Efficient cross-border infrastructure is needed to facilitate trade and development in Africa, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Friday. She also said the private sector had a key role to play in the development of Africa by advancing the vision of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
Racism, discrimination and the cultural divide were causes for concern in South Africa, political parties and organisations said on Human Rights Day. Western Cape acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane said a number of projects would be implemented to combat racial discrimination in the province.
The adverse publicity surrounding the selection of the Proteas is a matter of concern to all cricket lovers, Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said on Friday. Speaking at OR Tambo Airport ahead of the Proteas’ departure for a three-Test tour of India, Majola said it was disappointing that cricket was hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons.
The giants enter the African club battleground this weekend as second round combat begins in the two major competitions. Both title holders hail from Tunisia and enjoy home advantage with Etoile Sahel playing AS Douanes of Senegal in the African Champions League while CS Sfaxien meet JSM Bejaia of Algeria in the African Confederation Cup.
A South African court has dismissed a bid by a group of fishermen to overturn an official ban on commercial abalone fishing, the Environmental Affairs and Tourism ministry said on Thursday. Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk ordered the indefinite ban to protect existing natural stocks of the shellfish
A decision on what disciplinary measures, if any, will be taken against Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy over the Browse Mole report is expected ”soon”, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said on Thursday. ”A recommendation has been made to the minister and she will act,” said spokesperson Zolile Nqayi.
Two Cape Flats men were on Thursday each given two life sentences for the murder of a man in an argument about a baseball cap and for the later murder of a police detective who investigated them for the first murder. The judge said the murders showed that the two men had no respect for human life.
South Africa’s tertiary education system is operating at close to capacity with limited infrastructure and academic staffing resources available for expansion, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said in Durban on Thursday. Pandor said that the government hoped to achieve a higher education enrolment of 820 000 students by 2010.
The Gautrain’s management on Thursday rejected suggestions that the project’s costs will rise to R35-billion. The project was well within budget, Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe said. He was reacting to statements made by National Assembly transport committee chairperson Jeremy Cronin during a debate on Tuesday.
Traffic authorities are out in full force on the N1 highway to Limpopo as thousands of faithful head to the Zion Christian Church’s headquarters of Moria for the Easter gathering, the traffic department said on Thursday. Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said traffic officials were pulling out all the stops to prevent road accidents.
The Easter weekend promises to be a busy one for lovers of live music, with festivals offering diverse line-ups around the country.
Three men lounge on plastic camping chairs at what looks like a picnic site. Three of them are shirtless, their fat bellies sagging over their trousers.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa cannot ignore Eskom’s request for a 53% tariff increase, a business research and consulting firm said on Thursday. ”If the country expects the electricity utility to resolve the current capacity crisis, it must be given the resources to do so,” said Frost & Sullivan.
Angola’s government will go ahead with plans to disarm civilians possessing illegal firearms obtained mostly during the country’s 27-year civil war. The government won approval from the National Disarmament Commission, the Angop news agency quoted deputy commander of the National Police for Public Order, Paulo de Almeida, as saying.
South African legislators have recommended that Parliament revise laws to give it more oversight over the Reserve Bank, raising concerns of political interference in monetary policy as inflation soars. The Reserve Bank has raised its repo rate by 400 basis points to 11% since June 2006 to try to tame inflation.
Over a period of five years, Johannesburg Water will spend about R1-billion annually on the upgrading and rehabilitation of infrastructure, it said on Thursday. Ros Greeff, of Joburg’s mayoral committee for infrastructure and services, said the money would be spent to ensure that occurrences such as burst water pipes were reduced.
African National Congress (ANC) MPs with disabilities have threatened to embark on protests if the quality of service rendered to disabled people at South African airports is not improved. Briefing the media on Thursday, ANC MP Maxwell Moss said the Airports Company South Africa, as well as airlines, had failed to attend to the needs of disabled passengers.
A third state witness, testifying in the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday, described his former boss, Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride, as ”the mafia” and ”a liar”. Former metro police officer Patrick Johnston also said McBride was someone he was afraid of.
South Africa will send a delegation of 55 observers to Zimbabwe’s general elections, the government said in Cape Town on Thursday. ”The South African contingent will comprise representatives from civil society, business, religious leaders, members of Parliament and government officials,” spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists.
Low-income households and small-to-medium enterprises will be shielded from proposed electricity tariff hikes of up to 60%, the government said on Thursday. A differentiated tariff structure would be put in place to ensure that these sectors of society were protected, government spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists in Cape Town.
The Cabinet has dismissed renewed allegations of President Thabo Mbeki’s involvement in arms-deal corruption as baseless and mere speculation. Wednesday’s fortnightly Cabinet meeting had noted media reports regarding the investigation by German authorities into the allegations of corruption in the arms deal.
Heavyweight counters on the JSE’s resource and mining indices pulled back sharply on Thursday morning, as commodity prices started to lose ground, traders said. The slump in commodity prices forced the JSE’s broader all-share index to pull back 3,23% by noon.
Excellent batting and bowling took the Titans to a well-deserved 38-run victory over the Warriors in the final of the MTN domestic championship at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. Put in to bat by the Warriors, the Titans scored an impressive 269-6 — the highest total in any match in the championship this season.
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.