GOVERNMENT has effectively given South Africans permission to party especially hard at the turn of the millennium. The cabinet agreed in principle on Wednesday to declaring December 31 1999 and January 2 2000 public holidays in addition to the traditional New Year holiday. Cabinet spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said the extra holidays will allow four consecutive non-working days for Y2K system testing. He noted that since January 2 will fall on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday. He added that the move is precautionary and the government does not expect any problems adapting computer systems for the new millennium.