S.Africa: North West learner drivers must explain licences

Some 70 North West learner drivers must provide proof before the end of the week that their learner licences are not fraudulent, Public Safety MEC Howard Yawa said on Thursday. This follows a licence scam involving a cashier at the Rustenburg Local Municipality, which was discovered by management. “Failure by the applicants to respond to […]

S.Africa: Tshwane is the worst metro in Gauteng

Tshwane is the worst metro in Gauteng, Auditor-General Terence Nombembe said in a scathing report on the province’s municipalities on Thursday. Nombembe says the province’s municipalities still spend irregularly, and 78 percent of them ignore policies and regulatory requirements in procurements and financial transactions. Only nine of the municipalities received unqualified audit reports. Mayor Gwen […]

S.Africa: service delivery failure real

The government has admitted it failed certain communities in service delivery, the SABC reported on Thursday. Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka said in Pretoria: “We find that government has been lethargic at most and (at) worst doing nothing.” A multi-pronged intervention programme would be initiated to stop service delivery protests. Shiceka said […]

South Africa a possible drugs gateway – UN

South Africa is in danger of becoming a major hub for drug trafficking, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said on Thursday. West African syndicates had recently become major drug traffickers after Central American cartels began using them due to difficulty with their traditional routes, the office’s Jonathan Lucas said at the release of […]

Namibia election challenge dismissed

The high court in Windhoek has thrown out an application by nine opposition parties to have the results of the 2009 presidential and National Assembly elections annulled. In the nationwide elections, which took place on November 27 and 28, Hifikepunye Pohamba won his second presidential term and ruling party Swapo maintained control of the National […]

Zimbabwe refugees 'straining' South Africa

The influx of refugees from Zimbabwe is placing “significant strain” on South Africa’s capacity and resources, President Jacob Zuma told British parliamentarians in London on Thursday. “South Africa is greatly affected by the crisis in Zimbabwe,” Zuma said in a speech in the Palace of Westminster. “The influx of economic refugees from Zimbabwe places a […]

40 000 new prostitutes for Cup

About 40 000 women are expected to arrive in South Africa ahead of the FIFA World Cup to work as prostitutes, the Central Drug Authority said on Thursday. CDA deputy chair David Bayever said: “Forty thousand new prostitutes. As if we do not have enough people of our own, we have to import them to […]

Speaker's wife Sally Bercow makes internet jokes about Zuma

While the Queen has played host to Jacob Zuma and his wife at Buckingham Palace with her customary diplomacy, the South African president has been the butt of internet mockery by Sally Bercow, the wife of the controversial House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow. President & Mrs Zuma are here later,” she joked on Twitter, […]

PM Brown insists Zimbabwe makes progress before sanctions go

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted that Zimbabwe should make more progress before sanctions can be lifted, resisting pressure from South African President Jacob Zuma. But as Zuma’s state visit turned from royal pomp to hard-headed politics, the two leaders largely sought to paper over differences on European Union sanctions slapped on President Robert […]

S.Africa 'more than ready' for World Cup – Zuma

Smiling and at ease, South African President Jacob Zuma told reporters at Wembley Stadium on Thursday that his country was “ready, if not more than ready” to host the first World Cup on African soil. On his first state visit to the United Kingdom, Zuma took time away from his official duties to visit the […]