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”.
Carol Erasmus, the 32-year-old KwaZulu-Natal engineer on the stricken Australian yacht Cowrie Dancer, had never seen such huge waves as those she faced in the southern ocean except ”in the movies”. Erasmus said she and Australian sailor John Blackman had been trying to secure the broken mizzen — the rear mast — when a huge wave hit the yacht on Monday.
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.
If the consumer pays between R5 and R6 for a litre of milk in the shops, how much should the farmer get? The milk industry is currently under investigation by the competition authorities, who are focusing on the price build-up between farmer and consumer. In particular, they are paying close attention to a set of apparently cosy interventions that the large milk processors are able to make in the market.
Ongoing tensions over the proposed changes of street and building names in Durban prompted the national Cabinet on Thursday to dispatch two ministers to the city in a bid to resolve the heated situation. The announcement follows a march that saw 10Â 000 people converge on the Durban City Hall in protest against the proposed changes.
A motorist who used his cellphone to film KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele’s speeding motorcade in January has denied accusations that he is a racist, the Witness newspaper reported on Thursday. On Tuesday, provincial transport minister Bheki Cele issued a statement to the media justifying speeding VIP convoys.
Former KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali on Monday said there had never been an ”unprecedented outcry” over provincial ministers’ speeding vehicles during his tenure. ”During my time as premier, there were no road accidents involving government vehicles with blue lights,” said Mtshali.
KwaZulu-Natal’s transport minister on Tuesday again justified his convoy’s recent speeding and called for the name of the ”racist” motorist who filmed it. ”He is a self-made, arrogant, non-accountable individual who purports to be a good citizen and I will dare to argue that he is also a racist,” said Bheki Cele in a statement.
Shoppers fled and shop owners hurriedly lowered their shutters as thousands of stick- and knobkerrie-wielding protesters ran through Durban’s city centre on Tuesday to the city hall to object to plans to rename streets after African National Congress (ANC) heroes. Minor damage was reported but no injuries.
Rubbish bins and burning tyres were used to barricade the Mangosuthu Highway in Umlazi township, south of Durban, on Tuesday morning, KwaZulu-Natal police said. Reports said the roads were barricaded by members of the Inkatha Freedom Party who were protesting against the proposed name change of the highway.
Lamontville Golden Arrows gained full points with a 2-0 win over Jomo Cosmos in a Castle Premiership game played at King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Sunday afternoon. Arrows led 1-0 at the interval. Also victorious in their games on Sunday were Amazulu and Bloemfontein Celtic.
KwaZulu-Natal’s transport minister, Bheki Cele, on Friday accused the Witness newspaper of being manipulated by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the ongoing issue of provincial ministers’ vehicles speeding with blue lights. IFP national organiser Albert Mncwango said: ”He’s talking absolute rubbish.”
Thousands of South Africans gathered in various locations across the country on Friday to celebrate the country’s 13th year of freedom from apartheid rule. In the Eastern Cape, President Thabo Mbeki addressed the packed Bisho Stadium and urged South Africans to join the fight against crime and corruption.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele in his Freedom Day address said it was important for the province to built a better life and economy for its people. ”On Freedom Day we must look at what it is that government and the people of South Africa have done to better the conditions of our people.
Motorists caught speeding because they are late for meetings will face the full wrath of the law, KwaZulu-Natal traffic authorities said on Friday. Asked whether motorists who are caught speeding will be able to have their fines quashed, eThekwini metro police spokesperson John-Thomas Tyala said: ”We can’t allow that. The Act [National Road Traffic Act] does not allow for that.”
The Witness newspaper on Thursday said it would not hand over the details of a motorist who used his cellphone to provide the newspaper with video footage of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele’s convoy doing 160km/h. Witness deputy editor Yves Vanderhaeghen said: ”We have spoken to our lawyers. Our lawyers have advised them that we cannot do this.”
A man accused of killing his former gay partner with an axe pleaded temporary incapacity in the Cape High Court on Thursday while the prosecution argued that it was a premeditated murder. Judge Daniel Dlodlo and two assessors heard closing argument in the trial of BSc graduate Michael van Zyl, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering estate agent Andre Weitz.
South Africa’s newest — and richest — journalism prize was on Thursday awarded to two investigative reporters of Beeld newspaper. Mail & Guardian and Sunday Tribune investigative teams share the second prize of R100Â 000.
Organisers of the Comrades Marathon have fielded a string of complaints as a result of the decision to hold the country’s premier marathon on a Sunday, the Mercury reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, more than 100 churches on the route will be affected by road closures as a result of the marathon.
The serious side-effects of a popular anti-malaria medicine were listed on Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of murdering his lover with an axe. Michael van Zyl, a BSc graduate, has pleaded not guilty before Judge Daniel Dlodlo to the murder of estate agent Andre Weitz, at the latter’s home at Thornton in Cape Town two years ago.
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.
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.
Opposition parties are set to march through Durban on Workers’ Day on May 1 in protest against the eThekwini municipality’s proposed name changes of streets and buildings. Announcing the march in Durban on Tuesday, the Inkatha Freedom Party’s eThekwini caucus leader, Themba Nzuza, said the party would be marching ”against the blatantly flawed” process.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says that President Thabo Mbeki is quite right to criticise ruling party African National Congress (ANC) councillors for not doing their jobs — but it argues that words must be turned into action. On Tuesday, DA local government spokesperson Willem Doman said: "A year after the local elections it is clear that many councillors are not effective."
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.
Sasol and Engen’s proposed merger received an unprecedented amount of attention last year from the competition authorities and was eventually rejected, despite initial recommendations that it go ahead. Government has been trying to ensure prices are competitive by increasing pressure, particularly on dominant suppliers
The Zulu royal household budget is R36,4-million for this financial year, an increase of R6-million over the previous year. Addressing the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Thursday, Premier Sbu Ndebele said this included R14-million for the refurbishment of King Goodwill Zwelithini’s palaces and another R2,2-million allocated to the king’s farms.
Pay these public servants more The statement about not wanting to overburden taxpayers, in Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi advertisements in the media over the weekend, was really irksome. These public notices were placed in reaction to protracted negotiations with public service unions. As a taxpayer I have no issue in paying taxes […]
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) will on Friday finalise the order in which the names of candidates will appear on the ballot-papers that will be used during the election process at the party’s congress in Gauteng in May. This will be done by means of a draw.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has urged National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli to urgently investigate the unprecedented upsurge in public complaints about reckless behaviour by ministerial-vehicle convoys on the country’s roads. ”These complaints centre on the excessive speeds at which these convoys travel …,” the IFP said on Wednesday.
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Addressing the Cape Town Press Club on Tuesday, former deputy president Jacob Zuma pledged not to withdraw legal action he has instituted against members of the media. He also said he would accept nomination for a leadership position at the ANC’s national conference near the end of this year.
Both the number of malaria cases and deaths caused by it have decreased in Mpumalanga over the past seven years, the provincial health department said on Tuesday. There has been a steady drop in cases and a ”pleasing decline” in deaths since 2000/01, according to statistics released by the department.