There are no major safety concerns about nuclear waste management in South Africa, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) said in Cape Town on Wednesday. NNR Nuclear Technology and waste programme manager Thiagan Pather was speaking at a public participation forum.
The only people who said crime was out of control in the Western Cape were the Democratic Alliance, Western Cape provincial community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane said on Wednesday. He said calls for him to step down were ”frivolous” and something to which he would not respond.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday called for a deepening of corporate governance and accountability, saying it was necessary to understand that sound corporate governance was not enough. Manuel was addressing a conference of the International Corporate Governance Network in Cape Town.
Construction of the R25-billion Gautrain project is on schedule, the Bombela Civils Joint Venture said on Wednesday. Project director Charles-Etienne Perrier said construction of the 10 stations that will link Pretoria and Johannesburg as well as Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport, is on schedule despite a ”few difficulties”. The airport-Sandton link will be completed by mid-2010.
A two-year-old who got lost on a farm near Jansenville in the Eastern Cape survived a night alone in the snow and rain, police said on Wednesday. Ronaldo Spogter toddled along behind his deaf grandfather, who was unaware of him, climbed over two barbed-wire fences and spent a mid-winter night outside.
There have been 1 600 applications for taxis in Gauteng to head for the minibus graveyard in line with the second phase of the taxi-recapitalisation programme (TRP) in the province. The provincial transport department said on Wednesday that 75 old taxis had been scrapped since the end of March.
Golden Lions coach Eugene Eloff has made two changes to his side to take on the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their Currie Cup rugby match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Among others, Eloff promoted prop Kenny Mackenzie to the starting line-up due to Heinke van der Merwe’s national call-up.
South African wheelchair marathon athlete Krige Schabort will hope to join Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong as a winner of an ESPY Award following his nomination for best male athlete with a disability. The event takes place on July 15 in Hollywood and is modelled on the Grammy and Academy Awards.
Vodacom and the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) disputed on Wednesday the number of workers on strike at the company. The strike — over working conditions — began on Monday. Vodacom said out of its workforce of 4 302 employees, less than 120 were striking countrywide. The CWU said 1 325 were on strike.
Najwa Petersen fired the shot that killed her husband, Taliep, in December last year, the Wynberg Regional Court heard on Wednesday. Investigating officer Captain Joe Dryden gave the court a graphic account of Petersen’s last moments when he was called to testify in opposition to a bail application.
Progress in getting the National Lottery restarted has passed a ”major milestone”, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Wednesday. Only ”shoe-shine work” remained to be done, although there was no date yet for when the lottery would resume, he told reporters in Pretoria.
The prevalence of HIV/Aids appears to be dropping, prompting the Department of Health to express optimism on Wednesday about its prevention programmes. Preliminary results from a 2006 survey show a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women using public hospitals, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said.
Though alleged killer Najwa Petersen was reportedly suicidal, there was no evidence that being in prison would increase the risk, a forensic psychiatrist told the Wynberg Regional Court on Wednesday. Dr Larissa Panieri-Peter was testifying in a bail application by Najwa, accused of masterminding the murder of her husband, entertainer Taliep Petersen, last year.
The case against five people accused of stealing Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s jewellery was postponed in the Orlando Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The state prosecutor told magistrate Mohammed Jooma that four of the accused — relatives of the struggle stalwart — wanted the case postponed so that they could appoint an attorney.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula will not resign over statistics that show increases in crime, he told a business briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday. ”Well, I am not going to resign,” he told business people gathered for a breakfast at the Johannesburg Country Club.
Capetonians have been asked to use water sparingly this month as the dam supplying much of their water is being worked on. The distribution of water will be limited until the end of the month as the Berg River Dam, which is near completion, is being connected via a tunnel to the province’s main supplier, the Theewaterskloof Dam.
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has requested that the closing date for nominations for the next board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) be extended. The FXI criticised Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications in its handling of the process, urging it to heed the letter and spirit of the Broadcasting Act.
A man who allegedly held Pretoria News staff hostage earlier this year was denied bail in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Lionel George (32) was denied bail after the court heard that he had been acquitted on a murder charge, 702 reported.
Entertainer Taliep Petersen died only after two previous murder bids planned by his wife, Najwa, went awry, Cape Town’s Wynberg Regional Court heard on Tuesday. The claim emerged during a bail application by Najwa and Abdoer Emjedi, one of her three co-accused, in a courtroom packed with about 150 family and members of the public.
The latest crime statistics released on Tuesday prove crime is out of control despite government assurances to the contrary, opposition parties said. ”We are alarmed at the increase in murder [2,4%], the 118% increase in bank robberies … and the sharp increase in robberies at residential premises,” Inkatha Freedom Party spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu said.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has posted a record profit of R4,345-billion for the financial year that ended on March 31. Operating income was up to R2,645-billion from R378-million last year, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Capital gains of R1,796-billion contributed to the group’s profit.
The African National Congress (ANC) is to contest the legality of the decision to reinstate Truman Prince as municipal manager of the Central Karoo district municipality. Western Cape ANC secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha described the move as ”improper and wrong”.
Child Welfare South Africa on Tuesday welcomed the implementation of some sections of the Children’s Act from last Sunday, but also expressed concern about giving young children access to contraceptives. This section stipulates that no person may refuse to sell or distribute free condoms to a child over the age of 12 years.
South Africa’s population at mid-year is estimated at 47,9-million, of which approximately 24,3-million are female, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Trevor Oosterwyk said Stats SA estimated that fertility had declined from an average of 2,89 children per woman in 2001 to 2,69 children by 2007.
Najwa Petersen stabbed her husband, Taliep, in the neck the day after she was discharged from psychiatric treatment, the Wynberg Regional Court heard on Tuesday. Najwa, who is appearing with Abdoer Emjedi, Waheed Hassen and Jefferson Snyders in connection with Taliep’s murder in December last year, is seeking bail.
The Gauteng government’s attempt to negotiate with violent taxi organisations sent out the wrong message about crime, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. The DA’s Gauteng transport spokesperson, James Swart, said bus drivers in Alexandra in Johannesburg had been attacked recently.
South Africa’s high murder rate rose further in the past year while rape figures dropped, according to police statistics on Tuesday. With around 50 murders, 148 rapes and nearly 700 serious assaults committed each day, violent crime is a particular concern.
South African new vehicle sales declined by 12,1% year-on-year in June, data showed on Tuesday, as the effects of higher interest rates pinched household budgets. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers said 50Â 056 new units were sold in June compared with 56Â 927 in the same month last year.
A decline in the number of dairy farmers has added to unemployment, the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) said on Tuesday. The MPO said the number of milk producers has fallen from 7 200 in 1998 to the current 3 800. The managing director of the MPO, Etienne Terre’blanche, said an estimated 66 000 people worked on dairy farms.
Mamelodi Sundowns officials gave the uncomfortable impression on Monday that they were skirting between the devil and the deep blue sea when the issue of Peter Ndlovu staying at the club was raised. And it’s not surprising either considering that the signing of Ndlovu also constituted one of the biggest transfer gaffes committed by a Premier Soccer League club.
Twice as many children were abandoned in the past year compared to the year before, the Johannesburg Child Welfare centre said. Thousands of children a year are being abandoned, with the number reaching at least 1 200 in three provinces alone, media reports said on Tuesday.
A new train — the Soweto Business Express — is set to entice car commuters to use public transport, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said, launching the service in Soweto on Tuesday. According to the South African Rail Commuter Corporation, the train’s allure lies in its comfort, speed and extra facilities.