The government’s new draft fisheries policy, released for public comment on Tuesday ahead of the allocation of long-term quotas later this year, will see emerging small and medium enterprises gaining a greater share of South Africa’s fish stocks at the expense of the industry’s big players.
Zimbabwe must sort out its political problems if it hopes to meet the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) regional economic integration targets, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni warned on Monday. He was addressing journalists in Cape Town after a meeting between SADC central banks and representatives of the European Central Bank.
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/ 28 February 2005
The National Party withdrew from the government of national unity (GNU) when the African National Congress refused to establish a consultative council to deal with minority concerns. This is according to former president FW de Klerk, who on Monday addressed the Cape Town Press Club on the role of minorities in post-1994 South Africa.
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/ 28 February 2005
The world-famous Blue Train is back in full operation after one set of carriages was withdrawn in March 2003 because of fire damage, Spoornet said on Monday. ”The fire-detection system on the damaged train set has now been updated and improved with the latest technology,” Dorcas Ledwaba, manager of the Blue Train, said in a statement.
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/ 28 February 2005
Old Mutual, South Africa’s largest insurer, will unveil details of its black economic empowerment (BEE) plans in the "near future", its CEO has confirmed. The group has been working on a transaction involving the sale of a 10% stake in its South African operations, as well as Nedcor and Mutual & Federal, to black empowerment partners.
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/ 26 February 2005
The young male hippo that made headlines last year after escaping from a nature reserve in Cape Town will soon start his own herd, City Parks and Nature Conservation said on Saturday. The hippo escaped from the Rondevlei Nature Reserve and took up residence in Zeekoevlei for several months until he was recaptured in December.
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/ 26 February 2005
The Stormers made easy meat of the Sharks as they notched up a 26-12 victory in their opening Super 12 match at Newlands on Friday night. Neil de Kock’s side should have led by considerably more than an eight-point margin at the interval, but were left to reflect on a number of missed opportunities through unforced errors and over-elaboration.
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/ 25 February 2005
President Thabo Mbeki has paid special tribute to African National Congress stalwart Raymond Mhlaba, who died at the age of 85 last Sunday, calling him one of South Africa’s foremost leaders and ”midwife of our democracy”. Mbeki devoted his weekly column on Friday in the ANC’s online publication, ANC Today, to Mhlaba’s memory.
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/ 25 February 2005
The African National Congress and the Presidency are singling out Afrikaans single-medium schools for interference, harassment and demonisation, says Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon. He condemned the Western Cape education minister for trying to compel an Afrikaans-medium primary school to create a special English-medium class.
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/ 24 February 2005
Democratic Alliance chief whip Douglas Gibson said he could never have made remarks comparing his son with African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) spokesperson Zizi Kodwa, as was reported last week. He was commenting on a South African Press Association article about his return from Zimbabwe.
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/ 24 February 2005
Ajax Cape Town gained three points with a 2-1 local derby win against Santos at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night, but the general feeling afterwards was that it was an undeserving victory. Ajax can thank their reserve goalkeeper, Andre Petim — their regular ‘keeper, Moeneeb Josephs, is suspended — as he brought off several excellent saves.
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/ 24 February 2005
It’s been a week of typical mind games as the Stormers and Sharks gear up for Friday night’s Super 12 match between the sides at Newlands. Sharks coach Kevin Putt named a team without Springbok captain John Smit at hooker, while utility forward AJ Venter is not even in the 22-man squad.
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/ 24 February 2005
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Five percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in South Africa is ”doable” in 2005, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in a post Budget briefing on Thursday. In his Budget speech on Wednesday, Manuel forecast 4,3% growth in GDP, which he said was in line with the consensus of economists, compared with last year’s 3,7%.
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/ 23 February 2005
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There has been a 76% increase over the past three years in the number of people receiving disability and care dependency grants in the Eastern Cape, according to the Budget Review tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel at Parliament on Wednesday.
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/ 23 February 2005
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The Inkatha Freedom Party was the first to welcome Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2005/06 Budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. The party said while the Budget was ”highly commendable” it had some doubts over whether the government could meet its implementation requirements.
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/ 23 February 2005
Award-winning Xhosa-language film uCarmen eKhayelitsha got another honourable mention on Wednesday, in Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s Budget speech. In his opening remarks, he said the world had acclaimed the film, which won a Golden Bear award at the weekend as the best film at the Berlin Film Festival.
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/ 23 February 2005
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South Africa’s savings rate is among the lowest in the world, according to the Budget Review, tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday.The document says savings in the country dropped from 16,2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2003, to 14,7% of GDP in the third quarter of 2004.
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/ 23 February 2005
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Smokers will be coughing up R620-million in additional revenue for the fiscus during the 2005/06 financial year, thanks to an increase in excise duties. Presenting his Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said excise duties on tobacco products would be increased by between 7,5 and 14,9%, with immediate effect.
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/ 23 February 2005
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Total expenditure, excluding interest costs and a contingency reserve, rises from R363-billion in 2005/06 to R428-billion by the end of the medium term expenditure framework period in 2007/08, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday.
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Excise duties on alcoholic beverages have been increased by between 9,4% and 20% as part of the government’s 2005/06 Budget, according to Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel. Excise duty on unfortified wine and sparkling wine will see the largest increases (20% each on a nominal basis, 15,8% real).
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>The maximum old age, disability and care dependency grants will rise by R40 to R780 a month from April 2005, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel announced on Wednesday. In his national Budget speech he said that foster-care grants will be increased by R30 to R560 and the child-support grant goes up by R10 to R180 a month.
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has unveiled reductions in personal income tax totalling R6,8-billion for the 2005/06 financial year as part of the government’s 2005 Budget. Outlining Budget proposals in Parliament on Wednesday, Manuel said the reductions will benefit taxpayers across all income brackets.
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Eskom Holding’s planned pilot pebble-bed modular reactor got the government green light in Wednesday’s national Budget. Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said infrastructure spending by public enterprises is expected to grow strongly over the years ahead, "complemented by rising spending on public assets through public-private partnerships of various kinds".
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Hailing the Grammy Award for Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Golden Bear award for <i>uCarmen eKhayelisha</i>, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday in his 2005/06 Budget Speech that it is entirely fitting that the new season of hope and rising confidence of the nation should be proclaimed in music and in theatre.
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/ 23 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>As part of its broader initiative to encourage and support small-business development, the South African government has granted further income tax relief for the sector in the 2005 Budget, as well as extending the category of eligible small businesses to include personal services and manufacturing.
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/ 22 February 2005
Gauteng is becoming the safest province in the country, figures from the provincial government and some independent organisations have confirmed, the South African government news agency said on Wednesday. Gauteng community safety minister Firoz Cachalia attributed all this to the increased number of police officers in the province.
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/ 22 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>The cost of an average pack of 20 cigarettes in South Africa is likely to experience a 52c rise in excise duty from Wednesday, when Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel unveils the government’s 2005/06 Budget, according to the Tobacco Institute of South Africa (Tisa). The retail price of a pack of cigarettes should rise by 70c.
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/ 22 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has been urged by the official opposition Democratic Alliance to focus his Budget — on Wednesday — on job creation. The DA said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that the national Budget "should be the most important job-creation tool in government’s box".
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/ 22 February 2005
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>Higher-than-expected government revenue growth means Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has R14-billion to allocate when he announces the 2005/06 Budget on Wednesday, Old Mutual Asset Managers (Omam) economist Rian le Roux told a media briefing on Tuesday.
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/ 22 February 2005
Retired top South African referee Andre Watson has lauded the Sanzar executive committee on its decision to scrap the requirement to appoint franchise-neutral referees for local derbies in the Vodacom Rugby Super 12 contest. Sanzar said the decision comes into effect this week when the competition kicks off in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
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/ 22 February 2005
African intellectuals who had sat on the sidelines while the New Partnership for Africa’s Development was prepared, and complained about not being consulted, should now stand up and be counted. This was the challenge of President Thabo Mbeki, who addressed the 11th General Conference of the Association of African Universities in Cape Town on Tuesday.
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/ 22 February 2005
Food and furniture retailer Shoprite has reported a 55,4% rise in its headline earnings per share for the six months ended December 2004, to 60,6 cents from 39 cents a year earlier. The group said it envisages declaring an interim dividend of 22 cents per share, representing a 33,3% increase on the 16,5 cents declared at the interim stage in 2004.