South Africa

Johannesburg - Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has called on nurses to restore professionalism in their career.

Cape Town - The very first person to get through to the Presidential Hotline when it was launched on Monday is to receive assistance, says President Jacob Zuma.

Nelspruit - Government has issued a stern warning to shoddy housing contractors who continue to build defective houses, saying that they could be struck off from the list and lose all contracts from the government.

Pretoria - Cabinet has noted the country’s state of readiness to host the fifth Brics Summit, which will take place in Durban from 26 – 27 March.

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma is to attend the 64th United National (UN) General Assembly in New York next week with the aim of pushing for reform within the UN system.

Pretoria - Ministers will in the next coming weeks brief members of the media on their departments’ progress towards achieving the 12 specific outcomes of government.

Johannesburg - Upcoming South African musicians will soon be able to record their music at affordable rates in a new refurbished studio, thanks to a multi-million Rand partnership between government and the private sector.

Rustenburg - Fatigue appear to be one of the major contributors to road crashes in the North West, says the province's MEC for Public Safety, Howard Yawa.

Pretoria - Children around the country will have an opportunity to share their views on poverty eradication, child mortality and access to education, when they meet the minister responsible for children on Saturday.

Johannesburg-Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa- Nqakula has called for a review of the legislation that grants medical parole to terminally ill prisoners.

Pretoria - The Department of Health has reiterated its commitment to improving the remuneration and general working conditions of doctors countywide.

Pretoria - Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has welcomed the decision of the North Gauteng High Court to rule against an urgent application by the taxi industry to prevent the launch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on Sunday.

Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister, Marius Fransman, will lead a South African delegation to the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-V) scheduled for this weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, MR JG ZUMA
TUYNHUYS, CAPE TOWN
17 SEPTEMBER 2009

Pretoria - The South African government supports the efforts to find a lasting solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, says President Jacob Zuma.