London | Wednesday AFRICA-watchers in London said that EU sanctions on President Robert Mugabe’s regime would sting his pride but have a limited effect, while the anti-corruption group Transparency International warned of reprisals from the Zimbabwe government. Mugabe was targeted on Monday by European Union sanctions, which include a freeze on the overseas assets of […]

Cape Town | Tuesday FINANCE Minister Trevor Manuel will have significant room for both tax cuts and higher spending in Wednesday’s Budget, says Old Mutual Asset Managers. Speaking during the company’s annual pre-Budget presentation on Tuesday, economist Rian le Roux said the minister could have as much as R14,5-billion ”to work with”. Of this, R11-billion […]

Cape Town | Wednesday THE benefits in Wednesday’s Budget were aimed mainly at impoverished South Africans, the elderly and the disabled, but it also contained significant tax relief for middle-income earners. The government also budgeted for R12-billion from the proceeds of privatisation in 2002/03, according to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. He said in […]

Johannesburg | Tuesday South Africa’s ruling party Monday said its position on Aids was correct, after its top leadership, including President Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela met over reported tensions on the issue. African National Congress (ANC) representative Smuts Ngonyama said the meeting agreed that the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant women at test […]

Durban | Tuesday FIVE men, facing 11 charges of fraud worth almost half a million dollars, sold soap and Vaseline as charms to people hoping to win South Africa’s national lottery, a court heard on Monday. In one of a series of scams, the accused allegedly sold muti (magic medicine) which they said could help […]

ROBERT MACPHERSON, Brussels | Tuesday EUROPEAN Union foreign ministers have unanimously agreed to go ahead with sanctions against President Robert Mugabe’s regime and to pull EU election observers out of Zimbabwe. The sanctions, against Mugabe himself and 19 other members of his administration, include a ban on travel to the European Union and a freeze […]

New Delhi | Tuesday SOUTH Africa, India’s youngest military partner, made a strong pitch on Tuesday to boost defence ties with a view to jointly producing arms for sale abroad as well as for domestic use. Top defence officials from South Africa also called for deeper cooperation to turn the Indian Ocean region into a […]