THE Volkstaat Council has formally disbanded, SABC radio news reported. The council was established after the 1994 election to investigate the application of the constitutional clause acknowledging territorial self-determination of groups sharing common language and culture. Although the council has formally disbanded as a government body, it will continue to exist as a privately funded […]
CAPE TOWN unveiled plans on Wednesday to welcome in the new millennium in style, but warned potential revellers to book their place for a sunny New Year soon. Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo said the city plans a six-month programme of arts and cultural events starting in September as well as a huge New Year’s […]
AMANDA Coetzer began her defence of her Family Circle Cup tennis title in brisk winds with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Russian qualifier Elena Makarova at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. “I felt like I had to be really, really careful with some shots and I had to really commit my footwork, the South African […]
MALAWI launches its first, long-awaited television station on Thursday, officials said. Project co-ordinator Benson Tembo said President Bakili Muluzi, along with President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, will launch the television station. Moi started a two-day state visit to Malawi on Wednesday afternoon, after a trip to Namibia. Despite its lack of national television, Malawi […]
JUDGMENT against Trevor Tutu on reckless or negligent driving charges was postponed again on Wednesday when Johannesburg Regional Court Magistrate P Louw was unavailable. The wayward son of Archbishop Desmond Tutu is accused of causing a four-car pile-up in Johannesburg’s Lower Houghton suburb. A state witness claimed in the trial that Tutu tried to pass […]
THE KwaZulu-Natal north coast town of Ballito officially handed over its water and waste water services to a private company. In terms of a deal between Siza Water Company and the Ballito municipality, the company will manage the town’s water and waste water for the next 30 years.
THE Mpumalanga Pumas beat the Namibia Kudus 52-32 in an Vodacom Cup rugby match in Windhoek on Wednesday, after leading 33-8 at half-time. Both teams attacked relentlessly at every possible opportunity, but it was Witbank team who took full points by scoring their fourth try within 21 minutes and finishing with eight. Fullback Kallie Benade […]
PENNY Heyns progresses to the semi-finals of the world short-course swimming championships on Thursday in Hong Kong. The Olympic gold medallist clocked up the fastest time in the women’s 50m breaststroke in the heats on the first day, with a time of 30,80 seconds. Another South African, Julia Russell, was seventh in the heats, with […]
THE country’s new president will be inaugurated on June 16 at a ceremony in Pretoria to which 190 heads of state will be invited, the Cabinet decided on Wednesday. The ceremony at the Union Buildings will be followed by an evening concert in the State Theatre to say farewell to outgoing President Nelson Mandela. The […]
A HIGH-powered United States-Southern Africa Development Community Forum is to be held in the Botswana capital Gaborone on April 14 and 15, according to a government statement on Thursday. The Forum is viewed as a culmination of agreements that have been entered into between SADC and US government in the past four years, the statement […]
DEFENCE Minister Joe Modise on Thursday confirmed South Africa will withdraw its troops from Lesotho, SABC radio news reported. Modise said the situation in Lesotho has stabilised. South African troops have been in Lesotho since September last year as part of a Southern African Development Community peacekeeping force along with Botswana. Speaking in Pretoria, Modise […]
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela said on Tuesday that the Kosovo crisis has resulted in innocent people being slaughtered like animals, and called on political leaders to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis. “We hope the world will reach a stage when it realises that the use of violence against any community is something that puts […]
CABINET ministers and their deputies jointly gave R51481 from their salaries to the Job Creation Trust on Wednesday. Presenting Congress of South African Trade Unions president John Gomomo with the donation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki said: “I am very pleased to hand over this cheque of a lot of […]
A DISPUTE between tertiary educational institutions and the National Educational Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) has led the Nehawu executive to threaten a strike by 220000 members on April 28. If the dispute over delaying tactics on the part of the institutions is not resolved, the national strike is set to go ahead. Nehawu […]
THE Independent Electoral Commission said on Tuesday it has rejected from the provisional voters roll 296266 people that registered for the general election. Those rejected include 31327 people who are dead according to the population register, 39498 people with invalid identity documents, and 109441 people who are not South African citizens. IEC chief electoral officer […]
President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday urged parties involved in the faltering Northern Ireland peace talks to seek agreement.
SOUTH African batsman Daryll Cullinan, who scored a record-breaking 275 not out in the drawn first test at Eden Park, was named as New Zealand’s international cricketer of the year winning a luxury car worth NZ$32000. According to team policy, half of the value of the vehicle will go into the team pool and half […]
BAFANA Bafana will be short two high-profile players for the upcoming Gabon match in Libreville next Saturday as striker Phil Masinga and goalkeeper Hans Vonk will be out of commission due to important European league matches. South African Football Association officials and coach Trott Moloto agreed the team has sufficient depth to let Masinga and […]
UGANDA’S Vice President Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, who also holds the agriculture portfolio, has defended herself against charges that her ministry mismanaged a World Bank-funded project. Speaking before Parliament on Tuesday, Kazibwe asked the House, which has demanded that she resigns as agriculture minister or face a censure motion, for “justice and fairness”. She urged the […]
KALAHARI Holdings, the firm controlling holdings of Namibia’s ruling South-West Africa People’s Organisation is indebted to the tune of R32-million, The Namibian reported on Tuesday. President Sam Nujoma told party leaders last weekend that Kalahari was near collapse and proposed a number of rescue measures. Plans to save the troubled firm include selling De Rust, […]
SOUTH Africa’s top tennis juniors will be able to test their skills against Africa’s best at the ITF/MTN African Junior Championships which will take place at the Groenkloof courts in Pretoria from April 4-11. Some 181 players from 41 African countries will participate in this event which is sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation. For […]
TROUBLED Air Namibia has finalised an agreement with South African Airways to lease a Boeing 747-SP to replace the Boeing 767-300 used on its intercontinental routes. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport tomorrow. Since its inception until March last year, Air Namibia had leased a similar aircraft, the popular ‘Etosha’, […]
HEIST suspect Collin Chauke and two others on hunger strike in Pretoria’s C-Max prison are refusing medical attention, the correctional services department said on Wednesday. Department spokesperson Rudi Potgieter said the three claimed to have stopped eating on Friday, although they only received official notification of the hunger strike a few days later. “We arranged […]
WELFARE organisation Operation Hunger on Tuesday said they have received thousands of letters from people destitute after their pensions and disability grants were stopped while the government weeds out “ghosts” and unnecessary payouts. Felicity Gibbs, national manager for Operation Hunger, said: “Rural areas are worst hit as people cannot afford to contest the judgments, cannot […]
NEW South Wales captain Michael Brial has been ruled out of the Waratahs side to meet Auckland in their Super 12 match in Sydney on Saturday. Brial injured his leg during training on Monday. Former Springbok captain Tiaan Strauss takes over the captaincy and will also move from number eight to Brial’s position at flank. […]
TRADE union federation and ruling party ally the Congress of South African Trade Unions came out in support on Wednesday of the African National Congress’s campaign for the June 2 elections. The 1,8-million-member Cosatu has agreed to embark on a campaign to “mobilise workers for a decisive ANC victory on June 2”, Cosatu secretary general […]
OLD Mutual Unit Trusts temporarlity suspended its R2,9-million Global Equity Fund on Wednesday, and will not accept new investments. MD Pieter van Niekerk told a press conference in Johannesburg that the move follows a decision by the Reserve Bank to limit offshore investment to 15% of financial institutions’ South African-based assets, rather than total assets […]
PETER POLLOCK, the United Cricket Board’s convener of selectors, will announce the World Cup cricket squad on Saturday. It will be announced at 2.50pm on M-Net and SuperSport1.
THE Cabinet has approved the appointment of advocate Wallace Mgoqi as the country’s new Chief Land Claims Commissioner. Mgoqi is the former regional land claims commissioner for the Western and Northern Cape, and replaces Joe Seremane, who was fired and has subsequently been elected a Democratic Party member of the National Council of Provinces. Announcing […]
FIVE opposition parties are to meet the Cabinet on Wednesday to discuss what they are claiming is an abuse of taxpayers money by the African National Congress in a publicity campaign. New National Party, the Democratic Party, the Freedom Front, the African Christian Democratic Party and the Pan Africanist Congress have claimed that a recent […]
THE CATS rugby side will propose that Andre Markgraaff be appointed to a minimum two-year term as coach this week. Cats CEO Johan Botes will discuss the matter with South African Rugby Union chief Riaan Oberholzer on Wednesday. Markgraaff’s success and reputation as a top forward coach have lent weight to arguments that continuity and […]
NAMIBIA Football Association spokesperson Sebastian Kamungu dropped a bombshell on Monday when he announced the association has suspended the entire national under-23 squad which did duty against Lesotho in two matches recently. “The suspension,” Kamungu said, “stems from the Young Warriors’ failure to stick by agreed match and camping fees and their decision to boycott […]