A KwaZulu-Natal sunfoil oil company, Willowton Group, has agreed to pay R1 million fine for price fixing. The Pietermaritzburg-based company will also spend another R100 million on public interest projects, including setting up a bursary fund for needy students worth R20 million, after admitting to price fixing and market division. Willowton Group, whose products are widely used by households in South Africa, admitted wrongdoing and struck a deal with the Competition Tribunal last week.  It joins a growing list of…

In an unprecedented move since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the South African government has cancelled Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2024/2025 budget speech due to policy disputes within President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Government of National Unity (GNU). The governing African National Congress (ANC) and its grand coalition main partner, the Democratic Alliance (DA), could not agree on the proposed 2% increase in the Value-Added Tax (VAT) from the current 15% to 17%.  The postponement, announced during a Parliamentary sitting in…

This year’s opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature has been plunged into doubt after King Misuzulu KaZwelithini raised concerns about the newly chosen venue, saying it poses security challenges to him and other guests. The chosen venue is Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg after the provincial legislature dumped the Pietermaritzburg Royal Show Grounds which has hosted the official opening by two Zulu Kings for decades.  It is not known why the legislature decided to ditch the showgrounds for the opening billed for…

One of the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party’s founding members has resigned from the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, saying he no longer has confidence in former President Jacob Zuma and the ANC’s splinter party. Induna Phumlani Mfeka surrendered his seat yesterday, February 17, but said nothing about his party membership. Mfeka was a long time Zuma loyalist and was among the first group of senior ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal who dumped the governing party after Zuma officially endorsed the MK Party on 16…

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has given five National Freedom Party (NFP) councillors a fresh lifeline after it extended the temporal court order or (rule nisi) barring their removal from Abaqulusi Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The matter was heard on Friday last week and later adjourned indefinitely.  The five councillors – including Khanyisile Jiyane, Sizwe Hadebe, and SIbusiso Nkosi – took the matter to court to challenge their firing by NFP President, Ivan Barnes.  They argued that their expulsion from…

Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has turned to his former traditional prime minister and tasked him with organising the upcoming imbizo to deliberate on the Ingonyama Trust and the pending liquidation of Ithala Bank.  The Zulu King requested Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi to organise the gathering, usually called during periods of crises faced by the Zulu nation, via a letter seen by African Times. The Ingonyama Trust administers vast hectares of land in parts of KwaZulu-Natal collectively owned by the Zulu people.…

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has vehemently opposed alleged plans to hike value-added tax (VAT) from 15 percent to 16 Percent when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables the 2024/2025 budget on Wednesday. The communist party says the fact that the mooted move was reported by some media houses appears to form part of a wider propaganda campaign driven by a certain circle within the National Treasury.  “This circle is pushing to increase VAT further after it was hiked from…

Operations at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) offices in central Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, came to a halt earlier yesterday (Thursday) when a sheriff stormed the building and attached computers from the finance department.  The sheriff was acting on a legal instruction after a local law firm obtained a court order to force the RAF to settle a long-standing claim by a road accident victim. According to sources within the offices, the February 13 action was not the first time the sheriff…

Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has called an urgent imbizo of the Zulu nation to discuss issues of Ingonyama Trust and Ithala Bank, which are deemed a threat.  The imbizo would be held at Mashobeni Royal Palace in Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal, next week Friday (21 February 2025). In a message conveyed by the King’s former traditional prime minister, Reverend Thulasizwwe Buthelezi, he said the imbizo is called when the nation is facing threats and uses it to find solutions.  “His Majesty King…

Former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, has finally apologised directly to uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) Secretary General Floyd Shivambu in a fresh public apology.  This comes after she issued a half hearted apology earlier this week in which she grudgingly apologised for insulting and questioning Shivambu’s leadership qualities during her overnight social media meltdown on February 10.  After labelling the former EFF Deputy President the “worst thing” to have ever happened to the MKP, and telling him and…