Julius Malema has been elected as African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president at the league’s national conference at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. Malema received 1Â 883 votes, it was announced on Monday, while the other candidate, Saki Mofokeng, received 1Â 696.
The murder trial of Najwa Petersen started in Cape Town on Monday with her advocate demanding that the state provide more details of the allegations against her. Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau brought the application before Petersen and her three co-accused were asked to plead in the Cape High Court.
An Egyptian diplomat’s family living in Groenkloof was held up at gunpoint and robbed over the weekend, Pretoria police said on Monday. ”Four suspects entered the house after they held up the guard. They then held up the family and robbed them of household goods and jewellery, then fled the scene.
Passengers jumped from a burning bus on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast on Monday, a provincial transport official said. Zinhle Mngomezulu said the Olympic bus was hired by the family of provincial agriculture minister Mtolephi Mthimkulu for his daughter’s wedding and reception.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai visited South Africa on Monday for private meetings in his first foreign trip since the March 29 presidential election, a party official said. Meanwhile, about 200 Zimbabwean exiles gathered at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday to hand over a petition to President Thabo Mbeki.
Resources continued to gain momentum from the morning trade session, driving the JSE further into positive territory by midday on Monday. By noon the JSE’s broader all-share index had advanced 1,72% as resources were up 2,92%. The platinum-mining index climbed 0,94% while the gold-mining index edged up 0,04%.
Eskom was to ask the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to withhold sections of its tariff-increase application from the public at a meeting on Monday on the grounds that the information was ”business sensitive”, the regulator said. Eskom, which was granted a 14,2% increase at the end of last year, is now seeking a 53% hike.
The Telkom South African National Aquatic Championships came to a thrilling climax at the Kings Park Aquatic Centre in Durban on Sunday evening with an unprecedented 20 swimmers posting Olympic ”A” qualifying times. It was a fitting ending to a sensational Olympic trial for the country’s swimmers.
Current South African road cycling champion Malcolm Lange continued to fine-tune his form in preparation of the defence of his Elite national title in East London next month when he won the Maluti Challenge in Bethlehem at the weekend. The seasoned MTN Energade professional outsprinted a strong field.
The interest-rate decision due on Thursday is not as straightforward as some hawks would proclaim, says Johan Rossouw, chief economist at Vunani. "In fact, understanding the monetary policy committee’s [MPC] interpretation of its mandate is of critical importance," he says.
Kgalema Motlanthe, deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC), on Sunday criticised the ”state of disorder” that characterised the ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) national conference in Bloemfontein. Outgoing ANCYL president Fikile Mbalula said that ”forces” had tried to disrupt the congress but that they had failed.
A Lenasia man was arrested after he allegedly shot dead his wife, sister-in-law and brother-in-law on Sunday afternoon, Johannesburg police said. ”The middle-aged man, who was intoxicated at the time of the shooting, had been recently separated from his wife,” said Constable Edwin Ntsheo.
Schools ranked "the poorest of the poor" will be bolstered by an increase in support staff to free teachers from administrative duties so that they can spend more time on teaching and delivering quality Âeducation. The government has allocated just less than R1-billion that will provide for an extra 14 000 support staff posts.
State secrecy is an important issue in a democracy, especially given our past, but is the draft Protection of Information Bill the answer? Its stated aim is to ”promote the free flow of information within an open and democratic society without compromising the security of the Republic”.
A bumper maize crop this year could see food prices fall, offering welcome relief to consumers facing rising interest rates and fuel costs. With this large crop South Africans can expect to see the maize price move closer to export parity prices, which should offer consumers some relief.
Kaizer Chiefs moved into the top half of the Absa Premiership table after walloping Moroka Swallows 3-1 in a league match at a packed Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg on Sunday. Mabhuti Khenyeza, Jonathan Quartey and Thuso Phala scored for Chiefs, while Swallows’ lone goal came from the boot of James Chamanga.
Absa Premiership leaders SuperSport United, seemingly on the wrong wavelength and looking nothing like potential champions, slumped to a 2-0 defeat against a more willing and able AmaZulu at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Sunday afternoon.
South African satellite technician Sipho Maseko, who is being held in a Zimbabwean prison, has been admitted to St Anne’s Hospital in Harare after his blood-sugar levels reached danger levels, his employer, Globecast, said on Sunday. Globecast spokesperson Melanie Gibb said Maseko, a diabetic, was looked at by a doctor from the South African embassy.
Two candidates were nominated for the vacant post of African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president at the organisation’s national congress in Bloemfontein on Sunday. A spokesperson also confirmed that some delegates had been ”barred” — by provincial structures — from the conference following incidents of disturbances and ill-behaviour.
Awaiting-trial prisoners at Johannesburg Prison embarked on a hunger strike on Sunday following the removal of radios from their cells, the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) said. Spokesperson Miles Bhudu said Sapohr was informed of this action on Saturday.
The Cheetahs claimed their first Super 14 win of the season and moved off the bottom of the table by defeating the Queensland Reds 29-14 on Saturday. The Bloemfontein-based franchise also snatched a bonus point when centre JW Jonker scored a breakaway stoppage-time try at a sparsely populated Absa Stadium.
Any remote chance Orlando Pirates might have had of ending as Absa Premiership champions this season seemingly went up in smoke on Saturday night in a goalless draw against Jomo Cosmos — with the Buccaneers’ former goalkeeper, Avril Phali, principally responsible.
Bloemfontein Celtic, earlier in the season regarded as contenders for the Absa Premiership title, are now contenders of another kind — for relegation. A 3-0 defeat against a sprightly Golden Arrows at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday afternoon has left Celtic precariously placed at 13th position in the log.
Struggle stalwart Ncumisa Kondlo was a warrior, revolutionary and patriot, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma said at her funeral in the Eastern Cape on Saturday. It was with ”deep sorrow and sadness” that she was laid to rest, Zuma told dignitaries, families and friends who gathered to mourn her at her village of Ndwayana.
Two 702 Eyewitness News journalists were expelled from Zimbabwe after they tried to enter the country at the Beit Bridge border post on Friday afternoon, the station said. Journalists Jean Jacques Cornish and Sheldon Morais were detained and questioned but were released after more than three-and-a-half hours.
Lions coach Eugene Eloff has had enough of his side’s near-wins in the Super 14, in which they have only one win and a draw from seven outings. ”I’m fed up with saying that this was another match we should have won,” Eloff said after Friday’s defeat to the Highlanders, who were bottom of the log before their 29-20 win over the Lions.
The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on Friday called for Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff increase to be put on hold for further consultation. The process should be delayed to allow for urgent consultation on possible alternatives and the socio-economic impact of the increase, Nedlac said.
The South African government needs to ratify an international treaty on preventing torture, South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) chief executive Tseliso Thipanyane said on Friday. Thipanyane said he is concerned about the government’s ”terrible attitude” towards the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Inflationary pressures pose a greater challenge to Southern Africa than global financial-market turmoil, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Friday. It was important that regional economies continued to pursue price stability through appropriate monetary policies.
A 1time flight from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg was forced to turn back due to a smoke-filled cabin, the Herald Online reported on Friday. A passenger said the aircraft had just taken off at about 6pm on Thursday when smoke poured out of an air conditioner into the cabin.
Newly appointed Springbok coach Peter de Villiers finally signed his contract on Friday after weeks of refusing to sign over contractual disagreements. ”The agreement between De Villiers and SA Rugby was signed at our headquarters in Newlands earlier today [Friday],” said SA Rugby in a statement.
Convicted businessman Schabir Shaik is undergoing tests at a Durban hospital to determine the extent of organ damage, if any, caused by persistent problems with high blood pressure, his brother said on Friday. Mo Shaik said: ”He is undergoing tests in terms of organ damage. It’s a case of seeing what there is and what to do about it.”