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/ 6 September 2007
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told Parliament on Thursday that total spending by all three spheres of government in the financial year to March was R5,3-billion rand less than had been appropriated. Much of the underspending was blamed on lack of capacity.
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/ 6 September 2007
After years of waiting, thousands of people who lodged a claim to have their land at Wallmansthal, north of Pretoria, returned to them will on Saturday receive the deeds of their stands. The land set to be restored measures 4 186ha. Approximately 4 270 people will benefit from the settlement, the Land Claims Commission said on Thursday.
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/ 6 September 2007
The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has demonstrated — through its upgrade of the George terminal — that its airport facilities meet world-class standards, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Thursday. He was speaking at the opening of the R43-million George Airport upgrade.
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/ 6 September 2007
Standerton residents, AfriForum and the mayor of the Lekwa municipality, Queen Radebe-Khumalo, will face off in the Pretoria High Court in November over a damaged Great Trek memorial. The Standerton Action Committee and AfriForum have asked the Pretoria High Court that Radebe-Khumalo be ordered to rebuild a Great Trek memorial that she ordered to be destroyed.
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/ 6 September 2007
Community members who are furious at the lack of sufficient housing and service delivery in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, have met ward councillors to discuss their frustrations, which had led to public protests and the occupation of government-built homes earlier in the week.
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/ 6 September 2007
Something is stirring in the South African blogosphere, says electronic-media analyst Arthur Goldstuck. This year will probably be remembered as a time when blogs came of age, with more than 600 000 internet users visiting blogs by their fellow South Africans in just one month.
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/ 6 September 2007
The majority of the members of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) walked out of the National Assembly on Thursday after speaker Baleka Mbete officially suspended one of them for five days. Health spokesperson Mike Waters upset the speaker on Wednesday when he challenged her ruling that a question directed to Manto Tshabalala Msimang was out of order.
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/ 6 September 2007
The newly formed National People’s Party (NPP) on Thursday claimed that five former members of the Independent Democrats (ID) had crossed the floor, bringing their Cape Town metro seats with them. However, the ID said two of the five — Abdulla Omar and Aaron Kallie — were expelled from the party before the floor-crossing window opened.
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/ 6 September 2007
Efforts to rejuvenate the South African Army will see 3 000 new recruits being taken in next year, with the figure shooting up to 7 000 in 2009, it was announced on Thursday. ”We need a young and fit group of soldiers,” army chief General Solly Shoke told reporters in Pretoria.
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/ 6 September 2007
The South African Cabinet was concerned about the level of fraud that led to the distribution of faulty condoms that might have exposed people to HIV. ”All those implicated in the scam will face the full force of the law,” government spokesperson Themba Maseko told the media on Thursday.
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/ 6 September 2007
Elna Moolman of Barnard Jacobs Mellet was voted the Reuters Economist of the Year, it was announced on Thursday at a breakfast in Sandton. Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Tito Mboweni presented Moolman with her prize. Moolman said: ”It is a big surprise and it is a great honour.”
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/ 6 September 2007
The South African Cabinet has appointed Eskom as the ”only” buyer of power from independent power producers. Briefing the media on Thursday, the day after Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said the Cabinet had resolved that Eskom become the only buyer.
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/ 6 September 2007
Kempton Park matric students were held up at gunpoint five minutes before the end of a preliminary exam, it was reported on Thursday. Oxford Combined School principal Pierre de Lange said that 54 students, supervised by four staff members, were nearing the end of their accounting exam on Wednesday when they were held at gunpoint while the school was robbed.
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/ 6 September 2007
The mystery gem discovered in the North West last week has been certified as a diamond, according to a report in the <i>Mining Weekly</i> on Thursday morning. According to the weekly trade publication, verification of the gem, which is believed to be the largest diamond discovery in the world, has been completed and a certificate was expected to be available by 1pm.
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/ 6 September 2007
The JSE all-share index held onto its gains at midday on Tuesday, with the resource index shining brightly — underpinned by good buying interest in resource stocks Anglo American and BHP Billiton. By noon, the all-share index rose 0,50%. Resources advanced 1,25% and the gold mining index edged up 0,38%.
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/ 6 September 2007
Holders Egypt head the list of heavyweight contenders seeking to confirm their qualification for next year’s African Nations Cup finals this weekend. A win in Burundi on Sunday would ensure Egypt finish top of their group and join the seven teams already through to the 16-team finals being hosted by Ghana in January.
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/ 6 September 2007
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union on Wednesday vowed to counter a South African Airways (SAA) restructuring plan, saying management had lied to it and that ”the laws of the jungle shall now apply”. The union issued a statement after the airline’s chief executive, Khaya Ngqula, told media on Wednesday that it was essential to revise work packages.
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/ 6 September 2007
The growing dispute between the increasingly more affluent Premier Soccer League and its Mvela League affiliates reached a flashpoint on Wednesday when 15 clubs abandoned a special meeting to discuss the future of the League’s subsidiary competition.
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/ 6 September 2007
South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday that while there were some tentative indications of a slowdown in consumption, such as vehicle sales, it was still "early days". Mboweni said that while the current account deficit was being adequately financed by financial inflows, there might be inflationary pressures in the future if the deficit widened.
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/ 6 September 2007
General Motors (GM) is making a point of acknowledging girl power with the launch of the Chevrolet Captiva. Using the blockbuster movie <i>Mr & Mrs Smith</i> as a premise, GM went to great lengths to accentuate the versatility and over all appeal of its latest SUV.
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/ 6 September 2007
”Regardless of the BEE types’ penchant for emaciated white girls whose figures might be attributed to the sort of galloping bulimia offensive to any self-respecting peasant living below the bread line, it is time to ensure transformation occurs at all levels of society. Including the air-heads,” writes Niren Tolsi.
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/ 5 September 2007
South Africa’s editors and the government’s legal team will meet ”as a matter of urgency” over concerns about the Film and Publication Bill. This was announced in a statement jointly issued by the government and the South African National Editors’ Forum after talks at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Wednesday.
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/ 5 September 2007
A teenage girl wrote a note with the names of three youths who stabbed her before she died in Queenstown’s Frontier Hospital, police said on Wednesday. However, police have not yet arrested any of the youths who attacked Thandisiwe Ncane (17) as she was walking with her friends on Tuesday at Aloevale.
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/ 5 September 2007
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and thousands of South Africans will soon ”thank heavens it’s Braai Day”. Its purpose — to unite all those who live in the country — is close to Tutu’s heart, who was made the first patron of National Braai Day on Wednesday. The day will coincide with National Heritage Day on September 24.
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/ 5 September 2007
Proteas opening batsman Loots Bosman is to face a disciplinary hearing following comments he allegedly made about being excluded from the Twenty20 World Championship team because of a back injury. Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Wednesday that Bosman will appear before CSA disciplinary commissioner Michael Kuper SC.
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/ 5 September 2007
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) had demonstrated nothing but arrogance in pulling out of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) over reports about Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, said the Media Institute of Southern Africa on Wednesday.
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/ 5 September 2007
Youths who allegedly burnt two 60-year old women to death over a witchcraft claim are believed to have received the assistance from the local community, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Jabulani Mdletshe said police believed the double murder was pre-planned and that residents from the Manguzi area in northern KwaZulu-Natal had assisted.
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/ 5 September 2007
There was an uproar in the National Assembly on Wednesday when a Democratic Alliance MP was ordered to leave after a written question he posed to the health minister was ruled out of order. The question was whether the minister had been convicted of theft and whether she had disclosed this information to President Thabo Mbeki.
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/ 5 September 2007
Pace-bowler Andre Nel will replace injured batsman Loots Bosman in South Africa’s squad for the Twenty20 World Championship, Cricket South Africa said on Tuesday. Bosman was ruled out after injuring his back when he dived into advertising boards during South Africa’s tour to Zimbabwe last month.
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/ 5 September 2007
Concerns over unwelcome ”sex perverts” have prompted the organisers of this weekend’s reed dance by Zulu maidens in Nongoma to impose strict access control. The maidens ”are increasingly becoming targets of unscrupulous photographers and cameramen”, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
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/ 5 September 2007
South African Airways (SAA) is finalising the standardisation of working conditions with trade unions in its ”deep and fundamental” restructuring process, chief executive Khaya Ngqula said on Wednesday. He also said the process of grounding SAA’s costly Boeing 747-400 fleet by November is on track.
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/ 5 September 2007
The latest spending patterns by provincial departments show a measurable improvement, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. Although provinces still face capacity challenges, there is improvement, he told journalists during the Treasury’s tabling of provincial budgets and expenditure review in Parliament.