Winter will not be exceptionally cold, it will just be normal, Weather South Africa said on Monday. ”According to our models the temperatures will be normal for this time of year,” meteorologist Selebaleng Gaebee said. Last winter was exceptionally warm, which may explain why people feel the current cold weather more intensely.
South African power utility Eskom on Monday announced that unit one at the Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape had started delivering electricity to the national network again. The unit, which had been out of service since November 2005, returned to service last Wednesday, Eskom said.
Official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon took to the streets of Mitchells Plain on Monday, where his party is fighting a key by-election against Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats in the coloured working-class district of Tafelsig. He argued that voters were being given a chance to vote against De Lille’s flirtation with the African National Congress ”reign of ruin”.
The icy weather experienced over the country was set to continue until about Thursday when the days will become slightly warmer, the South African Weather Service said on Sunday. Forecaster Ezekiel Sebego said another cold front would move in over the Western Cape on Monday night, bringing with it rain for that area, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Bitterly cold weather around the country is likely to result in snow on higher ground, hail and sleet in the interior and rough seas in the Cape, meteorologists said on Friday. The National Forecasting Centre said the central and eastern parts of the country are being invaded by very cold weather.
Metrorail has called on the South African Police Service to intensify police security on its trains, in response to continuing security strike-linked violence.
As many as 18 people have been killed on Metrorail trains since the strike began, said Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni.
Thousands of workers heeded a call by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to down tools on Thursday in protest against South Africa’s high levels of unemployment and poverty. The mining and car-manufacturing industries appeared to be hardest hit.
Two buses were set on fire by a mob and about eight others damaged by stone throwing in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha before dawn on Thursday as the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ national strike got under way. Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesperson Vuyisile Mdoda said the incidents were reported to the company at 6am.
Most sectors of the economy are expected to be hit by a stayaway on Thursday in support of the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ jobs and poverty campaign. The one-day strike will take place countrywide, the union federation said on Wednesday.
The security guard strike is likely to carry on for ”a helluva long time” if employers are not willing to talk, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Wednesday. ”We urge all employer associations in the strongest terms to commence negotiating with immediate effect by responding with counter-proposals,” said Satawu general secretary Randall Howard.
Unit one at Koeberg power station in the Western Cape was successfully returned to service on Wednesday after being out of commission for the past five months for repairs. The generator was damaged in December 2005, resulting in both the rotor and stator requiring repair.
The chairperson of the South African Trade and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) in the Western Cape has apologised for the violent rampage through Cape Town by striking guards on Tuesday. Jerome Fortune said Satawu members would probably lay charges of assault against police.
Talks aimed at resolving the violent strike by security guards deadlocked again on Tuesday, when employers and the guards’ negotiators could not agree on certain terms. Meanwhile, police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse striking guards who went on the rampage in central Cape Town.
A driver of a minibus taxi was killed in Cape Town on Tuesday morning, the city’s fourth taxi-related shooting this week, Western Cape police said. This incident followed three other shootings in Cape Town between Monday and Tuesday afternoon, which left four people wounded.
Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse striking security guards who went on the rampage in central Cape Town and outside Parliament on Tuesday. Several injuries were reported and dozens of shop windows were broken, goods looted and cars trashed as about 5 000 strikers made their way to Parliament.
Six people were arrested in the Western Cape for their involvement in internet child pornography and possession of images, police said on Monday. Captain Elliot Sinyangana said the men were arrested as a result of an intensive police investigation which started in October last year.
Helen Zille (”The ANC is trying to destroy us,” April 28) wants to create the impression that the Cape Town administration is running smoothly, that there are no hindrances to service delivery and that, if there are problems, the African National Congress is to blame.
Many commentators reminded us on Monday afternoon, and well into the evening, that we would have to accept the judgement in the Jacob Zuma case. It is not as if we have much choice. The judgement is a fact. After what Zuma had said about how women ask for sex and rape in their manner of dress, after his ugly and convenient use of culture against African women and after he had set public discourse on HIV/Aids back a decade, there were ululations in some streets.
Violent attacks by South Africans against foreigners in Plettenberg Bay emanated from a march that took place on Tuesday, Western Cape police said on Friday. ”According to the information police received, individuals in the community demonstrated their dissatisfaction regarding foreigners taking job opportunities from them,” said Captain Malcolm Pojie.
The repairs on Unit One at the Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape were on schedule for completion in the third week of May and refuelling of Unit Two was to commence in the fourth week of May, Eskom said on Friday. This follows huge blackouts related to problems at the power supplier since November.
Mittal Steel South Africa reported headline earnings for the quarter ended March 31 of R684-million — a 21% decline on the previous quarter. The company — formerly Iscor — said this was 57% down on the same period last year. Headline earnings a share for the quarter were 153, down from 195 cents in the previous quarter.
Gases and welding products group African Oxygen (Afrox) is to invest approximately R350-millionin several major new gas production facilities around South Africa during the year. Craig Falconer, Afrox’s general manager process gas solutions, says this expenditure results from increased demand from the company’s existing customer base as well as by new business wins.
The Western Cape may experience rolling blackouts from next month when electricity consumption peaks with the onset of winter, the Cape Times reported on Wednesday. Its website said Eskom warned consumers on Tuesday that the province was at present avoiding load-shedding blackouts ”by the skin of its teeth”.
Two homeopaths holding top positions in the organisation that regulates the conduct of all South African homeopaths are being investigated for apparent fraudulent qualifications. This is the latest scandal to hit the Allied Health Professionals Council of South Africa, a government-established statutory body.
Some of the boldest criticism of the government came from black intellectuals sympathetic to the ruling party, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Tuesday. Speaking to commemorate the public service and parliamentary career of Helen Suzman, he said on the other hand watchdog institutions, including universities and the business community were no longer outspoken.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will discuss the violence-prone security guards’ strike, including the disruption of May Day activities in Cape Town, at a central executive meeting on Wednesday. ”There is no place for violence,” said Tony Ehrenreich, Cosatu’s Western Cape secretary.
The nine provinces spent on average 98% or R214,8-billion of their adjusted budgets of R219,2-billion in 2005/06, the National Treasury said on Tuesday. This was a significant spending increase year-on-year of 13,5% or R25,5-billion over the audited R189,2-billion spent in 2004/05.
President Thabo Mbeki was silent on the topic of HIV/Aids on Monday though it was highlighted by his co-speakers at a Workers’ Day rally as a key challenge facing workers today. Meanwhile, trade unions should be held responsible for ”unlawful and criminal actions” of their members, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Monday.
Between a dithering African National Congress and a blustering Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille, social cohesion in Cape Town is a distant dream, writes Richard Calland. The incident last Saturday when Zille was chased away from a meeting in Crossroads has provided a serious distraction.
The transfer of an anti-corruption unit detective to another branch has caused a major hiccup in a Cape Town Magistrate’s Court case involving two police officials and six police reservists facing charges of theft and corruption. The prosecution was unable to explain why the case has not been referred to the Western Cape directorate for public prosecutions.
Hundreds of people arrived at the Galeshewe Stadium in Kimberley to attend national Freedom Day celebrations and hear President Thabo Mbeki speak on Thursday. Meanwhile, the ruling party’s behaviour in the Western Cape is a ”direct assault” on the Constitution and its freedoms, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said.
Cape Town’s mayoral committee has given a thumbs-up to the proposed Darling Wind Farm — a R70-million national pilot project funded jointly by the Danish Development Aid, the Department of Minerals and Energy and the Darling Independent Power Producing Company.