South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni says the higher-than-expected CPIX (consumer inflation less mortgage costs) at 6,4% year-on-year in May — released on Wednesday morning — would "spoil the party further". He indicated in a speech on Wednesday evening that when interest rates were low, many people went on spending sprees.
Trade unions are expected to finalise their consultations on the future of the public-service strike on Thursday. The unions caucused on Wednesday night at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council in Centurion, south of Pretoria. Several unions attending that meeting said they were ready to suspend the strike.
About 60% of the country’s population reside in urban areas, according to the State of the World Population report for 2007. The report was released by the United Nations Population Fund on Wednesday. The chief operating officer of the Social Development Department, Zane Dangor, said the increased rural-to-urban migration attested to the poverty in rural areas.
Trade-union leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss suspending the public-service strike during the 21 days they have to consider the government’s final offer. It is understood that the unions discussed the possibility of suspending the strike at a meeting on Sunday, but some wanted more time to consult their members.
It is pure coincidence that a postponed labour meeting to decide on the public-service dispute will coincide with the start of the African National Congress policy conference on Wednesday, said the Congress of South African Trade Unions on Sunday. Meanwhile, a large teachers’ union has announced its withdrawal from the strike.
Public-service unions on Sunday said there would be no wage deal with until at least Wednesday. Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha said unions needed more time to consult members on government’s final proposal.
The Blue Bulls scored six tries to the Falcons’s three as the home side won their first Absa Currie Cup game of the seaon at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night by 43 points to 26. The bonus-point win for the home side didn’t produce anything for the courageous visitors who stood tall against a team that included nine players from Super 14 final.
Champion amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius can compete against the world’s best able-bodied athletes while researchers try to determine whether his prosthetics give him an unfair advantage, a spokesperson for the international track authority said.
The government formally tabled a final public-service wage proposal, including a 7,5% increase, at wage talks on Friday — but unions said they were not yet ready to sign the offer. Unions have 21 days to accept or reject the offer. Until then, the wage talks are suspended.
The continued threat of sanctions against Sudan will only hamper progress towards deploying a hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force to Darfur, the government said on Thursday. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said that sanction threats against Khartoum were ”surprising” and unhelpful.
An association to support the development of South Africa’s growing nuclear industry has been formed. This was announced in Pretoria on Thursday by Rob Adam, chairperson of the newly formed Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) expressed sadness and dismay that children up to the age of four were dying more than any other age group in South Africa, it said on Thursday. Responding to a Statistics South Africa report, Unicef country representative Macharia Kamau called for ”immediate and decisive action”.
President Thabo Mbeki is to brief the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the progress with his Zimbabwe mediation efforts at the end of June. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Thursday this would probably take place on the fringes of the African Union summit in Ghana.
Growth in South African household spending slowed to 7,5% year-on-year in the first quarter from 7,75% in the last quarter of last year, while debt reached record levels, the central bank said on Thursday. A household spending boom has contributed to high economic growth of 5% last year, but it has also added to inflationary pressures.
South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 7% of gross domestic product in the first quarter as lower oil imports offset a fall in mine exports to narrow the trade deficit, the central bank said on Thursday. The shortfall compared with a 7,8% deficit in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 5,7% in the third quarter.
The government and public unions met for all of 10 minutes on Wednesday night before deciding to postpone wage talks to Friday to give unions more time to canvass their members. A government-imposed deadline for unions to accept a wage settlement offer came and went at 6pm without the parties meeting.
Forty-eight people were arrested while protesting about service delivery in Mamelodi East, near Pretoria, on Wednesday, police said. Spokesperson Captain Julia Claasen said the crowd dispersed peacefully after they had barricaded roads and burned tyres from the early hours of the morning.
When public-service trade unions decide whether to accept or reject the government’s final pay offer on Wednesday it will not be ”one union, one vote”. Voting rights are assigned by the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council to unions according to the size of their membership, and a majority (50% plus one) is needed for a deal.
In what could be seen as the government’s final move to have the public-service wage dispute solved through talks, it gave unions a deadline of 6pm on Wednesday to accept its revised ”settlement offer”. The settlement salary package includes a 7,5% wage increase.
The time has come for a settlement in the public-service wage dispute, Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the dismissal of a group of striking Western Cape health workers was a violation of their patients’ constitutional rights, the Cape High Court has been told.
The Freedom Front Plus Youth (FF+) has accused the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) of being ”softies” after the ANCYL failed to take part in a live television debate on affirmative action. ”Clearly the organisation is not prepared or does not have the courage to defend their view on affirmative action …,” said FF+ leader Cornelius Jansen van Rensburg.
The case of Annanias Mathe, the Mozambican national charged with escaping from Pretoria’s C-Max prison, was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The case was postponed to July 16 for a provisional date to ”centralise” all the charges against Mathe.
The case of the father of notorious prison escapee Annanias Mathe was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Although Zaphanias Mathe (80), a Mozambican, was granted R500 bail, he has yet to renew his permit to stay in South Africa, which has expired. For this reason he will be remanded in custody as he is still an illegal immigrant.
A small group of striking public servants were protesting outside the premises the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council on Tuesday. Government and labour negotiators were scheduled to meet at the council’s office in Centurion, south of Pretoria, later on Tuesday afternoon.
Luthuli Dlamini, who has played the character of Stan Nyati in e.tv’s soap opera Scandal and who has been presumed missing for two weeks, is recuperating at his Johannesburg home after he fell ill, an e.tv journalist said on Monday.
The state has finally closed its case in the Boeremag treason trial after more than four years, but it could take several months, if not years, for the defence to conclude its case. Some of the defence advocates this week indicated that they intended launching an application for their clients’ discharge on some of the charges.
Potchefstroom’s city council is to make an announcement on the city’s name on Wednesday. In a media invitation, the city council said the mayor, Maphetle Maphetle, will make an announcement ”about the decision that has been taken in relation to the name change of Potchefstroom”.
In the first substantive meeting between the media and the government since 2001, President Thabo Mbeki and senior Cabinet ministers met a delegation of editors in Pretoria on Sunday and agreed to meet yearly from now on. Sunday’s meeting tackled key legislative issues affecting media freedom, among other issues.
A South African National Defence Force clerk accused of defrauding her employer of R1,1-million will go on trial in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on June 28. The case against Zelda Wolmarans and co-accused Shona Heydenrych was postponed on Monday as Heydenrych’s lawyer was not available.
Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili was due in South Africa on Monday afternoon, a day before his scheduled talks with President Thabo Mbeki, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He would be welcomed at Cape Town International Airport by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) affiliates will meet on Monday to come up with a range of percentage increases they are prepared to accept to end the three-week-old public-service strike. It is understood that the Independent Labour Caucus has already set a percentage range within which it can accept a deal.
Public-service unions will consult with their membership before deciding to accept or reject government’s revised salary package, which includes a 7,25% wage-increase offer. The unions also said they were concerned that the salaries of some public servants had been withheld on Friday.