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/ 20 August 2007

Nzimande: I never received the R500 000

South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande on Sunday said he never received an alleged R500 000 cash donation for the party, which is said to be missing. ”I wish to place it on record that I have never received the alleged R500 000 from any person, as is alleged,” Nzimande said in a statement.

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/ 20 August 2007

Manto camp: Report is ‘false, speculative’

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s office on Sunday described a media report that she was an alcoholic and convicted thief as ”false, speculative and bizarre allegations”. ”As it did last week, the Sunday Times has yet again made false, speculative and bizarre allegations designed to demean the minister,” said Sibani Mngadi in a brief statement.

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/ 20 August 2007

A market for buyers with nerve

Global stock markets have lost about 6,5% from their peak in mid-July, with levels of volatility not seen since the 1997/98 emerging-market crisis and the credit-market crisis of 2002/03 led by the collapse of Worldcom and Enron. Just prior to this market fall-out, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised global growth expectations for 2007 and 2008 from 4,9% to 5,2% .

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/ 20 August 2007

Africa prepares for impact of climate change

There is wide recognition that Africa, the region least responsible for generating the polluting "greenhouse gases" that cause global warming, will need significant financial aid to cope with its effects. Whether this money will be available is an open question. Africa is already struggling to find funds to lift its people out of poverty, and it has failed to attract investment in projects that will protect the African environment.

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/ 20 August 2007

BEE good for white capital

BEE, despite its redistributive intentions, has been doubly conducive to the interests of large-scale South African capital, says a new academic paper. It has largely served to entrench established interests, especially in the industrial fishing industry, with a few high-profile black partners receiving some of the cut while the risk is outsourced to black capital.

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/ 20 August 2007

Sanlam: life beyond life

While everyone’s attention has been focused on the trials and tribulations of the life insurance sector, Sanlam has been quietly transforming itself into a diversified financial services company, focusing on home loans and money market accounts rather than life cover.

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/ 20 August 2007

Pakistan: The ‘poor neighbour’

A mid all the hoopla surrounding the 60th anniversary of Indian independence, almost nothing has been heard from Pakistan, which also turned 60 recently. Nothing, that is, if you discount the low rumble of suicide bombings, the noise of automatic weapons storming the Red Mosque and the creak of slowly collapsing dictatorships.

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/ 20 August 2007

Land alone can’t feed families

While many land claims in rural areas have been settled, land restored to communities has often failed to bring hoped-for jobs and income. But one Mpumalanga community has found a way to break the deadlock and use its land to start tourism ventures. The beauty of eastern Mpumalanga and the evident prosperity of tourism ventures disguises the endemic poverty in the area.

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/ 20 August 2007

Women cry freedom

Last week we commemorated the brave women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest against the discriminatory policies of apartheid. But, after the marchers have gone home and the banners are packed away, how free and equal are South Africa’s women really?

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/ 20 August 2007

The cult of the sex goddess

In its 60th year as an independent nation, India has just elected its first woman president. Yet the ascent of the demure Pratibha Patil may not necessarily be a victory for Indian women. Today, in India, "women’s empowerment" is a government slogan; it is a feature of every party manifesto. There is a ministry for women and child development.