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/ 20 January 2008
It is no accident that a meeting held to commemorate the life of Yunus Mahomed was attended by scores of luminaries from the African National Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF). Current and former Cabinet ministers paid tribute to their comrade, who died of a heart attack on January 6.
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/ 19 January 2008
Three trains were set alight in Pretoria by angry commuters, police said on Friday. Captain Prince Mokhabela said the first train was burnt in Pretoria North at 6pm. ”There was a power failure and commuters got angry as trains were not moving. People also burned trains at Walmerton and Winterveld,” he said.
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/ 18 January 2008
Chief economist of Citigroup in South Africa Jean Mercier says foreigners see more political risk in South Africa now than they have over the past few years, and will be keenly monitoring any "new faces", especially in the key finance and Reserve Bank positions, as these people may be untested at high-level economic decision-making.
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/ 16 January 2008
The Finance Ministry has invited all South Africans to send tips on how the country’s finances should be run to the annual "Tips for Trevor" campaign. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel plainly takes some notice of what the public tells him since he often refers to these tips during his budget speech in Parliament.
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/ 10 January 2008
Talks are under way to explore the possibility of South Africa being invited to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — the so-called "rich man’s club" of nations. The 30 OECD countries have already given the green light for the start of accession talks with five prospective new members.
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/ 10 January 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Thursday that he did not have any concerns about the direction fiscal policy might take following the victory of Jacob Zuma at the African National Congress’s leadership conference in Polokwane last month. He said fears about fiscal policy were just so much hype.
The Statistics Council has not questioned the scientific basis of last year’s Community Survey, council head Howard Gabriels said on Tuesday. He said the fact that it had recommended that Stats South Africa issue a cautionary notice on the reliability of some of the data was standard scientific practice.
The statistics council has not questioned the scientific basis of last year’s Community Survey, council head Howard Gabriels said on Tuesday. And the fact that it had recommended that Statistics South Africa issues a caution on the reliability of some of the data was standard scientific practice, he said.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday called on Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel to sack the statistician general, Pali Lehohla. Revelations in morning newspapers that a crucial survey by Statistics South Africa contains serious errors has resulted in a serious crisis of confidence in this institution, according to the party.
Concerns have been raised about the reliability of an R600-million state-funded Statistics South Africa survey endorsed by President Thabo Mbeki. The Statistics Council of South Africa said irregularities in the survey made it questionable as to whether the survey could provide a ”scientific basis” for government policy.
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/ 20 December 2007
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”Imminent” corruption charges against newly elected African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwe and the death penalty were all issues that featured prominently in a press briefing on Thursday following Zuma’s closing address to the party’s 52nd national conference in Polokwane.
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/ 18 December 2007
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The ANC has apologised for the ”unfortunate” way in which members of the media have been treated at its national conference in Polokwane. The apology followed three days of stand-offs between journalists and security marshals — and a Cabinet minister swiping at a reporter with his umbrella on Tuesday.
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/ 11 December 2007
There is a moment when you can sense the power draining away, when a point of no return has been reached and passed. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing that moment now in Britain, as a sense of staleness, sleaze and incompetence overwhelms his government.
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/ 7 December 2007
South African taxpayers should brace themselves for scant relief when the Budget is announced in February next year as analysts feel Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is likely to be very cautious due to the cyclical risks underpinning the economy. Analysts also feel that the Budget needs to be better harnessed to improve effective expenditure.
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/ 5 December 2007
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South Africa’s economic boom looks set to persist but concerns linger over the direction of policy after the crucial African National Congress (ANC) conference, which seems likely to choose Jacob Zuma as the ruling party’s new leader. Economic growth jumped to 5,4% in 2006 — its fastest rate since 1981 — and wealth is spreading to a burgeoning black middle class.
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/ 4 December 2007
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In the fierce debate raging around the man tipped to become South Africa’s next president, African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma, there are few neutrals. With less than a fortnight to go before the ruling party’s national conference in Polokwane, reports show a country split over the politician.
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/ 3 December 2007
Higher inflation and deterioration in South Africa’s current account over the past year highlight the need for more balanced growth, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday. But it appeared that growth was becoming more balanced, with tentative signs that consumption was easing on higher interest rates, he said in a written reply to a parliamentary question.
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/ 30 November 2007
Three condom suppliers, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel face a R5-billion class-action lawsuit over defective condoms the Health Department distributed earlier this year, a media report said on Friday.
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/ 30 November 2007
South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday evening that inflation-targeting would be here "for many years" and economic policy is not going to change in South Africa as the foundations built up by President Thabo Mbeki, himself and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel were too strong to be weakened.
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/ 26 November 2007
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African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma leads the race for nominations for the post of party president with five provinces supporting him, to President Thabo Mbeki’s four, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Sunday.
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/ 20 November 2007
Projected costs for South Africa’s preparations to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup could be up to 20% higher due to factors such as rising steel and cement prices, Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi said on Tuesday. Officials in the host cities have delivered cost escalations between R2,8-billion and R3,4-billion above budget.
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/ 19 November 2007
Finance ministers and central banks chiefs from the G20 grouping of largest economies meeting near Cape Town expressed ”deep concern” over the effect of climate change on global food prices and forecast a modest slowdown in global economic growth.
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/ 16 November 2007
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s largest economies gather in Kleinmond in the southern Cape this weekend for a meeting of the Group of 20 countries. The event is described by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel as probably the most significant gathering of economic policymakers seen to date in South Africa.
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/ 16 November 2007
Premier Soccer League CEO Kjetil Siem may not be at the receiving end of the league’s R70-million commission payout controversy, but his wish to see a conclusion to the continuous saga and move on — because it ruins both the sponsor’s and the league’s commercial reputation — will not be granted any time soon.
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/ 14 November 2007
The Governor of the Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni, gave a very strong signal that another interest hike is on the way when he told members of Parliament that in his opinion, rates should go up. The bank staff’s forecast for inflation in the coming months shows inflation increasing above the 6% target for part of 2008.
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/ 12 November 2007
I will not hold it against you if you read this and think it is about football. But it is not. Last week the Premier Soccer League’s board of governors decided to pay some of their number a once-off R70-million gratuity, with luck ending months of speculation over payments to individuals instrumental in getting football’s sponsorship to top the R1-billion mark.
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/ 8 November 2007
Global economic power relations, the commodity cycle and food prices are some of the issues to be discussed at next week’s Group of 20 (G20) meeting in South Africa. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said the meeting is ”probably the most significant gathering of economic policymakers we’ve ever had in South Africa”.
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/ 7 November 2007
Members of Parliament on Wednesday heard a plea from the troubled state airline, South African Airways (SAA), for an injection of R744,4-million to pay for one-off labour restructuring costs. The cash, they were told, is needed before the last day of November.
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/ 6 November 2007
Premier Soccer League (PSL) board members deserve to be rewarded with millions of rands for their role in securing the controversial Absa soccer sponsorship deal, MPs heard on Tuesday. ”They have done the best for football … and have acted in the best interest of the PSL,” league chairperson Irvin Khoza said.
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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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/ 2 November 2007
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Friday at a <i>Financial Mail</i> medium-term budget briefing that the world had changed in the past 12 years and developing countries needed to become more involved in the world trade regime or else they would just be following the procession.
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/ 31 October 2007
Closing specialised police units may result in a loss of informer networks, expertise and team spirit, a seminar on policing in South Africa heard on Wednesday. ”To destroy this is a very serious thing that needs to be thought through,” said a senior researcher with the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger.