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/ 27 February 2008

Court rejects Najwa Petersen’s second bail bid

The Cape High Court on Wednesday rejected a second bail bid by murder accused Najwa Petersen, expressing scepticism over her ”almost miraculous recovery” from mental illness. ”The appellant’s case relating to her precarious state of health, as presented in the first bail application, appears to have undergone a complete volte-face in the second,” the judges said.

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/ 27 February 2008

Govt throws weight behind Arendse

South Africa’s government threw its weight behind embattled Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Norman Arendse on Tuesday by calling for an increase in the number of black players in national teams. Arendse angered selectors and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola by vetoing the squad chosen by national selectors to tour Bangladesh.

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/ 26 February 2008

Govt to curb private healthcare costs

The government is to intervene to curb rocketing private healthcare costs and prevent the sector’s ”demise”, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Tuesday. The health charter task team, among others, has been discussing the challenge of making healthcare more affordable, she told the National Assembly’s health committee.

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/ 26 February 2008

Tourism figures growing, says Van Schalkwyk

The number of foreign visitors to South Africa grew by just under 9% last year, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday. ”I am pleased to announce that the overall foreign arrivals increased by 8,6% from January to November 2007,” he told a business tourism conference in Sandton.

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/ 25 February 2008

SAHRC to debate black media forum

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is to hold a public forum on complaints of racial prejudice against the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) and the issue of exclusive organisations. This stems from last Friday’s controversial FBJ meeting addressed by African National Congress president Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg.

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/ 25 February 2008

Pandor: Significant school dropout rate after grade nine

A ”significant” number of children drop out of the schooling system after grade nine, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said in Cape Town on Monday. ”South Africa is doing very well with respect to enrolment of children up to grade nine, but a significant number drop out at that point,” she told journalists during a Council of Education Ministers meeting.

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/ 25 February 2008

Manuel fights for interdict in Cape court

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel should have considered asking for an apology rather than a gagging order against arms-deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne, the Cape High Court was told on Monday. Manuel is seeking an urgent interim order to stop Crawford-Browne from continuing to publicly accuse him of criminal conduct in signing loan agreements for the deal.

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/ 25 February 2008

DA calls on Mbeki to release Khampepe report

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on President Thabo Mbeki to make public the full report of the Khampepe Commission. ”I have today [Monday] submitted a request to the Presidency to make the full Khampepe Commission Report public in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act,” DA leader Helen Zille said in a statement.

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/ 22 February 2008

DA dismisses land-invasion allegations

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille on Friday dismissed as ”posturing” Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool’s threat to sue the DA over recent land invasions in Delft. ”A threat to sue the DA for allegedly encouraging land invasions in Delft is just posturing,” she said in a statement.

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/ 22 February 2008

Mbeki: Govt committed to role of traditional leaders

The government remains committed to protecting and strengthening the role of traditional leaders in South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. Addressing the opening session of the National House of Traditional Leaders in Cape Town, he said the major challenge revolved around the implementation of legislation and programmes across the country.

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/ 22 February 2008

Western Cape govt mulls lawsuit over Delft

The Western Cape government may join in a contemplated R20-million lawsuit claim against a Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor it claims is behind the illegal occupation of houses at Delft on the Cape Flats. Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Friday that his administration has been given ”preliminary” legal advice that it could sue the DA as well.

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/ 22 February 2008

The age of cheap electricity is over

The government’s R60-billion capital injection for Eskom will come with strings for the parastatal’s management, and added pressure on the regulator to raise prices sharply. Director General in the National Treasury Lesetja Kganyago says the final package will probably combine an ordinary loan, a subordinated loan, a loan guarantee and cash.

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/ 22 February 2008

Guarantee for Anglo American

The government has promised Anglo American that its mining rights will be renewed under new rules governing the industry — even as data summarised in the budget shows just how badly regulatory barriers continue to limit South Africa’s ability to cash in on the biggest commodities boom in living memory.

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/ 21 February 2008

KZN doctor cleared on treatment charge

The KwaZulu-Natal health department has dropped a misconduct charge against rural doctor Colin Pfaff, following a storm of protest, the doctor confirmed on Thursday. Pfaff faced the charge for administering dual therapy — two antiretroviral drugs — to prevent the infection of babies born to HIV-positive mothers.

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/ 21 February 2008

Law firm criticises land numbers in budget

The Legal Resources Centre, a public-interest law firm working on land issues, expressed scepticism on Thursday at the claim in Wednesday’s national budget that the land-restitution process is nearing completion. An extra R1-billion will be set aside over the next three years to settle outstanding land-restitution claims.

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/ 21 February 2008

‘Tough negotiations’ ahead for Eskom

There would be some very ”tough negotiations” with Eskom over the repayment of its R60-billion loan, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in Cape Town on Thursday. ”The terms will have to be worked out, it’s not in our interests to try to squeeze a short-term return,” he told a breakfast meeting.

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/ 20 February 2008

Smit takes the helm amid mudslinging

Springbok rugby captain John Smit will remain at the helm of the side until the end of the year, coach Peter de Villiers announced on Wednesday, as political mudslinging continued with the Freedom Front Plus condemning the reaction of African National Congress MPs to former Springbok captains calling for an end to political interference in the sport.

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/ 20 February 2008

Green landowners to receive tax break

Landowners who opt to preserve habitats and biodiversity on their land are set to receive an income-tax deduction for their efforts, according to the Budget Review tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 726 trees, almost 37 tonnes of paper, were used for the paperwork and the documents of the national budget.

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/ 20 February 2008

R10-billion for police, prosecutors

Over R10-billion will be spent on strengthening the police force and judiciary over the next three years, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in his budget speech on Wednesday. There would be more than 200 000 police officers by the end of March 2011, up 22% from the 163 000 police officers in 2006/07.

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/ 20 February 2008

Child-support grant age to be raised

The age limit for the child-support grant will be raised by one year to include 14-year-olds as from January next year, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced on Wednesday. He also said the qualifying age for men for the state old-age pension would be reduced from 65 to 63 this year, to 61 in 2009, and 60 by 2010.

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/ 20 February 2008

Govt rescue plan for Eskom to cost R60bn

The government will fund embattled electricity producer Eskom to the tune of R60-billion over the next five years, according to national budget documents tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. At the same time, it will introduce a levy in a bid to get consumers to save electricity.