Black Leopards moved off the bottom of the Absa Premiership log after playing to a goalless draw with Lamontville Golden Arrows at Thohoyando Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Leopards, however, are still relegation candidates along with Jomo Cosmos and Thanda Royal Zulu, and the teams have only two more games to try to avoid relegation.
SuperSport United went to the top of the Absa Premiership table after thrashing Moroka Swallows 4-2 at the Super Stadium on Saturday night, courtesy of four goals by substitute Katlego Mashego. Swallows’ Sandile Ndlovu scored first in the 59th minute, but two minutes later Mashego started his four-goal blitz.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader looked set on Sunday to return home from South Africa to face Robert Mugabe in a presidential run-off poll despite a risk of "more violence, more gloom, more betrayal". Morgan Tsvangirai had previously refused to say whether he would take part in the run-off, even though failure to do so would have handed victory to Mugabe.
Who said seven is a lucky number? Not Orlando Pirates, that’s for sure. In a derby encounter of much action and excitement for the near-capacity 40 000 crowd at Mmabatho Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Buccaneers lost 1-0 against Kaizer Chiefs and extended to seven the number games they have gone without a victory against their tradition-steeped rivals.
No link seems to exist between the suspensions of South African Broadcasting Corporation group CEO Dali Mpofu and head of news Snuki Zikalala, Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said on Saturday. She said the information she received indicated that the board’s reasons for suspension of Mpofu had to do with an issue of governance.
The Sharks collected a crucial five points to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Super 14 semifinals with a 33-14 win over the Cheetahs on Saturday. The Sharks scored two late tries by winger Odwa Ndungane for the bonus point to ensure they remain in contention for a last-four place with just one round of matches to come.
The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition group said on Saturday he would contest a run-off against Robert Mugabe after disputed elections on March 29. But Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he would only participate in the run-off if international observers and media had full access to ensure the poll is free and fair.
The South African Communist Party, an ally of the African National Congress (ANC), called at a weekend summit for President Thabo Mbeki to be sacked, newspapers said on Saturday, but the ANC said the issue was not even on the agenda. ANC spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso dismissed any suggestion that Mbeki’s political future was being discussed.
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The Scorpions must be disbanded because they are a counter-revolutionary force out to destroy African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma and destabilise the party, the Umkhonto weSizwe Veterans’ Association (MKVA) said on Saturday.
It is about time that the humiliation of South African freedom fighters in the United States came to end, African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee member Tokyo Sexwale said on Saturday. The US House of Representatives on Thursday adopted legislation that erases from government records the apartheid-era designation of the ANC as ”terrorists”.
The constitutional right of access to free water was infringed by Johannesburg Water through its installation of prepaid meters in Phiri, Soweto, according to a ruling made by the Johannesburg High Court last week. Judge Moroa Tsoka declared that the rights of Phiri residents had been violated and said the prepaid meters were ”illegal and unconstitutional”.
The Bulls combined strong forward play with outstanding defence to record a 28-17 win over the ACT Brumbies in the penultimate round of the 2008 edition of the Super 14 competition. The defending champions from South Africa, who led 18-10 at the break, outscored the men from Australia three tries to two.
Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown has been arrested on charges of theft, fraud and money laundering, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday. ”J Arthur Brown was arrested on the strength of a warrant following the investigation that was carried out on a separate leg of the bigger Fidentia investigation,” said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
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African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma on Friday called for a closure of the ”chapter of tension and mistrust” between the ruling party and its alliance partners. The relationship between the ANC and its alliance partners had become somewhat strained under the previous leadership of national President Thabo Mbeki.
The leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) met labour and Communist allies on Friday for a summit aimed at healing rifts that have emerged under the rule of President Thabo Mbeki. Investors are spooked by the prospect the ANC could surrender to the left’s calls for a shift away from the business-friendly policies pursued by Mbeki.
The Ginwala hearing has made public a controversial letter from President Thabo Mbeki to Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla over the handling of a warrant to arrest police national Commissioner Jackie Selebi. ”Since it was in the public domain and since it had been used, there could be no privilege that could attach to the letter,” Dr Frene Ginwala said.
Tiger Brands is starting a company-wide review to ensure there is no more anti-competitive behaviour after cartels in the healthcare and bread and milling sectors were recently exposed, CEO Peter Matlare said on Friday. ”We are cleaning house. We are going door-to-door and cupboard-to-cupboard,” Matlare told reporters in Johannesburg.
Recent developments at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) are ”bizarre”, the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) said on Friday. ”The top-level disciplinary issues and staff departures are likely to have a disruptive effect on the conduct of the broadcaster’s operations,” Sanef said in a statement.
The arrest warrant against police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi was cancelled last year because acting prosecutions boss Mokotedi Mpshe thought the Scorpions might undermine him and serve it while he was still reviewing the matter, the inquiry into Pikoli’s fitness to hold office heard on Friday.
The judicial inquiry into the murder of former senior Free State official Noby Ngombane was on Friday postponed for a decision on whether his wife and family members should give oral evidence. Willem Edeling, legal counsel for Ngombane’s wife, Nokwanda, and other family members asked regional magistrate Dawn Soomaroo to consider not calling the so-called ”suspects” to the stand.
A record number of black chartered accountant (CA) candidates passed the final exams in 2007, the Association of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (Abasa) said on Friday. More than 300 (67%) black candidates passed the final qualifying exam, compared with 64% the previous year, Abasa said in a statement.
One of the key motives behind the Erasmus commission was to stop the realignment of South African politics, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said on Friday. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool in December 2007 to investigate the City of Cape Town’s probe into controversial councillor Badih Chaaban.
Former Springbok centre and current Sharks coach Dick Muir and Stormers assistant Gary Gold were on Friday named as new South African coach Peter de Villiers’s right-hand men. Muir, who led the Sharks Super 14 team to the final of the southern hemisphere inter-provincial competition last year, will take charge of the Springbok backs.
After opening firmer on Friday morning, the JSE had given up its gains by midday and was trading 125 points in the red. A local trader said that after the all-share index posted an all-time high of 32 440,9 earlier, the market saw some profit-taking, particularly in the resources stocks.
Adcock Ingram Critical Care, a healthcare unit of JSE-listed Tiger Brands, has been fined R53,5-million, or 8% of its annual turnover, for admitting its role in fixing the prices of medicines supplied to hospitals, the local anti-trust authorities said on Friday. The matter was referred to the Competition Tribunal on February 11 2008.
<i>Payback</i> by Mike Nicol (Umuzi) and <i>Dead Point</i> by Peter Temple (Quercus) are reviewed by Barbara Ludman.
The Constitutional Court has reserved judgement on a ban prohibiting journalists from reporting on divorce cases, a media report said on Friday. Earlier this year, the Cape High Court ruled that section 12 of the Divorce Act was unconstitutional after media group Johncom brought an application challenging it.
Ike’s Books and Collectables still has stalwart supporters among bibliophiles, writes Niren Tolsi.
Gold Fields, the world’s number four gold producer, posted a 67% rise in quarterly headline earnings on the back of soaring prices for the metal, but production fell on South Africa’s power crunch. Gold Fields said on Friday its adjusted headline earnings per share for the third quarter to the end of March rose to 155 cents from 93 cents in the second quarter.
The city of Tshwane will bestow a freedom of the city award on former president Nelson Mandela on May 13. Tshwane Mayor Gwen Ramokgopa said it would kick-off a year-long programme to celebrate Mandela’s life and legacy. The ceremony will take place at the Tshwane City Hall and simultaneously at a public event on Church Square.
A 36-year old man, accused of murdering eleven KwaZulu-Natal women and dumping their bodies in sugarcane fields, will be tried in the Ramsgate High Court. Thozamile Taki and his alleged accomplice Hlengiwe Nene appeared briefly in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where Magistrate Giel van Aarde ordered that they be held in custody until the trial starts on November 17.
Conventional wisdom has it that this weekend’s Soweto Derby will be the worst since the PSL was founded. For the first time in years both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are having their worst seasons simultaneously. Chiefs are ninth on the log, two places higher than their rivals from across the Orlando railway line.