Former president FW de Klerk was out of intensive care following complications after a cancerous colon tumour was removed, a family spokesperson said on Wednesday. Dave Steward said De Klerk was still linked to a ventilator but was now functioning ”more than 80%” on his own lungs.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) will sign a pay agreement on Thursday with security employers, Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said. He was addressing a large number of striking security guards who had gathered at Beyers Naude Square in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
President Thabo Mbeki should take over leadership of South Africa’s National Aids Council in the face of soaring HIV/Aids mortality figures, Treatment Action Campaign chairperson Zackie Achmat said on Wednesday. He was commenting on a 2003/04 mortality report released by Statistics South Africa three weeks ago.
East Rand police are closing in on a gang of 12 to 15 striking security guards believed to be responsible for the deaths of 25 of their non-striking colleagues in Gauteng since the end of March. Two of the alleged ringleaders have already been arrested, said Detective Inspector Gerry van der Merwe.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) and United States civil rights leader Jesse Jackson on Wednesday resolved to develop a strategic partnership. Jackson and SACC general secretary Eddie Makue said the partnership will see the two collaborating on a variety of development projects.
A meeting called by NGOs to discuss a controversial City of Cape Town beggar by-law was disrupted on Wednesday when a city councillor was asked to leave. The by-law outlaws a number of alleged offences, such as intentionally touching or causing physical contact with another person.
The Southern Spears have applied to the high court to force SA Rugby to include the newly formed franchise in both this year’s Currie Cup and next year’s Super 14 competitions. They have literally thrown the ball into the SA Rugby court to show why the resolution adopted by the president’s council of the South African Rugby Union on June 8 last year should no longer be binding.
The claim by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that it had merely issued guidelines on the use of commentators indicated that it was on a slippery slope towards the dark days of apartheid when banned persons were prevented from writing or speaking publicly, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) argued on Wednesday.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in South Africa on Wednesday on a groundbreaking visit during which the two giants are to sign a nuclear cooperation pact and discuss the thorny question of textile imports from Beijing. South African officials have said the proposed agreement between South Africa and power-hungry China on the peaceful use of nuclear energy was vital.
The forestry sector could lose almost R900-million because of invasive alien wasps, says Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks. In written reply to a question by Democratic Alliance MP Janet Semple in the National Assembly, Hendricks said a control programme to limit damage had been introduced.
Injuries have continued to hamper the Springbok team ahead of their one-off Test against France on Saturday in Cape Town. Springbok coach Jake White named a team for the first time without both his enforcers in Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha, who have been ruled out due to injury.
Gold Fields confirmed on Wednesday that one mineworker was killed in a surface blasting accident at its Beatrix Mine in the Free State shortly before 9am on Wednesday morning. Three other workers were injured and taken to the St Helena hospital in Welkom, the group said.
South African President Thabo Mbeki should take China ”to task” over its weak human rights record at home and abroad, said opposition Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille. She said on Wednesday that while Chinese investment in Africa has taken place, there are costs to the relationship.
South Africa-born French prop Pieter de Villiers was on Wednesday announced to start in the one-off Test match against the Springboks at Newlands on Saturday. De Villiers, whose brother passed away recently, has been spending some time with his parents in South Africa after his team’s arrival.
The self-confessed murderer of Icelander Gisli Thorkellson has been jailed for 20 years, media reports said on Wednesday. Desiree Louis Oberholzer (43) of Bryanston, pleaded guilty to the murder during a court appearance in April. Oberholzer’s co-accused in the murder, Willie Theron (29) whom she claimed fired the shot that killed Thorkellson (54) has denied any involvement.
South African clothing manufacturers and designers should concentrate on producing high quality, "distinctively South African" clothing that could capture niche markets that were not in direct competition with the efficient Chinese, Free Market Foundation director Eustace Davie and economist Jasson Urbach have argued.
Police say it is too early to speculate over whether the shooting of Johannesburg businessman Anwar Mohammed was a hit or a failed hijacking. The 58-year-old was killed at the Glenhove onramp from the M1 freeway on Tuesday night. Mohammed had stopped his BMW at a traffic light when a passenger from a Volkswagen Polo approached his car and fired several shots.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has written a letter to the group chief executive of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), asking him if there was any truth to reports that his corporation had banned four top political commentators.
Helen Suzman, a former Member of Parliament and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was hospitalised after she fell and hurt her hip at her home in Illovo, Johannesburg, media reports said on Wednesday. The 88-year-old veteran anti-apartheid activist was reported to be ”groggy” after undergoing surgery on Monday.
A man accused of making death threats against two men suspected of the murders of actor Brett Goldin and his designer friend Richard Bloom appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The accused is the alleged leader of the Cape Town gang known as the Americans.
The Department of Transport is committed to the introduction of a nationwide, integrated fare-collection system that would include the taxi industry in the taxi-industry subsidy net, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe reported on Tuesday. The ticketing system is included in the department’s 2006-to-2009 strategic plan.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Tuesday said it was upset at the African National Congress’s response to its critique of the state of the tripartite alliance. The response, titled Does the Alliance Share Common Objectives?, was given at a bilateral ANC national working committee/SACP politburo meeting on Monday.
Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald said on Tuesday he would not withdraw a remark — accusing Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula of being a racist — and was asked to remove himself from the National Assembly. This follows a recent clash in the assembly in which Groenewald accused the minister of undermining democracy.
Invalid decisions by the Free State premier, unlawful payments by two Northern Cape municipalities and problems at the Commission on Gender Equality were the major focus of reports released by Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana on Tuesday. He has also completed his probe into Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s controversial trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Primary school pupils at around 250 schools in South Africa are reading hot-off-the-press world news in their own newspaper sent to them via e-mail. Created by Johannesburg journalist Duncan Guy, The Times I Am Living In also serves as a source of general knowledge, challenges pupils with quiz questions and provides a glossary.
Representatives of security guards and employers will return to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Thursday, hoping to seal a deal to end a long pay strike. Until then, guards will be informed of the draft settlement, which will replace the previous offer signed earlier this year by 14 of the 16 unions representing guards.
The Commission on Gender Equality has structural problems, which has strained relations between its CEO and its commissioners, the Public Protector said on Tuesday. Mabedla Lawrence Mushwana released a report on his investigation into various allegations made against the commission, including abuse of power and mismanagement.
The recently announced amnesty for small business to regularise its tax affairs does not open the door to those who have profited from criminal activities, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel told MPs on Tuesday. He was speaking in a debate in the National Assembly on legislation to provide for the tax amnesty.
Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula on Tuesday reiterated his defence of a recent remark in Parliament that people who ”whinged” about crime should leave the country. He told journalists in Johannesburg that his words were directed at three negative opposition MPs taking part in the debate during his Budget vote.
The investigation into an alleged conflict of interest in a home loan to Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya’s wife from Imvume Investments is at an advanced stage, the Public Protector said on Tuesday. Lawrence Mushwana said his office was still looking for certain documents to complete its investigation.
South Africa celebrated World Refugee Day on Tuesday by promising to fast-track its backlog of 100Â 000 asylum applications. The Department of Home Affairs launched four refugee-reception offices around the country to process the applications dating from 1994 to July last year.
Former South African president FW de Klerk was making good progress in his recovery, said his spokesperson Dave Steward on Tuesday. Steward said De Klerk remained in the intensive-care unit at Cape Town’s Panorama Medi-Clinic. This follows an operation to remove a cancerous growth on his colon on June 3.