South Africa

Cape Town - The Department of Home Affairs is tightening immigration regulations in the fight against corruption and people who cheat their way into staying in the country.

Bloemfontein - The Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation has received an award for producing the most transparent, understandable, accurate and accountable annual reports for two years in a row.

Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs says its one step closer to implementing its new electronic system for identity documents after the process proved to be a success for passports.

Pretoria - A R40 million Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis facility will be unveiled in the North West to help strengthen the TB cure rate in that province.

Nelspruit - Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Sibongile Manana has called on the provincial South African Police Service (SAPS) management to take stringent action against corrupt police officials.

Cape Town - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has indicated that it is ready for the upcoming local government elections on 18 May.

Johannesburg - The contraction of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 3 percent for the second quarter of 2009, indicates the economy is still in recession, says Business Unity South Africa.

Pretoria - Weaknesses in communication, accountability, skills shortages and lack of community involvement in some municipalities were among the contributory factors to service delivery backlogs, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Tuesday.

East London - The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has developed a housing turnaround strategy in an attempt to tackle its housing backlog.

Johannesburg - The Department of Higher Education and Training hopes to increase student enrolment at Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to at least one million by 2015.

Pretoria - The public will be able to request more information or ask specific questions related to the H1N1 Influenza, or swine flu, via a hotline, from Wednesday.

Pretoria - South Africa and Zimbabwe are to reinforce bilateral relations at the South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Forum, to be held next week.

Nelspruit - Agricultural bodies have welcomed a commitment by the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration to address a critical skills shortage in the farming sector.

Bushbuckridge - Before revealing who she was during a surprise visit to Machaye High School in Agincourt village on Tuesday, MEC Reginah Mhaule asked matrics what they would ask the education MEC if they met her.

Pretoria - Voters who will be in hospital or housebound on Election Day have until today to submit their applications to vote at the office of their respective Municipal Electoral Officer.