South Africa’s controversy-plagued communications minister has been fired. President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday gave Dina Pule her marching orders, announcing at a hastily arranged media conference at the Union Buildings in Pretoria that current deputy minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs Yunus Carrim
Democratic Alliance MP Marian Shinn says fired communications minister Dina Pule won’t be missed by the technology sector, but the communist sympathies of her successor, Yunus Carrim, could prove problematic in a sector that thrives on openness and liberalisation. It could
Yunus Carrim, a former journalist and academic with strong struggle credentials, has replaced Dina Pule as minister of communications with immediate effect. President Jacob Zuma made the announcement at a broad cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday. For the past four years, Carrim has held
Television licence fees will rise in September, the SABC said on Tuesday. “The annual fee for a domestic, business, dealer and lessor licence will increase by R15 from R250 to R265,” spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement. “This equals an increase of only R1,25/month
Two broadcasters, both perceived to be sympathetic to president Jacob Zuma and his government, are set to launch 24-hour news satellite channels on the same continent-wide MultiChoice DStv platform. Broadcasting sources confirmed to the Mail & Guardian this week that the SABC is back in discussions
The first batch of smart ID cards will be issued to a list of prominent South Africans this month, home affairs minister Naledi Pandor said on Thursday. She announced that on Mandela Day, 18 July, the smart cards would be issued to individuals including president Jacob Zuma, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, archbishop
A dozen police officers apprehended a man who flew a radio-controlled mini helicopter over the Pretoria hospital where former president Nelson Mandela was being treated on Friday. The “multicopter” had a rotating camera and was in the sky for a few minutes. A multicopter looks like a spider. It has several arms
The SABC has filled six vacancies in its executive management, the public broadcaster said on Thursday. “It has become imperative for the organisation, as it is steadily becoming financially stable, to complement this with individuals who will bring immense value as we take the SABC forward,” spokesman
Parliament’s joint committee on ethics and members’ interests has begun a behind-closed-doors probe into allegations that the communications minister’s alleged boyfriend, Phosane Mngqibisa, benefited financially from the sponsorship of 2012’s ICT Indaba in Cape Town. The committee
The Democratic Alliance reiterates its call for President Zuma to fire communications minister Dina Pule without any further delay. The latest revelations in the Sunday Times this weekend that Pule’s boyfriend, Phosane Mngqibisa, had been able to secure top jobs for friends and relatives at the Post Office, Sentech, the Universal Service & Access Agency of
