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/ 18 November 2003

State won’t call count in Roodefontein case

The state does not intend to call Italian count Riccardo Agusta as a witness in the corruption trial of former Western Cape premier Peter Marais and David Malatsi. Agusta paid a R1-million fine after conceding that he ”unlawfully and corruptly” gave a R400 000 donation through the two men to the New National Party.

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/ 17 November 2003

Household spending to rise to R673bn

Household expenditure in South Africa will rise from R279,1-billion in 1993 to an expected R673,4-billion this year, the University of South Africa’s Bureau of Market Research said on Monday. African households are expected to have the largest share in total household expenditure of the four population groups in 2003.

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/ 17 November 2003

Marais and Malatsi plead not guilty

Former Western Cape premier Peter Marais and his co-accused David Malatsi on Monday pleaded not guilty to corruption charges related to the Roodefontein golf development. In court, Marais and Malatsi were seated in specially placed soft chairs behind their advocates, and not in the hard wooden dock.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=23627">Marais and Malatsi on trial</a>

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/ 17 November 2003

Roodefontein: Marais and Malatsi on trial

As some of the world’s top golfers gather in George for the prestigious President’s Cup, former Western Cape premier Peter Marais might be forgiven for thinking the game is more trouble than it’s worth. He and his one-time environment and development MEC David Malatsi go on trial in this southern Cape town on Monday on charges of corruption.

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/ 14 November 2003

Traditional leaders defend Land Rights Bill

The Coalition of Traditional Leaders on Friday came out in defence of the draft Communal Land Rights Bill, saying rural communities will finally have their land ownership rights recognised. A range of organisations has asked Parliament not to pass the Bill, saying it gives too much power to traditional leaders.

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/ 12 November 2003

ANC takes two SA by-elections unopposed

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has won two municipal by-elections – in the Western Cape at Breede River/Robertson municipality and at Dealesville in the Free State unopposed — while the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has won a seat at Phillipstown in the Northern Cape unopposed.

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/ 12 November 2003

New voices protest against nuclear plans

South Africa’s controversial plans to push forward with the construction of a new nuclear reactor continue to raise the ire of environmentalists across the country. But until recently the voices of protest were mostly those of the white middle classes. Now grassroots activism is being intensified to ensure that all communities are fully aware of the potential risks of nuclear energy.

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/ 12 November 2003

Township poor risk all against plant invaders

A scheme that pays unemployed people to abseil down cliffs and hack plants with chainsaws is claimed to be a model for how the world should tackle invasive alien species. South Africa has been chosen to spearhead an international initiative against destructive plants and wild-life, after mobilising its township poor to save indigenous habitats.

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/ 11 November 2003

D-Day approaches for Marais and Malatsi

More than 60 witnesses are expected to be called by the prosecution in the corruption trial of politicians Peter Marais and David Malatsi, which gets under way next week. ”Everybody is very positive about the fact that they would like the matter to proceed and be brought to finality as soon as possible,” Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrison said.

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/ 11 November 2003

Land Rights Bill ‘deeply flawed’

A wide range of organisations have gathered in Cape Town to ask Parliament not to pass the Communal Land Rights Bill, which they claim gives too much power to traditional leaders to the detriment of the rural poor. However, the groups differed on how to lobby government to accede to their demands.

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/ 5 November 2003

The rebirth of District Six

The bulldozers were back in District Six last Tuesday, but this time it was to build, not destroy, and this time Noor Ebrahim was happy to see them. Three decades ago they rolled into his neighbourhood to erase a multiracial community that was an affront to apartheid, levelling houses, shops and cinemas to make way for a whites-only enclave.

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/ 4 November 2003

Going bunkers

There’s more ot golf resorts than pitching wedges and nine-irons. You don’t have to be a golfer to appreciate the benefits of visiting a golf resort. Indeed, some of the best resorts and estates in South Africa are also top destinations for non-golfers.

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/ 4 November 2003

Black buyers boost property market

Ten years after the watershed 1994 election, black buyers are starting to establish a meaningful presence in the real estate market. Their arrival, with declining interest rates, rising business confidence and other positive economic factors, is expected to bolster the market’s future sustainability.

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/ 3 November 2003

Mdantsane’s ‘native units’ to be scrapped

Buffalo City Municipality is set to change racially offensive names of zones in its massive Mdantsane township. The sections of Mdantsane are currently numbered from NU1 to NU17. ”The term NU 1 to NU 17 stands for native unit and is offensive,” said mayor Sindisile Maclean at the unveiling of the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme.

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/ 1 November 2003

Township poor risk life and limb

A South African scheme which pays unemployed people to abseil down cliffs and hack plants with chainsaws is claimed to be a model for how the world should tackle invasive alien species. Now, the country has been chosen to spearhead an international initiative against destructive plants and wildlife.

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/ 30 October 2003

Thousands of Germans heading for South Africa

Tourism operator Thomas Cook is set to bring the first of 26 000 Germans over the next two years to South Africa on Friday. It has organised charter flights from Germany as a result of a ground-breaking agreement signed between the tour operator, South African Tourism, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape Tourism Board.

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/ 29 October 2003

District Six rises again

The bulldozers were back in District Six on Tuesday but this time it was to build, not destroy, and this time Noor Ebrahim was happy to see them. Three decades ago they rolled into his neighbourhood to erase a multiracial community that was an affront to apartheid, levelling houses, shops and cinemas to make way for a whites-only enclave.

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/ 21 October 2003

‘Technikon’ thrown into the rubbish bin

The name Unisa is to remain, a university is to be named after former president Nelson Mandela, and the term technikon is to disappear, Minister of Education Kader Asmal said on Tuesday. He was announcing the new names of higher education institutions that are to merge in terms of a plan approved by the Cabinet last year.

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/ 17 October 2003

SA holds Guinness record for rapes

Both the Guinness Book of Records and Interpol say South Africa is the country with the highest rate of rapes, many of them against children, a conference in Cape Town heard on Friday, the final day of the 25th anniversary conference of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa.