Staff Reporter

THE chief executive officer of Armscor, Llew Swan, on Wednesday announced his resignation with immediate effect in a statement in Pretoria. Swan was contracted by the government to help the company in its transition. Armscor said: “Mr Swan has made an invaluable contribution to the country by negotiating government packages for the national defence force.” […]

THE Road Accident Fund has made an urgent request to Government to increase the levy on the price of petrol and diesel to save the fund from running into serious cash flow problems. Sake reports that fund says a 10% increase in the levy will be necessary for the payment of road accident claims. This […]

AUSTRALIAN gold miner Acacia Resources has formally recommended that its shareholders accept a takeover bid from the world’s largest gold producer, AngloGold. AngloGold has offered 3,5 of its shares for every 100 Acacia shares, a 24% premium to the share price before the bid and a 41% premium on the price before fellow Australian gold […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Thursday 7.00pm JUST under four and a half hours were lost as thunderstorms severely restricted play on the first day of the second cricket Test in Harare between Zimbabwe and South Africa. In the 94 minutes of play, Zimbabwe could only score 48-3, having been put in to bat by South […]

ZAMBIAN President Frederick Chiluba surprised political pundits on Wednesday by reshuffling his cabinet and dismissing two deputy ministers. Chiluba announced in a statement that Health Minister Dr Nkandu Luo has been transferred to the transport and communications portfolio, while Commerce Minister David Mpamba has been shifted to fill Luo’s seat in the health ministry. Chiluba […]

MPUMALANGA’S first rural-based bank will be officially opened to residents of Schoemansdal tribal trust south of Malelane on Wednesday. The Schoemansdal Village Bank is the fifth rural bank opened in South Africa. Four other banks are already operating in North-West Province, while 25 others are still to established nationwide in the next 18 months. Chairman […]

THE Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, presented peace awards on Wednesday to British defence advisers who are helping integrate former South African freedom fighters into the post-apartheid armed forces. Prince Philip, accompanying the queen on a state visit to South Africa, presented the Wilkinson Sword for Peace to the British Military […]

THE public service commission has warned government to end its system of allowing public servants to accumulate leave over years after public servants accrued vacation leave payment of R11,6-billion in the 1998/99 year. They were paid nearly R1-billion for over-time work during the 1997/98 financial year, Business Day reports that the commission warned that costs […]

AVID hikers can explore six new hiking trails that will be opened to celebrate the festive season in the Kruger National Park. Called the Millenium Trails, the six routes will operate only over Christmas, from December 23 to 26, and over New Year, from December 30 to January 2. Head of the Kruger Park Trails […]

A CONTINGENT of 10 Malawian soldiers left for the Zambian capital of Lusaka on Wednesday to begin training for peace-keeping duties in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Malawian contingent is part of an Organisation of African Unity peace-keeping initiative. Army spokesmen stressed that the Malawian soldiers are merely monitors and will not […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 11.00am. JUDGE Willem Heath was named Newsmaker of the Year by the Johannesburg Press Club on Wednesday. Heath’s Special Investigating Uni has recovered over R1,5 billion in state assets and money since it was launched last year by former president Nelson Mandela last year, himself a former recipients of the […]

PHILLIP NKOSI, Nelspruit | 5.20pm. SUSPENDED Mpumalanga Parks Board chief executive Alan Gray threatened to interdict the provincial government on Thursday after accusing it of denying him access to information. Gray’s attorney, Pieter Swanepoel, said the MPB had consistently refused to supply his client with “vital” documents required to disprove 20 misconduct charges. The charges […]

BLACK empowerment Worldwide African Investment Holdings has acquired 20% of South African oil group Engen from Malaysian national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad. Business Day reports that the deal follows the related acquisition of Worldwide subsidiary Zenex by Engen last month. Petronas bought an initial 30% stake in Engen for R1,7bn in 1996 and increased […]

THE Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA on Wednesday defended the practise of paying the country’s unelected traditional leaders from the public purse, saying they provided valuable service to more than 18 million people. Those leaders which held public office “of a political type” were entitled to salaries, pensions, medical aid benefits, subsidised accommodation, and […]

CANADIAN Prime Minister Jean Chretien left Nigeria on Wednesday for South Africa at the end of a two-day official visit. The Canadian leader is due to attend the Commonwealth summit in Durban, starting on Friday. While in Nigeria, Chretien met President Olusegun Obasanjo and other top officials. At a joint press conference with the Nigerian […]

TWO long distance drivers were shot in separate attacks outside Pietersburg in Northern Province on Monday night, in what police believe may be a repeat of similar attacks made on passenger vehicles last year. Police said on Tuesday that the occupant of a white Uno with no registration plates opened fire with a shotgun on […]

ZIMBABEAN cricket skipper Alistair Campbell resigned on Tuesday after his side was handed a string of humiliating defeats. Campbell will be temporarily replaced by wicketkeeper Andy Flower, who was also his predecessor, said Peter Chingoka, president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. The Zimbabweans have recently suffered big losses against Australia at home and South Africa […]

THE Free State/Griquas selectors have announced the team to play England in a four-dayer at Bloemfontein next weekend. The selectors had a tough time selecting the side as six of the top players are either on Test or South Africa A duty. One of the inclusions in the side is 18-year-old legspinner Andre Abrahams, a […]

NURSES in several Zimbabwean cities went on strike Tuesday to demand a pay increase, three days after doctors ended a seven-week work boycott in protest at low salaries and poor working conditions. The nurses said the government had ignored their ultimatum to increase their salaries, leaving them with no option but to go on strike. […]

FIVE young people were shot and hacked to death in a clash between rival gangs in Amshayazafe township in KwaZulu-Natal, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesman Captain Vishnu Naidoo said the bodies of the victims, a woman and four men aged between 15 and 20, were found outside a shop in the township, some 50 […]

FORMER Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda’s son and political heir-apparent, Wezi, was buried in Lusaka on Tuesday. He was slain nearly a week ago by gunmen whose motives remain unclear. Tears streamed from many, including the 76-year-old statesman who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991. Wezi, a retired army major, was on the point of running […]

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Wednesday 11.45am MIDI TV, holding company of free to air television station e.tv, hopes to attract new equity partners with its proposed changes in its shareholding, acting CEO Marcel Golding said on Tuesday. Golding was speaking at the start of Midi’s application to the Independent Broadcasting Authority in Rosebank to […]

VODACOM has announced its intention to sue the South African Telecommunication Regulation Authority (Satra) over its refusal to grant the cellphone operator additional bandwidth. Sake reports that Vodacom’s corporate affairs executive Joan Joffe says that, due to the huge growth in the South African cellular industry, pressure has been brought to bear on the 900Mhz […]

ARCHBISHOP Desmond Tutu was treated for prostate cancer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in the United States on Tuesday. The hospital’s spokeswoman Rashel Stephenson said Tutu was treated with a minimally invasive procedure called cyrosurgery which enables physicians to freeze and destroy the prostrate gland without destroying surrounding tissue. She said that Tutu was […]

THE South African Rugby Football Union said on Monday that the Springboks should not be disgraced for placing third at the World Cup. SARFU President, Silas Nkanunu praised the Boks, saying that “there was always evidence that the team was determined to succeed. They, like all others, wanted to win, to make themselves and their […]

A PAINTING by South African artist Irma Stern sold at auction for R1,1-million to a private collector on Monday night. The auctioneers, Stephan Welz & Co, said it was the first time an art work had sold for more than R1-million in South Africa. Company chief Stephan Welz added that the R13,1-million raised at the […]

BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in South Africa Tuesday at the start of a five-day visit during which she will officially open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Queen was met at Waterkloof Airforce Base by South Africa’s Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zuma, British High Commissioner Maeve Fort and […]

SHAUN Pollock and Jacques Kallis have moved to the top of the Price-Waterhouse-Coopers ratings for all-rounders, while Pollock has also displaced Allan Donald at the top of the pile for Test bowlers. Donald has moved to second spot on the rankings. Kallis and Pollock are currently on 465 and 402 points respectively in the all-rounder […]

THE Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, presented peace awards on Wednesday to British defence advisors who are helping integrate former South African freedom fighters into the post-apartheid armed forces. Prince Philip, accompanying the queen on a state visit to South Africa, presented the Wilkinson Sword for Peace to the British Military […]

NIGERIAN President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday approved the immediate release of hundreds of detainees who have been awaiting trial in the country for more than two years. The release order, however, excludes all those been detained for murder, robbery, rape, fraud and forgery. Shortly after he was sworn in in May, Obasanjo ordered the release […]

MOZAMBIQUE’S government announced on Tuesday that it would commission a national survey of landmines to determine exactly how much of a threat they posed. The United Nations estimates that at least two million of the indiscriminate killers were buried in Mozambique during the country’s devastating 16-year civil war. Only a fraction of the mines, along […]

THE sole electoral challenger to Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, Afonso Dhlakama, threw down the gauntlet over alleged corruption in a campaign speech Tuesday, less than a month ahead of the polls. Dhlakama, head of the Electoral Union, an alliance between his Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) and 10 minor parties, made a speech Tuesday in Inhambane […]