South Africa
Disabled form guard of honour for Madiba
CAPE TOWN -- President Nelson Mandela used sign language -- fingers pressed briefly to his lips -- to thank Ms Innocence Flekesi for being part of his guard of honour at the opening of Parliament yesterday. Ms Flekesi, who is deaf, was one of abou...
KZN schools shut as Sadtu teachers strike
DURBAN -- Some schools in KwaZulu-Natal were closed yesterday after the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) called for all schools to remain shut. Sadtu is protesting against the provincial Education Department's management plan, which proposes t...
Local authorities to be represented in Parliament
EAST LONDON -- South Africa's 850 local authorities will be represented in Parliament from next week and play crucial roles in the law-making process, said South African Local Government Association (Salga) spokesman Vusi Khosa yesterday. A nation...
Mandela defends enquiry
PRETORIA -- President Nelson Mandela is expected to take the stand in the High Court here on March 9 to defend his decision to order an inquiry into the conduct of South African rugby. Mr Mandela's lawyer, Mr Nicholas Haysom, said that he was cons...
Mandela to cut public service jobs
CAPE TOWN -- Government planned to shed thousands of public sector jobs this year, but at the same time hoped to make huge inroads into the country's unemployment problem, President Nelson Mandela said yesterday. In a 90-minute opening-of-Parliame...
Omar to quit as head of ANC in W Cape
CAPE TOWN -- Justice Minister Dullah Omar will resign as Western Cape leader of the ANC at a meeting of the provincial executive this weekend, a party spokesman confirmed on yesterday. Mr Omar has indicated he wants to give more attention to his m...
Colourful display at opening of Parliament
CAPE TOWN -- The Great Hall of Parliament presented a colourful display yesterday as President Nelson Mandela delivered his penultimate opening-of-Parliament address, with a number of National Assembly MPs and National Council of Provinces delegate...
Pensioners' rights 'will always be met'
By André Martin Parliamentary Correspondent CAPE TOWN -- Pensioners can be assured that their rights to receive social grants will always be met despite "occasional administrative hiccups", President Nelson Mandela assured the elderly i...
Talks with unions on rationalisation
CAPE TOWN -- The government was planning to begin talks within the next two weeks with the public service trade unions about reducing the size of the public service, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said yesterday. Briefing the media after President...
Sasco predicts change in funding negotiation
JOHANNESBURG -- The South African Students Congress (Sasco) yesterday said it will make a major announcement next week on initiatives to resolve the tertiary education fees crisis. Refusing to give details, Sasco president Jacob Mamabolo said the ...
Speech disappoints opposition parties
CAPE TOWN -- Opposition party leaders yesterday voiced disappointment with President Mandela's address to open Parliament, saying it had failed to address South Africa's problems. Leader of the official opposition in Parliament and NP head Marthin...
Nigerian drug trader killed
JOHANNESBURG -- A Nigerian druglord with connections in the cocaine underworld was murdered in Johannesburg on Thursday night. According to police, the man in his 20s was approached by three people outside his bottle store in Prichardt Street at a...
