A judicial inquiry found on Wednesday that murdered senior Free State official Noby Ngombane’s wife, Nokwanda, and family were not involved in his murder in 2005. Regional magistrate Dawn Soomaroo made her findings public after a judicial investigation, which lasted about a month, in Bloemfontein.
South Africa’s manufacturing sector remains ”resilient” amid global pressures, but the price of carbon steel is holding back the country’s industrial drive, a senior government official said on Tuesday. The Cabinet approved a multi-pronged industrial action plan last year to help drive Africa’s strongest economy in its quest to achieve a 6% growth rate by 2010.
The xenophobic attacks in Gauteng appeared to have subsided, a provincial spokesperson said on Wednesday. However, KwaZulu-Natal police are monitoring a possible outbreak of attacks there. ”There are no new reports of attacks,” said Thabo Masebe, deputy director of communications for the provincial government.
President Thabo Mbeki abdicated his power in deciding to disband the Scorpions, the Pretoria High Court heard on Wednesday. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa was in court listening as counsel for his and four other opposition parties argued that Mbeki and the Cabinet took their cue from the African National Congress on a decision to dissolve the Scorpions.
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>Addressing an audience in London on Wednesday, Tony Leon — the former leader of the Democratic Alliance — expressed fears that under Jacob Zuma as president, South Africa could revert to a stereotype of "Big Man", African-style kleptocracy replete with redistributive and populist economics with lashings of demagoguery.
Springbok captain John Smit will be released from national duty to fulfil his commitments to French club Clermont, SA Rugby announced on Wednesday. Smit would return to Clermont on June 15 to play in the French Top 14 semifinals on June 21 and the final on June 28 if necessary, SA Rugby said in a statement.
South African stocks were slightly lower at midday on Wednesday, but off the worst levels as commodity stocks posted modest gains on higher prices. At 11.58am, the JSE’s all-share index was down 0,13%. Resources were up 0,23%, the gold mining index was fairly flat at +0,03%, but the platinum mining index lost 0,47%.
A radically transformed revenue-collection system was envisaged by commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) Pravin Gordhan on Wednesday. Explaining the changes that Sars is implementing this year, Gordhan told Parliament’s finance committee that this year employers would be able to use Sars’s own payroll software.
Metrorail has beefed up security in response to possible xenophobic attacks on train commuters, it said on Wednesday. ”Our own protection services, the South African railway police and contracted security staff have been beefed up in response to the perceived threat and in support of our security plan,” the company said in a statement.
There is a growing danger of a coup by military hardliners in Zimbabwe to prevent opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from toppling President Robert Mugabe, a leading think tank said on Wednesday. The International Crisis Group called for African mediation leading to a national unity government led by Tsvangirai as the best way to resolve the crisis.
The South African government is under growing pressure to send troops into Johannesburg’s townships for the first time since the apartheid era as African immigrants continued to flee a wave of killings and violence against foreigners. Several people were killed overnight including two men, believed to be Mozambican miners, who were beaten to death as mobs moved through townships.
Thousands of refugees in and around Johannesburg faced another night filled with anxiety on Tuesday evening as xenophobic tensions and violence continued to spread through the province. The violence has so far claimed 24 lives and left up to 10Â 000 people seeking refuge in shelters across Gauteng.
A skills shortage at Eskom could affect its expansion plans, trade union Solidarity said on Tuesday. ”Eskom’s current skills shortages are already causing problems, but if the levels of alienation among Eskom staff are any indication, the company is heading for a crisis,” said the union’s Dirk Hermann.
Ekurhuleni police chief Robert McBride returned to work on Tuesday amid an eruption of bloody xenophobic clashes throughout the province. ”All leave has been cancelled [under the circumstances],” McBride said. ”I’m working.” He would not answer any more questions, explaining: ”I’m really busy at the moment.”
An alleged kingpin in the Fidentia asset management scandal, Steven Goodwin, launched an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to secure his freedom. He asked the court to set aside and declare unconstitutional a request by the Director General of Justice to United States authorities for his provisional arrest.
The AfriForum group on Tuesday laid wreaths in Pretoria for the victims of the Church Street bomb blast during the apartheid era. ”The fact that the majority of the victims had been civilians means that the incident cannot be regarded as a military operation, but rather as an act of terror,” said AfriForum.
Parliament would undermine its own integrity if it failed to pursue the MPs who owed money in the Travelgate saga, the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said on Tuesday. PSAM was reacting to an announcement that creditors of one of the travel agencies linked were to be asked to stop all civil action.
Ronnie Kasrils, Minister of Intelligence, said on Tuesday that "we are not just seeing spontaneous xenophobic attacks". "There are many social issues at the root of the problem, but we have reason to believe that there are many other organisations involved in sparking the attacks. We are currently analysing the situation."
As police announced the launch of "specialised units" to combat the deadly xenophobic violence in Gauteng and the National Intelligence Agency confirmed that it was probing the violence, the government on Tuesday stood accused of serious policy failures that "created a tinderbox of unmet expectations which exploded in Alexandra".
South Africa has emerged at a ranking of 116 in the Global Peace Index 2008, the index said on Tuesday. ”South Africa has moved down six places since 2007,” it said in a statement. The index is a ranking of 140 countries — from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe — listed according to their peacefulness.
It’s just another sunny afternoon in Alex, and foreigners are taking the opportunity to salvage what is left of their possessions. When the sun goes down, they’ll need to be back in their tents behind the palisade fence of the parking lot of the Alexandra police station, which has been turned into a tent city.
A judge has issued a stern warning to murder accused Najwa Petersen after learning on Tuesday she had dismissed her advocate just as she was supposed to start presenting her case for a not-guilty ruling. ”We can’t be held to ransom by the whims of one accused,” Cape High Court judge Siraj Desai said.
The police have ”concrete evidence” of a suspected third-force involvement in xenophobic attacks in and around Johannesburg, the Gauteng Legislature heard on Tuesday. ”The police now have concrete evidence of those involved in orchestrations and they are dealing with it,” said Gauteng’s minister for sport Barbara Creecy.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Tuesday defended inflation targeting as an economic management tool and hinted the government was still comfortable with a 3% to 6% percent target range for the main CPIX (consumer inflation less mortgage costs) gauge.
The JSE was taking a breather on Tuesday after its recent strong rally, which took the bourse to successive record highs, as some profit-taking set in. However, earlier the all-share index hit yet another fresh record high when it touched 33 263,148. At noon, the JSE’s all-share index was down 0,88%.
South Africa’s police and the African National Congress (ANC) intensified efforts on Tuesday to quell anti-foreigner violence that has killed at least 24 people and sent thousands of African immigrants into refugee shelters. Police have struggled for over a week to end the violent attacks on foreigners.
South African consumer foods and healthcare products group Tiger Brands plans to sell an additional 10% to black-economic empowerment (BEE) investors after the completion of the unbundling of its healthcare products unit, it said on Tuesday. "Post-unbundling, an additional broad-based equity deal of approximately 10% will be implemented," CEO Peter Matlare said.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board will appeal a high court ruling setting aside the suspension of chief executive Dali Mpofu, board chairperson Khanyi Mkhonza said on Tuesday. ”After careful study of the judgement, the board has identified areas of concerns that we believe can only be clarified through the legal process,” she said.
Despite a number of ongoing risks and structural imbalances in South Africa, the rand has a very good chance of strengthening impressively for the rest of this year and into 2009, say market analysts ETM. They say, however, that levels approaching 6,50 to the dollar — should they be reached — would probably be difficult to sustain.
President Thabo Mbeki on Monday reiterated his call for an immediate end to attacks on foreign nationals in Gauteng, which have left 22 people dead and up to 10Â 000 seeking refuge in shelters. ”Citizens from other countries on the African continent and beyond are as human as we are and deserve to be treated with respect,” the president.
It was touted to be a friendly, "inquisitorial" forum, but had all the elements of a bitter family feud where old comrades squared up in new battles. On the one side: the mandarins of the state and the political party that brought liberation, fighting to protect old networks of solidarity.
As the sun set on another bloody day of xenophobic violence in Gauteng on Monday, at least 22 people were reported dead, many more injured and 217 arrested for fierce attacks on both foreigners and local residents living in the greater Johannesburg area. Aid organisations were assisting thousands of refugees at civic centres and police stations.