Benedict McCarthy was not included in the 20-man South Africa squad that is preparing for a crucial African Cup of Nations qualifier clash against Congo in Pointe Noire on June 17. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira refused to answer questions about the Blackburn Rovers striker, who he called up for the game against Chad last Saturday in Durban.
Gareth Cliff, radio presenter on 5fm, is seeking legal opinion after he was suspended from broadcasting for two days, his agent said on Thursday. ”He is seeking legal opinion from his lawyer for his two day removal from the station … and also the matter must still go to the BCCSA [Broadcasting Complaints Commission] …,” said his agent, Rina Bloomberg.
South African police used stun grenades and a water cannon to disperse striking hospital workers in Durban on Thursday as a crippling public-sector strike entered its seventh day. Workers at the scene said no warning was given before police used batons and stun grenades.
Aids experts have called for a mass circumcision programme in South Africa, condemning a ”deafening silence” from policy makers since studies revealed it sharply cut infection rates. Delegates at South Africa’s national Aids conference this week called for the roll-out of such a programme.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was not snubbed by the Aids conference in Durban, the conference organisers insisted on Wednesday. Dira Sengwe, the official organisers of the third South African Aids Conference, said it ”strongly refutes” allegations that Tshabalala-Msimang was slighted.
The Lion King opened in South Africa on Wednesday with a star-studded gala that saw United States talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey grace the red carpet. The musical is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and the South African run has been called a homecoming for the show.
A total public-service shutdown next Friday and a complete strike next Wednesday by all Congress of South African Trade Unions affiliates has been called for by the federation. This comes as negotiations between the state and public-sector unions are expected to resume in the Public Sector Coordinating Bargaining Council on Friday.
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The so-called ”Special Browse” report alleging that Jacob Zuma had enlisted the help of African heads of state in his succession battle bore ”malicious intent”, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said on Wednesday. He said the report was aimed at causing confusion, mistrust and division in the government.
A South African doctor’s recent call for compulsory HIV testing triggered a lively debate on Wednesday at the South African Aids Conference in Durban. ”It’s dangerous to go this route,” said Heidi van Rooyen of the Human Sciences Research Council.
Three of South Africa’s trade-union giants, with a combined membership of about 600Â 000, are considering sympathy action with striking public servants. The country’s largest union, the National Union of Mineworkers will meet attorneys on Thursday to see if full-blown industrial action can be taken in a shorter period than the required seven days’ notice.
Young people have not benefited from South Africa’s economic growth as most are still unemployed, African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday. He was addressing about 1Â 000 protesters, made up of mostly young people, who gathered at the Union Buildings to protest against a lack of jobs for the youth.
About 220 000 businesses have already registered for the government’s small-business tax amnesty, more than twice as many as expected, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. The amnesty, for businesses with a turnover of less than R10-million, was launched in August last year and was to have closed on May 31.
South Africa’s manufacturing output growth slowed to 3,8% year-on-year in April, suggesting the key sector could put a brake on economic growth this year. tatistics South Africa said growth in volume terms eased from an upwardly revised 5,5% in March, with month-on-month production contracting a seasonally adjusted 1,9%.
The world’s poorer nations could disengage from globalisation and multilateral institutions if the current imperfect world order continues, South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. ”If we cannot fix what is so obviously imperfect, then the losers from globalisation will either shout more loudly or they will disengage from the process,” he said.
A television documentary on President Thabo Mbeki, pulled off the air at the last minute, is finally to be screened by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the Freedom of Expression Institute said on Wednesday. The pulling of the documentary resulted in accusations of self-censorship being levelled against the national broadcaster.
An unseemly ”fit of pique” was how Aids activists in South Africa were on Wednesday describing the decision by controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to boycott an Aids conference in Durban this week over a perceived snub.
About 81% of companies experience difficulty in recruiting staff due to a shortage of skills, a survey released on Wednesday has found. Known as the National Remuneration Guide, the survey, released by the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, was conducted in February.
Stormers loose forward Luke Watson will make his Springbok debut on Saturday after being named on Wednesday in a new-look South African starting XV for a one-off Test against Samoa. Watson was not chosen by coach Jake White in his original 45-man training squad for the Tests against England and Samoa.
Political infighting should not be allowed to affect municipal service delivery, Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi said on Wednesday. ”Political parties and other organisations who took part in the 2006 local government elections must also take stock of their contribution since the elections,” he told MPs in the National Assembly.
South Africa’s business confidence eased slightly in May after a set of disappointing economic data that should influence sentiment in coming months, the South African Chamber of Business said on Wednesday. Sacob’s Business Confidence Index pulled back 1,7 index points to 100,2 in May from April’s 101,9.
Anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela may have been denied entry into Canada this week because of a her previous criminal records, Canadian newspapers reported on Wednesday. The National Post reported that a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada had suggesed that the visa application was rejected because of her criminal record.
Ronald Ambrose Jones was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Michaela Garoenisha Ganchi by the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday. Shouts of relief were heard from the family as Judge Winston Msimeki imposed the life sentence on 27-year-old Jones for the 2005 murder.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently entered a thriving virtual world called <i>Second Life</i> to be interviewed by Reuters bureau chief Adam Pasick. Somehow this doesn’t seem as strange as it would have a few years ago. Pasick explained that <i>Second Life</i> has a real economy and real culture, and therefore real news.
South Africa will not be able to halt the spread of HIV/Aids unless it increases wages for government healthcare workers, the head of a leading HIV/Aids advocacy group said on Wednesday. An estimated 12% of South Africa’s 47-million people are infected with HIV, and about 1Â 000 die each day from Aids and related diseases.
Vodacom workers began industrial action at all the company’s premises on Wednesday, the Communication Workers’ Union said. Workers began with a go-slow on Wednesday morning, which will followed by demonstrations and meetings at noon outside all Vodacom premises. Picketing would continue on Thursday.
With a contract in his back pocket that was ”simply too good to refuse”, 42 year-old Roger de Sa rejoined Wits University on Tuesday after two years as coach of Cape Town PSL club Santos. De Sa’s return to the club where he spent eight years as a goalkeeper and coach was announced by Bidvest boss Brian Joffe.
South Africa’s new Aids plan was on Tuesday lauded by the chief of the United Nations’s Aids/HIV agency, who said the country was now well placed to lead Africa into a new phase in responding to the pandemic. ”You have a better chance than any other country in the region to deliver on Aids. If you can’t, who can?,” said Peter Piot.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has withdrawn from the third South African Aids Conference after apparently being sidelined by the conference’s organisers, it emerged on Tuesday. Speaking at the official opening, the South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: ”The minister has withdrawn because of the place you have allocated to her.”
South African miners and municipal workers on Tuesday threatened to join an escalating strike by civil servants that has disrupted services at hospitals and schools, state media reported. The National Union of Mineworkers said it was consulting its 280Â 000 members on possible strike action, a move that could hurt one of the biggest sectors of the economy.
While well-resourced newspapers in the developed world are embarking on projects to merge their print and online operations into a single, sleek news machine, their colleagues in African and other developing countries are nowhere near such convergence, battling a lack of resources and tough media laws.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang will fully resume her duties on Thursday following a three-month break she took to recover from a liver transplant, the Presidency said on Tuesday. Tshabalala-Msimang is expected to deliver her department’s budget vote to the National Assembly on the same day.
The government stuck to its guns on Tuesday in the current pay dispute with public servants, saying the current salary demands of the public servants were not realistic. Public-service unions rejected a revised offer of a 6,5% pay rise by the government on Monday and are demanding a 12% rise.