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/ 13 September 2006
South African health authorities went on high alert on Wednesday after officials confirmed a case of a new, deadly strain of tuberculosis (TB) in Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub. Officials said the case, a woman, had refused to stay in hospital — stoking fears the TB strain could spread rapidly through communities already weakened by HIV/Aids.
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/ 12 September 2006
The Correctional Services department’s efforts to establish the prevalence of HIV/Aids in prisons is being hamstrung by a lack of co-operation from staff and inmates alike, it emerged on Tuesday. The department’s survey was launched last year with a pilot project in Gauteng, and was completed on May 24 this year.
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/ 11 September 2006
Crime in Gauteng is unacceptably high, a recent provincial lekgotla (meeting) attended by premier Mbhazima Shilowa agreed. It impacted negatively on quality of life and was a threat to development, Shilowa told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday. ”The retreat agreed that government and all law-enforcement agencies must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to crime.”
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/ 8 September 2006
Gauteng detectives have confiscated R2-million-worth of perlemoen (abalone) in sting operations around the province, police said on Friday. ”The abalone was seized at Mondeor, Crystal Park and Lyttelton,” said Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini of the national police commissioner’s office.
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/ 7 September 2006
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) has accused the police of trying to murder one of its Gauteng officials by shooting him — possibly with rubber bullets — at close range in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Oupa Mbhele was wounded four times in his knees and lower legs and underwent surgery at the Garden City Clinic, where he was in a serious condition.
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/ 7 September 2006
The team that investigated last December’s fuel shortages has urged that immediate steps be taken to prevent another supply crisis towards the end of this year. This emerged after Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica met the governors of the South African Petroleum Industry Association on Thursday.
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/ 6 September 2006
The 21 000 civil servants caught fraudulently claiming social grants should all be prosecuted, face disciplinary hearings and be made to pay back the money, two rights monitoring groups said on Wednesday. ”It is vital that justice in these cases be seen to be done,” the Grahamstown offices of the Black Sash and the Public Service Accountability Monitor said in a joint statement.
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/ 6 September 2006
Labour regulations and official red tape tops a list of key constraints hampering South Africa’s economic growth, a Bureau for Economic Research survey showed on Wednesday. Other constraints identified are state leadership and capacity (policy support and municipal services), infrastructure deficiencies and costs and labour skills.
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/ 6 September 2006
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African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma condemned on Tuesday the murder of the Gauteng chairperson of the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust. Zobaphi Sithole was shot in Meadowlands, Soweto on Monday and died in hospital on Tuesday.
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/ 4 September 2006
Tree felling in Rosebank and Sandton will begin this week to make way for the Gautrain, the company said on Monday. Golden trumpet trees will be removed along Sturdee Avenue in Rosebank and one lane of the road will be closed to traffic during off-peak times, said Barbara Jensen, spokesperson for Gautrain Rapid Rail Link.
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/ 4 September 2006
More children are attending and finishing school but more are vulnerable due to poverty and the death of at least one parent, said an Education Department report released on Monday. The report found that the demand for high school and higher education institutions would probably grow strongly while demand for primary schools would grow more slowly.
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/ 1 September 2006
Criminal charges have been withdrawn against the homeless Bloemfontein man who claims to have witnessed the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, Free State police said on Friday. Senior Superintendent Sam Sesing said charges of theft and housebreaking had been withdrawn on Thursday.
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/ 1 September 2006
The retail price of all grades of petrol will decline by 36 cents per litre from September 6, the Department of Minerals and Energy Affiars said on Friday. The wholesale price of diesel 0,05% sulphur and 0,005% sulphur will fall by 25c/l and 29c/l respectively on the same date.
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/ 1 September 2006
Dust off your bike, fuel shortages may soon hit again, says an investigation commissioned for the Department of Minerals and Energy. In December last year South Africa experienced a series of shortages in fuel supplies that caused major disruptions for commuters and businesses alike.
Roelf Meyer, former National Party Cabinet minister and key negotiator in South Africa’s transition to democracy, has applied for membership of the African National Congress. Confirming this on Thursday, he was, however, at pains to emphasise that he had no intention of re-entering active politics.
South Africa’s dams are 92% full, according to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s records. The department reports on its website that the dams were only 65% full this time last year. This week, dam levels in the provinces ranged from overflowing in the Northern Cape to 72% full in Limpopo.
The vice-chancellor of the Tshwane University of Technology, Professor Errol Tyobeka, was attacked with stones after he addressed a mass meeting of students on Wednesday afternoon, the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma) said. Pasma’s president, Mametlwe Sebei, said Tyobeka did not make a concrete commitment on the issues raised at the open-air meeting.
The Gauteng provincial government has welcomed the ruling of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday in favour of the Gautrain rapid-rail link. Construction is due to begin in September. The urgent application by the Muckleneuk/Lukasrand Property Owners and Residents Association was dismissed with costs being awarded to the applicant.
Business against Crime South Africa on Wednesday announced the appointment of Siphiwe Nzimande to replace Kenny Fihla as the organisation’s CEO. Fihla has stepped down as CEO at the conclusion of his three-year contract. Nzimande held the post of commercial director at Murray and Roberts Construction before joining Business against Crime.
The Moerane commission, which investigated South Africa’s fuel-supply crisis suffered late last year, has reported that another supply crisis could emerge in the second half of this year because of scheduled refinery shutdowns. But Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica says she has a task team in place with the industry.
A full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday dismissed an application by the Muckleneuk/Lukasrand property owners and residents association to stop the Gautrain from running through their area. Residents said they were not against the Gautrain, but said they would prefer a tunnel or another route.
Turffontein Racecourse is to be transformed into a premier night-racing venue. ”The money will see Turffontein become a luxurious racing venue with about 70 weekend and night race meetings being held there annually. Additional race meetings may also be held at Randjesfontein,” a statement said.
One of South Africa’s most wanted gangsters was arrested on Monday after a botched cash-in-transit heist in the East Rand’s Tsakane township, police said. Christian ”Seuntjie” van Wyk was one of eight people caught at a house in Palm Ridge in connection with the robbery, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
South African hotel and gaming group Sun International on Monday reported adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) of 546c for the year ended June — up 33% from the previous year’s 411c. Its full year diluted HEPS declined to 431c from 500 cents before.
Members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) staged protests outside government offices around the country on Thursday. The illegal protest was part of a ”global day of action” to pressure the government on its response to HIV/Aids. However, the Department of Health said it will continue to focus on prevention in its fight against HIV/Aids.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) threatened on Thursday to escalate mass action if Merafong — a cross-border municipality — is incorporated into North West. Merafong includes Carletonville and Khutsong, which were part of Gauteng. The remainder of Merafong, including Fochville, is part of North West.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) had decided to deliberately stage illegal protests because it was tired of the government’s failure to act on HIV/Aids, it said on Thursday. ”We deliberately did not apply for permission to protest and we don’t apologise for that because we are tired of government’s inactivity in the face of the Aids pandemic,” said the TAC’s general secretary Sipho Mthathi.
In the big clash of the day Western Province on Wednesday upset defending champions Southern Gauteng by a solitary goal on the third day of the Spar Interprovincial Women’s Hockey tournament being played at the Randburg AstroTurf in Johannesburg.
Rainfall has eased in the sodden southern Cape but more is expected, said the South African Weather Service on Thursday. In the 24 hours to 8am on Thursday, the weather service recorded 11,6mm in Riversdale, compared to 28mm the day before, 4mm in George (71,5mm on Wednesday) and 18mm in Heidelberg (25mm on Wednesday).
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is remaining tight-lipped hours ahead of a planned international day of action on Thursday. ”It is a secret,” said Rukia Cornelius, the TAC’s national manager, on Wednesday. The day will see protests at South African embassies and government institutions in South Africa, the United States and Europe.
Tournament co-favourites Southern Gauteng and Western Province both had emphatic wins on the second day of the Spar Women’s Interprovincial Hockey championship being played at the Randburg Astroturf in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
A new, luxury R1-million Mercedes-Benz S500 with a special seat for short people is waiting at a Gauteng car dealer for its new owner — Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Beeld reported on Friday. The car will probably be delivered as soon as the minister returns from the International Aids Conference in Canada, the report said.