The non-payment of subsidies by the Gauteng transport department to bus operators could cost thousands of employees their jobs and affect 300Â 000 commuters, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday. In a statement, the union said the jobs of approximately 2Â 000 employees may be threatened.
The so-called Waterkloof Four will bring an application for leave to appeal a judgement by the Pretoria High Court after the court on Wednesday rejected an appeal to overturn their murder conviction and sentence. The court turned down an appeal by the four to overturn their conviction for the 2001 murder of an unidentified man and the assault of another.
The Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday once again postponed the murder case resulting from the death of five-year-old Danielle Esterhuizen. The hearing will resume on Thursday. State prosecutor Jacqueline Steyn said there was no courtroom available.
Bafana Bafana’s new coach, Joel Santana, will have to earn his huge salary when he arrives in Johannesburg next week to take over from fellow Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira. Santana was warned by world football governing body Fifa that it expected Bafana to shine at both the Confederations Cup next year and the 2010 World Cup finals.
It’s 6am and it’s already busy at the Bree Street taxi rank. Taxis are honking their horns, pavement entrepreneurs are hawking their goods and commuters are forming lines, waiting for their taxis. It may be early for some, but Zodwa Khumalo, one of only a handful of women taxi drivers, started her day at 3am.
The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday turned down an application by the so-called Waterkloof Four to overturn their murder conviction and sentence. Judge Willie Seriti ruled that the earlier decision by the Pretoria Regional Court to convict Christoff Becker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt of murder and assault was correct.
The Business Confidence Index (BCI) declined slightly to 93,4 in April 2008 after measuring 93,9 in March, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said on Wednesday. Although this was the lowest level so far in 2008, the pace of decline in the BCI appeared to have slowed, the SACCI said.
South African rugby coach Peter de Villiers said on Wednesday he is to name a national training squad of up 45 players for the forthcoming international season. De Villiers, who took over the reigns from Jake White in January this year, is expected to include Europe-based players John Smit (Clermont), Butch James (Bath) and Victor Matfield (Toulon) in the squad.
South African stocks were mixed in early afternoon trade on Wednesday due to volatility, but the feature of the morning session was a strong gain by synthetic fuel producer Sasol. At 12.25pm, the JSE’s broader all-share index was up 0,09%, with the industrial index up 0,88%, but resources were down 0,38%.
The public hearings on suspended National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli’s fitness to hold office are an ”inquisitorial” as opposed to an ”accusatorial” process, inquiry head Frene Ginwala said on Wednesday. ”I want to emphasise that this process is not a judicial one,” said Ginwala in an opening statement.
The majority of South Africans want the Scorpions to remain as a separate entity from the police, TNS Research Surveys said on Wednesday. Fifty-nine percent of South Africans said they felt the Scorpions should be separate in a survey conducted in February 2008 among 2 000 people.
The Department of Labour on Wednesday said the death of nine workers at Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, would take centre stage when South Africa and its international partners within the International Labour Organisation celebrate World Health and Safety Day at the end of this week.
SABMiller announced on Wednesday that Transnet head Maria Ramos has joined their board as an independent non-executive director. "During her career, Ms Ramos has won a multitude of accolades, including being named as South Africa’s Businesswoman of the Year in 2001, and <i>Sunday Times</i> Business Leader of the Year 2005," said SABMiller.
Over the long weekend burglars climbed into the roof of President Thabo Mbeki’s official residence Mahlambandlovu on the Bryntirion Estate in Government Avenue in Pretoria and stole between R20 000 and R30 000 worth of aluminium. The contractors — who were supposed to install the aluminium cables — left the premises on Tuesday because it was deemed unsafe.
Orlando Pirates could be forced to face arch enemies Kaizer Chiefs in the Absa Premiership Soweto derby at the Mmabatho Stadium on Saturday afternoon without their midfield talisman, Teko Modise. The Bafana Bafana playmaker faces a late fitness test on an injured toe he sustained in last Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat against Platinum Stars at the Johannesburg Stadium.
A Chinese ship loaded with arms destined for Zimbabwe has left Luanda, Angola, after unloading construction material, two trade union federations said on Tuesday. No attempt was made to unload any armaments, and the An Yue Jiang sailed after taking on fuel and food.
Nedbank increased first-quarter net interest income by 21,9% to R3,87-billion but said it expected slower first-half earnings growth. Shares in Nedbank stood 1,59% down at R111,50 by 7.18am GMT on Wednesday, underperforming the JSE Securities Exchange’s Top-40 index which was 0,27% weaker.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Group CEO Dali Mpofu has been suspended, the public broadcaster’s board announced on Wednesday. The board said the allegations levelled against Mpofu ”include an alleged refusal and/or failure to abide and implement decisions of the board”. This follows the suspension of group executive of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala.
Cement maker PPC increased first-half headline earnings per share by 16% as infrastructure and affordable housing projects drove cement demand, the company said on Wednesday. PPC reported headline EPS of 126 cents and a 9% increase in operating profit to R1,077-billion.
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African National Congress president Jacob Zuma has been ”extremely unwise” to claim divine blessings for the leading political party, church leaders of the Apostolic Faith Mission said in Tuesday. In a statement, the leaders warned of a Messianic danger when invoking a divine blessing on a political party.
Governmental food-price regulation was not the right way to handle the ”potential crisis” around increased food costs, the Milk Producers Organisation said on Tuesday. Director Etienne Terre’Blanche said the problem with regulating prices was that the country could not regulate foreign companies’ prices.
Five sectors of employment have the highest risks when it comes to workplace health and safety, a labour executive said in Vryheid on Tuesday. KwaZulu-Natal Labour Department’s acting provincial executive manager Edward Khambula said the iron and steel, construction, agriculture, food, drink and beverage sectors had the highest number of accidents in South Africa.
It is estimated that 5,6-million South Africans are infected with HIV/Aids in 2008, said the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) on Tuesday. The HIV prevalence rates from the ASSA 2003 model are ” roughly consistent” with the national prevalence survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has suspended its group executive of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala, with immediate effect. The public broadcaster said Zikalala had been suspended by chief executive Dali Mpofu pending the outcome of a probe into allegations of misconduct.
Public servants may be in line for a double-digit pay increase this year. Briefing the media at Parliament on Tuesday, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said the current wage agreement stipulated an increase of CPIX plus 1%.
An investigation into two northern KwaZulu-Natal men who were caught monitoring police radio frequencies has been launched, police said on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Captain Charmaine Struwig said the pair were caught on Newcastle Road in Ladysmith on Monday night but had not yet been arrested.
The Johannesburg High Court has opened the way for former bouncer Gary Beuthin to be freed on bail. The court set aside the Correctional Services Department’s decision to revoke Beuthin’s parole. It also ordered that he be transferred ”with immediate effect” to Johannesburg prison’s Medium A section for awaiting trial prisoners.
The Development Bank of SA (DBSA)’s Aids statistics — published on May 4 in the Sunday Independent — had not yet been validated, the bank said on Tuesday. The DBSA said that the information was published ”without the bank’s knowledge or its explicit and formal authority”.
The green carpet will be laid on all roads leading to the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday May 24 for the David versus Goliath Nedbank Cup soccer final. The Cup committee confirmed on Tuesday the final of the inaugural Nedbank Cup between Mpumalanga Black Aces and Mamelodi Sundowns will be played at the Johannesburg Stadium.
The inquiry into the suspension of National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli, which starts on Wednesday, will see several high-profile witnesses testify, including Reverend Frank Chikane and Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. President Thabo Mbeki suspended Pikoli as the head of the NPA on September 24.
It was a clumsy attempt by Najwa Petersen to cover up her cellphone tracks that gave police a vital lead in solving the murder of her husband, Taliep, a police officer told the Cape High Court on Tuesday. Superintendent Piet Viljoen was testifying in the trial of Najwa and the three men she allegedly hired to kill Taliep on the night of December 16 2006.