The issue of crime is a problem for all South Africans — it is not a World Cup problem. This view was expressed by South African World Cup local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday outlining the ongoing preparations for the 2010 tournament.
South African Football Association (Safa) boss Raymond Hack had to undergo surgery to his eye after being assaulted in a robbery at his home in Waverley, Johannesburg, the association said on Tuesday. Hack told the police he was alone at home on Monday and woke for gym at 5am to find two bedroom lights on in the house, said police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht.
The City of Johannesburg ended talks on Tuesday aimed at bringing an end to a two-month long Metrobus strike, with city bosses optimistic that an agreement would be signed with the union. ”We are fairly optimistic that they [the South African Municipal Workers’ Union] will sign,” said city spokesperson Gabu Tugwana.
The City of Cape Town says it will fight a bid to block the proposed Green Point stadium and is going ahead with construction. The city’s 2010 spokesperson, Pieter Cronje, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that its had been served with papers by a civic group seeking to halt the R2,9-billion project.
The extensive ATM network in South Africa could be used more efficiently if Saswitch fees, paid by customers for using ATMS of banks other than their own, were eliminated, First National Bank (FNB) said on Tuesday. ”If adopted by all banks, this will save South Africans R500-million in Saswitch fees annually,” said FNB chief executive Michael Jordaan.
The 2010 World Cup local organising committee (LOC) has not discussed police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s proposal to legalise prostitution and public drinking for the duration of the tournament. Speaking at a press briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday, LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan said the committee had noted the idea but had not made any decisions.
Alleged threats to withdraw the passports of the South African rugby team heading for the World Cup in France in September and October have been dismissed by the Home Affairs Ministry. Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has no right simply to withdraw passports without valid reasons, her spokesperson, Cleo Mosana, said on Tuesday.
Construction along the Gautrain route could cause power failures in many Gauteng suburbs, Eskom said on Tuesday. ”Eskom needs to take out a number of transmission lines in the Gauteng area … The risk during this period is that if another transmission line is affected, there is a possibility of load shedding during peak periods.”
The roof of a Sandton office park caved in on Tuesday afternoon, but no one was trapped or injured, said paramedics. At the time, the staff had been attending a braai in the basement of the two-storey building in Wierda Road, said ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech.
Many MPs are reportedly dismayed over a proposed 5,4% pay increase, but no political party contacted on Tuesday would say how much the MPs should get. The recommended inflation-related increase for MPs was contained in the long-awaited salary review, released last week by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) led a protest march to the Zimbabwean consulate in central Johannesburg on Tuesday on the day a general strike was called in Zimbabwe. The crowd of about 300, many wearing red Cosatu T-shirts, marched peacefully from the Library Gardens to the consulate in nearby Anderson street.
Lawyers have filed papers with the Cape High Court in a fresh bid to block construction of the Green Point Stadium, the Cape Town Environmental Protection Association said on Tuesday. The association hopes to get an interdict to halt the 68Â 000-seat, R2,9-billion project, which has been dogged by controversy since its inception.
The fight against corruption depends on the broader values of society as well as the institutional structures put in place to thwart it, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said on Tuesday. The minister was addressing the media on the second day of the Fifth Global Anti-Corruption Forum in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Laboratory tests on water samples in various sections of the Vaal River have revealed traces of cholera, the Northern Cape health department said on Tuesday. A departmental spokesperson said the traces were found "specifically at Barkly West, Spitskop, Schmidtsdrift, the Vaalharts weir in Warrenton and the Vaalharts canal system".
Mining group Wesizwe on Tuesday reported a R19,8-million loss for the year ended in December. However, the group pointed out that, as an exploration and development focused entity, it was at present not a cash generative business and that the loss therefore represented investment in asset growth.
The pain felt by Zimbabweans is a pain that South Africans feel and it is South Africa’s task to work together with Zimbabweans to resolve their problems, President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday. He was addressing the National House of Traditional Healers in Pretoria.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s is recovering well three weeks after her liver transplant, her doctor said on Tuesday. ”Things are progressing as expected … We don’t anticipate that there are going to be problems,” said Professor Jeff Wing, the minister’s physician for the past four years.
South Africa’s Springbok rugby squad faces the threat of having their passports confiscated unless more black players are picked for this year’s World Cup, the media reported on Tuesday. The influential chairperson of the country’s parliamentary sports committee warned that this ”worst-case scenario” would be necessary if there were not at least six black players in the squad.
Africa’s vast arable lands have the potential to rival top agricultural nations like the United States in supplying biofuels to a world seeking cleaner energy sources. But using land reserved for food production to supply biofuel demand could squeeze food supplies in a region vulnerable to shortages.
SA Rugby on Tuesday confirmed media reports about an incident in which Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu was racially abused by a group of South Africans during the Hong Kong Sevens tournament last weekend. SA Rugby said it had contacted Treu to get a first-hand account of what took place. The coach had confirmed the incident and provided details of what happened.
The trial of South African gospel singer Sipho Lucas Xlale, accused of raping a 16-year-old pregnant girl, was postponed in the Garankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported. The 55-year-old Xlale was expected to make a formal bail application on Tuesday.
South African President Thabo Mbeki was quoted on Tuesday as saying he believed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe would peacefully renounce power at some point. ”I think so. Yes, sure,” Mbeki, appointed by the Southern African Development Community to mediate over Zimbabwe, told the Financial Times.
Year-on-year new-car sales kept on declining last month although total vehicle sales were up, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said on Monday. Naamsa said 36 041 cars were sold in March — compared to 37 496 in the same month last year. This represented a decline of 3,9% or 1 455 units.
About two hundred members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at a Murray and Roberts plant handed over a memorandum of grievances to company management in Marikana outside Rustenburg on Monday. Workers want the company to implement a wage agreement reached last year.
Western Cape speaker Shaun Byneveldt on Monday announced the names of members of a multiparty committee that will decide whether provincial Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the legislature. The six-person committee will be chaired by his deputy, Yousuf Gabru. Byneveldt’s office said in a statement that the committee would begin work after the present two-week recess.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said it will appoint independent auditors to examine the circumstances around the sale by public auction of one of its marine patrol vessels for about R300Â 000. ”The audit will be completed this week,” department spokesperson Blessing Manale told the South African Press Association on Monday.
Drunken South African fans hurled racist abuse at sevens rugby coach Paul Treu after his side lost against Samoa in the Hong Kong Sevens, the Daily News reported on Monday. Its website said the fans were apparently angry because only one white player was in the starting line-up for the semifinal match.
Corruption distorts human values and freedom and negatively affects the delivery of services to those most in need, President Thabo Mbeki said on Monday. The president was speaking in Sandton, Johannesburg, at the Fifth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Protecting Integrity. The conference brought together delegates from over 100 countries.
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Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint are to appeal against the Durban High Court’s decision to allow prosecutors to ask authorities in Mauritius to release documents about meetings believed to relate to arms-deal corruption. Speaking on Monday afternoon, Zuma’s attorney said Zuma will lodge an application for leave to appeal against the decision.
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Bob Woolmer’s wife, in Cape Town, has expressed anger at a wave of media speculation sparked by the Pakistan coach’s death, the Cape Argus reported on Monday. ”I’m getting a bit angry about it all. I’m not watching the news anymore … I’m taking it all with a pinch of salt,” Gill Woolmer told the newspaper earlier in the day.
The record petrol-price increase of 68 cents a litre that kicks in at midnight on Tuesday won’t be the last, the Automobile Association (AA) said on Monday. ”Unfortunately, the high international crude-oil price does not bode well for consumers and the AA has warned that consumers can expect another price increase in May,” the AA said in a statement.
Organisers of the 13th Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn have been quick to remove posters of the right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB). The Herald Online reported on Monday that the posters also made reference to controversial Afrikaans song De la Rey and apartheid South Africa’s coat of arms.