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/ 15 September 2004
Citizens of Chiawelo in Soweto protested on Wednesday against the installation of prepaid water meters, the Anti-Privatisation Forum said. However, Jameel Chand, spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, said the protest was not about the installation of prepaid meters, but about local labourers not being used to do the work.
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/ 15 September 2004
Black economic empowerment company Akani Leisure Investments has taken over the Halcyon Hotels Group — which includes in its portfolio the prestigious Bay hotel and Blues restaurant in Camps Bay. The acquisition represents the first major empowerment transaction at the top end of the Western Cape hospitality industry.
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/ 15 September 2004
Two more cycad species have become extinct in the past two years, data from the South African National Biodiversity Institute showed on Wednesday. This means at least three, and possibly more, of these fascinating plant species have been lost to South Africa, said John Donaldson, director of research at the institute.
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/ 15 September 2004
Ten people were admitted to Pretoria’s Unitas hospital for observation on Wednesday after coming into contact with a substance feared to be anthrax at a government department’s city-centre offices. A departmental registry clerk apparently found a dusting of powder on a bursary application received through the mail.
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/ 15 September 2004
The number of commercial farming units in South Africa decreased from about 58 000 to about 46 000 between 1993 and 2002, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. Paid employment in the sector dropped from 1 093 265 to 940 815 over the same period.
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/ 15 September 2004
Public-sector unions threatened on Wednesday to increase their pay demand to 12% if the government withdraws its R28-billion package. "The minister wants to open Pandora’s box. Labour can also play this game," the Congress of South African Trade Unions said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Business&ao=122224">Unions expect 800 000 to march</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Business&ao=122182">Cosatu throws weight behind strike</a>
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/ 15 September 2004
Debate about the role played by mercenaries in Africa has been revived in recent months, following the arrest and subsequent sentencing of 68 men accused of plotting to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema: president of the tiny, oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea. But prison terms — even death sentences — are unlikely to deter mercenaries from operating in Africa, say analysts.
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/ 14 September 2004
Anglo American plans to invest about R26-billion in South Africa, demonstrating its confidence in the country, the company said on Tuesday following a weekend spat with President Thabo Mbeki. ”Anglo … has reinvested over R100-billion in this country since January 1999,” said Anglo spokesperson Michael Spicer in a statement.
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/ 14 September 2004
A new draft Bill, which will govern the tobacco industry, will grant the minister of health the power to issue regulations on the performance standard that all cigarettes sold in South Africa will have to meet, a top official told MPs on Tuesday. A cigarette will be required to ”self-extinguish after a few minutes if it is not puffed upon”.
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/ 14 September 2004
Another victim of the September 1 blast at Sasol’s Secunda plant has died, bringing the death toll to nine, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. The man died in hospital earlier in the day after two weeks in intensive care, Johan van Rheede said. His name will be withheld until his family had been informed.
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/ 14 September 2004
Strikes of public-service employees will go ahead on Thursday, unions have said. Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has proposed to extend the strike to include Monday and Tuesday next week, and police officers, traffic officials and correctional services officials will join Thursday’s strike.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Business&ao=122151&t=1">Govt works to avoid massive strike</a>
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/ 14 September 2004
Twenty-nine trees considered rare or facing over-exploitation have been added to a national list of protected species, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry said on Tuesday. ”The new list of protected tree species heralds a milestone in the history of tree protection in this country,” the department said.
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/ 14 September 2004
Three trade unions at Telkom maintained on Tuesday that there is no reason for job cuts at the telecommunications monopoly. A union negotiator told reporters in Johannesburg the unions signed an agreement with Telkom on Monday so they can have some control over the retrenchment process.
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/ 14 September 2004
The government, led by Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, is set to carry on negotiations with public-sector unions on Tuesday evening, following a failure to reach agreement over Thursday’s threatened public-sector strike. The minister said the government is doing everything in its power to avert a strike.
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/ 14 September 2004
The bail application of two men charged under laws against the proliferation of nuclear weapons was delayed in Vanderbijlpark on Tuesday to give lawyers time to study new documents. Randburg engineering company directors Gerhard Wisser and Daniel Geiges were arrested last Wednesday.
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/ 14 September 2004
South African furniture, electronic goods and appliances retailer Lewis Group has opened the book building process for its initial public offering and listing on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa, in which it plans to offer to the public 40-million ordinary shares of one cent each.
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/ 8 September 2004
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon’s remarks about Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel during the 2004 election campaign did not constitute hate speech, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday. ”Mr Leon did not suggest in anyway that certain people or segments of the population be subjected to hatred.”
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/ 8 September 2004
South Africans appear to be a nation of givers — in an average month, a massive 93% of people part with time, money or goods to assist a cause or an individual. According to a national survey almost R930-million was mobilised during October and November 2003 for development and anti-poverty work.
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/ 8 September 2004
Thousands of municipal workers will go on strike across Gauteng on Thursday, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Wednesday. Members of Samwu, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union and the Anti-Privatisation Forum plan to stage marches.
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/ 8 September 2004
South Africa’s state-owned arms manufacturing and marketing company, Denel, "is practically at the doorstep of bankruptcy", CEO Victor Moche told MPs on Wednesday. However, he said there is light at the end of the tunnel if the entity focuses on research and development and balancing its budget.
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/ 8 September 2004
The Department of Health hit out on Wednesday at pharmacies charging medical schemes an across-the-board administration fee rather than billing them for services actually rendered. Some pharmacies charge a fee of 10% upwards of the cost of medicines prescribed, departmental spokesperson Sibani Mngadi said.
Healthcare Funders settle dispute
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/ 7 September 2004
A total of R72-million is to be set aside in the budget for LandCare programmes in the coming financial year, a deputy director in the national Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs said on Tuesday. He was speaking at Elsenburg outside Stellenbosch at the two-yearly LandCare national conference.
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/ 7 September 2004
Disney Enterprises has lost its bid to set aside an attachment order against its South African-registered trademarks, enabling the family of musician Solomon Linda to sue Disney for royalties in a South African court. Pretoria High Court Judge Hekkie Daniels on Tuesday dismissed Disney’s application against the executors of Linda’s estate.
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/ 7 September 2004
Three Telkom unions accused the telephone monopoly on Tuesday of undermining the government’s mandate to create jobs and fight poverty by threatening to retrench workers and charging excessive call rates. The unions refuse to believe that the company is following ”the mandate of government” as claimed by Telkom’s management.
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/ 7 September 2004
Plans to eradicate alien weeds infesting Southern Africa’s rivers have been ”indefinitely” derailed by administrative delays, a World Bank official confirmed on Wednesday. A multimillion-dollar Southern African Development Community anti-infestation project was due to start last year, but has been delayed.
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/ 7 September 2004
The operating profit of petrochemical giant Sasol fell by 22% owing to the strength of the rand, the company said at its annual results presentation on Tuesday. The negative effect of the rand was cushioned by the beneficial high oil prices and management initiatives to streamline the business, Sasol chief executive Pieter Cox said.
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/ 7 September 2004
President Thabo Mbeki and a number of people instrumental in the South African peace process met delegates from the Israeli Likud party in Pretoria on Tuesday. ”It’s not a governmental delegation but a South African delegation,” Mbeki told Israeli Minister of Industry and Trade Michael Ratzon.
Israeli attack on Hamas activists kills 14
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/ 6 September 2004
Public-sector unions decided on Monday to embark on strike action following their rejection of the government’s 6% wage increase offer, said labour caucus chairperson Fikile Majola. All members of the eight unions will strike, except essential services. The unions represent 700 000 public-service employees.
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/ 6 September 2004
Pharmacists across the country are introducing a range of new charges now that they are limited in the prices they can ask for drugs, players in the industry said on Monday. ”We can charge for any service. Everything that you do for the patient, the patient must pay for,” said a pharmacist in Pretoria North. ”This is very sad.”
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/ 6 September 2004
The Democratic Alliance on Monday welcomed another six municipal councillors to its ranks, bring its total countrywide to 1 022. In a speech prepared for delivery to a meeting of the DA’s Cape Town Unicity caucus, Leon said 40 councillors have now crossed over to the DA in the two-week floor-crossing period.
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/ 6 September 2004
South Africa’s Justice and Constitutional Development Ministry has given permission to Equatorial Guinea’s authorities to question Mark Thatcher on his alleged role in a coup plot in that country, a ministry spokesperson said on Monday. The spokesperson added that there has been no discussion of extradition.
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/ 6 September 2004
Employers can no longer retrench workers to make way for better-skilled employees without making adequate training opportunities available, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) said on Monday. On Friday, a judge found that South African Breweries (SAB) had wrongly dismissed 115 Fawu members in 2001.