A report by six former South African National Defence Force generals might lead to action being taken to address the violence in Zimbabwe, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday. He said President Thabo Mbeki was waiting for a report from the generals on the violence before considering appropriate action.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Tuesday inflation was expected to rise, but that it remained committed to bringing the gauge within target range ”over a reasonable time horizon”. The targeted CPIX consumer inflation gauge has persisted above the top end of a 3% to 6% range since April 2007, and accelerated to a new five-year high of 10,1% year-on-year in March.
It is shocking that Adcock Ingram Critical Care (AICC) would continue to benefit from public funds after it was found to have been involved in collusive tendering, the Black Sash said on Tuesday. This comes after the Department of Health said that AICC remained in the running for a R5-billion contract for antiretrovirals.
Former president Nelson Mandela on Tuesday warned against ”destructive divisiveness” in the country. ”Remember the horror from which we come.” Mandela was speaking shortly after receiving the Freedom of the City from Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa at a private ceremony at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
April saw a saving of up to 7% in electricity demand, Eskom’s chief executive, Jacob Maroga, said on Monday. He briefed President Thabo Mbeki and a presidential special joint working group on the current state of electricity supply in the country, the Presidency said in a statement.
Mamelodi Sundowns crashed out of the African Champions League despite beating Sudan champions Al-Hilal 1-0 at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium in a hard-fought third-round, second-leg tie on Sunday. There was no score at half-time. Al-Hilal won 4-3 on aggregate.
SuperSport United went to the top of the Absa Premiership table after thrashing Moroka Swallows 4-2 at the Super Stadium on Saturday night, courtesy of four goals by substitute Katlego Mashego. Swallows’ Sandile Ndlovu scored first in the 59th minute, but two minutes later Mashego started his four-goal blitz.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader looked set on Sunday to return home from South Africa to face Robert Mugabe in a presidential run-off poll despite a risk of "more violence, more gloom, more betrayal". Morgan Tsvangirai had previously refused to say whether he would take part in the run-off, even though failure to do so would have handed victory to Mugabe.
The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition group said on Saturday he would contest a run-off against Robert Mugabe after disputed elections on March 29. But Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he would only participate in the run-off if international observers and media had full access to ensure the poll is free and fair.
The Bulls combined strong forward play with outstanding defence to record a 28-17 win over the ACT Brumbies in the penultimate round of the 2008 edition of the Super 14 competition. The defending champions from South Africa, who led 18-10 at the break, outscored the men from Australia three tries to two.
The city of Tshwane will bestow a freedom of the city award on former president Nelson Mandela on May 13. Tshwane Mayor Gwen Ramokgopa said it would kick-off a year-long programme to celebrate Mandela’s life and legacy. The ceremony will take place at the Tshwane City Hall and simultaneously at a public event on Church Square.
It is still six times less safe to fly in Africa than the rest of the world, the annual safety report by the International Air Transport Association on Thursday showed. The report illustrated that the 2007 global accident rate of 0,75 hull-losses for every million flights by Western-built jet aircraft was slightly higher than the 0,65 rate recorded in 2006.
Although crime levels were lower, most South Africans thought crime was on the increase and had lower confidence in the police, said a survey by the Institute for Security Studies. ”Since 1998 house breaking and burglary has been the most common crimes that South Africans report,” said researcher Antoinette Louw.
From Pretoria to Johannesburg in just under an hour is what Metrorail’s new Business Express service promises. The service was launched on Thursday by Transport Minister Jeff Radebe. It was hoped that the service would encourage professionals to abandon their cars and take the train to work.
A presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe cannot take place given the current levels of violence, the head of a South African contingent of regional election observers said on Wednesday. ”We have seen it, there are people in hospital who said they have been tortured, you have seen pictures,” Kingsley Mamabolo told reporters.
The so-called Waterkloof Four will bring an application for leave to appeal a judgement by the Pretoria High Court after the court on Wednesday rejected an appeal to overturn their murder conviction and sentence. The court turned down an appeal by the four to overturn their conviction for the 2001 murder of an unidentified man and the assault of another.
The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday turned down an application by the so-called Waterkloof Four to overturn their murder conviction and sentence. Judge Willie Seriti ruled that the earlier decision by the Pretoria Regional Court to convict Christoff Becker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt of murder and assault was correct.
Debate on the future of the Scorpions gained new steam on Monday as the government released a report from an inquiry it had commissioned into the elite detective unit. The Scorpions still have a role to play in the country’s crime-fighting efforts, states the report that was submitted to President Thabo Mbeki two years ago.
The existence of the Scorpions is ”as valid today as it was at conception”, says the Khampepe report released on Monday. ”Despite indications that crime levels are dropping, it is my considered view that organised crime still presents a threat that needs to be addressed through an effective comprehensive strategy,” states the report.
Champions Bulls beat the second-placed New South Wales Waratahs 16-13 in a Super 14 match on Saturday. The result helped the struggling Bulls to move up a slot into 10th place, while the Waratahs retained their position in the standings. They lie 10 points behind the Canterbury Crusaders courtesy of a losing bonus point.
President Thabo Mbeki was to brief a group of African religious leaders on the situation in Zimbabwe on Friday, his spokesperson said. The briefing would focus on his mediation efforts, but it ”may touch on current issues”, said Mukoni Ratshitanga.
Ajax Cape Town’s hopes of winning the Absa Premiership were dealt a massive blow at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium on Wednesday night when defending champions Sundowns crushed the Urban Warriors 2-0. Sundowns led the match 2-0 at half-time.
President Thabo Mbeki has withdrawn his application to oppose a Johannesburg businessman’s bid to stop the disbanding of the Scorpions. In his answering affidavit filed in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday, Mbeki’s said: ”The first respondent hereby withdraws his opposition to the application.”
The so-called Waterkloof Four turn to the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to ask it to overturn the effective 12-year prison sentence they were given for beating a homeless man to death and assaulting another man. The four will ask the high court to set aside both the guilty verdict of the lower court and the sentence.
Springbok World Cup lock Bakkies Botha has called the Blue Bulls ”tyrannical and autocratic” in court papers presented to the Labour Court this week. Botha filed the court papers in a bid to have his contracts with SA Rugby and the Bulls be declared null and void.
The Blue Bulls guaranteed themselves a place in the semifinals of the Vodacom Cup with their 51-7 victory over the Lions at Loftus on Friday. The Bulls scored a total of seven tries, five of which came in the first half, and led 36-7 at the interval. The hosts were first to draw blood with a Braam Gerber try in the first minute, followed by a Burton Francis penalty in the eighth minute.
A man who admitted to taking nine Pretoria News advertising staff hostage on April 25 last year was acquitted on Friday on a charge of attempted murder. Lionel George, of Danville, west of Pretoria, earlier pleaded guilty in the city’s regional court to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and two rounds of ammunition.
A Pretoria magistrate on Friday denied bail to the security guard accused of murdering city dancer Estee van Rensburg. It also emerged on Friday that the guard, Aaron Mashishi, will go on trial in the Pretoria High Court on October 20. The 26-year-old is being charged with murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances and two counts of theft.
The top United States envoy to Africa said on Thursday that Zimbabwe’s opposition leader won his nation’s disputed presidential election and longtime President Robert Mugabe should step down. The opposition has claimed its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, beat Mugabe outright on March 29.
Dozens of Zimbabweans were arrested on Friday outside the Chinese embassy in Pretoria during a protest over a ship that attempted to offload weapons destined for Zimbabwe, police said. "A total of 129 protesters were arrested staging an illegal protest. The police asked them to disperse and they refused so, they were arrested," a police spokesperson said.
Six of the Boeremag treason trialists in C-Max prison will have to put up with warders watching them around the clock, the Pretoria High Court ruled on Thursday. Judge Charl Rabie turned down a bid by six of the 21 accused for an order to allow them to paste paper over windows in their cells.
South Africa is sticking to its target growth rate of 6% by 2010 despite a chronic power crisis and slower global growth, a government official said on Thursday. Alan Hirsch, deputy head of the policy unit in the Presidency, said the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa is unchanged.