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".
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/ 30 September 2007
Kaizer Chiefs tempted fate and won a blood-and-thunder, error-infested Telkom Knockout game against Moroka Swallows by a 3-1 penalty shoot-out margin after the teams had finished level 2-2 after extra-time at Loftus on Saturday night. In truth, the Amakhosi should have had their place in the quarterfinals signed and sealed in the opening period against an amateurish, out-of-touch Swallows.
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/ 29 September 2007
A first half free kick from Teko Modise was enough to ensure victory for a makeshift South African side in the Saturday’s Cosafa Castle Cup semifinal against Botswana at Atteridgeville, near Pretoria. Modise netted in the 32nd minute to set up a final meeting with Zambia next month, at a venue to be decided.
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/ 29 September 2007
South African companies are like Irish coffee — white on top and black at the bottom — said Jimmy Manyi, commissioner of the Employment Equity Commission on Saturday. Speaking at the University of Stellenbosch on Saturday, Myani used the analogy to explain the lack of employment equity.
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/ 29 September 2007
The Absa Currie Cup match between the Valke and Western Province at Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday night was lively and exciting at times. Western Province won the game 46-23 to keep their slim Currie Cup semifinal hopes alive. The Cape visitors, seeking four tries to retain some hope of reaching the semifinals, eventually scored six tries.
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/ 29 September 2007
South Africa put up a disappointing performance in the third and final Spar Challenge Test against Uganda at Pretoria University’s Mamelodi campus on Friday night, going down 30-34. South Africa win the series two-one, after winning the first two Tests.
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/ 29 September 2007
Ten thousand municipal workers in Johannesburg will down tools for three days starting on Monday, the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) said. The Johannesburg Labour Court on Friday overruled the city’s application for an interdict to prevent the strike.
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/ 29 September 2007
The country’s chief prosecutor has been suspended, its top cop may be wanted for corruption — and South Africans are wondering whether both are casualties in a battle for leadership of the African National Congress. The South African Broadcasting Corporation, reported on Thursday that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi.
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/ 28 September 2007
Losing National Lottery bidder Igwija Gaming on Friday indicated that it might launch renewed court action questioning the awarding of the licence to incumbent operator Gidani. In a lengthy media statement, Igwija said it would request an urgent meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa.
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/ 28 September 2007
The medical superintendent of Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, who spoke out about the recent spate of baby deaths there, has been fired, the Eastern Cape health department said on Friday. The department found Dr Nokuzola Ntshona guilty on three charges of speaking out against its handling of the Frere Hospital maternity saga.
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/ 28 September 2007
Opposition parties on Friday called for a commission of inquiry to investigate police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi and for President Thabo Mbeki to state categorically whether a warrant was issued for Selebi’s arrest. Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said the seriousness of the situation should not be underestimated.
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/ 28 September 2007
The number of overcrowded schools has fallen from 51% in 1999 to 24% in 2006, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday. Further, ”the number of schools with electricity has increased from 11 174 in 1996 to 20 713 in 2006”, she said at the opening of Thengwe Secondary School in Limpopo.
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/ 28 September 2007
Another two bodies have been found in the sugar-cane fields near the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) town of Umzinto, police confirmed on Friday. Spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter said the bodies were discovered in the early hours of Friday morning adjacent to the Shayamoya township of Umzinto. Their identities were not known yet.
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/ 28 September 2007
Three hundred former and present members of Discovery Health are suing the insurer for R852Â 000 in connection with an ancillary fee that they believe was charged illegally. But the group spearheading the action believes the company could be sued for up to R692-million should it succeed in its action, which they say could establish a precedent.
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/ 28 September 2007
South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R9,1-billion in August, compared with July’s R9,4-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of R5,3-billion, but the number is notoriously volatile and hard to predict.