In his June 2001 declaration of interests to Parliament, Tony Leon noted under consultancies or retainerships: “Richmart (Pty) Ltd — investment holding company”. The value of benefits to be received, he wrote, was “nominal at this stage — to be negotiated”.
‘The time may have arrived for South Africa to offer all children free primary education in law. This would place us in step with modern democracies worldwide.” Yes, Naledi Pandor really said this, in her budget speech in Parliament recently. Where did such a groundbreaking announcement come from?
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A massive stayaway by public servants will hit the country on Friday even if last-gasp efforts to settle their pay dispute with the state succeed. ”Friday’s strike is going to go ahead because all the unions have committed themselves to the action,” Congress of South African Trade Unions Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich said on Thursday.
Ethiopia said on Thursday it had detained 50 government and company officials for graft in one of the East African nation’s largest crackdowns. Ethiopia has a relatively clean image by the continent’s standards, managing to avoid the sort of major public corruption scandals plaguing neighbour Kenya, for example.
Gunmen from the former rebel Sudan Liberation Movement opened fire on African Union troops in Darfur following a road accident in which a member of their faction was killed, an AU statement said on Thursday. The statement said three AU soldiers were lightly injured by gunfire and 13 AU vehicles seized in the incident on Wednesday.
Never-say-die Lleyton Hewitt staged a dramatic French Open fightback on Thursday to edge closer to a Roland Garros showdown against defending champion Rafael Nadal. Australian Hewitt pulled off his fourth career comeback from two sets down to defeat 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio in a marathon second-round clash.
The Auditor General’s investigation into the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s procurement processes revealed a number of flaws in the way the department is operating, the Auditor General (AG) said on Thursday. Tabling his report, AG Terrence Nombembe said the department has failed to follow proper tender procedures.
United States President George Bush said on Thursday he would urge major industrialised nations at a summit next week to join a new global framework for fighting climate change after the Kyoto Protocol lapses. ”The US will work with other nations to establish a new framework on greenhouse-gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012,” he said.