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/ 24 October 2007
A city-commissioned probe into the activities of controversial councillor Badhi Chaaban was completely legitimate, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. However, she promised she would ask an outsider with ”impeccable credentials”, such as a retired judge or senior advocate, to establish whether council funds were misused.
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/ 24 October 2007
South Africa still does not have a comprehensive national security policy, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday. It also had no policy to fight poverty, said SAHRC CEO Tselifo Thitanyane. ”The integrated justice system is not really working,” said commission chairperson Jody Kollapen.
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/ 24 October 2007
Alleged drug dealer Nazier Kapdi is well-known at the Western Cape directorate for public prosecutions (DPP), the Wynberg Regional Court heard on Wednesday. ”I’ve been a prosecutor for 30 years and I know Kapdi; I know he does not operate his network alone,” DPP senior deputy director Nollie Nieuhaus told the court.
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/ 24 October 2007
Life is improving steadily — at least in the area of housing and basic service delivery — for the 48-million people living in South Africa, according to Statistics South Africa. The organisation on Wednesday released the first results of its 2007 Community Survey, based on responses from about 255Â 000 households.
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/ 24 October 2007
The nine South African soldiers killed during a military training exercise at Lohatla base were on Wednesday hailed as heroes and heroines during a memorial service in Kimberley. Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said that the five men and four women had fallen in defence of South Africa’s hard-won democracy.
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/ 24 October 2007
Four men were arrested after allegedly kidnapping a young boy and demanding R75 000 ransom from his parents on Wednesday, Pretoria police said. ”The [boy’s mother] told the men to come to her office today [Wednesday] to collect the money, and at the same time, she called police,” Inspector Paul Ramaloko said.
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/ 24 October 2007
National oil company PetroSA is to construct a R39-billion crude-oil refinery in Coega near Port Elizabeth, the company announced on Wednesday. Dubbed Project Mthombo, the proposed crude-oil refinery is expected to produce about 200 000 barrels of fuel a day and will come on stream in 2014/15.
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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
More than 20 teachers were held at gunpoint at a Durban school on Wednesday as two classes were about to write a matric paper, KwaZulu-Natal police said. The incident took place at Chatsworth’s Savannah Park Secondary School at 7.40am, Chatsworth police spokesperson Captain Edmund Singh said.
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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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/ 24 October 2007
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Virtually all Cabinet ministers and their deputies turned out for Wednesday’s fortnightly Cabinet meeting at Tuynhuys sporting Springbok rugby supporter’s jerseys, jackets or a cap. One minister, rather conspicuous in a traditional robe among the green and gold attire, was heard to remark: ”My underwear is green.”
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/ 24 October 2007
South Africa’s population has grown by almost a quarter over the last decade to over 48-million, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The estimate was released on Wednesday as part of the results of Stats SA’s 2007 Community Survey, the biggest household survey ever undertaken in South Africa.
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/ 24 October 2007
The Eikenhof Clinic, south of Johannesburg, has not had power for the past two weeks, the provincial health department said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Zanele Mngadi said Eskom cut the electricity two weeks ago because the electricity bill had not been paid. ”The account was not paid because of administration challenges and we are currently in talks with Eskom,” she said.
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/ 24 October 2007
The fifth man arrested in connection with the murder of historian David Rattray appeared briefly in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal police said. Zwelihle Mtshali (21) had his case postponed until Thursday, when he would appear in the local high court, police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu said.
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/ 24 October 2007
The South African Broadcasting Corporation would be within its rights not to run a story on Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, but media diversity is important in ensuring that other outlets can run it if they choose to, African National Congress (ANC) politician and businessman Saki Macozoma said on Tuesday.
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/ 24 October 2007
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The African National Congress (ANC) succession debate does not pose a significant threat to the creditworthiness of rand-denominated debt, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said on Wednesday. ”We do not expect significant shift in the ANC policy, regardless of the outcome of the conference,” Busa CEO Jerry Vilakazi said.
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/ 24 October 2007
The JSE remained in negative territory at midday on Wednesday, as banks took a dip on the release of discouraging CPI data and resources were lower on a firmer rand. At 11.59am, the all-share index was 0,25% lower, as resources dipped 0,35%. However, the gold and platinum mining indices advanced 0,28% and 0,35% respectively.
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/ 24 October 2007
The increase in South Africa’s CPIX (consumer inflation less mortgage costs) for metro and other areas, which is used by the South African Reserve Bank for its inflation target, was up 6,7% year-on-year (y/y) in September from 6,3% y/y in August, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
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/ 24 October 2007
Gauteng has made significant strides in the eradication of the unhygienic and inhumane bucket sanitation system, local government provincial minister Qedaeni Mahlangu said on Wednesday. Mahlangu announced the achievement during a bucket eradication roadshow in the Slovoville informal settlement in Nigel.
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/ 24 October 2007
Africa’s biggest banking group by assets, Standard Bank, said on Tuesday it was in talks which if successfully concluded might affect its shares, sending the company’s stock higher. Standard Bank said in a statement that it expected to make an announcement soon.
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/ 24 October 2007
The Newcastle funeral service for South African reggae star Lucky Dube has been cancelled, spokespersons for the family said on Tuesday. ”The family wishes to respect [his] final wishes to have a small and dignified funeral,” they said in a statement.
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/ 24 October 2007
A case of assault has been opened with the police in Vryheid on Tuesday after a daughter of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi was struck by chairs during a KwaZulu-Natal legislature session. African National Congress and IFP leaders clashed over issues of service delivery moments before the chair throwing occurred.
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/ 24 October 2007
A Pietermaritzburg court clerk was arrested after being linked to 178 counts of theft and fraud, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Inspector Joey Jeevan said a team arrested the 38-year-old woman at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, after months of intensive investigations.
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/ 23 October 2007
Students who do not attain the required mark when applying to do a BSc degree can now do so through a four-year programme with lower entrance requirements. The programme would be introduced at the University of Pretoria in 2008, the university said in a statement on Tuesday.
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/ 23 October 2007
A plane bound for Margate made an emergency landing on a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Coast beach on Tuesday afternoon, police said. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said the light aircraft, carrying three people, landed on the beach at Pumula, midway between Hibberdene and Port Shepstone.
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/ 23 October 2007
Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo on Tuesday launched the Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT), which is aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Johannesburg. Masondo said the BRT, also known as Rea Vaya, would introduce a network of buses travelling along dedicated bus ways with bus stations situated every 500m.
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/ 23 October 2007
The Johannesburg High Court has not mislaid the file in the matter between PetroSA and Imvume Management, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said on Tuesday. ”The file is in fact in the possession of the registrar of the filing section of the Johannesburg High Court …,” department spokesperson Zolile Nqayi said in a statement.
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/ 23 October 2007
The Inkatha Freedom Party and the Democratic Alliance on Tuesday boycotted a sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) legislature in Vryheid. The boycott follows an incident on Monday when chairs were thrown during the sitting of the legislature, which is being held as part of the KwaZulu-Natal government’s policy of ”taking the government to the people”.
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/ 23 October 2007
Under no circumstances should a patient’s medical records be disclosed unless he or she gives personal consent, a seminar hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission was told on Tuesday. A panel was discussing the implications of articles published by the Sunday Times about Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
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/ 23 October 2007
All charges brought against Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille for her participation in protest marches have been dropped, the Western Cape director of public prosecutions said on Tuesday. Zille, who is also mayor of Cape Town, was charged in terms of the Regulation of Gatherings Act.
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/ 23 October 2007
South African companies are cashing in on Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil, boosting investments and expanding their operations despite deepening hardships, a human rights group, the South Africa-registered Solidarity Peace Trust, said on Tuesday.
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/ 23 October 2007
The Ministry of Justice needs to speed up the formation of an appropriate complaints mechanism dealing with judges, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers said on Tuesday. This follows the controversy surrounding Cape Judge President John Hlophe.