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/ 22 October 2004
Foreign business chambers falling under the Bilateral Chamber Consultative Committee — an umbrella body representing 21 private-sector business groupings — have a high level of confidence in the South African economy. This was the message delivered on Friday to the National Assembly trade and industry committee.
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/ 22 October 2004
The South African Presidency is not yet ready to make an announcement on the salary adjustments for judges and MPs, said President Thabo Mbeki’s spokesperson Bheki Khumalo on Friday. This comes amid speculation that the president will not accept the advice of a 7% increase recommended by the Moseneke Commission.
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/ 21 October 2004
Small retail pharmacies will soon be extinct in South Africa unless new regulations governing medicine pricing and dispensing margins are changed, according to the group leader of listed health and beauty retailer New Clicks Holdings, Trevor Honneysett. He also said the legislation has not succeeded in reducing medicine prices.
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/ 21 October 2004
President Thabo Mbeki deflected a question about the relationship of rape and the spread of HIV/Aids by accusing a Democratic Alliance MP of not understanding the scourge of racial oppression. In a lively debate in the National Assembly on Thursday, Mbeki repeatedly accused DA health spokesperson Ryan Coetzee of not listening.
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/ 21 October 2004
Health and beauty retailer New Clicks Holdings is confident that its model for including pharmacy dispensaries and related health services across its Clicks chain of stores will prove profitable, even if the current regulations fixing dispensing fees and establishing single exit prices for medicines prove to be permanent.
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/ 21 October 2004
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has paid tribute to the Cape Town based non-governmental organisation You and Your Money — for trying to assist and provide guidance to people in severe debt. At a macro-economic level, household debt was a reasonable 55% of disposable income, Manuel said.
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/ 20 October 2004
A group of handicapped South Africans has threatened legal action against a local airline for charging extra fees to passengers who need assistance boarding, an MP said on Wednesday. The South African-based Nationwide Airlines will answer to complaints of discrimination before the Equality Court, a Cape Town-based tribunal.
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/ 20 October 2004
Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced on Wednesday the names of two of the three potential bidders for the unallocated equity in the second national telephone operator (SNO). They are Old Mutual Asset Managers and Tata Africa Holding.
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/ 19 October 2004
Although ”elements” of al-Qaeda have been detected in South Africa, the terrorist organisation has established no networks here, Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils said on Tuesday. Speaking at a Cape Town Press Club luncheon, he described al-Qaeda as ”a huge international threat”.
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/ 19 October 2004
Deputy President Jacob Zuma gently chided the religious on Tuesday for not doing enough to challenge the portrayal of violence and sex in the media. ”There is something wrong in society if religious people are afraid to challenge things,” said Zuma, delivering the inaugural Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture.
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/ 19 October 2004
South African joint venture brandhouse, newly formed between Diageo, Heineken and Namibia Breweries, is notching up success in the local spirit-cooler sector through the recent launch of two South African-designed brand innovations — Smirnoff Triple Spin and Archers Aqua.
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/ 19 October 2004
Listed retailer Pick ‘n Pay has managed the current South African environment of very low inflation and deflation in some categories by improving its operational efficiencies as well as encouraging higher sales volumes, reflected in an improvement in its operating profit margin to 2,6% from 2,4% a year earlier.
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/ 18 October 2004
The Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa has welcomed the introduction of professional service fees that may be levied by pharmacists. The new fees mean pharmacists may now charge up to R60 for their ”time and skill” in preparing certain products, and as much as R24 for a ”consultation” with a customer.
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/ 18 October 2004
The South African government has taken "strong exception" to reported comments attributed to the interim Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, accusing President Thabo Mbeki of failing to respect international law by allegedly "allowing a person in his territory to organise violence in another country".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=123896">’Mbeki not respecting international law'</a>
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/ 18 October 2004
The African Christian Democratic Party has called on President Thabo Mbeki to respond to claims he is breaking international law by allowing deposed Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide to incite violence, from South Africa, among his followers in his homeland. The Democratic Alliance also called on Mbeki to respond to the allegations.
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/ 18 October 2004
The South African government has confirmed that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit South Africa from Wednesday to Saturday and has defended the visit "in the context of ongoing efforts by South Africa to assist Israelis and Palestinians to find a long-lasting resolution to the political crisis currently affecting the Middle East".
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/ 18 October 2004
The recent launch of the National Treasury’s Urban Renewal Tax Incentive is certain to stimulate further investment in Cape Town’s central city and immediate surrounds, according to Cape Town Partnership CEO Andrew Boraine. The incentive will first apply to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
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/ 15 October 2004
The R100 000 bail granted to parliamentary travel scam suspect Soraya Beukes was suspended on Thursday, after allegations that she had given false information to enable her to go to Mozambique. Scorpions prosecutor Ben Avenant alleged in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court that her purpose was to abscond. Beukes is the owner of Business and Executive Travel.
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/ 14 October 2004
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete has granted permission for Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille and the former chairperson of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), Gavin Woods, to appear in court as state witnesses in the trial of Schabir Shaik.
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/ 14 October 2004
Cape Town conservation authorities are increasingly considering capturing a young hippopotamus that has been on the run for a couple of weeks after escaping from the Zeekoevlei Nature Reserve. The hippo has captured the public’s imagination. So far, passive capture methods have proved unsuccessful.
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/ 14 October 2004
The African National Congress has rejected media speculation that it is opening debate on who is to succeed President Thabo Mbeki as South African leader. In a statement on Thursday — in response to such speculation — the party said it wants to clarify a number of issues regarding the leadership succession.
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/ 14 October 2004
The strategic black economic empowerment (BEE) partnership between listed financial services group Metropolitan and black-owned investment group Kagiso Trust Investments, details of which were announced in June, has been officially finalised with the transfer of both shares and money on the part of both partners.
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/ 14 October 2004
A Kempton Park woman who looks after street children has alleged that cases involving police in the Ekurhuleni area do not receive the necessary attention, but the police have denied this. ”The Ekurhuleni Metro Police have held guns against the heads of street children,” alleged Siphumelele ministries founder Elsabe Coetzee.
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/ 13 October 2004
South African transport utility Transnet is not a job creation agent and the best contribution it can make is not to grow its number of jobs, says Transnet CEO Mario Ramos. She was addressing the National Assembly public enterprises portfolio committee on Wednesday.
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/ 13 October 2004
Two districts in the Western Cape, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu/Nyanga, have HIV rates touching 30%. This translates into at least one in four people being HIV-positive. A disrict survey done at 374 facilities, involving the testing of 5 964 people, revealed that Gugulethu/Nyanga had a prevalence rate of 28,1%, Khayelitsha 27,2%, Helderberg 19,1%, Oostenberg 16,1%, Knysna/Plettenberg Bay 15,6% and Caledon/Hermanus 14,2%.
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/ 12 October 2004
The Noupoort Christian Care Centre (NCCC), the controversial drug rehabilitation facility, is to ask the High Court to review a decision by Director General of Social Development Vusi Madonsela to close it down. The NCCC’s attorney said the NCCC has been treated unfairly by the department and will oppose its closure ”all the way”.
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/ 12 October 2004
The Democratic Alliance has called for the trustees of the South African National Aids Trust, including Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, to appear before Parliament’s health portfolio committee to account for the trust’s activities.
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/ 12 October 2004
The South African government was close to a decision on rail restructuring, South Africa’s Public Enterprises Department director general Eugene Mokeyane told parliamentarians on Tuesday. He said: ”Government is gearing towards a policy decision to move forward with rail restructuring and the underlying restructuring models.”
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/ 12 October 2004
The prevalence of HIV among health workers in South Africa is ”very high” and they need to be targeted with anti-retroviral treatment as part of a multipronged approach to augment the sector, the South African Medical Journal warns. The journal said the high prevalance of HIV in the health sector had serious implications for the health system, with increased absenteeism and non-infected workers becoming overloaded with work.
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/ 12 October 2004
Black economic empowerment (BEE) financial services group Arch Equity is rapidly building up its asset base to become one of the largest BEE players in the Western Cape, with plans to list on the JSE Securities Exchange before year-end. CEO Desmond Lockey said the company has already started the process to list the company on the JSE.
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/ 12 October 2004
Ordinary South Africans on Monday celebrated a decade of democracy by sharing with Parliament their experiences of the ”rainbow nation”, whose post-apartheid Constitution ensures equality for all. But many of the 150 participants who attended the special session complained that the black majority were still sidetracked after decades of oppression, and formed the main chunk of the jobless.
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/ 11 October 2004
The share price of financial services group PSG Group jumped as high as 14,2% or 57 cents in afternoon trade on Monday after the group reported a 19,6% rise in its headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of August 2004, to 36,9 cents from 33,1 cents a year earlier.