South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) staff and officials will have three days to make submissions to an independent commission probing the public broadcaster’s alleged blacklisting of certain political analysts. Commissioners have set aside this Friday and Saturday and next Monday to hear submissions, an SABC statement read on Monday.
The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu) will embark on lunchtime pickets at Shoprite Checkers shops throughout the country from Tuesday. Union chairperson Mike Tau told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday the decision stemmed from the company and the union failing to reach agreement over an across-the-board wage increase.
The government’s plan to establish a seventh regional electricity distributor (RED) to take care of the power-supply distribution for all non-metro municipalities may end up "fixing" non-existent problems, says the official opposition Democratic Alliance.
Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose future with Brazil is uncertain after the five-time champions were surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals of this year’s World Cup in Germany, has re-emerged as an odds-on favourite to be the next coach of Bafana Bafana.
Sharks flyhalf Butch James was Monday on his way to join a battered Springbok squad as national coach Jake White scrambled to avoid a another drubbing, this time against the mighty All Blacks. South Africa were crushed 49-0 in a record score by a rampant Australia on Saturday, prompting calls in South Africa for White’s resignation.
The Harare government is to meet Russian energy officials this week to discuss energy investment in Zimbabwe’s power sector, Zim Online reported on Monday. It said officials from Russia’s TurboEngineering firm were expected to arrive in Harare on Sunday night.
The number of requests to a helpline on Lebanon for South Africans have been ”manageable”, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The department set up a hotline for South Africans with Lebanese links, and by Sunday 20 South Africans trapped in that country had been helped by the department.
Most bus operators transporting Gauteng’s pupils to public schools stayed away from work on Monday, protesting against the provincial education department’s non-payment of their claims. The bus operators are owed R14-million by the Gauteng education department, and education MEC Angie Motshekga has promised to partly pay it on Monday.
It was a soothing stroll in King’s Park for what was little more than a Manchester United reserve team as Orlando Pirates suffered a humbling and humiliating 4-0 Vodacom Challenge defeat in Durban on Saturday afternoon. From as early as the third minute when Norwegian international striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ended a three-year, injury-plagued scoring drought, with the first of two first-half goals for The Red Devils
Reigning Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns resumed their winning ways when they beat visiting Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers 2-0 in a preseason friendly played at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Sundowns revelled in the traditional cricket venue with its smooth and well-manicured turf as they spread the ball around with great ease controlling much of the possession throughout the encounter.
The Sharks lost by a solitary point (22 – 23) to Griquas at Absa Park in Kimberley on Saturday in week four of the Absa Currie Cup to relinquish their unbeaten record in the competition. On a beautiful afternoon, with a cool breeze gently blowing through the stadium, the conditions were ideal for the Sharks to grasp the upper hand.
Western Province left no doubt that they are back as a major force on the domestic rugby scene with a courageous 20-13 Currie Cup victory over the Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday. As was the case the previous week against the Bulls, Luke Watson and company were given no chance of pulling off a victory, but again they defied the odds.
The Blue Bulls returned to some vital form as they demolished the Pumas 48-17 in Witbank on Saturday. Buoyed by a powerful forwards performance and some excellent running by their backs, the visitors turned what should have been a tricky encounter into an afternoon of tries and gave new coach Pote Human a morale-boosting victory.
The South African Trade and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) on Friday accused Fidelity Springbok Security Services of discriminating against its members. Spokesperson Ronnie Mamba said in a statement on Friday that Fidelity ”continues to target Satawu members for abuse, intimidation and victimisation”.
Gauteng’s school-bus transport saga is over, the provincial education department said on Friday. Education provincial minister Angie Motshekga said that misunderstandings about the payment of bus operators had been handled at an urgent meeting in the morning.
Wage negotiations between the National Petroleum Employers’ Association (NPEA) and the trade union Solidarity have deadlocked, NPEA spokesperson Alfie Ngubo said in a statement. ”Although the NPEA made a settlement offer of a 6,5% wage increase on basic wages, … they were unfortunately not able to resolve the dispute,” he said.
The documentary on South African President Thabo Mbeki, recently rejected by the state broadcaster, the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), sounds like ”something of a left-wing hatchet job”, official opposition communications spokesperson Dene Smuts said on Friday.
The South African government should investigate the disappearance of Pakistani national Khalid Mehmood Rashid, Amnesty International said on Friday. In a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, Amnesty International expressed concern that South African government officials may have participated in the ”enforced disappearance and the return of the Pakistani national”.
Local government needs to realise that it cannot handle electricity supply on its own, Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin said on Friday. ”Honestly, I have a lot more confidence in Eskom than in all of the municipalities put together,” Erwin said at a briefing of Business Unity South Africa in Johannesburg.
A Cape High Court judge ruled on Friday that the Southern Spears do not have to put down almost a quarter of a million rand as security for costs ahead of next week’s court battle against SA Rugby. ”I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted,” said Spears chief executive Tony McKiever afterwards.
There is a good chance that the Reserve Bank may increase interest rates further this year, an economist said on Friday. ”The bottom line is that interest rates will have to rise,” ABSA chief economist Christo Luus said. Luus was confident that borrowers will have to face hikes of only about 2% this cycle.
Just a week after the statue of Chief Tshwane was unveiled in front of the city hall in Pretoria, vandals have painted it in the colours of the old South African flag. Tshwane metro police spokesperson Superintendent Alta Fourie said the statue, which was found painted on Friday morning, must have been vandalised on Thursday night.
A North West woman said armed men attacked and tortured her family, pouring boiling water on her husband, slashing open his forehead, then strangling him with a shoelace. The family, from Swartruggens near Rustenburg, were attacked on Wednesday night, media reports said on Friday.
When Manchester United were last in South Africa, in 1993, the club were on a high. A campaign driven by Eric Cantona had seen them crowned inaugural Premier League winners — their first English top division title in 26 years. They then lost to Arsenal at Ellis Park in a match marred by referee Errol Sweeney’s dismissal of United skipper Bryan Robson.
Giant petrochemicals firm Sasol said it was confident that workers who planned to strike at the company would accept a new pay offer given to trade unions on Thursday. On top of its 6,5% salary increase, Sasol also offered a further 1,5% hike on employees’ housing subsidies.
It would be nice to believe that Springbok coach Jake White had patched up his differences with the South African Rugby Union (Saru) after both sides released conciliatory statements this week following the mess over the extension of White’s contract. But you can tell when politicians lie: their lips move.
South Africa’s food-fortification programme is generating interest throughout the continent, but it is too early to determine the effect on the health of South Africans, a World Health Organisation affiliate said recently. In 2003 South Africa was one of four countries — the others are China, Morocco and Vietnam — that received a fortification grant from Gain, with South Africa’s largesse valued at ,8-million.
A planned strike at Sasol could be called off once members of the trade union Solidarity accept a new salary offer made by the petroleum company. Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said on Thursday the union would recommend to its members that they should accept the new offer.
Cellphone operator MTN announced on Thursday that it will contribute R476-million towards sponsorship of the 2010 World Cup, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. MTN is the second company to announce a major sponsorship. First National Bank has already announced it will sponsor the soccer extravaganza to the tune of -million.
Three more men joined the alleged killer of a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) senior official in the Carletonville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, West Rand police said. Spokesperson Inspector Solomon Sibiya said all four men had their case postponed to next Wednesday for a formal bail application.
The print media are treating the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in a hostile manner, chief executive of the SABC Dali Mpofu said on Thursday. ”There is this hostility that I don’t understand. The SABC either gets no coverage, hostility or cartoons. Why, I don’t understand,” he told the Johannesburg Press Club.
A Limpopo chief, Fhulumani Kutama, was elected unopposed on Thursday as chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders. He replaces Mpiyezintombi Mzimela, who left the post after the dissolution of the house of traditional leaders in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.