The government has confirmed it has declared a dispute after ”very little progress” with the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council after two months of wage negotiations. The Public Servants Association said the government’s action comes as a surprise, because normally the unions are the first to declare a dispute.
Prison warders will be back at work nationwide this weekend after a last minute resolution to the staffing crisis, says the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru). Popcru said it would call off the strike, and the department would increase the weekend staff component back to 46% of weekday numbers.
The government has shocked public service unions by declaring a dispute following two months of wage negotiations in Centurion, unions said on Friday. A Department of Public Service and Administration spokesperson said the government feels there has been no ”movement” since the start of negotiations.
Telkom claimed victory on Friday in its dispute with Transtel regarding the provision of international landline telephone links and threatened to sue the Transnet division for damages. The dispute arose after Transtel filed a complaint against the former state utility at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa.
A multimillion-dollar project aimed at cutting pollution in the western Indian Ocean was launched in Madagascar this week, South Africa’s deputy minister of environment said on Friday. The three-year project is expected to help eight countries devise plans to curb pollutants entering the region’s rivers and coastal waters.
Two days is ample time for people to get their tax returns in order, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Wednesday, in advance of Friday’s deadline. ”Sars offices around the country are also extending their office hours,” Sars spokesperson Sechaba Nkosi said in a statement.
Medical doctors are to seek leave to appeal against the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of their constitutional challenge to regulations obliging them to acquire special licences to dispense medicine. The Department of Health said it will defend the legislation. It believes provisions for dispensing licences are legitimate.
The defence counsel for four young men accused of killing a black man and assaulting another in 2001 dismissed a state witness’s version as ”physically impossible” on Tuesday. Advocate Jaap Cilliers pointed out inconsistencies arising from cellphone records obtained for the day in question.
Retiring South African Army Chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Ramano bade the institution farewell on Tuesday, hailing its achievements and urging for its rejuvenation. Perhaps the biggest challenge the army faces is the introduction of programmes to attract young blood, he told a military parade in Pretoria.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is to challenge the Pretoria High Court’s partial dismissal of her appeal against a fraud and theft conviction on Monday. ”I have instructed my lawyers to appeal against a judgement that is completely wrong,” the former African National Congress Women’s League president told reporters outside the court.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s appeal against her fraud and theft conviction was partly upheld in the Pretoria High Court on Monday, and her four-year sentence replaced with a wholly suspended one. Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann dismissed 25 theft charges against the former African National Congress Women’s League president, but upheld 43 of fraud.
"We must congratulate Rwanda for achieving 48,8% of women representation in Parliament. This is the highest in the world. It means gender parity is no longer a dream but a reality in Africa," told Lulu Xingwana, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy, more than 1 000 women in Pretoria this week.
Thousands of doctors were stripped of their powers to issue drugs when a Pretoria judge dismissed a constitutional challenge on Friday to regulations obliging them to acquire special dispensing licences. The regulations came into effect with the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of the bid.
Court rules on dispensing doctors
Doctors may appeal ruling
Medical doctors will consider appealing against the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal on Friday of their constitutional challenge to regulations obliging them to acquire special licences to dispense medicines. Should an appeal be pursued, the process could be initiated as soon as next Monday.
An application challenging the constitutionality of regulations obliging doctors to acquire special licences to dispense medicines was dismissed with costs in the Pretoria High Court on Friday. Doctors contend that the regulations infringe on their constitutionally protected rights and those of their patients.
Doctors may appeal ruling
About 150 school children were hospitalised with suspected food poisoning after attending an event at the Dome in Randburg on Thursday, education authorities said. ”We understand from the emergency services that most of them are safe,” spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said in the afternoon.
Gun owners came under fire in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday for the late filing of an application to have the implementation of the Firearms Control Act delayed beyond midnight. Their application was dismissed by Judge Ben du Plessis, who found there was no merit to the application.
The Presidency has confirmed that the five-year contract of the Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Gill Marcus, expires on Wednesday. President Thabo Mbeki has consulted with Marcus about the renewal of her contract and she has indicated she would like to discuss other matters with the president regarding her future.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=118008">Marcus follows Hogan exit, says DA</a>
South Africa and China signed seven agreements involving education, business and agriculture after a binational commission meeting in Pretoria, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. Despite a handful of protesters picketing outside, the meeting was hailed as a success by both parties.
The new Municipal Finance Management Act will boost transparency in the financial affairs of local authorities and improve service delivery, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Tuesday. To date, local councils have tended to make their own rules and draw up indecipherable budgets, making municipal oversight very difficult.
The South Africa/China binational commission was an example of the deepening relations between the two countries, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. Zuma and his counterpart, Zeng Qinghong, will sign various bilateral agreements including agreements on education, on citrus exports from South Africa to China and between Sasol and a consortium of Chinese companies.
Preliminary studies into the efficacy of the anti-Aids drug nevirapine have raised concerns about patients developing resistance to the drug, the South African health ministry said on Monday. A national consultative meeting would be convened as soon as possible after next month’s international Aids conference in Bangkok to further discuss the matter of resistance, the ministry said.
Firearm owners will seek a court interdict on Wednesday to stop government from enacting legislation to control the ownership of guns. The South African Gunowners Association says the Firearms Control Act is a threat to the country’s security and its citizens.
Conflict in Africa came under the spotlight when the deputy presidents of South Africa and Cuba met for bilateral discussions in Pretoria. Deputy president Jacob Zuma says he briefed his Cuban counterpart Carlos Lage about initiatives to eradicate conflict on the continent, with particular reference to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan and the Ivory Coast.
The government of Japan will extend a grant of about -million for the construction of primary schools in Lesotho, the Japanese Embassy said on Thursday. Through the collaboration between the two countries, a total of 229 classrooms in 17 new schools and water supply facilities would be introduced in Berea and Maseru.
Daniel Molewa, who raped eight women in Soshanguve two years ago knew his actions were wrong, but claimed on Wednesday his fear of the ”tokoloshe” had driven him to it. Earlier this year Molewa admitted guilt on 12 charges of rape and three of indecent assault. He was out on bail for a double rape when he embarked on a further spree of rapes in 2001 and 2002.
The Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions, (Scorpions) Cornwell Tshavhungwa, had his R100 000 bail on corruption charges cancelled by a Pretoria magistrate on Wednesday. Specialised Commercial Crimes Court magistrate Desmond Nair found that Tshavhungwa had breached his bail conditions by contacting a witness.
The government has vowed to oppose a multi-billion dollar lawsuit lodged by apartheid victims against it and eight big corporations, but says it has received no official notification of the action. It was announced this week the R63-billion lawsuit was filed in the US for ”genocide, expropriation and other wrongful acts” by international companies under apartheid.
The State’s fraud and theft case against Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and broker Addy Moolman was criticised by a Pretoria judge hearing the pair’s appeal on Monday. Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann expressed doubts about the credibility of State witnesses relied on, and questioned whether the prosecution had succeeded in proving some of the charges.
Seventy South African suspected mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe lodged an application on Monday for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court after a Pretoria judge refused to order their extradition home. They would contest Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe’s ruling on the grounds that a South African’s constitutionally-entrenched rights had to be enforceable in a foreign country.
South Africa was ”aggressively” seeking greater investment from China, despite local fears of foreign competition. Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said that what South Africa would lose in certain sectors — such as textiles and clothing — it would gain in others, such as mining, tourism and energy.
The South African government said on Monday it was aggressively seeking greater foreign investment from China despite fears that this may harm certain sectors within the economy. ”We want greater investment in South Africa,” said deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad.