KZN's housing head arrested for illegal guns
KwaZulu-Natal advocate Mduduzi Khoza has appeared in a Durban court facing charges of illegal possession of firearms after police received a tip-off and raided his Pinetown house. The raid yielded an AK-47 rifle, a pistol and ammunition, which was al
Officials' drinks are on the taxpayer
KwaZulu-Natal Auditor-General Barry Wheeler has uncovered checking and control weaknesses in the Department of Welfare's subsistence allowances, with officials exceeding their daily beverage quotas and notching up outrageous hotel bills for out-of-to
Blind man the apple of department's eye
If you phone up the Pietermariztburg-based department of transport and get Mandlenkosi Madlala on the line, you may not be surprised at his efficiency as a switchboard operator - until you hear he's had the job for only two years, he's blind and he d
Fired KZN spin doctor turns up in court
A ministerial spin-doctor - denounced by KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Professor Gabriel Ndabandaba as a "pathological liar" - who was fired after allegations surfaced that he had falsified his qualifications is seeking a High Court order for a transfe
'Collaborator' Rajbansi may sever ANC pact
The ANC needs the Minority Front's two seats in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature to evict the IFP through the new floor-crossing laws. But its congress report on national minorities, in which he was described as an "ex-collaborator" with apartheid, has
ANC critical of NGOs' role
The African National Congress has chided non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations for not bettering the lives of communities, and has resolved to go out and win back party leaders who have left the ANC for this sector.
Ndebele wins ANC chair in KZN by 17 votes
Provincial transport MEC S'bu Ndebele has been re-elected leader of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal after narrowly beating Zweli Mkhize by 17 votes at the party's provincial conference. Mkhize defied earlier indications that Ndebele might have a free cruise
Muslim bias driving Hindus away, ANC warns
The ANC says it is battling intra-Indian tensions in its KwaZulu-Natal ranks, making the Indian community vulnerable to the IFP, the DA and "ex-collaborators" with apartheid. The party was told it was dealing with sensitive divisions over perceptions
ANC calls for more presidential pardons
Amid the furore over President Thabo Mbeki's recent pardoning of political prisoners in the Eastern Cape, the African National Congress has called for a new presidential commission on amnesty and the pardoning of perpetrators of political violence.
ANC denies 'cosying up' to IFP over top job
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has dismissed talk of secret negotiations with the Inkatha Freedom Party not to strip it of the premiership should the Constitutional Court give controversial floor-crossing laws the nod. It has been reported that the ANC's a
We can sink no more, KZN teachers warn
KwaZulu-Natal's final school exams are in jeopardy after threats by a leading teacher union to go on an "endless" strike. The move follows a provincial education department decision to continue allowing children to start school at age six, without an
HRC launches probe into racism in schools
The KwaZulu-Natal education department and the Human Rights Commission have launched an investigation into racism and poor transformation at former Model C and House of Delegates schools, after complaints about maltreatment allegedly being meted out
ANC plan to ease racial tensions in KZN
World acclaimed playwright Mbongeni Ngema may have become a villain in the eyes of some for his controversial anti-Indian song AmaNdiya, but his call for a dialogue to resolve racial tensions between Africans and Indians in KwaZulu-Natal has jolted t
KZN teachers win class struggle
The planned transfer of thousands of surplus teachers to schools that attracted more pupils than others in KwaZulu-Natal has been put on hold for the year, averting possible disruptions at schools ahead of or during examinations - as no one really kn
ANC conference to be held in September
The ANC's much-delayed KwaZulu-Natal leadership conference is to be held in September, according to the party's provincial secretary. By that time, provincial ANC leader S'bu Ndebele may well have been inaugurated as the province's new premier, depen
No U-turn as IFP reaches ANC crossroads
To leave or stay in the ANC-led government is the dilemma facing the IFP as it goes to its crunch national conference amid deteriorating relations with the ruling party. The ANC appears unstoppable in its crusade to topple the IFP in KwaZulu-Natal th
Leon and Holomisa off to IFP conference
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon will attend the IFP national conference in Ulundi in an attempt to strengthen ties between the two parties. Both sides are looking for new friends: ANC-IFP relations are deteriorating over the floor-crossing legis
Bengal Tiger presses MECs' cellphone buttons
Minority Front leader Amichand Rajbansi has withdrawn a parliamentary question asking KwaZulu-Natal MECs to disclose their "exorbitant" cellphone and vehicle mileage claims, after coming under political pressure to do so. But Rajbansi says he has wit
Victory as women take their place in the AU
Women have been a rare sight in the structures of the Organisation of African Unity during its 38-year existence. But they have scored a major victory in African politics with a historic resolution by the new African Union that five of its 10 commiss
Cheers as Gaddafi backs Mugabe's land grabs
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has dampened the spirit among heads of state at the launch of the African Union by publicly backing Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and telling white farmers to leave if they did not want to be ruled by a black man. B
Mbeki calls for 'new beginning' at AU launch
President Thabo Mbeki has called for a new beginning to tackle Africa's economic and political problems. Speaking to the continent's leaders, gathered in Durban for the birth of the African Union, Mbeki called for the fundamental reconstruction of th
AU summit opens amid tight security
The issue-driven build-up to the launch of the African Union, which has unfolded amid tight security under Durban's busy skyline over the last week, will come alive when the new organisation is finally born and baptised at the ABSA Stadium in true Af
'Few countries will meet Africa's goals'
The executive secretary for United Nations' Economic Commission for Africa says the continent's development and economy signal that only about 10 countries on the continent will meet the poverty reduction, education and health Millennium Development
Unions have change of heart about Nepad
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has been vociferous in its criticism of the continent's economic revival plan - Nepad - saying it was devised with little or no popular participation of the civil society, including trade unions - but after
Fears of violence as ANC tries to poach KZN
KwaZulu-Natal's crumbling coalition government is facing a renewed crisis as the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party get ready to slug it out in court. Several IFP leaders have warned of tragic consequences, including party leader Man