The African National Congress has hailed the development of Afrikaans over the past 130 years as an inspiration for South Africa’s other indigenous languages. It has also pledged its commitment to protecting and promoting Afrikaans as well as South Africa’s other indigenous languages.
President Thabo Mbeki called on the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday to mobilise for the African National Congress in the upcoming local government elections. ”We will, of course, win the upcoming local government elections,” Mbeki told a Cosatu central committee meeting.
Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota has justified the expenditure of R10-billion on the new A400 military transport aircraft, saying the Hercules C-130 aircraft currently in use is heading towards the end of its operational life. He said the air force has spent about R870-million on the avionics and major servicing of the air frames.
The oil price, which has hit record levels in the past few days, is unlikely to lead to an immediate increase in the interest rate, an Absa economist said on Monday. John Loos said a stable interest-rate policy could steer South Africa well clear of the recessionary conditions that the world’s large economies might experience.
Private hospitals in South Africa perform much of their surgery better, faster and cheaper than those in Australia and the United States do, a study published on Monday found. The Hospital Association of South Africa did a comparative analysis of average private hospital costs in South Africa, the US and Australia.
South Africa is looking forward to a windfall from hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and hopes other top sports events such as the Rugby World Cup and formula-one auto racing will follow. But who will really benefit from the promised bonanza in a country still bearing the social and economic scars of apartheid?
Free State local government minister Joel Mafereka is to visit Frankfort where protesting residents disrupted schools and traffic on Monday, a municipal official said. Protesters, apparently unhappy with service delivery in the municipality, have been blocking roads with burning tyres and other objects since Sunday.
South Africa would have to spend R25-billion on the proposed pebble-bed nuclear power project before it would be viable, Independent Online reported on Monday. It said this emerged from an international report on the economic impact of the envisioned pebble-bed modular reactor.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Monday sought to refute perceptions that IFP MP Dr Gavin Woods was a ”token” appointment because he was disabled. Buthelezi drew sharp criticism for suggesting in a letter in a weekend newspaper that Woods would have been fired long ago were it not for his physical disabilities.
The local contingent of Bafana Bafana players left Johannesburg on Sunday to join their European-based counterparts for the international friendly against Iceland in Reykjavik on Wednesday, with talented Orlando Pirates striker Lebohang Mokoena hurriedly packing his luggage as a late replacement for the injured Shaun Bartlett.
The ANC Youth League has denied a Sunday newspaper report that the organisation is facing a ”cash crisis” after the African National Congress withdrew its R500Â 000 monthly grant. The newspaper report said the youth league has in recent months been unable to run some of its key programmes.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) says that its members will begin to return to work on Monday. This comes after the union’s announced on Sunday that it was suspending its week-long strike. However Samwu spokesperson Roger Ronnie said that the wage dispute between the union and the South African Local Government Association (Salga) remains unresolved.
Disabled groups are livid over a suggestion by Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi that Member of Parliament Gavin Woods would have long been fired if he were not disabled, media reports said on Monday. ”I am absolutely shocked. I find it quite, quite unbelievable,” said Ari Seirlis, national director of the QuadPara Association of SA.
The Education Laws Amendment Bill currently before Parliament is clear proof that Minister of Education Naledi Pandor’s commitment to quality education is empty rhetoric, DA education spokesperson Helen Zille said on Sunday.
Squinting into his binoculars, William Fowlds scans a vast, grassy plane where a busy dairy once stood. The cattle and sheep have given way to herds of grazing antelope. Out of a knot of thorny bushes, a family of elephants emerges. For more than two centuries, farmers like Fowlds have forged a living from the rugged and arid land of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.
Former deputy president Jacob Zuma has settled in Johannesburg, in a R3,6-million home in the leafy suburb of Forest Town, The Star newspaper reported this weekend. The Financial Mail has reported that a trust recently bought the property, Idle Winds, for R3,6-million.
The Golden Lions finished their Currie Cup first round on a major high, walloping the defending Currie Cup champions, the Blue Bulls, 46-17 in a one-sided clash at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Lions showed a rare glimpse of their talent, grabbing every opportunity and overshadowing a strong Bulls pack.
Bafana Bafana on Saturday night announced a ”mixed confectionary” of local and overseas-based players for the World Cup warm-up friendly against Iceland in Reykjavik on Wednesday — but quickly ran into problems. Charlton Athletic striker and top South African goal-scorer Shaun Bartlett immediately withdrew.
The wave of strikes that recently hit South Africa ground to a halt its vital gold industry and the national airline, among others, as unions struggled to negotiate wage hikes on the basis of the lowest inflation rate in years. But the economic impact of the protests is marginal compared with the past, analysts say.
Two KwaZulu-Natal transport department clerks were arrested on charges of issuing fraudulent driving and learner’s licences at Empangeni on the north coast on Friday. On Saturday, provincial transport minister Bheki Cele said his department will arrest everyone linked to the scam.
Former Inkatha Freedom Party chairperson Ziba Jiyane says his new political party, the National Democratic Convention, will be registered with the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday. Jiyane resigned from the IFP on Thursday after being suspended for bringing the party’s name into disrepute.
A Cosafa Cup semifinal of mixed emotions and vacillating form ended in heartbreak for Bafana Bafana at the Mmabatho Stadium on Saturday when Zambian goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene completed an unusual double to edge his team into Sunday’s final against Zimbabwe via a 9-8 advantage in the deciding penalty shoot-out.
Only one of its three humanitarian relief supply trucks will leave for Zimbabwe on Saturday, said the South African Council of Churches (SACC). SACC deputy secretary general Eddie Makue said the Zimbabwean government has failed to issue the council with a duty-free certificate for two of the trucks.
School transport will be back to normal on Monday for thousands of Gauteng pupils following an end to a two-week dispute between the education department and bus operators. Education spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi on Friday said pupils will have ”normal transportation” from Monday.
A man was killed when a train ploughed into his car on the railway tracks between the Mitchells Plain and Lentegeur stations on Saturday morning, metro rescue officials said. A Cape Town metro rescue spokesperson said the man ”had had a bit to drink” and wanted to drive across the railway tracks.
About 75 people were left homeless after a fire at the Joe Slovo informal settlement on the Cape Flats destroyed their shacks on Friday night, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported. Firefighters struggled to control the fire as they ran out of water.
Embattled Independent Democrats member of the Western Cape legislature Lennit Max says he ”strongly denies” accusations that he has tried to draw out a disciplinary hearing against him in order for him to be able to defect to a new political home next month. He has merely tried to clear his name of allegations made against him, he said on Friday.
Union leaders will meet over the weekend to discuss the way forward in a strike that has left municipal workers without pay for a week. Both the South African Municipal Workers’ Union and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union said they are still considering a mediator’s proposal that both sides shift their demands.
The assault and rape of a three-year-old Cape Town girl this week, allegedly by a former inmate, is not an indication of failure of the Department of Correctional Services’ remission-of-sentences programme, the department said on Friday. Of the 67 800 prisoners released, the department said only 150 have been rearrested.
The Cosafa Cup semifinal against Zambia on Saturday presents Bafana Bafana with an opportunity to cement a self-proclaimed reputation as the regional soccer super power. But for coach Stuart Baxter, a priority might be to see how the match will help him assemble the most effective squad for the vital World Cup qualifying game against Burkina Faso.
Anglo American and Old Mutual have both received a political pat on the back by President Thabo Mbeki for their black economic empowerment initiatives. In his regular internet column, <i>ANC Today</i>, Mbeki added that the country has taken the decision to realise the goal for a better life for all.
Suspended Inkatha Freedom Party chairperson Doctor Ziba Jiyane resigned from the party on Thursday. On Friday, his personal assistant, Phumlani Khuzwayo, said Jiyane will make an announcement on his political future in Durban on Saturday. ”Reports that Jiyane is going to start a new political party are all false,” said Khuzwayo.