Technical committees continued negotiations throughout Monday night in an attempt to resolve the impasse between public-sector unions and government on wage negotiations. On Monday the talks almost collapsed when the government said it would refer its dispute with essential-service workers to arbitration.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has informed two of its mechanical engineering professors that they are under investigation. In a statement on Monday, the university said the two men were informed that ”investigations are under way and charges relating to misconduct are being prepared”.
The government had by Monday afternoon made no new offer at a special bargaining council meeting with public-sector unions called to discuss the current wage dispute. Some union negotiators, who did not want to be identified because negotiations were ongoing, said there was ”no new offer on the table” and that it was likely that strike action planned for June 1 would proceed.
Social grants are one of the most effective means of alleviating poverty among children, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said on Monday. Speaking in Johannesburg at a symposium on child poverty, Skweyiya said social grants had been of great help to those children who would have otherwise been subjected to extreme poverty for the rest of their lives.
Angry protesters from various informal settlements in Ekurhuleni urgently demanded provincial government attention on Monday afternoon, saying they had been subject to illegal evictions. Riot police used shields and batons to push the crowd that packed Simmonds Street in the Johannesburg city centre, where they handed over a memorandum.
The good news for the Springboks is that JP Pietersen, Akona Ndungane and Jaque Fourie are all back in the squad for Saturday’s second Test against England at Loftus. The bulk of the squad, with the exception of the 15 who played against England last Saturday, were training at St Stithians in Randburg on Monday afternoon.
The multiparty committee that will decide whether Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the legislature plans to hold open hearings ”as soon as possible”, its chairperson said on Monday. Provincial deputy speaker Yousuf Gabru, who is chairing the six-person committee, said the committee sees its work as ”quite important”.
One person was killed and seven people wounded in a shooting at the Bree Street taxi rank in central Johannesburg on Monday, police said. Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said shots were fired between police and unknown men at about lunchtime. The reason was not immediately clear.
A Cape Town city councillor on Monday denied that he was offering bribes to fellow councillors to join a new political party later this year. Badih Chaaban, a proportionally elected councillor for the African Muslim Party, was responding to a statement issued by the Independent Democrats on the weekend.
The size of an average South African household has declined from 4,48 in 1996 to 3,69 people in 2005, researchers said on Monday. A study conducted by the University of South Africa revealed that this decline was a result of the impact of HIV/Aids, urbanisation, lower fertility and greater preference of single-person households.
An interim interdict that stopped industrial action at Vodacom in March was lifted by the Johannesburg Labour Court on Monday, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) said. Union spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe said the court had ”opened the way for CWU to resume its strike”.
On Monday, the first of 12 days of hearings into who should be granted a pay-TV licence, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) submitted that successful applicants for the country’s new cable licence should carry the SABC’s own channels and pay the state broadcaster for its intellectual property.
A woman and her two young children died after inhaling toxic fumes from a brazier burning in their home at Diepsloot, Johannesburg emergency workers said on Monday. Spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said the children’s father was critically injured. He was taken to the Thembisa Hospital for further treatment.
The father of notorious prison escapee Annanias Mathe was granted bail at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Zaphanias Mathe (80) was granted R500 bail. He will appear in court again on June 19, coincidentally the same day that the younger Mathe will also appear to face his prison-escape charges.
It’s back to business on Monday for the Springboks and England as they prepare for the second Test in Pretoria this coming Saturday. With the first Test behind them, both teams will be more settled and focused for their second encounter, which could be a whole new ball game.
Gauteng’s provincial ministers for transport and finance should be fired for bungling the proposed monorail between Soweto and central Johannesburg, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. The R12-billion monorail project was put on hold after Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said he had not been informed about the project and only heard about it through the media.
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The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint return to the Durban High Court on Tuesday. The NPA will attempt to obtain an execution granting it permission to get documents from Mauritius about meetings believed to relate to Zuma’s role in the multibillion-rand arms deal.
With goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs tested by little more than back passes from his defenders, South Africa strolled into the Cosafa Cup semifinals with a 2-0 win over Mauritius at a sleepy Somhlolo Stadium in Swaziland on Sunday afternoon. However, it took the youthful Bafana Bafana combination 42 minutes to assert themselves.
The South African Nursing Council is in disarray, according to its deputy registrar, media reports said on Monday. An audit report found that the council was susceptible to widespread fraud, theft and misappropriation of funds, administrative discrepancies and non-compliance with accounting principles, tax laws and its own policies.
Two pastors were among the five people killed when their vehicles collided head-on on the Mafikeng-Lichtenburg road on Sunday, the North West transport department said. Also, seven people were killed when three vehicles burst into flames after colliding on the R34 route between Vryheid and Melmoth on Monday.
The Department of Minerals and Energy’s proposals for energy levies on fuel-guzzling cars signify a welcome greater responsiveness to the climate-change debate, but need reworking, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday. ”It is hard not to be suspicious that this is simply another money-making plan,” said DA spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt.
A meeting between public-sector unions and the government was set to begin on Monday in order to avert a national strike over salary increases. The two-day meeting, to be held at the offices of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council, would end on Tuesday.
International Cricket Council president Percy Sonn, who died on May 27, will be remembered as an able administrator and a firebrand who sometimes spoke his mind too freely for his own good. He was a major figure in the racial unification of South African cricket and served as president of the United Cricket Board from 2000 to 2003.
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Percy Sonn died on Sunday morning at the Durbanville Medi-Clinic in Cape Town. Sonn (57), a former president of the then United Cricket Board of South Africa, developed complications after he was admitted to hospital to undergo routine colon surgery on Monday.
African National Congress deputy president Zuma has said through his lawyer that he is aware of a mysterious report seeking to discredit him, and he h
The naked, decomposed body of a 22-year-old woman was found in Mdantsane near East London, Eastern Cape police said on Saturday. Earlier in the day, a naked, battered and badly bruised woman was found dumped in a field in Umlazi, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said. She died soon after being found.
A 13-year-old Durban boy was crushed to death by a set of soccer goal posts moments after scoring a goal on Saturday evening, paramedics said. Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said paramedics were told that the boy had scored a goal. In celebration, he jumped and swung on the crossbar.
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma on Saturday warned party members to ensure that the party does not become "power-drunk". Speaking at an ANC branch meeting in Durban, he said: "The ANC is going to rule South Africa for a long time. But, we must not fall into the mistake of being power drunk."
The two academics who helped with Chippy Shaik’s thesis will face charges of serious misconduct within the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s internal judicial system, the <i>Sunday Times</i> reported. This follows reports that "more than two-thirds" of Chippy Shaik’s 2003 PhD had been plagiarised.
Ajax Cape Town spoiled the celebration plans of thousands of Mamelodi Sundowns fans who came all the way from Tshwane only to see their team outplayed and outclassed in an exciting Absa Cup final at a packed Absa Stadium on Saturday night. Sundowns were aiming for a domestic double but Ajax were more confident and evidently better prepared.
South Africa urged the United States on Saturday to abide by an agreement of the Group of 20 (G20) economic powers for an open and transparent appointment of the new head of the World Bank. South Africa is the current chair of the G20, which also includes the US.
South Africa kicked off their international season with a crushing 58-10 win over World Cup champions England in Bloemfontein at Vodacom Park on Saturday. The hosts, who ran in seven tries, led 30-3 at half-time. England, minus up to 30 of their leading players who are either injured or were involved in last weekend’s Heineken Cup final, were no match for the South Africans.