Golden Arrows could not have asked for two tougher fixtures to end their Absa Premiership campaign — and to top it all, they hold the key to the championship. Arrows travel to Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium on Wednesday night, where they face leaders SuperSport United, and then host second-placed Ajax Cape Town at Umlazi’s King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.
A man was shot dead and another injured when violence flared up in Alexandra on Monday evening, bringing the death toll in suspected xenophobic attacks to three, police said on Tuesday. Constable Neria Malefetse said a total of 39 people were arrested in the Johannesburg township on Monday evening.
South African Tourism and the Indaba Explorations won World Travel Awards in the Africa category in Durban on Monday night, SA Tourism said in a statement on Tuesday. SA Tourism was named best destination marketing organisation in Africa and Indaba Explorations was named Africa’s leading travel exhibition.
The percentage of women employed in government positions across all salary levels totals 54,76%, the Business Woman’s Association (BWA) said on Monday. The official results of the Women in Corporate Leadership census were announced by BWA chief executive Yvette Montalbano at a presentation at Nedbank’s head office in Sandton.
Police were monitoring the situation in Alexandra on Monday following a suspected xenophobic attack that left two people dead and 40 injured, Gauteng police said. Constable Neria Malefetse said security had been tightened and units, including the public-order police unit, were helping to monitor the situation.
Gauteng commuter bus operators have received some outstanding subsidy payments but are still owed a substantial amount, their association said on Monday. ”All of them got payments from the Gauteng transport department at the weekend but not all were payments in full,” said South African Bus Operators’ Association executive manager Eric Cornelius.
April saw a saving of up to 7% in electricity demand, Eskom’s chief executive, Jacob Maroga, said on Monday. He briefed President Thabo Mbeki and a presidential special joint working group on the current state of electricity supply in the country, the Presidency said in a statement.
The sudden disappearance last month of the wife of Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown had destroyed the good faith between the couple and the Scorpions, the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday. Scorpions senior counsel Bruce Morrison told the court: ”She’s not coming back.”
The government has set aside millions of rands to assist the poor cope with harsh economic conditions, the Department of Social Development said on Monday. Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya appealed to churches and community-based organisations to help the department in creating awareness around the relief.
Unionist Willie Madisha has been expelled from the South African Communist Party (SACP), of which he was a central committee member, the organisation announced on Monday. It said the move followed a recommendation by a disciplinary committee that found he never disclosed a supposed R500 000 donation, and that he brought the party into disrepute.
President Thabo Mbeki must go, and he must go now, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said on Monday. ”In a constitutional democracy such as ours, it is untenable for a president with his track record to remain in office,” she said in a statement. It is ”in the interests of South Africa” that Mbeki step down as president.
A wonder fuel-saving pill has entered the local market but the Automobile Association (AA) warned consumers on Monday to be cautious of such products. The tablet, called the MPG Cap, is added to tanks to make petrol burn more efficiently, said Tim Dunstan-Smith, who claims he was the first person to bring the product to South Africa.
Tens of millions of rands of Lotto money earmarked for charities and good causes is lying undistributed in the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. Over a 100 non-profit organisations were affected, DA social development spokesperson Janet Semple told a parliamentary media briefing.
As the state wrapped up its case in the Najwa Petersen murder trial on Monday, Najwa’s advocate said no decision had been taken on whether she would testify in her own defence. ”I’ve still to consult with Mrs Petersen,” said senior counsel Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau. ”We will make up our minds in the course of the coming week.”
Africa’s biggest transport and logistics company, Imperial Holdings, said on Monday it was considering a merger of its Regent Life and Regent Insurance companies. ”A merger would enhance the growth prospects and operational synergies of these businesses …,” the company said in a statement.
An angry mob shot dead two people and injured at least 40 in suspected xenophobic attacks in Alexandra township on the weekend, Johannesburg police said on Monday. ”They threw stones at these people, shot at them, whipped some of them with sjamboks and robbed them,” said Inspector Moses Maphakela.
Travelgate MP Mnyami Booi has been granted a postponement of his trial, which was to have started in the Cape Town Regional Court last week. The postponement is to allow him to use the services of his advocate of choice, senior counsel Jan Heunis, who is not available now.
South African stocks pulled back from modest gains achieved in early deals to trade flat at noon on Monday, as traders struggled to find a clear-cut path. At midday, the JSE’s broader all-share index was neither here nor there (+0,06%) at 32 154,700. Resources were up 0,20%, while the gold- and platinum-mining indices added 0,53% and 0,22% respectively.
Pulling a sickie over the long weekend with a fake doctor’s note has led to fraud charges being laid against a Kempton Park employee and the arrest of the man allegedly selling the notes. The scam was uncovered when a manager at car rental company Avis in Croydon decided to check all the sick notes presented by employees too ill to work on April 28 and 29.
President Thabo Mbeki’s role as a mediator in the Zimbabwean crisis took another knock after disclosures that he ignored the advice of two judges he commissioned to observe that country’s 2002 general elections. Mbeki commissioned judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke to observe the controversial Zimbabwean election in 2002.
South African industrial group Barloworld lifted half-year earnings per share from continuing operations by 105% and forecast strong growth driven by its equipment unit on Monday. Group headline EPS rose to 345 cents and operating profit increased 30% to R1,29-billion for the six months to 31 March.
Inflation targeting is likely to be reviewed, because if South Africa’s policymakers only use interest rates as the tool to fight inflation, the country is in for a nasty generational learning experience as the policy will not be removing the cause of inflation, said Chris Hart, chief economist from Investment Solutions.
Experts say the often chaotic land reform programme has compromised food production: white farmers facing land claims are reluctant to plant crops, while emerging black farmers have insufficient training and support to produce the quantities of food needed by the domestic market.
In the same week that the Johannesburg High Court declared prepaid water meters to be ”unconstitutional and unlawful”, the City of Cape Town indicated it intends to roll out more than 20Â 000 water meters within the next year. Last week Judge Moroa Tsoka found the City of Johannesburg’s imposition of meters that cut off residents’ water supplies once they reach the free basic monthly limit to be ”unlawful and unreasonable”.
Petrus Mahlatsi’s brace kept Bloemfontein Celtic’s hopes of qualifying for the top eight alive when they beat Bidvest Wits 2-0 in an Absa Premiership match at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday. Celtic meant business from the start, pushing forward in numbers in search of the lead. Their efforts paid off as early as the second minute when Mahlatsi broke the deadlock.
It was described by their officials as a point ”worth its weight in gold” after relegation-embattled Thanda Royal Zulu had drawn 1-1 with Santos in Hammarsdale on Sunday afternoon. And when it comes to splashing out nuggets of gold, the team whose ownership is embedded in Swedish connections is not averse to buying success.
Mamelodi Sundowns crashed out of the African Champions League despite beating Sudan champions Al-Hilal 1-0 at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium in a hard-fought third-round, second-leg tie on Sunday. There was no score at half-time. Al-Hilal won 4-3 on aggregate.
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma has received support from alliance partners to run for presidential elections, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Sunday. ”We will not only be accompanying him to court but to the Union Buildings as the next president of South Africa,” he said, announcing the outcome of an alliance.
The African National Congress (ANC) may ask President Thabo Mbeki to set up a commission of inquiry into bonuses paid to Eskom bosses, media reports said on Sunday. The Sunday Times said a report commissioned by the ANC into the power crisis revealed gross mismanagement at the state utility.
Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown is expected to appear in court in Cape Town on Monday after he was arrested on charges of theft, fraud and money laundering on Friday. He was arrested in Cape Town’s central business district appeared in the district court. The case was postponed to Monday and Brown was to remain in police custody until he appeared in court.
The Lions of South Africa answered harsh criticism from former All Blacks skipper Sean Fitzpatrick with a rousing 33-27 Super 14 triumph over the Waikato Chiefs of New Zealand on Saturday. Legendary hooker Fitzpatrick laid into the South Africans after a heavy loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington last weekend.
The Stormers and Waratahs played out a pulsating 13-13 draw in a 12th-round Super 14 match in Cape Town on Saturday. The visitors led 6-5 at the break in pouring rain, which negated any chance of this being an exciting, try-scoring feast. And both captains felt the two points earned for the draw could be costly in their challenge for semifinal berths.