The African National Congress has reacted sharply to demands by the Landless People’s Movement in the Eastern Cape to either give it land, or see farms in the region occupied forcefully on election day. The ruling party said on Thursday it will not tolerate hooliganism aimed at misleading people and creating chaos and discord.
Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (Ecaar) will need to have deep pockets to pay the costs of its failed arms deal application to the Cape High Court, says South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. He said if the application had been successful it would have had ”profound consequences” for South Africa.
The New National Party on Thursday criticised Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon for his latest stance on the death penalty, saying his opportunism knows no end. ”He knows full well that the DA as a party does not support the death penalty,” NNP secretary general Daryl Swanepoel said in a statement.
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South Africa’s Deputy President Jacob Zuma went on the campaign trail in Cape Town on Thursday, and immediately came face-to-face with some of the harsh realities of South African society.
Elections 2004
The South African government has reiterated its concern about events in Haiti and the ousting of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The government is seriously concerned at the manner in which Aristide was forced to resign, as it was effectively a coup d’état, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The increase in the number of deaths on the population register is an indictment of government’s handling of the Aids pandemic, the United Democratic Movement and Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday. The number of deaths on the register rose by 68% over the past six years to 457Â 000 in 2003.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>The Democratic Alliance on Wednesday questioned the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s motives in declining to "take the lead" in organising the series of election debates between President Thabo Mbeki and DA leader Tony Leon as requested.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=40922">Special Report: Elections 2004</a>
Sanlam, South Africa’s second-largest financial services group, is expected to report basically unchanged pro-forma headline earnings per share based on a long-term rate of return when the company announces its results for the year to the end of December 2003 on Thursday.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has lowered the "official rate of interest" used to determine fringe benefits taxes to 9% from 9,5%, effective from March 1. In a statement on Tuesday, Sars said the move follows the 50 basis point decrease in the repurchase (repo) rate by the South African Reserve Bank in December 2003.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>The Western Cape leader of the Freedom Front Plus, Dr Corne Mulder, faces a criminal investigation after he was allegedly seen removing Democratic Alliance posters at the weekend. However, Mulder, who is also the brother of FF+ leader Pieter Mulder, on Tuesday angrily denied a DA claim that he broke the law.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=40922">Special Report: Elections 2004</a>
A project to establish an initiation village for urban Xhosa was launched by the Western Cape provincial government on the Cape Flats on Tuesday. The initiative, the first in the country, seeks to provide space for what is essentially a rural custom in a city setting.
The City of Cape Town has concluded a major black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction for the sale of the Epping Fresh Produce Market, the largest by a South African municipality to date. The transaction also includes an important and historic agreement with the South African Municipal Workers Union’s Cape Metro branch.
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/ 28 February 2004
South African government officials on Saturday afternoon said they could not confirm or deny reports that the South African Air Force was to ship arms to Haiti to help the embattled government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
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/ 27 February 2004
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel tore into opposition parties on Friday — particularly the official opposition Democratic Alliance — for promoting populist economics that would not be sustainable in the country. Manuel argued that two million jobs have been created in the past 10 years and that is where the debate should begin.
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/ 27 February 2004
The South African government donated a total of R45-million to the Office of the Facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, Sir Ketumile Masire, says South African President Thabo Mbeki. The presidency said that the Office of the Facilitator received money "from many donors in the international community".
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/ 26 February 2004
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Deputy President Jacob Zuma on Thursday declined to be drawn on whether Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi would play a role in the post-April-election national Cabinet. Buthelezi has recently hinted that his term of office as minister may be coming to an end.
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/ 26 February 2004
The South African government would like to see Zimbabwe enjoy the same press freedom that existed in this country, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. He was addressing the Cape Town Press Club. ”We believe in press freedom,” Zuma said in a reply to a questioner.
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/ 26 February 2004
A pause for rest during a traverse in the Hex River Mountains led to the serendipitous discovery of a new species of Disa flower, a nursery manager at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens said on Thursday. The new flower is related to the red Disa, which is unique to the Western Cape.
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/ 26 February 2004
The Democratic Alliance has again hit out at the African National Congress’s apparent ”inability” to provide answers on allegations that the ruling party may have benefited from a private oil deal with the government of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
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/ 26 February 2004
The Anglican church on Thursday sought to smooth the ruffled feathers of its Catholic brethren in the wake of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s criticism of the Catholic stand on condoms. Tutu earlier this week spoke out against Catholic disapproval of condoms as a way of preventing the spread of Aids.
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/ 26 February 2004
The PSG Group announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a partnership with a new black empowerment company, Arch Equity, which will acquire for cash 10-million shares in the PSG Group as its first transaction. Desmond Lockey is the controlling shareholder of Arch Equity and will serve as CEO of the new company.
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/ 26 February 2004
With the rand continuing to maintain its strength against major international currencies, local prices of bottled wines should fall in line with decreasing input costs, and those wine producers who opt to hike the prices of their brands are liable to lose market share to other wines, an industry expert warned on Thursday.
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/ 26 February 2004
Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin fleetingly braved the catwalk on Wednesday evening when he walked to the podium at the opening of this year’s Design Indaba Expo in Cape Town. ”It’s the first time ever [that] I’ve walked on the catwalk,” he joked, adding that while he might survive, ”whether the fashion industry would survive” was not so certain.
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/ 25 February 2004
A new low-cost local airline known as 1time was launched on Wednesday, with an inaugural flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Aimed at the low-income market, the airline is to have three flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town daily, one each in the morning, afternoon and evening.
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/ 25 February 2004
The African Christian Democratic Party has demanded an urgent inquiry following the discovery of ”bugging equipment” in its City of Cape Town caucus room on Wednesday. The bugging equipment was linked to high-frequency transmitter/receiver devices and video cabling, the party said in a statement.
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/ 25 February 2004
The long-standing political battle between two MPs and the Auditor General, Shauket Fakie — on whether he altered the final report of the joint investigating team into South Africa’s controversial arms deal — appeared to fizzle out in Parliament this week.
DA, ACDP object to arms deal report
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/ 25 February 2004
The Catholic Church in South Africa says it is ”dismayed” at Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s criticism of the church’s stand against condoms. Tutu, an Anglican, earlier this week used an international Aids conference in Dublin to speak out against Catholic disapproval of condoms as a way of preventing the spread of Aids.
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/ 24 February 2004
The joint investigating team report into South Africa’s controversial arms deal has been given the nod by the National Assembly, with the exception of the official opposition Democratic Alliance and the African Christian Democratic Party. The DA and ACDP made clear their opposition to accepting the report.
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/ 24 February 2004
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The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape on Tuesday challenged the New National Party/African National Congress alliance to say who it would nominate as the individual parties’ premier candidates. The DA unveiled its provincial election manifesto and named its candidates for provincial and national legislatures.
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/ 24 February 2004
The South African Council of Churches has written an urgent letter to the presidency requesting President Thabo Mbeki send a delegation to Harare to help restore talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
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/ 24 February 2004
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The Freedom Front Plus and Cape People’s Congress have agreed on a cooperation strategy for the April 14 general election, the two parties announced on Tuesday. The leaders of the two parties said their aim is to prevent the African National Congress gaining a two-thirds majority in the election.