South African private sector credit growth jumped to 22,62% year-on-year in March, knocking expectations of a slowdown in spending and hardening the case for more interest rates increases. Central bank data on Wednesday showed growth in demand for credit leapt from 20,79% in February, while M3 money supply growth edged higher to 21%.
Zimbabwe’s army is supplying militants with weapons to intimidate voters to ensure that Robert Mugabe wins a possible run-off in the presidential election, Human Rights Watch said. In a statement released late on Tuesday, it said military forces had equipped war veterans with weapons and trucks to scare Zimbabweans into backing Mugabe.
South Africa’s 13-year moratorium on elephant culling was set to be lifted on Thursday to combat a surge in population numbers, despite an outcry from animal rights activists. The South African government earlier this year authorised the culling of elephants from May 1 as a last resort in limiting the numbers of the African elephant.
South African stocks were weaker at noon on Wednesday with miners under pressure on retreating metal prices, but the session was quiet as most traders are still away on a long weekend break. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was down 0,46%, with the gold and platinum mining indices down 1,47% and 1,65% respectively.
Hovering above a pride of white lions in a hot air balloon was the defining moment of Briton Chris Sanger-Davies’s first trip to South Africa. ”You realise that you are flying over countryside that has the kind of wildlife in it, that if you landed there, you would be stuffed,” the pilot said as he attended the South African Hot Air Balloon Championships.
British actress Teresa Norton was arrested at Camps Bay beach for refusing to put her dog on a leash and to give her name and address to a law enforcement officer, the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court heard on Tuesday. Officer Willem Boonzaaier is charged before magistrate Alta Fredericks with assaulting Norton.
Teazers boss Emmanuel ”Lolly” Jackson and his manager appeared in court on Tuesday on charges of fraud and contravening immigration law, Johannesburg police said. Media reports said that 11 exotic dancers from Russia and the Ukraine were also being questioned.
Statistics South Africa should appear before the finance portfolio committee to explain alleged unreliability in the Producer Price Index (PPI), said the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday. ”Reliable official data is essential to policy-making,” said DA finance spokesperson Kobus Marais.
High food and fuel costs in South Africa have spilled over into second-round inflationary effects that have to be tackled, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Tuesday. He also, again, warned in an interview with CNBC Africa that an excessive increase in electricity prices will have serious consequences for inflation.
The Presidency on Tuesday could not confirm reports that African National Congress deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe would be deployed to the Cabinet within days. ”I don’t know … I have not been advised on anything,” said presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga.
Five men have been arrested in connection with the murder and rape of a former Banyana Banyana player, East Rand police said on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Johannes Ramphora said the body of Eudy Simelane was found in a field next to the Kwa Thema hostel.
Working conditions that threaten the lives of mine workers flout the laws of the country, Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica said on Tuesday. ”Safety at work is a constitutional imperative that we all have to uphold,” she said at Anglo American’s Safety Summit in Johannesburg.
South Africa’s international land borders are as porous as the proverbial sieve, with tens of thousands of refugees streaming into the country each week, alongside gun-smugglers and drug-traffickers, says the Democratic Alliance (DA). The party called for the deployment of South African National Defence Force troops to the worst-affected border regions,
The state attorney’s office came under fire in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday for its handling of an application by attempted murder accused Gary Beuthin for a restraining order against prison authorities for alleged intimidation and victimisation.
Nationwide Airline has ceased operations until further notice, the airline announced on Tuesday. ”Our cash-flow has become critical and as a result have decided to voluntarily cease all flight operations until further notice,” said chief executive Vernon Bricknell.
A murderer who was sentenced to life in jail on Tuesday told the Grahamstown High Court he could be nailed ”to the cross so I can die for the sins of others”. Roro Mntwaphi (41) made the remark before Judge Johan Froneman sentenced him and Mbulelo Kula (25) for the murder of Stephanus Williams (60) on May 8 2007.
The Robben Island Museum has rejected a report that wild animals on the 574 hectare island are starving to death because of poor environmental management. A media report said the problem was mainly the result of an explosion in the wild rabbit population, which were ”eating everything in sight”.
A statutory media tribunal would not only be unconstitutional but it would not solve the plethora of problems in the industry, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday. Jane Duncan from the Freedom of Expression Institute said the proposed body would obviously be unconstitutional, and would not fly.
Gold Fields said on Tuesday that four miners had been killed in two separate underground accidents at its Driefontein and South Deep gold mines on the West Rand. Vishnu Pillay, head of Gold Fields’s South African operations, said the company deeply regretted the loss of life and said safety was still their number one priority.
The JSE was weaker in quiet trade at midday, weighed down by a firmer rand, lower metal prices and what was described as a disappointing production report from Anglo American. South African markets were closed on Monday for a holiday and are also closed on Thursday and Friday this week, with many players away for the two days in between.
Electricity-supply constraints experienced at Anglo Platinum mines in January and February affected production, the company said on Tuesday. In its quarterly review report for the period January 1 2008 to March 31 2008, the company said that the ”ongoing impact of the constrained electricity supply is expected to continue to have some impact on production”.
A total of 7 868 items of luggage belonging to South African Airways (SAA) passengers were reported missing from airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London in the three-month period between December 1 and February 29 this year.
Power was restored to Kempton Park on Gauteng’s East Rand at about 3.30am on Tuesday after just under seven days of darkness, the Ekurhuleni municipality said. Spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said an investigation into the cause of the power failure was under way.
Telkom has introduced a second area code for Johannesburg, which will operate alongside the existing 011 code. "Following an announcement of a move to the mandatory 10-digit dialling, Telkom has recently been allocated … the first batch of numbers in the 010 area code for use within the same geographic boundary as the existing 011 code," Telkom said on Tuesday.
The so-called Waterkloof Four turn to the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to ask it to overturn the effective 12-year prison sentence they were given for beating a homeless man to death and assaulting another man. The four will ask the high court to set aside both the guilty verdict of the lower court and the sentence.
A convicted rapist was arrested on Monday on suspicion of molesting a seven-year-old boy in KwaThema near Springs, Johannesburg police said. ”A young boy of about seven-years-old reported the matter to his parents this morning,” said police spokesperson Captain Johannes Ramphora.
About one third of posts for environmental impact assessment (EIA) officials are vacant, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday. DA spokesperson on the environment Rika Kruger said 37% of all posts in the directorate were vacant, while 25% of the managerial positions were also vacant.
Veteran cyclists Andrew McLean and Graham Cronje of Team Cycle Lab Toyota, on Sunday confirmed their dominance at the MTN Panorama Tour in White River when they won their second successive stage and extended their overall lead in the four-day race.
The full Khampepe commission report will be gazetted on May 5, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. DA leader Helen Zille said the presidency had written to the DA to inform it of the move. Zille said the report was a crucial source of information during the legislative process to decide on the future of the unit.
South African President Thabo Mbeki’s failure to criticise neighbouring Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has weakened his international stature, analysts said. Once hailed as a leader focussed on Africa’s revival, Mbeki’s silence on Zimbabwe has been blamed either on misplaced loyalty or crippling deference.
About 170 accidents occurred in Gauteng since late Friday afternoon, Netcare 911 said on Sunday. In one incident, a three-year-old boy died and two other children were in critically injured following a head-on collision on the N12 near Xavier Road off-ramp on Saturday.
Springbok World Cup lock Bakkies Botha has called the Blue Bulls ”tyrannical and autocratic” in court papers presented to the Labour Court this week. Botha filed the court papers in a bid to have his contracts with SA Rugby and the Bulls be declared null and void.