide new Santos coach Roger de Sa with a great deal more satisfaction than it will to a disappointed Supersport and their handful of supporters.
The godfather of canned hunting in South Africa was a Portuguese man who owned a game farm in northern KwaZulu-Natal in the 1970s. He had a nice little scam going with Gauteng zoos, which sold him "surplus" wild animals. He took them in the back of his car to a piece of open veld in the Magaliesberg for "hunters" to shoot.
Sasol’s future transformation and black economic empowerment (BEE) plans received approval from the minister of minerals and energy in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Company CEO Pat Davies met Minister Lindiwe Hendriks to discuss the company’s future role in BEE initiatives.
Wearing grey gloves, Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu spent time on Monday morning laying bricks for 15 houses as part of Women’s Build 2005. ”I’m happy and proud of the beneficiaries and the women volunteers who have given up time to come and help build these houses,” Sisulu said at the official opening of the project in Soweto.
A nine-year-old boy was trampled to death in a rush for food during a lunch break at his school on the East Rand, the Gauteng education department said on Friday. Mabulelo Magqwana was trampled by fellow pupils in a rush for the food vendors at the Phumula Gardens Primary School in Vosloorus on Thursday.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) season, which gets into full swing this weekend, will be a gruelling one — particularly in the run-up to Christmas. Each of the 16 top division clubs must complete 20 league games and two domestic knockout cup competitions by December 22.
My always reliable mole in high places has told me that South African Airways is about to introduce what is described as an ”unavoidable” 10% levy on all air tickets. This levy has become necessary in order to fund the lifestyle and management needs of SAA’s chief executive officer, Khaya Ngqula, and also to pay for all future enormous double-page SAA apologies in the Sunday newspapers.
A Cape Town magistrate on Thursday authorised a warrant of arrest for Pan Africanist Congress leader Motsoko Pheko. The move followed a request by Bernhard Kurz, the attorney acting for the liquidators of Star Travel, one of the companies involved in the parliamentary travelgate saga.
About 125 Gauteng bus operators refused to run their buses on Wednesday, leaving thousands of pupils stranded, the South African Bus Operators’ Association said. The operators demand 35c/km for each child transported, while the Gauteng education department is offering 25c/km per child.
About 200 residents from various communities on Saturday protested at a Pikitup information day against the company’s proposed landfill site between Dainfern and Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg. Johannesburg’s waste-management company, Pikitup, held the open day in Fourways.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) on Wednesday said thousands of municipal workers were beginning to gather in different cities across the country in preparation for their three-day wage strike. The union expects between 150 000 and 200 000 workers to heed the strike call across the country.
South Africa’s municipal debt jumped about R4-billion from R31,8-billion in 2002 to R35,9-billion in 2003, while figures for 2004 are not yet available, said Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi. The figures show that Durban/eThekwini — once a shining light of budgetary prudence — has grown its debt from R2,8-billion to R3,2-billion.
A driver’s assistant was hit by a bullet and 16 commuters were injured on Wednesday morning when a truck driver committed suicide while driving in Randfontein, Gauteng. West Rand police spokesperson Sergeant Katlego Mogale said witnesses saw a 24-wheeler truck approaching a T-junction at high speed and collide with the packed taxi in Rand Street, Randfontein.
Opposition parties have strongly criticised President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement that the government is considering bringing in skilled foreigners to help get South Africa’s moribund municipalities up and running. In separate statements, three opposition parties blamed affirmative-action policies for the lack of skills at local government level.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday said in a statement that it has offered to intervene in the Pick ‘n Pay strike under Section 150 of the Labour Relations Act. The strike will continue until a settlement has been reached, the South African Catering, Commercial and Allied Workers’ Union said on Monday.
Trading at Pick ‘n Pay’s stores across the country was normal on Monday and the strike action was ”far more orderly”, the retail chain company said in a statement. The group, however, still appealed to the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers’ Union to ensure that its members obey the law.
Johannesburg is expected to be the 12th-largest city in the world by 2015, Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu said on Thursday. ”Paradoxically, Gauteng is known to be the smallest province geographically,” Sisulu said in a speech prepared for delivery at a Gauteng housing summit.
A significant proportion of the planned R180-billion in South African government and parastatal spending on infrastructure projects over the next five years is destined to go overseas due to the lack of workers qualified to implement these projects, according to Frater Asset Management analyst Matthew Kreeve.
A syndicate dealing illegally in semi-precious stones and diamonds has been uncovered by the public in South Africa’s big centres, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. The syndicate operated in the Johannesburg area, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and other major centres, Superintendent Chris Wilken said.
The clothing sector is sometimes called the rag trade. Rags and riches may be more apt. If you work, for instance, as a machinist in the rag trade in a KwaZulu-Natal area such as Newcastle, you can expect to earn a union-sanctioned wage of just R228 a week. The same industry, though, paid R10-million to Edcon chief executive Steve Ross last year, nearly 1 000 times that of the machinist’s annual wages.
Although the business confidence index of the South African Chamber of Business increased in June to its highest level so far this year, there are economic developments that could adversely affect future confidence, the chamber said. The index increased to 128,2 in June this year from 127 in May.
Rand Water has managed to stop the water flow that flooded parts of Meredale in Johannesburg after a pipe burst early on Tuesday. Assessors are examining the extent of the problem and damage to surrounding houses. Emergency services have rescued 18 people, including a six-month-old baby, from about 50 houses.
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa at the weekend announced that the Bombela Consortium has been appointed as the preferred bidder for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link. Shilowa said it is "the biggest public-private-partnership project yet tackled in the country and indeed in Africa".
Construction of the high-speed train connecting Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International airport will begin ”today”, Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa said on Saturday. He also announced Bombela, a French-Canadian-South African consortium, as the preferred bidder for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link Project (Gautrain).
Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa will announce the successful bidder for the R8-billion Gautrain rapid rail link in Pretoria on Saturday. Shilowa failed to meet three announcement deadlines; the first in April, the second in May and a third at the end of June, to announce which of the two consortia — Bombela and Gauliwe — had won the bid.
Zanu not our ally I thought it was glib of some of my friends to describe the South African government as playing a ”sub-imperial” role in Africa. But with reports of a loan to Zim-babwe worth maybe $1-billion (phew, if it’s even half that!) I begin to wonder. The United States, as world imperial power, […]
The power Shaiks Now that the high court has pronounced on Schabir Shaik and President Thabo Mbeki has done the country proud in axing Jacob Zuma, one remains puzzled at the role the Shaik brothers appear to play in the contention for influence and power, without visibly being representative of anyone or anything except themselves. […]
Church’s Chicken, the world’s second largest fried chicken franchise, will soon be spreading its wings over the Western Cape. This follows the acquisition by a Stellenbosch-based company, Inkuku Holdings Ltd, of the American rights to establish a minimum of 50 Church’s Chicken outlets over the next five years.