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/ 28 October 2005
Oilgate’s Sandi Majali used the names of both President Thabo Mbeki and African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe when he sought crude oil from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, according to a United Nations probe. Majali bought millions of barrels of oil from Iraq under the UN Oil-for-Food Programme (OFF).
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/ 28 October 2005
Given that the Volkswagen Passat has sold about 13-million units worldwide since its entry into the market 32 years ago, it’s safe to say it’s a popular car. The most striking aspect about the sixth generation Passat (B6) is the design. The outgoing model was rather staid and one wouldn’t have spoken much about the exterior.
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/ 28 October 2005
The plight of Aids orphans in Swaziland, currently labouring under the world’s highest HIV prevalence rate, is an issue that demands coverage. Journalists often find themselves in a quandary concerning how best to tackle it, however. "A child could be scarred for life by something that is written about him or her," says Sara Page, assistant director of the Southern African Aids Information Dissemination Service.
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/ 28 October 2005
The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust is facing a financial crisis less than three months after it was established to raise funds to help cover Zuma’s legal costs. Barnabos Xulu, the spokesperson for the fund, said: "I can confirm that we are far behind in achieving our budget."
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/ 28 October 2005
Far from being an indication of good health, the budget deficit is now the most glaring indicator of South Africa’s skills shortage and lack of capacity. This week, at the presentation of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel will also have been reminded that he can never please everyone. In the statement, the most divisive issue was whether corporate taxes should be cut.
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/ 28 October 2005
Banking boss Jacko Maree of Standard Bank was the country’s highest paid chief executive last year with total earnings of R38,9-million. Human capital management company Mabili says in its annual report on directors’ remuneration that banking bosses earn top dollar, the financial sector proving to be lucrative for both executive and non-executive directors.
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/ 28 October 2005
Fill up with Penuell, Khaya and Phuthuma. This week, the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reveals for the first time the big empowerment stakes at issue in the Uhambo deal — the proposed merger of Engen and Sasol’s fuels business — which show that the benefits to accrue to Penuell Maduna, Khaya Ngqula and Phuthuma Nhleko will make them industry giants.
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/ 28 October 2005
The Cabinet is divided, the civil service is paralysed, Jacob Zuma’s ground offensive is rolling ahead without meaningful opposition. And apparently the spy agencies, whose job it is to protect us, are so embroiled in the open warfare between President Thabo Mbeki and his erstwhile deputy that they risk becoming a threat to our welfare.
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/ 28 October 2005
Recently, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa and the University of Cape Town’s law faculty sponsored a two-day colloquium dealing with the transformation and independence of the judiciary. It was dominated by two controversial debates. At least two senior judges argued that it was wrong to replace the apartheid-era crime-control model of criminal procedure with a human rights-oriented approach.
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/ 28 October 2005
”There is total disregard for the well-being and safety of our people [in Khayelitsha] who are being used as guinea pigs,” declared Smuts Ngonyama, head of the presidency in the African National Congress. No, Ngonyama was not speaking about the activities of the Rath Foundation, which has been undermining the government’s HIV/Aids treatment programme.