In its investigation of complaints laid against the Forum of Black Journalists, the South African Human Rights Commission twice wrote to FBJ chief Abbey Makoe.
South Africa will work with other countries in the region to ensure the will of the Zimbabwean people is reflected, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Thursday. The country has joined the chorus of international calls for Zimbabwe to release the results of its March 29 presidential election as soon as possible.
The British and Irish Lions are to play 10 matches on their tour of South Africa next year, including three Tests against the world champions, the Springboks, organisers said on Thursday. The Tests against the Boks will take place on June 20 in Durban, June 27 in Pretoria and July 4 in Johannesburg.
"We want to show that South Africa’s textile is definitely capable to stand on its own and that we don’t need to import cloth … We make people aware that South Africa has talent," says Eran Eyal, one of the designers behind Springleap, an innovative South African online retail outlet launched this month.
Efforts to push legislation through Parliament to disband the Scorpions are falling behind schedule, the deputy president’s office said on Thursday. ”It’s mainly because of consultation … which has taken much longer than was thought,” said Thabang Chiloane, spokesperson for Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni has raised the repo rate, at which the South African Reserve Bank lends money to banks, by 50 basis points to 11,5% following a two-day meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee. The prime overdraft rate therefore increases to 15%.
Slain revolutionary leader Chris Hani would not have believed that 14 years into democracy, South Africa is still an unequal society, the Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Thursday at a memorial service marking 15 years since the assassination of Hani, the then-head of the South African Communist Party.
Murder accused Najwa Petersen on Thursday returned to her Cape Town home for the first time since her arrest early last year. But her every move was watched by a ring of heavily armed police. She was taken to the Athlone house under police guard for an on-the-spot inspection by Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai and his two assessors.
South African economic confidence recovered from a near four-year-low in March, pointing to signs conditions may improve in the medium term, although the growth and inflation outlook remained bleak. A survey of 22 economists released on Thursday showed the Reuters Econometer ticked up to 231,39 from 227,02 in February.
The JSE remained quiet by midday on Thursday as investors waited anxiously for the local monetary policy committee’s (MPC) rate decision at about 3pm. The consensus is for an unchanged repo rate at 11%, according to a survey of leading economists.
A leader of Zimbabwe’s feared war veterans, hard-line supporters of President Robert Mugabe, on Thursday denied the invasion of white-owned farms in the wake of a poll dispute. ”There are no farm invasions in Zimbabwe,” national chairperson of the War Veterans’ Association Jabulani Sibanda told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Susan Shabangu told police that they should kill criminals if they threaten police or the community, the Star reported on Thursday. ”You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility,” Shabangu said at an anti-crime imbizo on Wednesday.
The saga of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi has won the Mail & Guardian‘s investigations team the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Award for story of the year, it was announced on Wednesday evening at the seventh annual awards ceremony held at the Wanderers club in Johannesburg.
A solitary goal by Clive Moyo-Modise gave Wits a jump from seventh to fourth place on the Absa Premiership table as they beat Free State Stars 1-0 at the Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday night. Wits leapfrogged Stars, Golden Arrows and Orlando Pirates into the top-five slot.
Tens of thousands of starving swallows simply dropped dead out of the sky in Limpopo after a cold snap stopped them feeding, an expert said on Wednesday. The birds fell victim to plunging temperatures towards the end of March and were unable to feed properly as they prepared for their annual migration to Europe.
One of South Africa’s favourite pastimes is debating race — driven by controversies such as the schools pledge and the University of Free State debacle. But the weird thing about these debates is that they do not reach a consensus on the contentious issues that divide the rainbow nation. There is simply an ongoing din.
President Thabo Mbeki’s policy of ”quiet diplomacy” on Zimbabwe has been rejected by his own party. The split between the Union Buildings and Luthuli House on the issue became apparent this week when Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai chose to meet Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe in Johannesburg.
The African National Congress’s (ANC) national working committee (NWC) will discuss its youth league’s recent national congress in Bloemfontein next week, spokesperson Jesse Duarte said on Wednesday. ”We will speak at the NWC meeting on Monday,” Duarte said.
Claims by chairperson of the Forum for Black Journalists (FBJ) Abbey Makoe following a South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) finding against the FBJ — which Makoe labelled a ”judicial ambush” — are mischievous and untruthful, the SAHRC said on Wednesday.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has questioned Eskom’s insistence on keeping secret sections of its application for tariff hikes. ”Eskom seeks to destroy the public’s right to know about matters that will significantly increase the cost of electricity,” Sanef said on Wednesday.
After a decade of optimism and growth, many South African cities now face new challenges compared with competing international locations, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. These include perceptions of instability and uncertainty, growing urban poverty, increased crime, conflict and corruption, she told the United Nations.
Theatre personality Taliep Petersen and his wife, Najwa, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering him, were a loving couple, the Cape High Court was told on Wednesday. However, at the time of his death they were sleeping in separate bedrooms, and he was talking about ”getting another place”.
South Africa’s transport services are ”sure to improve dramatically” in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday. ”It will be a defining moment for our transport system,” he told reporters in Pretoria. The tournament will not be a world-class event if the majority of journeys by visitors are not completed efficiently, he said.
South Africa should use its powerful position on the United Nations Security Council to put the Zimbabwean election saga on the international body’s agenda, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Zille, who is currently in New York, said in a statement she would meet South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Najwa Petersen on Wednesday formally pleaded not guilty to the murder of her entertainer husband, Taliep. Taliep was shot in the couple’s Athlone, Cape Town, home in December 2006; his wife is standing trial in the Cape High Court along with three men the state claims she hired to carry out the killing.
South Africa’s manufacturing output growth accelerated to an unadjusted 3,5% in volume terms year-on-year in February, from a revised 1,2% in January, official data showed on Wednesday. Compared with January, manufacturing production in volume terms increased by a seasonally adjusted 2,7%, Statistics South Africa said.
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) will seek to reshape its constitution and organisational structure at its national conference, the party said on Wednesday. The party will hold its seventh annual national conference at the University of Fort Hare in July.
South Africa’s conservation areas are facing ”real and urgent” threats, and first world countries must do more to help, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Wednesday. As a result of climate change, the Kruger National Park could experience more intense rainfall interspersed with longer dry spells, he said.
The change of African National Congress (ANC) leadership should not cause anxiety about stability in the country, as the government would continue to implement its policies, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Tuesday. ”The resolutions taken at the ANC conference late last year have guaranteed continuity,” she said.
Talk of China’s interest in a stake in BHP Billiton has sent the resources index northward and, in turn, helped the JSE advance further by midday on Wednesday. Dow Jones newswires said that the <i>Australian</i> reported in its Wednesday edition China is in the early stages of planning to buy a stake in miner BHP Billiton.
One of the most decisive rates meetings yet of the South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) began on Wednesday morning with "no hitches", according to a bank spokesperson. The meeting will end after lunchtime on Thursday, with the final decision announced live to the public just after 3pm.
Hot on the heels of winning blog of the year at the SA Blog Awards, the <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i>’s <i>Thought Leader</i> has been named an "official honoree" by the Webby Awards, alongside blogs by CNN, CBS News, the <i>New Yorker</i>, CNBC, the <i>New York Times</i>, <i>Time</i> magazine and the Observer Media Group.