Jomo Cosmos are not pushing the panic buttons … just yet. Ezenkosi suffered their ninth defeat of the season when they were beaten 3-1 away to Bloemfontein Celtic on the weekend, which sees them drop to 15th spot on the Absa Premiership with 22 points — the same number as bottom team Black Leopards.
South Africa’s fight against money laundering and terrorism financing needs tough new laws to close regulatory loopholes and give authorities more power to crack down on crime. Murray Michell, the head of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, said draft laws would also help unclog an overburdened judicial system and streamline oversight.
In its second major report on land restitution issues in three years, the Centre for Development and Enterprise think tank argues that the country faces a worse situation than the challenges described in 2005. It says the country is looking at two likely trajectories with respect to land reform, that of ”nobody wins”, and ”everybody loses”.
The African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday the Khampepe report highlighted many of its concerns about the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), which led to its resolution to have the unit moved to the police. ”That report raises the same concerns we are raising, which led to the raising of the ANC resolution,” said the party’s secretary general.
The African National Congress (ANC) has asked President Thabo Mbeki to appoint its deputy president to Parliament as a first step to getting him into the Cabinet, an ANC official said on Tuesday. ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, a left-leaning intellectual and ally of ANC leader Jacob Zuma, has been touted as a compromise presidential candidate.
South African new vehicle sales declined by 2,8% to 42 359 units in April compared with the same month last year, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) said on Tuesday. Naamsa said sales fell further from a low base in April last year when sales were lower than normal.
Police have confirmed the arrests of three men suspected to be involved in at least 14 robberies linked to OR Tambo International Airport. Police spokesperson Dennis Adriao said on Tuesday that he could confirm the arrests but could not comment further because the matter was in court.
South African stocks remained higher at noon on Tuesday, supported by miners on stronger metal prices, but shaky overseas markets and stronger rand limited the upside move, traders said. Local mobile phone firm MTN Group remained the most heavily traded stock by value after it confirmed that it was in share price-sensitive talks with an Indian firm.
The South African Petroleum Industry Association said the replacement of older petrol pumps, which are unable to reflect a price of more than R9,99, would take several months. Roughly 18Â 500 petrol pumps, or about 30% of all South Africa’s pumps, need to be replaced. These pumps do not have digital readings.
Sappi, the world’s biggest maker of fine paper, increased second-quarter basic earnings per share to 68 United States cents from 25 US cents a year ago, the company said on Tuesday. Sappi said operating profit excluding special items rose 33% to -million in the three months to end-March from -million in the year-ago period.
Rassie Erasmus is a name synonymous with rat-cunning unpredictability in rugby. And if the Waratahs are to beat his Stormers side in their Super 14 clash at Newlands on Saturday, they know they will have to crack the mindset of the coach before they can break his players.
Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti is to proceed with an approximate one-for-four renounceable rights offer, which would result in it issuing approximately 69,4-million ordinary shares at a minimum share price of R172, it said on Tuesday. This would raise gross proceeds of approximately R11,9-billion — or about $1,6-billion.
Debate on the future of the Scorpions gained new steam on Monday as the government released a report from an inquiry it had commissioned into the elite detective unit. The Scorpions still have a role to play in the country’s crime-fighting efforts, states the report that was submitted to President Thabo Mbeki two years ago.
Gold Fields’s South Deep Mine was given permission to resume mining after a meeting with the Department of Minerals and Energy on Monday. ”The section 54 ruling [which suspends mining] has been lifted,” said spokesperson Sputnik Rantau. ”The mine has been allowed to go back into operation.”
The Cape High Court on Monday heard a graphic account of how Najwa Petersen stabbed her husband, Taliep, in the neck one night, eight months before he was murdered. It also heard that the theatre personality’s life was insured for R5,3-million, and that Najwa tried after his death to have the money paid into a Namibian bank account.
South African telecoms operator MTN Group said on Monday that it was in share price-sensitive talks with India’s Bharti Airtel. The group did not give much away amid speculation that Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest phone company, might launch a takeover offer for the local firm.
The government is looking at giving food vouchers or cash to poor households to help them cope with spiralling food prices. ”We’re looking at a range of options … such as food vouchers, [as well as] increasing cash transfers in the case of people already on the social-assistance programme,” Social Development Director General Vusi Madonsela said on Monday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday accused Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang of keeping Aids statistics low after an official report was released by the Development Bank of South Africa. ”The minister of health must explain why official statistics are so low,” said DA spokesperson and MP Sandy Kalyan.
The existence of the Scorpions is ”as valid today as it was at conception”, says the Khampepe report released on Monday. ”Despite indications that crime levels are dropping, it is my considered view that organised crime still presents a threat that needs to be addressed through an effective comprehensive strategy,” states the report.
Municipal workers in Pretoria began an indefinite strike on Monday to press for better pay and working conditions, their leader said. Hundreds of members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union marked the start of the stoppage with a march through the streets of the capital before handing in a petition demanding pay increases.
The case involving former Bafana Bafana player Doctor Khumalo — who faces charges of drunken, reckless and negligent driving — is still being investigated. Police spokesperson Govidsamy Mariemuthoo said Khumalo’s accident report and blood samples were still being analysed and investigated.
Motorists and petrol-pump attendants will have to use mental arithmetic to calculate how much they owe for fuel when the price goes up on Wednesday as some pumps are not able to handle more than three digits, the South African Petrol Retailers’ Association (Sapra) said on Monday.
Gold Fields’ South Deep mine remained closed on Monday ahead of a meeting between the company and the Gauteng mines safety inspector to determine whether conditions were safe enough for operations to continue. Nine people died at the company’s South Deep mine last Thursday.
South African stocks were sharply higher at noon on Monday, led by miners on stronger metal prices, while easing United States economic concerns added to the upbeat mood. Local cellphone firm MTN Group was in focus again on ongoing speculation that an Indian firm might launch a takeover bid for the company, traders said.
As Zimbabwe’s opposition mulls its options over whether to contest a run-off election against President Robert Mugabe, refugees in South Africa continue to suffer at the hands of the South African police. On April 25, policemen raided a block of flats in Pageview, west of the city-centre, which is home to 15 Zimbabwean refugees.
Mamelodi Sundowns created a South African soccer record when they reached their fourth successive cup final on Sunday after beating AmaZulu 1-0 at Potchefstroom’s Olen Park in the semifinal of the Nedbank Cup. Downs were runners up in last season’s Absa Cup — the Nedbank Cup’s predecessor.
South African Broadcasting Corporation CEO Dali Mpofu on Sunday rejected the ”insinuations” that there was a Cabinet plot against him. This followed newspaper reports that he accused Thabo Mbeki’s Cabinet of plotting to oust him. Mpofu told Parliament he had received information that someone ”from high up” had given instructions that he be fired.
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Doctor Khumalo was admitted to hospital after he was involved in an accident on the N1 in Johannesburg on Sunday, Kaizer Chiefs confirmed. The accident, involving a black BMW — driven by Khumalo — and a minibus taxi, occurred on the N1 between Maraisburg and Soweto at about 5am,
When was the last time you heard from Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff, Northern Cape’s Dipuo Peters or even KwaZulu-Natal’s S’bu Ndebele? I reckon not lately. It may be true that some, such as Marshoff and Peters, have always had a low public profile anyway. But Shilowa and Ndebele?
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) came out against the proposed increase of 53% in electricity prices during a meeting in Kimberly. Chairperson Amos Masondo said: ”The proposed hike will have a debilitating effect on not only the planning processes of municipalities but also on the quality of life of our people, particularly the poor.”
Two people have died after a church group spent a night in freeezing weather at the top of the Mount-Aux-Sources peak in the Drakensberg near Witsieshoed in Qwaqwa, Free State police said on Saturday. Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said the group left for Mount-Aux-Sources on May 1 for a prayer session on the mountain.
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma on Sunday urged communities to take more responsibility for education, health, and fighting crime. ”This is not the time to rest. This is the time to intensify the fight for a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic South Africa,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery in Khayelitsha.