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/ 12 January 2004
One Gauteng newspaper put it best when its billboards read ”New Year in Hellbrow”. It was not a spelling mistake but a clever pun referring to the lawlessness that happens in the Johannesburg inner-city suburb of Hillbrow.
Members of the public wishing to comment on the planned demolition of certain Johannesburg inner city buildings to make way for the Gauteng provincial government precinct should do so by February 4. The government plans to pull down these buildings to make way for a public square.
The Competition Commission has referred the large merger in which the Tiso Consortium proposes to acquire all of the issued share capital currently held by the minority shareholders in New Africa Investments Limited to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication.
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.
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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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/ 24 December 2003
As the government announced additional drought relief measures on Tuesday, hopes remained dim for substantial rains in the near future. A comprehensive drought mitigation programme has been put in place following an urgent meeting called on Monday, the Ministry of Provincial and Local Government said.
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/ 19 December 2003
The Democratic Alliance on Friday criticised President Thabo Mbeki for his continued stance of ”appeasement” towards Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. However, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Njongonkulu Ndungane took an opposite view and congratulated Mbeki on his new initiative.
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/ 15 December 2003
Boosted largely by ongoing expansion of the harbour and a number of major businesses in the area, the residential property market in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal is experiencing strong demand, according to Pam Golding Properties. Growth has resulted in an influx of new employees and a constant stream of contractors.
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/ 9 December 2003
Senior police management should take notice of some disquieting perceptions among police reservists contained in newly compiled research, as the South African Police Service (SAPS) considers making more use of reservists. The research delves into the impressions of active police reservists and their role in the SAPS.
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/ 5 December 2003
Faced with extinction, a small KwaZulu-Natal town has transformed itself into a wildlife reserve. The tourist industry is growing and the local population has embraced the promise of a long-term economic future. More visitors and investors already live and walk among the wildebeest and other game.
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/ 2 December 2003
There is a rape every 26 seconds in South Africa. A woman is murdered by her partner every six days in Gauteng. The costs of ineffective policing and prosecution are too high. The person who assaulted and kidnapped me was never arrested, writes Charlene Smith.
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/ 27 November 2003
A new fixed-cost wireless broadband internet service will be launched on January next year. In just six weeks, South African internet users will be able to connect at high speed to the internet without a physical telephone-line connection. Sentech on Thursday announced plans to deploy the new services, starting in Gauteng.
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/ 25 November 2003
The South African economy grew by 1,1% in the third quarter of this year, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday. It said this compared to real annualised growth rates of 0,9% in the first quarter (revised from 1,5%) and 0,5% in the second one (revised from 1,1%).
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/ 25 November 2003
The road transportation business in Southern Africa is fraught with obstacles. It is a risky profession characterised by trucks getting hijacked at gunpoint, and a high incidence of HIV infection among workers. However, industry players say it is also providing opportunities for promoting black empowerment.
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/ 20 November 2003
On Thursday Gauteng provincial transport minister Khabisi Mosunkutu announced further measures by his department to bring traffic and road-safety offenders to book. Six trucking companies, ”notorious” for violating the Road Traffic Act, have been summoned to appear before investigators.
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/ 20 November 2003
South African technology company Sentech on Thursday announced plans to roll out its wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses. Users will not need a physical connection to use the internet. Wireless broadband internet access becomes commercially available from the end of January 2004.
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/ 17 November 2003
Household expenditure in South Africa will rise from R279,1-billion in 1993 to an expected R673,4-billion this year, the University of South Africa’s Bureau of Market Research said on Monday. African households are expected to have the largest share in total household expenditure of the four population groups in 2003.
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/ 13 November 2003
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on Thursday tabled the province’s second annual HIV/Aids report in the region’s Legislature, saying: ”Care for people living with HIV/Aids places an extraordinary load on health care services. This is expected to peak around 2010, with maximum impact on acute care in hospitals.”
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/ 12 November 2003
Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospital is in a financial crisis because of a lack of a cost-allocation system and cost-monitoring measures, according to a National Labour and Economic Development Institute report released on Wednesday. ”There is high duplication of duties, wastage, corruption and theft at the hospital,” a researcher said.
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/ 12 November 2003
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has won two municipal by-elections – in the Western Cape at Breede River/Robertson municipality and at Dealesville in the Free State unopposed — while the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has won a seat at Phillipstown in the Northern Cape unopposed.
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/ 10 November 2003
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s lemon, garlic and olive-oil diet for people with HIV/Aids has been given a firm thumbs-down by the South African Medical Journal. The editorial of the latest issue of the journal says there is currently no convincing evidence that these foods alter the course of the disease.
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/ 7 November 2003
Hundreds of students used burning tyres to barricade the entrance to the Technikon Northern Gauteng in Soshanguve on Friday to demand the release of four students who were arrested earlier in the day.
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/ 6 November 2003
South Africa would not go down the same path as Zimbabwe where people had taken the law into their own hands, because people were frustrated with the pace of land reform, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday.
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/ 3 November 2003
A ceremony to rename Ga-Rankuwa Hospital north-west of Pretoria went ahead on Monday despite continuing objections to the change.
A group of about 50 people, including local residents and staff members, protested at the hospital, SABC news reported.
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/ 3 November 2003
The Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party on Sunday urged South Africans to register next weekend for the 2004 general elections. Speaking at a rally for his party and the IFP in Soweto, DA leader Tony Leon blamed apathy for the fact that so many people have not registered, and would be unable to vote next year.
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/ 29 October 2003
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Tony Yengeni are two surprise omissions from the Gauteng African National Congress’s provincial and national election list. ”We don’t know ourselves why they are not there,” ANC provincial secretary David Makhura said in reply to several questions on Madikizela-Mandela and Yengeni.
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/ 29 October 2003
The crocodile playing Loch Ness monster in the Hennops River, west of Pretoria, might have been kidnapped, or else it was an escapee, an expert said on Wednesday. He believes Charlie, as the croc has been named, escaped from a crocodile farm or was removed from his natural environment as a baby crocodile.
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/ 28 October 2003
The Chamber of Mines’ ten gold mining members are looking to clean up 38 sites, mainly in Gauteng and the Free State, that have been contaminated with radioactive material, with the process expected to be completed within six to seven months.
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/ 24 October 2003
The SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) on Friday handed over a memorandum of demands to Shoprite Checkers management, requesting they meet the union’s demands within 48 hours. If the demands are not met, the union says it will intensify its strike.
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/ 24 October 2003
Peter Rorvik, director of the Durban International Film Festival, and Nashen Moodley, manager of the festival, respond to some questions from Shaun de Waal about the festival.
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/ 23 October 2003
Thabang Paul Khumalo, who has escaped four times from custody, was arrested in Sebokeng south of Johannesburg on Thursday. Police spotted and followed his vehicle to a garage near Orange Farm, where their attempts to shot him resulted in shots being fired.
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/ 22 October 2003
Delinquent passengers are running amok on the country’s trains, creating a headache for Metrorail who announced this week that it had spent R177-million this year on security alone. For next year it has budgeted R221-million for security expenses.