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/ 30 December 2006
A total of 1 277 people have died in 1 104 traffic accidents since December 1, the Department of Transport said on Friday. Spokesperson Collen Msibi said that while this was a slight decrease compared to 1 372 deaths in the same period last year, the department was concerned about the increase of fatal crashes involving pedestrians.
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/ 23 December 2006
There is an ineluctable rule of politics in developing democratic states: ruling liberation parties tend to grow in influence from election to election and the opposition declines. It holds true for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress — and for the current bleak picture for the opposition.
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/ 23 December 2006
Western Cape environment minister Tasneem Essop will decide on the rezoning of the Green Point Stadium in January, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Friday. This was agreed to on Friday following meetings between legal and technical experts from the Western Cape provincial government and the City of Cape Town.
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/ 22 December 2006
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was not divided into pro-Zuma and pro-Mbeki camps. Zwelinzima Vavi, the union’s general secretary, said they had ”spent the year trying to convince the media that Cosatu has not taken any decision to support [African National Congress (ANC) deputy president] Jacob Zuma, or anyone else, as the next president of the ANC and South Africa”.
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/ 22 December 2006
Legal and technical experts from the Western Cape provincial government and the City of Cape Town met on Thursday to discuss a way forward on the city’s proposed 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium. Mayor Helen Zille said the experts were seeking a way to ”resolve the development approvals” required for the construction and would continue their work on Friday.
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/ 21 December 2006
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille will be to blame if Cape Town loses the 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal, Independent Democrats (ID) leader in the city council Simon Grindrod said on Thursday. ”I’m holding Helen Zille personally responsible if we lose the World Cup [event],” he said.
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/ 21 December 2006
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille on Wednesday evening rejected a claim by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool that the city had committed a major procedural blunder over the proposed Green Point 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium. An angry Rasool called on Zille to summon an urgent council meeting to rectify what he said was an error threatening the already-fragile construction timetable.
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/ 19 December 2006
The Cape Flats aquifer, which has the potential to supply Cape Town with billions of litres of fresh water a year, is under growing threat from chemical pollution, say experts. The chemicals, among others, that have found their way down into the water-bearing rock include nitrates from human waste, cyanide from industry and pesticides sprayed by local farmers.
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/ 18 December 2006
A state of emergency must be declared over the Aids pandemic sweeping South Africa and the country’s teachers and the defence force mobilised to tackle the problem, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) said on Monday. PAC secretary general Achmad Cassiem said money to fund this could come from cancelling the government’s arms-procurement programme.
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/ 17 December 2006
Taliep Petersen, one of Cape Town’s most popular theatre personalities, was shot and killed during an armed robbery at his Athlone home on Saturday night, police said on Sunday. Petersen was internationally known and awarded for his work with David Kramer on the hit 1990s stage musical Kat and the Kings, among others.
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/ 14 December 2006
The Western Cape’s network of fire-alarm cameras has been improved to alert water-bombers even faster to shack and wildfires in the province, disaster workers said on Wednesday. More than 100 people died and 28 000 were left destitute in 2 000 fires in informal settlements in the city in 2005.
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/ 13 December 2006
South African IT services company Galdon Data is experiencing an increased demand for call-centre solutions and services in Cape Town, it said on Wednesday. The company said it strongly believes that the call-centre industry is set for major growth over the next few years, as South Africa becomes the preferred call-centre hub in Africa.
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/ 12 December 2006
Scientists in South Africa unveiled the country’s most powerful weapon yet in their fight against Aids, malaria and tuberculosis when they switched on a new supercomputer dedicated to scientific research this week. The supercomputer is designed to process huge amounts of complex information and to deliver data with astonishing speed.
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/ 11 December 2006
Former Western Cape provincial minister of environment and planning David Malatsi was on Monday sentenced to a five-year jail term for his role in the Roodefontein corruption case. Bellville regional magistrate Andre le Grange, however, immediately granted him leave to appeal his conviction.
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/ 11 December 2006
Cocooned inside a Cape Town warehouse is South Africa’s bid for power on the seas: a ,5-million Stealth catamaran, the latest offering from a burgeoning boat-building industry. Dubbed the Flying Gurnard, the Stealth 540, sold before tasting salt water, is a hydrofoil-assisted catamaran which its makers say offers greater speed and fuel efficiency than other power boats.
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/ 8 December 2006
All six of the municipal police chiefs say they support embattled police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. The chiefs said they commended Selebi ”for remaining unfazed in the face of the scurrilous statements which have been bandied around in the recent weeks”.
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/ 8 December 2006
Afro-pessimists must reflect gleefully on the steady stream of corruption scandals fixating the post-apartheid South African media. After all, this is Africa, they say knowingly, and we are merely a postcolonial Johnny-come-lately to the continental way of doing things.
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/ 7 December 2006
The Department of Education must give teachers detailed salary advice so they know what money is owed to them and what the money is for, the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa said on Thursday. However, the department slammed unions for ”misinformed and inflammatory” remarks.
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/ 7 December 2006
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) was the big winner in the last round of by-elections to take place this year, claiming all but one of the 12 wards contested in results. The municipal by-elections on Wednesday were marked by low voter turnouts, with an 11% turnout at ward three in Mbolela (Nelspruit).
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/ 7 December 2006
South Africa will be looking to win on home soil for the first time this week, having won the Dubai leg of the World Sevens circuit last weekend. The hosts have never won in George, where the competition heads this weekend, but after winning all their matches last week, including downing the mighty All Blacks in the final, confidence will be soaring in coach Paul Treu’s camp.
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/ 7 December 2006
A candidate attorney, who allegedly illegally represented clients in the regional court, made his third appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on three charges of fraud. Candidate attorneys, previously known as articled clerks, may not represent clients in the regional court without authority from the Law Society.
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/ 6 December 2006
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape has asked the Competition Commission to block the sale of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront to a foreign-dominated consortium. ”We’re pretty sure that we’re going to get them to stop it,” Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said on Wednesday.
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/ 6 December 2006
The nine provincial police commissioners on Wednesday expressed anger and disgust at ongoing media allegations that police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi is linked to criminal activity. Speaking on behalf of the provincial commissioners, Western Cape Commissioner Mzwandile Petros said the commissioners met on Tuesday with the National Prosecuting Authority.
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/ 4 December 2006
Recent union remarks over outstanding payments to teachers are ”misinformed and inflammatory”, the Department of Education said on Monday. A settlement agreement for wage increases has been fulfilled by the department, said spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele.
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/ 4 December 2006
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The most influential provincial leadership of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) has voted in favour of President Thabo Mbeki remaining head of the ruling party next year, a potential blow to his former deputy, Jacob Zuma. Political analysts said the resolution signalled the start of the fiercest contest for the leadership of the ANC in its 94-year history.
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/ 4 December 2006
"This thing [the taxi recapitalisation programme] is going to kill our businesses once and for all. Where will we get customers if all taxis are new and are serviced in town?" asks mechanic and Soweto taxi owner Edward Singo. Singo is one of Gauteng’s vehicle mechanics in the informal minibus taxi support industry who is worried about the government’s taxi recapitalisation programme.
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/ 1 December 2006
The Cabinet should take the 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal away from Cape Town if residents go to court to block the proposed Green Point Stadium development, politicians overseeing sport have recommended. Earlier this week, mayor Helen Zille had warned that the city could lose the semifinal to Johannesburg.
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/ 30 November 2006
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Less than half of South Africa’s 15-year olds will live long enough to collect a pension, according to an actuarial report on the Aids epidemic released on Thursday. Fifteen-year-olds now have a 56% chance of dying before turning 60. In 1996 youngsters of the same age only had a 29% chance of not making their 60th birthday.
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/ 30 November 2006
The Automobile Association (AA) will not support the proposed Western Cape fuel levy, the organisation said on Thursday. ”The Automobile Association is perturbed that the proposed Western Cape provincial fuel levy has been approved in principal by the National Treasury,” the AA said in statement.
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/ 30 November 2006
The City of Cape Town says it is still waiting for a decision from the National Treasury on whether it will underwrite ”risk factors” attached to the construction of the Green Point Stadium, proposed venue for a 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal. These factors include excessive construction-cost inflation and foreign-exchange rate fluctuations.
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/ 29 November 2006
Police were still on the site of an old hotel in the Strand where explosives and ammunition were seized, said Western Cape police on Wednesday. ”They are still on the scene. They are still searching …,” said Inspector Bernadine Steyn. ”Several civil commercial explosives as well as ammunition were found stored in boxes,” said Steyn.
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/ 29 November 2006
The African National Congress could lose control of the Beaufort West municipality because of the resignation of councillor Truman Prince, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday. His departure paved the way for a coalition between the Independent Civic Organisation of SA, the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Democrats.