In celebrating Human Rights Day on Friday, we reflect on considerable progress made regarding children’s rights in the past year. The Children’s Amendment Bill is anticipated to be signed by the president soon and will provide, together with the principle Children’s Act, a new, comprehensive law for the care and protection of children.
Johannesburg may be the site of Gauteng’s newest airport, it was announced on Friday. An economic feasibility study will be conducted by the Johannesburg metro council to determine the merits of building a fifth airport in the province. Currently Gauteng is serviced by OR Tambo International, Lanseria and Grand Central airports.
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/ 28 February 2008
A video made by white students that shows them humiliating black university employees on Thursday continued to draw angry protests as well as criticism that racism remains entrenched in South Africa 14 years after the end of apartheid, with the Democratic Alliance questioning the role of the Freedom Front Plus in the matter.
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/ 24 February 2008
The African National Congress has ordered an audit of all empowerment deals and tenders that were received by its investment company, Chancellor House, media reports said on Sunday. Earlier this month, the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reported that Chancellor House would exit two multibillion-rand contracts with Eskom.
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/ 20 February 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2008/09 national budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday brings tax relief, reduced corporate taxes, financial support for Eskom’s programme to build power stations, a new electricity levy, more social spending and a boost for job creation.
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/ 20 February 2008
Classes were still suspended at three Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) campuses on Wednesday amid meetings to resolve matters, said a university spokesperson. The university suspended all lectures on all three campuses on Tuesday following ongoing violent protests over fee hikes and academic exclusion.
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/ 18 February 2008
Saving electricity and promoting energy efficiency must be a top priority in 2008, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said in his State of the Province address on Monday. "The future was rosy on December 31 2007, but suddenly everyone is buying candles and researching property in Perth," Shilowa said in Johannesburg. He also discussed transport improvements planned for 2008.
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/ 14 February 2008
The power situation has eased somewhat over the past few days and there has been no load-shedding since February 4, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga told reporters on Thursday in Sunninghill, near Johannesburg. Maroga was announcing measures to be taken by Eskom to resolve the country’s electricity crisis.
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/ 8 February 2008
South Africa remains on course to become a winning nation, said President Thabo Mbeki on Friday during his State of the Nation address in Parliament — but, "I am aware of the fact that many in our society are troubled by a deep sense of unease about where our country will be tomorrow". He spoke at length on the electricity crisis and the war on poverty, among other thorny matters.
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/ 5 February 2008
Eskom has removed the man in charge of its power stations, the <i>Business Report</i> said on Tuesday. Ehud Matya has been replaced by Brian Dames, another Eskom executive, who will now be responsible for primary energy, power plants and his existing portfolio of capital investment.
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/ 4 February 2008
Gauteng municipalities are switching off their lights to help prevent load-shedding. All 14 municipalities in the province on Monday committed themselves to a 10% reduction in electricity use, and to improve communication with residents and businesses on when and how long they will be affected by load-shedding.
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/ 2 February 2008
The lights were on again in Cape Town by Saturday morning after most of the Mother City was plunged into darkness on Friday night. "Most parts of the city were without power from 9pm on Friday after a technical fault at a local substation feeding into the service," Eskom said.
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/ 20 January 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) has laid down the law to President Thabo Mbeki following two days of discussions between its national executive committee and the Cabinet, the <i>Sunday Times</i> reported. The ANC was also moving to get Mbeki to appoint Kgalema Motlanthe as a second deputy president in government.
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/ 16 January 2008
The Public Protector is considering investigating Eskom’s power failures, which have recently left many parts of South Africa without electricity for hours at a time due to load-shedding. Lawrence Mushwana asks several difficult questions in a letter sent to Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga on Wednesday.
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/ 12 January 2008
Opposition parties have called for the immediate suspension of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, in light of his failure to prevent the National Prosecuting Authority from prosecuting him. Selebi’s urgent application was denied in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Judge Nico Coetzee said the application bore no merit and it was struck off the roll.
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/ 16 December 2007
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>The first group of delegates to the African National Congress’s 52nd national conference arrived at the University of Limpopo on Sunday. Singing and clapping, the delegates from the North West Province said they would vote for party president Thabo Mbeki. "Mbeki is the most rational leader, we have ever had. We are just here to affirm the third term [for Mbeki]."
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/ 15 December 2007
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>New allegations against African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma have been included in an affidavit before the Constitutional Court, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Friday. Johan du Plooy, a senior special investigator for the Scorpions, said investigations had uncovered substantial new evidence against Zuma.
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/ 12 December 2007
A crowd of children is at play in the front garden of Thelma Mabuza’s small house in Zondi, Soweto. Mabuza is on her way to the tap located at the back of her yard. Johannesburg city bosses have decreed, through "Operation Gcina’manzi", that householders have to make do with 6 000 litres of free water a month.
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/ 7 December 2007
Axed <i>Sowetan</i> sub-editor Llewellyn Kriel will on Monday appeal against the findings of the disciplinary hearing that made him the first South African fired for blogging. Kriel was dismissed when he was found to have brought the company’s name into disrepute through a blog on the <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i>’s <i>Thought Leader</i>.
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/ 24 November 2007
Former African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe has been found guilty of sexual harassment by a party-appointed disciplinary committee, the ANC said on Friday. Goniwe was charged with abuse of office by trying to obtain sexual favours from parliamentary intern Nomawele Njongo on October 25 last year.
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/ 16 November 2007
Former Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Science and Art Academy) chairperson and honorary member Professor Elize Botha died on November 15 at the age of 76, the academy announced. Botha also served as chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch since 1998.
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/ 14 November 2007
Authorities are working "round the clock" to establish what caused an outbreak of diarrhoea in Delmas, the Mpumalanga health department said on Wednesday — though the Treatment Action Campaign in the province has accused the department of covering up the cause of the outbreak.
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/ 11 November 2007
Top Land Bank officials have siphoned off more than R2-billion — meant for farmers — to fund their close friends’ and associates’ ventures, the <i>Sunday Times</i> reported. The money was reportedly used for luxury golf estates, a sugar mill, equestrian estates and residential developments. The fraud was revealed in a forensic audit by Deloitte, which was handed to the Cabinet this week.
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/ 5 November 2007
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>A reported networking lounge at this year’s African National Congress (ANC) national conference could set taxpayers back by up to R40-million, the Democratic Alliance warned on Monday. Media reports said that big business is to fork out R5-million for a seat on the sidelines of the ANC’s national conference in Polokwane next month.
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/ 5 November 2007
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition MDC were the "closest they have been" to reaching an agreement over key sections of a new constitution this week, but rowed over Western sanctions and presidential term limits. Officials on both sides involved in the talks, mediated by President Thabo Mbeki, report that they have agreed to a set of reforms, further to electoral changes agreed in September, which would form the basis for a new constitution by next year.
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/ 24 October 2007
A crowd of about 500 bereaved music fans thronged in the scorching sun outside music venue the Bassline in Johannesburg’s Newtown cultural precinct on Wednesday for the memorial service of slain South African reggae icon Lucky Dube. Inside were another 1Â 000 fans, family members and friends of the singer.
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/ 24 October 2007
Two miners died at Marula Platinum Mine in Burgersfort, Limpopo, during a blast in one of the shafts, the mine said on Wednesday. Marula Platinum Mine’s spokesperson Elsabe Meiring said the incident happened on Tuesday night and no other people were reported injured.
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/ 19 October 2007
Johannesburg police were on Friday looking for three men driving a blue Volkswagen Polo believed to have been involved in the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube (43). The musician was shot dead in a botched hijacking in Rosettenville at about 8.20pm on Thursday night, said a police spokesperson.
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/ 15 October 2007
The new National Lottery operator, Gidani, has recorded eight million ticket transactions despite all the hiccups that saw the game suspended for more than seven months. "This was clearly a sterling performance," Gidani’s public affairs corporate executive Thembi Tulwana said Monday.
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/ 13 October 2007
The editor of the <i>Sunday Times</i> and one of its journalists will be arrested this week to face charges of being illegally in possession of the health minister’s medical records. Editor Mondli Makhanya and deputy managing editor Jocelyn Maker will be hauled to Cape Town in connection with charges of theft and contravention of the National Health Act.
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s office has rejected claims that police regulations require Selebi’s suspension while allegations against him are being investigated. Selebi’s spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said on Tuesday a Freedom Front Plus statement in this regard was incorrect.
Police used water spray on University of Johannesburg (UJ) students who were shaking the entrance gate to the Kingsway Campus on Monday afternoon. Students earlier said they were going to break the gate down if they were not allowed access to the campus. They said they would resort to anarchy.