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/ 29 January 2008
The world’s third-biggest gold producer said on Tuesday it had restarted production at one of its mines, although a power shortage that has curbed output from South Africa’s mining sector remained largely unresolved. AngloGold Ashanti said it had diverted its power-supply allocation to resume full production at one of its seven South African mines.
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/ 29 January 2008
The Independent Democrats (ID) said on Monday it would bring a motion of no confidence against President Thabo Mbeki and his Cabinet for failing to avert power cuts that have forced some industries to shut down. ID leader Patricia de Lille accused Mbeki of having ignored warnings about the crunch in electricity supplies.
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/ 29 January 2008
South Africa’s critical electricity crunch has raised doubts over whether infrastructure can keep pace with an economic boom while the country prepares to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament. South Africa is gripped by traumatic power cuts that have brought the mining industry, mainstay of the economy, to a halt.
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/ 28 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki has taken opposition leader Helen Zille into his confidence on the case of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi and on other contentious issues, she said on Monday. She met Mbeki at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for talks that lasted for longer than two hours.
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/ 28 January 2008
Congolese Tutsi rebels and Mai Mai militia clashed on Monday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), breaking a ceasefire signed last week aimed at ending a long-running conflict, the two factions said. Tutsi fighters loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda and Pareco Mai Mai militia blamed each other for the fighting.
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/ 28 January 2008
The Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana, has written to the Democratic Alliance to explain that he will not release a report on the merits of the case for reopening the Oilgate investigation because it is still the subject of a court case. Last week, DA spokesperson Motlatjo Thetjeng said it had been nine months since the DA first wrote to Mushwana about the issue.
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/ 28 January 2008
A protest held by the Biafra National Congress outside the Nigerian high commission in Pretoria on Monday called for the for ”immediate and unconditional” release of Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra. This was in addition to a call for recognition of the independent state of Biafra.
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/ 28 January 2008
South Africa’s mining industry could lose up to R9,2-billion in revenue and the country’s GDP could take a knock of up to R5,6-billion as a result of the power restrictions imposed on mines by Eskom last week. T-Sec economist Mike Schussler estimates that the mining industry is losing about R330-million in revenues a day.
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/ 28 January 2008
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille arrived for a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki at the Union Buildings just before 2pm on Monday. The electricity supply crisis, the indictment of African National Congress president Jacob Zuma and the prosecution of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi were some of the agenda points for the talks.
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/ 28 January 2008
South African mining companies hope to resume production later this week after being allowed to carry out underground maintenance work in mines across the country that have been crippled by a power crisis. Analysts estimated that hundreds of millions of rand had already been lost as the halt on mining entered its fourth day on Monday.
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/ 28 January 2008
African National Congress (ANC) premiers and mayors who refuse to take instructions from the organisation will be removed from their position, ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa said on Sunday. Phosa said there was no ANC leader who was above the organisation.
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/ 28 January 2008
A New Zealand anti-apartheid campaigner has rejected a nomination for a South African award, saying he is dismayed over conditions in the country. John Minto was the national coordinator of the Halt All Racist Tours movement, and said black South Africans were now ”worse off than they were under minority rule”.
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/ 27 January 2008
A power shortage halted production in South Africa’s lucrative mining sector for a second day on Saturday, and mining company officials said they still did not know when they could resume operations. Power cuts described by President Thabo Mbeki’s government as a national emergency on Friday stopped production in the world’s biggest platinum and number one two gold producer.
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/ 27 January 2008
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Jacob Zuma, who survived rape and corruption charges to become the president-in-waiting, has harsh words for Kenya and Nigeria, where recent elections were marred by alleged fraud, violence and disputed results. ”What has happened in Kenya I think is absolutely not right,” Zuma said on Saturday.
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/ 26 January 2008
Residents of the impoverished Skielik community on Saturday buried three loved ones who were gunned down last week, allegedly by 18-year-old Johan Nel. Enoch Tshepo Motshelanoka (10), three-month-old Keditlhotse Elizabeth Moiphitlhi and her 31-year-old mother, Anna, were buried at the Swartruggens cemetery.
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/ 26 January 2008
Racism was still a key issue in South Africa, political party representatives said as they addressed a gathering at Saturday’s funeral of the murdered Skielik victims. Congress of South African Trade Unions secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said alleged killer, Johan Nel (18) had ”no regard for human life”.
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/ 26 January 2008
Mourners streamed to marquees set up on a patch of land next to the highway past the informal settlement of Skielik on Saturday to bury three people killed there by a lone gunman last Monday. There was a heavy police presence at the marquees, where women stirred pots of food in readiness for the funerals.
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/ 25 January 2008
If, back in the 1990s, the government had chosen to spend billions of rands on new power stations instead of armaments, South Africa would not now be facing an electricity crisis, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday. ”It chose to spend billions of rands on arms that we do not need,” she said.
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/ 25 January 2008
High-profile criminal cases involving senior South African officials have renewed fears among opposition parties and the legal community that judicial independence may be at risk. President Thabo Mbeki’s government has had a testy relationship with the judiciary.
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/ 25 January 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) has lashed out at a popular soap opera actress for claiming the ANC murders its opponents, and is considering legal action against her. The actress, Winnie Ntshaba, who plays Khethiwe in the soap opera Generations, was speaking at an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) gathering.
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/ 25 January 2008
South Africa’s wealth gap is widening and the average black citizen still only earns an eighth of what his white counterpart does nearly 14 years after the end of apartheid. In its annual survey, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, said inequality rose from 0,60 in 2006 to 0,62 last year on a zero to one scale.
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/ 24 January 2008
African National Congress (ANC) parliamentary Chief Whip Isaac Mogase was on Wednesday removed from his position by the party’s new leadership. Briefing reporters after the party’s caucus met at Parliament, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said Mogase would be replaced by ANC MP Nathi Mthethwa.
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/ 24 January 2008
The government is expected to outline its plans to deal with the country’s electricity crisis on Friday. Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica and Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin have called a media briefing for Friday on ”plans for electricity generation in South Africa”.
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/ 24 January 2008
The attorney of murder accused Johan Nel is to apply for his client to be sent for a psychiatric evaluation. Frikkie Pretorius told reporters on Thursday that at his client’s next court appearance on February 12 he would apply for Nel to be sent to Weskoppies for psychiatric and mental evaluation.
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/ 24 January 2008
Police massed outside the Swartruggens Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in anticipation of the arrival of a large group of protesters ahead of the appearance of Johan Nel on murder charges. Nel (18) stands accused of killing four and injuring six residents of the Skielik informal settlement, about 10km outside Swartruggens in North West, last Monday.
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/ 24 January 2008
Recent power cuts in South Africa have enraged the public, raised questions over future investment in Africa’s biggest economy and increased scepticism in the country’s leaders at a time of political uncertainty. Economists estimate the cost of the power cuts already runs to hundreds of millions of rands.
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/ 23 January 2008
Allegations of a ”serious rift” between Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille and the party’s parliamentary leader, Sandra Botha, have been dismissed by the DA. ”As far as we are concerned, the story … has absolutely no facts or grounds,” DA national media officer Aimee Franklin said on Wednesday.
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/ 23 January 2008
The man linked to the African National Congress (ANC) hoax-email saga, Muziwendoda Kunene, appeared in the Kestell Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on Wednesday. A court official said the matter was postponed to April 9 for further investigation. Kunene is facing a provisional charge of murder in the Free State court and remains in custody at the Kroonstad Prison.
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/ 23 January 2008
John Gomomo, a former president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions has died, the federation said. Gomomo (62) was — at the time of his death — an African National Congress MP and the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on public service and administration.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Department of Public Works has started on the business of revising the laws on expropriation, which became a matter of urgency following the African National Congress national conference last month. An announcement from the department on Wednesday said that it will start the ball rolling with a national workshop to be held in Gauteng next month.
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/ 23 January 2008
Hard labour for hardened convicts was one of the proposals presented at the launch of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) Purpose, Vision and Values Programme in Durban on Wednesday. Addressing the issue of crime in the country, the IFP’s Stan Larkan told the more than 3 000 delegates that ”hard labour needs to be introduced”.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) has been deeply saddened by the death of its former president, John Gomomo, it said on Wednesday. ”Gomomo died on Tuesday after a long and brave struggle against illness. We send our condolences to his family and share their grief at this sad time of loss,” said spokesperson Patrick Craven.