and justice A dossier that Richard Motasi painstakingly built to prove his assault case did not bring him justice. But it captured the imagination of writer John Miles, who told his story In 1988, author John Miles was given, by Lawyers for Human Rights, a Checkers packet filled with documentation relating to the case of […]
Janet Smith Anand Naidoo’s final appearance as a news anchor on the SABC will be on August 22, a few weeks before he becomes part of the slick CNN International media machine run by Time Warner chair Gerald Levin and vice- chair Ted Turner. Naidoo leaves his high-visibility post on the English bulletins of the […]
Cosatu’s September Commission calls for a larger civil service and a reformed tax system in the war against poverty, reports Sechaba ka’Nkosi The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) takes another swipe at government economic policy in the September Commission report. The union federation calls for a shift in spending to development, and a […]
Lynda Loxton Fresh from its public row with the Reserve Bank over its criticism of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Congress of South African Trade Unions this week gave notice to Parliament that it wants a review of the role and policies of the central bank. The bank earned the wrath of Cosatu […]
FRIDAY, 11.00AM PERSETEL and Q Data, two of SA’s biggest information technology companies, are to merge their operations in a R2-billion deal. In terms of the deal, which will create SA’s biggest computer comapny with R12-billion market value, Persetel will buy all of Q Data’s businesses and merge them with Persetel Holdings, to form a […]
themselves To address the country’s basic construction needs the government must facilitate community-driven projects, reports Aspasia Karras Sixty percent of all construction projects in South Africa are handled by 12% of the industry. “The South African building industry is in a state,” says Sam Amod of Development Engineering Consultants. “Serious restructuring is required.” Amod is […]
Andrew Muchineripi Soccer He entered the medium-size, thickly- carpeted hotel room in Parktown clad in black from top to toe. Black sweatshirt, black trousers and black shoes with a shine that doubled as a mirror. He exuded a pride born out of being good at his job, which must rank among the most difficult and […]
Ralph Borland Aerosol-artists Sky One and Kane Seven have given a wild twist to hip-hop art in Cape Town. The two artists have worked together on several pieces over a week-long period, putting up large-scale wall-art pieces in the city itself for the first time. Work like theirs has been mostly restricted to the Cape […]
Robert Kirby: Loose cannon There is nothing, and I mean nothing, as singularly bottom-of-the-South-African commercial barrel as any South African airport. We all know how ungracious and self-serving the average South African businessman is. We know how the more pious their mission statements, the meaner the service that can be dredged out of the average […]
crime Gustav Thiel South Africa loses billions of rands every year through the smuggling of illegal goods into the country, but Business Against Crime’s (BAC) initiative to stem the tide is paying off – more than R25-million-worth of goods has been confiscated. The anti-crime organisation, which was started in 1994 after prompting by President Nelson […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM: SOUTH African Football Association CEO Danny Jordaan said on Wednesday the Four Nations tournament might be called off if there is no answer from China and Nigeria by Friday. Jordaan said only Namibia has confirmed its participation in this year’s tournament. “We have received no response from China or Nigeria to our invitation,” […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM THE Cahora Bassa power line was finally completed on Tuesday this week — almost 20 years late. The Cahora Bassa power project, initiated in the mid-1960s as an arrangement between the government of John Vorster and the Portuguese colonial administration of Mozambique, has been delayed by years of civil war and tension between […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM: SOUTH AFRICA’S 800m medal hopeful Hezekiel Sepeng was eliminated in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Athens on Wednesday night. Sepeng finished fifth and second last with a time of 1min 47,00sec. He was boxed in and tried to pull out of the pack unsuccessfully. Sepeng refused to blame the hamstring […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM: HELLENIC and Orlando Pirates drew their Premier League match 1-1 at Greenpoint stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday. Pirates opened the score through defender Willem Jackson and thereafer were all over Hellenic, but failed to penetrate the tight Hellenic defence. Hellenic took control of the second half and equalised through Peter Kirsten after […]
WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM THE SA Chamber of Business said on Wednesday that business confidence declined slightly in July from 114,6 to 114,4 as the country anxiously awaits a relaxation in monetary policy. Sacob economic policy director Ben van Rensburg said on Wednesday consumers are under severe pressure from the sustained high interest rate environment. He said […]
WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM KENYA’s pro-reform coalition decided on Thursday to go ahead with a national strike to pressure the government for electoral reforms, although the plan has been rejected by two opposition leaders and several trade unions. The National Convention Executive Council (NCEC), grouping political parties, citizens’ groups and religious leaders, announced it will go ahead […]
WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM NEW Africa Investments Limited is set to purchase the Independent group’s 42,5% stake in the Sowetan, South Africa’s largest circulation daily newspaper. The price of the deal values the Sowetan at R150-million. The Sowetan was unbundled by Argus (now Independent) Newspapers in 1994 with Nail, chaired by Dr Ntatho Motlana, taking a controlling […]
HIGHWAY ROBBERS IN COURT THREE of the four men arrested for alleged involvement in a highway heist last week in which two security guards were shot dead and R17-million stolen appeared ion the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday. The fourth man arrested was released for lack of evidence against him. Oupa Edwin Sihani, 39, Themba […]
THURSDAY, 10.30AM BIG trades in certain blue-chip stocks ensured the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s industrial index held record levels for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. Industrials leapt to anotther record high, climbing 64 points to 9 247. The gold index kept ahead of another fall in the bullion price, helped by the rand’s further weakening […]
WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s industrial index rocketed to a new high yesterday as investors took hope from Reserve Bank statements that monetary policy will not be affected by the latest depreciation in the rand and widespread expectations of an imminent interest rates cut resurfaced. Industrials added 73 points to take the index to […]
WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM: AMAZULU have signed up Zimbabwean international striker Stewart Murisa from Caps United in Zimbabwe. Murisa will replace Simon Magagula, who moved to Orlando Pirates earlier this month. Murisa said on Monday he was looking forward to the new challenge with great interest. “If I am selected in the starting line-up on Sunday, I […]
WEDNESDAY, 4.30PM The recent massacre of five African National Congress members in Richmond in KwaZulu-Natal had an unexpected effect on the peace pact in the province betwen the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party when violence betwen supporters of the two parties broke out in nearby Fredville after security forces were moved from the area to […]
WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM: NORTHERN Transvaal Rugby Union president Hentie Serfontein said on Tuesday that he will not be available for re-election at the union’s annual general meeting later this year. The announcement was made after a closed doors meeting called because of the pressure from local rugby fans, who are calling for the sacking of both […]
WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM: NEW car sales in July increased for the second consecutive month, rising 2,1% against last July to 21 994 units. Latest figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA show new passenger car sales for the first seven months of this year up 2,9%, at 144 446 units, over the same […]
WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM ADVOCATES of constitutional reform in Kenya on Wednesday gave President Daniel arap Moi an ultimaltum to accept constitutional negotiations or face a general strike. The ultimatum was handed down late on Tuesday by opposition figures, 22 religious leaders and the executive council of the National Convention Assembly, the umbrella organisation seeking the reforms, […]
WEDNESDAY, 5.00PM The new leader of the Comoran island of Anjouan, Abdullah Ibrahim, on Wednesday held the first meeting of his “cabinet” since Anjouan and Moheli broke away from the Comoros Islamic Republic at the weekend. The new cabinet ordered an audit of the amount of money left in government coffers on Anjaoun, where all […]
WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM PARLIAMENT’s finance committee on Tuesday approved a draft Bill giving wide powers to the Reserve Bank and the finance minister jointly to disclose confidential information about SA’s banking system. Urging the committee to adopt the SA Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, which will make the Reserve Bank one of the most open to scrutiny […]
R17m ROBBERS FOUND POLICE have discovered the lair belonging to the gang that robbed a security van of R17m last week, and arrested four gang members. The 15-man gang lay low in a house in southern Johannesburg for a week after the heist in which two security guards were murdered. Police have recovered R630 000 […]
WEDNESDAY, 4.00PM INKATHA Freedom Party leader Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Wednesday morning denied any knowledge of hit-squad killings by Caprivi-trained IFP members, and said he was astounded such allegations are being made. On Tuesday the self-confessed commander of the Caprivi trainees, Daluxolo Luthuli, said there was no way Buthelezi could deny he was aware of […]
WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM The proposed free trade deal between South Africa and the European Union will cost SA’s Southern African Customs Union partners R350-million, according to the final report on the effects of the deal. The other Customs Union partners, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, share external tarfiis with SA and are heavily reliant on income […]
TUESDAY, 3.30PM A FORMER KwaZulu policeman, Gcina Brian Mkhize, 21, on Tuesday became the first of the “Caprivi 200”, Inkatha members given paramilitary training by the SA Defence Force in the 1980s, to testify before the truth commission. Mkhize’s testimony was delayed since Monday following attempts by the National Party and former SADF chief General […]
ELECTRICITY CUT-OFF BEGINS THE Gauteng government on Tuesday began cutting off electricity supplies to households that refuse to pay for municipal services. The cut-off began in KwaThema near Springs, where local government MEC Sicelo Shiceka said there is no justification for residents not to pay for services, because the apartheid government they were protesting against […]