The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday welcomed the dismissal of Central Karoo district municipality manager Truman Prince, saying it had lost confidence in the controversial politician. DA Western Cape chairperson Theuns Botha said the party was glad Prince has been ousted.
Two Labour Department inspectors were arrested after allegedly receiving a bribe from a construction-site employer on Monday, the Department of Labour said. ”The suspects were extorting R3 000 from a construction employer whom they had found to be unlawfully employing illegal immigrants,” said a spokesperson.
The withdrawal of charges against retired mining mogul Roger Kebble is provisional and does not indicate the matter has been abandoned, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday. Five charges of tax fraud against Kebble were withdrawn in court.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union has called off its planned strike in Cape Town following a Labour Court ruling on Monday that the action would be unlawful. The strike, in protest against what the union claimed was unilateral staff restructuring by the city, was to have started at midnight.
Confusion and a lack of communication among prison officials on Monday led to a delay in the start of former Hard Livings gang leader Rashied Staggie’s murder trial in the Cape High Court. The chaos also caused a frustrated Judge Nathan Erasmus to warn all involved that he would not tolerate unnecessary delays.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) launched a fund on Monday to provide short-term financial assistance to axed deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, who was sacked earlier in August, partly because she travelled to Spain to an HIV/Aids conference without authorisation from President Thabo Mbeki.
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The Supreme Court of Appeal reserved judgement on Monday in an appeal about the validity of search-and-seizure warrants served on a former attorney of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma. The counsel for the state conceded that the warrants against attorney Julie Mahomed were not justified.
Former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) director general and sports commentator Steve de Villiers died in Johannesburg on Monday after a lengthy illness, his family said. He was 84. De Villiers’s career in broadcasting spanned more than 40 years.
An internal investigation has been completed into the conduct of South African Police Service officers at an accident scene near King William’s Town earlier this month where a truck carrying 211 pigs had overturned. Onlookers apparently stormed the truck and killed the pigs — of which some were still alive — for meat.
The South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) Johannesburg offices were burgled for the seventh time on Sunday, the commission said. ”The commission is concerned that the same gang of armed robbers could be responsible for these criminal activities,” a spokesperson said.
Narend Singh, the former KwaZulu-Natal arts, culture and tourism minister who resigned amid a sex scandal, is back, representing his party in the National Assembly, media reports said on Monday. Singh was sworn in on Friday to serve on the finance, agriculture and land affairs portfolio committees.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has received expressions of interest for its soccer radio broadcasting rights after cancelling its temporary radio agreement with the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The latest development follows the sale of television broadcasting rights to SuperSport for more than R1-billion.
Large veld fires forced the closure of the N3 highway near Harrismith and left hundreds of cattle dead on Monday. The fires and poor visibility were worst in the Swinburne and Montrose areas near Van Reenen’s Pass. At least one vehicle in the Van Reenen’s Pass area had caught alight and its occupants had to be rescued.
The national office of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has once again called its Western Cape region to order, this time over a call to boycott all Chinese imports. Last week, the region called on its members and working-class communities ”to not purchase Chinese-made products”.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday accused police of brutality by using excessive force during workers’ protests, saying they had fired tear gas and rubber bullets without warning. It said in a statement that rubber bullets were fired at striking mineworkers in the North West last week.
The preferred bidder to build and operate South Africa’s first private sector-owned power generation plants was announced by Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica on Monday. The AES Consortium — led by AES Pacific Ocean Holdings and several local companies — has been selected to build and operate the gas-turbine plants in Durban and Port Elizabeth.
Five months after the suspension of the Lotto, Trade and Industry minister Mpahlwa is yet to announce the date when it is to resume. Mpahlwa’s spokesperson, Vukani Mde, on Monday said the minister still had not made any announcement.
Five charges of tax fraud against retired mining mogul Roger Kebble were withdrawn in the Johannesburg Regional Court, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday. Kebble was charged with tax evasion amounting to R7,2-million in March last year. The case was postponed at least eight times at the state’s request.
New land acquisitions have enlarged two of the Northern Cape’s national parks to more than 100Â 000ha. The parks’ bigger footprints will allow them to cope better with climate change, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
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The state conceded on Monday that a search-and-seizure warrant served on Julie Mahomed, a former attorney for Jacob Zuma, was invalid. It submitted in the Supreme Court of Appeal that even if ”an unlawful search and seizure” took place, other relevant aspects must be taken into account to preserve the seized material.
Table Mountain will be patrolled by police and guards from South African National Parks after a spate of muggings at the popular tourist spot, the Western Cape’s community safety department said on Monday. On Thursday a meeting will be held to discuss further security measures after at least 18 muggings were reported between January and August 2007.
Jobs are being lost in South Africa because of bad attitudes to customers, training company BizTech said on Monday. ”Whether it’s slow delivery of infrastructure to people in poor areas, overcharging tourists or rude call-centre agents, South Africa’s poor customer service is developing a reputation that is stymying business.”
South Africa’s rand firmed to a two-week high on Monday and bonds also strengthened as investors slowly returned to high-risk assets. At 06h45 GMT, the rand stood at 7,16 versus the dollar after firming to 7,1498 earlier — its strongest level since August 13, according to Reuters data.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s court record and hospital file relating to her years in exile in Botswana have disappeared — either lost or missing, the Star reported on Monday. However, the fact that Tshabalala-Msimang’s court file relating to her 1976 theft conviction cannot be found has caused a stir.
Actor Erik Holm, best known for his role in the soapie 7de Laan, was still in the intensive-care unit at a Pretoria hospital days after he broke his neck when he dived into a man-made lake in Secunda, it was reported on Monday. Holm (25) dived into the murky water at Secunda’s waterfront last Friday to retrieve a ball that he and a group of small children were playing with.
Grimm’s fairytales were more light-hearted — and probably more entertaining too — than the grim, goalless draw between Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows at a wind-swept Germiston Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
An urgent meeting to discuss alleged irregularities around Parliament’s security will soon be convened by its speaker and the National Council of Provinces chairperson, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Sunday. On Friday, media reports broke on an alleged corruption scandal involving Parliament’s multimillion-rand security system.
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The legal battle between former deputy president Jacob Zuma and South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will continue this week in the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal. Security will be tight at the court where the state will on consecutive days argue in three search-and-seizure appeal hearings related to investigations against Zuma.
The African National Congress government is ruthlessly extracting every cent it can from former deputy minister of health Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge while the health minister is spending exorbitant amounts of public money unnecessarily on helicopters to travel around the Eastern Cape, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
In a dramatic finale at the Spar Women’s Hockey Interprovincial Tournament, Western Province (WP) retained their title when they defeated Southern Gauteng on sudden-death penalty strokes at the Hartleyvale Astro in Cape Town on Saturday. The finalists were locked at 2-2 in regulation time.
The simmering and sometimes acrimonious dispute between Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Jose Torrealba took a positive and dramatic turn on Saturday when Fifa declared the Venezuelan international striker a Sundowns player.
Defending as though their lives depended on it during the final 40 minutes, a 10-man Jomo Cosmos secured a valuable 1-1 Premier Soccer League draw against Kaizer Chiefs at King’s Park Rugby Stadium on Saturday through a combination of true grit and their opponents’ aimless attempts to use their numerical advantage.