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/ 17 January 2008
Power cuts are set to continue on Thursday, the Tshwane municipality said. ”Once again, load-shedding is due to Eskom generation constraints,” said municipal spokesperson Console Tleane. He said there was a slim chance that load-shedding would not be as ”intense” on Friday.
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/ 17 January 2008
South African President Thabo Mbeki travels to Zimbabwe on Thursday to meet officials of the ruling Zanu-PF and main opposition parties after reports that a deal to end a political crisis was imminent. Mbeki has been mediating talks between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s government and the Movement for Democratic Change for nearly a year.
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/ 17 January 2008
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is expected to hike interest rates by a further 50 basis points at the end of January, Absa’s economic research unit said on Wednesday. This was in spite of retail trade sales data released earlier by Statistics South Africa showing that consumer spending continued to buckle.
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/ 16 January 2008
Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke will answer his critics in the African National Congress (ANC) in a statement to be issued on Thursday. The ANC’s national working committee has accused Moseneke of showing disdain for delegates to its national conference in December last year in remarks made at his recent 60th birthday party.
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/ 16 January 2008
The South African Air Force has grounded its fleet of Pilatus Astra PC-7 MkII aircraft following the death of a pilot in a plane crash on Tuesday. The fleet would remain grounded until further notice, South African National Defence Force headquarters said on Wednesday.
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/ 16 January 2008
British national Anthony Cooper on Wednesday told the Cape Town Regional Court of his frantic efforts to put out a veld fire on the slopes of Table Mountain — caused by a cigarette he allegedly flicked from his fingers as he stood smoking near his car. Cooper has been charged with culpable homicide.
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/ 16 January 2008
The South African competition watchdog the Competition Commission on Wednesday slammed bread price increases, saying the ”blatant profiteering is an insult to the nation”. Bread maker Tiger Brands on Monday implemented price increases on its Albany bread brand.
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/ 16 January 2008
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has proposed that police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi present himself to the Randburg Regional Court on January 30. ”We wrote to Selebi’s attorney proposing this,” NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Wednesday.
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/ 16 January 2008
A woman who was shot dead in front of her two children before being robbed of R70 in Pinetown on Wednesday morning had reportedly turned state witness in a Department of Transport fraud case. Futhi Ncwane’s estranged husband, Popo, said: ”Futhi was going to be a state witness in a fraud case involving the Department of Transport.”
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/ 16 January 2008
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Rapport newspaper said on Wednesday it was satisfied with an out-of-court settlement reached with African National Congress president Jacob Zuma over a defamation and injuria claim. ”I’m satisfied,” was all Rapport editor Tim du Plessis wanted to say on hearing the news of the settlement on Wednesday.
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/ 16 January 2008
South Africa wants countries who have promised troops for the peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s Darfur region to speed up their deployment. ”If we don’t get fast movement of the forces, their full deployment and the technical assistance, then the whole comprehensive agreement … could be endangered,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday.
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/ 16 January 2008
A court on Wednesday postponed the case of abuse against a former dormitory matron of United States talk-show host Oprah Winfrey’s girls academy. Virginia Mokgobo (27) appeared in the Sebokeng Magistrate’s Court to face charges of indecent and common assault, soliciting a minor to perform indecent acts and verbal abuse.
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/ 16 January 2008
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has requested an urgent meeting with President Thabo Mbeki to discuss what she calls ”the growing perception of a constitutional and moral crisis” in South Africa. ”The implication of the police national commissioner and the ruling party’s presidential candidate in corruption cases is but one reason for this perception.”
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/ 16 January 2008
The Finance Ministry has invited all South Africans to send tips on how the country’s finances should be run to the annual "Tips for Trevor" campaign. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel plainly takes some notice of what the public tells him since he often refers to these tips during his budget speech in Parliament.
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/ 16 January 2008
Despite a significant dip in real retail sales in South Africa, analysts feel that risks remain for another rate hike on January 31. However, the central bank may also have to ponder that real retail sales could head into negative territory in the months ahead and lead consumers into a recession.
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/ 16 January 2008
The African National Congress’s (ANC) outgoing head of the Presidency and communications, Smuts Ngonyama, said on Wednesday he would continue doing work for the party, but in a lower profile. ”It’s more or less 10 years that I have been in this role and I accept that I have to move on with life and look at other challenges,” he said.
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/ 16 January 2008
The Public Protector is considering investigating Eskom’s power failures, which have recently left many parts of South Africa without electricity for hours at a time due to load-shedding. Lawrence Mushwana asks several difficult questions in a letter sent to Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga on Wednesday.
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/ 16 January 2008
Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius hopes that independent tests will show that he does not get an unfair advantage from his prosthetic racing blades. The International Association of Athletics Federations ruled on Monday that the South African is ineligible to compete at the Beijing Olympics because his prosthetics give him a clear competitive advantage.
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/ 16 January 2008
The one-and-a-half-day visit of Eddie Jones to the Bulls was worthwhile — and the Super 14 champions have learnt a lot from it. Bulls forward coach Pote Human and the franchise’s new captain, Fourie du Preez, were unanimous in their view that the former Brumbies and Wallaby coach had lots to offer the Bulls.
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/ 16 January 2008
South African retail sales growth slowed to 0,2% year-on-year in November, the lowest in four years, as higher interest rates put a dampener on consumer spending. Statistics South Africa said sales growth slowed from an upwardly revised 1,9% in October, while in the three months to the end of November, sales increased by 1,2%.
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/ 16 January 2008
The South African Police Service has accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of trying to obstruct the probe into Gauteng Scorpions head Gerrie Nel. This comes a day after the Pretoria Regional Court withdrew charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice against Nel.
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/ 16 January 2008
The JSE remained sharply weaker by midday on Wednesday, in line with other world markets, which were also experiencing a bumpy ride. At noon, the JSE’s all-share index was 2,97% in the red. The gold- and platinum-mining indices slumped 4,09% and 4,07% respectively, while resources were off 3,27%.
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/ 16 January 2008
Standard Bank is making strides in trying to ensure that investing in the stock market is accessible to average South Africans by reducing its fees for 2008. This is the fourth fee reduction since January 2005. The bank reduced its brokerage rates from 0,7% to 0,6% per transaction, with a minimum fee of R70.
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/ 16 January 2008
Suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli has objected to government’s request for an extension to file its submissions to the Ginwala Commission of Inquiry. A copy of a letter, sent by Pikoli’s law firm Denys Reitz to inquiry head Frene Ginwala, was released to the media late on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Ginwala herself criticised government for its ”slow response” and failure to deliver its submission on time.
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/ 16 January 2008
A 12-year-old Durban boy who was getting ready to for his first day back at school watched helplessly on Wednesday morning as his mother was shot five times by a robber. The boy, his seven-year-old sibling, his grandmother and a domestic worker were inside their Pinetown home at the time of the shooting.
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/ 15 January 2008
Raging veld fires in Hermanus have destroyed six houses and damaged several others, it was reported on Tuesday. ”We’ve had strong winds that got out of control,” explained an official in the Hermanus municipal office, who declined to give his name.
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/ 15 January 2008
The Ginwala Commission of Inquiry into suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli has criticised the government for its ”slow response” and failure to deliver its submission on time. In a statement on Tuesday, inquiry head Frene Ginwala said she had ”reluctantly” granted the government a 10-day extension.
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/ 15 January 2008
The North West provincial government on Tuesday condemned the ”racist” killing of four people at the Skielik informal settlement. A 17-year-old was arrested in connection with the deaths on Tuesday after police launched a manhunt on Monday.
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/ 15 January 2008
The Presidency on Tuesday defended Thabo Mbeki’s handling of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s case. Addressing reporters at the Union Buildings, Mbeki’s legal adviser, Mojanku Gumbi, said Mbeki acted immediately when he learned that the National Prosecuting Authority was ready to proceed with action against Selebi.
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/ 15 January 2008
Opposition parties on Tuesday voiced their concern over Eskom’s inability to avert a power crisis in the country, with the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) calling for the appointment of a multiparty task team to handle the situation. FF+ spokesperson on energy Willie Spies said it was evident that the government did not have the capacity to deal with the current power crisis.
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/ 15 January 2008
With all the tension and trauma surrounding Bafana Bafana’s forthcoming test of strength in the African Cup of Nations, the man in the middle of the cauldron of emotions displayed his usual cool and composed demeanour on Tuesday. And Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira believes his Bafana squad are on course for their acid test in Ghana.
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/ 15 January 2008
Two separate fires and the subsequent repairs at Durban’s Engen Refinery have cost the company close to R200-million rand, refinery spokesperson Herb Payne said on Tuesday. However, while the cost of the blaze is known to the company, the eThekwini municipality has yet to release the results of air-quality assessment tests taken at the time of the blaze.