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/ 2 September 2007
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said he has no interest in joining the African National Congress presidential succession race — this after the Sunday Times reported that Ramaphosa had joined the race. ”I have no interest in standing for this position,” he said in a statement.
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/ 2 September 2007
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has joined the African National Congress (ANC) presidential succession race, according to weekend media reports. The ANC’s powerful OR Tambo district in the Eastern Cape has formally stated that it will nominate Ramaphosa for the presidency. Regional secretary Mlamli Siyakholwa said that "we have been lobbying Ramaphosa, I must admit".
The Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area is grappling with an increasing number of tuberculosis (TB) cases, with about 250 new patients being admitted to the Livingstone and Dora Nginza hospitals each month. In addition to this, over 200 new multidrug-resistant TB patients are transported from throughout the province to the Jose Pearson Hospital in Bethelsdorp each month.
Claims of huge bribes, fevered meetings between leaders of political parties, angry letters to newspapers: yes, it’s floor-crossing season once more.
An alleged hit man in the murder of Govan Mbeki municipality deputy mayor Thandi Mtsweni confessed to the killing in the Evander Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga on Thursday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. The alleged assassin is Sikhosiphe Gwala (42).
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) on Wednesday submitted a formal complaint about alleged fraud, theft and corruption at Parliament to the Public Protector and the National Prosecuting Authority. The complaint deals with contracts awarded to African Strategic Asset Protection for revamping and maintaining Parliament’s access and security system.
A man was wounded and a woman and two good Samaritans robbed of their vehicles amid a high-speed chase on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) North Coast, police said on Wednesday. Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said a woman was hijacked and robbed of her Nissan Almera in Mandini, near the Tugela River, on Tuesday night.
The South African Constitution allows for the freedom of expression and for ordinary citizens’ participation in government by raising concerns in the form of petitions and protest marches. However, protests are being "censored" by government authorities, says the Freedom of Expression Network.
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The Supreme Court of Appeal reserved judgement on Monday in an appeal about the validity of search-and-seizure warrants served on a former attorney of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma. The counsel for the state conceded that the warrants against attorney Julie Mahomed were not justified.
Narend Singh, the former KwaZulu-Natal arts, culture and tourism minister who resigned amid a sex scandal, is back, representing his party in the National Assembly, media reports said on Monday. Singh was sworn in on Friday to serve on the finance, agriculture and land affairs portfolio committees.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has received expressions of interest for its soccer radio broadcasting rights after cancelling its temporary radio agreement with the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The latest development follows the sale of television broadcasting rights to SuperSport for more than R1-billion.
Large veld fires forced the closure of the N3 highway near Harrismith and left hundreds of cattle dead on Monday. The fires and poor visibility were worst in the Swinburne and Montrose areas near Van Reenen’s Pass. At least one vehicle in the Van Reenen’s Pass area had caught alight and its occupants had to be rescued.
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The state conceded on Monday that a search-and-seizure warrant served on Julie Mahomed, a former attorney for Jacob Zuma, was invalid. It submitted in the Supreme Court of Appeal that even if ”an unlawful search and seizure” took place, other relevant aspects must be taken into account to preserve the seized material.
An urgent meeting to discuss alleged irregularities around Parliament’s security will soon be convened by its speaker and the National Council of Provinces chairperson, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Sunday. On Friday, media reports broke on an alleged corruption scandal involving Parliament’s multimillion-rand security system.
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The legal battle between former deputy president Jacob Zuma and South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will continue this week in the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal. Security will be tight at the court where the state will on consecutive days argue in three search-and-seizure appeal hearings related to investigations against Zuma.
Most media coverage of Zimbabwe unthinkingly repeats and reinforces a Western and neoliberal perception of the history and causes of that country’s political and economic crisis. The dominant view is that "socialism" explains Zimbabwe’s economic collapse and political repression.
Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga wants evidence of dereliction of duty by the health minister. But the Aids-drug lobby offers only Wikipedia constitutionalism, asserting that Thabo Mbeki has fired the true architect of the country’s widely admired HIV/Aids policies, former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, writes Ronald Suresh Roberts.
In a dramatic finale at the Spar Women’s Hockey Interprovincial Tournament, Western Province (WP) retained their title when they defeated Southern Gauteng on sudden-death penalty strokes at the Hartleyvale Astro in Cape Town on Saturday. The finalists were locked at 2-2 in regulation time.
The Gauteng branch of the South African National Civic Organisation’s (Sanco) request for an investigation into the Sunday Times editor was ”legitimate”, the national leadership said on Friday. This conflicted with an earlier statement by a Sanco national executive committee member who rejected the provincial body’s call for a probe.
The Johannesburg High Court on Friday reserved judgement in the dispute between Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the Sunday Times over her confidential hospital records. Judge Mahomed Jajbhay said he would make his decision in seven days. ”I will reflect most of the weekend on the matter,” he told both parties.
South African swimming team captain Gerhard Zandberg was on top of the world after taking the 50m freestyle honours in the fastest time swam by a South African this year, at the International Swim Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday. Port Elizabeth’s Shaun Harris won the 50m freestyle B final in 22,87 seconds.
The national office of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) on Friday rejected a request by the organisation’s Gauteng branch to investigate Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya. It said the call came from a group that exists parallel to the official provincial Sanco structure in Gauteng
More than half the construction sites visited by inspections from the Labour Department in the past week failed to comply with safety regulations. A statement from the Department of Labour said that inspectors visited 115 construction sites and of these, only 55 contractors (47,8%) were found to be fully compliant.
Durban’s proposed King Shaka International Airport moved a step closer to becoming a reality after the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism gave the project the green light on Thursday. The department said that a Record of Decision was signed on Thursday, authorising the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) to develop a trade port at la Mercy.
KwaZulu-Natal swimmer Riaan Schoeman was the talk of the South African swimming squad after winning the 400m individual medley final in a new South African record time on Wednesday, the second day of the International Swim Meeting in Tokyo, Japan.
The number of foreign tourists visiting South Africa has grown by 10% ahead of Tourism Month in September, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday. ”South Africa is following the global trend with a rise in travel and tourism to our country. Overall foreign arrivals grew by 10% from January to May 2007,” he said.
Reigning champions Western Province (WP) and co-favourites Southern Gauteng both won their opening games at the Spar Women’s Interprovincial Tournament being played at the Hartleyvale Astro in Cape Town on Monday. WP showed their pedigree with a 3-1 win over Northerns, while Southerns beat KwaZulu-Natal 3-0.
Until recently in South African higher education, academic freedom was not a sexy issue. Those arguing in its defence were often perceived to have been using the issue to preserve the status quo in higher education and resist transformation. However, this matter is now perhaps the most interesting and hotly contested one in academic and public debates on higher education.
Go by bike from Pietermaritzburg to the Cape and no end of people will express surprise at your undertaking. Some will offer an opinion on your sanity. On day 13, in the part of the Karoo known as the Camdeboo, this fellow stops his car and does just that. Now he gets out and introduces himself, writes the Mai & Guardian’s Kevin Davie.
Twenty-two people have been killed in a smash involving a truck and a minibus taxi on the N4 near Komatipoort in Mpumalanga, radio news reported on Sunday. The minibus taxi apparently hit a truck from behind and caught fire. The passengers were trapped inside and burned to death.
Nine people died in a collision between a minibus taxi and a bakkie on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast late on Saturday afternoon, police and paramedics said. Initial reports from the accident scene indicated that the driver of the north-bound bakkie had lost control after a tyre apparently burst.
Despite Airports Company South Africa’s excellent annual results, airline passengers are still going to be hit with increased fees, the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa said on Friday. Airlines have no choice but to incorporate increased airport tariffs into the price of their tickets.