South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday that although things looked good at present, he warned of danger signs in the economy, which could signal "some major inflationary consequences down the road". Speaking to the Parliamentary finance portfolio committee, the governor said while "things generally look good … there are lots of dangers".
The claim by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that it had merely issued guidelines on the use of commentators indicated that it was on a slippery slope towards the dark days of apartheid when banned persons were prevented from writing or speaking publicly, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) argued on Wednesday.
South African President Thabo Mbeki should take China ”to task” over its weak human rights record at home and abroad, said opposition Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille. She said on Wednesday that while Chinese investment in Africa has taken place, there are costs to the relationship.
South African clothing manufacturers and designers should concentrate on producing high quality, "distinctively South African" clothing that could capture niche markets that were not in direct competition with the efficient Chinese, Free Market Foundation director Eustace Davie and economist Jasson Urbach have argued.
The Department of Transport is committed to the introduction of a nationwide, integrated fare-collection system that would include the taxi industry in the taxi-industry subsidy net, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe reported on Tuesday. The ticketing system is included in the department’s 2006-to-2009 strategic plan.
The recently announced amnesty for small business to regularise its tax affairs does not open the door to those who have profited from criminal activities, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel told MPs on Tuesday. He was speaking in a debate in the National Assembly on legislation to provide for the tax amnesty.
At no time has Standard Bank had any knowledge of — or "to the best of its knowledge" been party to — any unlawful actions of a fund administrator that has engaged the bank to provide the benefits of bulking by means of its cash-management service, MPs were told on Tuesday.
Former South African president FW de Klerk is now ”communicating pretty freely” with people from his bed in an intensive-care unit, after a lengthy period under sedation, spokesperson Dave Steward of the FW de Klerk Foundation said on Monday.
The African National Congress parliamentary caucus has publicly backed the decision of the forum for the minister of housing and provincial housing ministers to remove the Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town from the N2 Gateway Housing Project ”with immediate effect”.
Former businessman and politician Themba James Maseko is the new head of government communications, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad announced on Wednesday afternoon. Maseko, a former African National Congress MP, becomes CEO of the Government Communication and Information Systems, which makes him spokesperson for the government.