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/ 2 November 2006
I believe the hindsight of history will treat PW Botha much kinder than the quick appraisals following his death this week at his home in the Wilderness. For the image of a finger-wagging, self-righteous, smirking Groot Krokodil who defiantly refused to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is still too vivid in our collective memory, writes Dries van Heerden.
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/ 2 November 2006
South Africa has two choices in its economic future, but the Democratic Alliance feared the country was on the wrong course, party leader Tony Leon said on Wednesday. Addressing the South African Business Club in London, Leon said South Africa could retain market orthodoxy or go backwards towards a statist command economy based on an outmoded Stalinist model.
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/ 2 November 2006
It’s been tucked away on a governmental website for years, but this week Lemmer discovered for the first time a testimonial as surreal as it is shameless. Lemmer has blanked the name in question, so that his readers can play Guess the Minister. ”The true greatness of a person is measured by the impact that person has on the lives of others. This statement rings true for the Minister of X, who has touched the lives of many in different ways.”
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/ 1 November 2006
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was banned for two years and teammate Mohammad Asif for one year after they tested positive for a banned steroid, an official said on Wednesday. A three-member doping tribunal appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board ruled the pace pair out of all international and domestic cricket following hours of deliberations in the eastern city of Lahore.
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/ 1 November 2006
The judgement of the Supreme Court of Appeal on Durban businessman Schabir Shaik will be final, unless there are found to be constitutional aspects to the case, a law expert said on Wednesday. ”If there is no constitutional issue found to be involved, then the matter ends …,” said Professor Tom Coetzee, lecturer in criminal law at the University of North West.
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/ 1 November 2006
The remaining two Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) ministers in the KwaZulu-Natal cabinet were fired on Wednesday and replaced with stalwarts from the African National Congress (ANC). KwaZulu-Natal premier Sbu Ndebele also axed the ANC’s Gabriel Ndabandaba, the agricultural and environmental affairs provincial minister.
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/ 1 November 2006
Fundamental changes to power given to land claims commissioners will streamline and speed up the restitution process, said Limpopo commissioner Mashile Mokono. ”The minister [of agriculture and land affairs] has agreed to delegate some powers to approve and finalise land claims to the chief land commissioner, as well as regional land claims commissioners,” said Mokono.
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/ 1 November 2006
Police in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, on Wednesday used batons to break up a demonstration by scores of pro-democracy activists, arresting three protesters, a spokesperson for the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) claimed. At least 250 members of the NCA were rounded up by police in central Harare while demonstrating for a new Constitution.
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/ 1 November 2006
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the ministerial review commission on intelligence announced by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on Wednesday. ”In particular, we are pleased with the clearly transparent process and public involvement,” DA spokesperson Paul Swart said in a statement.