US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright telephoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss an Israeli-Palestinian-US summit called for next week. US President Bill Clinton convened the Israeli-Palestinian summit, scheduled to start July 11 at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. Mubarak plays a facilitating role in the peace process and is visited frequently by […]
PUBLIC Service & Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said on Sunday that government is willing to negotiate employee benefits with public service unions but will not budge from its 6% salary increase across the board. “The 6% offer on the salary increase is final, but we are open to discussion on areas related to benefits.” Most […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg. MOTOR vehicle sales showed sustained growth during the first six months of 2000 to end the half year 19% up on the same period last year, with a total of 165 678 sales recorded by Naamsa. In June, sales were up a substantial 25,7% over the same month in 1999. The passenger […]
GLENDA DANIELS, Johannesburg. The Mineworkers Development Agency, the job-creation wing of the National Union of Mines, is one of the few financially sustainable organisations in South Africa. In the face of massive job losses in the mining industry, about 300 000 over the past decade, the agency has developed a programme of support for enterprise […]
EXPECTED mergers and acquisitions in a number of gold mining companies could be one of the reasons for the current rally in the gold price. Gold Fields recently announced a $1.83m merger with Franco-Nevada. Barrick Gold, the world’s fourth producer after Gold Fields, has agreed to buy Tanzania’s Pangea Goldfields for R938M. Gold prices have […]
THE Commission on Restitution of Land Rights says over 110000 people have already benefited from the land restitution programme with a further 3.9m set to receive land or compensation before the process runs its course. Having cost R272m so far, the cost is set to escalate substantially over the next few years, chief land claims […]
NATIONAL water and forestry affairs minister, Ronnie Kasrils, may be called to testify before the Truth Commission’s amnesty committee in Northern Province. This is despite his being struck from the committee’s roll of amnesty applicants on Monday. On Tuesday, a landmine victim asked that Kasrils be subpoenaed in his capacity as a former senior member […]
ANALYSTS said Zimbabwe’s refusal to devalue its currency will do further damage to the economy and send negative signals to foreign donors. It is ill-advised and will hurt ordinary people plus underming growth. An economist at the Zimbabwe Chamber of Commerce describes the ruling Zanu-PF party’s decision as a disaster, likely to increase the country’s […]
THE government is considering using expropriation to make land available for restitution, new Land Affairs director-general Gilingwe Mayende said on Tuesday. Addressing the Pretoria Press Club, Mayende also announced an imminent crackdown on those who illegally evicted people from their land. Mayende said an over-reliance on market forces and the willing buyer-willing seller principle had […]
THE UN Security Council has approved a resolution banning trade in diamonds mined from rebel-held areas of Sierra Leone. Diamonds are the main source of revenue for the Revolutionary United Front, which had taken 500 UN peacekeepers hostage in May. Resolution 1306, proposed by Britain, passed with 14 votes and one abstention from Mali. The […]