Gillian Jones
Guest Author
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/ 7 September 2004

Rand blamed for fall in Sasol profits

The operating profit of petrochemical giant Sasol fell by 22% owing to the strength of the rand, the company said at its annual results presentation on Tuesday. The negative effect of the rand was cushioned by the beneficial high oil prices and management initiatives to streamline the business, Sasol chief executive Pieter Cox said.

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/ 14 July 2004

SA banks more stable in 2003

The banking industry was more stable in 2003 after the turbulence of the previous two years, the South African Reserve Bank’s supervision department said on Wednesday. Registrar of banks Errol Kruger was speaking at the release of the bank supervision department’s 2003 annual report in Johannesburg.

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/ 10 May 2004

‘I’m going to become the pope next year’

Called the ”Madonna of the townships”, after the United States pop icon, Fassie lived a turbulent, controversial and at times self-destructive life. Industry insiders and admirers noted her more extreme behaviour threatened to undermine her exceptional musical talent — but she remained one of the biggest sellers the
country has ever produced.

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/ 4 May 2004

Africa GM food aid claims are ‘rubbish’

The United Nations’s World Food Programme (WFP) has strongly refuted claims that it forces African countries to accept genetically modified (GM) food aid, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. "The WFP does not dictate to any government what kind of food aid it must accept or give," said a WFP spokesperson.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=65792">Africa ‘forced’ to accept GM food</a>

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/ 3 May 2004

New medicines Act: ‘It’s a nightmare’

Pharmacists across the country adopted a wait-and-see attitude to the effects of the new Medicines and Related Substances Act as the industry faced uncertainty and anger on Monday. The Act, intended to regulate medicine prices, came into force on Sunday, making discounting by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers illegal.

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/ 11 February 2004

Prosecuting authority ‘strengthened by Hefer’

The National Prosecuting Authority has emerged as a stronger organisation following the Hefer commission, National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka said on Wednesday. ”We faced one of the toughest public tests any organisation can face. This does not happen with many institutions, especially not with organs of state,” said Ngcuka.

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/ 23 January 2004

Indian judge gets Isaacs’s affidavit

Salome Isaacs’s affidavit withdrawing rape charges against Judge Siraj Desai will be presented at the judge’s bail hearing on Friday, said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa. He said the signed affidavit stating Isaacs’s intention to unconditionally withdraw the rape charges is in the possession of the Indian authorities.

  • How war on rape was damaged
  • Rape charge against judge withdrawn
  • Playing the naming game
  • ‘I saw it in his eyes’
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    / 22 January 2004

    ‘I am determined to carry on’

    National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka will not sue those who accused him of having been an apartheid spy, nor resign his post, he said in Johannesburg on Thursday. ”There is a bigger battle to be fought and won in courts. That is the battle against crime,” he said.