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/ 13 December 2007
The pompom weed — a plant in the daisy family — is rapidly becoming one of the most serious threats to the conservation of South African grasslands, the Working for Water programme said on Thursday. The weed’s beautiful flowers are leading members of the public to collect and inadvertently spread it to more places.
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/ 13 December 2007
The proposed relocation of residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement is a bid to reverse century-old wrongs, the Cape High Court was told on Thursday. Cape Judge President John Hlophe was hearing an application by provincial authorities for permission to relocate the community, currently living in shacks alongside Cape Town’s N2 highway.
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/ 12 December 2007
The Cape High Court is to deliver judgement on Thursday morning in an application launched by about 20 000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement to stop their eviction and relocation. After hearing argument all day on Wednesday for and against the evictions, Judge President John Hlophe said he needed time to think about everything.
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/ 12 December 2007
The motorist who was caught doing 257km/h in his silver Audi TT on Sunday night has been named as Ukhozi FM’s DJ Sbu, Talk Radio 702 reported on Wednesday. DJ Sbu, or Sbusiso Leope, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. He was released on R1 000 bail, Johannesburg metro police said on Wednesday.
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/ 11 December 2007
Prison officials denied whistle-blowing Pollsmoor doctor, Paul Theron, entry to the prison hospital when he reported for duty on Tuesday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Department of Health had suspended him after Theron had complained about poor conditions at the prison hospital.
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/ 10 December 2007
More than 250 people have been killed on South African roads since the beginning of the festive season, the Department of Transport said on Monday. Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said 275 people were killed in 230 crashes — 65 drivers, 84 passengers and 126 pedestrians.
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/ 10 December 2007
Denel Munitions has secured a R200-million order from the United Kingdom for 40mm target-practice grenades, the arms manufacturer said on Monday. ”Coming at the close of the calendar year, this order is most welcome for our Western Cape facility,” said chief executive Monwabisi Kalawe.
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/ 10 December 2007
The Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town on Monday recommended that Najwa Petersen, accused of the murder of her famous husband Taliep, be moved from the Breederivier Prison at Worcester to one nearer her home. The court dismissed her second application on the grounds that she had misled the court in the first application.
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/ 10 December 2007
World number five Ernie Els is still in a daze after gifting victory to Briton John Bickerton at the Dunhill Championship on Sunday. The three-time Major winner arrived at the par-five 18th at Leopard Creek on Sunday with a two-shot lead over Bickerton, who had already completed his round. But Els twice found the water surrounding the final green to slump to a triple-bogey eight.
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/ 10 December 2007
Megawatt Park was without megawatts on Monday when Eskom load-shedded itself. The power company could not even access its own website to check which areas were without electricity — the server was down, said an official who asked not want to be named.
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/ 10 December 2007
Power cuts rolled out across the country on Monday as Eskom tried to load-shed after planned and unplanned power-station maintenance resulted in an electricity supply shortage. Eskom had to shed 1Â 000MW, although this could go as high as 1Â 500MW, said general manager of demand-side management Andrew Etzinger.
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/ 7 December 2007
The sheer number of crimes being committed in South Africa is still at an unacceptable level, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Friday. The decrease in reported crime, however, is encouraging, it said. The rights body said its finding on the unacceptable level of crime is ”exacerbated by the massive under-reporting of crime”.
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/ 7 December 2007
The Cape Town Labour Court has ordered that whistle-blowing prison doctor Paul Theron get his job in Pollsmoor back. He was suspended after telling the Inspecting Judge of Prisons and a parliamentary committee about what he said was an acute healthcare crisis at Pollsmoor, including chronic understaffing and lack of disease control.
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/ 5 December 2007
The Erasmus Commission of Inquiry probing Cape Town’s ”spy saga” is calling for public submissions on the matter. The commission, headed by Judge Nathan Erasmus, has already started studying all available documentation relating to the issue, commission secretary Zithulele Twala said on Wednesday.
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/ 4 December 2007
A senior Cape Town police officer may face disciplinary charges after making conflicting statements on the time of the recent arrest of former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni for drunken driving. The step follows reports that police may have bungled the arrest by delaying taking a blood-alcohol sample.
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/ 4 December 2007
The Breede River Valley in the Western Cape is known as a fertile farming area that hosts internationally renowned vineyards, picturesque fruit orchards and tourist farm stalls, but a visit to Ashton’s Zolani township quickly scrapes away the lush veneer to reveal the reality of unemployment, poverty and hunger for many of its inhabitants.
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/ 3 December 2007
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South African President Thabo Mbeki and his arch-rival, Jacob Zuma, have both officially confirmed they are candidates for party chief of the African National Congress (ANC), their offices said Monday. ”Mr Jacob Zuma signed the ANC nomination form over the weekend in London,” Zuma’s spokesperson, Ranjeni Munusamy, said.
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/ 3 December 2007
Negligence or malpractice at public hospitals has cost the Health Department millions of rands in damages awards over the past few years, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has said. However, such cases are rare exceptions to the usually excellent care provided, she said in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Gareth Morgan of the Democratic Alliance.
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/ 3 December 2007
Nineteen beaches around the country are set to benefit from a massive clean-up of South Africa’s coastline during the festive season, Vodacom announced on Monday. Beaches in the Eastern and Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will benefit from the third annual Vodacom Beach Clean-Up Campaign, which will run over 23 days, starting on December 15.
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/ 2 December 2007
Tens of thousands of people filed into Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday for a 10-hour music extravaganza beamed to millions around the globe for World Aids Day. The concert at the 50Â 000-seater stadium got under way in the afternoon and lasted late into the night, with 30 local and international artists performing, ranging from Ludacris to Peter Gabriel.
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/ 2 December 2007
Slowing new HIV infections is the key to combating the Aids pandemic, Nelson Mandela told the tens of thousands gathered for his 46664 benefit concert to mark World Aids Day on Saturday. The Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg erupted in screams before falling silent as Mandela urged people to stand up and take the fight against Aids into their own hands.
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/ 1 December 2007
Drunken-driving allegations against former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni still needed to be tested in court, the Western Cape correctional services department said on Saturday. ”The department respects the criminal procedures and would review the case when the blood test is released by the district surgeon,” spokesperson Mark Solomons said.
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/ 30 November 2007
Dina Rodrigues — jailed for life for the murder of six-month-old Jordan Leigh Norton — on Friday filed papers at the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal her conviction and sentence. The Cape High Court in June this year handed down life sentences to 26-year-old Rodrigues and two accomplices for the contract murder of baby Jordan.
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/ 30 November 2007
Head judge of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons Justice Nathan Erasmus will head the commission of inquiry into allegations of illegal surveillance by the City of Cape, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool and provincial minister for local government and housing Richard Dyantyi said on Friday.
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/ 29 November 2007
It’s a done deal. All the signs are there that Jacob Zuma will lead the African National Congress.
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/ 29 November 2007
An extra R87-million has been allocated to help people living in extreme poverty, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said on Thursday. The money was in addition to funds already given to provinces for relief, he told reporters after meeting provincial ministers of social development in Durban.
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/ 29 November 2007
Tourism officials said this week it is ”business as usual” after severe floods hit the South Africa’s southern coast. ”Although the damage to property has been significant, the fact that the floods took place before the official start of the holiday season could prevent huge economic losses for the tourism sector,” said a tourism spokesperson.
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/ 29 November 2007
Even if Thabo Mbeki wins the African National Congress (ANC) leadership at Polokwane — and this looks increasingly unlikely given the outcome of the provincial general councils last weekend — he will face a totally new power configuration after December 21.
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/ 28 November 2007
A Western Cape taxi driver was arrested at a roadblock in Wynberg on Wednesday for R20 000 in unpaid fines, said police. Captain Randall Stoffels said another four taxi drivers abandoned their vehicles and ran away when they saw the roadblock in Ottery Road.
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/ 27 November 2007
Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool has apologised to the provincial legislature for ”incorrect” statements made before it on overspending. ”To bring finality and closure to an unfortunate episode, I apologise for anything I said that led to the conclusion of the ad-hoc committee,” he said in Cape Town on Tuesday.
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/ 27 November 2007
Western Cape provincial minister for local government Richard Dyantyi’s announcement that he intends to probe spy allegations against the City of Cape Town is an African National Congress (ANC) ploy to divert attention from Premier Ebrahim Rasool’s woes, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Tuesday.
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/ 27 November 2007
More than 28 000 animals were stolen from farms around the country over the past 18 months, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Less than 40% of the stock — including game, cattle, sheep and goats — was recovered, DA rural safety spokesperson Ryno King said in a statement.