Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille on Friday accused the African National Congress (ANC) of shutting down the space for free and informed debate. Writing in her weekly newsletter, Zille said recent events suggested the image of openness that ANC president Jacob Zuma was cultivating was just a smokescreen for closing down the public space.
Warren Foster speaks to stand-up comedians about the Heavyweight Comedy Jam.
Hundreds of international guests and media converged on KwaZulu-Natal on Friday at the start of the Ladysmith Siege Weekend to commemorate historic events that took place during the Anglo-Boer War. Organised by the Emnambithi/Ladysmith municipality, the event is in its fourth year and is expected to attract a crowd of about 5 000.
A 38-year-old man is in a serious condition in a KwaZulu-Natal hospital after both his ears and genitals were ripped off by dogs in Empangeni, paramedics said on Friday. Yusuf Kruger, spokesperson for the privately-owned Mounties Ambulance Service, said the incident took place on Hancock Avenue at 4pm on Thursday.
The Presidency and Justice Ministry on Friday claimed to have no knowledge of Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy’s attempts to resign. They also claimed to know nothing about President Thabo Mbeki’s reported refusal to accept the resignation letter. ”There’s no such thing,” said Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga.
Workers at the 2010 Soccer World Cup Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit are still striking, while talks with management and the government continue, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Friday. About 500 workers downed tools on Wednesday morning demanding better pay.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Friday condemned alleged death threats made against South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) journalists. ”Sanef condemns the attack on SABC 2 weather presenter Tshidi Diphoko and the death threats against SABC political reporters Miranda Strydom and Sophie Mokoena,” it said.
South African banking group FirstRand on Friday said it was not in talks with a Chinese bank over selling a stake. ”We are not in discussions with a Chinese bank,” FirstRand spokesperson Sam Moss said. Shares in FirstRand rose earlier on Friday after the China Daily reported that a state-owned Chinese bank was in talks to buy a stake in First National Bank.
De Beers on Friday urged the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to ”engage” with it, after a protest by Cullinan diamond mine workers over gain-sharing, health and safety, and discrimination. De Beers claimed that NUM had made errors of fact, including referring to mines the company no longer operated.
Resource heavyweights Anglo American and BHP Billiton — which make up a substantial portion of the JSE — helped the bourse extend its gains by midday on Friday, traders said. By noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index had lifted 1,21%. Resources collected 1,83%, and the platinum mining index was up 0,8%, but the gold mining index decreased 1,34%.
A couple of months back, driving past one of those service stations that advertises its prices on a large board on the street, I noticed that diesel was quite a bit more expensive than petrol. I thought that whoever had the job of putting up the prices had got the two mixed up, writes Kevin Davie.
Careful of loose talk; BHP Billiton is about. The mining giant’s much-publicised halt on all business with Standard Bank, after ”a senior bank executive” suggested it close down its Hillside aluminium smelter to save energy, has been criticised as censorship, writes Lynley Donnelly.
”I’m not here to say sorry about your hard time in prison. You brought it upon yourself,” Allan Heyl, member of South Africa’s infamous Stander gang, told a group of juvenile prisoners at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on Thursday. Heyl was among guests invited to an annual prisoners’ day.
An estimated three to five million refugees have fled to South Africa in recent years, where they are anxiously waiting the results of their home country’s presidential poll. The <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> spoke to several refugees about their plans for the future, depending on the full election outcome.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday called for a speedy, comprehensive investigation into the death of the deputy president of Swaziland’s main opposition movement, Gabriel Mkhumane. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mkhumane was shot dead in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday.
Outgoing African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula on Thursday criticised University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana for making ”a clown of himself” regarding his comments about ANC president Jacob Zuma. Mbalula said the league condemned the continued slander by self-imposed political commentators on the integrity of Zuma.
Torture and inhumane treatment in prisons was ”a casualty of Africa’s war on crime” international human rights expert Mumba Malila told a conference in Cape Town on Thursday. Malila is special rapporteur on prisons for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The city of Cape Town says it is to strengthen oversight of its metro police, following reports of indiscipline and alleged brutality. A task team, chaired by city manager Achmat Ebrahim, would be set up to perform this oversight, the city said in a statement on Thursday.
South African helicopter pilot Brent Smyth was acquitted of immigration transgressions in a Harare court on Thursday and was flying back to South Africa, his fiancée, Drieksie Janse van Rensburg, said. Van Rensburg said she received an SMS from Smyth saying: ”I’m a free man, spread the word, I’m coming home.”
Hundreds of delegates arrived at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein on Thursday for the national conference of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Although the programme for the day had not started by 11am, delegates already inside and outside the Callie Human Centre were dancing and singing songs, waiting for proceedings to start.
Free State Agriculture had to take the government to court to ensure the safety of farmers and farm workers because the government had failed them, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said on Thursday. ”Safety is a constitutional right. A Constitution not being applied is not worth the paper it is written on,” said the ACDP.
The death toll in a bus accident near the Lebombo border post has risen to 17, with 24 injuries reported, Komatipoort police said on Thursday. Constable Richard Khumalo said seventeen bodies had been pulled from the wreckage and emergency services were still searching for more. Of the 24 people taken to hospital, 14 have been discharged.
The case against five men — aged between 18 and 20 — accused of gang-raping a 21-year-old Durban woman was postponed in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on Thursday. The men allegedly raped the woman in a sugar-cane plantation in Hillcrest on March 2 while they took turns at holding her father at gunpoint nearby.
The JSE remained firm by midday on Thursday, but with very light volumes being traded as investors remained edgy ahead of the rates announcement next week, a dealer said. By midday, the JSE’s broader all-share index had gained 0,53%. Resources were up 1,08%, the platinum-mining index lifted 1% and the gold-mining index added 0,92%.
The Minerals and Energy Department has terminated a R5-billion contract with a consortium led by United States power producer AES to build two open-cycle turbine gas stations, Business Day reported on Thursday. The contract was announced with much fanfare by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica last August.
Wage talks between Telkom and the South African Communications Union (Sacu) have deadlocked, the union said on Wednesday. This was after the company proposed a 7,7% average increase to all operational employees on Friday during wage talks, Sacu said in a statement.
The <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i>’s <i>Thought Leader</i> </a>, where some of South Africa’s finest minds stir up debate every day, on Wednesday evening scooped South African web log of the year at the 2008 SA Blog Awards, beating formidable competition.
Northern Tigers swim star Kerri-Leigh Shaw has been provisionally suspended from competition effective from Tuesday April 1 following a positive drugs test during the Fina Swimming World Cup in Belo Horizonte in Brazil on November 25 last year.
The Department of Transport has put aside R55-billion as part of the government’s plan to improve traffic flow on Gauteng highways, it said on Wednesday. Department spokesperson Collen Msibi said the Highway Improvement Scheme would take effect in phases to expand the carrying capacity of existing roads.
A new Zimbabwean government should be able to stabilise the ruined economy quickly, but would face a much bigger task in returning it to sustained prosperity, analysts say. With President Robert Mugabe in the worst trouble of his 28-year rule, attention is turning to how quickly the economy could be restored.
Test cricketer Herschelle Gibbs was on Wednesday found guilty of breaching Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) code of conduct and was severely reprimanded for his behaviour. Gibbs, opening batsman for the Nashua Cape Cobras, was found to have contravened clause 1.4 regulating players’ on-field conduct, the CSA said in a statement.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has adopted a ”wait-and-see” approach towards the taxi-recapitalisation programme pending the outcome of ongoing talks with the government. ”Once that is done we will be going back to management to decide on how to move forward,” said Santaco on Wednesday.