The unprecedented economic growth in Gauteng is fading following a weakening in business conditions within the province, the Gauteng Business Barometer (GBB) said on Wednesday. In a statement, the GBB said growth levels had tapered off and the economy was set to experience a slowdown that would last until next year before growth accelerates.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) could match an offer by SuperSport to screen Premier Soccer League matches, the public broadcaster reported on Wednesday. However, it was not prepared to overpay for the broadcasting rights, SABC chief executive Dali Mpofu told MPs.
Trade unions in the gold-mining sector might be headed for strike action following the failure by the Chamber of Mines to meet their demands for a 15% wage increase, the unions said on Wednesday. The National Union of Mineworkers and trade union Solidarity declared a dispute with employers on Wednesday following deadlocked negotiations.
The prosecution team in the Jordan-Leigh Norton murder case on Wednesday called for life sentences for mastermind Dina Rodrigues and three of her four co-accused. For co-accused Bonginkosi Sigenu, prosecutors Nicollette Bell and Maria Marshall called for a long-term jail sentence but not life imprisonment.
South Africa has no copper mines, but copper exports to China are booming: the result of a cable-theft epidemic that regularly plunges whole suburbs into darkness, strands thousands of train passengers and is wreaking havoc with the national economy.
Dina Rodrigues’s advocate, Johan Van der Berg, called on Wednesday for a fair and balanced sentence for her for the premeditated murder of baby Jordan-Leigh Norton. He delivered his closing argument in the Cape High Court concerning an appropriate sentence for his 26-year-old client.
Twelve people were arrested after a second night of vigilantism against suspected drug dealers at Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, police said on Wednesday. Captain Randall Stoffels said about 1Â 000 people marched to three homes of suspected drug dealers. The top floor of a double-storey house was burnt down.
The case of Glenn Agliotti, accused of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, was postponed to October 5 in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Agliotti looked relaxed as he spoke to his lawyers before proceedings started. He wore a dark suit with his trademark pink shirt.
In commemoration of World Refugee Day on Wednesday, the Johannesburg City Hall hosted numerous NGOs and civil society groups that came together to highlight the troubles faced by refugees, particularly children, living in South Africa. Some refugee children shared their stories with the crowd.
Some of the migrants who sought help at the newly established Migrants’ Help Desk in Johannesburg were highly qualified people, the city said on Wednesday, World Refugee Day. Some had BSc degrees in mathematics, statistics and geology, said municipal spokesperson Virgil James.
A man has been arrested and is being questioned by police after causing a disturbance in the public gallery of the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after proceedings began, the man began shouting at bemused MPs sitting below. Deputy Speaker Gwen Mahlangu, who was in the chair at the time, repeatedly told the man to stop.
As President Bingu wa Mutharika’s minority party faces the possibility of losing more seats in Parliament, Malawi’s civil society has expressed concern that this year’s budget, expected to be presented next week, might be stalled. Last week, the Supreme Court granted powers to the speaker of Parliament to expel defecting lawmakers.
The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the controversial Public Service Amendment Bill, despite the objections of most opposition parties. Essentially, the Bill provides for a single public service at national and provincial levels and allows for secondment of employees.
When public-service trade unions decide whether to accept or reject the government’s final pay offer on Wednesday it will not be ”one union, one vote”. Voting rights are assigned by the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council to unions according to the size of their membership, and a majority (50% plus one) is needed for a deal.
South African businesses had little good to say about the country’s schooling system, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Private-sector employers had ”grave reservations” about its overall quality, indicated the research by the Centre for Development and Enterprise survey.
Biotech crops giant Monsanto has been ordered to withdraw an advertising claim that no negative reactions have ever been reported to genetically modified foods. The Advertising Standards Authority made the ruling this week in response to a consumer complaint lodged against a Monsanto South Africa print ad.
Thursday will be the shortest day of the year — the winter solstice — the South African Weather Service said. The solstice marks the astronomical beginning of the southern hemisphere’s winter, said spokesperson Garth Sampson on Wednesday. At exactly 8.08pm on Thursday the sun would be at its furthest point from the equator.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield, playing in his 58th Test, has been named to lead the Springboks in their Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday. Significantly, the man widely tipped to take over from the injured John Smit, Bobby Skinstad, has not been included in Jake White’s 22-man squad.
Desertification is the ”terrible twin evil” of climate change, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Rejoice Mabudafhasi said in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday. ”Desertification is a significant problem for South Africa, threatening not only our ecological integrity, but the well-being of our people,” she said.
The new Green Point Stadium will be built in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. ”No other host city has had to go through as many processes as Cape Town, and no other stadium site in the country is as complex legally, politically, geologically, and financially,” she said at the launch of the 2010 host-city logo.
Investment opportunities for South African business abound in the under-developed mountain kingdom of Lesotho, the South African-Lesotho business forum heard on Wednesday. Lesotho Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili told the forum the challenge was to see the opportunities available and ”make good use of them while they last”.
Three suspects will appear in court on Thursday in connection with the murder of Cape Town theatre personality Taliep Petersen, police said. Superintendent Billy Jones said a third suspect was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after hours of being held for questioning. The suspect is a 34-year-old man from the Athlone area of Cape Town.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation has not arranged to meet the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to discuss the rights to televise local soccer matches, both parties said on Wednesday. ”We’ve received nothing official from them, so I can’t comment,” said PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza.
It features FC Barcelona — one of the most powerful and charismatic teams on the planet — in one of the most talked about club soccer matches played in South Africa in years. But lingering misgivings surround Wednesday night’s highly anticipated showpiece at Loftus, revolving mainly around how Mamelodi Sundowns will fare against daunting opposition.
The electronic National Transport Information System (eNatis) is operating well countrywide, the National Road Public Management Corporation said on Wednesday. The corporation manages eNatis on behalf of the Transport Department.
Kimberley will soon get its sparkle back when the State Diamond Trader (SDT) is established in the Northern Cape city. PW Saaiman, provincial minister for economic affairs, said on Wednesday the establishment of the SDT should have many developmental spin-offs for the city.
In what could be seen as the government’s final move to have the public-service wage dispute solved through talks, it gave unions a deadline of 6pm on Wednesday to accept its revised ”settlement offer”. The settlement salary package includes a 7,5% wage increase.
Bafana Bafana legend Mark Fish said that Orlando Pirates must put their past triumph over English Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur out of their minds and focus on the way forward when they take on Kaizer Chiefs and the English club in this year’s Vodacom Challenge.
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department wants to raise the payment levels of traffic fines from an average of 33% to 60% within the next few years, media reports said on Wednesday. Measures include establishing a special squad to trace the top 100 offenders.
The number of visitors to the Cape Town Book Fair doubled in its second year, the fair organisers said at the end of the four-day event on Tuesday. More than 49Â 000 visitors attended the fair at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, up from 26Â 000 in 2006, its inaugural year.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) on Tuesday said it doubted claims by an East Rand teenager that she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary. ”I doubt it very much … We know that people in desperate situations search for answers from God. The God that we know reveals himself in a meaningful manner,” said SACC general secretary Eddie Makue.
South Africa has become the first African country to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s anti-bribery convention, the Department of Public Service and Administration said on Tuesday. South Africa signed the convention in France.