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/ 21 May 2008

Gauteng says attacks on the wane

The xenophobic attacks in Gauteng appeared to have subsided, a provincial spokesperson said on Wednesday. However, KwaZulu-Natal police are monitoring a possible outbreak of attacks there. ”There are no new reports of attacks,” said Thabo Masebe, deputy director of communications for the provincial government.

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/ 3 April 2008

ACDP: Govt has failed Free State farmers

Free State Agriculture had to take the government to court to ensure the safety of farmers and farm workers because the government had failed them, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said on Thursday. ”Safety is a constitutional right. A Constitution not being applied is not worth the paper it is written on,” said the ACDP.

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/ 19 March 2008

Outrage at proposed Eskom tariff hikes

Political parties and union leaders were outraged on Wednesday over Eskom’s proposed tariff hike of 53% and the devastating effect it would have on the country. The Congress of South African Trade Unions said it was absolutely horrified at the proposal and demanded an extended consultation process on Eskom’s latest plans.

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/ 6 February 2008

ANCYL gains support for Sunday liquor ban

Support widened on Wednesday for the African National Congress Youth League’s call for a ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays as part of the fight against drug and substance abuse among youths. Both the African Christian Democratic Party and the Young Communist League said the idea should be given serious thought.

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/ 9 January 2008

DA: Nel arrest a ‘witch-hunt’

The arrest of Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel is a witch-hunt to protect police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, said the Democratic Alliance on Wednesday. ”The axing of Vusi Pikoli and now Gerrie Nel has all the appearance of a witch-hunt to protect Selebi,” said DA spokesperson on Safety and Security Dianne Kohler Barnard.

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/ 3 December 2007

Mbeki, Zuma confirm candidacies for ANC

South African President Thabo Mbeki and his arch-rival, Jacob Zuma, have both officially confirmed they are candidates for party chief of the African National Congress (ANC), their offices said Monday. ”Mr Jacob Zuma signed the ANC nomination form over the weekend in London,” Zuma’s spokesperson, Ranjeni Munusamy, said.

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/ 1 November 2007

Matatiele closer to E Cape incorporation

The district of Matatiele moved a step closer to being permanently incorporated into the Eastern Cape after the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday voted by a narrow margin in favour of the controversial Constitution 13th Amendment Bill. Heated debate between opposition parties and the ruling African National Congress preceded the vote.

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/ 9 October 2007

Cape advocates say Hlophe must quit

Nine senior advocates from the Cape Bar, some of them former acting judges, have publicly called on Cape Judge President John Hlophe to quit. ”We believe that there cannot be public confidence in the continuation in office now of Judge Hlophe,” they said in a letter published on Tuesday.

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/ 5 October 2007

Opposition voices concern over Hlophe matter

The lack of legislation regulating the conduct of judges has resulted in Cape Judge President John Hlophe getting away with a ”slap on the wrist”, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday. DA spokesperson on justice Sheila Camerer said Hlophe’s case highlighted the need to expedite the passing of such legislation.

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/ 1 October 2007

DA urges Parliament action over Pikoli

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the speaker of the National Assembly to urgently reconvene Parliament so that President Thabo Mbeki can explain his reasons for suspending the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli. In a letter to the speaker, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said the National Assembly has an obligation to deal with ”the crisis”.

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/ 24 September 2007

Mbeki suspends prosecutions chief

President Thabo Mbeki has suspended Vusi Pikoli, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, it was announced on Monday. Mokotedi Mpshe was named as acting director. The move to suspend Pikoli — met with shock and disbelief by opposition political parties — comes amid a bitter turf war between the police and the Scorpions that has escalated to Cabinet level.

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/ 1 September 2007

Floor-crossing off to low-key start

After all the drama of the court cases that preceded it, the floor-crossing window got off to a low-key start on Saturday. The only excitement was provided by a senior African Christian Democratic Party politician in the Western Cape, Johan Kriel, who accompanied his move to the Democratic Alliance (DA) with a blistering attack on ACDP leader, Kenneth Meshoe.

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/ 1 September 2007

Meshoe ‘thinks he is president for life’

The first politician to publicly announce he was crossing the floor did so on Saturday with a blistering attack on his former leader, president of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) Kenneth Meshoe. ”He thinks he is president for life, anointed and appointed, and that the only one who can unappoint him is God,” said a disillusioned Johan Kriel.