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17
May
2012
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Johannesburg - There was "no need for alarm" regarding former crime intelligence boss Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli, President Jacob Zuma said in Bloemfontein on Thursday. There was "concern" over recent negative publicity related to crime intelligence, despite the "sterling" work police continued to perform, he said at a business briefing. Zuma did not mention Mdluli by name, but referred to "the matter affecting the police crime intelligence unit". "Our country has enough instruments to ensure that there is no abuse of power or resources to further any objectives, especially by our intelligence and security services." Inspector…
16
May
2012
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Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Gugile Nkwinti is considering asking Cabinet to consider exceptions to the 1913 land claim cut-off date. Land belonging to the descendants of Khoi and San in the Eastern and Western Cape was forcibly taken from them long before then, he said. Nkwinti said in his department's budget speech in Parliament that the call by the descendants of the San and Khoi to beyond the date of the 1913 Land Act was "fair and just". "Their land in what is now the Western and Eastern Cape was forcefully taken from them way…
14
May
2012
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Amidst reports that pro-Israeli lobbies in the United States have secured an assurance from the Obama administration to relentlessly pursue countries seen to be wavering in their compliance with rigorous sanctions on Iran, South Africa has been singled out for punishment. Though largely under-reported in the local media, pressure is building on the ANC-led government to immediately suspend its economic ties with Iran or risk being barred from US economy. While there were initial signs of panic with different government departments giving contradictory statements on this highly contentious US demand to shut off the country’s petroleum lifeline from the Islamic…
11
May
2012
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The nationalisation of land will destroy food security and is therefore irresponsible "The nationalisation of land in South Africa will without a doubt destroy food security in the country forever. Therefore all comments about the nationalisation of land is irresponsible and should be stopped," dr. Pieter Mulder, deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says. Dr. Mulder was the keynote speaker at the Red Meat Abattoir Association's annual conference in Stellenbosch. Dr. Mulder referred to the attempts this week to try and invade a farm, Zimbabwean-style, near Komatipoort in South Africa. He praised the Police for the professional manner in…
07
May
2012
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Zimbabwe has started repossessing underutilised pieces of land from beneficiaries of its controversial land reforms that started over a decade ago. President Robert Mugabe justified the violent land grabs from white commercial farmers by saying it was meant to correct colonial imbalances. Critics said most of the productive farms were parcelled out to the 88-year-old leader’s cronies who did not have any resources or interest in farming. Advocate Martin Dinha, the governor for Mashonaland Central province, which is a prime farming area, said the repossessed plots will be allocated to landless people. "President Mugabe is on…
30
Apr
2012
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Butterworth - President Jacob Zuma has encouraged communities to use land more effectively to fight hunger and poverty. He was speaking in Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, where he handed over tractors and cattle to local community projects on Sunday. Zuma is in the province to roll out projects which are part of the Masibambisane Rural Development Initiative (MRDI). It aims to equip communities in the rural areas to develop themselves, especially in the area of agriculture. Having started in Nkandla and Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal, the MRDI is chaired by Zuma in his capacity as a community…
24
Apr
2012
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Treasury says halting the unpopular e-tolling system could harm the government’s ability to borrow internationally and curtail the state’s social and developmental agenda HALTING the unpopular e-tolling system could harm the government’s ability to borrow internationally and curtail the state’s social and developmental agenda, the Treasury says in legal papers drafted last week. This is part of its application to intervene in the legal challenge to scrap Gauteng e-tolling, which is due to begin next week. The government had guaranteed the R19bn debt held by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and should tolling be abandoned,…
20
Apr
2012
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President Jacob Zuma has urged ANC members to intensely debate at branch level solutions to the government's ineffective policies on land redistribution. "The methods we have been using since 1994 have not taken us far," said Zuma during a lecture on fourth ANC president Josiah Gumede at Durban's University of KwaZulu-Natal last night. Responding to a request that he personally look into land redistribution, Zuma said the issue would be dealt with at the party's policy conference in June. "Members need to intensify the debates on the matter at branch level. [Members] must also come up with ideas on how…
19
Apr
2012
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A decade ago South Africa had more than 20,000 rhinos and was losing about 15 each year to poachers. But in the last few years South Africa has seen an alarming increase in the number of rhino killed by poachers. Last year, 448 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone - a 33 percent increase compared to the year before. The poaching was driven by high demand from Asian countries where the rhino horn is purported to cure cancer - an assertion scientists have widely dismissed. Demand has risen so much that the price of rhinoceros horn has soared to…
