Zulu queens spent R533 000 just on clothing between June and October last year, media reports said on Friday. This came as nearly R10-million was needed to avoid the collapse of some of the royal palaces. The spending spree emerged as the royal household appeared before the finance portfolio committee in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
The final eight teams that will vie for the R1-million prize for winning the 2008 Vodacom Cup will be confirmed after this weekend’s final round of league matches. Though Griquas and Western Province are certain of their places in the quarterfinals, at least eight teams remain in contention for the six remaining play-off spots.
The hike in the repo rate is bound at least to slow down economic growth and the rate of new job creation, said the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Thursday. Cosatu said the increase raises the real possibility of retrenchments at a time when unemployment is still ”far too high”.
The battle for the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) at its December conference in Polokwane should convince foreign investors that the country’s democracy is solid, ANC president Jacob Zuma told the Durban Chamber of Commerce’s 152nd anniversary dinner on Thursday.
Leonard Chuene will have the last laugh on Sunday over his number-one enemy, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), when he is re-elected as president of Athletics South Africa. No one is standing against him. In the run-up to the elections, Chuene has been under pressure to resign.
A "racist column" has cost well-known <i>Sunday Times</i> columnist David Bullard his job, media reports said on Friday. "He wrote a racist column on Sunday. I had a conversation with him on Tuesday, I told him that what he wrote was unacceptable," <i>Sunday Times</i> editor Mondli Makhanya was quoted as saying.
President Thabo Mbeki will attend a Southern African Development Community (SADC) emergency summit this weekend in Zambia on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe. However, Mbeki’s cherished policy of "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe has been rejected by his own party.
A detective told the Cape High Court on Thursday that he became suspicious of murder accused Najwa Petersen after hearing her sobbing account on the night of her husband’s Taliep’s death. The officer was the second witness called in the trial of Petersen and the three men she allegedly hired to carry out the execution-style shooting.
The African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday called on the Competition Commission to intensify its investigations into the causes of high food prices. A spokesperson said all stakeholders in food prices should convene an urgent meeting to discuss ways of minimising the effect of high food prices on the poor.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa reserved judgement on Thursday in the hearing of a complaint against the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s broadcast of a ”hate song” by hip-hop artist Zubz, said the Freedom Front Plus, which had laid a complaint about the song in February.
It is possible that the crime-fighting Scorpions may not be incorporated into the South African Police Service by June, African National Congress national executive committee Siphiwe Nyanda said on Thursday. He was speaking at a seminar hosted by the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.
The Eastern Cape health department will not recognise nurses trained at illegal nursing schools because the schools do not train quality nurses, the department said on Thursday. Departmental spokesperson Siyanda Manana said such institutions are not accredited by the South African Nursing Council.
A security guard accused of murdering Pretoria dancer Estée van Rensburg appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, wearing shackles around his ankles. State prosecutor Lucas Choma told the court the investigation against Aaron Mashishi (25) was almost complete.
Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs face up for a repeat of their recent pulsating Nedbank Cup clash in a Premier Soccer League game at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday afternoon. While it might not be of great significance in the PSL championship race, the match-up is certain to be the big crowd-puller of the weekend.
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu must be fired for her comments that police should shoot and kill criminals, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. ”Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula has no choice but to fire her with immediate effect,” DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
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.