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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.
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/ 23 February 2004
United Kingdom- and South African-listed financial services group Old Mutual plc CEO Jim Sutcliffe has reiterated the group’s commitment to retain its 52% stake in South African banking subsidiary Nedcor, saying that the stake is not for sale and that Old Mutual is even happy to further increase its shareholding in the group.
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/ 20 February 2004
President Thabo Mbeki said the 2004/05 Budget, tabled in Parliament earlier this week, takes South Africans a step closer to realising their dreams of development and prosperity. Writing in the weekly online publication ANC Today, Mbeki said the Budget has provided for increased expenditure to meet the needs of the people.
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/ 20 February 2004
A R20-million hospital-sharing partnership between the Eastern Cape health department and the private sector, the first of its kind in South Africa, was launched on Friday.
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/ 19 February 2004
Dangerous awaiting-trial prisoners swapping identities with inmates wanted on lesser charges is one of the scenarios a pioneering correctional services programme intends to eliminate. The Department of Correctional Services is expected to start a ”tagging system” among awaiting-trial prisoners by the end of April.
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/ 19 February 2004
President Thabo Mbeki’s assurances to the world that a resolution to the economic crisis and political impasse in Zimbabwe is imminent are meaningless, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday. Media reports earlier on Thursday quoted Zimbabwe state radio as saying Mugabe had no plans to retire from political life.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=31473">Mugabe: ‘I’ll never be defeated'</a>
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/ 19 February 2004
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel does not appear to have applied his mind fully before rejecting the call to scrap value-added tax (VAT) on books, Care campaign coordinator Terry Bell said on Thursday. Manuel said the case for reducing tax on magazines or coffee-table publications was not very compelling.
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/ 19 February 2004
A prankster working for Cape Town’s former South Peninsula municipality who put an envelope supposedly containing anthrax on a colleague’s desk was sentenced on Thursday to a fine of R2 000, or 90 days in jail.
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/ 18 February 2004
Judgement has been reserved in the Cape High Court matter where an NGO is trying to overturn the government’s decision to enter into the multibillion-rand arms deal. The NGO is challenging a decision by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to enter into foreign loan agreements that finance the deal.
‘Minister Manuel lied under oath’
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/ 18 February 2004
Various political parties on Wednesday reacted to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2004/05 Budget speech in Parliament. "The Budget showed that after several years of plenty, now the pantry is getting empty," said Pieter Mulder, head of the Freedom Front Plus.
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/ 17 February 2004
South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel is likely to unveil some reductions in personal income taxes as part of the government’s 2004/05 Budget when it is released on Wednesday, but these reductions will be smaller than those in previous years, according to Old Mutual Asset Managers.
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/ 17 February 2004
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel is expected to announce a rise of about 10,8% in excise duties on tobacco products — or 42 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes — when he unveils the Budget for 2004/05 in Parliament on Wednesday. He is also expected to announce substantially higher increases in excise duties on alcoholic beverages.
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/ 17 February 2004
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The New National Party in the Western Cape on Tuesday became the first of the party’s provincial structures to release its candidates lists for the coming elections. Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk tops both the national and provincial lists by virtue of his position as provincial leader.
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/ 17 February 2004
Just 24 hours before Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel announces his 2004/05 Budget in Parliament, a United Nations-accredited NGO called in papers before the Cape High Court on Tuesday to have the government’s multibillion-rand arms deal declared null and void.
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/ 16 February 2004
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The Democratic Alliance on Monday accused the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) of ”brazen hypocrisy” in airing a radio advertisement for the African National Congress’s election launch in January, while refusing to accept a comparable add from the Inkatha Freedom Party.
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/ 16 February 2004
The South African Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday is expected to be in the region of R363-billion according to the projections in the Budget Review of 2003. Education spending is expected to remain the largest category of expenditure.
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/ 16 February 2004
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Two political minnows announced on Monday their coming together to contest the general elections, united in their ”fight against moral decay and godless government”. The New Labour Party and the Christian Democratic Party signed their cooperation agreement on Sunday evening, following months of negotiations.
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/ 16 February 2004
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President Thabo Mbeki’s ”refusal” to debate with Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon on television is a sign of growing presidential arrogance, disregard for the democratic process, and disrespect for the people, the DA said on Monday. The DA also said Mbeki is taking advantage of the calendar to elude tough questions.
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/ 16 February 2004
Environment Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa has announced his intention to designate five new marine protected areas, according to his department staff at Parliament on Monday. The areas will be designated in the government gazette on Tuesday.
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/ 16 February 2004
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The New National Party has committed itself to building almost a quarter of a million houses by 2010 as part of a blueprint for eliminating the Western Cape’s housing backlog. The plan is contained in the party’s 92-page manifesto for the province, released on Monday by NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
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/ 16 February 2004
The People’s Budget Campaign, representing NGOs, church groups and trade unions, has motivated for a modest increase in taxes relative to gross domestic product and an increase in state borrowing and a cancellation of the third tranche of fighter jets for the South African National Defence Force.
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/ 16 February 2004
South Africa’s 2004/05 government Budget, set for release on Wednesday, should reveal a "go for growth" strategy, tolerating an increase in the Budget deficit in the coming years, according to investment bank Lehman Brothers. This expansionary fiscal policy could prove to be crucial to sustain economic growth in 2004 and beyond.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=31237">Budget could bring positive surprise</a>
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/ 16 February 2004
An off-duty policeman was shot and killed while he was visiting his family in Khayelitsha in Cape Town on Saturday, Western Cape police said on Sunday. Inspector Elliot Sinyangana said Constable Siyabulela Leon Mcengwa (27) was killed when several shots were fired at him around 7.15pm. He was hit in the head and died at the scene.
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/ 15 February 2004
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The Democratic Alliance list of candidates for the 2004 election, to be contested on April 14, holds some surprises and a few predictable placements. DA leader Tony Leon predictably heads the Gauteng national list, followed by sitting MPs Ian Davidson, Richard Ntuli, Janet Semple and Chief Whip Douglas Gibson.
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/ 12 February 2004
All eyes in South Africa are on Hollywood’s Oscar favourite Charlize Theron — even in Parliament, it was reported on Thursday. Parliament’s National Council of Provinces adopted a motion asking that Theron, who stars as a serial killer in the film Monster, to speak ”a little Afrikaans” should she collect an Oscar award this year for her role.