Water may have to be taken from the ”haves” for redistribution among the ”have-nots”, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Buyelwa Sonjica said on Tuesday. To address inequities in access to water, ”it may be necessary to reallocate water between users”, she said at the launch of a draft position paper on water-allocation reform.
Jazz musician Robbie Jansen was in a critical but stable condition on Tuesday after he collapsed at home last week from lung problems, his brother said. ”They have been trying to wean him down [from the ventilator] from Saturday, but they put him back on it last night because he is still too weak,” he said.
Several Stormers are recovering well from injury. Hanyani Shimange, who has a rib cartilage injury, is expected to be fit for the match against the Blues on April 23. Joe van Niekerk, who has an injury to the cartilage in his left knee, is expected to be fit for the Crusaders game on Saturday.
Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to control about 1 000 residents at Diviwe township in Komga who tried to prevent the arrest of a man for assault on Sunday. The Komga police had to call for back-up as the mob stoned and attacked them in order to prevent them from leaving with the suspect.
Ten miners have abandoned their illegal underground strike at a mine in KwaZulu-Natal since Thursday to seek medical help, it emerged on Monday. Some had been feeling unwell — one of them had flu — and some were feeling claustrophobic, said Michael Campbell, spokesperson for Zululand Anthracite Colliery, outside Ulundi.
The Eastern Cape social development department is investigating 2Â 000 public servants thought to be cheating the state out of R24-million in welfare grants. Those under suspicion include teachers and employees of the Eastern Cape agriculture department. Eight civil servants were arrested at Mthatha on Monday morning for grant fraud.
The Department of Education on Monday denied reports that schoolboys will be allowed to grow beards under the national guidelines on school uniforms. ”Nothing can be further from the truth,” the department said in a statement. It blamed the ”misconception” on ”second-hand reporting”.
Jazz saxophonist Robbie Jansen is still in a critical condition in a Cape Town hospital following his collapse last week, Mountain Records MD Patrick Lee-Thorp said on Monday. ”He is slipping in and out of consciousness. But some eye movement last night was a big breakthrough. It put our hopes up,” Lee-Thorp said.
The Department of Public Enterprises and state arms company Denel on Monday dismissed as speculation media reports about a board reshuffle. According to Business Report, rumours are rife that Denel chief executive Victor Moche and human resource director Eugene Martin have been suspended or dismissed or have resigned.
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) recommended on Monday the creation of a bank for storing samples of the continent’s plant resources. This should be done ”with a view to preserving plant species and reconstituting the vegetation cover in the event of major ecological disasters”, says a PAP recommendation.
The safety of miners engaged in an underground strike since Friday is more important than labour grievances, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Monday. ”They [mine management] might be 120 times wrong but we must focus on the health and safety of the miners now to avert a crisis,” said Cosatu.
A man is in a critical condition and four others were seriously injured when a car ploughed into about 35 motorbikes near Pretoria on Sunday, News24.com reported. Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said the seriously injured included a six-year-old boy.
Bloemfontein Celtic took home full points when they hammered Wits University in a Castle Premiership encounter at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday. The tough tie saw the teams producing classic performances, scoring seven goals between them. The goal fest started in the first stanza.
Mamelodi Sundowns moved into second position in the Castle Premiership when they beat relegation-haunted Jomo Cosmos 2-0 in a scrappy league clash played at the HM Pitje Stadium on Sunday. Cosmos were reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute when Mokete Tsotsetsi was sent off for a second bookable offence.
A rollicking 85 off 58 deliveries by master blaster Justin Kemp saw the Titans to a five-wicket victory over the Dolphins in their Standard Bank Pro20 match at Willowmoore Park on Sunday. The Titans won the toss and sent the Dolphins in to bat. The visitors made 200 in their 20 overs.
A deluge in the drought-stricken Western Cape has been both welcomed and cursed, as early-morning traffic was severely disrupted on Monday. A weather forecaster said a black south-easter, caused by a ”cut-off low pressure system”, had brought heavy rainfall to the region over the 24 hours to 8am on Monday.
Ryk Neethling claimed his second gold of the competition on the final evening of the Telkom National Swimming Championships in East London on Saturday night. Fresh from his 100m freestyle victory on Friday night, the Olympic gold medallist surprised even himself with a speedy victory in the 50m butterfly in 23,89.
The ”Baby Boks” edged out France 15-9 in a game of penalties on Saturday in the International Rugby Board Under-19 World rugby championship being played at the Absa Stadium in Durban. The South Africans converted five penalties to the three of France to keep their unbeaten record.
In the most exciting Castle Premiership encounter on Saturday, Bush Bucks beat Moroka Swallows 3-2 at the Rand Stadium. Bucks’ Bulelani Matroos opened the scoring in the 43rd minute with a well-taken header. Swallows equalised in the 55th minute after Alois Ngwerume stabbed the ball home from close range.
In a Vodacom Cup weekend dominated by upsets, the biggest came at Securicor Loftus on Saturday afternoon. With almost no one giving them a chance of winning, the bottom-of-the-log Border Bulldogs surprised the Vodacom Blue Bulls to run out 33-26 winners. Starring for the Bulldogs was flyhalf Reinhard Gerber.
MG Rover South Africa has reassured its clients that they will not be affected by the international group’s financial problems, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Saturday. This follows the announcement that the car manufacturer is going into financial administration.
Saxophonist Robbie Jansen is in a stable but critical condition in the Tygerberg hospital after collapsing into a coma on Monday. Jansen, considered by many to be a guru of Cape jazz, is affectionately known as the Cape Doctor — after the south-easter — for his blowing skills.
The New National Party will disband at midnight after the results of the upcoming local government elections are declared, the party’s federal council resolved on Saturday. It is natural that not all members will support the NNP’s decision to disband. It is their right, NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said.
A briefing to the Pan African Parliament on progress made with the continent’s development plan and peer review system was postponed on Friday to the body’s next sitting later this year. The briefing was cancelled on account of the unavailability of Wiseman Nkhuhlu — chief executive officer of the secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
President Thabo Mbeki called on South Africans on Friday to ”declare war against these parasites” guilty of social grant fraud and corruption. Writing in the African National Congress’ online publication, ANC Today, he referred to Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya’s announcement that more than 37Â 000 civil servants were already under investigation.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Vusi Pikoli led a team of senior managers to help revamp Pretoria’s Mamelodi District Court on Friday, the NPA said. The derelict Mamelodi Court was the first target of a project, ”Thusa batho — Making a difference” aimed at improving service delivery to the affected communities.
Trade union Solidarity will apply for an urgent interdict to oppose the choice of provisional liquidators of DRD Gold’s operations in North West province.The application would be heard by the Pretoria High Court on Monday, Solidarity spokesperson Reint Dykema said on Friday.
The health department met its target of establishing at least one service point for HIV and Aids care in all 53 districts in the country by the end of March, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Friday. The department had also appointed seven companies to provide sustainable supplies of anti-retroviral drugs over the next three years.
The West Indies took an unbeatable lead in their three-match one-day international series against the South African women’s cricket team at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval on Thursday, with a seven-wicket victory over the home side.
The West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.
A now cash-flush South African National Treasury may well decide, as one of the options available to it, to reduce the amount it planned to borrow offshore this year given that it has a much lower Budget deficit to fund after getting an extra R10-billion in the tax coffers than expected.
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Durban High Court Judge Hillary Squires turned down a late application by the state to reopen its case on Thursday, thereby effectively ending the Schabir Shaik trial, which started in October. ”I’m glad it’s come to an end,” Shaik told journalists outside the court, adding that ”much of the burden of the stress of this case is over”.
Accusations of racism are being levelled against Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk — ironically by white employees disgruntled at the appointment of blacks to senior management positions in his department. But the minister says the racial balance at top levels of his department had to be corrected.