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/ 29 November 2007
Even if Thabo Mbeki wins the African National Congress (ANC) leadership at Polokwane — and this looks increasingly unlikely given the outcome of the provincial general councils last weekend — he will face a totally new power configuration after December 21.
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/ 28 November 2007
A 24-year-old Gauteng woman was found buried in a shallow grave 54m from her boyfiend’s KwaZulu-Natal home on Tuesday afternoon, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe the grave was found at the Qakwini Reserve in Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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/ 28 November 2007
When patients hear they have Aids, their first reaction often is to think they have been given the death sentence. But, between the disease and dying lies a grey area, and that’s when palliative caregivers are most needed by patients. Palliative care aims to relieve the suffering and improve the quality of life of patients with life-threatening illnesses.
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/ 27 November 2007
Progress was being made in strengthening Gauteng’s economy but unemployment was still a concern, Gauteng minister of finance Paul Mashatile said on Tuesday. ”[W]hen we report back to the people of Gauteng [in 2009] we will be able to say boldly and without fear of contradiction that we have successfully completed our five-year mandate,” he said.
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/ 27 November 2007
More than 28 000 animals were stolen from farms around the country over the past 18 months, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Less than 40% of the stock — including game, cattle, sheep and goats — was recovered, DA rural safety spokesperson Ryno King said in a statement.
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/ 27 November 2007
The African National Congress’s (ANC) Women’s League late on Monday nominated deputy leader Jacob Zuma as its candidate to head up the organisation, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. Their backing for Zuma for the top job comes after the ANC Youth League on Friday also nominated Zuma.
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/ 26 November 2007
The Highveld regions of eastern Gauteng and western Mpumalanga, including towns such as Witbank, Standerton and Boksburg, have been declared air-pollution hot spots. ”There is little doubt that people living and working in these areas do not enjoy air quality that is not harmful to their health and well-being,” the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said on Monday.
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/ 26 November 2007
Absa and the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to speed up the provision of housing in several provinces. Absa has committed R2,6-billion for the building of 100Â 000 units by 2010. The bank has also committed an additional R150-million for project preparations.
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/ 26 November 2007
The Gauteng health department should sell off its 66 houses and plough the proceeds into providing better healthcare, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. This comes after Gauteng health minister Brian Hlongwa revealed that his department was conducting an audit of its houses.
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/ 26 November 2007
The African National Congress Women’s League is to finalise its nominations for the party’s leadership on Monday. Earlier, it was reported that the women’s league favoured Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The league, however, refuted this saying it would ”speak for itself” once it had consolidated the provincial nominations.
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/ 26 November 2007
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma leads the race for nominations for the post of party president with five provinces supporting him, to President Thabo Mbeki’s four, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Sunday.
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/ 25 November 2007
On December 16, delegates to the 52nd national conference of the African National Congress will meet in Polokwane to decide if President Thabo Mbeki should have a third term as party president and, with it, power over the party’s MPs. In the meantime, every day brings more intrigue in the succession race.
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/ 21 November 2007
In the run-up to the World Cup preliminary draw in Durban on Sunday, fresh questions are being raised over South Africa’s preparedness to host the world’s second-largest sporting event in 932 days. Once again the spotlight is on the 10 World Cup stadiums after strikes by thousands of workers.
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/ 20 November 2007
Projected costs for South Africa’s preparations to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup could be up to 20% higher due to factors such as rising steel and cement prices, Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi said on Tuesday. Officials in the host cities have delivered cost escalations between R2,8-billion and R3,4-billion above budget.
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/ 19 November 2007
Three robbers were killed and five others were arrested after they tried to rob a Coin Security van in Pretoria on Monday. National police spokesperson Sally de Beer said the Coin Security guards noticed they were being followed at about 9am on Monday morning by a black Nissan Navara on Christina De Wit Drive in Pretoria.
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/ 19 November 2007
Oasis Crescent Management Company, a subsidiary of Oasis Group Holdings, has launched the Oasis Crescent Worldwide Flexible Fund of Funds, making it the first South African company to offer a sharia-compliant worldwide fund of funds to local investors.
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/ 19 November 2007
Netcare 911 responded to three separate drowning incidents in the Gauteng area on Sunday. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said the first incident took place in Danville, Pretoria, where a nine month-old baby nearly drowned at home early on Sunday morning.
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/ 18 November 2007
Local authorities in Gauteng have been urged to collect rates and taxes owed to them in order to function as viable entities. ”For municipalities to deliver services they should collect the debt owed to them and take care of its employees,” said South African Post Office CEO Totsie Memela-Khambule.
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/ 17 November 2007
Prisoners are preparing to buy maps and plans from Department of Correctional Services officials and warders, a media report said on Friday. The maps apparently detail how the department plans to prevent escapes this festive season, including when and where warders will be on duty.
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/ 16 November 2007
Like cyclists all over South Africa, members of the Lethabo Cycling Club in Soweto are gearing up for the annual Pick ‘n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge that will hit Johannesburg streets on Sunday. But, unlike other cyclists, they will take on much more than the road when they join about 25 000 others for one of the country’s major bicycle races.
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/ 16 November 2007
South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she would not refuse a nomination to head the ruling African National Congress and the country. Asked if she would be available for the ANC’s top post, she said: ”ANC cadres never refuse when they are deployed.”
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/ 15 November 2007
The initial cause of the diarrhoea outbreak in Delmas was water contamination, said Mpumalanga Premier Thabang Makwetla on Thursday. ”When we noticed the outbreak in October, we discovered that the water was contaminated,” he said. However, Makwetla said that more cases were reported after the water was purified.
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/ 15 November 2007
Matatiele residents were set to march through Pietermaritzburg on Thursday to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in protest over their incorporation into the Eastern Cape. Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairperson Mandla Galo said that at least 45 minibus taxis had transported residents to Pietermaritzburg.
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/ 13 November 2007
There is a personnel shortage of more than 50% at the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Helen Joseph Hospital, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. ”The Gauteng Health Department claims that the ICU ‘works optimally’, but I don’t see how this can be the case with a 54% vacancy rate,” said Bloom.
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/ 13 November 2007
Gauteng faces huge classroom shortages and the government does not have the resources to cope, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. DA spokesperson David Quail said that in the next four to six years, the Gauteng department of education will require 9 566 additional classrooms.
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/ 13 November 2007
Motorists are set to pay more for fuel during the peak holiday month of December, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday. The latest figures from the Central Energy Fund showed an under-recovery of 34 cents a litre on petrol. On diesel, it was between 31 and 32 cents a litre.
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/ 13 November 2007
Thomas ”Merciless” Mashaba showed no mercy to retain his IBO world featherweight title with a ninth-round tko victory over the United States’s two-time former champion Eric Aiken on the Lords of the Ring boxing bill at Emperors Palace on Monday night. Also, Cassius Baloyi gained a narrow revenge victory over Gairy St Clair.
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/ 12 November 2007
The trial of Annanias Mathe — the Mozambican national who escaped from Pretoria’s high-security C-Max prison — will resume in the Johannesburg High Court next July. Mathe, who faces 77 charges, appeared briefly before Judge Busi Mbha on Monday and his case was postponed to July 28 for plea and trial.
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/ 12 November 2007
Severe poverty levels in South Africa have doubled in the last 10 years, the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Monday. A survey released by the SAIRR this month showed that poverty in the country increased ”dramatically” between 1996 and 2005, said researcher Marius Roodt.
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/ 8 November 2007
With just more than a month to the African National Congress presidential election, Jacob Zuma will be waiting to see whether the National Prosecuting Authority will recharge him for corruption. Court rulings on Thursday clarified the status of searches and documents related to the investigation against him concerning alleged corruption in the arms deal.
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/ 8 November 2007
Gauteng police communications have not been jeopardised by the introduction of the 10111 digital radio network, Superintendent Eugene Opperman said on Thursday. He was responding to media reports that the R600-million system had crippled communications at police stations across Johannesburg.
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/ 7 November 2007
Almost 6 000 people marched in the Johannesburg city centre on Wednesday, protesting against police murders in Gauteng. The march was organised by the Gauteng Provincial Community Policing Forum in partnership with police and Liquor Traders against Crime.