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Brazilian soccer great Pele and three-time African player of the year Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon delivered a special birthday gift on Tuesday to former South African president Nelson Mandela. The players are among 50 past and present international stars taking part in a soccer friendly to mark his 89th birthday on Wednesday.
A joint working group under the chairpersonship of President Thabo Mbeki has concluded that the targets set by the Growth and Development Summit four years ago have been 90% fulfilled. A figure of 4,2% is outstanding and 5,8% could be described as work in progress. The group met at the Union Buildings on Tuesday.
Perpetrators of apartheid crimes should be given the chance to tell their stories to enable closure for their victims and for themselves, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said on Tuesday at a press conference at the Union Buildings. He criticised those who say the book on apartheid-era crimes should be closed.
Vodacom is going to court again, this time to prevent striking workers from violence and damaging property, the Communication Workers’ Union said on Tuesday. Vodacom lodged an application for the second interdict last week and the matter would be heard on Wednesday, said CWU spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe.
Strong anti-government sentiment was evident at a housing protest outside Parliament’s main gate in Cape Town on Tuesday. Residents of the city’s problem-ridden N2 Gateway housing project had marched on the institution to bring their grievances about high rentals and poor construction to the attention of Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
The Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday rejected the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) call for the government to set up refugee camps for Zimbabweans fleeing their country. Cleo Mosana, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, accused the official opposition party of exploiting the Zimbabwean situation for publicity.
Most South African women prefer their men hairless, at least when it comes to body hair, according to a survey released on Tuesday by Dutch shaving product manufacturer Royal Philips Electronics. The Philips Bodygroom Survey also found over half of the men who had taken part ”admitted to attempting to trim, shave or wax” their body hair.
The National Prosecution Authority’s decision to prosecute apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok must not be seen as a witch-hunt, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Tuesday. Vlok, former police chief Johann van der Merwe and three former high-ranking police officers will appear in court for attempted murder next month.
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Former British prime minister Tony Blair is one of hundreds of well-wishers across the globe who have sent gifts to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela for his 89th birthday on Wednesday. ”We have received a deluge of gifts and messages,” said Boniswa Qabaka-Nyeti, a spokesperson at the flagship Nelson Mandela Foundation.
With airports around the world planning to increase tariffs to fund expansion, global airlines lobby group the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said it was unfair that airlines and passengers had to pay for costs incurred by airport operators.
Communities affected by the building of another runway at OR Tambo International Airport outside Johannesburg are to be kept fully informed about progress, according to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe. The aim, he said in reply to a written parliamentary question on Tuesday, is to allay fears and misconceptions.
Having completed their Tri-Nations campaign in Christchurch on Saturday, the Springboks will now turn their attention to France and the World Cup, starting in Paris in September. While the 1995 world champions failed to make a telling impact on the southern hemisphere rugby championship, coach Jake White will be fairly happy with his team’s performance.
South Africa’s rugby team, smarting from a weekend defeat at the hands of New Zealand, look set to unleash their own version of the All Blacks’ famous haka, based on an old Zulu war dance. Springbok coach Jake White said he had asked the rugby authorities about reviving a dance that was last used more than 80 years ago in order to psyche up his players.
Striker Robbie Keane and his Tottenham Hotspur teammates will be looking for goals when they take on defending champions Kaizer Chiefs in the opening fixture of this year’s Vodacom Challenge at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday (3.15pm kick-off).
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Nelson Mandela’s July 18 birthday is annual cause for celebration in South Africa and draws attention from his many local and international admirers. This year, the partying also has a serious side, with the launch on Wednesday — Mandela’s 89th birthday — of a humanitarian campaign.
Zimbabwe is a long way from being ready to join Southern Africa’s rand monetary union, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni was quoted as saying on Monday. ”A very high degree of macroeconomic convergence is necessary. They have a very long way to go,” he said.
Seven people were killed in a collision between a bus and a fire engine in Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. The crash claimed the lives of three firemen and four bus passengers, six of whom died on the scene. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said the seventh accident victim died in the Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital.
Human remains believed to be those of the ”Pebco Three”, who were murdered by apartheid-era police, were found on a farm near Cradock, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday. Spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said NPA investigators followed up several leads and discovered the remains during a dig on the Cradock farm known as Post Chalmers.
Apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and former police chief Johann van der Merwe will be charged with attempted murder next month. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday that the matter will be heard on August 17.
Six people were stabbed to death during initiation ceremonies over the weekend, Eastern Cape police said on Monday. Captain Jackson Manatha said the initiates were stabbed by people while attending three different ceremonies. Five people were arrested in connection with the incidents.
Progress was made in talks on Monday to avert a strike at oil refineries and fuel producers, trade union Solidarity said. Spokesperson Marius Croucamp said the unions met employers, who made an official offer of a 7,5% wage increase. Negotiators indicated they would increase the offer to 8% provided the employer agreed.
Taxpayers will start receiving the new, simplified tax return forms from Monday, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has announced. By the end of July, almost four million IT12S and IT12C returns will have been mailed. Tax returns in Adobe PDF could also be downloaded from the internet, printed out, completed and submitted manually.
Matric pupils at about 50 schools in the Western Cape are yet to write their mid-year exams because of the recent teachers’ strike, provincial education minister Cameron Dugmore said on Monday. ”Although various schools have been affected differently by the recent public-service strike, I am most concerned about matric learners,” he said.
South African and Zimbabwean trade unions on Monday called on the Zimbabwean government to admit to the crisis in Zimbabwe. They urged the Zimbabwean government to call off its ”short-term populist actions” and actively cooperate with the Southern African Development Community process.
Soccer’s ruling body, Fifa, is preparing to send out a powerful message against racism this week through a string of events to mark the 89th birthday of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon and former president Nelson Mandela. A star-studded line-up of football greats will tog out for a match in Cape Town on Mandela’s birthday.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Monday once again came out in favour of a basic income grant. ”I hope our government can rethink the need for a basic income grant,” said Tutu, addressing the South African Council of Churches triennial conference in Johannesburg.
Ernie Els believes he has eventually found some form going into the Open Championship on Thursday at Carnoustie in Scotland. Els, who has had a disappointing last 18 months by his standards, fired a closing-round 65 to finish third at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond on the weekend.
Residents of state-subsidised housing in Cape Town are to march to Parliament on Tuesday, protesting against the poor quality of their homes, the Anti-Eviction Campaign said. Residents have nicknamed the N2 Gateway housing project the ”gateway to hell” and were planning to march to Parliament to protest directly to Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
The way affirmative action is being implemented in South Africa is to be discussed between President Thabo Mbeki and the main opposition party in Parliament, the Democratic Alliance (DA). Anchen Dreyer, who speaks for the DA on labour issues, said on Monday that when the president answered a parliamentary question last month, he agreed to meet them for such discussions.
Africa’s top banking group by assets, Standard Bank, has received approval to merge its Stanbic Nigeria unit with IBTC Chartered Bank, the firm said on Monday. Standard Bank said it had increased its offer price to 16 naira per share from 11,74 naira per IBTC share, valuing the offer at -million.
Refugee camps should be set up near the border to house and feed Zimbabweans fleeing their country, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. ”If government takes its humanitarian duties seriously, [the Department of] Home Affairs will immediately begin to investigate setting up refugee camps,” the DA’s Mark Lowe said.
Hiring security firms to guard certain police stations was proof that the police had failed to combat crime, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) KwaZulu-Natal leader Lionel Mtshali said on Monday. Mtshali said: ”Presumably, the idea is to free fully-trained police officers to perform their core function of preventing and combating crime”.