Pretoria

South Africans must work together to redefine their shared common identity, President Thabo Mbeki said at the lighting of the eternal flame in Freedom Park in Pretoria on Saturday. He said South Africans should not allow the interests of selfish individuals to override the hard-won freedoms achieved by all.

The institution of traditional leadership occupies a unique and important place in South Africa as it is a critical player in reconstruction and development of the country, President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. ”The national Cabinet and I are inspired by the historic position taken by our traditional leaders to work together in harmony with our elected leaders,” Mbeki said.

Three armed men went on a robbery and hijacking spree in Pretoria on Wednesday, police said. Inspector Anton Breedt said the men began their spree at a travel agency in the Willows shopping centre. ”They held up staff at gunpoint and robbed them of two laptops. The suspects fled in a white Volkswagen Polo Playa.”

Cooperation between South Africa and the Czech Republic is crucial, particularly in science, technology and trade, the presidents of the two countries agreed on Tuesday in Pretoria. ”This agreement will help us in the development of our scientists,” said South African President Thabo Mbeki.

A visit by top ranking South Afr5ican National Defence Force officers to Sudan as part of a goodwill visit to South African troops deployed beyond the country’s borders had to be cancelled when the group was refused entry into Sudan. The group was told on Monday they will only get to visit troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

Former spy boss Billy Masetlha is to be added as an accused in the so-called hoax e-mail court case in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria. Software salesperson Muziwendoda Kunene and National Intelligence Agency manager for electronic surveillance Funokwakhe Madladla have already been charged with fraud.

Mozambican national Annanias Mathe will be moved to a revamped cell at Pretoria’s C-Max prison once he has been released from hospital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday. Mathe escaped from the country’s most secure prison over two weeks ago.

South Africa signed a five-year international agreement on peaceful nuclear-technology use on Tuesday, the Department of Science and Technology said. The agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency makes South Africa the only African country to finalise its second Country Programme Framework.

President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday used the state visit of Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean as an opportunity to raise concerns about Europe’s treatment of migrants from Africa. Mbeki held talks with Jean at the Union Buildings in Pretoria and at a press conference afterwards said she was an example of how migrants could succeed in their new countries if given a chance.

Former ambassador Norman Mashabane is guilty of sexual harassment, the Pretoria High Court found on Friday. More than three years after Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma overturned a guilty verdict against Mashabane, the court decided otherwise.

Police must use maximum force when dealing with violent criminals in order to protect themselves and people around them, Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula said on Wednesday. He was speaking at the graduation ceremony of senior management officers, who completed the executive development programme in Pretoria.

The armed forces in Southern Africa are moving too slowly towards gender transformation, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Tuesday. ”It is still considered a man’s thing, war is considered a man’s thing … where is the basis of this backwards attitude of men?” Lekota asked, citing several examples of woman leaders in South African history.

Criminals should not be allowed to penetrate state institutions, police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi said on Monday at the launch of the Government Sector Security Council (GSSC) in Pretoria. The GSSC’s main role will be to coordinate, monitor and regulate security of certain national key points.

The Waterkloof Four will have to wait until next year to find out what their punishment will be. On Monday their case in the Pretoria Regional Court was postponed yet again and argument for mitigation of their sentence will now only be heard from January 15 2007.

A determined and united effort is needed by world leaders to stop fighting across the world, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. He was receiving the credentials of new diplomatic envoys from Iceland, Malawi, Canada, Belgium, South Korea and France at a ceremony at the presidential guesthouse in Pretoria.

South Africa on Friday signed letters of intent with Guinea to help the West African country revive its transport infrastructure. The signing follows a two-day joint commission headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Guinean counterpart, Mamady Conde, in Pretoria.

South Africa’s intelligence agencies are investigating who leaked information in connection with the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, the government’s spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Thursday. Maseko said he found the leaks ”totally unacceptable”.

Law-enforcement agencies will in future take strong action against taxi drivers who engage in lawlessness and violent conduct, the Cabinet warned on Thursday. Briefing the media in Pretoria, government communications head Themba Maseko said a small ”splinter group” within the industry was responsible for the recent violent protests.

An agent from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) will head an investigating team into the weekend’s escape from Pretoria’s C-Max prison, Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour said on Wednesday. Balfour was back at what is considered one of South Africa’s most secure prisons.

Leadership and management ”challenges” have led to problems in her department, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulama Xingwana said on Wednesday. The problems include the implementation of land-reform and restitution programmes, the administration of state land, land audits and human resource management, Xingwana said in a statement.

ADT Security, the owner of Kusela Security, on Wednesday denied that the company ever handled security at OR Tambo International airport. ”ADT would like to confirm that this statement is factually incorrect,” managing director Danna Strydom said. ”Kusela has never handled the security at the OR Tambo airport.”

South Africa on Tuesday urged the loser of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) presidential election to accept defeat, while giving the country’s first democratic poll in more than 40 years a broad seal of approval. South Africa’s Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George urged ”the people of [DRC] to accept the outcome of the elections”.

If violence, abuse and drug use are allowed to become a familiar and accepted part of schooling, the future is lost, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday. She was speaking at a school-safety colloquium in Pretoria. ”All of us must act and act in unison to indicate that these objectionable forms of conduct have no place in education,” Pandor said.

President Thabo Mbeki told religious leaders on Monday to trust what he had done regarding the controversy around police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi — and they did. This was after the religious leaders had suggested an inquiry into the relationship between Selebi and Glenn Agliotti, who was arrested last week for the murder of Brett Kebble.

The Department of Education has expanded the number of schools that will not be charging school fees by 40% for next year. ”Funding is available and this will be implemented. It is also in keeping with government’s commitment that no child should be denied an education,” Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday.

President Thabo Mbeki congratulated the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Independent Electoral Commission on Thursday for organising the first and second round of presidential elections in that country. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said Mbeki was aware of the announcement of the provisional results, which make President Joseph Kabila the winner.