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South Africa
Animal
Rights
Two
held for pit-bull attack on baboon - 22 July
Two men have been arrested and face charges of animal cruelty for
allegedly allowing their two pit-bull dogs to attack a 20-year-old
baboon in full view of dozens of onlookers in Kommetjie. The male
baboon, named Eric and probably the best-known of all the
Peninsula's 400-odd baboons, is in a serious condition with wounds
to his neck and the lower part of his body. It is alleged
that before the men let their dogs off their leashes, they goaded
them, telling the dogs to "get him, get him". Eric was
the leader of the Kommetjie baboon troop for many years until he
was ousted by a younger, stronger male. "There are quite a
few eyewitnesses and they have provided us with affidavits,"
Dalton Gibbs of the City of Cape Town's nature conservation
department said. - IOL
website
Will
Eric recovery after vicious attack? - 24 July
The condition of Eric, the "gentleman" baboon who was
attacked by two pit-bull dogs in Kommetjie earlier this week, is
unchanged and he remains in a serious condition. - IOL
website
See
also : Kwazulu-Natal High
Court : Pietermaritzburg
Black
Economic Empowerment
KwaZulu-Natal's
BEE ombudsman to tackle fronting - 24 July
Ror those businesses that think they can fudge empowerment, KZN
Economic Development and Tourism MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu warned
"our government will leave no stone unturned in exposing
acts of fronting" under the pretext of broad-based black
economic empowerment (BEE). The province previously announced
its intention to appoint an ombudsman to deal with broad-based
BEE. Without supporting legislation, the role of the ombudsman,
it seems, would be limited to an investigator. Nevertheless, the
office will still be set up ahead of the legislation and until a
legal framework is in place any action would be referred to the
relevant agency. - Business
Report website
Broadcasting
Complaints Commission
Sizzlers
broadcast appeal starts - 23 July
A Broadcasting Complaints Commission tribunal was meeting in the
city on Thursday to hear how a programme on e.tv's 3rd Degree
about the Sizzlers massacre horrified the families of the young
men killed in the attack. In the documentary, broadcast in March,
the channel aired crime scene footage of the murders, which took
place in a gay massage parlour, during a 3rd Degree
programme broadcast. Marlene Visser, whose son Warren was among
the victims, complained to the commission that the documentary had
been too graphic. - IOL
website
Civil
Unrest
Protesting
minority cause majority despair and fear - 23 July
Protests over service delivery are breaking out anew every day.
Last week it was Diepsloot, this week the protests have hit
Balfour in Mpumalanga and Thokoza in Gauteng. Most alarming has
been new evidence of xenophobic violence in the Balfour
protests. - The
Times website
State
will not tolerate violent protests - 23 July
South Africa's government will crack down on violent protests
which erupted this week over delivery of basic services, a
cabinet minister said on Thursday. "We are not going to
allow anybody (to) use illegal means to achieve their
objectives. We are saying this is a government that has been
elected democratically, anything that is done must be done
within the law and the constitution," Cooperative
Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka said on Talk Radio 702. - IOL
website
Keyphrases :
Siyathemba
Government
probes protests - 24 July
As violent service delivery protests continued to rock parts
of South Africa on Thursday, the government released the first
findings of a probe into such action. "[A] lack of
responsiveness to issues raised by communities," was one
of the findings in a preliminary report into the cause of
recent protests in Mpumulanga, which was released on Thursday.
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister
Sicelo Shiceka sent a task team to compile the report on the
province last week, which had seen violent and xenophobic
protests. - iafrica
website
Criminal
elements 'fuel Gauteng protests' - 23 July
Community concerns over service delivery were being hijacked
by "criminal elements", fuelling the protests in
Gauteng, the provincial government said on Thursday. "The
executive noted that protests in Gauteng were limited to a few
isolated areas, that they were instigated by interest groups
and that the reasons for them varied depending on the area. -
Mail & Guardian website
24
July 2009
Ministerial
task team on service delivery protests in Mpumalanga presents
preliminary report
SA
Government Information website
Balfour
protesters in dock - 24 July
A group of protesters facing public violence charges was
released on free bail in the Balfour Magistrate's Court on
Friday, Mpumalanga police said. - IOL
website
Zuma
vows help for SA townships - 24 July
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has promised to deliver
better services, such as water and housing, in a bid to end
township protests this month. But he warned that there could
be no justification for violence. Mr Zuma also urged
understanding from council and other workers threatening to
strike for higher wages. - BBC
News website
Looting
sprees to continue - 23 July
Protesters behind the looting of two Durban supermarkets have
pledged to continue targeting food retailers to highlight their
hunger and desperation. One of the supermarkets has announced,
in the wake of surprise invasions on Wednesday which saw 94
people arrested, that it would pursue prosecutions in each and
every case. - IOL
website
Looting
of shops 'tip of the iceberg' - 23 July
The leader of a group of unemployed people said the looting
that occurred in Shoprite and Pick n Pay stores in Durban was
only the beginning, adding that more stores would be targeted.
- IOL
website
Journos
barred from looting case - 23 July
Reporters were on Thursday barred from attending the case of
90 people arrested for looting shops in Durban. The first
appearance of SA Unemployed People's Movement members was held
in the basement of the Durban Magistrate's Court. The
movement's spokeswoman Nozipho Mteshane said members of her
organisation would ask for free bail and deny the charge of
theft, stemming from Wednesday's spree that took in Shoprite
Checkers and Pick n Pay outlets. "We were not stealing.
We were just demonstrating. Taking food from the shops was a
way of showing government that unemployed people are hungry.
We will make sure that the soccer world cup is spoiled if our
demands are not met". - IOL
website
Ninety
released after Durban looting - 23 July
Ninety people arrested for looting shops in Durban were
released on warning by the Durban Magistrate’s Court today.
They will appear in court again on August 28. The matter was
postponed to give investigators enough time to investigate
further. - The
Times website
Basic
income grant 'not affordable' - 23 July
KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize shrugged off suggestions of
introducing a basic income grant, saying this would bankrupt
government as it did not have available funds. "It is not
affordable, it's is not something that we are considering
implementing as it would bankrupt government", he told
media in Pietermaritzburg today, following a looting spree in
Durban yesterday. Ninety people from the SA Unemployed People's
Movement were arrested for looting Shoprite Checkers and Pick
n Pay outlets. Mkhize slammed the protesters' actions as
inconsistent with democratic practices. Instead, he listed
activities in which income could be generated, including
engaging in small business activities. - The
Times website
Communications
De
Lille wants interconnection law - 23 July
Independent Democrats party leader Patricia de Lille plans to
propose a private members Bill in Parliament to resolve the
interconnection issue that she claims has led to the high cost of
mobile phone calls. A private members Bill is a draft law proposed
by a member of Parliament who is not part of the governing party.
Apart from being her party's leader, De Lille is also a member of
the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, the body
that has legislative oversight of the Department of Communications
and the sector. - ITWeb
website
Competition
chief 'shares De Lille's concerns' - 23 July
Shan Ramburuth, the Competition Commissioner, has told Patricia de
Lille, the leader of the Independent Democrats (ID), that he
shares her concern over the high costs of telecommunications, and
has forwarded her complaint about cellphone charges to his
enforcement division. - Mail
& Guardian website
Auditors
swoop on SABC - 22 July
A squad of state auditors moved into SABC headquarters at Auckland
Park on Tuesday, launching an official forensic probe into the
financial chaos at the public broadcaster amid allegations that
senior executives misspent hundreds of millions of rands. The
four-member team will be stationed at Auckland Park for four weeks
and will work closely with audit firm KPMG. - IOL
website
SABC
: the wrong people for the job - 18 July
The CEO of the SABC has to combine business expertise and public
service with some knowledge of the news media. One bad appointment
after another led to the broadcaster’s decline and fall, writes
Govin Reddy. - The Times
website
Company Law
Risks
trump rewards for non-executive directors - 21 July
There may be a public perception that there is significant
status involved in being appointed a director of a company.
However, changes to various statutes over the past number of
years have made the role of director an increasingly onerous one
and it is becoming questionable whether individuals will in
future be prepared to accept an appointment, particularly as a
non-executive director. - Business
Report website
Keyphrases :
Companies Act of 1973
Companies Act of 2008
Competition Act
Dave King
Gary Porritt
Jeff Levenstein
King III
National Environmental Management Act
Regal Treasury Bank
Tigon
Value-Added Tax Act
Correctional
Services
SA
prisons are festering, experts warn - 24 July
Experts have warned that the country's prisons are a ticking
time-bomb and have urged the government to move swiftly to address
the problem of overcrowding. A senior judge, a civil society group
and a trade union said on Thursday no coherent strategy existed to
tackle a problem that has been festering for years. - IOL
website
Criminal
Justice System
Resource
directory now available for victims of crime - 22 July
A resource directory, which contains the information of more than
1 500 organisations and government services in all nine provinces,
is now available to help victims of crime and violence. The
directory can be used as a quick resource to access specialised
services for victims, court preparation and support, protection
and investigation services, social services centres as well as
shelters and crisis centres. It can be accessed at the national
department of Social Development as well as at all
non-governmental organisations working with the department. The
directory will be made available to provincial social development
offices soon. - BuaNews
Online website
Environment
Environmental
Affairs to propose basic refuse removal policy - 22 July
The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs will develop a
framework for a Basic Refuse Removal Policy aimed at assisting
communities that could not afford waste removal services. Speaking
at the local government indaba on environment, Water and
Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said that her
department intended to take the policy to Cabinet for approval
before the end of the year. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Mining
threat to city beaches - 21 July
Scientists have warned that some of Durban's main tourist beaches
are in danger of being washed away gradually because of rampant
river sand-mining operations that supply the construction
industry. Researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) say the problem is so serious that they recommend
all sand-mining operations in Durban's rivers and estuaries should
be banned "as soon as practicable" to avoid future beach
erosion on the same scale as the March 2007 storm which devastated
large sections of the coastline. - IOL
website
Health
Motlanthe's
address puts back in international HIV/Aids fold - 20
July
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe took a massive stride last
night (19 May) towards re-establishing the South African
government's credibility in the eyes of the world's AIDS
scientists at the opening of the 5th International AIDS Society
Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS
2009). Motlanthe's speech was stripped of any of the denialist
science that the South African government had become notorious for
since the previous large-scale AIDS science meeting in Durban nine
years ago, where then President Thabo Mbeki and his health
minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang cast doubts over the relevance
of established mainstream HIV/AIDS science. - allAfrica
website
21
July 2009
Address
by the Deputy President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, at the
fifth International AIDS Society Conference
eGov
Monitor website
Human
Rights
Parktown
Boys' case put on hold
- 20 July
The assault case involving 12 Parktown Boys High School pupils was
postponed to August so the ages of the accused could be verified,
a Johannesburg Magistrate's Court official said on Monday. - IOL
website
Statement
regarding the report published in The Star
- 14 July
St Benedict's website
See
also :
'Pushed,
teased, hit, raped' at school - 16 July
IOL
website
[InfoUpdate
15 of 2009]
South
African rites - 16 July
Earlier this year, I went to the Edenvale Home Affairs
office, on a strip of auto-repair shops and scrap yards northeast
of Johannesburg, to book my marriage. "Same sex or opposite
sex?" barked the young black woman, gold hoops in her ears to
match her attitude. It took me a moment to respond. "Same
sex", I said, a little too loudly, looking around to see if
any of the other clerks would look up in shock, or perhaps just
interest. We could have done it more easily - through a gay judge
I know, for example - but I wanted to see the system work for us -
New York
Times website
Judicial
Service Commission, and, Judiciary
Who
will be our next Chief Justice? - 24 July
In the near future President Jacob Zuma will probably appoint
Justice Sandile Ngcobo as our new Chief Justice. I have a high
regard for Justice Ngcobo. Whether one agrees with him or not,
his dissenting judgment in the Prince case (dealing with the
religious freedom of a Rastafarian to use cannabis) is a work of
great beauty. And every time I read the Hoffmann judgment,
in which Justice Ngcobo declared that it constituted unfair
discrimination on the part of South African Airways to
discriminate against Mr Hoffmann on the basis of his HIV status,
I feel proud to be a South African. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
Ngcobo's
dissenting voice won't go unheard - 24 July
When the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered a majority judgment
legalising the warrants issued for the search of President
Jacob Zuma's premises in his long-running battles with the
prosecuting authority, it was left to the Constitutional Court
to settle the matter once and for all. The highest court
- on the heels of the controversy surrounding alleged attempts
by Cape Judge President John Hlophe to influence their
decision - delivered a majority judgment against Zuma. The
only dissenting voice was that of Judge Sandile Ngcobo, who
found that the search warrants obtained by the NPA for the
premises of Zuma's lawyers should not have been rendered
legal. At least one prominent legal academic suggested
Ngcobo might have dissented to position himself as an
alternative to Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke when the
time came for Zuma to choose a successor to Chief Justice Pius
Langa. - Mail &
Guardian website
More
women now aiming to be judges - 21 July
New trends among lawyers seeking to become judges emerged at
yesterday’s Judicial Service Commission interviews for
appointments to the North and South Gauteng High Courts. An
unprecedented number of women candidates were interviewed, but
there was a paucity of advocates from the Pretoria and
Johannesburg bars. In yesterday's interviews, seven of the 11
candidates were women. Only three of the candidates were
advocates. - Business
Day website
Keyphrases :
Advocate Brian Spilg
Caroline Nicholls
Advocate Hendrik de Vos
Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi
Advocate Ronel Tolmay
JSC
grills 10 legal eagles - 20 July
There were no holds barred when the Judicial Service Commission
interviewed 10 aspirant Gauteng judges yesterday. Allegations of
racism and sexism in the legal system were made by those
interviewed. And the candidates were grilled on everything from
physical disabilities to their political affiliation. There is a
total of six vacancies at the high courts of North Gauteng, in
Pretoria, and of South Gauteng, in Johannesburg. - The
Times website
Keyphrases :
Advocate Brian Spilg
Caroline Nicholls
Haseena Mayat
Advocate Hennie de Vos
Nomonde Mngqibisa
A
tale of two interviews at the JSC - 21 July
When a candidate is interviewed by the Judicial Services
Commission (JSC) - either for a promotion or for first time
appointment on the bench - he or she must expect to field
difficult questions from commissioners. But when do the
questioners overstep the line by asking unfair questions not in
keeping with the spirit of the process or of the Constitution? -
Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking website
Keyphrases :
Judge Frans Malan
Advocate Hennie de Vos
'There
is no God' - 21 July
An Eastern Cape candidate judge has caused a stir before the
Judicial Services Commission - by telling members he left
priesthood for the law because he concluded there is no God.
Senior Counsel Torquil Paterson told the JSC : "I left the
church for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that I
realised God does not exist. I am an atheist". Earlier it
was put to Paterson by Eastern Cape Judge President Cecil
Somyalo that he had sought to end the career of a lawyer because
he was black. He denied the charge with little visible effect
and finally found succour from JSC spokesman, advocate Marumo
Moerane, who told fellow members the lawyer in question had in
fact stolen money form various people "including
myself". Transformation has been a recurring theme as the
JSC interviews candidates in Cape Town over three days to fill
14 positions on the Bench. - Sowetan
website
Strong
words as JSC interviews for positions of judges are concluded
- 22 July
Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviews for the appointment
of judges ended yesterday with transformation of the bench once
again taking centre stage. The interviews for the Eastern Cape
High Court saw a heated exchange between newly appointed
commissioner Dumisa Ntsebeza and advocate Torquil Paterson, with
Ntsebeza accusing Paterson of having a "paternalistic and
patronising" attitude. Asked why senior advocates seemed
reluctant to apply for judicial appointment, he said there was
reluctance on the part of white people "because of the
reaction I've had here this morning. They don't want to put
themselves through it". - Business
Day website
Keyphrases :
Advocate Ashley Binns-Ward
Advocate Patric Gamble
More
grilling of JSC candidates - 22 July
The Judicial Service Commission continued its grilling of
candidates for positions on the judiciary, which included more
quirky question-and-answer sessions in Cape Town yesterday. - The
Times website
Keyphrases
:
Advocate Ashley Binns-Ward
Advocate Torquil Paterson
Elizabeth Baartman
JSC
ends judges selection process - 23 July
As calls mount for South Africa's Judicial Services Commission
to hold its investigation into the alleged conduct of Western
Cape Judge President John Hlophe in public, others are also
calling for the commission to ensure that interviews for
prospective judges are made easily accessible to the public. The
JSC has just ended its selection process for those who want to
become judges. - SABC News
website
21
July 2009
Response to article of the
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) threatening acting
employees
SA Government Information website
Keyphrase :
Nomonde Mngqibisa
See
also :
Candidate
judge tells of NPA 'pressure' - 20 July
The
Times website
[InfoUpdate 15
of 2009]
Judge
Hlophe
Hlophe
to get closed JSC inquiry - 21 July
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has opted for a closed
inquiry into the dispute between Western Cape Judge President
John Hlophe and the Constitutional Court judges, Business Day
reported on Tuesday. The commission will conduct a
"preliminary investigation" rather than a formal open
hearing on the dispute as previously decided. - IOL
website
'No
justifiable basis' for hearing Hlophe in private
- 21 July
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been warned that
proceeding with their proposed "preliminary
investigation" into Western Cape Judge President John
Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court behind
closed doors is in breach of a court order issued in April
by the South Gauteng High court. This warning is contained
in a letter sent to the JSC from lawyers representing the Mail
& Guardian, Avusa and Independent
Newspapers, after reports that the statutory body
intended excluding the media from a hearing set to begin on
Wednesday. - Mail &
Guardian website
New-look
JSC halts Hlophe inquiry - 22 July
The Judicial Service Commission has cancelled its closed
preliminary investigation on the dispute between Judge John
Hlophe and judges of the Constitutional Court just hours
after confirming it had opted for the closed probe instead
of an open inquiry. JSC spokesman Marumo Moerane said
yesterday that the inquiry - due to have started today - was
cancelled late on Monday night at a meeting of the JSC's
complaints committee. Moerane would not say what led to the
cancellation, but said Monday night’s meeting was the
first to include the four new appointments to the JSC made
by President Jacob Zuma at the weekend. - Business
Day website
Pierre
de Vos a disgrace to the academic profession : JFHA
- 20 July
The Justice for Hlophe Alliance is disappointed after reading
the ill informed views and preconceived ideas which were
expressed by the self appointed constitutional expert, one
Prof Pierre de Vos. Although this was to be expected from the
White supremacist that he (de Vos) is who always sees things
in Black and White, we nevertheless still had hopes that he
would one day see things in clear colour and realise that life
is not always about whether one is Black or White. We expected
better from someone of his stature, especially one who is
supposed to be a good example to the up and coming,
particularly the young University kids who look up to him for
guidance, alike in both the White and Black communities. - Politicsweb
website
JSC
meets on Hlophe - 22 July
The Judicial Service Commission met behind closed doors on
Wednesday to discuss how to proceed with its probe into the
dispute between Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and
Constitutional Court judges. The JSC cancelled its planned
closed preliminary hearing into the matter earlier this week.
- IOL
website
JSC
forms committee to probe Hlophe allegations - 22
July
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Wednesday appointed a
three-member subcommittee to investigate if there is enough
evidence to proceed with a full hearing into the dispute
between Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and
Constitutional Court judges. The subcommittee will be made up
of Marumo Moerane, Judge Ishmael Semenya and Judge President
Bernard Ngoepe, who will chair the group. - Mail
& Guardian website
Closed
Hlophe hearings cause for concern - 23 July
Lawyers for South Africa's major media groups and the Freedom
of Expression Institute will demand that the inquiry into the
complaint against Cape Judge President John Hlophe be open to
the public. A court has ordered that the hearings take place
in public, but the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday
said a subcommittee would first investigate - behind closed
doors - whether to proceed with a full hearing. - IOL
website
Hlophe
gets set to return - 21 July
High court staff are preparing for the return next week of
Cape Judge President John Hlophe, who has been on voluntary
leave pending Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearings into
his alleged attempts to improperly influence Constitutional
Court judges. It is understood that he is not yet on the roll
to hear cases, which means he will not be on the bench in the
near future. He will, however, have a fairly heavy
administrative load. - IOL
website
Zuma
has final say on Hlophe - 21 July
A Judicial Service Commission request to President Jacob Zuma
that Cape Judge President John Hlophe be suspended pending an
inquiry into gross misconduct would be the only legal
roadblock to the judge's return to work. Judge Hlophe has
written to Justice Minister Jeff Radebe to inform him that he
will be back in the office at the end of the month, when court
recess ends. - IOL
website
Why
Hlophe will be back on the bench - 23 July
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe will be back at work
on Monday despite the concerns about his integrity. Hlophe,
who is accused of having tried to influence two Constitutional
Court judges on cases relating to President Jacob Zuma, has
made it clear to Justice Minister Jeff Radebe that he will be
back in his office on July 27. Legal experts say there is
nothing the minister can do to stop him. - The
Times website
Hlophe
will stay at home says minister - 24 July
The office of Justice Minister Jeff Radebe's office has
confirmed to Eyewitness News Western Cape Judge President John
Hlophe will not return to work until the Judicial Service
Commission (JSC) finalises its hearings. - Eye
Witness News website
Hlophe
to stay on leave until hearing - 24 July
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe will not return to
work until the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) finalises its
hearings, justice ministry spokesman Tlali Tlali said on
Friday. - IOL website
KwaZulu-Natal
Bank
stops 'related party' loans - 24 July
KwaZulu-Natal's embattled Ithala Bank - under fire for alleged
irregular loans to the province’s political elite - has
stopped issuing "related party" loans while its
lending procedures are being revamped by its new political
bosses. Provincial economic development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu,
under whom Ithala now falls, said in his budget speech in
Pietermaritzburg yesterday that legislation would be tabled and
enacted before the end of the year to regulate loans to "entities
or individuals related to some who are in positions of power and
may have direct or indirect influence within the institution".
-The
Times website
Labour
Issues
Counting
the long-term costs of inflexible labour - 23 July
Wage demands have been submitted and strikes are being threatened
in the gold, platinum, petroleum, paper and chemicals sectors. But,
wait, that's not all. The public sector doctors have been
seen toyi-toying in recent times and workers at the SABC are
poised to down their cameras. Unfortunately, some people at the
trade unions have failed to read the memo pointing out that the
world is in the grips of its worst recession in sixty years. We
are not for one moment saying that workers do not need to be paid
a fair and equitable wage but the costs of aggressive posturing by
trade unions in the current economic climate may be dire and only
be felt in years to come. - Moneyweb
website
South
Africa to grind to a halt - 24 July
South Africans should brace themselves for a tsunami of strikes
amid service delivery protests that will bring life to a
standstill. - Sowetan
website
Keyphrases :
Communication Workers' Union
Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union
South African Municipal Workers' Union
South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union
United Transport and Allied Trade Union
24
July 2009
Zuma
urges speedy resolution of wage negotiations
The
Richmark Sentinel website
Chemical,
Energy, Paper, Printing Wood and Allied Industries
Petroleum
workers sign two-year wage deal - 20 July
Trade union Solidarity and other trade unions in the petroleum
sector of the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical
Industry (NBCCI) have signed a wage agreement over the weekend,
the union reported on Monday. This followed several mediation
sessions continued in the sector in an effort to avert a strike,
which some had earlier expected to lead to fuel disruptions in the
country. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Union's
demand is 'justified' - 22 July
The wage demands made by the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing,
Wood and Allied Workers' Union (Ceppwawu) are
"justified," the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu)
said on Wednesday. "The union is absolutely justified in
their demand that employers reconsider their paltry offer of a
seven percent wage increase and can be assured the solidarity of
all Cosatu's two million members," spokesman Patrick Craven
said in a statement. - IOL
website
Union
briefs chemical workers on wage offer - 23 July
Labour union Ceppwawu was briefing striking pharmaceutical workers
on Thursday morning on the latest wage offer made by their
employers, a spokesman said. - IOL
website
S
Africa chemicals sector raises wage offer - 24 July
South Africa's main chemical sector union said on Friday industry
employers had raised their wage hike offer to 9 percent from 7
percent, which remains below the union's demand of at least a 10
percent rise. - Reuters
website
Mining
SA
miners in final talks, strikes pressure Zuma - 21 July
South African unions representing gold miners met with employers
for final wage talks on Tuesday, saying a strike was "highly
likely" if they fail to reach a deal and piling pressure on
President Jacob Zuma. - Mail &
Guardian website
SA
coal-miners make improved wage offer : unions - 21 July
South African coal companies had made an increased wage offer on
Monday, labour unions Solidarity and the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) confirmed on Tuesday. - Creamer
Media's Mining Weekly website
New
wage offers to mull over - 22 July
Gold employers affiliated to the Chamber of Mines raised their
wage offers from the initial 6.5 percent, 8 percent and 9 percent
to between 9 and 10.5 percent, said the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) on Tuesday. Collieries have offered a 9 percent
rise for higher categories and an 11 percent for lower categories.
- Business Report website
Chamber
of Mines tables final wage offer - 22 July
The Chamber of Mines has tabled a final wage offer for coal
miners, it said on Wednesday. A nine percent offer was made by
Anglo Coal, Xstrata, Exxaro, Delmas Coal and Kangra to increase
the salaries of miners, artisans and officials. For all other
employees, a 10% offer was tabled, except for entry-level salaries
which would be increased to R3 713 a month. - Mail
& Guardian website
Municipal
Workers
Salga
calls for return to salary talks - 20 July
The SA Local Government Association is concerned at the lack of
an agreement in municipal salary negotiations, it said on
Monday. "It is regrettable that a settlement has not been
reached yet, despite several attempts made since 30 March to
reach an amicable agreement," Salga chief executive officer
Xolile George said in a statement. - IOL
website
Samwu
se 'onrealistiese eise' laat loononderhandelings misluk - 15
July
Die
Suid-Afrikaanse Vereniging van Plaaslike Owerhede (Salga) sê
die vakbond Samwu se "onbekostigbare eise" is die rede
dat loononderhandelings vir munisipale werkers misluk het. Die
munisipale vakbonde Samwu en Imatu het eergister bekend gemaak
munisipaliteite moet hulle staal vir 'n onbepaalde landwye
staking wat Maandag begin. Die vakbonde verteenwoordig rofweg
90% van die werknemers op plaaslike regeringsvlak. Salga se hy
was hoopvol dat 'n voorgestelde 11,5%-verhoging vir die vakbonde
aanvaarbaar sou wees. Imatu was te vinde daarvoor. Salga se hy
was "uit die veld geslaan" toe Samwu verlede week op 'n
"onversoenlike 15%" aangedring het. - Beeld
website
Municipal
strike looming - 21 July
South Africa could have another big strike on its hands.
Services like refuse removal may be severely affected next week
as municipal workers plan on stopping work. Trade union Samwu
says thousands of its members throughout the country will go on
strike on Monday because wage negotiations have deadlocked. The
SA Local Government Association (Salga) has offered a
10.5-percent increase, but Samwu's Jaycee Ncanana says this
isn't good enough. He says they also want housing subsidies and
all vacant posts to be filled. - East
Coast Radio website
Unions
: municipal strike can be averted - 21 July
The municipal strike scheduled to start on Monday can be averted
if the employer makes a decent offer, trade unions said.
"We will call off the strike if the employer meets our
demands before Monday. If they do not put a good offer,
thousands of our members will down tools on Monday," South
African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) president Petrus
Mashishi said on Tuesday after salary negotiations deadlocked. -
IOL website
Huge
municipal services strike looms - 23 July
Residents face huge disruptions in municipal services from
Monday as more than 190 000 municipal workers countrywide are
expected to begin an indefinite strike over wages. About 21 000
members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and
a further estimated 7 000 Independent Municipal and Allied Trade
Union (Imatu) in Gauteng are in dispute and plan to strike,
spokesmen for the organisations said on Wednesday. - IOL
website
South
African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
SABC
faces strike action - 23 July
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned the SABC on
Thursday that its members would embark on a second phase of
strike action. "The CWU national working committee meeting
that will be held on the 24th July 2009, will among others
discuss a more effective strike action program against the
SABC," the union said in a statement. It repeated that it
was not prepared to accept "anything less than the 12,2
percent salary increment as agreed upon by parties". - IOL
website
Telkom
Communications
union to embark on strike - 22 July
The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) may embark on mass action
next week after "substantive" negotiations failed with
Telkom. Union members said on Wednesday there was unhappiness over
wages, the threat of possible job losses through restructuring,
and poor administration. - IOL
website
Transport
Metrorail
workers to strike - 23 July
Deadlocked negotiations could lead to the shut-down of commuter
rail operations, the trade unions representing 10 000 workers in
the sector warned on Wednesday. United Transport and Allied Trade
Union (Utatu) and South African Transport and Allied Workers'
Union (Satawu) members at Metrorail plan to down tools on Monday.
In a joint statement, they said Metrorail will be served with a
strike notice on Friday. - IOL
website
Land
Affairs and Property
Land
Claims and Expropriation
22
July 2009
Restitution
process in provinces
SA
Government Information website
Land
Commission exhausts budget - 22 July
The Land Claims Commission has exhausted its entire R1.3 billion
budget allocated for claims, eight months before the end of the
2008/09 financial year. - East
Coast Radio website
Kruger
headache returns - 21 July
The government is at sixes and sevens over whether land in the
Kruger Park should be returned to land claimants, a parliamentary
briefing highlighted recently. This follows the angry response of
many communities that have lodged claims in response to Cabinet's
decision in December last year to offer them money or alternative
land. The announcement created the impression that the final
chapter had been written in the protracted saga of land claims in
South Africa's premier nature reserve. - Mail
& Guardian website
Kruger
Park land claims may set state back R20bn - 23 July
The government is likely to pay as much as R20 billion to settle
just 30 land claims for 400 000 hectares of Kruger National Park
land situated in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Blessing Mphela, the
chief land claims commissioner, described this amount as a
conservative estimate, though it is the equivalent that the
commission spent on settling 75 400 claims over 10 years. - Business
Report website
Local
Government
Local
authorities struggling with Grap - 21 July
While companies in the private sector have moved quickly to
convert their financial systems to comply with international
financial reporting standards, the public sector has not had it so
easy. George Higgins, associate director for public sector
accounts at Ernst & Young, said yesterday local authorities
were struggling to move across to the new standardised accounting
model, the Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (Grap). - allAfrica
website
See
also : Address
by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional
Affairs, Honourable Sicelo Shiceka, on the launch of the 2014
Clean Audit Project
Media
Mooted
sale of INM Outdoor not enough for Independent - 22
July
Just two days before Friday's deadline for the debt standstill
at the Independent News & Media Group, which publishes Business
Report, unconfirmed reports indicate that a Brazilian
company has offered the Dublin-based group €100 million (R1.1
billion) for INM Outdoor, the outdoor advertising company that
operates in 13 African countries. The Friday deadline for
repayment of a €200m bond is the second deadline that has been
granted by bondholders who were initially due to be repaid on
May 18 this year. INM Outdoor and two other non-core
operations, one based in Germany and one in India, were the only
assets up for sale. The list of parties that are speculated
to be interested in acquiring part or all of the local media
assets includes Moeletsi Mbeki, the Mvelaphanda Group, which
owns 25 percent of Avusa, Media 24 and, most recently, a
consortium of black businessmen with trade union participation.
- Business Report website
What
does the future hold for IOL? - 14 July
One has to wonder what will happen to IOL if the
newspapers of the Independent group are sold off separately,
which is looking increasingly likely as the Irish parent
company, Independent News & Media, has asked Deloitte to
be on standby as the administrator in the event that the firm
fails to restructure its debt. It is unlikely that the SA
operation will be snapped up in its entirety as it will come
with a hefty price tag and the Competition Commission would be
unlikely to approve an existing media player buying the whole
shebang. There will, however, be much interest from Caxton,
Media24 and particularly Avusa, which is hemmed in to Gauteng
and the Eastern Cape, in buying some of the Independent
newspapers that include The Star, Pretoria News,
Cape Times, Cape Argus and Durban's The
Mercury and Daily News. But what will happen to
IOL? - Grubstreet
website
The
fall of the Independent - 20 July
This may well turn out to be a week of consequence for the
South African media as this Friday, July 24, Independent News
& Media, the Irish company that owns a swathe of South
African newspapers, might have to announce bankruptcy. - Moneyweb
website
Minerals
and Energy
South
African nuclear policy praised by international nuclear agency
chief - 20 July
The outgoing director-general of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr Mohammed ElBaradei, has praised South
Africa for making "the right choice" regarding nuclear
power, by scrapping its nuclear weapons and focusing on the
peaceful uses of nuclear technology. He highlighted that South
Africa was the first country to get rid of all its nuclear
weapons. - Creamer
Media's Engineernig News website
Not
nationalisation but Chinafication? - 21 July
Paul Trewhela on a possible outcome of the debate on state control
of the mines. - Moneyweb
website
Municipal
Management and Procedure
Cape
Town
Is
graffiti a public nuisance? - 21 July
The line is being drawn for graffiti artists, who could face fines
of up to R20 000 for defacing property as the City of Cape Town
moves to outlaw the practice. And property owners on the receiving
end of these spraycan artists will have to remove graffiti within
10 days, unless the work is in an approved graffito space. A draft
bylaw that will prohibit graffiti and provide for its removal and
the restoration of affected surfaces has been released for public
response. The comment period runs until August 20. - IOL
website
eThekwini
Anti-apartheid
activists oppose demolition of Indian Market - 20 July
Former anti-apartheid activists here have condemned the moves by
the local authority to demolish a 100-year-old market established
by Indian settlers in South Africa. The activists have asked the
municipality not to demolish the Early Morning Market known as
Indian Market in order to construct a Mall in its place. The
municipality, which is controlled by the ruling ANC, has announced
that the traders, both Indian-origin and local black Africans,
will be shifted to a temporary shelter from the end of July. - The
Times of India website
See
also : KwaZulu-Natal High
Court : Durban
National
Prosecuting Authority
Pikoli
warns against meddling politicians - 21 July
Axed national prosecutions chief Vusi Pikoli has said politicians
should stay away from interfering with decisions to prosecute.
Pikoli told judges and academics at an international law
conference at the University of Cape Town on Monday it was not
desirable to have politicians directly involved in decisions to
prosecute individuals, particularly in high-profile cases. Pikoli
was referring to alleged interference by erstwhile justice
minister Brigitte Mabandla after he had obtained a warrant to
arrest National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi. - IOL
website
Zuma
presses on with successor to Pikoli - 22 July
The Presidency has informed axed National Prosecuting Authority
(NPA) boss Vusi Pikoli that his permanent successor will be
appointed despite Pikoli challenging his dismissal in court.
Pikoli said yesterday he had received notice of the impending
appointment. His lawyer, Aslam Moosajee, said the move would be
opposed. "We will argue that the decision to remove Pikoli
from office may well be set aside", Moosajee of Deneys
Reitz said. - Business
Day website
Court
action to stop a Pikoli successor - 22 July
Court papers are expected to be filed shortly to prevent the
appointment of a permanent successor to axed National
Prosecuting Authority boss Vusi Pikoli, his lawyers said on
Wednesday. Pikoli's attorney Aslam Moosajee said an urgent
application for an interim interdict would be filed in the North
Gauteng High Court "within a few days". - IOL
website
Pikoli
files papers challenging successor - 23 July
Lawyers for axed prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli were filing an
urgent interdict in Pretoria today to prevent the appointment of
his successor, his lawyer said. "Papers have been served on
the state attorney," said Deneys Reitz attorney Aslam
Moosajee. A representative was also "in the corridors"
of the High Court in Pretoria midday today to file the relevant
papers there. If the president intends opposing the application,
answering affidavits could be filed by next Tuesday, and
argument on the interim interdict to prevent the appointment of
new National Director of Public Prosecutions could be heard on
August 4. Presidency acting spokesman Vincent Magwenya said
there was no new information yet on the appointment. - Business
Day website
Pikoli
waits for Zuma's reply in fight for NPA job - 24 July
President Jacob Zuma has until Tuesday to respond to a court
application launched by former National Prosecuting Authority head
Vusi Pikoli, attempting to prevent a permanent prosecutions boss
from being appointed. - Eye
Witness News website
Directorate
for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) (formerly Scorpions)
Imperial
fights with state over interest on R90m car hire bill left by
Scorpions - 24 July
The disbanded Scorpions have left the government with a R90
million car hire bill that has accrued interest since 2005 and
Imperial Holdings is now grappling with the state over the
account in court. Interest accrued in the claim stood at R11.35m
in September 2005 and has risen steadily with the prime rate,
which rose as high as 15 percent in December and is now at 11
percent. The matter was postponed indefinitely by mutual
consent in April 2006. - Business
Report website
Parliament
Notice
of intention to evict two COPE MPs - 22 July
Minister of Public Works Geoff Doidge was granted an order in the
Cape High Court on Tuesday to serve notices on two COPE
parliamentarians living in the Pelican Park parliamentary village
to inform them that he intends evicting them from their homes.
After the court granted the order, Dennis Bloem and Bishop Lekoba
Tolo were served notices by the Wynberg Sheriff's office informing
them that Doidge would go to court next month to get them evicted
from their houses in the complex near Zeekoevlei. The reason they
are to be evicted is that they resigned from the ANC. - IOL
website
South
African Police Service
'Deal
with child killings' - 22 July
A task team from the ministry of police will deliver a report to
Minister Nathi Mthethwa by the end of the year on the relaunch
of disbanded specialised units dealing with child and women
abuse. - IOL
website
Sport
and Recreation
Cricket
squabble leads to legal wrangle - 21 July
A legal battle has ensued between the Cricket South Africa and
the Gauteng Cricket Board. Yesterday afternoon CSA president
Mtutuzeli Nyoka said a dispute has been declared. "The
matter is now in the hands of the lawyers. There is nothing I
can tell you ; the lawyers are dealing with it", said
Nyoka. The situation has led to Gauteng, the country's economic
hub, giving the lucrative end-of-year England cricket tour a
miss. - The
Times website
Wanderers
row worries England - 21 July
English cricket chiefs asked Tuesday for
"clarification" about their tour matches in
Johannesburg which are threatened by a row between
Wanderers-based Gauteng and Cricket South Africa. This September
and October sees South Africa hosting the ICC Champions Trophy
one-day tournament. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief
executive David Collier, has written to Majola, stressing the
need to cater for the many thousands of England supporters who
have already made travel arrangements for the series. - AFP on Google
website
Bacher
asks CSA, GTB to bury hatchet over IPL row - 22 July
Former South Africa captain Ali Bacher on Wednesday asked the
cricket board and its Gauteng unit to resolve the row, arising
out of the second Indian Premier League, before it reaches the
court. - Times of
India website
Gauteng
Cricket wants mediation - 24 July
Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) chairman Barry Skjoldhammer welcomed
the decision by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to appeal to the
sport minister to resolve the dispute between CSA and GCB. - The
Times website
Historic
stadiums to be demolished? - 20 July
2010 Soccer World Cup organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan
suggested that historic rugby stadiums would be demolished in
favour of the newly built World Cup venues. Speaking at the
African Journalism Awards on Friday, Jordaan suggested that
historic stadiums such as Newlands and Absa Stadium have reached
the end of their life spans and would be demolished in the near
future. It's already been decided that the Boet Erasmus Stadium
in Port Elizabeth will be bulldozed. - SA
Rugby website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup
Water
and Environmental Affairs
Inquiry
launched into financial administration of Water Affairs - 21
July
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, has
launched an investigation into the financial administration of her
department. This follows allegations of financial irregularities
and information alleging maladministration and mismanagement in
the department. A statement issued by the department says
Minister Sonjica has given the Director General of Water Affairs,
Pam Yako, special leave to allow for an unfettered process of
investigation. - BuaNews
Online website
Western
Cape
Bombshell
as Spygate tape surfaces - 22 July
The lawyer for former top cop Niel van Heerden and alleged spy
Philip du Toit says he will use police video footage to prove
that the discredited Erasmus Commission and police colluded to
launch a witch-hunt against his clients. The Erasmus Commission,
appointed by former premier Ebrahim Rasool to investigate
allegations of spying and maladministration during the city's
bribery investigation, was canned after a scathing judgment in a
successful High Court review application brought by the city.
Van Heerden recently obtained a copy of the video in the Mossel
Bay Magistrate's Court where it forms part of the State's
evidence against him in a separate case in which he has pleaded
not guilty to charges of fraud, forgery and contravening the Commissioner
of Oaths Act. - IOL
website
What
the raid video shows - 22 July
Superintendent Piet Viljoen, of the SAPS organised crime unit,
repeatedly tells Niel van Heerden that he is raiding his
office in terms of a warrant for fraud and that he is is not
working on behalf of the commission. Van Heerden agrees to
hand over information pertaining to the City of Cape Town and
former councillor Badih Chaaban, but refuses to release
information that he and Philip du Toit were preparing to
submit to the Erasmus Commission. Viljoen informs Van Heerden
and Speed that he had tried to call lawyer Zithu Twala, the
secretary of the Erasmus Commission. Van Heerden and Du Toit's
lawyer, Johann Nortje, said the video pointed to collusion
between the police and the commission. - IOL
website
Zille
to probe cops' R19m suit - 23 July
Premier Helen Zille is to seek legal advice on an impending
claim for damages from private investigators against her
office. The Cape Argus reported yesterday that Niel van
Heerden, a former senior policeman, and Philip du Toit, a
former intelligence operative, planned to pursue a claim for
defamation and loss of earnings as a result of the botched
Erasmus Commission of In-quiry into alleged maladministration
in the City of Cape Town. Zille was mayor at the time and
Ebrahim Rasool was the premier. Zille said last night that it
was "ironic" that her office was now being held
accountable for the alleged misdemeanors of a previous
premier. - IOL
website
Miscellaneous
Inmates
build house for crime victim - 22 July
Crime offenders doing time in jail have built a house for a
Mpumalanga woman who has been repeatedly sexually abused. For
nearly 10 years Elizabeth Mahlangu of Kwaggafontein in the
KwaMhlanga area of Mpumalanga endured degrading crimes –
including rape – at the hands of thugs who used to break into
her dilapidated house. Mahlangu reported her plight to the justice
criminal and prevention cluster (JCPS) during a community outreach
arranged by the provincial safety and security department last
year. Correctional services department, as one of the JCPS
departments, facilitated the building of the house for Mahlangu by
inmates. - Sowetan
website
SA
fugitive bust in USA 10 years later - 21 July
South African crime intelligence police are waiting for a report
from their counterparts in Franklin, Tennessee, about the arrest
of South African fugitive Walter Wright. He has evaded arrest for
10 years.Wright, 68, was stopped by Tennessee police on Friday
night for speeding near a shopping mall. He is wanted in South
Africa on fraud charges that date back to 1999. He is listed by
the FBI and Interpol as an international fugitive. - The
Times website
SAPS
gunning for alleged pyramid scheme mastermind - 24 July
Crime intelligence police say they will do everything possible to
ensure an alleged South African fraudster is extradited from the
United States. Sixty eight-year-old Walter Wright was arrested in
Tennessee last week. He is wanted for allegedly orchestrating
a pyramid scheme in Gauteng. - Eye
Witness News website
Greed
and corruption plague the state : Tutu - 24 July
Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has slammed the state of
the government and country, asking whether the bloodshed of the
struggle had been worthwhile. Tutu was speaking at a memorial
service on Thursday night for Coline Williams and Robbie
Waterwich, Umkhonto weSizwe operatives who died in Cape Town 20
years ago, on the night of July 23. - IOL
website
Why
we disbanded two provincial executives : Mantashe - 20
July
ANC SG explains NEC decision to dissolve North West and Western
Cape PECs. - Politicsweb
website
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