South Africa

Pretoria - A lucky batch of high school students in Gauteng completed their learner driver's licence as part of the launch of the province's Learner Driver Support Project (LDSP).

Cape Town - Political parties across the spectrum have echoed President Jacob Zuma's praise for South Africans, attributing the success of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to their patriotic spirit and passion.

Johannesburg - South Africa's heavy reliance on fossil fuel as primary energy may pose a threat to the country's long term "green" economic growth path, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said on Tuesday.

Cape Town - The Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan has proposed levying penalties of up to double the value of a contract on those who obtain contracts fraudulently as a measure to curb fraud in public procurement.

Pretoria - Deputy Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said South Africa was prudent during times of plenty which helped reduce the impact of recession on its people.

Pretoria - The Department of Environmental Affairs has taken a fresh approach to waste management through a series of planned roadshows.

Cape Town - South African businesses are still battling to recover from the effects of the recent recession, with the Department of Trade and Industry experiencing a marked decline in the number of applications by firms to its incentive schemes and lower than expected investments in its industrial development zones, the National Treasury revealed today.

Pretoria - Cabinet has mandated the Minister of Water Affairs, Bulelwa Sonjica to urgently establish a special task team to investigate how government can best deal with reports of acid water drainage in some provinces.

Pretoria - Government and the tourism industry will continue to strengthen their relationship following South Africa's successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday.

Cape Town - South Africans from all walks of life must ask themselves what they can do to create jobs and address South Africa's massive unemployment rate, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.

Pretoria - As workers in the public service intensify their strike action, the South African Chamber of Commerce (SACCI) is concerned that the move will have a negative impact on the country's image abroad.

Pretoria - Government has expressed concern that investment by the private sector in new power generation capacity has not happened as it should.

Cape Town - Government plans to set aside R1 billion to help youth in South Africa set up employment creation projects in the next financial year.

Cape Town - An extra R100 million has been allocated to the Department of Health to help fight HIV and Aids while provinces are to get more funding to help build new schools, says the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan.

Cape Town - The worst of the recession is over with real growth in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expected to come in at 3 percent this year, after reaching 3.9 percent in the first half of the year.