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, […]
PHOENIX serial killer Sipho Agmatir Twala (31) was sentenced on Wednesday to 506 years in prison after he was found guilty on 27 charges of murder, attempted murder, indecent assault and rape. Twala was found guilty on 16 murder charges, one of attempted murder, seven of indecent assault and three of rape. In handing down […]
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 […]
PRESIDENT Sam Nujoma has acknowledged that the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo cannot be won and must be solved through peaceful dialogue. Speaking at a state banquet for Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi in Windhoek, Nujoma said the Congolese people deserved a fair chance for peace and development. He said foreign forces in […]
BOTSWANA is to withdraw its remaining troops from Lesotho by the end of April, presidential spokesperson Andrew Sesinyi said on Wednesday. Some 650 soldiers of the Botswana Defence Force were deployed in the tiny landlocked kingdom as part of a Southern African Development Community intervention force that entered Lesotho last September to stabilise the political […]
BOTSWANA has been given the go-ahead by the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to sell 20 tons of stockpiled ivory but has clamped down on the release of any details of the sale. Wildlife officials said the ivory will be auctioned to Japanese buyers. “We have decided not to disclose any details […]
AN ANTHRAX epidemic that struck Zimbabwe’s cattle in the early 1980s and also afflicted nearly 10000 people could be linked to South Africa’s chemical and biological warfare programme, reports Beeld. Dr Welbourne Madzima, deputy director of Zimbabwe’s veterinary services, said on Tuesday that his department will contact National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ncugka to […]
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 […]
President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday urged parties involved in the faltering Northern Ireland peace talks to seek agreement.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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.
JCI Gold posted strong maiden interim results on Tuesday with attributable earnings in the six months to December at R403-million. The results were boosted by profits from the sale of its entire holding in Barnato Exploration (Barnex) and certain mineral rights to gold mining company Western Areas. Excluding these exceptional items of R307-million, headline earnings […]
THE National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union said on Monday that it will call a nationwide strike on April 28 in solidarity with tertiary education workers. Explaining the decision to strike, Nehawu spokesperson Makoko Lekola claimed tertiary education management used tactics at a recent Nedlac meeting to delay transformation in the sector. The union […]
KHULUMA Cellular 084, the black economic empowerment firm bidding for South Africa’s third cellular licence, announced the composition of its consortium on Tuesday. The partners are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce, the Communications Workers’ Union, Black Management Forum Investments, change management consultancy Labat Africa, Phakamani […]
WORKERS at the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation went on strike on Monday morning, demanding increased salaries. The workers have threatened to switch off transmission if their grievances are not addressed by management, which is locked in discussions with the employees’ representatives. The workers say they are the least-paid employees of all Zimbabwe’s media parastatals and […]
AIR Namibia has decided to retrench 150 employees with effect from April under a restructuring plan prompted by financial difficulties. Managing director Jaafar Ahmad said on Monday that, besides reducing staff, the company’s operations will also be streamlined and this could involve the closure of operations and departments. The process will start on April 26, […]
TWO Free State towns have made last-minute arrangements with electricity parastatal Eskom to pay their arrears to avoid having their supply cut off, SABC radio news reports. According to an Eskom spokesperson, Hertzogville and Fauresmith have both paid most of their arrears, narrowly beating a Tuesday deadline to pay up or be cut off. Last […]
OLD Mutual got the go ahead from the Cape High Court on Monday to convert to a listed company and demutualise. The firm also has permission to list in London and Johannesburg, adding to the list of South African corporate giants making the trek overseas. The ruling stated the demutualisation scheme is fair, commercially sound, […]
A THREE-day search in the Western Cape to find a little girl who was abducted from her parent’s Kuils River flat at the weekend gained momentum on Tuesday when police called in the army for assistance. Four-year-old Renata Ismail disappeared from her mother’s bed while relatives were watching television in the lounge on Saturday night. […]
MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Monday 5.15pm. EQUITIES finished the day mixed as wider South African markets looked for direction on Monday. Bonds and the rand stayed within a tight trading range and the major JSE indices did not move very far. The all share index lost 22 points to finish at 6439 while the industrial […]
REPRESENTATIVES of the parties involved in the African National Congress’s advertising campaign will hold an emergency meeting this week with Metrorail CEO Zandile Jakavula after Metrorail declined an initial request to print the image of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on the back of 3,5-million train tickets. The announcement of the major advertising coup for the […]
MOZAMBIQUE’S gross domestic product has grown by over 10% for the last two years, President Joaquim Chissano said on Monday. Speaking before Parliament, Chissano said agriculture grew by 8,7% in 1997 and 8,2% in 1998. Grain production rose from a million tons in the 1995 harvest to 1,7-million tons in 1998. Chissano also noted the […]
AT least four thoroughbred horses have died in the Western Cape in the past week of African horse sickness, a development that may cripple South Africa’s thoroughbred export industry. As a result of the outbreak, no horses may be exported from South Africa. According to Onderstepoort head of equine research Professor Alan Guthrie, the European […]
A WORKER was crushed to death at explosive and chemical firm AECI’s Modderfontein dynamite factory on Tuesday after nine tankers full of hazardous chemicals derailed. Two other work were burned by sulphuric acid. GThe firm was on Tuesday evening taking emergency steps to mop up the chemicals.
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 10.15am. ANGLO American will bid to consolidate its corporate position by buying out minority shareholders in gold holding company Amgold and Anamint, which holds about 26% of De Beers. Anglo already owns 51,5% of Amgold, and 52% of Anamint. Anglo will offer 140 Anglo shares for every 100 Amgold shares, […]
ALL Black coach John Hart believes the New Zealand Rugby Union may have to reassess its strict line on not considering players for national sides if they take up overseas contracts. In the wake of New Zealand’s worst Super 12 results ever Hart agreed on Monday with former All Black captain David Kirk in his […]
NATIONAL Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka announced on Tuesday that his office will appeal against the suspended sentence handed down last week to convicted baby killer Nicholas Steyn. Steyn was sentenced to five years’ jail suspended for three years after being found guilty of culpable homicide and assault for an incident in April 1998 […]
KENYAN cricket authorities have full confidence in the country’s team for the World Cup despite its dismal showing in the tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh, the selection committee chairman Asif Padamshi said on Monday. Kenya suffered a crushing 202-run defeat to Zimbabwe in the tri-nation competition in Dhaka on Saturday. It was Kenya’s eighth consecutive loss […]