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/ 21 February 2008
AmaZulu suffered their third straight defeat in the Absa Premier League when they lost 0-1 to Golden Arrows at Princess Magogo Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. AmaZulu were put to the test as early as the fourth minute when Thanduyise Khuboni’s header forced a brilliant save from AmaZulu goalkeeper Kalilio Kakonje.
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/ 21 February 2008
Kaizer Chiefs were let off the hook by Wits University at the Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday night while gaining only their third Premier League win in 17 games this season to vault four places into a flattering eighth position in the log. But, it must be concluded, the Wits side played distinctly dumb soccer and were their own worst enemies while going down 2-0.
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/ 21 February 2008
There would be some very ”tough negotiations” with Eskom over the repayment of its R60-billion loan, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in Cape Town on Thursday. ”The terms will have to be worked out, it’s not in our interests to try to squeeze a short-term return,” he told a breakfast meeting.
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/ 21 February 2008
Floor-crossing will finally be scrapped, a media report said on Thursday. Following on a decision by the African National Congress’s Polokwane conference, Parliament’s committee on private members’ legislative proposals on Wednesday agreed to a draft Bill that will lead to the scrapping of the practice.
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/ 21 February 2008
Education Minister Naledi Pandor wore the broadest smile among her counterparts on Wednesday as Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was once again in a generous mood towards her department. But some education analysts are sceptical about provinces’ capacity to deliver on disbursing the billions allocated to general education.
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/ 20 February 2008
The raising of the age ceiling for child-support grants to 15 — announced by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in his national budget on Wednesday — leaves many children between the ages of 15 and 18 vulnerable, the Johannesburg Child Welfare Society said.
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/ 20 February 2008
About 10 students from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) were arrested on Wednesday following a protest that turned violent, said Pretoria police. Captain Dumisani Ndlazi said the 10, who were part of a protesting group, were arrested at the university’s main campus in Pretoria West.
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/ 20 February 2008
The government has sent an official delegation to the United Kingdom to discuss the electricity crisis. The delegation is led by Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi, government communications head Themba Maseko said after Wednesday’s fortnightly Cabinet meeting.
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/ 20 February 2008
A damages claim of almost R1,4-million, instituted by Gaye Derby-Lewis against Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula for her alleged unlawful arrest more than five years ago, was postponed indefinitely in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s national budget charts a pragmatic course that offers hope for better times ahead, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday. The budget has a definite business-friendly undertone, Citadel chief investment officer Jan van Niekerk said.
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/ 20 February 2008
As a Durban woman was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, members of her family spoke of their fears of being ”finished off” in a grudge war between two former friends. The feud has claimed several lives in the past four years. On Tuesday, Leanne Armugam (30) and her cousin Donovan Pillay (26) were shot in Durban’s Hillary suburb.
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/ 20 February 2008
Crime-hit hospitals in Gauteng should have security as soon as March, provincial health minister Brian Hlongwa announced on Wednesday during a Gauteng legislature social-cluster briefing outlining priorities in the coming year. Hlongwa also said Gautengers could have their medical histories recorded on smart cards soon.
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/ 20 February 2008
A Pietermaritzburg gangster was given two life sentences in the town’s magistrate’s court on Wednesday for taking part in a R20 000 armed robbery in which two men were shot and killed. The men — vintner De Wet Joubert (64) and gang member Sandile Jili — were shot in a busy Pietermaritzburg shopping mall in April 2004.
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/ 20 February 2008
The Sol Plaatje municipality has urged Kimberley motorists to avoid the road running next to one of its biggest tourism attractions, the Big Hole, for fears of a cave-in. The tourist attraction was dug by thousands of diamond prospectors by hand, starting in 1871 and ending in 1914.
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/ 20 February 2008
Overwhelmingly positive or mediocre? Economists on Wednesday had a variety of impressions to share of Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s national budget, tabled in Parliament earlier in the day. Colen Garrow, economist at Brait, said: "There was nothing in it for the embattled consumer."
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/ 20 February 2008
Charges were withdrawn against 43 University of Johannesburg students who appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for public violence during protests last year. The students were arrested following protests against an increase in tuition fees.
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/ 20 February 2008
Keeping prices down had to remain the key objective of monetary policy, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in his budget speech on Wednesday. ”A policy stance that accommodates higher inflation cannot be consistent with a government that is intent on reducing poverty,” he said.
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/ 20 February 2008
The Soccer City Stadium is 50% complete and will be finished in May next year, five months ahead of the Fifa deadline, Gauteng Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation minister Barbara Creecy said on Wednesday. An independent state of readiness audit had shown that the province was ”firmly on track” to meet its commitments for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
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/ 20 February 2008
Springbok rugby captain John Smit will remain at the helm of the side until the end of the year, coach Peter de Villiers announced on Wednesday, as political mudslinging continued with the Freedom Front Plus condemning the reaction of African National Congress MPs to former Springbok captains calling for an end to political interference in the sport.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel played his cards close to his chest on Wednesday when questioned about his future during a media conference before his delivery of the national budget in Parliament. "I have said in the past that I serve. I can’t say what will happen," he said.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, while delivering his national budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday, made a point of replying to a number of South Africans who had sent budgetary suggestions to him under the "Tips for Trevor" programme.
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/ 20 February 2008
Landowners who opt to preserve habitats and biodiversity on their land are set to receive an income-tax deduction for their efforts, according to the Budget Review tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 726 trees, almost 37 tonnes of paper, were used for the paperwork and the documents of the national budget.
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/ 20 February 2008
DRDGold has denied claims made by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) that intolerant racist behaviour was being practised at the company’s Blyvooruitzicht mine. In a statement released by Cosatu on Tuesday, the union federation alleged that Blyvooruitzicht mine management practised racism towards employees.
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/ 20 February 2008
An early-warning system is to be implemented in 240 Gauteng schools to prevent ”senseless” violence, provincial education minister Angie Motshekga announced on Wednesday at a briefing outlining the social cluster of the Gauteng legislature’s priorities for the year.
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/ 20 February 2008
The age limit for the child-support grant will be raised by one year to include 14-year-olds as from January next year, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced on Wednesday. He also said the qualifying age for men for the state old-age pension would be reduced from 65 to 63 this year, to 61 in 2009, and 60 by 2010.
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/ 20 February 2008
Over R10-billion will be spent on strengthening the police force and judiciary over the next three years, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in his budget speech on Wednesday. There would be more than 200Â 000 police officers by the end of March 2011, up 22% from the 163Â 000 police officers in 2006/07.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that recent political developments within the African National Congress (ANC) made the drafting of the 2008 budget difficult. "I never had any concerns on whether there will be difficulties in these areas," he said.
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/ 20 February 2008
South Africa’s current account increased to 7,2% of gross domestic product in 2007 and will rise to 8% by 2010, as imports soar and export growth remains sluggish, the Treasury said on Wednesday. The Treasury said the current account had shifted from a surplus of R10-billion in 2002 to a deficit of R143-billion in 2007.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2008/09 national budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday brings tax relief, reduced corporate taxes, financial support for Eskom’s programme to build power stations, a new electricity levy, more social spending and a boost for job creation.
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/ 20 February 2008
The government will fund embattled electricity producer Eskom to the tune of R60-billion over the next five years, according to national budget documents tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. At the same time, it will introduce a levy in a bid to get consumers to save electricity.
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/ 20 February 2008
Despite global economic turmoil, South Africa’s economy remains robust and the longer-term outlook favourable, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. "It is time for neither gloom nor panic," he said in his 2008/09 budget speech to the National Assembly.
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/ 20 February 2008
African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), South Africa’s second-largest black-owned mining group, said first-half earnings rose 34% as it enjoyed booming commodity prices and achieved record output. ARM said headline earnings per share climbed to 353 cents in the latter half of 2007.