state of the nation address

The forgiving philosophy of "ubuntu" helps explain how South Africa managed to transcend its turbulent apartheid past and create a unified democracy, writes Simon Barber.
• My normal, crazy, mixed-up country

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has announced a R5.4-billion allocation for the overhaul of South Africa's criminal justice system.

South African state spending on education remains its single biggest investment, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said during his 2009/10 Budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday.

The government is determined to deal with crime in South Africa through the creation of a modern, efficient and integrated criminal justice system, Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa told Parliament on Monday.

The South African government’s Extended Public Works Programme is stamping out poverty and unemployment by growing the skills base of local communities.

The South African government has identified the Broadband Infraco-led African West Coast Cable project, which will run from the Western Cape to the UK, as a lead initiative to create a sustainable, competitive international bandwidth market in the country.

On 27 April 1994 the world watched in awe as South Africans voted in the very first democratic elections. This year, South Africans commemorate 14 years of freedom with an array of planned events.

Schoolchildren could be reciting a new national schools' pledge during morning assemblies by March this year. The pledge is intended to instil a renewed sense of morality in young South Africans.

South Africans are beating the government's 10% target for reduction in electricity consumption, and emergency measures will continue over the next six months to ensure a further drop in demand, says Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin.

South Africa is bringing in elements such as early childhood development and the National Youth Service into its Expanded Public Works Programme, signalling an intensified effort to tackle unemployment.