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on the Electronic Front |
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Recent
Judgments Available on the Internet |
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Constitutional
Court of South Africa
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www.constitutionalcourt.org.za
26
September 2007
CCT 53/06
S v M
Matter concerning the impact of the constitutional injunction that
the best interests of a child are paramount in all matters
concerning the child on sentencing of primary caregivers of young
children
Media statement at
http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/mvthestate.htm
25 September 2007
CCT 59/06
Armbruster and Another v Minister of Finance and Others
Forfeiture
of money in terms of certain foreign currency regulations -
Right of access to court guaranteed in the Constitution
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Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
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http://www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za/index.html
; wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/sca/index.php ;
http://www.uovs.ac.za/apps/law/appeal/
25
September 2006
532/2006
Progress Office Machines v SARS [2007] SCA 118 (RSA)
Imposition of anti-dumping duty in terms of
Customs and Excise Act 91
of 1964 – Effect of retrospective imposition of duty –
International law – Incorporation into municipal law
25 September 2006
293/2006
Strydom v Liebenberg [2007] SCA 117 (RSA)
Vindicatory action for return of game over which plaintiff claimed
ownership. Plaintiff's properties but
not the game thereon sold to private persons. Held plaintiff
entitled to claim the game, but not its value as it was not
possible to apportion the value of the game between the purchasers
of the properties
21 September 2006
460/2006
Van Niekerk v Van Niekerk [2007] SCA 116 (RSA)
Anton Piller order -
preservation of evidence -
application for setting aside of order granted
ex parte
- dismissal of application
- whether appealable
Scott-Crossley murder conviction set aside - 28 September
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday set aside the murder
conviction of Mark Scott-Crossley for the death of Oupa Chisale,
whom he admitted to throwing into a lion enclosure. In a
unanimous judgement, the sentence of life imprisonment imposed
for the murder was set aside and five years' imprisonment
substituted for the lesser offence of a conviction of being an
accessory after the fact to murder. -
Mail & Guardian website
Judgment reserved
in Zuma appeal - 22 September
Judgment was reserved in the Supreme Court of Appeal in
Bloemfontein on Friday in the appeal hearing of Jacob Zuma and
French arms company Thint against efforts to get documents from
Mauritius. -
iAfrica website
'State is violating Zuma's right to fair trial' - 21 September
The state's premature attempt to gather evidence violates African
National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma's right to a fair
trial, the Supreme Court of Appeal heard on Friday. The Durban
High Court had acted outside its jurisdiction when it issued a
letter of request for documents from Mauritius the state wants for
a possible corruption trial against Zuma, his counsel Kemp J Kemp
said. Kemp argued that the letter of request for the documents was
for evidence. -
Mail & Guardian
website
What rights are being infringed, asks judge - 21 September
Jacob Zuma is convinced that he is "an eventual accused" against
whom, his lawyers contend, the State could only seek evidence once
he is on trial. Twenty-four hours after he received trade union
Cosatu's endorsement for the impending ANC presidency race, Zuma's
legal team went to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein
today to stop the State from gathering alleged evidence of
corruption against him from Mauritius. -
IOL website
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Commercial Crimes Courts
FNB alleged fraudster in court, again - 24 September
Clynton Cotton, the FNB financial adviser charged with fraud and
theft, walked into the dock of the Commercial crime court on
Friday slightly more relaxed than his first few court appearances.
As his attorney, Gideon Scheltema, began cross-examination, Cotton
sat in the dock, armed with his pen and note-pad. His wife Lisa,
who was also arrested along with Cotton's secretary, Omakanthi
Govender in August, made a brief appearance in support of her
husband. Lisa Cotton and Govender are out on bail of R100 000 and
R5 000 respectively, but Cotton's bail application is still
proceeding. - IOL website
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Labour Courts
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http://www.saflii.org/
Officers to fight in court to keep riot unit alive as 'unlawful
closure' puts public 'at risk' - 26 September
The "unlawful closure" of the riot police unit last week has put
the safety of the public at risk, say a senior superintendent and
138 Combat Crime Unit (CCU) members who are taking Safety and
Security Minister Charles Nqakula and the provincial commissioner
to the Labour Court. -
Cape
Times website
* * * subscription required * * *
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Land
Claims Court of South Africa
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www.law.wits.ac.za/lcc/
30 July
2007
LCC36/06
Kiepersol Poultry Farm v Pasiya
This was an application for eviction in terms of section 8(4) of
Extension of Security of
Tenure Act 62 of 1997, of a long term occupier. The
application was on the premise that the occupier had waived his
occupier status and consequently lost his occupier's
legal rights. The application was not sustained and no order as to
costs was made
Richtersveld dissidents 'not
troublemakers' - 27 September
Opponents of the Richtersveld settlement were not
"troublemakers"
trying to overturn the agreement at all costs, their advocate told
the Land Claims Court on Thursday. Judge Antonie Gildenhuys,
sitting in Cape Town, is being asked to make the settlement,
signed in April this year by the government and leaders of the
Richtersveld Sida !hub Communal Property Association, an order of
court. This would end a ten-year legal battle by the community for
restoration of diamond-rich land on the Namaqualand coast taken
from them in the 1920s. - The
Citizen website
Richtersveld dissidents get say in court - 25 September
A group of dissident Richtersvelders heard on Tuesday that they
would be allowed a voice in a Land Claims Court hearing on the
settlement of the community's land claim. The court, sitting in
Cape Town, has been asked to ratify an agreement signed in April
2007 by Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin and the
Richtersveld Sida hub Communal Property Association (CPA),
following a ten-year court battle. However a group calling itself
the Richtersveld Action Committee claims that at a community
meeting called to approve the agreement, there was no quorum and
participants were not allowed to debate alternatives. -
IOL website
Richtersvelders back in court - 25 September
Opposing groups from the Richtersveld community came face to face
in the Land Claims Court in Cape Town on Tuesday as the court
prepared to weigh up a settlement agreement. -
Mail & Guardian website
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Cape
Provincial Division
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http://law.sun.ac.za/cgi-bin/list.php
21
September 2007
6375/07
A J Stander & Others v D A Schwulst & Others
The applicants seek the removal of the current trustees of the
Trust. The respondents brought an application requesting that the
trustees of the trust be authorized to withdraw funds from the
said Trust in order to fund the defence of this aforementioned
application. The application for removal in the main case is based
on a number of grounds. The allegations, which are fully
motivated, are serious. They include dishonesty and a want of good
faith
20 September 2007
7333/2003
A J Brooks v Minister of Safety and Security
This case arises from the same events that gave rise to the claim
for damages in Minister of Safety and Security v Van
Duivenboden. On 21st October 1995 Neil Brooks, the natural
father of the plaintiff in this case, opened fire on a number of
people, killing three of them, including his wife and daughter,
and wounding five others, including the plaintiff, who was
fourteen years old at the time, and Van Duivenboden, a neighbour.
As a result of this shooting incident, Brooks was charged and
convicted of various crimes, including murder, and was sentenced
to twenty years' imprisonment. He is
serving his sentence at present. Van Duivenboden's
subsequent claim for damages against the Minister of Safety and
Security was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Arising from
the shooting incident and the incarceration of his father, the
plaintiff instituted a claim for damages against the Minister of
Safety and Security. The plaintiff alleges that prior to the
shooting incident on 21st October 1995 there were several
incidents from which a number of police officers obtained direct
knowledge of the fact that Brooks was unfit to possess a firearm.
They took no steps to have him declared unfit to possess a
firearm. The plaintiff further alleges that the police officers
breached their duty of care by failing to initiate the procedure
contemplated in section 11 of the
Arms and Ammunition Act 75
of 1969. The plaintiff further alleges that the police
officers "owed all persons who may be
prejudicially affected should
. . .
Brooks use his weapons to kill or injure others",
a legal duty to initiate the procedure contemplated in section 11
of the Arms and Ammunition Act 75 of 1969 to have Brooks declared
unfit to possess a firearm
See SCA judgment
:
22 August 2002
209/2001
Minister of Safety at Security v Dirk van Duivenboden
Delict - Police - Liability for omissions - Failing to take steps
to deprive a person of firearms
http://www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za/judgments/sca_judg/sca_2002/20901/pdf
19 September 2007
12337/2005
Fir & Ash Investments Pty Ltd v E R Cronje &
Others
In terms of a written lease, the plaintiff (the landlord) let
certain commercial premises to the first defendant (the tenant).
During the currency of the lease, the premises were damaged by
fire allegedly caused by the negligence of the tenant's
employees. The landlord was indemnified by its insurer, which has
instituted the present action by subrogation to recover damages in
an amount of some R306 000 from the tenant. The tenant relies on
two separate but interdependent tacit terms
: first, a contractual obligation on the landlord to insure
the premises against fire ; and second,
a provision that such insurance would be for the benefit of both
parties
Slovo squatters told to appoint lawyers - 26 September
The Cape High Court has given residents of Cape Town's Joe Slovo
informal settlement, who are opposing eviction, a week to appoint
lawyers to represent them. Over a thousand residents packed the
street outside the court on Wednesday morning under the watchful
eye of police officers, some carrying signs slating "capitalist
forced removals" and urging the government to "stop oppressing
poor people". -
Mail & Guardian
website
5 000 at court to fight N2 evictions - 26 September
It was a day Cape High Court officials will probably never forget.
Two tables were hauled into the foyer of the court building and
officials lined up behind them to stamp about 10 000 documents -
two copies of a notice from each of the 5 000 families living at
the Joe Slovo informal settlement to say they intend to oppose a
government application for their eviction. The notice was a single
page, comprising no more than 150 words, and had to be stamped
twice : by the court and attorneys. It
took the gathering of about 5 000 people more than five hours to
have each of their two copies stamped by the court and by
employees of Nongogo and Nuku Attorneys - the firm representing
the government and housing company Thubelisha Homes. -
IOL website
Slovo residents fight for their houses – 25 September
Hundreds of residents of Cape Town's Joe Slovo informal settlement
on Tuesday filed formal objections to their looming forced
removal. They gathered in the street outside the Cape High Court
under the watchful eye of police, as lawyers seated at tables on
the pavement stamped and dated the individual forms before handing
them over to court officials. Cape judge president John Hlophe
last week said he would hear argument on Wednesday on why he
should not make a final eviction order against the squattershttp://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n02_28092007.htm. –
Cape Argus website
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Eastern
Cape Division
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http://wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/echc/index.php
Landmark racketeering case spells trouble for poachers - 28
September
In a groundbreaking case that could have massive implications for
the fight against perlemoen poaching, 13 members of an alleged
syndicate will appear in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday
to face the first charges of racketeering ever brought in South
Africa. The case is scheduled to run the whole of next month and
police say should they be successful in convicting the suspects,
it will set a precedent and empower them to go after organised
crime syndicates across the country. The suspects face a total of
40 charges. - The Herald
Online website
Keyphrase :
Marine Living Resources
Act
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Regional Courts
Bellville
Accused denies he killed guesthouse owner - 27 September
The man suspected of murdering the owner of a Durbanville guesthouse
last year has pleaded not guilty and seems confident and prepared to
conduct his own defence. Cheslin Williams, 22, appeared in the
Bellville Regional Court on Wednesday on charges of murder and
aggravated robbery. Asked to plead before magistrate J P Vermaak and
assessors Florina Serfontein and Dennis Marshall, he said he was not
guilty of either charge. Vermaak set Williams's trial down for
February 5 to 8 and February 19 to 22. -
Cape Times website
Keyphrase :
Le Petit Chateau guesthouse
Renate Kellerman
Wynberg
Partial discharge for Le Roux - 21 September
Former Springbok cricketer Garth le Roux and his accountant Deon
van Heerden were cleared on Friday of just under half of the 47
tax fraud charges they were facing. Wynberg Regional Magistrate
Jackie Redelinghuys also found Le Roux not guilty on a charge of
contravening exchange control regulations. However he said
"explanations" were needed on many of the remaining counts, and on
one of them warned that "a conviction of accused 1 and 2 may
follow". -
News24 website
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Magistrates Courts
Cape Town
Hacker nabbed for e-blackmail - 27 September
Police have arrested a hacker who allegedly illegally accessed
patient records and threatened to make them available to the media
if he was not paid a ransom. Juan de Wit, 31, is to appear in Cape
Town's Magistrates Court tomorrow to apply for bail. He was arrested
in Port Elizabeth, last Wednesday, and appeared in court on Friday
on charges of extortion and contravening the Electronic
Communications and Transactions Act of 2002. -
ITWeb website
Johannesburg
Wrangling of evidence continues - 28 September
The trial of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata was postponed to
Tuesday at the Johannesburg magistrate's court to give his defence
time to consider their next move. Motata's defence team led by
Bantubonke Tokota said while the accused had the right to a
fair and speedy trial, the defence also had a duty to defend their
client to the best of their ability. Tokota told that court that the
defence team wanted an opportunity to further consult with experts
on the evidence - the audio recordings - that the State was going to
present to the court. - IOL
website
Motata : who is responsible for delays? - 27 September
Magistrate Desmond Nair will conduct an inquiry to determine whether
the state or the defence are responsible for delays in the drunk
driving trial of Pretoria High Court judge Nkola Motata. Nair made
the announcement before he adjourned the court shortly before 12pm
on Thursday. This was in response to defence attorney Danie Dorfling
blaming the state for delays in Motata's trial. -
IOL website
Cellphone recordings discussed at Motata trial - 27 September
The state would try to admit cellphone audio and video recordings
in the drunk-driving trial of Pretoria High Court judge Nkola
Motata being heard in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on
Thursday. The recordings were made by Richard James Baird, into
whose wall Motata allegedly crashed in Hurlingham, Johannesburg,
on January 6. Baird apparently recorded the judge using his
cellphone and then copied the files onto a computer. The files
were then copied to a memory stick and downloaded onto his
attorney's computer. The files were then placed on a CD which was
given to prosecutor Zaais van Zyl. Baird told the court that the
copy was made by his attorney in his presence. -
Mail & Guardian website
Motata 'couldn't stand up', court hears - 26 September
A man staggering and groping like a blind man and swearing like a
sailor. That was the picture painted of Pretoria High Court Judge
Nkola Motata by the state's first witness at the Johannesburg
Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. "The language from the judge was
very colourful . . . there was lots of swearing," said Richard
James Baird, the state's first witness and the owner of the
Hurlingham, Johannesburg, home into which Motata allegedly crashed
with his car. - Mail & Guardian
website
Motata drunk-driving witness wants anonymity - 26 September
A witness in the drunk-driving trial of Pretoria High Court Judge
Nkola Motata asked not be named or photographed before giving
testimony in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. He
said this might jeopardise his business interests and requested
that his name be withheld. - Mail &
Guardian website
Judge's drunk-driving case in Jo'burg court - 25 September
Pretoria High Court judge Nkola Motata will stand trial on
Wednesday for alleged drunk driving. Motata's case will be heard
in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court. He faces charges of drunk
driving or alternatively reckless and negligent driving and a
second count of defeating the ends of justice. -
Mail & Guardian website
Kempton Park
S
Africa court refuses to delay Czech fugitive case - 27
September
A South African court refused a request on Thursday to postpone
for a fourth time the extradition hearing for a fugitive Czech
businessman wanted for murder, and ordered the case be heard this
week. Radovan Krejcir, 38, was arrested at O
R Tambo International airport in Johannesburg in April on
an Interpol "red notice," which allows for detention and possible
extradition. He is wanted in the Czech Republic to face charges of
murder, fraud, illegal arms possession and tax evasion. -
Reuters website
Randburg
Veteran radio man Katz cleared of assault - 26 September
Media
personality Stan Katz was not found guilty on two charges of
assault against his ex-wife Philippa Sklaar at the Randburg
Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. Magistrate Stanley Mkhari found
that there was a lack of evidence regarding the assault against
Sklaar in 2001, after the state chose to close its case. A medical
report in 2001 indicated that there were no injuries to
substantiate Sklaar's alleged assault. -
Mail & Guardian website
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SA Human Rights Commission -
http://www.sahrc.org.za/
Farms
simmer over tenure rights - 21 September
Public hearings into human rights violations on South African
farms this week have lifted the lid on simmering tensions between
farmers and farm dwellers. Millions of black South Africans live
on farms owned by mostly white farmers, where evictions and other
human rights abuses sometimes still take place, the South African
Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) heard from Nkuzi, a land rights
non-governmental organisation (NGO). -
allAfrica website
20 September 2007
South African Human Rights Commission's public hearings, a
commendable progress [Farm evictions]
SA Government Information
website
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Government
and Legislation |
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South
Africa Government Information
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http://www.gov.za/
Statements and
Speeches
27 September
2007
Lack of public access to information, the cause of
ongoing service delivery unrest
26 September
2007
Eastern Cape Safety, Liaison, Roads and Transport, MEC Mhlahlo
appoints Matatiele Municipality as Registering Authority
25 September 2007
Address by President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, at the 62nd
session of the United Nations' General Assembly, New York
Keyphrase :
Environment
21 September
2007
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism M van Schalkwyk on
record of decision for the proposed expansion of the Container
Terminal Stacking Area in the Port of Cape Town, Western Cape
21 September
2007
Opening address by Minister of Health Dr Tshabalala-Msimang at
the Private Health Sector Indaba, Midrand
14 September 2007
Address by the Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Ms N Botha,
at the conclusion of the Gamohle/National Archives Oral History
Project
Keyphrase :
National Archives of
South Africa Act 43 of 1996
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Parliamentary Monitoring Group
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http://www.pmg.org.za/
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Documents may generally be accessed immediately by clicking on the
underlined hyperlinks. Subscription-protected documents are
indicated by * * * Subscription required * * * ; KZNLS
members who require access to restricted documents should
cut-and-paste the reference/s into an e-mail to
help@lawlibrary.co.za. |
Committee Minutes
Justice and
Constitutional Development Portfolio Committee
* * *
Subscription required * * *
19 September 2007
Judicial Service
Commission Amendment Bill : Deliberations
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Legislation
Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment Bill
SA to scrap 'colonial boundaries' - 21 September
South Africa's municipal and provincial boundaries were figments
of a colonial past and were sure to change in future, Deputy
Justice Minister Johnny de Lange told the National Assembly on
Thursday. He was speaking during a debate on the controversial
Constitutional Thirteenth Amendment Bill, which seeks to do away
with cross-boundary municipalities by realigning various municipal
and provincial boundaries. - IOL
website
Education Laws
Amendment Bill
20 September 2007
Address by the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, introducing
the Education Laws Amendment Bill, National Assembly, Cape Town
SA Government Information
website
Electronic Communications Act
Regulations on the
establishment and constitution of the Consumer Advisory Panel of
ICASA. This is in terms of section 71 of the Electronic
Communications Act (No. 36 of 2005).
The
regulations document is here :
http://www.pmg.org.za/gazettes/070910comm-capregs.htm
Environmental
Conservation Act 73 of 1989
21 September 2007
Proposed regulations for the prohibition of the use,
manufacturing, import and export of asbestos
SA Government Information
website
Municipal and Fiscal Powers and Functions Act
12 of 2007
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=7568
South African Red Cross Society and Legal
Protection of Certain Emblems Act
Red Cross law welcomed - 21 September
President Thabo Mbeki's recent approval of the Red Cross emblem
legislation spells the end of the abuse of Red Cross symbols by
commercial entities, the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS)
said on Friday. "The coming into existence of the South African
Red Cross Society and Legal Protection of Certain Emblems Act,
will end any misuse of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Emblems by
any commercial, medical or other entities in South Africa," the
organisation said in a statement. -
News24 website
Transnet Pension Funds Amendment Act 6 of
2007
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=7565
Waste Management
Bill
groundWork ; Briefing paper no.1
August 2007
Contact Musa Chamane at
musa@groundwork.org.za
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Useful
Links and Items of Interest |
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Stats South Africa
- www.statssa.gov.za
Consumer Price Index - August 2007
http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0141/P0141August2007.pdf
Financial statistics of provincial government 2005/2006 - P9121
26 September 2007
http://stats-bulk.statssa.gov.za/click.php?id=114&sid=136&grou=5&url=http://www.statsonline.gov.za/
publications/P9121/DATA_P91212006.zip
Quarterly financial
statistics, June 2007 - P0044
27 September 2007
http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/statsdownload.asp?PPN=P0044&SCH=4013
Quarterly Financial
Statistics of Municipalities, June 2007 (Discussion document)
- D9144
27 September 2007
http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/statsdownload.asp?PPN=D9144&SCH=4011
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Public Private
Partnerships. National Treasury
http://www.ppp.gov.za/
*
Source :
OSALL
(Gail) |
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Legal Profession
United Kingdom
Most
civil legal aid firms planning to quit - 26 September
Nine out of 10 law firms offering to take on civil legal aid cases
will drop the service in the next four years, a new Law Society of
Scotland survey claims. Poor rates of pay and the bureaucracy
involved are cited by solicitors as the main reasons for the
impending mass exit. Four-fifths of firms said that financial
reasons would force their hand. -
The Journal Online
website
See
Civil Legal Aid Questionnaire on the
Law Society of Scotland's
website
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South Africa
2010 FIFA World Cup
Green Point delays raise concerns - 28 September
The builders of Cape Town's Green Point Stadium have admitted they
are behind schedule because of several strikes by workers, but have
promised to catch up soon. The admission differs markedly from the
denial by Cape Town and 2010 officials, who insist all is on track.
- Mail & Guardian website
Protected strike to be launched - 26 September
Unions representing workers building the Green Point stadium intend
to launch a protected strike in a week as talks with the contractors
failed and the gates to the construction site remained locked on
Tuesday. Contractors suspended work at the stadium on Tuesday last
week following violent protests by workers demanding a travel
allowance and a better shuttle service. Contractors WBHO and Murray
and Roberts said the lockout was because unions had failed to sign
agreements to settle the dispute. -
IOL website
Arms and Ammunition
Hunters 'important' to airline - 25 September
Domestic airliner Airlink will stop the transportation of firearms
on its aircraft from the beginning of November. Aviation security
manager Mac Makkink said on Tuesday this was due to legislation to
control ownership, handling, use and the transportation of firearms.
In the past, Airlink was able to transport various types of
handguns, shotguns and rifles to their respective destinations.
Airlink was also able to transport firearms brought from
international destinations to destinations in South Africa, which
were then re-booked for transportation to the original or other
international destinations. From November 1, only hunting rifles
will be transported to and from OR Tambo International,
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Kimberly, Polokwane,
Phalaborwa, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, and Nelspruit.
[Excludes
Mafikeng, Mthatha, Phalaborwa and Pietermaritzburg] -
News24 website
Black Economic
Empowerment
The new balanced approach to black economic empowerment - 27
September
When the Codes of Good Practice promulgated in terms of the
Broad-Based Black Economic
Empowerment Act, 2003 were released and became law on 9
February this year, it was encouraging to see that instead of
judging entities only on ownership, the Codes made provision for
calculating a BEE score based on seven elements or criteria, namely
: ownership (20 points), management control (10 points),
employment equity (15 points), skills development (15 points),
preferential procurement (20 points), enterprise development (15
points) and socio economic development (5 points). Article by
Allison Gibbs of Deneys Reitz Attorneys. -
Mondaq website
* * * Free subscription required * * *
Customary Law
Leaders blast arsonists who gunned down chieftainess - 27
September
Eastern Cape royals yesterday condemned the killing of a Coffee Bay
chieftainess earlier this week as "cowardice", a disgrace to African
custom and disrespect for human life. Nkosikazi Nowinase Ngubenani,
ruler of AmaTshezi, was killed on Tuesday morning when a rondavel
she was sleeping in with 14 women and children was torched before
gunmen sprayed it with bullets. She is the fourth traditional leader
killed in Transkei in less than 12 months. -
Daily Dispatch website
Woman killed amid battle for Tshezi chieftainship - 26 September
Faction fighting over the Tshezi chieftainship in Bomvanaland,
Eastern Cape, continues unabated. On Monday, people opposed to being
ruled by a woman, allegedly shot and killed Nowinase Ngubenani at
her Mthonjana homestead near Coffee Bay in the Transkei. More than
30 homes have been burnt down over the past five years, allegedly by
those who were opposed to Ngubenani's role as the leader of the
Tshezi clan. - SABC News
website
Environment
Garden Route park to become a reality - 26 September
The 100 000-hectare Garden Route National Park could become a
reality within the next six months. Plans for the park are
proceeding smoothly, with SANParks waiting for certain areas to be
assigned to it before asking Environment Minister Martinus van
Schalkwyk to proclaim the park. SANParks executive director Paul
Daphne said yesterday they hoped to have the park declared by the
end of the financial year. The various areas that will make up the
park are being incorporated under SANParks management to provide
better long-term security and protection. The park will include the
Tsitsikamma National Park, the Wilderness National Park, the Knysna
Lake Area, and indigenous forests and mountain catchment areas, as
well as marine areas. - The
Herald Online website
Port authority says it can handle Saldanha oil spills - 25
September
The National Port Authority (NPA) says it can contain any oil
spillages in Saldanha Bay harbour, dismissing claims by
environmentalists that it did not have an adequate plan or enough
equipment in place. In a statement on Tuesday, the NPA criticised a
weekend media report that said Saldanha Bay - as well as the
adjoining Langebaan lagoon, an internationally recognised site of
environmental importance - faced a potential catastrophe from oil
spills. - Mail & Guardian website
Huge penalties for dumping loom as SA cleans up its act - 24
September
Illegal dumping could cost offenders up to R10-million in fines, or
10 years behind bars, or both. So serious is the law in pursuit of a
cleaner South Africa that certain types of offenders could find
themselves having to pay up and spend time in prison. The strictness
of the Waste Act
emerged at a three-day provincial summit of the Institute of Waste
Management of South Africa which ended on Friday. -
The Herald Online website
Health
Med-schemes not adhering to non-profit status - 21 September
Not all medical aid schemes are abiding to legal requirements of a
Section 21 company or non-profit organisation as they should be,
says Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. Speaking at an
Indaba on private health care in Midrand, Friday, the health
minister highlighted the fact that medical schemes were bound by
law to operate as non-profit organisations. The schemes are
allowed to accrue only 25 percent of gross annual contributions to
protect themselves. - BuaNews
Online website
Doctor should be removed, says widower - 28 September
Frans Jansen van Rensburg, whose wife died after a liposuction
procedure, was disappointed about the sentence handed down to Dr
Jan van Almenkerk on Thursday. A Health Professions Council of SA
(HPCSA) committee suspended Van Almenkerk from practice for three
years. Two years of his sentence were suspended for four years.
The rest was suspended on condition he is not found guilty of
unprofessional conduct during those four years or do liposuction
procedures. - IOL website
TAC allegations defamatory, says Qunta lawyer - 27 September
Allegations that South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
board deputy chairperson Christine Qunta is involved in a company
selling medicines purported to cure HIV/Aids were "irresponsible
and defamatory", her lawyer said on Thursday. Athol Gordon, from
Bowman Gilfillan attorneys, was responding to a threat by Zachie
Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) to take court action
if Qunta was officially reappointed to the SABC board. -
Mail & Guardian website
Qunta should be disbarred, says TAC - 27 September
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says Cape Town attorney
Christine Qunta should be disbarred and that it will "definitely"
take court action if President Thabo Mbeki confirms her as a
member of the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
board. The TAC believes Qunta should not be allowed to practise
law because of her involvement with an unregistered drug touted as
an Aids cure and what it calls "her support of other Aids
pseudoscience". - IOL website
Human Rights
SA
urgently needs social justice agenda : academic - 25 September
South Africa urgently needs a social justice agenda or will face the
continued erosion of rights brought about by political liberation,
Rhodes University vice-chancellor Saleem Badat told a packed
Kingswood College Chapel when he delivered the annual Dr Neil Aggett
Memorial Lecture yesterday. Badat said : "The
unfortunate and harsh reality is that the rights of people continue
to be violated on a daily basis. People continue to be ridiculed,
ostracised, discriminated against, bullied, beaten, raped and
murdered on account of their race, sex, nationality and sexual
orientation. It is all too evident that the beliefs and practices
that for decades have grounded and sustained injustice remain to be
eradicated". - The Herald
Online website
Judiciary
Varsity confers honorary doctorate on judge - 26 September
The University of Limpopo will today confer an honorary doctorate on
Deputy Judge President of the Transvaal Provincial Division, Mathale
Phineas Mojapelo, at a graduation ceremony to be held at the campus'
Tiro Hall.
University spokesman Kgalema Mohuba told Sowetan
yesterday an honorary LLD would be conferred on Judge Mojapelo, who
is also a graduate of the university. -
The Sowetan website
Labour Issues
Don't confuse domestic workers' pension and UIF - 26 September
The recently launched pension fund and funeral cover for domestic
workers should not be confused with the benefits offered by the
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Department of Labour said on
Wednesday. Spokesperson Kgomotso Sebetso said in a statement that
the department has welcomed the establishment of a pension fund for
domestic workers, but stressed that it is a private initiative while
the UIF is a public fund that is compulsory. -
Mail & Guardian website
Domestic
workers' retirement plan unveiled - 25 September
A new financial retirement plan unveiled Tuesday, is set to change
the lives of the country's domestic workers. The plan, unveiled by
the Presidential Working Group on Women (PWGW) and supported by Old
Mutual, aims to help this sector of the nation's workforce to save
for their old age. One million domestic workers, most of whom are
women, will receive the retirement financial solutions which will be
largely managed by fellow women. -
BuaNews Online website
Land Affairs and
Property
Property rights vital to healthy economy : Mboweni - 26
September
Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said yesterday the removal of
property rights in Zimbabwe was one of the sources of that country's
economic crisis. "The challenge that we
have in South Africa is how to uphold property rights . . . the
removal of property rights in Zimbabwe has been a source of the
country's problems,"
Mboweni said during a lecture at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. -
The Herald Online website
Summit tackles unsustainable human settlements - 28 September
Unsustainable human settlements were part of apartheid planning, the
KwaZulu-Natal local government department said on Thursday at the
start of a two-day housing summit in Durban. "We can no longer
romanticise about human settlements and the requirement for
beneficiaries to have access to socio-economic and other amenities,"
said provincial minister of local government Mike Mabuyakhulu. -
Mail & Guardian website
How to face suspensive conditions - 26 September
Suspensive conditions in a deed of sale can lead to a legal wrangle
and in some cases ultimately sink the sales transaction. Legal
expert and real estate agent Jaco Rademeyer of Jaco Rademeyer
Estates unravels some of the mystery. A suspensive condition
suspends the operation of the agreement until the suspensive
condition has been fulfilled. Examples of fulfilled suspensive
conditions are the approval of a bond or the sale of the buyer's
current property. - Property24
website
Development
Denel's R606m land sale to Acsa keeps recovery on track - 28
September
Denel, the defence parastatal, has sold 237ha of land next to OR
Tambo International airport in Kempton Park to Airports Company
South Africa (Acsa) for R606 million. The sale of the land forms
part of Denel's financial turnaround strategy to refocus on its core
business and optimise its assets. Acsa needs the land for the
long-term expansion of its airport-related infrastructure and
property development. - Business
Report website
Foreign Land Ownership
SA may follow
worst practice – 26 September
Following the recent, long-awaited presentation to Cabinet of a
report on the development of policy on foreign land ownership,
Cabinet has now called for a comparative analysis of policy in other
countries to be included in the report before it is submitted for
wider public debate. Ranging from recommendations dealing with a
total moratorium on the sale of all land to foreigners, to the more
tempered suggestions that special ministerial approval be sought in
cases where certain categories of land are considered for disposal,
the report - when it goes public for debate - will include
'examples of international best practice'
according to government spokesperson Themba Maseko. Notes Erwin Rode
of the impending debate :
"South Africans should bear in mind that
many countries abroad have a policy of some nature in place
regarding foreign land ownership". –
Cape Business News website
SAPOA
urges caution on targeting foreign land ownership - 21 September
As the debate around foreign ownership of land in South Africa
returns to centre stage with the release of a
government-commissioned report this week, the South African Property
Owners Association (SAPOA) has warned that the economic impact of
ownership policies may be less significant than the impact on
investor confidence. -
Rodney Hayter website
Foreign
interest in auction of Sandton office block - 21 September
A hammer price of R70m for an office block in Sandton achieved at
the auction held by Alliance Group on Tuesday again proved that the
commercial property market remains strong in spite of the higher
cost of money. Nearly 30 lots were on offer at the sale held in the
Park Hyatt Hotel, Rosebank, Johannesburg, with buyers coming from as
far afield as Dubai, London and Norway. -
allAfrica website
King Shaka Airport
More voices raised against La Mercy airport - 27 September
Eight appeals have been lodged against the environmental impact
assessment (EIA) conducted for the new La Mercy Airport, but
construction on the site will continue. Parties objecting to the
environmental impact assessment had until Tuesday to lodge their
appeals to the Environmental Affairs and Tourism Department. Some of
the objections centre on risk assessments of fuel storage tanks,
noise levels and the impact of aircraft emissions on climate change.
- IOL website
Land Claims
Land
Commission settles over 16 000 claims - 26 September
At least 16 651 land claimants will benefit from land restitution
after the regional Land Claims Commission successfully restored 47
508 hectares of land. Addressing the media on Wednesday, Regional
Land Claims Commissioner for Gauteng and North West, Tumi Seboka,
said this achievement fell in the current financial year bringing
the overall number of land restored to 352 897 hectares. The
commissioner said Gauteng had received 11 975 claims from which 11
968 had been settled by the commission. -
BuaNews Online website
Land bind
- 26 September
The government's land reform process seems unlikely to result in a
new rural landed class made up of black South Africans, after a
decree from Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana that
she would insert a clause into all land-claims agreements that would
give her a veto over the sale of the land. This means land
beneficiaries' newly acquired rights to land amount to materially
less than the rights resulting from outright land ownership. Land
affairs has rejected this interpretation, saying its purpose is to
protect people from themselves. But land beneficiaries do not have
much say in the matter. Desperately poor people can be expected to
agree to almost any condition a minister with the power to grant or
deny relief may wish to impose. The veto right is a unilateral
condition and open to abuse. -
allAfrica website
Fraudulent land claims uncovered - 26 September
Regional land claims commissioner for Gauteng and North West, Tumi
Seboka, said on Wednesday that the commission on restitution of land
claims had received complaints about alleged fraudulent claims in
the Payneville restitution project. Seboka said it seemed about 40
of the claimants in the project near Springs in Ekhuruleni, which
was settled in 2000, might not have qualified for restitution. "It
seem there were misrepresentation by claimants in their affidavits,
[claiming to be] rightful claimants as people who were dispossessed,
when in fact it might be established that they were not the original
owners of the stands or property at the time of dispossession," she
said. - Mail & Guardian website
Claimants 'should take land, not payouts' - 23 September
The land
claims commission discourages people, especially those in rural
areas, from taking financial compensation in lieu of ancestral land,
advising them to rather opt for restitution. This is according to
chief land claims commissioner Tozi Gwanya, who said the commission
had come to this conclusion based on practical experience on two
land claims. In St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal, the Bangaza community
took the option of financial compensation in 2000, but six months
later came back to the commission to demand their ancestral land
rights. Gwanya said the same happened in Pietermaritzburg in July,
where claimants who had been paid financial compensation later tried
to recover their ancestral land through an illegal land occupation.
They have since been evicted. -
Business Report website
Minerals and Energy
Undermining communities
and the environment : a review of the International Finance
Corporation's Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Mining
(September 2007)
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=7493
Minister : nuclear centre in the pipeline - 27 September
The Department of Science and Technology is to help establish a
national Nuclear Manufacturing Centre (NNMC), Minister of Science
and Technology Mosibudi Mangena announced in Durban on Thursday. He
was speaking at the National Society of Black Engineers conference
in Durban's Elangeni Hotel. - Mail &
Guardian website
27 September
2007
Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, addresses
first National Conference of the National Society of Black
Engineers, Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel, Durban
SA Government Information
website
See also
http://nsbe.org.za/events.html
SA to complete energy policy review by end-2008 - 25 September
South Africa has begun a review of its energy policy, introduced in
1998, on Tuesday, with the view to complete the process before the
end of 2008. Department of Minerals and Energy (DME)
director-general Sandile Nogxina said in Johannesburg that the
industry had to retrace the steps that it had taken to achieve the
current energy objectives, as it had to determine whether they were
still relevant some nine years on. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
'Sabotage' to 'single buoy mooring' could halt fuel supply, Minister
warns - 25 September
"Sabotage" to
the "one, single buoy mooring"
offloading refined fuel products might bring supply
"to a halt" at
Durban harbour, which should be operated
"transparently"
to ensure continuity of supply, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa
Sonjica warned on Tuesday. Sonjica told the Energy Summit in
Johannesburg that South Africa's demand
for petroleum products was
"fast
outstripping supply", rendering the
country more dependent on imports, which were, however, being
adversely impacted by
"limited importing
infrastructure". -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
Municipal Management
and Procedure
eThekwini
Ethekwini's
new court to speed up services - 27
September
The eThekwini Municipality is constructing a new R5 million
municipal court building aimed at speeding the processes of cases
and the payment of fines. Situated adjacent to the Magistrate's
Court in Somtseu Road, the new municipal court building will also
ensure that residents do not travel long distances to pay their
fines, according to a statement by the municipality's Senior
Communications Officer Themba Nyathikazi, Wednesday. An extension of
the existing magistrate's court, the municipal court will only deal
with by-laws and traffic offences. The building is in its last phase
of construction and is scheduled to open its doors to the public in
October this year. - allAfrica
website
NEPAD
cities Phase II to be launched in eThekwini - 26 September
A Special Session meeting to launch Phase 2 of the New Partnership
for Africa's Development Cities Programme will be convened by
eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba on Thursday. The NEPAD cities initiative
aims to address urbanisation and its consequences in order to make
African cities more attractive for economic investment. Seven cities
were selected to kick start the programme in July 2003. These cities
include Durban, Bamako, Lagos, Lusaka, Nairobi, Rabat and Douala and
the mayors from all these participating NEPAD cities are to attend
the event. - BuaNews Online
website
Msunduzi
No bling in the office, councillors told - 28 September
Councillors wearing shorts, flashy jewellery or flamboyant outfits
during meetings of the Msunduzi council could find themselves going
for counselling sessions. That emerged during Thursday's meeting of
the council's executive committee when members approved a proper
dress code. - IOL website
Nelson Mandela Bay
Mandela Bay
municipal milling goes online - 27 September
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan in Eastern Cape has developed an
innovative billing system in an attempt to improve customer service
and the collection of revenue. The municipality, which includes Port
Elizabeth, said the new system would optimise revenue collection and
more money would be available to improve service delivery and
infrastructure. Most municipalities are struggling to collect
revenue and customers often complain about incorrect billing and
some do not receive accounts. The R46m billing solution, developed
by international IT company Fujitsu, allows customers to check and
pay their bills online. - allAfrica
website
Name Changes
Jo'burgers get free rein to propose names - 21 September
Johannesburg residents can now start making proposals to change
any street and public place name to replace those they feel are
offensive or historically irrelevant after the city council
approved a pragmatic name and renaming policy yesterday. The
policy was supported by all parties, including vocal name-change
process critics such as the Democratic Alliance and the Freedom
Front Plus. - allAfrica
website
New street-naming list surprises councillors - 19 September
City manager Dr Michael Sutcliffe on Tuesday presented councillors
with the latest list of street names, including new names for
Umhlanga Rocks Drive, Smith and West streets and Higginson
Highway. The tabling of the list of 83 road names came as a
surprise to councillors. If approved, the names could be in use
within two months. The DA and MF have been joined by the ACDP in
slamming the covert way in which the list was presented to the
Masakhane Committee. They claim that discussion surrounding the
street renaming was not on the committee's agenda, and was only
discussed when Sutcliffe made a surprise visit to the meeting and
handed in the list. Sutcliffe, however, said a typing error in the
documents had been at the bottom of the delay and was not anything
covert or serious. Among the more controversial proposals is the
retention of Amanzimtoti bomber Andrew Zondo's name to replace
that of Kingsway Road. Also, if approved, Umhlanga Rocks Drive
will become King Shaka Drive, and Smith Street will become Anton
Lembede Street. Higginson Highway is destined to become Govan
Mbeki Highway and West Street will become Dr Pixley KaSeme Street.
- IOL website
National Prosecuting
Authority
'Constitution altered through back door' - 27 September
The
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been in breach of the
constitution by reporting to the ministers of justice and safety
and security, according to a senior researcher at the Institute
for Security Studies (ISS). The constitution stipulated that the
NPA report only to the justice minister, Jake Moloi said on
Wednesday. This was in contrast to the recommendations made by the
Khampepe Commission and accepted by President Thabo Mbeki that the
NPA report to the minister of justice as well as the minister of
safety and security. -
Cape Times website
24 September
2007
Statement on the suspension of the National Director of Public
Prosecutions, Adv Vusi Pikoli
SA Government Information
website
President Thabo
Mbeki has with immediate effect suspended the National
Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Vusi Pikoli,
in terms of section 12 (6) (a) of the
National Prosecution
Act 32 of 1988. This decision was taken on the basis of
an irretrievable breakdown in the working relationship between
the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and the
NDPP.
The President
considers the relationship between the Minister and the NDPP
central to the effective administration of justice and the
smooth functioning of the National Prosecuting Authority. The
relationship breakdown had adverse implications for the NPA
and the functioning of the criminal justice system.
An enquiry will
be instituted in terms of the NPA Act to investigate all
matters pertaining to the functioning and role of the NDPP,
and make recommendations to the President.
The President
has appointed Deputy National Director Adv Mokotedi Mpshe as
Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that
the work of the NPA continues unhindered.
Government would
like to reassure all South Africans that the functioning of
the justice system will not be compromised, especially within
the context of the collective challenge to fight crime.
Enquiries
:
Themba Maseko (Government Spokesperson)
Cell : 083-645
0810
Issued by
: Government Communications (GCIS)
24 September 2007
26 September
2007
National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) suspended
SA Government Information
website
Pikoli and Selebi :
have we entered the phase of an imperial Presidency? - 28
September
If the reports are accurate (and they must be confirmed or
emphatically denied as a matter of great urgency) it seems clear
that the suspension of Pikoli was motivated by the desire of
President Mbeki to protect his close ally, police boss Jackie
Selebi. - Helen Zille's
blog
'Arrest
order' for Interpol head - 28 September
South African prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for
Commissioner of Police Jackie Selebi, reports say. Mr Selebi is
the current head of the international police body, Interpol. -
BBC News website
Selebi warrant : did it lead to Pikoli axing? - 28 September
The Scorpions have been planning to arrest National Police
Commissioner Jackie Selebi for at least three months. And it is
believed that National Prosecuting Authority boss Vusi Pikoli's
decision to pursue Selebi may have been the final step that led to
his suspension. - IOL website
Arrest warrant issued for Selebi : report - 27 September
A warrant of arrest has been issued for national police chief
Jackie Selebi, the SABC reported on Thursday. The state
broadcaster said it had reliably learnt that the National
Prosecuting Authority (NPA) obtained the warrant. -
IOL website
Inquiry
to probe NPA structure, relationship to Minister - 26
September
An independent inquiry will be urgently convened to probe the
National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) work, its Director's
relationship to the Justice Minister and structural issues
highlighted by the Khampepe Commission. Speaking on SABC radio on
Wednesday morning, Government spokesperson Themba Maseko outlined
the scope of the imminent inquiry and expressed the urgency with
which President Thabo Mbeki viewed the matter. -
BuaNews Online website
What's going on President Mbeki? -
26 September
Come clean : that is the message to President Thabo Mbeki from
political parties and a political analyst after reports that he is
about to deal with national police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
The reports followed after Mbeki suspended Scorpions
boss Vusi Pikoli.
Meanwhile Sapa
reports that after Pikoli and Selebi, Mbeki's
third step would be a probe into private companies contracted to
the Scorpions to do investigations.
Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions
Mokotedi Mpshe would decide whether there was a prima facie case
against Selebi. -
The Sowetan
website
Prosecutors stand firm behind Pikoli - 26 September
A fresh row has erupted over the official reasons given for the
suspension of the head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Vusi
Pikoli. Senior prosecutors and NPA staff have reacted with
disbelief and shock to a Government Communication and Information
System statement, in which Pikoli's suspension was blamed on his
poor working relationship with Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla.
Now the NPA wants the chance to give its side of the story, in a
"concise" statement compiled by senior prosecuting management and
due to be released on Wednesday. -
IOL website
Heads roll in bitter ANC turf war - 26 September
Mr Mbeki's surprise decision to suspend
Vusi Pikoli, citing an "irreversible
breakdown of relations" with the Justice
Minister, shocked opposition figures. Analysts said that the move
was evidence of a power struggle over the prosecution of the
former Vice-President, Jacob Zuma. It came after weeks of reported
friction between Mr Pikoli and Brigitte Mabandla, the Justice
Minister, over the prosecution of Mr Zuma. -
Times Online website
Mbeki to
axe Pikoli - 25 September
President Thabo Mbeki is going to fire National Director of Public
Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. Impeccable sources have independently
stated that Mbeki's suspension of Pikoli, announced on Monday is a
prelude to sacking him. According to sources Pikoli's illustrious
career has come to an end because of his failure to control the
Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), also known as the
Scorpions. - allAfrica website
Pikoli's suspension nothing personal :
Presidency - 25 September
Director-general in the Presidency, Frank Chikane, says a
breakdown of the personal relationship between justice minister,
Brigitte Mabandla, and national director of Public Prosecutions,
Vusi Pikoli, did not lead to Pikoli's suspension. However,
yesterday President Thabo Mbeki suspended Pikoli, citing an
irretrievable break down in the working relationship between him
and Mabandla as the main reason for the move. Chikane says
Pikoli's suspension was rather due to the fact that something went
wrong in his reporting to the minister in terms of the
Constitution. - SABC News
website
Suspicion as SA's top prosecutor
suspended - 25 September
Politicians and political analysts have reacted with suspicion
following President Thabo Mbeki's sudden
suspension yesterday of National Director of Public Prosecutions
Vusi Pikoli, saying the move had "immense
national implications". -
The Herald Online
website
Scorpions
Overwhelming support for unchanged Scorpions - 26 September
Respondents in Nelson Mandela Bay were asked if the Scorpions
should be restructured and incorporated into the police or
remain under the NPA. The survey followed the sudden suspension
of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli by
President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday. -
The Herald Online
website
Road Accident Fund
Road accident
needs new no-fault law - 27 September
The acting Chairperson of the Road Accident Fund, Veli Mahlangu,
makes an impassioned plea in his annual report tabled in Parliament
and circulated on Thursday, for new legislation to change the basis
of third-party compensation. -
iafrica website
Trade and Industry
Gidani
to operate the National Lottery - 24 September
Empowerment consortium Gidani has been awarded the licence to
operate the National Lottery, announced Trade and Trade and
Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa. The minister said that they had
gone beyond the call of duty and ensured that they conducted the
process with rigour, fairness and integrity. "I therefore appeal
to all the bidders, in light of the process and in the interests
of the national lottery, to now accept the outcome of what has
been a fiercely competitive process". He thanked the bidders and
the public for their patience and said he was confident that the
new operator will begin its operations as soon as possible. -
BuaNews Online website
Transport
Richards
Bay touted as premier bulk port - 26 September
SA's premier bulk port, Richards Bay, could soon replace its
Durban counterpart as the country's busiest multi purpose harbour,
and potentially one of the largest ports in the world, if a
planned expansion strategy was adopted, Public Enterprises
Minister Alec Erwin said yesterday. He told the French South
African Chamber of Commerce and Industry that the port of Richards
Bay, which occupies 2157ha of land and 1495ha of water, had more
open space available for development. The port of Durban, on the
other hand, had space constraints. -
allAfrica website
CT container terminal stacking area expansion gets environmental
thumbs up - 21 September
South Africa's Environmental Affairs and
Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has authorised the
expansion of the container terminal stacking area in the Port of
Cape Town, on Friday. The National Ports Authority (NPA) applied
for the expansion of the container terminal at the port and
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said that it had
considered various alternatives. The alternative approved to
achieve the expansion would entail reconfiguration, which involved
maximising the potential stack capacity within the Cape Town
container terminal while staying within the existing container
terminal boundaries, the department said. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
How SA is responding to the global containerisation surge - 28
September
Almost 51 years since the container revolution, about 90% of the
world’s cargo is now transported in containers. The growth in
containerised shipping, which surged by 600% between 1979 and
2004, as well as the development in shipbuilding, has encouraged
substantially larger vessels – a trend that no country or harbour
is able to escape. The increased specialisation of ships and the
growth of ship size have, over the years, resulted in ports around
the world improving cargo-handling technology, operations, and
infrastructure. While South Africa gears
itself up in the development of infrastructure to deal with
challenges such as increasing container traffic and larger
shipping vessels, much consideration needs to focus on
environmental challenges and concerns, which may result from such
development. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Miscellaneous
Struggle documents to be digitised - 25 September
Microsoft South Africa plans to digitise a collection of struggle
records being kept at Fort Hare University's Mayibuye Centre and
the University of the Western Cape. Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa,
CEO of the National Heritage Council, says the collection of
manuscripts, maps, newspapers, letters, sound and video clips,
photographs and other physical artefacts remain a vital part of
the country's heritage that could be lost forever unless preserved
digitally. - ITWeb website
Unexpected treasure trove beneath the sea - 27 September
An exciting find of crates containing 100-year-old bottles, sealed
and with their contents still inside, has been made on the old
wreck lying on the bottom of Coega harbour. During the fearsome
storm of November 14, 1903, the 65-metre-long, three-masted iron
barque, County of Pembroke, was blown ashore. The
Pembroke lay on the beach until March 1904, when the Harbour
Board removed it as it had been lying in a very dangerous
position. When repairs were completed and with the pumps still
working, the barque was refloated by two tugs and towed 14km away
to the mouth of the Coega River where it would be out of the way,
and sunk. Before Transnet Projects could go ahead with the
removal, a permit was required from the South African Heritage
Resources Agency. - The
Herald Online website
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Africa
DA : SA safety 'utterly abysmal' - 27 September
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday said that South Africa
being ranked the third least safe place out of 48 countries on the
African continent indicates that the country is critically unsafe.
The party's spokesperson on safety and security, Dianne
Kohler-Barnard, said that the Mo Ibrahim Index of African
Governance, which ranked South Africa as third most dangerous
after "war zone" countries, Sudan and Burundi, indicated that what
citizens of this country had been crying out for years was the
truth. - Mail & Guardian website
See also
http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/
Web of red tape harms SA's image - 27
September
SA has lost its status as the easiest African country in which to do
business, sliding six rungs down the rankings in an influential
annual study that compares regulation in 178 economies.
According to the report, SA lost its position because it
has not cut red tape as fast as many other emerging markets have.
-
Business Day website
SA placed fifth on latest African governance index
- 25 September
South Africa is placed fifth on the latest Mo Ibrahim
Foundation Index of African Governance with a score of 71,2 while
top-ranking Mauritius scored 86,2, according to a new good
governance index published on Tuesday. The
first annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance rated the
performance of 48 nations against a series of criteria including
security, human rights, economic stability, just laws, free
elections, corruption, infrastructure, poverty and health.
South Africa scores 61,1 on safety and security, 75,2 on rule
of law, transparency and corruption, 81,1 on participation and human
rights, 67,4 on sustainable economic development, and 70,5 on human
development. Mauritius scored highest
overall on the index, followed by Seychelles, Botswana, Cape Verde
and South Africa. -
Mail & Guardian website
See
Doing Business 2008 Overview
Kenya
Kenya graft
'amnesty bill' halted - 28 September
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has rejected a law which in effect
would have overlooked financial crimes by public officials committed
before 2003. - BBC News website
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe passes bill to transfer all foreign-owned firms to locals
- 27 September
Zimbabwe's parliament yesterday passed a bill giving local owners
majority control of foreign-owned companies, including mines and
banks. Analysts say the move could drive the fragile economy
deeper into crisis and opposition leaders say it is designed to
benefit the ruling party's elite. -
Business
Report website
Only the 'disadvantaged' can own businesses - 26 September
Zimbabwe-born whites who proved they were discriminated against
under colonial rule may not be subject to a government programme
to take control of white-owned businesses, the government has
said. Under a proposed
Indigenization and Empowerment Bill, white descendants of
mainly British settlers will be required to relinquish at least 51
percent of their businesses to blacks. -
IOL website
Zimbabwe law hits foreign groups - 26 September
Zimbabwe’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday giving the state
controlling stakes in foreign-owned businesses, including banks
and mines. It happened in the face of warnings from the opposition
and businesses that the law would have catastrophic consequences
for Zimbabwe's already crumbling
economy. While the official rate of inflation is 6
500 per cent, the real figure is widely believed to be far
higher. The business community has been clinging to the hope that
the law would, if passed, never be implemented. -
Financial Times website
Zimbabwe assembly debates bill - 26 September
Zimbabwe's parliament began debating a bill on Tuesday that would
give local owners majority control of foreign companies, a move
analysts fear could sound the death knell for an economy already
deep in crisis. President Robert Mugabe's government says the bill
is part of its drive to empower the country's poor majority and
eliminate traces of the colonial past. -
Reuters website
Harare in
need of land for expansion - 27 September
The Harare Metropolitan Province's ever booming population has
created the need for more capital projects covering a wide
spectrum of services such as housing and infrastructural
development, health, social, education, industry and commerce.
Speaking at the provincial council meeting in Harare yesterday,
Harare Metropolitan Governor and Resident Minister Cde David
Karimanzira said the land for expansion was needed urgently. He,
however, said urban development now needed to be vertical, looking
upwards structurally instead of horizontal development as land had
become a scarce resource. -
allAfrica website
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Asia
China
China dam 'catastrophe' warning - 26 September
China's Three Gorges Dam could trigger an environmental
catastrophe unless emerging problems are treated urgently, senior
officials have warned. The dam's head of construction, Wang
Xiaofeng, said ecological problems like soil erosion, landslides
and water pollution could not be ignored. In some areas ill-judged
development was making things worse, he said. Critics have long
warned the dam, the world's largest hydro-electric project, could
cause huge environmental damage. -
BBC News website
see also
InfoUpdate no.19, 19 May 2006
Pakistan
Judge frees Musharraf opponents - 27 September
The chief justice of Pakistan's
Supreme Court today ordered the government to release all
opposition political activists held in recent days as the
country’s president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, filed his nomination
papers to contest the elections on Oct 6. -
New York Times website
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Australasia
Australia
Private eyes on public data - 25 September
When Scott Powell started developing the HandMap software in 1997,
he developed services exclusively for the US, partly because it
was so easy to gather the necessary data. "I remember back then
you actually had to order and pay this one-off fee (for the
data)," Mr Powell says. "I think there were six CDs that covered
all of the US. And you paid something like $US200 per CD". Today
the US Government has gone one better, offering all that data
free. In Australia, spatial data of this sort primarily originates
from either state, territory or federal governments. But
Australian governments have traditionally treated spatial
information, as with much of its accumulated Public Sector Data (PSD),
as primarily a revenue source. -
Brisbane Times
website
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Europe
EU urges
signing of trade deals - 27 September
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson has warned former European
colonies that they could miss out if they do not sign up to new
trade deals. The EU is engaged in a round of talks with former
colonies across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
Protesters are opposing the proposed Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPA). However, Mr Mandelson said a failure to sign up meant those
who relied on exports of goods such as bananas and fish faced a risk
to their livelihoods. - BBC News
website
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Middle East
Iraq
'Chemical Ali' faces his accusers - 24 September
Former aides of Saddam Hussein, among them the notorious "Chemical
Ali", have been accused in court of massacring 100
000 people in a 1991 Shia uprising. -
BBC
News website
Keyphrase :
Ali Hassan al-Majid
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United Kingdom
Criminal
Justice System
New laws on gun and knife violence enter force - 27 September
Tough new powers to tackle knife and gun crime on Britain's streets
and growing alcohol-fuelled yob violence become law next week. The
country has been hit by a spate shootings and stabbings that police
say are linked to gangs and a culture of violent "yobs" - aggressive
young people who drink or take drugs and attack those who challenge
them. - Reuters website
'Self-defence' law to be reviewed - 27 September
There is to be an urgent review of the law protecting those who
intervene in criminal situations in England and Wales, the
government is to announce. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who has
been a "have-a-go hero" four times, said he wanted to clarify "that
the law is on the side of the citizen". -
BBC News website
Gordon Brown repackages law and order policy - 25 September
Gordon Brown has used his maiden conference speech as Prime
Minister to repackage Labour's law and order policy. Out went
"tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime". In came "punish
and prevent". - Telegraph
website
Family Law
Margaret Hodge 'shocked by handcuff protest' - 27 September
Margaret Hodge, the former children's minister, was "shocked and
distressed" at being ambushed and handcuffed by two fathers'
rights protesters, she told a court. Miss Hodge said she was
"completely taken aback" after the men mounted the stage to place
handcuffs on her at a Law Society conference. Jason Hatch of
Cheltenham, Glos, and Jonathan Stanesby of Ivybridge, Devon, deny
false imprisonment after the incident at the Lowry Hotel in
Manchester in 2004. Both were members of the group Fathers 4
Justice, and wanted to gain publicity for their cause, the court
heard. -
The Telegraph
website
Succession
A
chance to succeed? - September 2007
It is now nearly half a century since the last major change in
succession law, the
Succession (Scotland) Act 1964. Since then there have been
great changes in family structure and wealth distribution in
Scotland. Many more couples cohabit, the level of divorce and
re-partnering has risen dramatically, and civil partnerships have
been introduced. Also people are materially better off, partly as
a result of increased homeownership. The 1964 Act is (and indeed
has been for some time) in need of refurbishment, as is much of
the centuries-old common law. -
The Journal Online
website
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United States
Anti-Terrorism
Judge rules provisions in Patriot Act to be illegal - 27
September
A federal judge in Oregon ruled Wednesday that crucial parts of
the USA Patriot Act were not constitutional because they allowed
federal surveillance and searches of Americans without
demonstrating probable cause. -
New York Times website
Court advances military trials for detainees - 24 September
A special military appeals court, overturning a lower court
ruling, on Monday removed a legal hurdle that has derailed war
crime trials for detainees at Guantanámo Bay, Cuba. The ruling
allows military prosecutors to address a legal flaw that had
ground the prosecutions to a halt. The legal flaw involved a
requirement by Congress that before the detainees could be tried
in military tribunals, they had to be formally declared
"alien unlawful enemy combatants".
The problem for prosecutors was that while the detainees had been
found by a military panel to be enemy combatants, they had not
been specifically found to be unlawful. -
New York Times website
Arts and Culture
Museum can show disputed artwork, judge rules - 22 September
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Massachusetts Museum of
Contemporary Art has the right to display an immense unfinished
installation by Christoph Buchel, a
Swiss artist whose relationship with the museum fell apart early
this year, leading to a bitter public battle over control of the
work and over artists’ rights in general. -
New York Times website
Attorney General
Nuance and resolve in rulings by Attorney General nominee - 23
September
In his 18 years on the federal bench, Judge Michael B Mukasey
issued more than 1 500 decisions
concerning matters as cataclysmic as the Holocaust and as mundane
as milk, beer and cigarettes. In his opinions, Judge Mukasey comes
across as fiercely intelligent, prickly, impatient, practical and
suspicious of abstractions. -
New York Times website
Emigration and Immigration
Banned : why a South African is going to court in the US - 25
September
Our saga began a month earlier when I arrived in New York on October
21, 2006. Having lived there before while earning my PhD from the
City University of New York, and having traveled there multiple
times thereafter, I expected to be irritated, but nothing more. Even
when I was sent to the Homeland Security waiting room in JFK
airport, I was not overly concerned. But after five hours, I began
to realize that this went beyond the normal harassment. By the time
I called the South African Consulate and some US and South African
officials, it was too late - the decision had already been made to
revoke my visa and 'deport' me. Soon I was escorted under armed
guard to a plane bound for South Africa -
The Huffington Post
website
S
African scholar barred from US, lawsuit says - 25 September
A South African scholar was barred from the United States because of
his criticism of US policy in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay prisoner
camp, a civil rights group said in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
Accusing the Bush administration of stifling academic debate by
routinely denying visas to critics, the American Civil Liberties
Union filed the federal suit on behalf of four groups that invited
Adam Habib, a Muslim, to speak in the United States. The lawsuit
charges the government's decision to revoke Habib's visa last year
forced him to turn down speaking engagements, thereby violating the
First Amendment
rights of US citizens who could not hear his views. -
Reuters website
Environment
In beach enclave, affluent are split over effluent - 25
September
Septic tanks or sewers? The question of how to treat wastewater in
this exclusive beachfront community is pitting neighbors, surfers
and environmentalists against one another. If the sewer vote
passes, the owners of Rincon Point's 72
homes will have to pay about $80 000 each to build the
infrastructure to hook up to the waste treatment center in the
city of Carpinteria, next to Rincon. The state would contribute
about $2.1 million. In part because Rincon Point property is so
valuable - a beachfront cottage considered a
"tear
down" by at least one agent is now
listed for $4.4 million - most residents can afford to pay, either
up front or over 30 years. -
New
York Times website
Gender Issues
EEOC files lawsuit against Bloomberg LP - 27 September
The federal government announced this afternoon that it had filed a
lawsuit against Bloomberg LP, the financial services company founded
by Mayor Michael R Bloomberg, accusing the company of discriminating
against women. In its lawsuit, filed this afternoon in US District
Court in Manhattan, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said
the company engaged in a pattern of discrimination against pregnant
women, including "decreasing their pay,
demoting them, diminishing their job duties and excluding them from
employment opportunities". -
New York Times website
Health
Report assails FDA oversight of clinical trials - 28 September
The Food and Drug Administration does very little to ensure the
safety of the millions of people who participate in clinical trials,
a federal investigator has found. In a report due to be released
Friday, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human
Services, Daniel R Levinson, said federal health officials did not
know how many clinical trials were being conducted, audited fewer
than 1 percent of the testing sites and, on the rare occasions when
inspectors did appear, generally showed up long after the tests had
been completed. - New York Times
website
Home Affairs
Justices agree to hear case about voter ID laws - 26 September
The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to decide whether laws that
require voters to take government-issued photo identification to
the polls place an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. -
New York Times website
Human Rights
Concerns raised over Taser safety - 27 September
The question is not just in what circumstances you can justify
using Tasers but how safe they are. As Taser use continues to
spread, organisations like Amnesty International have voiced
concerns over safety. Tasers shoot two barbed darts into the
victim, which deliver a series of 50 000-volt electrical pulses
over 5 seconds, causing severe pain and intense immobilising
muscle contractions. People who are tased when upright tend to
fall over. Any resulting injuries are usually minor but at least
one person has died from a head injury. -
New Scientist website
US court
reviews lethal injection - 25 September
The US Supreme Court is to review the legality of lethal
injections, the means of execution in most US states. The high
court has agreed to hear challenges from two death row inmates
Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. The pair sued the state of
Kentucky in 2004, saying lethal injections were cruel and a
violation of civil rights. The case could affect the way inmates
are executed in the US. Lawyers for the men said the court had not
reviewed the issue for more than 100 years. -
BBC News website
Labour Issues
GM workers return after deal reached with union - 26 September
Members of the United Automobile Workers union returned to work
today at General Motors after the two sides reached a landmark
contract agreement, ending a two-day strike. The key provision of
the new contract is a health care trust that would get GM's vast
liability off its books, while workers and retirees would receive
their current coverage until the trust is put in place. -
New York Times website
Land Affairs and
Property
Further
price drop for US homes - 25 September
The price of existing homes in the 10 largest US cities fell by
0.6% in July - the steepest drop in 16 years - a survey has found.
The data, from S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, put the annual
price fall in those cities at 4.5%. A broader survey of 20 cities
found that prices fell in 15 of them, dropping an average of 0.4%
from June to July, and down 3.9% on July 2006. The cities where
prices are still rising are Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Portland
and Seattle. However, these have reported that growth is slowing,
the index compilers said, with Atlanta and Dallas moving closer to
negative territory. -
BBC News
website
Minerals and Energy
Approval is sought to build two reactors in Texas - 24
September
In a bid to take the lead in the race to revive the nuclear power
industry, an energy company will ask the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission on Tuesday for permission to build two
reactors in Texas. It is the first time since the 1970s and the
accident at Three Mile Island that an American power company has
sought permission to start work on a new reactor to add to the
existing array of operable reactors, which now number 104. -
New York Times website
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International
Arts and Culture
Magna
Carta copy to be auctioned - 26 September
A rare copy of the Magna Carta, the document that enshrined human
rights in English law, is to be sold in New York. The copy owned
by the Perot Foundation is expected to fetch more than $20m
(£9.94m), auctioner Sotheby's says. The copy on sale, dating from
1297, was bought by Ross F Perot in 1984 and is the only one in
private ownership. - BBC News
website
Getty to
hand back 'looted art' - 25 September
One of the world's wealthiest museums, the Getty in Los Angeles,
has signed an agreement in Rome to return priceless artefacts
allegedly stolen from Italy. Under the deal with the Italian
culture ministry, 40 major works of ancient art will be returned
from next week. It follows two years of often hostile
negotiations, with Rome threatening to sever ties with Getty. It
is a victory for the Italian government, which has been battling
in the courts for the past decade to defeat the enormously
profitable international trade in smuggled ancient art works. -
BBC News website
Climate
Climate change conference opens - 27 September
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opened a conference of the
world’s largest greenhouse-gas emitters today, an event that United
States officials assert was not designed to undercut United Nations
efforts to take more muscular steps to curb climate change.
Officials from Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia
and South Africa were attending the conference, as well as European
Union and UN climate-change officials. Critics in Europe and
elsewhere say that approach will allow countries to avoid the tough
choices they say are needed to slow climate warming and temper its
disruptive effects: a rapid retreat of sea ice, and precipitation
changes that have brought droughts and floods, damaging crops. -
New York Times website
27 September 2007
Opening statement by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African Minister
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism at the major economies meeting
on Energy Security and Climate Change, Washington DC
SA Government Information
website
Bush under pressure at climate change conference - 28 September
US President George W Bush kicks off the second day of a conference
on global warming on Friday under pressure from the world's major
economies to accept binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases.
Bush called the meeting as a precursor to United Nations talks in
Bali in December, which will aim to launch a successor to the Kyoto
Protocol, a treaty that set limits on industrial nations' emissions.
- Reuters website
Environment
Fight against climate change : projects from South Africa and
Bangladesh share prestigious environment award - 27 September
Ms Jeunesse Park of South Africa and Bangladeshi NGO Shidhulai
Swanirvar Sangstha are the co-winners of the UNEP Sasakawa Prize
2007, a $200 000 prize awarded yearly to
individuals or institutions who have made a substantial contribution
to the protection and management of the environment. Ms Jeunesse
Park is the founder and CEO of Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA),
South Africa's only national greening and food gardening NGO which
promotes greening, sustainable natural resource use and management
and food security, through three key programs
: Trees for Homes, EduPlant, and the Urban Greening Forum. Ms
Park initiated the design of the first carbon calculator in South
Africa. - YubaNet website
Finance
Credit
crunch 'hits world growth' - 24 September
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which supervises the world
financial system, says an economic slowdown is likely due to the
global credit crunch. The IMF warned in its global stability
report that the "downside risks [to growth] have increased
significantly". IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said that the
biggest impact of the crisis will be on the US economy in 2008.
His comments came soon after a former Federal Reserve chairman
said there was a 50% chance of a recession in the US.
- BBC News
website
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