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/ 15 November 2004
Our inter-governmental system is not yet fully geared to deliver on nationally set policy in a coherent and effective manner. The recently debated Inter-Governmental Relations Bill provides a giant leap forward in resolving some of the key problems. A strong national centre is important because it can define policy direction with the benefit of a macro perspective, especially in a context of intensifying processes of globalisation, writes Ebrahim Rasool.
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/ 11 November 2004
In a precedent-setting decision, the Cape High Court on Thursday ordered the attachment of the car of a Western Cape man arrested for drunken driving. ”This is the first, and we expect to do a lot more, particularly over the festive season,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.
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/ 11 November 2004
Democratic Alliance Western Cape chairperson Kent Morkel says a claim that he took a bribe is "utter nonsense". Micro-loan provider Gilt Edged Management Services on Wednesday agreed to pay R65-million in fines and compensation on two counts of corruption, one of which involved an alleged R10 000 bribe to Morkel.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125339">DA man linked to loan scam</a>
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/ 10 November 2004
Senior Democratic Alliance politician Kent Morkel has been accused of taking a bribe in a multimillion-rand corruption case that came before the Cape High Court on Wednesday. In a plea-bargain agreement, micro-loan provider Gilt Edged Management Services consented to fines totalling R5-million on two counts of corruption.
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/ 10 November 2004
Cape Town has taken its next step in improving tourist services in the region with the launch of Cape Town Tourism’s new united corporate identity. Cape Town Tourism was previously the bureau responsible for the CBD, Waterfront and Atlantic Seaboard areas only.
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/ 8 November 2004
An Italian prosecutor on Monday sought to probe the link between alleged Mafioso Vito Palazzolo and Count Riccardo Agusta, who achieved notoriety in the Roodefontein saga. The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court is hearing evidence for Palazzolo’s trial in absentia in Italy.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125163">Failed bid to charge Palazzolo</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125147">Stressed policeman unfit to testify</a>
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/ 8 November 2004
Sun International has consolidated its leading position in South Africa’s R7,34-billion casino industry over the past year, and is now ready to pursue regional and international opportunities in the gaming, hotel and resort sectors, according to CEO Peter Bacon.
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/ 8 November 2004
A veteran South African detective on Monday told how his bid to have Vito Palazzolo charged with corruption was turned down by the Western Cape’s director of prosecutions. "I thought I had a case," said Leonard Knipe, who was national head of serious and violent crime before he retired from the police.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125147">Stressed policeman unfit to testify</a>
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/ 5 November 2004
There is no need to panic about drought — unless the rain stays away for another two months, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry said in Pretoria on Friday. The department is reviewing the state of the Vaal River system to see if water restrictions in Gauteng — now South Africa’s driest province — will be necessary.
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/ 5 November 2004
The South African government’s refusal to disclose the number of children receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in KwaZulu-Natal province has raised fears among Aids activists that children’s rights to health care and life are being violated.
The national treatment plan, unveiled last November, initially targeted the treatment of 53Â 000 people by March 2004, which has since been extended to March 2005.
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/ 4 November 2004
The South African government’s refusal to disclose the number of children receiving anti-retroviral drugs in KwaZulu-Natal has raised fears among Aids activists that children’s rights to health care and life are being violated. A survey at 13 of KwaZulu-Natal’s public hospitals found only 39 children were receiving anti-Aids medication.
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/ 3 November 2004
A top police officer said on Wednesday he stands by a document in which he listed Cape Town attorney Harry Snitcher as part of the Mafia’s organisation in the Western Cape. Captain Piet Viljoen was testifying in proceedings in which Italian prosecutors are questioning witnesses on the affairs of alleged Mafioso Vito Palazzolo.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=124881">Palazzolo linked to Staggie</a>
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/ 3 November 2004
Alleged Mafia boss Vito Palazzolo had links to Western Cape drug lord Rashied Staggie, the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. This was testimony from crack police investigator Captain Piet Viljoen, one of a series of witnesses who have been subpoenaed to answer Italian prosecutors’ questions on Palazzolo.
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/ 2 November 2004
Just months after Tata launched its range of vehicles on to the South African market, rival Indian auto maker, Mahindra, has arrived in South Africa. Launched to the media recently, the Bolero and Scorpio will no doubt find themselves competing head on against the more established brands in the market, although at a slightly different level and price too.
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/ 1 November 2004
Pupils and teachers at Brandwacht Primary School near Mossel Bay on Monday were mourning the death of an 11-year-old pupil, Aubrey Peterson, killed by a collapsing wall. The Western Cape education department said four other pupils were injured in the accident on Friday. The wall that collapsed was under construction at the time.
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/ 29 October 2004
An 11-year-old pupil died and four others were injured when the wall of a classroom under construction collapsed on them at a school near Hartenbos in the southern Cape on Friday. Aubrey Peterson, who was in grade five at Brandwacht Primary School, and his school mates had been playing on the site.
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/ 28 October 2004
Eight New National Party MPs will cross the floor to the African National Congress during the defection window period in September next year, ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe said on Thursday. The eight — including party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk — will defect to the ANC as individuals, not as a group, he said.
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/ 22 October 2004
Defending the government’s recent signing of trade deals with Israel, Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Friday they are designed to benefit the entire Middle East region. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with South African President Thabo Mbeki briefly on Friday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Tony Leon welcomes Israeli visit
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/ 21 October 2004
Are the ruthless hierarchs of the ruling Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe finally facing up to the fact that Zimbabweans are going hungry? With Amnesty International releasing yet another report about the worsening food crisis, there were reports this week that the Zanu-PF politburo was preparing to debate the issue. Typically, more pressing bureaucratic matters swamped the agenda.
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/ 20 October 2004
Scores of United States citizens cast their ballots on Tuesday in Cape Town, ahead of the November presidential election in the US, with the number of voters taking officials by surprise, a US consulate spokesperson said. The consulate staged a ”voting event” for the November 2 election, in which citizens living in the Western Cape could come and cast their ballots, said Louis Nazer.
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/ 19 October 2004
Deputy President Jacob Zuma gently chided the religious on Tuesday for not doing enough to challenge the portrayal of violence and sex in the media. ”There is something wrong in society if religious people are afraid to challenge things,” said Zuma, delivering the inaugural Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture.
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/ 19 October 2004
Listed retailer Pick ‘n Pay has managed the current South African environment of very low inflation and deflation in some categories by improving its operational efficiencies as well as encouraging higher sales volumes, reflected in an improvement in its operating profit margin to 2,6% from 2,4% a year earlier.
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/ 18 October 2004
The South African government has confirmed that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit South Africa from Wednesday to Saturday and has defended the visit "in the context of ongoing efforts by South Africa to assist Israelis and Palestinians to find a long-lasting resolution to the political crisis currently affecting the Middle East".
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/ 14 October 2004
The first witness in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial, Independent Democrats deputy leader Themba Sono, was in the witness box in the Durban High Court on Thursday. Sono said he met Shaik in 1996 through a colleague.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=123695">Tangled web of intrigue at Shaik trial</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=123679">Zuma debt aired in Shaik trial</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=123667">State shows link between Shaik, Zuma</a>
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/ 13 October 2004
Two districts in the Western Cape, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu/Nyanga, have HIV rates touching 30%. This translates into at least one in four people being HIV-positive. A disrict survey done at 374 facilities, involving the testing of 5 964 people, revealed that Gugulethu/Nyanga had a prevalence rate of 28,1%, Khayelitsha 27,2%, Helderberg 19,1%, Oostenberg 16,1%, Knysna/Plettenberg Bay 15,6% and Caledon/Hermanus 14,2%.
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/ 12 October 2004
Black economic empowerment (BEE) financial services group Arch Equity is rapidly building up its asset base to become one of the largest BEE players in the Western Cape, with plans to list on the JSE Securities Exchange before year-end. CEO Desmond Lockey said the company has already started the process to list the company on the JSE.
A policeman was killed by armed robbers in Khayelitsha who were trying to steal his firearm, police said on Friday. Constable Chimani Lucwaba was driving with a colleague along Sigenele Road on Thursday evening when he was approached by four men, one of whom was armed, said police spokesperson Captain Billy Jones.
A cold front will hit the Western Cape province from Wednesday evening and should continue moving over South Africa, while at the same time bringing rain, until Tuesday next week, said South African Weather Service (Saws) forecaster Evert Scholtz. There should be heavy showers over parts of the Western and Eastern Cape up until Friday.
Foreign interest in South Africa’s plans to develop a small, safe, clean and cheap nuclear pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) is high, says Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin. ”There are constant requests for information from different governments, utilities and research institutions on the PBMR technology,” he said in a written reply, tabled on Monday, to a parliamentary question.
In what the Scorpions described as an ”historic development” the elite unit registered the Western Cape’s first racketeering and money laundering conviction against the ”Marx syndicate”. Members of the notorious perlemoen smuggling gang were convicted in the Hermanus Regional Court on Thursday afternoon, said Scorpions spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.
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/ 29 September 2004
Either 4,6-million or 8,4-million people had no jobs in South Africa in March this year — depending on whether one used official or expanded unemployment figures released on Tuesday. This translated into an unemployment rate of either 27,8% or 41,2%, according to the results of Statistics SA’s latest Labour Force Survey.
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/ 28 September 2004
Food retailer Pick ‘n Pay has donated over 800 computer workstations to the Shuttleworth Foundation’s tuXlab programme to assist them in their drive to increase the usage of open source software in South African schools. This single donation will enable the establishment of tuXlabs in up to 40 schools.