Ajax Cape Town dropped two points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn Platinum Stars side in an Absa Premiership clash at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. Ajax started the game well and had an early chance when Russell Mwafulirwa fired in a volley from the edge of the area, which drew a good save out of Stars keeper Wayne Sandilands.
JSE-listed City Lodge Hotels has concluded a broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction including its employees, the University of Johannesburg’s school of tourism and hospitality and black-controlled investment company Vuwa Investments, the company said late on Wednesday.
The government supports Eskom’s bid for a 53% tariff increase, the Public Enterprises Department said on Wednesday. It explained the price hike the parastatal has requested from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa will constitute ”essential cash flow” to allow Eskom to deal with the rising costs of fuel and diesel.
Last week’s launch of the Diamond Trading Company Botswana represents a dramatic change in beneficiation processes that come from the global diamond trade. The 50:50 partnership between the Botswana government and De Beers will see Botswana become one of the world’s most advanced sorting and valuing operations.
Eskom’s application to the national energy regulator for a 53% hike in electricity prices could well have been an application to Reserve Bank boss Tito Mboweni for yet another interest-rate hike. Experts estimate that, if granted, Eskom’s request to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa could hike the annual rate of inflation by at least 2%.
Mamelodi Sundowns ensured that Limpopo-based Black Leopards remained deep in the relegation zone when they hammered them 3-0 in a fast, entertaining Absa Premiership game at Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. There was no score at half-time.
Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride’s 2006 car accident could have been caused by an increase in his diabetes medication, the Pretoria Regional Court heard on Wednesday. McBride’s counsel told the court that two days before the accident, McBride had gone to see a doctor who allegedly doubled his type-two diabetes medication dose.
Political parties and union leaders were outraged on Wednesday over Eskom’s proposed tariff hike of 53% and the devastating effect it would have on the country. The Congress of South African Trade Unions said it was absolutely horrified at the proposal and demanded an extended consultation process on Eskom’s latest plans.
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A charm offensive by Jacob Zuma may not be enough to dispel deep investor anxiety over whether he will be able to take charge of Africa’s biggest economy, even though he has won over some doubters. Since unseating President Thabo Mbeki as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December, Zuma has moved to consolidate his power.
Monde Zondeki was on Wednesday named as the replacement for fellow fast bowler Charl Langeveldt as the controversy over South Africa’s selection policy continued. Andre Nel, who was controversially left out for Langeveldt to conform with Cricket South Africa’s transformation policy, was again overlooked.
The taxi industry on Wednesday placed ”on hold” its participation in the government’s programme to replace old, unsafe taxis with safer vehicles. The South African National Taxi Council said it would not continue with the multibillion-rand taxi-recapitalisation programme as long as its concerns were not addressed.
South Africa is well positioned to weather the current global economic turmoil, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. While a difficult set of challenges lay ahead, he was confident that ”our ship is strong [and] that we will weather the present storms that are raging worldwide”, he told the National Assembly.
The government will not abandon its inflation-targeting policy of between 3% and 6%, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. ”Our adoption of inflation targeting in the late 1990s has enabled our economy to grow and to become more competitive,” he told the National Assembly. ”We cannot, at the first signs of stress, abandon our anchor,” Manuel said.
South Africa’s power situation has improved after a two-day crisis that threatened supplies to mines, state electricity firm Eskom said on Wednesday, but rolling cuts are set to continue. Eskom has been struggling to contain South Africa’s power crisis, the result of years of underspending on electricity generation capacity.
A former metro police officer told the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday how he had been victimised by Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride. Patrick Johnston was testifying in McBride’s drunken-driving trial. Speaking in Afrikaans, Johnston told the court how he had been victimised by McBride and how his boss had sworn at him on several occasions.
The African National Congress (ANC) will not make its arms-deal report public, the ruling party reiterated on Wednesday. In a statement, the ANC said it noted a call in the media by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to have the outcome of its arms-deal report made public.
It is now official: May 2 is to be an additional public holiday. At its fortnightly meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday, the Cabinet endorsed a proposal that it should be declared as an additional day off "to compensate workers for losing a public holiday as a result of Human Rights Day falling on the same day as Good Friday".
South Africa’s economy will slow in 2008 although local banks are coping well and there is no cause for alarm, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday. He also said a weaker rand currency would, over time, help to narrow the current-account deficit — which stood at a hefty 7,5% of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Police brutality in South Africa needs to be stamped out, the South African Human Rights Commission (SARHC) said on Wednesday. The SAHRC was referring to recent raids by police on Stellenbosch night spots as well as on the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. In the raids, police allegedly assaulted a number of immigrants and patrons.
Johannesburg is the second best city in Asia, the Middle East and Africa in dealing with urbanisation and environmental challenges, a report showed on Wednesday. The MasterCard Worldwide Insight Report on urbanisation and environmental challenges ranked Johannesburg second after Melbourne.
South Africa recorded a current-account deficit of 7,5% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2007 from 8,1% previously, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Wednesday. Governor Tito Mboweni said that the deficit on the current account was more than fully financed through inflows of financial capital, and the SARB continued to build up international reserves.
A weaker rand currency and rising international food and fuel prices continue to cloud the prospects for South African inflation, the central bank said on Wednesday. Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni added that the bank must remain vigilant on the wider impact of higher food and fuel costs.
The JSE remained in the black by noon on Wednesday, with a trader explaining that the United States Federal Reserve’s rate cut was adding buoyancy to the market. "The Fed’s rate decision, which saw rates decline from 3% to 2,25%, is still adding buoyancy to the JSE," he said.
Standard Bank has been selected as the best emerging-market bank in Africa, as well as in South Africa, in the annual <i>Global Finance</i> magazine’s <i>Best Emerging Market Banks in Africa</i> survey. In addition, Standard Bank Namibia and Stanbic Bank Uganda won top honours in their respective countries.
South Africa fast bowler Charl Langeveldt withdrew on Tuesday from next month’s tour to India after his selection had caused controversy. Langeveldt, who is black, was included in the squad earlier this month ahead of the white Andre Nel in accordance with Cricket South Africa’s racial transformation policy.
Millions who fled Zimbabwe amid its economic collapse blame President Robert Mugabe, but their inability to vote in elections this month may boost his chances to stay in power. Opposition figures, who pose Mugabe’s biggest electoral challenge yet, have urged them to return to be entitled to vote in the March 29 polls, but few are likely to.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool says he has scrapped the Erasmus commission and reappointed it with expanded terms of reference. Rasool appointed the commission, headed by judge Nathan Erasmus, in December last year, to probe allegations that Cape Town mayor Helen Zille’s administration illegally spied on renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
The South African Reserve Bank quarterly bulletin data on Wednesday showed that household debt was at a new record 77,6% from 77,5% in the third quarter, but gross domestic expenditure dipped to just 0,2% in the fourth quarter from a revised 5,4% (5,75%) previously.
The Gauteng provincial government is ”well on course” to supply all households in the province with clean water by the end of this year. The local government department said in a statement: ”We are working closely with all municipalities in the province to ensure that all households have access to clean water.”
The Bulls will be without Bryan Habana for their Super 14 match against the Chiefs in Roturua on Saturday. The 2007 IRB Player of the Year has not been considered due to a recurrence of a shoulder injury, and Danwel Demas will replace him on the left wing.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator MTN boosted 2007 adjusted headline earnings per share to 682 cents from 585 cents thanks to a 53% jump in subscribers to 61,4-million. MTN said net profit and basic headline EPS fell compared with the previous year due to higher finance charges and higher taxes after a tax holiday in Nigeria ended.
If you build it, they will come. When City of Johannesburg councillor Bongani Zondi looked at Soweto’s Arthur Ashe tennis courts, he didn’t see dusty tarmac and frayed nets. In his mind, a library stood there, welcoming Sowetans to a world of books and knowledge.