Friendship and camaraderie, not self-interest, were behind payments by Durban businessman Schabir Shaik to former deputy president Jacob Zuma, the Durban High Court heard on Tuesday. Shaik is asking the court for leave to appeal against his conviction on two counts of corruption and one of fraud.
The current strike is costing South African Airways (SAA) R25-million a day, an economist said on Tuesday. T-Sec chief economist Mike Schussler said that is not the total cost of the strike — which is lower — as there are mitigating factors. Schussler also said the Pick ‘n Pay strike is very different.
Sanlam, South Africa’s second-largest life assurer, has finalised the sale of its entire 21,3% stake in banking group Absa to the United Kingdom’s Barclays Bank for R10,3-billion, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The group sold all of its 124,3-million Absa shares for R82,50 per share in the transaction.
The African continent has much to learn from the successes of Asia, President Thabo Mbeki told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday. He was speaking after the signing of an agreement at the Union Buildings on the avoidance of double taxation between South Africa and Malaysia.
As long as they remain overwhelmingly the most popular soccer clubs in the country, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates should be entrenched as participants in the annual Telkom Charity Cup. Who says so? None other than loquacious, controversial one-time Premier Soccer League public-relations officer Abdul Bhamjee.
The Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade has officially denounced, ”with contempt”, utterances made by the party’s national chairperson, Dr Ziba Jiyane, at a weekend IFP rally. The action is expected to be among a variety of personal attacks engineered by the party’s spin doctors.
Listed hotel and gaming group Sun International will proceed with the sale of its entire 38,6% stake in City Lodge Hotels to Sun International shareholders for a total of R627-million, in exchange for repurchasing its own shares from them, the company said on Tuesday.
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Friendship and camaraderie was the reason for payments made by Schabir Shaik to former deputy president Jacob Zuma, the Durban High Court heard on Tuesday in Shaik’s corruption and fraud appeal bid. Shaik’s defence also called his 15-year jail sentence ”shockingly inappropriate”.
A suspected cannibal who allegedly murdered his niece and then roasted and ate her right thigh is expected to appear in the Harding Magistrate’s Court in southern KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter said the man was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly killed his sister’s three-year-old daughter and attempted to kill her other children.
More than two dozen ecumenical bodies across the world on Tuesday called for an investigation into the shooting by police of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) protesters, the same day the organisation marched in Queenstown to hand over a memorandum deploring alleged police brutality.
Guinness World Record blood donor Maurice Creswick drank his 350th free cup of tea in Johannesburg on Tuesday after breaking his own record for the 14th time. Creswick (79) donated his first pint of blood at the old Johannesburg General hospital when he was 18 years old.
Thousands of municipal workers will start a three-day strike from Wednesday in a push for a decent wage increase, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Tuesday. Samwu wants a wage increase of the greater of 9% or R400 and a minimum wage of R3 000 per month. Salga is offering a 6% increase.
South African retailer Pick ‘n Pay has experienced a total turnover loss of just less than R50-million over the four days since Friday, when approximately 20 000 staff, members of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union, began their strike over higher wages, according to CEO Sean Summers.
Opposition parties have strongly criticised President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement that the government is considering bringing in skilled foreigners to help get South Africa’s moribund municipalities up and running. In separate statements, three opposition parties blamed affirmative-action policies for the lack of skills at local government level.
The mayor of Mangaung, his wife and five other people charged with theft, corruption and fraud will return to the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to continue their bail application. Scorpions spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said they appeared in court on Monday but no agreement was reached on their bail.
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Durban businessman Schabir Shaik arrived at the Durban High Court on Tuesday morning appearing in good spirits as he prepares to seek leave to appeal against his corruption and fraud convictions and a 15-year sentence. He stopped to greet police and journalists outside the court.
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, one of the main medal contenders in the South African team at the forthcoming World Championships, was the only star performer among the nine South Africans at the GE Money Finnish IAAF Grand Prix in Helsinki on Monday night. He was a man on a mission to run the world’s fastest time of the year and he did just that.
Simmer and Jack Mines, the preferred bidder for DRDGold’s North West operations, was making ”excellent progress” in its growth strategy, the company said on Monday. ”The company was making excellent progress in … its turn around and growth strategy,” chief executive Gordon Miller said in a statement.
South African Airways and trade unions were to meet under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to resolve a strike, unions said. ”We’re not asking for more money. We want the whole thing spread in a different way,” said unionist Andre Venter.
Convicted kidnapper and killer Donovan Moodley arrived for his second day in the Johannesburg High Court early on Tuesday. Moodley was once again brought to court in a three car convoy with blaring sirens. Radio reports said Moodley’s father Stephen would testify on Tuesday during mitigation of sentence.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday said in a statement that it has offered to intervene in the Pick ‘n Pay strike under Section 150 of the Labour Relations Act. The strike will continue until a settlement has been reached, the South African Catering, Commercial and Allied Workers’ Union said on Monday.
Donovan Moodley was found guilty in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday for kidnapping and murdering student Leigh Matthews and for extorting money from her parents. In a statement, read by advocate Johan Pretorius, Moodley gave a detailed account of how he planned and executed the kidnapping and murder.
Although Earth’s neighbouring planet Mars is getting brighter again, it will not become our second moon, as promised in an e-mail doing the rounds, the Johannesburg Planetarium said on Monday. Spokesperson Claire Flanagan said an e-mail has been going around saying that Mars will appear as the Earth’s second moon.
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Durban businessman Schabir Shaik returns to the city’s high court on Tuesday for his application for leave to appeal against his conviction and 15-year jail sentence for fraud and corruption. Last week, Shaik’s attorney Reeves Parsee said argument ”could take 10 minutes or two days”.
Transformation and black economic empowerment (BEE) in South Africa’s financial sector must not jeopardise ongoing financial stability, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel cautioned on Monday. He was speaking at the start of the Financial Sector Campaign Coalition Conference in Cape Town.
Donovan Moodley pleaded guilty to the murder and kidnapping of student Leigh Matthews at the Johannesburg High Court on Monday. He also admitted to extortion. His fiancée, Yeshika Singh, was in the court room, as well as his father, Stephen, and his sister.
Springbok coach Jake White and his assistant Gert Smal on Monday said something has to be done about the way the Wallabies manipulate the scrums. The Boks conceded two free kicks to the Wallabies at scrum time during Saturday’s Mandela Challenge Plate Test at Ellis Park, won 33-20 by South Africa.
Municipalities are to take control of taxi ranks and their management, as some taxi associations have taken to charging operators for using them, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe said on Monday, adding that the government has committed R2,5-billion to increase its capacity to enforce public-transport laws.
The Democratic Alliance on Monday announced it has ”declared war” on tik, the highly addictive methamphetamine drug. DA leader Tony Leon said his party has developed a five-point plan to rid communities of the drug. On the Cape Flats, tik is responsible for some of the fastest addiction rates ever seen among youngsters.
The Scorpions have arrested a senior elected Mangaung official, his wife and four other officials, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday. The six were arrested in the morning. Scorpions and NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said a seventh arrest in Johannesburg is imminent.
Trading at Pick ‘n Pay’s stores across the country was normal on Monday and the strike action was ”far more orderly”, the retail chain company said in a statement. The group, however, still appealed to the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers’ Union to ensure that its members obey the law.
Nokwanda Ngombane, the widow of slain Free State government official Noby Ngombane, stood to benefit from insurance on her husband’s life totalling R20-million, City Press reported on Sunday. Nokwanda, who handed herself over to the police on Friday, was the sole beneficiary of the policies, the newspaper said.