The JSE was firm at midday on Wednesday, driven higher by sharply stronger banks and financial stocks. By noon, the all-share index had collected 0,49% as banks and financials advanced 3,07% and 2,30% respectively. The platinum mining index recovered 0,94% and resources edged up 0,12%.
South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) members are expected to converge on the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday to hear a final ruling on a secondary strike. Union spokesperson Dumisani Langa said if the court ruled in their favour, they would rope in other Gauteng municipalities to join the strike.
A former politician and a controversial figure were the only candidates interviewed in Cape Town on Tuesday for a vacant judge position in the Bophuthatswana (North West) provincial division. They are former Democratic Alliance MP Lawrence Lever and former North West acting judge Cecile Zwiegelaar.
Premier Soccer League (PSL) executive members have not been paid commission for their part in the R1,6-billion television rights deal or the R500-million Absa sponsorship deal. The PSL had not even formally decided yet whether it would pay its negotiators any commission at all, said chairperson Irvin Khoza.
Premier Soccer League (PSL) members have not been paid any commission from the television broadcasting and Absa sponsorship deals, PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza said on Tuesday. Indeed, the issue of the payment of commissions had not even been finalised yet, he told reporters in Johannesburg.
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata’s drunken-driving trial has been postponed for the court to rule on the defence’s application for a trial within a trial on admissibility of evidence. Magistrate Desmond Nair will give his decision when the trial resumes at the end of October.
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The Constitutional Court ruling on Tuesday dismissing Schabir Shaik’s application to appeal his conviction and sentence for corruption and fraud may have cleared the way for presidential hopeful Jacob Zuma to face corruption charges again, the latest twist in a political drama gripping the country.
Petite Lize-Marie Retief (20) of Pretoria again rose to the occasion on the fourth and last day of finals at the Telkom South African National Short-Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, shattering the African and South African records for the women’s 100m butterfly.
The judge in the Boeremag treason trial on Tuesday urged one of the accused and his legal representative to come to some sort of arrangement after the advocate withdrew from the trial, causing yet a further delay. Advocate Barry van der Merwe, who represented alleged former Boeremag military commander Tom Vorster, withdrew without giving any reasons.
Athletics South Africa responded on Tuesday to an article that appeared in Rapport newspaper on September 30 regarding the non-ratification of Karen Mey’s recent long-jump South African record of 6,93m, achieved on July 7 in Bad Langensaiza, Germany.
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi has been investigated but no decision has been made on prosecuting him, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, President Thabo Mbeki was caught off guard on Tuesday when asked questions by the media about the possible arrest of Selebi.
A journalist and two actors were arrested in Zimbabwe during a satirical play making fun of the country’s political situation, press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières said on Tuesday. It said plainclothes police stormed a theatre in central Harare on Friday night during a performance of The Final Push.
There is a probability that the hoax emails allegedly fabricated by former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused were created by an amateur, the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court heard on Tuesday. Masetlha and his co-accused are facing charges of fraud amounting to R152 000.
President Thabo Mbeki was caught off guard on Tuesday when asked questions at a media photo opportunity at the Union Buildings in Pretoria about the possible arrest of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Responding to questions from journalists by asking more questions, Mbeki queried whether it was a president’s job to issue warrants of arrest.
Murder accused Fred van der Vyver’s legal team has told the Cape High Court it wants him to testify in his own defence. The surprise move came on Tuesday afternoon after the state had already delivered its closing arguments, and Van der Vyver’s advocate Dup de Bruyn had begun his.
There was still no word on whether Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) veterans would get voting rights at the upcoming African National Congress (ANC) national conference, the MK Military Veterans’ Association (MKVA) said on Tuesday. ”We are trying to get representation at the conference,” said newly elected MKVA president Kebby Maphatsoe.
A music writer who demanded the right to vent his feelings on Radio Heart 104.9 about the rejection of a story he wrote concerning a black musician is to go on trial on a charge of intimidation. David Robert Lewis (39), of Woodstock, appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The second day of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) strike in Johannesburg has had little impact on service delivery, city officials said on Tuesday. City spokesperson Gabu Tugwana said the first day saw about 1 500 marchers — 50% of which were from the Johannesburg metro police department.
The trial of Cezanne Visser, also known as ”Advocate Barbie”, has once again been delayed because no judge was available to preside in the case. The defence and the state were only informed this week that no judge had been assigned to the case. Judge Khami Makhafola provisionally postponed Visser’s trial to October 12 to allow the state to arrange for the appointment of a judge.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged National Assembly sport committee chairperson Butana Komphela to have the Premier Soccer League (PSL) explain why executive members should get a R50-million ”commission” to secure a R500-million sponsorship deal.
Sales of new vehicles plunged over the past month, says the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa. Association members reported 50 084 new vehicles sold during September this year, compared with 57 599 sold during the same month the year before. The 13% drop was a ”significant decline”, the association said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Health Department is intensifying its HIV-prevention programme, particularly for mother-to-child transmissions, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Tuesday. The minister was speaking at the first Global-World HIV/Aids Alliance conference held in Richards Bay.
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata will be ”severely prejudiced” should magistrate Desmond Nair fail to allow a trial within a trial to decide on the admissibility of evidence. Motata’s defence team continued its offensive on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to prevent five video recordings from being heard.
Mpumalanga’s organised crime unit has arrested five men following a string of rapes in the province over the weekend. More arrests are expected. The unit’s spokesperson, Captain Leonard Hlathi, said on Tuesday that 27 rapes were reported throughout the province at the weekend.
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 South African Secret Service’s deputy director general, Silumko Sokupa, would take over as the new coordinator for intelligence next month, the Intelligence Services said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Lorna Daniels said President Thabo Mbeki had appointed Sokupa following the early retirement of Barry Gilder.
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%.
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.
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.
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.