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/ 28 November 2003
Two of the country’s foremost media personalities squared off at a Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa tribunal on Friday. <i>Mail & Guardian</i> columnist Robert Kirby had lodged a complaint against SABC broadcaster Jeremy Maggs, following remarks made by Maggs on air in September.
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/ 27 November 2003
The Democratic Alliance announced on Thursday that it has signed up two small regional parties in Limpopo province — the Ximoko Party and the Dabalorivhuwa Patriotic Front — for its coalition, which already includes the Inkatha Freedom Party. Both parties have a strong rural base in the province.
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/ 27 November 2003
A former newspaper editor conceded before the Hefer commission on Thursday that he was reckless when he published spy claims against National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka. Vusi Mona, former editor of the City Press, admitted to this under gruelling cross-examination.
Mona grilled
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/ 27 November 2003
Court papers have been served on South Africa’s four largest political parties in an attempt to compel them to reveal the source of all large private donations made into their coffers since January 1 this year. The legal action, launched by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), is to be heard in court, probably in February.
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/ 27 November 2003
The Cape Town metropolitan municipality and the Overstrand local municipality, both in the Western Cape, have each received a prize of R1-million for being the cleanest towns in South Africa. Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Valli Moosa handed over the prizes to the winners of the cleanest town competition in Cape Town on Thursday.
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/ 27 November 2003
A new fixed-cost wireless broadband internet service will be launched on January next year. In just six weeks, South African internet users will be able to connect at high speed to the internet without a physical telephone-line connection. Sentech on Thursday announced plans to deploy the new services, starting in Gauteng.
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/ 27 November 2003
After two weeks of testimony and 10 witnesses, the Roodefontein corruption trial was on Thursday adjourned to June 21 next year. Bail of R10Â 000 each was extended for former Western Cape premier Peter Marais and his provincial environment minister, David Malatsi.
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/ 27 November 2003
Governments around the world are being called on to increase their commitment to the production of renewable energies and to level the playing field when it comes to costs and subsidies. This follows the Second World Wind Energy Conference, attended by delegates from 40 countries, which ended in Cape Town on Wednesday.
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/ 27 November 2003
Former Western Cape provincial minister of environment David Malatsi told developers he was prepared to approve their projects without seeing the environmental impact assessments required by law, the George Regional Court heard on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24134">Roodefontein trial postponed</a>
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/ 26 November 2003
One of the greatest stalwarts of the African film industry, Lionel Ngakane, died on Wednesday morning in Rustenburg after a long illness. Ngakane (75) was instrumental in paving the way for the recognition of African cinema internationally and received several accolades for his work in the film industry.
Obituary
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/ 26 November 2003
White-collar crime costs the South African economy between R50-billion and R150-billion a year. Speaking at a white-collar crime summit in Midrand on Wednesday, Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna said ”82% of businesses are probable victims”.
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/ 26 November 2003
Deputy President Jacob Zuma will not complain before the Hefer commission about the way in which National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka’s national prosecuting authority is treating him, former judge Joos Hefer announced on Wednesday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24084">Commission mulls over editor</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24062">The famous off-the-record briefing</a>
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/ 26 November 2003
Eight out of 10 children who have lost parents to HIV/Aids live in sub-Saharan Africa, a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) revealed on Wednesday. ”If not for HIV/Aids, the number of orphans in the region would be decreasing,” said Unicef director Carol Bellamy.
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/ 26 November 2003
President Thabo Mbeki says inappropriate rewards for top management are a concern in both the private and public sectors, but the government has no intention of intervening. "Government has neither the power nor the intention to intervene in this matter," he said.
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/ 26 November 2003
The Department of Labour has visited more than 250 business sites in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape as part of the nationwide blitz inspections to check on employers’ adherence to the Employment Equity Act.
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/ 25 November 2003
Former death-row inmate Robert McBride said on Tuesday there is no aspect of his past that he is ashamed of. He was officially introduced as the new chief of Ekurhuleni Metro Police, an appointment that has drawn criticism from the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union.
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/ 25 November 2003
The first global conference on wind energy to be held in Africa opened on Monday in Cape Town with delegates saying the power-starved continent is using only a fraction of its potential. The conference is being attended by about 350 delegates from 21 countries.
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/ 25 November 2003
South African Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi remains concerned about the Electoral Laws Second Amendment Bill — which allows people temporarily out of South Africa to vote abroad in next year’s national election. the Bill would still exclude a citizen working abroad on a temporary basis as an employee.
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/ 24 November 2003
Minibus taxi operators have another four years before they have to start complying with basic safety regulations, Transport Minister Dullah Omar announced on Monday. He said operators should have adequate time to find finance for and buy their vehicles.
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/ 24 November 2003
Eurythmics singer Dave Stewart — who arrived in Cape Town on Monday to prepare for the 46664 Aids Awareness Concert — on Monday described the gaps between the rich and the poor in South Africa as a ”vision of hell”. However, Stewart did express great admiration for the country’s greatest leader, Nelson Mandela.
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/ 24 November 2003
The Church of England in South Africa (Cesa) on Sunday disassociated itself from any action to accept homosexuality as a valid expression of human sexuality. Cesa presiding bishop Frank Retief said the Bible’s plain teaching is that the homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s design.
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/ 24 November 2003
President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma, are predictably first and second on the African National Congress’s provisional list of national candidates for next year’s general elections, released on Monday. The national and provincial lists were adopted by the ANC’s national list conference at the weekend.
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/ 23 November 2003
The South African National Editors Forum on Saturday called ”for an immediate withdrawal of the calling of journalists to testify and provide documentation” after learning that the Hefer Commission of Inquiry intends to subpoena and request more journalists to give evidence at its investigation in Bloemfontein.
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/ 23 November 2003
South Africa’s exporters went into worry mode again this week as the rand hit a 42-month high against the dollar amid indications that the currency is set to strengthen even further. Nearly all exporting businesses have been reporting sharp losses this year due mainly to the rand’s ongoing strength.
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/ 22 November 2003
Exactly 12 years after Queen’s lead singer, Freddy Mercury, told the world that he was dying from Aids, his band members arrived in Cape Town to prepare for the 46664 Aids Awareness Concert. Both artists expressed their admiration for Mandela, who has given his prison number 46664 to the campaign.
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/ 21 November 2003
All remaining problems between the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and Gallo Music over the live recording of workers’ songs have been resolved, Cosatu has announced. The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that Cosatu accused Gallo of trying to ”rip it off” over the venture.
Song and dance over Cosatu recording
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/ 21 November 2003
South Africa’s International Marketing Council, which has been given the task of promoting a positive international image for the country through an international marketing campaign, will spend about R50-million a year, according to Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad.
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/ 20 November 2003
Former African National Congress intelligence operative Mo Shaik has kept a database of more than 880 suspected apartheid government spies, it was revealed on Thursday. He told the Hefer commission the ANC had investigated all these people during the liberation struggle as suspected informants.
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/ 20 November 2003
On Thursday Gauteng provincial transport minister Khabisi Mosunkutu announced further measures by his department to bring traffic and road-safety offenders to book. Six trucking companies, ”notorious” for violating the Road Traffic Act, have been summoned to appear before investigators.
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/ 20 November 2003
The Department of Labour will next week conduct a national blitz to target employers who have not reported their employment equity figures, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Thursday in a written reply to a parliamentary question.
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/ 20 November 2003
Anti-retroviral drugs will not be available for Aids patients in the state health system within the next week or two, a government official cautioned on Thursday. On Wednesday the Cabinet instructed the Department of Health to immediately implement an Aids treatment plan, which includes anti-retroviral drugs.
DA: It’s a ‘bittersweet victory’
Cabinet approves HIV/Aids plan
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/ 20 November 2003
The decision by the South African government to approve a comprehensive roll-out of anti-retroviral drugs to treat HIV/Aids is a bittersweet victory, says opposition leader Tony Leon. "It comes after over a million lives have been lost to the disease — unnecessarily," he said in his newsletter this week.