South Africa

Pretoria - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) has been welcomed by business, as it shows a commitment to the stabilisation of government spending.

Pretoria - A man and a woman were arrested on the N2 near Grabouw in the Western Cape on Thursday night following a tip-off from a community member.

Pretoria - The Gauteng Department of Education has suspended a chief invigilator after he lost a box containing 20 Physical Science exam question papers on Thursday.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has wished the Muslim community well as they celebrate Eid-ul-Adha on Friday.

Cape Town - MPs have welcomed the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's measures to clamp down on public debt, following his tabling of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the National Assembly today.

Pretoria - Trade and Industry Director General Lionel October on Thursday encouraged Chinese companies to invest in South Africa.

Pretoria - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced that in a bid to reduce corruption in the tax clearance request process, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has developed an electronic mechanism for taxpayers to provide real time, up-to-date and continuous tax status to interested parties.

Polokwane - In a move to make Limpopo crime free during the festive season, police in the province have received 14 BMWs to use in their fight against crime.

Pretoria - The Chamber of Mines, representing AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony, and the National Union of Mine Workers, Solidarity and UASA have signed a wage agreement on Thursday.

Cape Town - Building new low-cost houses and rolling out public transport would be devolved to municipalities and greater technical support will be provided in rural areas, the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday.

Cape Town - The Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan today detailed several initiatives to reign in the widening deficit and improve the impact of spending by, among other things, investing the balance of resource allocation in new infrastructure.

Cape Town - The National Treasury has allocated an extra R461.1 million for South Africa's hosting of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) soccer tournament, but no spending will go towards "extravagances", says Deputy Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene.

Cape Town - The Marikana shooting in August and the industrial action which has followed in its wake, have dented confidence and lowered growth prospects for the remainder of the year, the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan said.

Cape Town - Departments will have to consolidate programmes and activities, and seek greater value for money from what is available in the Fiscus, the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan said today.

Cape Town - South Africa's sound institutional framework, built on the foundation of the Constitution, will hold the country in good stead as it faces uncertainty at home and abroad, the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan said today.