Platinum strike talks break down: minister
By AFP The latest talks to try to end South Africa’s months-long strike against the world’s top three platinum producers have broken down, the new mines minister said Wednesday. “It appears like the mediation has come to a stop yesterday,” Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramathlodi told Talk Radio 702. “I don’t think … the judge […]
Baby swap nightmare
By Dominic Skelton- Two Gauteng mothers have discovered that their three-year-old daughters were switched at birth. Even worse, one wants her biological child back, while the other wishes to keep the daughter she has loved as her own for almost four years. The Pretoria High Court on Monday appointed the University of Pretoria’s Centre for […]
Suffer little children
By Mandi Smallhorne ON THE radio a day or so ago they were talking about efforts to alleviate the suffering the platinum strike has caused. Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers was taking food up to the North West Province; so was Grace Bible Church. Other people were helping a local soup kitchen […]
Malawi vote recount may take two months – election official
By Reuters Malawi is only likely to have an official result of its chaotic May 20 election in two months, as the Malawi Electoral Commission embarks on a process to manually count the votes, a senior official said on Monday. Read full article here
Sacci wary of govt’s ‘interventionist’ tone, but welcomes small business Ministry
By Natalie Greve – While the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) welcomed the creation of a small business Ministry by the new African National Congress-led government, it said in a statement on Monday that it remained concerned about the “interventionist tone” of recent official statements. Read full article here
New Film Exposes Apartheid-Era Working Conditions on Farms that Produce South Africa’s Table Grapes.
By Irin, The South African Civil Society Information Service The Western Cape produces more than 80 percent of South Africa’s table grapes and the Berg and Hex River Valleys are the country’s primary production areas. Table grapes are among the world’s most traded fruits and the prevailing climatic conditions in these valleys provide an unusually […]
Faiths unite against terror in Nigeria’s beleaguered city of Jos
By Monica Mark When Islamist militants set off two bombs that killed 123 people in Nigeria’s volatile city of Jos on Tuesday, many feared it would also detonate bloody reprisals in one of Africa’s most religiously tense cities. Umar Tijani, a Muslim, barricaded himself indoors, haunted by memories of seeing a mob bludgeon six youths […]
Presidential Inauguration and new cabinet: highlights
By Mondli Makhanya New term, new slate In his oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, Zuma pledged that he will be “faithful to the Republic of South Africa and will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other laws of the republic”. Read full article here
Poor believe grants tied to party not state
BY LINDA ENSOR CAPE TOWN — Even though the poor have an inalienable constitutional right to social assistance, just under half of those surveyed last year by the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) were unsure or did not think their grants would continue if another party came to power. The […]
New jobs in Africa need an industrial policy
By Carlos Lopes – IN AN era of high volatility and deep crisis, Africa has been an economic success story. A combination of high commodity prices, increased domestic demand, improved economic governance and management, and stronger trade and investment ties with other developing economies has helped African countries record on average an impressive 5% annual […]
