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/ 3 September 2007
United Nations agencies urged governments in Southern Africa on Monday to draw up legislation to combat frightening levels of human trafficking, saying action was vital ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Specific legislation to tackle the issue was needed to help law enforcement agencies get to grips with the situation.
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/ 3 September 2007
A strike by some workers at Angloplat refineries and smelter has not curbed output, the world’s biggest platinum producer said on Tuesday. Other employees were still on the job after 1 500 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) downed tools
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/ 3 September 2007
A nine-year-old girl was raped during a burglary in Monument Park on Monday, Pretoria police said. Captain Tessa Jansen said two men in their 20s broke into a 35-year-old woman’s house around 1am. They gained access by breaking a window and once inside they threatened the woman at knife-point.
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/ 3 September 2007
Measures to curb or control foreign ownership of land in South Africa are proposed in a government-commissioned report, a copy of which was obtained on Monday. A panel of experts call in the document for a two-year moratorium on foreign ownership of land.
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/ 3 September 2007
South Africa’s Telkom said on Monday it was in talks with Britain’s Vodafone and MTN, sparking talk it wants to sell its fixed-line business and its stake in cellphone operator Vodacom. Telkom gave no further details. Vodafone and MTN — sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest cellphone operator — said separately the talks were at a ”very preliminary stage”.
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/ 3 September 2007
Police officers who reportedly took part in a meat free-for-all near King William’s Town last month have been cleared from any charges. The incident followed an accident in which a truck loaded with pigs overturned. Onlookers apparently then killed the pigs and police officers at the scene allegedly did not take any action.
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/ 3 September 2007
The former Auditor General (AG) of South Africa, Henri Kluever, has died, the office of the Auditor General announced on September 3. He had served in the post from 1993 to 1999 during transition in the country and at the time the institution gained independence and autonomy from the public sector.
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/ 3 September 2007
The floor-crossing saga took another turn on Monday as the African National Congress claimed control of the Drakenstein and Knysna municipalities. Meanwhile, the ID’s caucus leader in the Cape Town city council, Simon Grindrod, strongly criticised former ID councillor David Sasman, now leader of the National People’s Party.
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/ 3 September 2007
The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) on Monday commended the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for its ”brave and patriotic decision” to break ties with the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). The SABC broke ranks with the forum in protest over its stance on Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
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/ 3 September 2007
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Jake White’s Springboks were due to leave for the World Cup in France later on Monday in an upbeat mood in stark contrast to the disastrous build-up to the last edition in Australia. In 2003 there was general discontent in Rudolf Straeuli’s camp after players were sent on the infamous military-style Kamp Staaldraad, while claims of racism rocked the squad.
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/ 3 September 2007
The Merafong municipality has warned that urgent action is needed to save Khutsong from a potential sinkhole disaster. Residents live in fear of repetition of the August 3 1964 disaster in which 376 miners and a family of five disappeared into a sinkhole in Carletonville and were never found again.
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/ 3 September 2007
South Africa’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to its lowest level in more than a year in August, but prospects were still positive, sponsor Investec said on Monday. The monthly measure of manufacturing activity dropped to 54,3 from 57,7 in July, largely due to a sharp fall in growth of business activity and slower sales growth.
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/ 3 September 2007
Information and communication technology (ICT) in South Africa is expected to get a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with infrastructure providers and local government spending billions to ensure a successful tournament, according to key players at the recent ICT Journalist Media Forum.
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/ 3 September 2007
Judge Nkola Motata was over the legal alcohol limit and abusive to police officers when arrested for drunken driving earlier this year, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday. A daily newspaper reported the state as alleging Motata was ”at least” four times over the legal alcohol limit when arrested.
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/ 3 September 2007
South African captain Graeme Smith believes bowlers could play as big a role as batsmen at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup his nation is hosting from September 11. ”I’m unsure whether batsmen are going to totally dominate. No one really knows what conditions are going to be like at this time of year,” Smith said.
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/ 3 September 2007
Police in Soweto were firing water and rubber bullets into a crowd of more than 500 angry protesters in Protea South on Monday. Protesters had begun barricading the main road at about 6am on Monday over poor service delivery. They were also vandalising lamp posts and throwing stones.
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/ 3 September 2007
The schooling of about 15Â 000 children in the Northern Cape is to be disrupted, South African Broadcasting Corporation news has reported. This follows a decision by the provincial department of education to merge several schools in the Frances Baard municipal district.
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/ 3 September 2007
Officials of South Africa’s Parliament boasted on Monday that for the first time since 2003/04 the institution had received a clean bill of financial health from the Auditor General. There is, according to the secretary of Parliament, Zingile Dingani, no qualification and no matter of emphasis in the report.
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/ 3 September 2007
More than 200 people were arrested in Johannesburg over the weekend for crimes including rape and robbery, police said on Monday. Captain Bhekizizwe Mavundla said Hillbrow police arrested 203 people between Friday and Monday morning. Other crimes included pointing of a firearm and being in possession of dagga.
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/ 3 September 2007
More than 9 000 unemployed youths will be trained as auxiliary social workers by 2010, the Department of Social Development said on Monday. Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said the implementation of the training programme is part of an agreement of cooperation with Cuba.
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/ 3 September 2007
The JSE continued on a lacklustre path as it edged up slightly from its flat open to trade 0,68% higher at midday on Monday. World markets were also flat at midday amid a continued lack of activity as United States traders took a day off to celebrate Labour Day. By midday on the JSE, the all-share index was up 0,68%.
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/ 3 September 2007
Given the outlook for continued strong investment over the next few years, it appears that South Africa’s trade balance is sustainable going forward at about current levels, said global analysts Lehman Brothers on Monday. However, they do expect the current high trade imports to affect the current-account deficit.
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/ 3 September 2007
The search for a miner who went missing in a rockfall at Driefontein gold mine near Carletonville, continued on Monday, the mine said. Gold Fields spokesperson Andrew Davidson said the miner had been working in a stope 3 000m underground on Saturday when there was a rockfall.
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/ 3 September 2007
Mamelodi Sundowns lost ground in their challenge for an African Confederation Cup final place this weekend after losing 1-0 to Astres Douala in Cameroon. A softly awarded penalty midway through the second half settled the Group A clash with Roland Ndjam sending Calvin Marlin the wrong way from the spot kick.
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/ 3 September 2007
Two men stole a hearse with a corpse to go on a drinking spree in Soweto over the weekend, a media report said on Monday. They were caught after the vehicle ran out of petrol on Sunday morning in the Freedom Park informal settlement, near Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital at around 3am.
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/ 3 September 2007
The leader of South Africa’s main opposition party on Monday said floor-crossing would not change the balance of power in Cape Town, the only major city not controlled by the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The DA opposes floor-crossing, which it says favours the ANC and weakens democracy.
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/ 2 September 2007
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said he has no interest in joining the African National Congress presidential succession race — this after the Sunday Times reported that Ramaphosa had joined the race. ”I have no interest in standing for this position,” he said in a statement.
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/ 2 September 2007
Uncertainty over the future of Cape Town’s coalition government continued on Sunday as the newly formed National People’s Party claimed to have secured the allegiance of 10 councillors. The coalition, led by the Democratic Alliance, holds power by a majority of 20 in the 210-seat council.
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/ 2 September 2007
A four-year-old boy was in a serious but stable condition in hospital after falling from a balcony at the Cresta shopping centre in Northcliff, said Johannesburg paramedics on Sunday. A Netcare 911 spokesperson said the incident occurred on the first level of the complex near several restaurants on Saturday night.
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/ 2 September 2007
President Robert Mugabe’s cash-strapped government in Zimbabwe cannot afford to pay for 36Â 000 tonnes of wheat stuck at the nearest seaport of Beira in Mozambique, reports said on Sunday. Bread has been in short supply since Mugabe’s government imposed sweeping price controls on all goods and services.
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/ 2 September 2007
A string of gloomy data has clouded some of the optimism surrounding the South African economy, raising fears of another interest-rate hike and casting doubt on government growth forecasts. Figures released on Tuesday showed that growth had slowed by 0,2 percentage points to 4,5% in the second quarter of 2007.
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/ 2 September 2007
Two people have been crushed to death in Zimbabwe in a stampede at the end of the country’s main agricultural show, reports said on Sunday. The two, including a young boy, died when people jostled to leave the venue of a fireworks display traditionally held to mark the end of the six-day show in the capital.