The former secretary general of the South African National Civics Organisation, Thozamile Gwanya, has been appointed Director General of Agriculture and Land Affairs, the department said on Monday. Gwanya, who matriculated in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, holds a BCom degree from the University of Transkei.
Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown will go on trial in September on fraud and theft charges, the Cape Town Regional Court heard on Monday. Prosecutor Thersia du Toit said the trial had been set down for nine days between September 15 and October 3. Magistrate Wilma van der Merwe postponed the case to May 2.
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Monday dismissed appeals against the decision to grant environmental authorisation for a new Eskom power station in Mpumalanga. The project involves the construction of a 5 400MW coal-fired power station near Witbank.
Gold added $24,95, or 2,49%, to trade at $1 025,05 by 1.30pm on Monday — this after rising more than 3% to a record $1 032,60 a troy ounce in overnight trade. Oil prices have also rallied in response to the dollar’s weakness overnight with Nymex crude setting a fresh all-time high of $111,80.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) submitted parliamentary questions to President Thabo Mbeki on Monday, asking him to clear the air on his alleged involvement in the arms deal. The <i>Sunday Times</i> reported that business magnate Tokyo Sexwale had made an "impassioned plea" for Mbeki "to take the ANC into his confidence".
Media24, publisher of City Press, was on Monday ordered to pay prominent African National Congress politician and medical doctor Zweli Mkhize R150 000 in damages for a defaming him in a report in March 2007. Mkhize is chairperson of finance and economic development in the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet.
South Africa’s large current-account deficit is a major chink in its armour given a low savings rate and current global financial market turmoil, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday. The country was dependent on foreign capital inflows to fund a rising deficit, he said.
The parents of murdered Stellenbosch student Inge Lotz are suing her ex-boyfriend Fred van der Vyver for R4-million each, said Dani Cohen, spokesperson for the Lotz family on Monday. Van der Vyver was acquitted of the murder of Lotz. Juanita and Jan Lotz called Inge ”their sunshine child and an angel. She was the apple of their eye” said Cohen.
An emergency move by the United States Federal Reserve to cut its discount rate has continued to weigh on markets, sending the JSE below the 30 000-level by midday on Monday. The Fed’s move to cut its discount rate, its lending rate to financial institutions, to 3,25% from 3,5%,
Former Springbok captain Corné Krige has slammed the South African Rugby Union’s part in the contractual issue surrounding Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. De Villiers is still in limbo regarding his contract as Springbok coach, and will only sign it after a controversial clause on selection is removed
Extremists have to be excluded from dialogues between Muslims and Jews, the South African Union for Jewish Students’s Ilan Solomons said during the Cook for Peace event held at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Sunday. ”Extremists are always those small vocal percentages that create the stereotype of an entire nation,” said Solomons.
The long wait ended in a fairytale triumph for Walter Khumalo when Free State Stars’ veteran goalkeeper came off eight months on the bench to instigate a tense and taut Nedbank Cup penalty shoot-out victory against Platinum Stars at Goble Park in Bethlehem on Sunday afternoon.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on Sunday called on men to take up their responsibility in the war against violence against women and children and the scourge of HIV/Aids. Mlambo-Ngcuka, speaking at the Fourth Treatment Action Campaign’s national congress at the Birchwood Hotel, said: ”When good men are silent, they become part of the problem.”
Zimbabwe’s main labour union on Sunday called on millions of Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa to go home to vote in the country’s March 29 elections, South Africa’s Talk Radio 702 reported. Zimbabweans will vote in presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in two weeks.
Santos had goalkeeper Wayne Roberts to thank as they advanced through to the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup after beating Orlando Pirates 5-4 on penalties at the Athlone Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Roberts made saves three times in the shoot-out after the match had ended 2-2 after full-time.
South Africa, producer of 30% of the gold in circulation today, is unable to profit fully from record prices for the precious metal as a crippling electricity crisis hampers production. The price of gold passed the 000-an-ounce mark for the first time on Thursday.
Senior African National Congress leader Tokyo Sexwale has called on President Thabo Mbeki to explain his involvement in the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal, a media report said on Sunday. Sexwale made an impassioned plea to a hushed ANC national executive committee meeting on Friday for Mbeki "to take the ANC into his confidence".
Heavy rains, cold weather and strong winds will continue in Gauteng for the rest of the week, the South African Weather Services (SAWS) said on Sunday. This was due to a cold front passing through the area, said SAWS forecaster Evert Sholtz. He said rain and heavy winds would continue on Sunday and Monday would see strong winds blowing throughout Gauteng.
South Africa’s once notorious Robben Island penal colony risks ghost-town status as its last residents trickle off in search of creature comforts on the mainland. The population of penguins, seals and feral cats far outnumbers the 112 human inhabitants of the present day heritage site — mostly former prison warders and their families.
The Coastal Sharks maintained their impressive start to this year’s Super 14 competition with a hard-fought 16-8 win over the Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday. With five victories out of five, the men from Durban moved back into second spot on the southern-hemisphere rugby championship points table.
Gale-force winds destroyed informal housing, leaving hundreds destitute in Cape Town on Saturday, said disaster management officials. Worst affected were Delft residents living in tents on the N2 Gateway project after being evicted, said spokesperson Wilfred Solomons.
The pressure of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics for world indoor long-jump champion Khotso Mokoena is over after he carded a leap of 8,24m with his first dash at the board on the first day of the South African Track and Field Championships at Coetzenburg on Friday.
The Warriors will contest the final of the MTN Domestic Championship after a comprehensive 42-run victory over the Eagles in the first of the two semifinals at Buffalo Park in East London on Friday. They now need to wait until Sunday to see whether they will play the Titans or the Cape Cobras on Wednesday in the final.
There were mistakes all round — and it was one final error by hapless referee Thabo Nkosi that paved the way for Kaizer Chiefs to enter the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup with a tense 2-0 extra-time victory over Ajax Cape Town at King’s Park Stadium in Durban on Friday night.
Former bouncer Jonathan Street was convicted of murder and attempted murder by the Johannesburg High Court on Friday. He is to be sentenced on March 26. Judge Nico Coetzee found that Street shot and killed Kyle Norris (18) in the Max-X club in Edenvale on the East Rand on November 19 2006.
Two men who shot and killed a two-year-old baby during a house robbery last year were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 20 years by the Johannesburg High Court on Friday, police said. Steve Hlongwane (18) and George Nyangale (22) broke into a house in Lyndhurst on April 12 last year.
Racial tension within Mpumalanga police stations has reached ”ugly” proportions, says the province’s safety and security minister, Fish Mahlalela. ”The tension between black and white officers at police stations is ugly and dents … the fight against crime,” he told a meeting on Thursday.
The African National Congress’s (ANC) national executive committee (NEC) was locked behind closed doors on Friday at its second meeting since the Polokwane national conference in December, media reports said. The aim was to rid the party of internal wrangles simmering since its policy conference.
The 2010 World Cup soccer tournament is a prime target for corruption, editors were told in Johannesburg on Friday. ”There is a real fear that South Africa, in the staging of the World Cup, could look bad in the eyes of the world because of the dangers of corruption,” said Professor Danny Titus, of Transparency International.
A two-year-old boy whose genitals were badly mutilated was left without medical attention for about an hour at the Kagiso police station on the West Rand, media reports said on Friday. Police said they could not transport him to a hospital because of service policy, and a member of the public took him there instead.
The government and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) should bury the hatchet and unite in the fight against HIV/Aids, African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee member Zweli Mkhize told delegates at the TAC’s fourth national congress on Friday.
”Just because we are poor doesn’t mean our brains can’t function properly,” said Zandile Gamede (16) at a laptop handover ceremony in Kliptown, Soweto, on Thursday. It is the first time that the international One Laptop per Child initiative has come to South Africa.