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.
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.
The Law Society of South Africa on Friday called for an overhaul of the justice system to deal with crime in the country. Co-chairpersons Vincent Saldahna and CP Fourie said the scourge of crime needed a more holistic and serious solution, which included the proper training of police officers.
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.
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.
Valued at R34-billion, or ,4-billion — more than dollar billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s empire — Royal Bafokeng Holdings, the investment arm of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, has added about R2-billion to its asset base through its recent BEE deal with Vodacom.
The Movement for Democratic Change may seem hopelessly undecided about whether to fight or boycott the presidential run-off against Robert Mugabe, but sources confirm it will go to the polls in a run-off election, the date of which still has to be announced.
Allegations that the Gauteng Transport Department (Gautrans) owed commuter bus operators payments as far back as June 2007, were untrue, the department said on Thursday. ”Hence, the department strongly condemns any attempts aimed at causing uncertainty and divisions within the bus industry.”
The Department of Health and the Department of Water Affairs are still collecting door-to-door information on the outbreak of diarrhoea in the Eastern Cape which cost 78 children’s lives, the provincial government said on Thursday. Spokesperson Papama Mfenyana said the province was still waiting for information from the team on the ground.
Suspended prosecuting head Vusi Pikoli considered ”unconstitutional” an instruction by Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla not to pursue warrants of arrest for police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. This was evidence on Thursday in the Ginwala inquiry’s hearing into the fitness of Pikoli to serve as National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Salaries should increase on average by about 11,8% in 2008, an employment report released on Thursday shows. ”Higher inflation makes for high salary increases,” said economist Mike Schussler, who compiled the report for the United Association of South Africa trade union.
Bones collected from an Eastern Cape farm suspected to be that of the Pebco Three will be examined, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday. The NPA said it found around 12kg of bone material, identified out of 250kg of burnt material.
Power cuts in the winter months ahead are unlikely if the present power-saving trends continue, according to Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin. The overall savings target remains 10%, and the key factor is the behavioural changes that are crucial in the short-term, he told a media briefing at Parliament on Thursday.