The runway of the country’s most prominent air-force base has to be repaired ahead of next year’s election in South Africa to accommodate world leaders who will attend the inauguration of whomever is elected president. This was revealed at a visit on Tuesday of Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza to the Waterkloof Air Base in Pretoria.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Friday condemned alleged death threats made against South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) journalists. ”Sanef condemns the attack on SABC 2 weather presenter Tshidi Diphoko and the death threats against SABC political reporters Miranda Strydom and Sophie Mokoena,” it said.
South Africa said on Wednesday it plans to use its presidency of the United Nations Security Council in April to enhance security cooperation between the world body and the African Union on the continent. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said that South Africa would call a summit this month at the UN to discuss conflict resolution in Africa.
South Africa needs to address the issue of xenophobia, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday in the National House of Traditional Leaders in Pretoria. ”Much has been mentioned by yourself concerning foreigners in our areas. I’m very glad that this matter will be addressed naturally together with the relevant government departments.”
Poverty mostly affects women, Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramakgopa said on Tuesday at a two-day conference on poverty reduction and community development in Pretoria. ”Poverty involves not only the lack of necessities of material well-being, but the denial of opportunities to lead a tolerable life,” said Ramakgopa.
The University of South Africa (Unisa) is to adopt an anti-racism policy, it said on Tuesday. ”The renewal of Unisa must and will be built on a fully representative body of staff, academic and non-academic, at all levels,” said vice-chancellor Barney Pityana.
South Africa exceeded its tax-revenue target by more than R800-million in the 2007/08 financial year due to strong economic growth and efficient collections. The Treasury said the South African Revenue Service (Sars) revenue service collected ,807-billion in taxes.
A Hillbrow police captain on Friday flatly denied that he had at any stage tortured or coached Andrew Jordaan to tell police where the body of seven-year-old Sheldean Human could be found. Captain Ignatius van Aardt testified in a trial within a trial in the Pretoria High Court to determine the admissibility of a confession and pointing-out by Jordaan.
AfriForum on Thursday slammed a guilty verdict against the principal of the Hoërskool Ermelo, who has been at the centre of a language row. AfriForum’s deputy chief executive officer Alana Bailey said the Mpumalanga education department’s verdict against principal Koos Kruger was a disgrace.
Final regulations for the banning of asbestos will come into effect on Friday, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday. Van Schalkwyk said the regulations would prohibit the use, processing, manufacturing, and import and export of any asbestos.
The body of seven-year-old Sheldean Human was found as a direct result of a statement to top cop Director Piet Byleveld, the Pretoria High Court heard on Thursday. Byleveld questioned murder accused Andrew Jordaan (25) after being asked to help with the investigation into the girl’s disappearance.
The number of fatal crashes on South African roads over the Easter period has decreased in 2008 compared with last year, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Thursday. ”We are encouraged that the number of fatal crashes over Easter decreased by 55 from 250 in 2007 to 195 in 2008,” Radebe told reporters in Pretoria.
The Pretoria High Court has issued an interim interdict to restrain the government from relocating people from the former Pomfret military base in the North West. The order also brings a temporary halt to the demolishing of property in the town. Judge Brian Southwood granted an urgent court order to the 6 000-strong Pomfret community.
An eight-year-old girl allegedly molested by Andrew Jordaan, the man accused of murdering seven-year-old Sheldean Human, said he threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse. The girl on Wednesday testified behind closed doors through an intermediary — after the court heard that evidence in an open court could further harm her emotionally.
An eight-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually abused for months by Andrew Jordaan, the man accused of murdering and raping Sheldean Human, on Wednesday took the stand behind closed doors. Pretoria High Court Judge Chris Eksteen ordered that the girl must testify through an intermediary.
A neighbour of murdered seven-year-old Sheldean Human on Tuesday told the Pretoria High Court that she had seen the girl in the company of her alleged killer, Andrew Jordaan, shortly before her disappearance. Maria de Beer said Sheldean was playing with Jordaan on the pavement outside when she saw them at about 6pm on February 18 2007.
Seldom has a friendly international meant so much to 2010 Soccer World Cup hosts South Africa as that against Paraguay on Wednesday. Underperforming Bafana Bafana need a win to silence a growing band of critics, led by Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile, Parliament sports committee chairperson Butana Komphela and several top first-division coaches.
In-form Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns eased to a 3-0 victory over the unsophisticated Curepipe Starlight of Mauritius in the MTN Champions League’s first-round, first-leg encounter at the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville on Saturday.
A third state witness, testifying in the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday, described his former boss, Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride, as ”the mafia” and ”a liar”. Former metro police officer Patrick Johnston also said McBride was someone he was afraid of.
Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride’s 2006 car accident could have been caused by an increase in his diabetes medication, the Pretoria Regional Court heard on Wednesday. McBride’s counsel told the court that two days before the accident, McBride had gone to see a doctor who allegedly doubled his type-two diabetes medication dose.
The taxi industry on Wednesday placed ”on hold” its participation in the government’s programme to replace old, unsafe taxis with safer vehicles. The South African National Taxi Council said it would not continue with the multibillion-rand taxi-recapitalisation programme as long as its concerns were not addressed.
A former metro police officer told the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday how he had been victimised by Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride. Patrick Johnston was testifying in McBride’s drunken-driving trial. Speaking in Afrikaans, Johnston told the court how he had been victimised by McBride and how his boss had sworn at him on several occasions.
South Africa’s economy will slow in 2008 although local banks are coping well and there is no cause for alarm, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday. He also said a weaker rand currency would, over time, help to narrow the current-account deficit — which stood at a hefty 7,5% of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2007.
A weaker rand currency and rising international food and fuel prices continue to cloud the prospects for South African inflation, the central bank said on Wednesday. Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni added that the bank must remain vigilant on the wider impact of higher food and fuel costs.
South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma called on Tuesday for eleventh-hour talks in Comoros as African Union troops prepared to support federal forces in a bid to take control of the rebel island of Anjouan. ”The federal government first wants the disputed elections dissolved,” she said.
Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride was drunk on the night of his December 2006 accident, a second state witness told the Pretoria Regional Court on Tuesday. He said that the next day a press release was compiled stating that McBride had not been drunk on the night of the accident.
The South African government will spend ”upwards” of R30-billion on the 2010 Soccer World Cup, according to a report released on Tuesday. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who received the report, admitted that ”in some instance” initial budget estimations were conservative.
There are obstacles hampering trade between South Africa and Indonesia that need to be addressed, President Thabo Mbeki said on Monday. He was speaking after hosting his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the Union Buildings for bilateral talks.
The first witness in the drunken-driving case of Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride told the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday that he was told he and his family would be murdered if he did not help in a cover-up for McBride. ”He wasn’t sober enough to drive,” the witness said.
South Africa’s large current-account deficit is a major chink in its armour given a low savings rate and current global financial market turmoil, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday. The country was dependent on foreign capital inflows to fund a rising deficit, he said.
Although crime in public places has decreased, there has been an increase of crime in residential areas, Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa said on Friday. Delivering her State of the City address at the council offices in Pretoria, the mayor said that the city is concerned about the increase in ever more violent crimes in residential areas.
The rise in production cost of grains such as wheat and maize was ”mind boggling”, Grain SA said on Thursday. The latest cost budgets for the production of wheat due to be planted in the coming months indicate that the variable cost component increased on average by 63%,” said Grain SA chairperson Neels Ferreira.