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/ 31 October 2007

DA: ANC ignores wishes of the people of Matatiele

KwaZulu-Natal opposition parties on Wednesday accused the ruling African National Congress of ignoring the wishes of the residents of Matatiele and forging ahead with the district’s incorporation into the Eastern Cape. The Democratic Alliance (DA) accused the ANC of ”totally ignoring the wishes of the people of Matatiele Maluti”.

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/ 31 October 2007

Flush still flash

Waterless or composting toilets are being touted as a promising solution to many of South Africa’s sanitation woes.Just less than 14-million of the country’s citizens lack access to sanitation and about 200 000 households are reliant on the bucket system. As more demands are placed on national water resources, it appears increasingly unlikely that homes without sanitation will be able to receive the popular flush toilet

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/ 30 October 2007

Thousands attend Matatiele demarcation hearings

More than 3 000 people packed the local soccer stadium in Matatiele as the second day of public hearings on the region’s controversial incorporation into the Eastern Cape started on Tuesday. Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on February 28, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.

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/ 29 October 2007

Law catches up with most wanted criminal

One of South Africa’s most wanted criminals was caught on Monday after Gauteng police received information from the public about his whereabouts. Police spokesperson Inspector Richard Munyai said Mkhonto Mandla Cele (27) was one of the most wanted and dangerous criminals in Jeppestown and KwaZulu-Natal.

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/ 29 October 2007

Body-parts accused pleads guilty

A KwaZulu-Natal woman accused of stealing a placenta pleaded guilty to the crime at the Durban Regional Court on Monday. Hloniphile Sokhela was charged with theft and contravening the Human Tissue Act. The mother of two stole a placenta from a storage room at Parklands Hospital on October 6.

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/ 26 October 2007

Buthelezi slams KZN parliamentarians

The sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZ) government in Vryheid earlier this week, which was aimed at ”taking parliament to the people”, was a scandal, said Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Friday. ”It is scandalous for parliamentarians to hold a glitzy imbizo [meeting] to tell the electorate what a fabulous job they are doing,” he said.

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/ 26 October 2007

Butch leads SA’s exodus north

The World Cup last week then the EDF Energy Cup this? Not quite, but Butch James will barely have time for the Springboks’ victory tour of South Africa before he is back on a plane heading for Europe. After signing a two-year contract with Bath this summer, the flyhalf is expected to be in the squad when the Heineken and European Challenge cups start on November 9.

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/ 26 October 2007

Durban shootings leave one dead, two hurt

One person has died and two others were seriously injured in separate shootings in Durban late on Thursday night. Spokesperson Superintendent Danelia Veldhuizen said detectives were investigating the possibility that two of the shootings — which took place in the Hillcrest area — could have been linked.

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/ 25 October 2007

Two cows, one Fiat Uno and a case of overloading

In a bizarre case of overloading, two policemen in northern KwaZulu-Natal impounded a blue Fiat Uno on Thursday that was being used to transport two cows and two goats. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe said two off-duty policemen were informed by residents of the Phelindaba area near Emanguzi that they had seen a man loading a cow into the small vehicle.

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/ 25 October 2007

Rebuilding a schooling system

With most schools in rural areas facing abject poverty, overcrowding, lack of resources and facilities, the cry for help is loud and desperate. Rural children want to compete on an equal footing with their urban brothers and sisters. Anglo American South Africa has answered this call with its Rural Schools Programme aimed at ameliorating the situation in Limpopo.

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/ 24 October 2007

Fifth Rattray murder accused appears in court

The fifth man arrested in connection with the murder of historian David Rattray appeared briefly in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal police said. Zwelihle Mtshali (21) had his case postponed until Thursday, when he would appear in the local high court, police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu said.

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/ 24 October 2007

Court clerk held for 178 counts of fraud

A Pietermaritzburg court clerk was arrested after being linked to 178 counts of theft and fraud, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Inspector Joey Jeevan said a team arrested the 38-year-old woman at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, after months of intensive investigations.

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/ 23 October 2007

Boycott at KZN legislature after chair-throwing

The Inkatha Freedom Party and the Democratic Alliance on Tuesday boycotted a sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) legislature in Vryheid. The boycott follows an incident on Monday when chairs were thrown during the sitting of the legislature, which is being held as part of the KwaZulu-Natal government’s policy of ”taking the government to the people”.

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/ 23 October 2007

Train vandals threaten KZN rail service

Metrorail may suspend its KwaZulu-Natal train services if rampant train vandalism and assaults on staff members continue unchecked, said Metrorail regional manager Sisa Mtwa at a media briefing in Durban on Tuesday. The worst-affected areas are KwaMashu and Umlazi — an area that carries 80% of Metrorail’s passengers.

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/ 23 October 2007

Fifth Rattray murder suspect arrested

KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested a fifth suspect for the murder of historian David Rattray. Police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu said on Tuesday he could confirm that a fifth suspect had been arrested and was expected to appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday.

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/ 22 October 2007

Stock theft in SA amounts to nearly R330m

Stock theft in South Africa has amounted to R327 676 500 in the past year, the National Stock Theft Forum said on Monday. ”At the moment, stock theft is hampering the profitability of the stock farmers and it is also interfering with the government’s land-reform process, as well as the empowering of the emerging farmers,” the forum said in a statement.