Latest news and views in Brief
From the SA Press Association: Democratic Alliance MP Phumzile van Damme was oblivious of questions around her citizenship until the Sunday Times made an inquiry to her, her party said on Sunday. The newspaper reported on Sunday that Van Damme was born in Manzini, Swaziland, in 1983, that her mother, Lynette van Damme, was born … Read more
By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – More than 220,000 members of South Africa’s NUMSA engineering and metalworkers union will down tools on July 1 after last-ditch wage talks to avert a strike failed, its leaders said on Sunday. Irvin Jim, Secretary General of South Africa’s largest union, said NUMSA members would also picket the headquarters of state … Read more
From the SA Press Association: The Cape Town taxi in which honeymoon bride Anni Dewani was killed in 2010 is now operating again, the Sunday Independent reported. Now owned by a preacher, the taxi was being used to carry factory workers and was sometimes used for missionary errands, the newspaper reported on Sunday. The previous … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The South African rand firmed slightly on Friday, reversing recent losses after hitting a week low in the previous session on news metal union NUMSA plans to go on strike on July 1. The rand opened 0.13 percent stronger from its New York close at 10.6215 rand by 0618 GMT. The local … Read more
It’s official. Engineering union NUMSA is calling its 250 000 members out on an “indefinite” strike from Tuesday, July 1. With a membership three times the size of platinum union AMCU, the implications for an already punch-drunk South African economy are obvious. Ditto for its arthimetically-challenged members. After five months of earning nothing, the “100% … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed against the dollar on Wednesday, buoyed by broader weakness in the U.S. currency and by the return to work of platinum miners after a five-month strike. Tens of thousands of platinum miners returned on Wednesday, ending the longest and costliest strike in South Africa’s history after platinum producers signed off … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African central bank governor Gill Marcus received a 0.4 percent pay rise this year, indicating that one of the most prominent opponents of excessive executive pay in Africa’s most advanced economy practises what she preaches. With inflation at 6.6 percent in May, Marcus’ tiny increase amounts to a pay cut in real terms although her annual … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African stocks fell 1 percent on Wednesday, lead by Anglo American Platinum as investors remained cautious about recovery in the mining sector after the end of a five-month strike. Thousands of miners downed tools at Amplats, Impala Platinum and Lonmin in January demanding higher pay, and only returned to work on … Read more
By Silvia Antonioli and Clara Denina LONDON (Reuters) – Underground vaults next to a Swiss farming village may reveal one reason for the platinum market’s indifference to its biggest ever supply shock. Most analysts and market players expected steep price increases for the precious metal as a record five month mining strike in South Africa, which ended … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s economy is unlikely to go into recession, even after a 0.6 percent contraction in the first quarter, as data pointed to a rebound in the mining and manufacturing sectors, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said. “At this point, signals are that growth in the second quarter to be slow but positive,” Nene said in … Read more