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/ 12 April 2005

SA exporters can ‘no longer rely’ on weak rand

South Africans involved in the export market could "no longer rely" on a weak currency to drive their businesses, South African Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa told parliamentarians on Tuesday. He said his department was "very aware that important sectors are facing a crisis and decline, particularly those that have significant employment and social implications".

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/ 6 April 2005

Be bolder with economic growth, govt told

Big business has urged the South African government to be bolder about economic growth at a meeting of the two parties held at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Working in a partnership — of business and the government — Africa will be highlighted "as a place to do business", said Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa.

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/ 29 March 2005

UIF pays out R6,7m to domestics

Domestic employers, seasonal employers, farmers and their workers contributed R40,9-million to the Unemployment Insurance Fund during the 2003/04 financial year, according to Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. This figure has already jumped to R68-million for the categories of employers and workers in the period from April 1 2004 to January 31 2005.

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/ 29 March 2005

UIF pays out R6.7-mln to domestics

Domestic employers, seasonal employers, farmers and their workers contributed R40,9-million to the Unemployment Insurance Fund during the 2003/04 financial year, according to Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. This figure has already jumped to R68-million for the categories of employers and workers in the period from April 1, 2004 to January 31, 2005.

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/ 18 March 2005

ANC to act against convicted MPs

The ruling African National Congress will initiate "relevant organisational disciplinary processes" against its MPs convicted of fraud, says its national spokesperson, Smuts Ngonyama. Meanwhile, official opposition Democratic Alliance chief whip Douglas Gibson said the MPs "should do the honourable thing and resign".

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/ 18 March 2005

SA mission to Zim a ‘farce’, says ID

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/199502/Zim_icon.GIF" align=left>The Independent Democrats has withdrawn from the multiparty South African parliamentary observer mission to monitor the March 31 election in Zimbabwe. In a statement released by MP Vincent Gore, ID member of the team, he said his party believes the "entire observer mission is a farce and a waste of taxpayers’ money".

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/ 17 March 2005

Minister can decide on Barclays, Absa

Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has the authority to take a decision on the Barclays bid to buy a majority share in Absa — but he may wish to put the matter to Cabinet before the announcement is made, said government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe on Thursday following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

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/ 16 March 2005

STC will not disappear, says Manuel

Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has told the National Assembly that the secondary tax on companies (STC) "will not disappear as long as the African National Congress is in government". The official opposition Democratic Alliance has called for "the usefulness of the secondary tax to be reassessed".

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/ 14 March 2005

ANC backs gender parity of candidates

The top structure of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has backed gender parity — half women, half men — for its candidates for the upcoming local government election. The election is scheduled to take place between December 6 2005 and March 5 2006. President Thabo Mbeki made a similar statement in his internet letter on Friday.

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/ 14 March 2005

Minister raises housing subsidy

The housing subsidy for the poorest of the poor — including the indigent, disabled and the elderly — has been raised from R28&nbsp;279 to R31&nbsp;900, starting in April this year. Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu made the announcement in Pretoria — beamed by satellite to Cape Town — on Monday morning.

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/ 3 March 2005

Tree power

"Recognising that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come." Peace and democracy take root in caring for the planet, says Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

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/ 1 March 2005

NNP executive decides to disband

The federal executive of the New National Party, which ruled South Africa in the form of the apartheid National Party from 1948 to 1994, met in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon and took the unanimous decision to disband. The party opted to fall under the umbrella of the ruling African National Congress shortly after the national election in April last year.

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/ 23 February 2005

Manuel injects R6-billion into land restitution

South Africa’s national Budget presented on Wednesday provides R6-billion for the land restitution programme over the next three years. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said this would be to "complete the programme" — although Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza has estimated R13-billion would be needed to wrap up the programme.

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/ 23 February 2005

Old-age grants to rise to R780 a month

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>The maximum old age, disability and care dependency grants will rise by R40 to R780 a month from April 2005, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel announced on Wednesday. In his national Budget speech he said that foster-care grants will be increased by R30 to R560 and the child-support grant goes up by R10 to R180 a month.

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/ 23 February 2005

SA taxi recap gets R885-million injection

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>South Africa’s Transport department is to receive allocations of R250-million in the 2004/05 financial year, R315-million and R320-million in the following two years "to initiate the taxi recapitalisation programme" and to support public transport services and infrastructure".

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/ 21 February 2005

People’s Budget: Govt should cut VAT

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/197779/special_rep_icon_template.gif" align=left>The South African government should stop cutting the personal and company income-tax rate but value-added tax (VAT) should be cut by 1% from 14%, according to the People’s Budget, presented by the South African Council of Churches, the South African Non-Governmental Coalition and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

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/ 18 February 2005

DA turned back at Zimbabwe airport

The Democratic Alliance’s fact-finding delegation to Zimbabwe has been turned back by immigration officials on Friday. Party spokesperson Martin Slabbert said the delegation — led by national chairperson Joe Seremane — was told by officials at Harare airport that they "are not allowed to enter the country".

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/ 11 February 2005

Mbeki expected to focus on small business

Consideration of future measures to relieve the tax and regulatory burden of small and micro-enterprises is expected be a key issue in South African President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation speech on Friday. While Mbeki is unlikely to go into the specifics, he will set the scene for the Budget to be delivered by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on February 23.

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/ 9 February 2005

Buthelezi: Current BEE may lead to instability

The absence of broad-based black ownership of the South African economy may lead to economic insecurity and possibly even political instability, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. "I believe that the absence of broad-based black ownership might result in political alienation, economic insecurity and, possibly, even political instability," he said.

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/ 25 January 2005

Convergence Bill gets the nod

South Africa’s much-awaited Convergence Bill has been given the nod "in principle" for its submission to Parliament by the South African Cabinet, according to government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe. However, the Bill is unlikely to be tabled in Parliament for a while as it must still go through checks by state law advisers.

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/ 21 January 2005

Lekota tipped as next SA president

Current Defence Minister and ruling African National Congress national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota could be a suitable candidate to become president after President Thabo Mbeki, says black consciousness leader Xolela Mangcu. He said that a rift had developed between Mbeki and the white community on the one hand and between Mbeki and black intellectuals on the other.

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/ 18 January 2005

Zimbabwe: The worm turns

An apparent about-turn by South Africa’s ruling African National Congress on the burning Zimbabwe issue comes in the wake of the detention of an alleged South African spymaster by that country.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=178144">Zim ministers tumble</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=178123">The terror and abuse goes on</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=178104">Fraud, violence in election</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=178117">No word from SA govt on Zim ‘spy'</a>

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/ 3 January 2005

Economy performing well, says Mbeki

In his New Year’s message, President Thabo Mbeki has taken note of South Africa’s good economic performance in the past year and says the country has established itself "as one of the best-performing economies in the world". "We are therefore well set to achieve new successes in the new year," he said.

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/ 10 December 2004

SA ranks low in bribery stakes

South Africa ranks low in the bribery stakes, according to an international survey published by Transparency International — but it joins the majority of surveyed countries in the consensus that political parties are most affected by corruption. The survey was conducted among 50&nbsp;000 respondents from 62 countries.