The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that the Bill abolishing the Scorpions and amalgamating them into a police directorate will dramatically undermine the fight against crime, and against organised crime in particular. ”As such, the DA will do all in its power to ensure that the Bill does not become law,” the party said on Wednesday.
The Johannesburg High Court will hear an urgent application brought by suspended South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) group chief executive Dali Mpofu on Thursday, a representative speaking on his behalf said. Mpofu has been tight-lipped over his planned court action against the SABC.
A report by six former South African National Defence Force generals might lead to action being taken to address the violence in Zimbabwe, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday. He said President Thabo Mbeki was waiting for a report from the generals on the violence before considering appropriate action.
Employees of Nationwide have been left financially stranded because of technical issues surrounding the liquidation of the airline, the United Association of South Africa (Usasa) union said on Wednesday. A Uasa divisional manager said the difficulties arose because the Nationwide group consists of four subsidiaries.
The blackened fragments spread out on the table look at first glance like no more than a scattering of charcoal, left over from a long-dead fire. But on closer examination one sees that the fragments are grouped, and that each group has its own printed label. In one corner, in a plastic lunchbox-type container, are the smallest fragments of all.
A union representing South African soldiers is to take the country’s armed forces to court on Thursday over alleged discrimination against HIV-infected personnel, the union said on Wednesday. The South African Security Forces’ Union accuses the South African National Defence Force of discriminating against HIV-infected people.
There is no campaign to drive foreigners out of Alexandra, said African National Congress provincial chairperson Paul Mashatile on Wednesday outside the home of a victim of this week’s alleged xenophobic attacks in the Johannesburg township that have claimed three lives. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela also visited the township on Wednesday.
Lawyers for convicted murderers the Waterkloof Four have filed papers in the Pretoria High Court for an application for leave to appeal, it was reported on Wednesday. The four want to take their murder-conviction appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal after they lost their first appeal case in the Pretoria High Court last week.
The South African economy could see a turnover in excess of R40-billion during the Soccer World Cup finals, which kick off at the new Soccer City in Johannesburg in June 2010. In an interview on Wednesday, chairperson of the 2010 local organising committee Irvin Khoza was upbeat that South Africa will host the best World Cup in history.
Demands from various quarters that South Africa stop its electricity exports to neighbouring countries amounted to ”economic xenophobia”, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Wednesday. Eskom’s customers outside South Africa would be treated exactly like any other customer with the same rights, and this would remain so.
Having fled the spiralling post-election violence in his native Zimbabwe, Given Sithole never imagined he would now be fearing for his life in what he saw as the safety of neighbouring South Africa. With tears dripping from his swollen right eye, Sithole recounts how he was caught in recent xenophobic attacks in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
The City of Johannesburg will appeal a high court ruling that found forcibly installing prepaid water meters is unconstitutional, mayor Amos Masondo said on Wednesday. In a speech prepared for delivery, Masondo said the city had consulted its lawyers, who had carefully considered the judgement regarding meters in Phiri, Soweto, and found that it was ”distorted”.
The drunken-driving case against 2010 Soccer World Cup chief security officer Linda Mti was postponed in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday until next month. State prosecutor Mabuse Monareng requested the postponement because the state witness was writing exams.
South African stocks remained firm at midday on Wednesday as merger talks surrounding BHP Billiton kept heavyweight miners buoyant, but easing metal prices weighed on other mining counters. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was up 0,88% at 32 280,27.
In celebration of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday this year, youth parliaments will be held across the country, it was announced at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Speaking at the announcement was NMCF chief executive Sibongile Mkhabela and the former president’s daughter, Zinzi, who is a trustee of the fund.
![]()
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma’s rights to a fair and speedy trial have been violated with impunity, and the independence and credibility of organs of state have been severely compromised, the ANC Youth League said on Wednesday.
New Springbok coach Peter de Villiers is spoilt for choice ahead of the Springboks’ first Test of the year, against Six Nations champions Wales on June 7 in Bloemfontein. De Villiers, who took over from World Cup-winning coach Jake White at the beginning of the year, names his first South Africa squad on Saturday.
Two men were arrested while trying to sell an expensive diamond to a Durban businessman, police said on Wednesday. Captain Thembeka Luhtuli said police had seized the diamond — valued at an estimated R250 000 — in Winder Road on Tuesday afternoon.
Food retailer Spar has installed diesel generators at four of its six distribution centres, with generators to be installed at the remaining two distribution centres by the end of the financial year. The group released its unaudited interim results for the six months ended March 31 on Wednesday.
Eskom said on Wednesday that South Africa’s power supply remained limited and electricity prices were set to rise steadily. ”The system is still tight and vulnerable,” Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said in a presentation. ”Electricity prices are going to go up steadily.”
About 70 people spent a harrowing half hour in mid-air after fuses blew and cut power to the motor that hauls the Table Mountain cable cars, the Times reported on Wednesday. The chief executive of the company that runs the cableway, Sabine Lehmann, said two cars were stranded for 35 minutes when the fuses blew on Tuesday.
A Frenchman pretending to be the Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni, and his four accomplices have allegedly fleeced a foreign businessman of more than R2-million. Adam Toure and his cronies Mark Ezende, Alpheus Onabuenyi, Meleece Ayoba and her husband Franklin briefly appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court this week on two charges of fraud.
Two construction sites in Durban, including Tongaat Hulett Sugar, have been closed down as they were considered unsafe for workers, the Labour Department said on Tuesday. At Le Domaine Estates in Hillcrest, inspectors stopped the construction of houses located directly under high voltage power cables.
Three teenagers, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot and stabbed as violence flared up again in Alexandra on Tuesday night, Johannesburg police said on Wednesday. Constable Neria Malefetse said the police arrested another five people, bringing the total number of arrests related to suspected xenophobic attacks to 66.
The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday night called on members of the Alexandra community to remain calm and to allow police to handle the situation. ANC Alexandra spokesperson, Pule Phalatse, said the party had attended a meeting held at the Sankopano community centre on the corner on Selbourne and 12th Avenue in Alexandra.
As jet fuel prices skyrocket, airlines the world over are closing down and analysts are speculating that the cheap-flight era is coming to an end. South African Airways, in the middle of a restructuring process to become profitable, could see its fuel bill almost double, which might lead to taxpayers having to bail it out again.
The Democratic Alliance has called on the Speaker of Parliament to explain why a decision has been made to stop further investigations into MPs implicated in the Travelgate scandal. This follows publication of a notice directing liquidators ”not to pursue any action as against the various members of Parliament in relation to the un-invoiced tickets, levies and/or services”.
Willy Madisha was trying to ”milk dry” the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), it claimed in a statement on Tuesday. Cosatu had already spent R235 237 on the commission into Madisha’s conduct which recommended he be axed as its president, said spokesperson Patrick Craven.
Skills and contractor shortages are major obstacles to the upgrading of road infrastructure in Johannesburg, the South African National Roads Agency said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Ismail Essa said as the upgrading projects advanced, the challenges would be greater.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool has proposed community food gardens on state land as one solution to rocketing food prices. ”Government and society cannot close our eyes to the increasing hardship and the struggle of many families to put food on the table,” he told the provincial legislature on Tuesday.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Tuesday inflation was expected to rise, but that it remained committed to bringing the gauge within target range ”over a reasonable time horizon”. The targeted CPIX consumer inflation gauge has persisted above the top end of a 3% to 6% range since April 2007, and accelerated to a new five-year high of 10,1% year-on-year in March.
The Directorate of Special Operations, or the Scorpions, had another nail hammered into its coffin on Tuesday, with the tabling of the General Laws Amendment Bill in the National Assembly. The draft legislation, now headed for the committee stage, provides for the establishment of a new division in the South African Police Service.