A mother whose children died in a blaze while she was out drinking has been jailed for five years by the Viljoenskroon Magistrate’s Court, police said on Friday. A police spokesperson said the woman had left her three children inside a locked shack with a candle burning while she was out drinking with her boyfriend.
Insurance group Momentum, part of the listed FirstRand group, has made an offer of 175 cents per share to acquire all of rival insurer Sage, in a transaction worth R634-million, the companies announced on Friday. If the offer is successful, Sage will be delisted from the JSE Securities Exchange.
Legal experts must decide if Saturday’s imbizo (meeting) of the Zulu nation in Durban is traditional or political before police decide whether traditional weapons will be allowed at the gathering. On Thursday, a spokesperson said Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has distanced himself from the imbizo.
More than R130-million will be made available for housing in the Nelson Mandela metropolis following four days of protests over slow housing delivery. Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela announced this on Thursday while appealing for calm. ”We shall not abandon the poor,” said Balindlela.
In a week in which Tony Leon came out with guns blazing because the African National Congress seemed, in his view, bent on dividing and ruling the white population, South Africa was pondering yet another great gulf in the populace.
This weekend, the national question will be answered: Who will be South Africa’s football champions?
Click on image for full-size view.
Dialogue across political extremes continued on Thursday between the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings and the African National Congress Youth League. The two bodies agreed in Johannesburg to focus future talks on the economy and language issues, said FAK spokesperson Johann Rossouw.
Kaizer Chiefs is ending the season the way Orlando Pirates started it. On Wednesday night, Supersport United inflicted the most pain on Orlando Pirates after they lost 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs. This was the second time United denied Pirates happiness. The first time was when Supersport United came back from a 4-1 drubbing to beat Pirates 4-3.
United Cricket Board chief executive Gerald Majola confirmed on Thursday what has been an open secret for several days — that Warriors coach Mickey Arthur has been appointed coach of the South African national team until after the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007. Arthur said he feels honoured and privileged to become coach.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini on Thursday said the drafting of a constitution for KwaZulu-Natal is intended to ”culminate in the restoration of the monarch to its [sic] rightful position and status”. He was speaking to members of a constitutional ad hoc committee in Durban.
Absa joined other major banks on Thursday in warning its clients against an internet ”phishing” scam. The phishing (fishing for information) scam entails an e-mail, with an internet link to a lookalike bank website, being sent to clients, prompting them to reveal personal information.
Sanlam on Thursday announced it has entered into a joint venture agreement with the India-based Shriram Group to form a new life-insurance business, the Shriram Life Insurance Company. Sanlam and the Shriram Group will hold 26% and 74% share of the company respectively.
The goal of reducing electricity consumption by 153 megawatts yearly in a bid to conserve dwindling resources was exceeded by about 30% last year, Eskom said on Thursday. Eskom MD Johnny Dladla was speaking at a function in Pretoria to showcase energy-savings efforts undertaken at the 1 Military hospital.
More roads were blocked in Port Elizabeth on Thursday as angry residents ignored the Eastern Cape premier’s call for calm, taking to the streets for the fourth day this week to protest against slow housing delivery, police said. A police spokesperson said the main roads in the suburb of New Brighton have been blocked.
Dynamos made certain of keeping their place in the Premier Soccer League when they beat Ajax Cape Town by 3-0 at Newlands Stadium on Wednesday night.
The visitors from Giyani, who were placed 14th before the game, led 2-0 at the interval. Their victory catapults them to 10th spot, with 32 points from 29 matches.
A cat was killed by being cooked alive in a microwave oven belonging to students at a men’s residence at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, reports said on Thursday. The cat reportedly died an ”extremely painful” death. Provincial education minister Ina Cronje has condemned the act as ”barbaric” and ”shocking”.
Global brewing giant SABMiller on Thursday reported basic earnings per share of 94,1 United States cents for the year ended March 31 2005, from 54,1 cents a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were up 33% to 103,2 US cents, while in sterling terms, earnings per share were up 22% to 55,9 pence, from 45,8 pence a year ago.
The release of global brewing giant SABMiller’s final 2005 results on Thursday have highlighted the continued robust growth in its South African beer business, with Beer South Africa recording a 20% rise in its earnings before interest, tax and amortisation in rand (constant currency) terms.
Click on image for full-size view.
Absa on Wednesday warned job seekers against a ”malicious” hoax e-mail advertising 600 positions at the banking group. Hundreds of jobless people reportedly converged on the Absa branch on the corner of Kruis and Market streets, Johannesburg, with their CVs at 9am on Wednesday to apply for the posts.
South Africa’s proposed ”smart” identity-card plan will receive about R270-million this year, Minister of Home Affairs Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told parliamentarians on Wednesday. The card is now ”at the final stages for Cabinet’s approval of such a procurement model”, the minister reported.
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) criticised South Africa’s cricket authorities on Wednesday over the way it awards franchises, saying the system was ”elitist” and ”retrogressive”. An ANCYL spokesperson said South Africa’s cricket authorities are not interested in a programme of transformation.
An apartheid-era law is causing headaches for a committee set up to investigate the underlying reasons for instability and conflict in the Western Cape minibus taxi industry. The ”problematic area” relates to Ordinance 13 of 1978, which stipulates that the proceedings of such committees should not be open to the public.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has told African transport ministers that he is "concerned" about the high concentration of air-traffic accidents on the continent. He was speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesday of a summit of African Union ministers responsible for air transport and aviation being held in South Africa.
The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has finally signed its first investor for the Port Elizabeth-based harbour project, the company said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Belgian-owned Sander International Textiles has signed a 20-year lease with Coega. The investment with Coega is worth R200-million, said a CDC spokesperson.
A fierce critic of President Robert Mugabe, Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, on Wednesday lashed out at his ”criminal” government for refusing to ask for food aid to help at least two million needy Zimbabweans. His remarks came amid reports in Harare that Mugabe is ready to meet with the head of the United Nations World Food Programme.
A man who released snakes in a Johannesburg bank last year was on Wednesday acquitted on one charge of attempted murder, with the other reduced to assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Abel Manamela’s bail has, however, been increased because the prosecutor revealed to the court three previous convictions against him.
The last surviving member of the Stander gang of bank robbers, who was released from Krugersdorp prison on Wednesday, has asked not to speak to the media, the Department of Correctional Services said. ”The general rule is that offenders who are released on parole are not allowed to speak to the media,” a departmental spokesperson said.
A woman was found shot dead and three children died in a fire after an attack on their Mitchells Plain home on Wednesday, Western Cape police said. An unknown number of people allegedly set the house in Chrysler Street, Beacon Valley, on fire after trying to gain entry to it at about 4am.
The case of two men arrested last year on weapons of mass destruction charges was transferred to Pretoria during their appearance in the Vanderbijlpark Regional Court on Wednesday. A court official said the two made a brief appearance and the case was transferred to the Pretoria High Court for August 22.
South African cricket coach Ray Jennings arrived back in South Africa on Wednesday after a very successful tour of the West Indies. But instead of being able to bask in the glow of the successful tour, Jennings had to face the media knowing that he will almost certainly be replaced as coach on Thursday.
The forgotten heroes of the world-famous Comrades Marathon will be remembered by the organisation this year. They include hundreds of black runners, who were barred by apartheid laws, and hundreds of women who were denied the opportunity of competing with men by the athletics governing bodies of the time.