The Brief

RESTITUTION

THE AMADIBA Crisis Committee (ACC) says Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe is not welcome at the Xolobeni community anymore. This follows Mantashe’s application for leave to appeal the High Court’s judgment for the community’s right to say “no” to mining in their area. Last month the Xolobeni community scored a significant victory after the Hgh Court in Pretoria ruled that the minister of mineral resources may not grant mining rights without the consent of the community and the people directly affected by that mining right. The Xolobeni community has been at loggerheads with the department while waging a 15-year-long battle against the issuing of a mining licence to Transworld Energy and Minerals, a subsidiary of Australian mining company MRC, to mine titanium in the Xolobeni community in the Wild Coast area, Eastern Cape. In a statement released yesterday, the ACC said that by appealing this decision, Mantashe did not respect its and other customary communities’ right to make decisions about their own land. | African News Agency (ANA)

CONSTRUCTION

THE FINANCIALLY-troubled listed construction and engineering company Group Five has reported that it has received “expressions of interest from a number of parties for various parts of the group’s business”. The group said yesterday that its board of directors, supported by its appointed corporate advisers, was currently considering three expressions of interest. It said these expressions of interest might have a material impact on the price of Group Five’s securities and advised shareholders to exercise caution when trading in the company’s securities until a further announcement was made in this regard. Shares in Group Five closed unchanged on the JSE yesterday at 24 cents. | Roy Cokayne