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/ 3 November 2006
President Robert Mugabe blocked the release of a report by the ministry of finance that exposes the looting of the country’s sole steel manufacturing company, Zisco, by Cabinet members and senior Zanu-PF officials. Mugabe’s cronies are believed to have been under-invoicing and using front companies to overcharge for goods and services provided to Zisco. Some of the goods and services were never supplied.
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/ 3 November 2006
There was nothing about the general mood in the dusty streets of Matlosana township near Klerksdorp in the North West province that indicated that the deputy presiÂdent of South Africa’s ruling party and the president of its youth wing were in town. The township, which, like the rest of South Africa, is facing a high rate of unemployment, crime and poverty, continued with life as normal.
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/ 2 November 2006
Cape Town is a contested city. Factions want to impose an identity on it. On the one hand, it is romanticised as the Mother City — a place enriched by its cultural history and racial diversity, a forum for international conventions and tourism, an international landmark of great natural beauty and stature. On the other, it is damned as a racist city.
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/ 2 November 2006
Could it be that the African National Congress’s scramble to reassert itself in Cape Town is because the spotlight is now trained on its tendering practices when it ran the council? The new Democratic Alliance-led coalition has been naming and shaming ANC appointed officials, including the former procurement chief, in dodgy deals.
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/ 2 November 2006
South African Afro-fusion band Freshlyground walked away with an MTV Europe Music Award on Thursday evening for best African act. Singer Zolani Mahola, looking slightly overwhelmed, accepted the award on stage with a brief thank-you message. Held in a chilly Copenhagen, Denmark, the glitzy awards were hosted by Justin Timberlake.
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Click on image for full-size view.
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/ 2 November 2006
Another regime change and the Cape Town city administration will collapse: that is the judgement of many people who work there. Off the record, it’s no less dire and compelling. In the civic centre, a senior city-council official confides across his desk that the municipal administration cannot withstand another political transition.
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/ 2 November 2006
Controversial former Zimbabwe Test player Mark Vermeulen was formally charged on Thursday with carrying out an arson attack on the offices and training academy of the national cricket board. The 27-year-old Vermeulen, who had been detained at Harare’s main police station, was expected to appear before a magistrate’s court in the capital on Friday, his lawyer David Dumbura told the media.
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/ 2 November 2006
The United States warned its citizens on Thursday that Kenya and Ethiopia could become targets of suicide attacks by ”extremist elements” from Somalia, where Islamists control the capital and other key areas. ”These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia,” said a message issued to US citizens.