Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) President Willie Madisha on Friday vowed that there will be regular protest action at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria. ”We want to tell the [Israeli] ambassador that we’ll march every day if needed until he goes home,” Madisha said.
A temporary ban on the movement of ostriches and other poultry in Mossel Bay and Riversdale has been lifted, the Western Cape department of agriculture said on Friday. However, this did not apply in areas between the N2 in the south and the Langeberg mountains in the north, and the R232 and R238, said provincial minister of agriculture Cobus Dowry.
The government is confident the elections this weekend in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will put it back on the high road towards national reconciliation and development, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday in his weekly newsletter on the ANC Today website.
The African National Congress accused the media on Friday of distorting its policies in a bid to sow racial division among South Africans — particularly residents of the Western Cape. Recent ”gross distortion” of the ANC’s position on equity and restitution had been no innocent mistake, the party claimed in a statement.
South Africa should take a ”rights-based” position over the current conflict in the Middle East involving Israel and Lebanon, official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Friday. The sensible position for South Africa to take is, he said, the most obvious.
<i>Mail & Guardian</i> editor Ferial Haffajee took top honours at the MTN Women in the Media 2006 awards ceremony in Johannesburg on Friday, claiming the overall award. The awards honour women in the South African media industry who have excelled in their careers.
Creating jobs without damaging the environment was the only way to guarantee workers’ livelihoods, a conference in Johannesburg heard on Friday. About 80 trade union leaders from 22 African countries were meeting with environmentalists for a two-day conference to examine connections between poverty and environmental damage and how these affected workers.
The South African Cabinet has approved the establishment of the South African Space Agency as an institutional vehicle for the coordination and implementation of South Africa’s national space, science and technology programmes. In a statement on Friday the Cabinet said the agency would conduct ”long-term planning and implementation of space-related activities”.
A new tax withholding system for non-resident entertainers and sportspeople comes into effect on Tuesday, the South African Revenue Services (Sars) announced on Friday. Previously foreign entertainers and sportspeople were taxed the same as South African residents, but their short stays in the country made this impractical, Sars said.
The retail price of all grades of petrol will increase by 31c per litre from Wednesday August 2, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Friday. The wholesale price of diesel with a sulphur content of 0,05% and with a sulphur content of 0,005% will rise by 22c a litre and 25c a litre respectively on the same date.
Rock cliffs loom high above the wingtips of the two-seater plane as it banks sharply through the winding course of a narrow ravine in South Africa’s rugged Cederberg mountains. Pilot Johan Ferreira is in his element — he has found a way to combine his love for flying with a passion for nature by helping to track the elusive leopards that roam the mountain wilderness.
Eight pupils from Westonaria High School on Johannesburg’s West Rand are to appear in court on Friday after a brawl between black and white pupils, media reports said on Friday. They are facing charges of public violence and assault in the Westonaria Magistrate’s Court.
KwaZulu-Natal’s education department on Friday repeated its warning to schools that had not submitted audited financial statements that they will lose their Section 21 status. Departmental spokesperson Christi Naude said: ”Parents need to know that even if a school loses its section 21 status, it does not mean that those schools that are no-fee schools will lose their no-fee status.”
Malizole Diko, a Member of Parliament who defected from General Bantu Holomisa’s United Democratic Movement last year to form the United Independent Front, (UIF) died in the early hours of Friday morning. Colleagues said that he had died after a short illness in Cape Town and had been extremely ill in recent weeks.
A man wielding a Swiss army knife had to be restrained and moved to the back of a South African Airways (SAA) aircraft on an overnight flight from Zurich to Johannesburg, media reports said on Friday. The passenger apparently spent the first portion of the trip threatening a passenger with the knife and repeatedly grabbing the earphones off the head of a woman sitting next to him.
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KwaZulu-Natal’s top leadership of the tripartite alliance will be out in force to support the African National Congress’ deputy president as he goes on trial for corruption next week. From 6pm on Sunday the city centre is expected to be packed with thousands of supporters of Jacob Zuma who will turn out for an all night vigil.
South Africa’s weak and poorly resourced Parliament can only find its voice if it is given new powers in the Budget process, and the resources to live up to them, a growing number of MPs and parliamentary officials believe. The engine room of democracy is not a happy or productive place at present.
Civil-society organisations in South Africa are preparing to push government to meet its commitment for setting national targets on HIV/Aids, made at the recent United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions on HIV/Aids. The first special sessions on HIV/Aids were held in 2001, when UN member states signed a declaration of commitment on HIV/Aids that recognised the need for concerted action against the pandemic.
South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance has released a list of social-grant fraudsters in the public service — although Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya has asked that the information supplied to it remain confidential. The names of over 1 728 public servants were provided by the minister to the DA, which MP Mike Waters released on Thursday.
A Spoornet engineer was questioned in the Paarl Regional Court on Thursday about a Metrorail passenger coach that smashed into a goods train near Muldersvlei three years ago, killing 10 people. Hennie Klopper, a mechanical engineer, was giving evidence in the culpable-homicide trial of the train driver.
Two of three men accused of assaulting Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride were on Thursday found guilty and sentenced by the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court. The men were also accused of reckless and negligent driving and failing to comply with the lawful instruction of a metro police officer.
Mining company Kumba hopes to avert a massive strike planned for Sunday by several trade unions, the company said on Thursday. The unions, however, were adamant that the strike will have a severe impact, with more than 6 000 of Kumba’s 9 000 workers taking part.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele has expressed his best wishes to King Goodwill Zwelithini, who celebrates his 58th birthday on Thursday. The premier said: ”Our government and the people of our province will continue to draw inspiration and courage from his wise leadership.”
The Registrar of Medical Schemes expressed concern on Thursday that many schemes have not been providing members with the minimum benefits they are entitled to. Another concern is the manner in which medical schemes impose waiting periods on members, Registrar Patrick Masobe said in a statement.
South Africa’s would-be president and a group of lawmakers appear in court on the same day next week, as two of the most potentially damaging trials of the post-apartheid era put the spotlight on corruption. Some South Africans say the trials underscore the commitment of President Thabo Mbeki to stamp out corruption dogging every level of his government.
Charges of breaking the Boland Ruby Union’s constitution will be laid after the death of a player in a club match in June, the union’s lawyer confirmed on Thursday. ”We hope to serve the charges by Friday next week,” said Chris Faure. He declined to say how many people would be charged, or what the specifics of the charges were.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating 400 000 people who might be fraudulently receiving social grants and pensions from the government, SIU head Willie Hofmeyr said on Thursday. He said the first phase of the probe, which started last year, focused on government employees. The unit will now start to look at private individuals.
M&G Media, which publishes the Mail & Guardian, on Thursday announced that it has expanded the portfolio of its magazine publications by acquiring ownership of two key titles from Traders Publications: Traders and the Health Care Journal. The effective date of the transaction is August 1 this year.
With cocktails aplenty and air kisses punctuating the post-show chatter, Johannesburg fashion week might seem to boast the trappings of an international couture event. But this is fashion week, Africa style. Fashion in post-apartheid South Africa reflects the country’s journey from pariah state and global backwater to a multiracial democracy.
The case against 15 of the 16 people arrested for last month’s Jeppestown shooting was postponed to August 21 at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The case against the men, suspects in the shootout with police at a house in Jeppestown last month that left 12 people dead, four of them police officers, was postponed for a bail application and for further investigations.
As the South African Communist Party (SACP) gears up for its 85th anniversary celebration this weekend, the ruling African National Congress has said that it values the relationship it has with its alliance partner. In a statement on Thursday ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said: "This is a relationship that has stood the test of time."
A train derailment in Durban has left 86 people injured, Metrorail said on Thursday. Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said a coach left the tracks near the Duffs Road Railway Station in KwaMashu. It appeared most of the injuries occurred when passengers tried to jump from the coach. There were no major injuries.