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/ 19 January 2004
Political minnow the Moderate Independent Party kicked off its 2004 election campaign on Monday, aiming to capture five to 10 seats in the Western Cape provincial parliament. Party leader Malcolm Taylor said the decision on whether to contest the elections nationally will be decided within the next two weeks.
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/ 19 January 2004
Comedian Marc Lottering admitted at the scene of a car crash in Sea Point, Cape Town, that he had had ”too much to drink”, a Cape Town magistrate heard on Monday. Lottering was arrested then for alleged drunken driving and reckless or negligent driving.
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/ 19 January 2004
The official opposition Democratic Alliance has submitted written parliamentary questions to the presidency requesting a breakdown of costs incurred by the South African taxpayer for President Thabo Mbeki’s recent visit to Haiti. Mbeki recently attended Haiti’s bi-centenary celebrations.
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/ 19 January 2004
The government needs to review the contradictions between its stated objectives in education and reality on the ground with children of the poor being turned away from schools because they cannot pay school fees, says Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille.
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/ 19 January 2004
South Africa’s two principal oil industry associations, the South African Petroleum Industry Association and the African Mineral and Energy Forum, have signed a cooperation agreement in the common area of liquid fuels in recognition of their common interests and goals.
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/ 17 January 2004
There is a strong suspicion that a decomposed body police found on the Tradouw Pass, near Barrydale in the Western Cape, is that of missing Dutch exchange student Marleen Konings, police said on Friday. A 46-year-old man has been taken into custody, but not formally charged with Konings’ murder.
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/ 16 January 2004
The bulk of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress’ supporters are unemployed while 94% of them are black, according to the results of a Markinor poll. Similarly, nearly 80% of Inkatha Freedom Party supporters are jobless. The poll was conducted among 3 500 respondents nationwide late last year and was commissioned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
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/ 16 January 2004
President Thabo Mbeki on Friday tried to address the negativity expressed by South Africans about South Africa. Writing in his weekly online letter Mbeki said South Africa’s democracy was less than ten years old and confronted by serious poverty that would take a great deal of time and effort to eradicate.
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/ 16 January 2004
The Inkatha Freedom Party and its leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, enter the coming election fighting to keep control of KwaZulu-Natal, and their future as a national political force.
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/ 15 January 2004
The official opposition has proposed a tax rebate system for both individual taxpayers and corporates to boost employment levels and spur economic growth. The Democratic Alliance’s leader, Tony Leon, introduced a "solutions at work" document on Thursday.
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/ 15 January 2004
Listed health and beauty retailer New Clicks Holdings has reported an 11% rise in its sales for the four months from September 1 to December 31 2003, compared with the year-earlier period. The New Clicks group includes the store brands Clicks, Discom, Musica, CD Wherehouse and The Body Shop.
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/ 15 January 2004
Police from the Netherlands joined a manhunt in South Africa on Wednesday for a 24-year-old Dutch woman who went missing shortly after Christmas. The Dutch detectives were assisting in the search for exchange student Marleen Konings, who had been due to meet a friend in Cape Town on December 28, but did not arrive at the rendezvous.
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/ 14 January 2004
The African National Congress leadership in the Western Cape said on Wednesday it is aiming for a 51% majority in the forthcoming election, irrespective of a coalition agreement between itself and the New National Party. ANC provincial chairperson Ebrahim Rasool said his party has no ”election pact” with the NNP.
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/ 14 January 2004
The issue of identity documents is a cause of concern for election authorities in the Western Cape, with many prisoners eligible to vote lacking them, and thousands of documents remaining uncollected at the home affairs department. The Independent Electoral Commission on Wednesday started registering inmates in the region.
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/ 13 January 2004
About 1Â 800 workers employed at Parmalat SA factories have an anxious six months to wait as the Food and Allied Workers Union joins forces with the senior management of the South African subsidiary in a bid to stave off job losses. The union and top management met for the first time on Tuesday.
Parmalat SA: ‘Even the cows are happy’
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/ 13 January 2004
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille has called on President Thabo Mbeki to make an announcement on the national and provincial election date. But a spokesperson for the presidency, Bheki Khumalo, said it was the president’s ”prerogative” to call the election.
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/ 12 January 2004
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress cannot claim to have a well-managed economy in place although economic fundamentals on a macro-level have improved, says opposition Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, reacting in a statement to the weekend ruling party’s election campaign launch.
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/ 12 January 2004
Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court number one was packed on Monday for the appearance of a 15-year-old and two co-accused appear in connection with the vicious gang-rape and murder of a Cape Town Aids activist. Luyanda Zono (18) and Ncedile Ntumbukana (20) and the juvenile were arrested in connection with the murder in December of Lorna Mlofana.
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/ 12 January 2004
South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, will launch its national election campaign in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday January 18. The pro-free-enterprise party is expected to underscore the importance of fast-tracking privatisation of state-owned enterprises.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29555">DA eyes KZN, Western Cape</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29493">ANC kicks off election battle</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29547">SA economy ‘not well-managed'</a>
An inquiry must be launched into the impact the Zimbabwean banking crisis will have on South African banks that have major equity stakes or subsidiaries active in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Alliance said. ”Minister [Trevor] Manuel must break his silence on the economic consequences of quiet diplomacy,” a DA spokesperson said.
Shares in South African retailer Woolworths lost ground in morning trade on Thursday after the group released a trading update for the six months to July showing a disappointing performance from its Australian subsidiary and slightly softer-than-expected sales for the Christmas period.
The man at the centre of a Western Cape shark-baiting controversy on Wednesday explained his motives and actions in a letter to a local newspaper, saying they were misunderstood by the public. ”My motive and intention was to attract the large white shark out to the open sea away from the beach area,” he said.
Listed fashion retailer Truworths International has concluded an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Young Designers Emporium (YDE) for an undisclosed sum, with effect from December 1 2003. The YDE chain has 10 stores across South Africa in the country’s premier shopping malls, as well as a factory shop outlet.
There were scenes of jubilation and tears of joy on the steps of the Cape High Court on Wednesday when a group of Seven-11 franchisees celebrated a judgement effectively holding the mother corporation liable for about R50-million in claims. The case was described as a ”landmark” for the South African franchise industry.
South Africa’s opposition political party the Democratic Alliance wants the government to do away with the country’s current centralised national matriculation (senior certificate exam) system, according to DA MP and education spokesperson Willem Doman.
Economists are predicting that this election year will be a stable one, with the rand/dollar exchange rate hovering between R6 and R8, and the interest rate remaining steady. Standard Bank economist Monica Ambrosi said on Tuesday the rand would end the year on an annual average of R6,60 to .
South Africa’s Department of Transport has reiterated its appeal to motorists to reduce their speed on national roads in anticipation of traffic exodus at the end of the holidays, government news agency BuaNews reported on Monday.
The United States consulate in Cape Town will be the first in a South African city to implement a new visa security measure designed to better track visitors to the US. The visa office will begin collecting biometric identifiers or fingerprints for all visa applicants between the ages of 14 and 79 from January 12.
US to fingerprint millions
The Democratic Alliance has urged Tourism and Environmental Affairs Minister Valli Moosa to put a stop to the proposed N2 toll road that will run through the Wild Coast between East London and Durban. DA transport spokesperson Stuart Farrow said he had sent another request to Moosa urging him to reconsider the decision.
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/ 30 December 2003
South Africa’s 2003 national matriculation pass rate has improved by 4,4% to a total of 73,3%, Education Minister Kader Asmal announced on Tuesday, up from 68,9% in 2002, 61,7% in 2001 and only 48,9% in 1999. Asmal said the results ”clearly show that the tide has turned” for South Africa’s education system.
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/ 30 December 2003
KWV International, the export subsidiary of KWV Ltd, one of South Africa’s largest producers of wine and spirits, has continued to see its export volumes grow in the first half of its financial year, but financially the strong rand is having a negative impact on the group, according to managing director Vernon Davis.
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/ 29 December 2003
As a South African team hastens to assist tens of thousands of Iranians reeling from an earthquake, what could South African citizens expect the government’s response to be in the event of a major catastrophe at home? New disaster management legislation will possibly come into effect in early 2004.