South Africa

Johannesburg - The Social Development Department in Gauteng has established food banks to help feed communities in need.

Pretoria - The Eastern Cape Education Head of Department, Advocate Modidima Mannya, has been relieved of his duties, with his contract expected to end on 30 April 2012.

Pretoria - The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), which is headed by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, on Thursday met with various stakeholders as part of the consultation process on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

Johannesburg - Resplendent in traditional attire from countries across the continent, delegates attending the first Global African Diaspora Summit have started arriving at the Sandton Convention Centre, where an atmosphere of togetherness and pride can be felt.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will on Freedom Day award National Orders to South Africans who have played a critical role in the country during the apartheid era.

Johannesburg - The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Monday urged thousands of public transport operators in Gauteng to register for the e-tolling system, which is set to commence on 30 April.

Cape Town - The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) will have access to millions of rands of funding from the balance sheet of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), says the Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel.

Pretoria - Government is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the Charter on African Cultural Renaissance is ratified by the end of this year, says Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile.

Pretoria - The Department of Labour (DoL) has kick-started a series of national public hearings on reviewing the Private Security Sectoral Determination following a notice by the Minister.

Komatipoort - State-owned transport company Transnet has pledged R500 000 towards the families of farmworkers who were killed in an accident involving a truck and a train in Mpumalanga.

Pretoria - The Gauteng Department of Health has urged people in the high risk groups to immunize against influenza.

Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has called for greater connectivity between African countries, saying it would aid trade and improve relations.

Cape Town- Small businesses will get a capital injection of over R780m, with the signing of an agreement between the China Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel.

Soweto - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has appealed to residents of Braamfischerville, Soweto, to offer their support and protection to the family of the mentally ill Soweto teenager who was gang raped.

Pretoria - Stakeholders in higher education have until Monday to submit comments on the Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training released three months ago by the Higher Education and Training Department.