eThekwini Municipality has unveiled an ambitious plan to remove residents from over 50 unsafe and unhygienic informal settlements by the second half of this year, according to head of the eThekwini Housing Department, Couglan Pather.

The city has launched a project to upgrade Johannesburg's ageing electricity network - while Business Day reported that government is considering a once-off capital injection of around R800m to reduce frequent power blackouts.

Ompi Aphane, of the minerals and energy department, was reported by Business Day as saying that only 12% of the poor had received the free electricity benefit since the programme was launched, while expenditure was 2,4 times more than budgeted.

The managers of Gauteng's three major cities, Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, are in Brazil together with a povincial representative to look at how Latin American cities have accelerated growth by integrating across traditional city boundaries.

The Department of Social Development is set to distribute about 400 000 food hampers to more than 2 million poorest people as part of government's efforts to reduce poverty, according to Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya.

Soccer's world governing body (FIFA) President, Sepp Blatter, landed at the Johannesburg International Airport for a two-day visit that will see him interact with President Thabo Mbeki and some of the country's top sport and government officials, following the awarding of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.

Authorities gazetted a six percent salary increment backdated to 1 July for the country's councillors. The deal was concluded by Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi.

The Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has installed 16 surveillance cameras within the Central Business District in the first phase of a 200 camera rollout.

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