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/ 14 November 2003

Let there be banking

It is not often that one gets a chance to listen to a pressing social problem being succinctly outlined, and then receives almost immediate news of a creative but practical response. On Tuesday the FinMark Trust unveiled Finscope, a survey of 3 000 households on access to and behaviour towards financial services.

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/ 14 November 2003

Trevor Manuel’s R37bn gamble

The government made a calculated gamble of over R30-billion this week to accelerate growth and begin to weld together South Africa’s two economies — a first of high skills and decent work and a second of informal work and extreme vulnerability.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=23523">’New Deal’ for the unemployed</a>

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/ 14 November 2003

Prince Reliable of the Tabloids

Few can have missed the media feeding frenzy that arose last week over the latest in a long series of grimy revelations to have come out of Clarence House, the palatial London residence of the Prince of Wales and home ground to a veritable host of his sycophants and pilot fish.

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/ 14 November 2003

Guys and dollars

It seems there’s this dame, goes by the name of Fifa. Everybody knows Fifa. It seems Fifa is in town, just passing through on her way home to Europe. Dapper Danny Jordaan and Knuckles Balfour are trying to persuade the doll to come for a longer visit in 2010, but she is being coy and whispering sweet nothings to both .

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/ 14 November 2003

‘Renamo set to oust Frelimo’

Renamo confidently expects to win the majority of the 33 municipalities it will contest in next week’s local elections. "No doubt about it," says Renamo secretary general Vianna Magalhaes. "Campaigning has been going very well. Renamo’s only problem is financial."

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/ 14 November 2003

Blair to press Bush for new strategy

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will use talks with United States President George W Bush during his visit to London next week to argue for a cautious shift of power within Iraq, concessions for the Britons held at Guantanamo Bay and reassurances for the Americans about Europe’s military intentions.

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/ 14 November 2003

Separating the wheat from the chaff

The 2004 African Cup of Nations is looming, with Bafana Bafana having just two more preparation games and the man at the helm of the national team has finally to separate the wheat from the chaff. Next month Ephraim ”Shakes” Mashaba will announce the players who will help him restore some pride.

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/ 14 November 2003

Riddles in the dark

With the cricket season in full swing, the question must be asked: what has South Africa got up its sleeve? With the tour of Pakistan mercifully fading into a dim memory of ineptness, and the season thoroughly under way, one has the sinking sensation that the answer to the question is: not a lot.

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/ 14 November 2003

United States uneasy as Iraq unravels

The unscheduled summit in Washington over the future of Iraq reflected intense White House unease about the way the situation is unravelling in the country. In private, American and British officials in the CPA can barely disguise their disappointment at a body that has been criticised for tardiness and inefficiency.