President Thabo Mbeki’s 12-car cavalcade has evoked the ire of official opposition leader Tony Leon. The Democratic Alliance leader said in his weekly internet column, South Africa Today, that the ”classic sign of an over-centralised government is the tendency of its leaders to spend lavishly on their own comfort”.
The African National Congress will review the progress the country has made ”in the pursuit of the goal of the emancipation of women” at its national general council meeting in June, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. An immediate issue is parity of representation of women in the upcoming local government elections.
South Africans feel less likely to see corruption in government today than they were during the 1990s, says the Afrobarometer survey released on Thursday by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). This response was noted ”despite recent controversies over the so-called Travelgate scandal”, said the survey report.
The dissolution of the former ruling apartheid New National Party and its inclusion into the African National Congress will send ”a very powerful message about the extraordinary ability of our people to give real meaning to the goals of national reconciliation”, said President Thabo Mbeki on Friday in his regular internet column, ANC Today.
Telkom chief executive Sizwe Nxasana told MPs on Friday that his company "is constantly responding" to the demands for the lowering of the costs of doing business — and further announcements can be expected "in the future". Nxasana was briefing the National Assembly communications portfolio committee.
The federal executive of the New National Party, which ruled South Africa in the form of the apartheid National Party from 1948 to 1994, met in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon and took the unanimous decision to disband. The party opted to fall under the umbrella of the ruling African National Congress shortly after the national election in April last year.
No image available
/ 23 February 2005
![]()
Total expenditure, excluding interest costs and a contingency reserve, rises from R363-billion in 2005/06 to R428-billion by the end of the medium term expenditure framework period in 2007/08, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday.
No image available
/ 23 February 2005
South Africa’s national Budget presented on Wednesday provides R6-billion for the land restitution programme over the next three years. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said this would be to "complete the programme" — although Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza has estimated R13-billion would be needed to wrap up the programme.
No image available
/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>The maximum old age, disability and care dependency grants will rise by R40 to R780 a month from April 2005, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel announced on Wednesday. In his national Budget speech he said that foster-care grants will be increased by R30 to R560 and the child-support grant goes up by R10 to R180 a month.
No image available
/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>South Africa’s Transport department is to receive allocations of R250-million in the 2004/05 financial year, R315-million and R320-million in the following two years "to initiate the taxi recapitalisation programme" and to support public transport services and infrastructure".