SIX million Kenyan children are victims of child labour, United Nations Children’s Fund officer in charge of basic education, child protection and development, Dr Mamadou Bagayoku, said on Tuesday. Speaking from Nyeri, 190km north of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Bagayoku said Unicef has set aside six million shillings (about $100000) to fight child labour in […]

THE Industrial Development Corporation announced on Wednesday it is to use the local bond market to finance R3-billion to fund job-creating projects. IDC CEO, Khaya Ngqula, said they are to issue use a Domestic Medium Term Note Programme for the first time in South Africa. Merrill Lynch International and Merrill Lynch SA are advisers. Ngqula […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Cape Town | Wednesday 7.00pm. A SPECIAL office will be established in the presidency to oversee minority language and cultural rights, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki announced in Parliament on Wednesday, during the debate on “The Afrikaner”. Mbeki said the new office, to be called the Commission for the Promotion and Protection […]

THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) is working on a programme aimed at removing restrictions on air transport which make it difficult to develop the industry in the region. Comesa Secretary General Erastus Mwencha said on Thursday that by October this year, Comesa should be able to link by air all the […]

THE African National Congress has called for a commission of inquiry into Inkatha Freedom Party politician and member of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature Philip Powell, following his alleged interference with a police murder investigation. Powell, often accused of involvement in gun-running and hit squads in the violent province, allegedly tried to interfere with a police […]

AFTER four years of tough negotiations and months of grandstanding over the final details, the European Union on Wednesday approved an historic free trade pact with South Africa, the first with a developing nation and likely to be a precedent for others. The decision came at a summit of EU leaders in Berlin. President Nelson […]

YET another New National Party member is defecting to the African National Congress, and this time it is senior Western Cape leader Patrick Mackenzie. Along with NNP MPs David Chuenyane and John Gogotya, Mackenzie was expected to make his defection formal on Thursday morning.

POLICE said on Wednesday afternoon that the complaint of assault laid against Springbok rugby player James Dalton has been withdrawn. The charge was laid at Johannesburg’s Bedfordview police station following a fracas at the local Health & Racquet Club, reportedly involving Dalton and H&RC employee Bruce Johnson, who suffered a number of facial injuries, including […]

TWELVE unions representing about 1,2-million public servants walked out of wage talks in Pretoria on Thursday, accusing the state of intransigence. Unions have dropped their pay rise demand from 15% to about 10% since the start of negotiations in February. The employer’s offer remained at 5%. The union have given the government 21 days to […]

THE National Union of Mineworkers announced on Wednesday a breakthrough in attempts to reinstate over 950 dismissed workers at Grootgeluk Mine near Ellisras after negotiations with mine management. But mine management has denied any “breakthroughs”. The “breakthrough” follows one week of violent protest at the mine after management sacked 450 striking workers last week and […]