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/ 3 January 2008

Rasool: Cape Town must bury its differences

The people of Cape Town should bury their differences and build bridges between communities in 2008, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Wednesday. Addressing thousands who gathered to celebrate the minstrel carnival, Rasool said 2008 should be the year in which the Cape took greater strides in realising the vision of a ”home for all”.

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/ 16 December 2007

All aboard for Polokwane conference

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>The first group of delegates to the African National Congress’s 52nd national conference arrived at the University of Limpopo on Sunday. Singing and clapping, the delegates from the North West Province said they would vote for party president Thabo Mbeki. "Mbeki is the most rational leader, we have ever had. We are just here to affirm the third term [for Mbeki]."

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/ 14 December 2007

It’s your party and I’ll cry if I want to

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool says he was ”disinvited” to speak at Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane’s farewell dinner on Thursday. ”I was most astounded when my office was informed that, under instruction from the Mayor of Cape Town [Helen Zille], I had been disinvited to speak at your farewell,” Rasool wrote.

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/ 27 November 2007

Rasool apologises to provincial legislature

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool has apologised to the provincial legislature for ”incorrect” statements made before it on overspending. ”To bring finality and closure to an unfortunate episode, I apologise for anything I said that led to the conclusion of the ad-hoc committee,” he said in Cape Town on Tuesday.

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/ 20 November 2007

Rasool concerned at ‘overeager’ ANC members

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool has blamed ”overeager” members of his own party for a report that President Thabo Mbeki has intervened to defuse a row over Rasool himself. Rasool, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), was accused in an official report last week of knowingly making incorrect statements to the legislature.

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/ 15 November 2007

Premier misled legislature, inquiry finds

An official inquiry has concluded that Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled his legislature, a source in the legislature said on Thursday. The multiparty inquiry was set up to investigate contradictory statements last year on spending on security upgrades to the home of community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane.

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/ 12 November 2007

Western Cape ‘winning war against drugs’

The Western Cape government is winning the war against drugs, Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Monday. ”Considering that this financial year is only halfway through, police have already arrested 374 high flyers … confiscated 37 558 grams of mandrax, 6 499 grams of methamphetamine [tik] and 4 447 grams of heroin,” he said.

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/ 29 October 2007

Zille requests Cape Town ‘spy’ tapes

Cape Town mayor Helen Zille has asked the police to let her listen to tapes related to the city’s ”spy” affair. Her request, in a letter to provincial Commissioner Mzwandile Petros on Monday, comes after police played some of the tapes to journalists. She said in a statement that Petros had also ”presented” the tapes to Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool.

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/ 26 October 2007

Zille faces call to quit over spy row

The African National Congress (ANC) called on Thursday for the head of opposition leader Helen Zille over claims that taxpayers were made to foot the bill for an investigation into a political opponent. In its latest attempt to unseat Zille as Cape Town mayor, the ANC tabled a statement in Parliament urging her to resign.

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/ 14 September 2007

Skwatsha cleared on land deal

The Western Cape legislature’s public accounts committee has cleared African National Congress provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha of wrongdoing in a lucrative Cape Town land deal, the ANC said on Friday. Allegations that Skwatsha had interfered in the sale of a province-owned 2,4ha erf in Tamboerskloof were referred to the committee by the Democratic Alliance.