South African technology firm Dimension Data has agreed to sell 60% of its Britehouse Group IT consulting and services business to black investors. Didata said on Thursday it had won approval to sell the stake to a consortium comprising black empowerment groups Convergence Partners Investments and Safika Holdings, and investment firm VenFin.
South Africa’s manufacturing output rose by an unadjusted 6,6% in volume terms in the year to May, from a 3,8% rise in the previous month, data showed on Thursday. Compared with April, manufacturing production in volume terms increased by a seasonally adjusted 4,5%, Statistics South Africa said.
South Africa’s Finance Ministry was disappointed by the European Union’s nomination of a candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without broader consultation, a spokesperson said on Thursday. The EU said on Tuesday its finance ministers had agreed to support former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the IMF.
South African gold output rose by 1,3% year-on-year in May, the first increase in in nine months, while overall mining production rose by 0,8%, official data showed on Thursday. Gold output in South Africa, the world’s largest producer, showed an increase in volume terms for the first time since August 2006.
South Africa said on Thursday it suspended poultry imports from Germany in response to an outbreak of a lethal strain of bird flu on a farm in the European nation. The ban applies to live poultry, birds, meat and other products derived from poultry and birds, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The impoverished African kingdom of Lesotho has declared an official food crisis after bad harvests left more than 400 000 people in need of food aid, a United Nations agency said. Close to 328 000 tonnes of cereals are now needed to feed hungry people in the country.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) on Thursday recommitted itself to working for democracy throughout Africa. On the anniversary of the Dakar conference, the organisation is celebrating 20 years of democracy-building by affirming its commitment to work not only in South Africa, but in other parts of Africa.
Democratic Alliance leader and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille was named Newsmaker of the Year for 2006 by the National Press Club in Pretoria on Wednesday. The runner-up was Kabelo Thibedi, who held hostage a Department of Home Affairs official in a desperate attempt to obtain his identity document.
The death of actor Bill Flynn on Wednesday will leave a huge hole in the drama world, his friend of 40 years and fellow actor Paul Slabolepszy said. ”As a creative artist, Bill was one of the best in the world,” said Slabolepszy, who had once been a student with Flynn at the University of Cape Town. ”This is such a shock.”
In a damning 59-page catalogue of policy advice to the Zimbabwean government, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono spells out his repeated attempts to persuade the government to change course and save the country from imminent economic collapse and ruin. The Mail & Guardian is in possession of the document.
A former Scorpions advocate was bitten, assaulted, tied up with duct tape and two attempts were made to rape her, the Pretoria Regional Court heard on Wednesday. The grandson of an employee at the Namibian high commission is accused in the case.
The Johannesburg High Court has ordered Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride and five of his metro police officers not to intimidate, harass or threaten three of their colleagues. However, the court stopped short of ordering that they be kept 100m from the men.
Local actor Bill Flynn has died, it was reported on Wednesday. It was understood that he had suffered a heart attack, according to the report. Flynn (58) was a respected and much-loved figure in the entertainment industry. A stage and screen actor, he was known for his roles in films such as Heel Against the Head and Running Riot.
South Africa remains one of only two countries in the world to offer life policies for people with HIV/Aids, the Life Offices’ Association (LOA) said on Wednesday. Three of South Africa’s biggest life-insurance companies were the first to introduce life policies for people with HIV/Aids in 2001, with The Netherlands following suit only last year, a statement said.
Western Province rugby coaches Kobus van der Merwe and his assistant, Jerome Paarwater, resigned from their posts on Wednesday. This was confirmed by Western Province Rugby Union CEO Rob Wegner, who said it was mutually agreed by his union and the coaches that in the interest of Western Province rugby the coaches would step down.
Three women arrested for allegedly drowning a baby in a bucket confessed to a magistrate in a case heard in chambers in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday, police said. Inspector Paul Ramaloko said the women made ”an admission of guilt” to the magistrate.
Three metro police officers and their families have gone into hiding for fear of their lives, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Wednesday. They are ”living in terror”, their counsel, Marne Strydom, told the court. The three men have asked the court to grant a restraining order against metro police chief Robert McBride.
The Railway Safety Regulator on Wednesday appealed to motorists to be extra vigilant in the vicinity of railway stations and trains. This comes after two accidents occurred on Wednesday morning in Pretoria West and Randfontein. In one, a truck crashed head-on with a train, injuring at least 20 commuters and the train driver.
Trade unions and employers in the metal and engineering industry reached an agreement on Wednesday, ending a two-day strike, union Solidarity said. However, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa dismissed claims that it had reached an agreement.
The state on Wednesday urged the Wynberg Regional Court to refuse bail for slain entertainer Taliep Petersen’s widow, Najwa, as well as for one of the three co-accused in the murder, Abdoer Emjedi. Najwa’s own family handed to the court a petition in which the community demanded she remain in custody.
Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride was in the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday to oppose an application for an urgent restraining order against him. The application was postponed on Tuesday when it emerged that McBride had been told to be in court on the wrong day.
The South African government announced on Wednesday a series of events marking the 40th anniversary of the death of former African National Congress president Albert Luthuli, the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The anti-apartheid icon, who received the 1960 Nobel Prize for his role in the struggle against white-only rule, died on July 21 1967.
Three women arrested for allegedly drowning and burying a child in a yard are to appear before a magistrate in closed chambers in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday. Inspector Paul Ramaloka said a 34-year-old woman, her aunt and a neighbour would appear in chambers where they are expected to confess to the killing.
National power utility Eskom and trade unions started conciliation meetings in Johannesburg on Wednesday aimed at resolving a wage dispute. Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration spokesperson Lusanda Myoli said Eskom had consented to an offer of intervention last week.
”Patience.” That is what South Africa’s Robbie Hunter asks of his fans for the duration of the Tour de France. Hunter, captain of team Barloworld, has been inundated with questions from fans who want to know why Barloworld has not already been in a breakaway and why he does not have his team around him to lead him out at the finish.
The JSE came off in the opening on Wednesday but has come back a bit, supported by a tad lower rand at midday. The bourse has also had a little nudge by the resource index, which has improved. At 12.01pm, the all-share index was flat (-0,01%). Resources gained 0,50%, the gold index eased 0,76% and the platinum-index slipped 0,12%.
The Democratic Alliance has asked Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla what she is doing to resolve the issue of Judge John Hlophe. The DA said it had noted with great concern Hlophe’s continued ”obvious contempt” for judicial process, spokesperson Tertius Delport said in a statement.
Zimbabwean police have set up roadblocks to stop the movement of basic commodities between cities and rural areas. Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said that police had information that shop owners were moving loads of basic commodities to rural areas for ”safe keeping”.
At least 20 people were injured when a truck collided with a train in Pretoria West on Wednesday, paramedics said. ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech said the 20-tonne truck had been travelling along Roger Dyson Road in Pretoria West when its brakes are believed to have failed, causing the driver to lose control.
Forensic experts exhumed a baby on Tuesday who was drowned and buried in a yard — allegedly by her mother — last year, Pretoria police said. ”I can confirm that forensic experts found the remains of the child in the yard,” Inspector Paul Ramaloko said. He said the child was buried in July last year just after being born.
The Labour Court has ordered that striking South African National Parks (SANParks) employees must comply with all provisions of the picketing rules, park authorities said on Tuesday. ”In practical terms this means that striking Hospersa [Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa] members will cease their unlawful conduct in the park.”
A ”typing error” has put paid to an application by three Ekurhuleni metro police for a restraining order against their chief, Robert McBride. It emerged in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday that McBride was informed in a notice of motion that the urgent application would be heard on Monday ”July 9”, instead of July 10.