Wales coach Warren Gatland said that the physical conditioning of South African players could give the world champion Springboks an edge in the first Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday. ”That’s one of the biggest fears we’ve got — how physical and fit these South African players are from the Super 14,” said Gatland.
About 142 court cases linked to xenophobic violence have been opened countrywide, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said 102 of these were in Gauteng. Provincial police liaison officers approached said none of the 142 cases had reached the conviction stage yet.
The General Council of the Bar, representing most of the country’s advocates, on Tuesday added its voice to calls for Cape Judge President John Hlophe to step down. Chairperson Jannie Eksteen said if Hlophe did not voluntarily go on leave, the minister of justice or the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) ”must see how that can be facilitated as a matter of urgency”.
Two striking municipal workers were wounded when Ekurhuleni metro police fired shots in Boksburg and four others were shot in clashes with security guards in Kempton Park on Tuesday. Police Captain Mack Mngomezulu said about 300 workers had been picketing outside the Boksburg municipality when police opened fire.
Andrew Jordaan took seven-year-old Sheldean Human to isolated bushes 500m from his home in a ”premeditated manner” to sexually assault and murder her, the Pretoria High Court found on Tuesday. Acting Judge Chris Eksteen rejected Jordaan’s version of what happened on February 18 2007 when Sheldean disappeared, calling him ”a blatant liar”.
Australian businessman John Stratton is fighting South Africa’s plans to have him extradited in connection with the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble. Currently living in Perth, Stratton is wanted by the Scorpions as an alleged co-conspirator in the brutal murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble in September 2005.
The procedures of appointing the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) board are to be reviewed, Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said on Tuesday. Speaking in the National Assembly she said there had been a national debate about the SABC as a result of views that emerged out of the assembly’s communications committee hearings.
Ernie Els says he needs to work on his mental game ahead of the United States Open which tees off on June 12 at Torrey Pines in California. After missing consecutive cuts in his last two outings, Els has opted not to play in this week’s Stanford St Jude Championship in Memphis to concentrate on his preparation.
South Africa’s targeted inflation is not expected back in the 3% to 6% band before the end of 2009, and there are significant upside risks to this forecast, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank has raised its repo rate by 450 basis points to 11,5% since June 2006 to try to tame inflation.
Lawyers for Human Rights, the organisation opposing the relocation of foreigners displaced by Xenophobic violence to City Deep in Johannesburg, will return to court on Friday. The Johannesburg High Court granted an urgent interdict on Monday preventing the relocation of the foreigners to City Deep for security reasons.
Cape Judge President John Hlophe should step down from his post until the latest complaint against him has been resolved, according to the Cape Bar Council. ”It would be untenable for Judge Hlophe to continue in office pending the determination of the complaint by the Judicial Services Commission,” the council said on Tuesday.
New vehicle sales dropped 23,4% in May, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said on Tuesday. ”Domestic new car, light and medium commercial vehicle sales reflected severe weakness during May 2008,” the association said.
Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown was still too ill to appear in court, his attorney told a Cape Town magistrate on Tuesday. The magistrate, Justhree Steyn, was expected to hear a bail application by Brown, recently re-arrested on fresh fraud and theft charges.
Stocks were slightly lower at noon on Tuesday with banks dominating the loser board on inflation worries, but miners capped losses on a weaker rand and firm metal prices, traders said. At 11.56am, the all-share index was down 0,23%, weighed by a 1,70% drop in banks.
A Limpopo couple has been convicted of hiding two suspected Boeremag members on their farm, Beeld reported on Tuesday.
The Correctional Services Ministry is investigating reports of drunken behaviour by its national commissioner, spokesperson Manelisi Wolela said on Tuesday. Commissioner Vernon Petersen reportedly misbehaved at a dinner attended by Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour and several of his African counterparts at Kievietskroon, outside Pretoria, on Thursday.
Immigrant leaders in South Africa said on Monday that thousands of refugees frustrated at miserable living conditions were on the point of retaliating against a wave of xenophobic attacks. Tens of thousands of immigrants have been forced to take refuge at temporary shelters around the country after mobs began attacking foreigners.
No date has yet been fixed for the Judicial Services Commission’s (JSC) meeting to consider new allegations against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the JSC’s secretary said late on Monday. ”Right now they are still trying to find a date,” said commission secretary Vuyelwa Masangwana.
South Africa’s key CPIX (consumer inflation less mortgage costs) is unlikely to return to within the 3% to 6% target band before 2010, a senior South African Reserve Bank official said on Monday. The targeted gauge jumped unexpectedly to a near five-and-a-half-year high of 10,4% year-on-year in April.
The Johannesburg High Court has granted an urgent interdict preventing the relocation of foreigners displaced by xenophobic attacks who are being accommodated at the city’s Cleveland and Jeppe police stations, Lawyers for Human Rights said on Monday.
A Cape High Court judge on Monday dismissed an application to force Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to hand over arms-deal documents, activist Terry Crawford-Browne said. He said Judge Daniel Dlodlo ruled in essence ”that I had waited too long in asserting my rights to discovery of the documents”.
Springbok captain John Smit achieves a remarkable feat on Saturday against Wales in Bloemfontein. He will lead his side into a Test match for the 50th time, the first time a Bok captain has ever reached the half-century mark. Springbok coach Peter de Villiers confirmed Smit’s selection on Monday.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) group executive on Monday called on the board of the national broadcaster to step down immediately.
Two striking municipal workers were wounded when security guards fired shots in Kempton Park on Monday, Ekurhuleni metro police said. Inspector Veli Nhlapo said the two were wounded when the Red Ants (a private security firm) opened fire on the striking workers. ”One was shot in the stomach and the other one in the hand. A case of attempted murder has been opened,” he said.
The Competition Tribunal on Monday confirmed the consent order agreement between the Competition Commission and respondents Adcock Ingram Critical Care, Dismed Criticare, Thusanong Healthcare and Tiger Brands. Last month Adcock Ingram admitted liability for colluding on prices and agreed to pay an administrative penalty of R53,5-million.
The Cape High Court on Monday declared valid a warrant for the re-arrest of Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown on alleged embezzlement charges involving the Antheru Trust. It dismissed with costs Brown’s urgent application for his immediate release from custody. Brown was recently arrested after his wife, Susan, secretly left the country for Australia.
The Democratic Alliance’s Tony Leon on Monday accused President Thabo Mbeki, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma and Cape Judge President John Hlophe of ”constitutional vandalism”. Addressing the Mizrachi Organisation in Cape Town, the former DA leader called for a government inclusive of ”all talent” available.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has not given up on the parliamentary process dealing with the Expropriation Bill, party leader Helen Zille said on Monday. She said the fact that DA MP Sydney Opperman last week staged a walkout during public hearings on the measure does not mean that the party will no longer participate in further parliamentary processes.
The relocation process of displaced foreign nationals to temporary shelters around Johannesburg will continue, despite complaints by some residents, a government official said on Monday. ”This is a temporary measure that will not impact negatively on the areas where foreign nationals are staying,” spokesperson for the Gauteng government Thabo Masebe said.
There were a few tense moments on Monday when a crowd of several hundred refugees marched to Parliament to air their grievances over the recent xenophobic violence. After being addressed by, among others, Zackie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign, sections of the crowd surged towards a small line of police officers outside the main gates of Parliament.
South Africa’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 49,1 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis from 54,1 in April, pressured by weak new sales orders and higher production costs. The index, a measure of underlying manufacturing activity, was below the key 50 level that signals expansion.
Threats of retaliation against South Africans in other countries for the recent spate of xenophobic attacks have been overplayed, the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Aziz Pahad, said on Monday. Speaking ahead of the state visit by Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua, he said the attacks on foreigners would be on the agenda.