Grintek chief executive officer Shaun Liebenberg will take over from Victor Moche as CEO of Denel, the state-owned military equipment manufacturing company, from "the end of May", Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin announced on Friday.
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".
The South African Revenue Service is targeting a total tax revenue cake of R372,8-billion in the 2005/06 financial year, with corporate tax representing a slightly lower figure than the provincial outcome for the 2004/05 financial year, according to figures provided on Wednesday to Parliament.
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.
The separation of state-owned South African Airways (SAA) from its parent company, Transnet, should be completed by the end of the year, says Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin. The minister briefed members of the National Assembly public enterprises committee at Parliament on Tuesday on his upcoming budget vote.
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.
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.
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".
<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".
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.
President Thabo Mbeki has appointed Judge Sisi Khampepe of the Witwatersrand Division of the High Court to head a commission which will assess whether the Scorpions should fall under the Justice Department — or under the Department of Safety and Security.
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".
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.
The housing subsidy for the poorest of the poor — including the indigent, disabled and the elderly — has been raised from R28 279 to R31 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.
Telkom chief executive Sizwe Nxasana told MPs on Friday that his company "is constantly responding" to the demands for the lowering of the costs of doing business — and further announcements can be expected "in the future". Nxasana was briefing the National Assembly communications portfolio committee.
"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.
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
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
<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
<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
<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
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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/ 16 February 2005
Director General of Transport Wrenelle Stander told members of Parliament on Wednesday that the proposed R50Â 000 taxi "scrapping allowance" was not linked to the purchase of a new taxi vehicle — and she expected many operators to exit an increasingly "consolidated" taxi market.
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/ 11 February 2005
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
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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/ 31 January 2005
Sub-Saharan Africa’s oil and gas was growing "as a force" on international markets, with the United States expected to up its share of oil from the region from the current 18% of its supplies to 25% by 2015, says South Africa’s Mineral and Energy department chief director of hydrocarbons, Nhlanhla Gumede.
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/ 26 January 2005
The implementation of regional electricity distributors (REDs) should not lead to price shocks, but the economies of scale should result in more competitive power prices in the longer term, Western Cape regional general manager of the planned first RED Leon Louw said last Tuesday.
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/ 25 January 2005
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
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
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>
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
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 50 000 respondents from 62 countries.