Thirteen years after the African National Congress came to power promising to right the wrongs of colonialism and apartheid by returning lands seized by white settlers, the snail’s pace of delivery is prompting poor black communities to fend for themselves through land grabs.
Boeremag accused Jurie Vermeulen poses a danger to society and it is not in the interests of justice to release him on bail, a Pretoria High Court judge ruled on Thursday. Vermeulen (39) submitted that his five-year-old son needs him and is likely to suffer a permanent personality disorder if he does not get to know his father.
An alleged burglar who abandoned a bail application, then changed his mind and reapplied, only to abandon it again, on Thursday decided he wanted bail after all when he appeared in a Cape Town court. Moegamat Lucas (21) had officials exasperated when he made his ninth appearance in the magistrate’s court.
Three groups of hikers, including foreign tourists, have been mugged while walking above Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, the Table Mountain National Park confirmed on Thursday. Two Dutch hikers, three Australians and two South Africans were robbed in separate incidents of cash, cellphones and jewellery.
Four people were remanded in custody by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday following a shootout in the city in which a baby was shot dead on its mother’s back. The magistrate ruled that it would not be in the interests of justice to release Fana Makhanya, Menzi Hlongwa and Phikani Ngidi on bail.
Western Cape police declined to comment on Thursday on contradictory news reports that the suspected killers of two-year-old Sonja Brown were about to be arrested, and that an autopsy showed she was not murdered. The reports were carried earlier in the day by a Cape Town newspaper and a local radio station.
South Africa’s refugee system is being abused by those seeking to legalise their stay in the country even though they fall outside the definition of a refugee, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Johnny de Lange said in Cape Town on Thursday at a meeting regarding the status and treatment of refugees.
South Africa and other African nations will insist that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe be allowed to attend a long-delayed summit between the European Union (EU) and Africa later this year. Mugabe and more than 100 other Zimbabwean officials are banned from travelling to EU nations under sanctions imposed in 2002.
Workers in the metal and engineering industry would strike on Monday, a trade union said. ”The metal and engineering industry must brace itself for a crippling strike from Monday, with a possible far-reaching effect on the country’s economy,” said Tim Kruger, spokesman for the United Association of South Africa.
Despite the massive growth in broadband connectivity, the number of South Africans with access to the internet will grow by little more than 3% in 2007. A report shows that 3,85-million people in South Africa — a mere 8% of the population — will have access to the internet by the end of 2007.
An investigation is under way to establish how a section of the Department of Transport’s controversial eNatis vehicle registration system was hacked into, a spokesperson said on Thursday. ”We are going to find out who did it and be more vigilant,” said Collen Msibi.
Hours after being sworn in as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Amos ”Toenka” Matila found himself behind bars, charged with drunken driving. Matila, who is acting chairperson of the South African National Civic Organisation’s Gauteng branch, apparently drove into the back of a truck on Tuesday night.
While many people dread Friday the 13th, for father and son Norman and Patrick Pieterse it may just be their lucky day. On July 13, Cape Town Regional Court magistrate Johnny Vermeulen is to pronounce them guilty — or not -– of aggravated armed robbery.
A part of the eNatis website appears to have been hacked, according to media reports. However, the Transport Department’s spokesperson Collen Msibi played down the supposed breach said this would not affect the functioning of the controversial electronic National Transport Information System (eNatis) system.
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.
The Afrikaner enclave of Orania and the Northern Cape government have agreed that Orania’s quest for self-determination should be discussed at all government levels. Chairperson of the Orania representative council Prinsloo Potgieter said this was the outcome of a meeting between the council and premier Dipuo Peters.
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.