South Africa

Pretoria - The final countdown has begun with only a week left before this year's matriculants begin writing their final exams.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will this week meet with more than 283 executive mayors and mayors to discuss the state of local government and service delivery improvement.

Pretoria - The South African Football Association (SAFA) says it is disturbed by certain media reports claiming that 32 regions are refusing to recognise its newly elected leadership.

Pretoria - Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system users have called on other commuters to leave their cars at home and "get on the bus" on Car-Free Day on Tuesday.

Pretoria - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has issued a strong warning to the Pienaarspoort and Greenview communities that Metrorail services in the area will be suspended if passenger violence does not stop in the next five days.

Pretoria - The Presidency on Monday announced reconfigured Ministerial Clusters as part of the process of improving coordination within government and enhancing the delivery of services.

Pretoria - An investigation by the Health Department has discovered a bogus syndicate that successfully request services from several companies under the fraudulent banner of the department.

Vosloorus - Government has put in place a strategy to recruit and retain more social workers in the public sector.

Pretoria - Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is to meet United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday.

Cape Town – Members of Parliament in the Assembly on Tuesday voted on and passed the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill, which will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.

Johannesburg - City-owned buildings will go dark for one hour on Friday, 27 March in support of Earth Hour, the climate change initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Johannesburg - Despite the current global economic meltdown, the Gautrain project has created and sustained 63 000 jobs.

Pretoria - The Department of Trade and Industry is to embark on a consumer protection awareness campaign countrywide, next week.

Pretoria - There are 23 million South Africans registered to vote in the provincial and general elections set for 22 April 2009.

Vosloorus - Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya has appealed to social workers not to leave the country in search of better paying jobs abroad, saying skilled social workers were in short supply locally.