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/ 17 February 2006
The government will not impose an immediate moratorium on the purchase and sale of land to foreigners, the minister of agriculture and land affairs said on Friday — this after a panel of experts looking into the ownership of South African land by foreigners suggested a moratorium be imposed while the minister studied its interim report.
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/ 17 February 2006
While unions were reporting all Eastern Cape Transnet employees on strike on Friday, Metrorail maintained that all its critical staff were at their posts and transport services were at 100%. Metrorail’s Thandi Mlangeni said: ”All our critical workers, like train drivers, did show up for work.”
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/ 17 February 2006
Metal and mining giant Kumba Resources Limited on Friday reported revenue of R11,96-billion and a net operating profit of R3,7-billion for the 12 months ended 31 December last year. This had resulted in an improved operating margin of 31% for the year, it said.
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/ 17 February 2006
At least 20 new-born babies and foetuses are dumped in Harare’s sewer system every week, Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper reported on Friday. Its website quoted the city council as saying this frequently led to the clogging of the sewerage network.
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/ 17 February 2006
An Eastern Cape policeman might be in hot water after an afternoon on the beach in full uniform in the company of a ”skimpily dressed colleague”, media reports said on Friday. Residents in the coastal village of Blue Horizon Bay near Port Elizabeth were fuming over the incident on Sunday afternoon.
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/ 17 February 2006
Benni McCarthy would have been excluded from the African Nations Cup Bafana Bafana squad had coach Ted Dumitru known the star striker had not signed a remuneration agreement. The Mail & Guardian has obtained a copy of Dumitru’s technical report on the disastrous campaign in Egypt, in which the coach presents a litany of accusations and excuses for his side’s performance.
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/ 17 February 2006
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has urged a new British envoy to help build bridges between their respective countries, Harare’s Herald newspaper reported on Friday. ”We want you here to help construct formidable bridges. We need a bridge with the British,” officials quoted Mugabe as saying at a credentials ceremony.
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/ 17 February 2006
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The young man at the centre of the drama surrounding the Jacob Zuma trial once faced a similar charge to the one now levelled at his father, media reports said on Friday. Five years ago, Mziwoxolo Edward Zuma, now 29, was arrested for allegedly raping a 17-year-old woman, a fellow student at the University of Zululand.
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/ 16 February 2006
An increased budget for land restitution and distribution could be used to finalise land claims at market-related prices, the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa said on Thursday. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday tabled an estimated R3-billion increase in the land reform Budget over the next three years.
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/ 16 February 2006
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has welcomed the life sentence handed down on Thursday to the man who raped and murdered HIV-positive TAC activist Lorna Mlofane. Cape High Court judge Dumisani Zondi sentenced Ncedile Ntumbukane to life in prison for the murder in December 2003, and a concurrent ten years for the rape, the TAC said.
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/ 16 February 2006
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has urged the public not to vote for local government election candidates who were inactive in the fight against HIV/Aids. ”If candidates do not support testing for HIV or Aids, don’t vote for them. If candidates don’t support the use of condoms, don’t vote for them,” said TAC chairperson Zackie Achmat.
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/ 16 February 2006
A ”vile cocktail” of cancer-causing pollutants has been measured in and around some of South Africa’s industrial centres, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday. He said the country spent more than R4-billion a year on respiratory health problems linked to foul air.
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/ 16 February 2006
There were two prints of baby murder accused Dina Rodrigues’ right thumb on the back of a waybill found at the scene of the killing, a police fingerprint expert told the Cape Town High Court on Thursday. The evidence from Inspector Jan Bester followed his testimony on Wednesday identifying other prints on the document as being those of two of her co-accused, Sipho Mfawe and Zanethemba Gwada.
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/ 16 February 2006
The Gautrain route has been finalised and can now be cleared for construction to begin, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said on Thursday. He said preferred bidder Bombela and the provincial government signed an agreement on Wednesday on issues that could affect the cost of the project.
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/ 16 February 2006
Brake failure was a major factor in the recent spate of bus accidents, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Thursday. ”Buses involved in these accidents are clearly old and not roadworthy.” He said operators whose buses were involved in accidents due to negligence would be held responsible.
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/ 16 February 2006
Fresh from presenting his 10th Budget, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel on Thursday dismissed any suggestion that he is tired of his job. Replying to a question at a Cape Town post-Budget breakfast on whether he is considering retirement, he said he cannot ask for anything more challenging in his life.
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/ 16 February 2006
The South African women’s hockey team booked their place in Saturday’s final of the four-nation Spar Cup after beating Scotland 2-1 in Durban on Wednesday night. The home side didn’t have an easy time of it, though, and had to come back from a 1-0 deficit.
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/ 16 February 2006
Passing the 50 mark in cricket is seen as a noteworthy landmark. Reaching the 50 mark in the Fifa world rankings for Bafana Bafana on Wednesday was nothing short of entering an abyss — with South Africa’s national soccer team plummeting to their lowest ranking in 11 years.
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/ 16 February 2006
The People’s Budget coalition on Wednesday praised Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s 2006 Budget, saying it promises real benefits for the poor. The coalition said it appreciates efforts to increase spending on services that, according to the coalition, have experienced very slow growth in the past 10 years.
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/ 16 February 2006
A group of Khutsong residents declared the township a no-go area for the African National Congress during a protest march on Wednesday. ”We are tired of the ANC. Other political parties are welcome to campaign, but not the ANC,” said Elisa Bogatsa as residents protested the transfer of the Merafong municipality from Gauteng to the North West.
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/ 16 February 2006
Zimbabwe has cleared its arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Harare’s Herald newspaper reported on Thursday. Its website said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe paid the outstanding -million on Wednesday to settle its overdue obligations in the general resources account.
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/ 16 February 2006
Kaizer Chiefs’ championship hopes were given a much-needed boost when they delivered a clinical 1-0 victory over Premier Soccer League log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night. Sundowns became their own worst enemy as they failed to make good use of their opportunities.
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/ 15 February 2006
Denel chief executive Shaun Liebenberg on Wednesday denied reports that the arms manufacturer was planning to sack seven out of 10 employees — this after the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) claimed the company intended sacking 7 000 of its 10 000 employees.
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/ 15 February 2006
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) heard on Wednesday that Auditor General Shauket Fakie had not wilfully breached a high court order forcing him to hand over documents relating to the government’s multibillion-rand arms deal. Fakie is appealing a court order that found him, among others, in contempt of court.
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/ 15 February 2006
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Seven political parties in the strife-torn Merafong municipality on the West Rand signed an election code of conduct on Wednesday, committing themselves to a free and fair election. The signing ceremony took place at the Merafong municipal offices in Carletonville.
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/ 15 February 2006
The rape trial of soccer ace Benedict Vilakazi has been postponed to March 15 for closing arguments, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday. A domestic worker, employed by the complainant’s family, was the final witness to testify on Wednesday afternoon.
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/ 15 February 2006
South Africa’s Ministry of Health has put its support behind people choosing to use traditional HIV/Aids treatments.
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/ 15 February 2006
The 2006/7 defence Budget has been well received, with one observer calling it realistic and another calling it positive. Asked for comment, African Armed Forces editor Peter McIntosh said the Budget was realistic. ”It is coming into line with international norms regarding personnel, equipment and operational costs,” he said.
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/ 15 February 2006
The anticipated expenditure outcome for 2005/06 of R419-billion took into account unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure of R2-billion to the state arms company Denel Corporation, and R2,7-billion to the Road Accident Fund, reported South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.
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/ 15 February 2006
Individuals and companies are to benefit from tax cuts totalling R19,1-billion in terms of the 2006/07 Budget announced by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. The net benefit for individuals amounted to R12,1-billion. The income threshold below which no tax was payable was raised from R35Â 000 to R40Â 000 a year.
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/ 15 February 2006
A tax deduction on the expenses of dating was one of the ”tips for Trevor” that didn’t make it into Wednesday’s Budget. But Finance Minister Trevor Manuel still thought it worth sharing with MPs. He said citizens and civil society organisations had again been generous in offering suggestions for the Budget.
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/ 15 February 2006
The Johannesburg High Court has indefinitely postponed the hearing of Imvume Management’s application against the Freedom Front Plus over its disclosure to Parliament of payments allegedly made from an advance by PetroSA. The postponement granted is to allow Imvume’s lawyers to finalise investigations.