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/ 1 December 2003
South Africa’s University of the Western Cape (UWC) has received funding of R1-million to be used to upgrade its infrastructure and finance ongoing training and development initiatives of its department of science and biotechnology from global bioinformatics company Electric Genetics.
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/ 28 November 2003
Two of the country’s foremost media personalities squared off at a Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa tribunal on Friday. <i>Mail & Guardian</i> columnist Robert Kirby had lodged a complaint against SABC broadcaster Jeremy Maggs, following remarks made by Maggs on air in September.
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/ 27 November 2003
The Cape Town metropolitan municipality and the Overstrand local municipality, both in the Western Cape, have each received a prize of R1-million for being the cleanest towns in South Africa. Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Valli Moosa handed over the prizes to the winners of the cleanest town competition in Cape Town on Thursday.
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/ 27 November 2003
After two weeks of testimony and 10 witnesses, the Roodefontein corruption trial was on Thursday adjourned to June 21 next year. Bail of R10Â 000 each was extended for former Western Cape premier Peter Marais and his provincial environment minister, David Malatsi.
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/ 27 November 2003
Former Western Cape provincial minister of environment David Malatsi told developers he was prepared to approve their projects without seeing the environmental impact assessments required by law, the George Regional Court heard on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24134">Roodefontein trial postponed</a>
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/ 26 November 2003
The Department of Labour has visited more than 250 business sites in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape as part of the nationwide blitz inspections to check on employers’ adherence to the Employment Equity Act.
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/ 25 November 2003
The South African economy grew by 1,1% in the third quarter of this year, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday. It said this compared to real annualised growth rates of 0,9% in the first quarter (revised from 1,5%) and 0,5% in the second one (revised from 1,1%).
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/ 25 November 2003
Former Western Cape environment and development MEC David Malatsi once told a meeting that he was a black person, not a ”greenie”, and that his people did not eat fynbos, the regional court in George heard on Tuesday.
Let the grilling begin
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/ 25 November 2003
Last Monday should have been formally named ”National Corruption Day” or perhaps, better, ”Corruption Awareness Day” — which has the advantage of an appealingly apt acronym. But Monday’s haul represented not so much a few bites as a trawler load.
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/ 25 November 2003
Wind-generated energy "could and should" play an important role in South Africa’s energy economy and sustainable development, according to Minister of Minerals and Energy, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, with the first draft of the country’s Renewable Energy Strategy expected in February 2004.
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/ 24 November 2003
A provincial official faced probing cross-examination on Monday on why he complied with a superior’s instruction to draft an approval of the proposal for the Roodefontein development when he himself felt it should be rejected.
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/ 24 November 2003
Judging by coverage of the black empowerment workshop for the wine sector, slickly hosted in Cape Town last month by the South African Wine Industry Trust, the unthinkable is happening. The fragmented, conservative and insular wine industry, dominated for so long by bastions of Afrikaner power such as the KWV, is embracing change.
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/ 21 November 2003
Tensions in the Roodefontein corruption trial boiled over on Friday when, in a heated exchange, Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrison ordered former Western Cape premier Peter Marais to behave in court.
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/ 19 November 2003
The African National Congress will win a two-thirds majority in next year’s general elections, in the process increasing its seats in Parliament from the current 266 members to 271 in 2004. This was the prediction from the Human Science Research Council on Wednesday, when a comprehensive survey was unveiled.
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/ 19 November 2003
At least 51 people sustained serious and minor burn wounds during a gas explosion at Ratanga Junction theme park in Cape Town on Wednesday, Western Cape police reported. The blast occurred moments after a chef noticed a gas leak in one of the kitchens.
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/ 19 November 2003
The professional team driving the Roodefontein development ”set up” an official of the Western Cape’s environment and planning department — Dr Steve du Toit, who dealt with the development — to expose his personal interest in the matter, the regional court in George heard on Wednesday.
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/ 18 November 2003
Former Western Cape premier Peter Marais intervened directly to ensure provincial environment officials made a decision on the Roodefontein golf estate development, the regional court in George heard on Tuesday. Marais and David Malatsi are accused of being bribed to smooth the way for approval of the project.
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/ 18 November 2003
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel says the government is being schizophrenic regarding the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. "Let me be honest: I think government has been schizophrenic in promoting small business. We have laws and regulations that are often contradictory," he said in a summit address.
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/ 18 November 2003
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
A rare new ”super” strain of tuberculosis that is costly and time-consuming to treat has been identified in South Africa’s Western Cape province, a leading scientist said on Monday. A team of scientist has found that the strain, DRF150, is resistant to almost all antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis.
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/ 17 November 2003
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
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
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
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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/ 13 November 2003
The two pilots who died after ejecting from their Impala jet on Wednesday have been named as Paul Andrew Martin (28), and Gert Willem Diederick Duvenhage (22). Both held the rank of lieutenant, the SA National Defence Forcesaid in a statement in Pretoria.
Fighter jet crashes into highway
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/ 12 November 2003
The African National Congress in the Western Cape is in the process of lodging complaints with the Human Rights Commission and the City of Cape Town following allegations of racism against two Democratic Alliance councillors.
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/ 12 November 2003
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
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
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
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
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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/ 6 November 2003
South Africa would not go down the same path as Zimbabwe where people had taken the law into their own hands, because people were frustrated with the pace of land reform, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday.