The Southern District municipality in the North West would be named after the former Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the municipality said on Tuesday. The council passed a resolution on the new name at its meeting on Monday, mayor Boitumelo Moloi said.
The African National Congress (ANC) parliamentary caucus has dismissed the Democratic Alliance (DA) call for a special sitting of Parliament to discuss President Thabo Mbeki’s suspension of National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli. ”We reject outright the statement by the DA,” a caucus statement said on Tuesday.
Judge Nkola Motata’s legal team is doing everything to prevent the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court from listening to five recordings entered as evidence by the state. Defence attorney Danie Dorfling argued that allowing the court to hear the recordings, which are video recordings with no visuals, would deprive the accused of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
The JSE was up sharply by midday on Tuesday, adopting the strength in overseas markets that were driven higher by a powerful performance on Wall Street overnight. By 12.03pm on the JSE, the all-share index had collected 1,01%. Financials advanced 2,02% and banks collected 2,86%, while industrials added 1,06%.
South Africa’s acting chief prosecutor said on Tuesday he would investigate police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi amid reports a warrant had been issued for his arrest for links to organised crime. Mokotedi Mpshe, acting director of the National Prosecuting Authority, said he could confirm an investigation of Selebi was under way.
Schabir Shaik, former financial adviser to Jacob Zuma, on Tuesday lost his final appeal against fraud and corruption charges and a 15-year prison sentence. Shaik’s appeal to bring new evidence was dismissed and the court ruled that his trial was not unfair.
Striking Johannesburg municipal workers will not be marching along the city’s streets on Tuesday — because it’s raining. ”We will gather outside the Metro Centre for a short while to hand over another part of our memorandum and that will be it,” South African Municipal Workers’ Union spokesperson Dumisani Langa said.
A three-bedroom house that caved in as result of sinkholes in Khutsong near Carletonville on Friday has been vandalised. Joseph Ramorola, family spokesperson, said on Monday that the house was vandalised on Saturday night. ”Window frames and curtains have been stolen,” he said.
There were a number of instances where a breakdown in the working relationship with Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla was discussed with suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. This is according to government spokesperson Themba Maseko, who was speaking at a press conference in Pretoria on Monday.
It has been described by one newspaper as ”splitting the Premier Soccer League [PSL] down the middle.” But what Finance Minister Trevor Manuel described as ”morally reprehensible” commission payments amounting to hundreds of millions of rands to PSL officials has seemingly united 45-million South Africans in outraged opposition to the professional soccer organisation.
Mining giant Anglo American said on Monday it would sell 61-million shares of AngloGold Ashanti Limited, cutting its stake in the world’s third-largest gold producer by almost half. The London-based company, which has a 41,8% interest in AngloGold, said in a statement that the shares would be offered as ordinary shares and American depository shares.
A computer expert testified in court on Monday that he was hindered when analysing whether former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused had fabricated controversial hoax emails about an alleged African National Congress conspiracy, as he was given hard copies and not the electronic versions.
The state had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Fred van der Vyver was guilty of the murder of his student girlfriend Inge Lotz, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. Prosecutor Christhenus van der Vijver was presenting closing argument in Van der Vyver’s trial.
South African Police Service (SAPS) offices in Cullinan, near Pretoria, have been shut down after they were found to constitute a health threat, the Department of Labour said on Monday. Department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said the Crime Investigation Department building was shut down on Friday for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Street posters promoting politician-turned-business-tycoon Tokyo Sexwale for president have appeared in Buffalo City (East London) in the Eastern Cape. The Dispatch Online reported on Monday that big colour posters reading ”Tokyo for president” were seen on poles in and around the city.
The Johannesburg metro police department has disputed a claim by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) that metro police have joined striking council workers in the city in large numbers. Samwu had issued a statement earlier on Monday claiming 3Â 000 metro police officers had joined the strike.
Racially based policies disempower the people they seek to promote, reveals a South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) report released on Monday. ”These policies reinforce the apartheid-style ideology that value is not associated with capability, but with the colour of one’s skin,” said SAIRR researcher Hannah Botsis.
Murder accused Fred van der Vyver acted extremely strangely after the death of his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. The submission came from prosecutor Carien Theunissen in closing argument in Van der Vyver’s trial. He is alleged to have bludgeoned her to death in her Stellenbosch flat on March 16 2005.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid a charge against South African Broadcasting Corporation board deputy chairperson Christine Qunta of contravening provisions of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act. The charge was laid at Cape Town Central police station on Monday by DA spokesperson Mike Waters.
The body of an unidentified teenager was found in Soweto on Sunday close to where a yearly beach party, attended by thousands, was held at the township’s Power Park dam on Saturday night. Police said the girl, who has not yet been identified, had two stab wounds to her neck.
A five-year-old boy stabbed by his father in KwaZulu-Natal’s Umlazi suburb on Sunday night died in hospital shortly after midday on Monday, Umlazi police said. The 40-year-old man told police he believed his son was ”an animal” and that he was defending himself when he attacked his son.
Johannesburg will stage a 46664 HIV/Aids awareness concert on World Aids Day for the first time, former president Nelson Mandela announced on Monday. Mandela said the concert, which will take place on December 1 at Ellis Park stadium, will feature international and local artists.
South Africa’s first solar-powered traffic lights were switched on in Cape Town at noon on Monday. Located at the intersection of Edna Street and Montagu’s Gift Road, south of Ottery, the four pairs of lights draw their power, via batteries, from solar panels on top of poles.
The deaths of four miners in a rockfall forced a halt to production at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng underground mine on Monday while safety checks were carried out, the company said. Increasing deaths at South Africa’s deep and treacherous underground mines have thrust safety into the spotlight in a country where about 200 miners are killed in accidents every year.
South African online retail is turning into a healthy and attractive business as more consumers access broadband and become more comfortable with online shopping, internet research firm World Wide Worx reported on Monday. By the end of this year, online spending on retail goods is expected to have grown by more than 35%.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the speaker of the National Assembly to urgently reconvene Parliament so that President Thabo Mbeki can explain his reasons for suspending the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli. In a letter to the speaker, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said the National Assembly has an obligation to deal with ”the crisis”.
Growth in demand for credit by South Africa’s private sector slowed slightly in August but money supply quickened, leaving the door open for higher interest rates. Central bank data on Monday showed credit demand growth eased to 22,91% year-on-year from 23,13% in July, above forecasts.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the South African Cricketers’ Association are headed for confrontation over the breakaway Indian Cricket League. The chief executive of CSA, Gerald Majola said South Africans who played in the planned 20-over competition, will be banned from the game in their country.
At least 10Â 000 municipal workers are expected to converge at Johannesburg’s Beyers Naude Square on Monday to begin a three-day strike. Police say there may be traffic backlogs and disruptions and have urged motorists to avoid the vicinity near the square.
While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has moved towards liberalising trade to make the flow of goods between countries easier and economically more rewarding, non-tariff barriers such as border delays continue to be a concern, a recent study found.
The unveiling of a multimillion-rand extension to the international terminal building of the OR Tambo International Airport was a milestone in preparing for the 2010 World Cup, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The Democratic Alliance is to ask President Thabo Mbeki questions in Parliament relating to National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli’s suspension and the reported warrant of arrest issued for police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. The party’s parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said it was "imperative that the president informs the nation".