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Constitutional
Court of South Africa
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www.constitutionalcourt.org.za
11 March 2008
CCT 54/07
Zealand v Minister for Justice
Unlawful detention
Zuma Case
Media Summary
Hearing Date
: 11-12 March 2008
CCT 89/07
; CCT 90/07 ; CCT 91/07
; CCT 92/07
Thint (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions,
and Others ; Thint Holdings
(Southern Africa) Pty Ltd and Another v National Director of
Public Prosecutions ; Jacob
Gedleyihlekisa Zuma and Another v National Director of Public
Prosecutions and Others ; Jacob
Gedleyihlekisa Zuma v National Director of Public
Prosecutions
The following
explanatory note is provided to assist the media in reporting
this case and is not binding on the Constitutional Court or
any member of the Court.
On 11 and 12
March 2008 the Constitutional Court will hear four related
applications by Mr Jacob Zuma, his attorney Mr Michael Hulley,
Thint (Pty) Ltd, and Thint Holdings Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
for leave to appeal against three judgments of the Supreme
Court of Appeal handed down on 8 November 2007.
The first and
third applications concern the lawfulness of various search
and seizure operations that were in the main carried out on 18
August 2005 at the offices of Mr Hulley and Thint (Pty) Ltd,
and at the residences and former offices of Mr Zuma. These
operations were executed under the purported authority of
various warrants issued in terms of section 29 of the
National Prosecuting
Authority Act 32 of 1998 by Ngoepe JP in the Pretoria
High Court on 12 August 2005. Some
250 members of the Directorate of Special Operations of the
National Prosecuting Authority were involved in the operations
and approximately 93 000 documents were seized, many of them
in electronic format.
The second and
fourth applications concern the lawfulness of the issue by a
High Court judge, purportedly in terms of section 2(2) of the
International
Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act 75 of 1996, of a
letter requesting the Attorney-General of Mauritius to
transmit to the Republic of South Africa fourteen documents
currently in possession of Mauritian officials and to obtain
and to transmit statements as to the documents'
authenticity.
The applications
for leave to appeal in respect of the search warrants
Messrs Zuma and
Hulley successfully challenged the lawfulness of the search
warrants and the search and seizure operations in the Durban
High Court. That Court held that the state had not proved the
need for the warrants, that they were too vague, and that they
provided insufficient protection for Mr Zuma's
right to attorney-client privilege. A similar challenge by
Thint (Pty) Ltd in the Pretoria High Court failed. In the
consequent appeals, the Supreme Court of Appeal held, by a 3-2
majority, that the state had shown sufficient need for a
search and seizure operation, that the warrants were neither
too vague nor too broad, and that Mr Zuma's
right to privilege had been sufficiently protected. The court
ordered that the state could retain the seized items.
Messrs Zuma and
Hulley and Thint (Pty) Ltd now ask the Constitutional Court to
order the return of their documents. They say that Ngoepe JP
should not have issued the warrants because the state failed
to disclose various material facts in its application for the
search warrants. They also say that the warrants were
overbroad and vague and therefore effectively authorised a
general search of the relevant premises, contrary to their
right to privacy in terms of section 14 of the
Constitution. Finally, they assert that Mr Zuma's
right to a fair trial in terms of section 35(3) of the
Constitution
has been threatened because the warrants did not sufficiently
protect his lawyer-client privilege.
The state
resists all three arguments, asserting that the warrants,
searches and seizures were entirely lawful. In the
alternative, the state asks for an order preserving all the
seized items with the Registrar of the High Court for the
purposes of the upcoming criminal trials of Zuma and the Thint
companies.
In sum, in the
first and third applications, this Court must decide whether
the searches and seizures were lawful, and if they were not,
whether the items seized should be returned to the applicants
or preserved with a High Court Registrar pending the criminal
trial.
The applications
for leave to appeal in respect of the request to Mauritius
The documents
regarding the second and fourth applications were originally
seized in Mauritius during 2001 from the premises of the
holding company of the Thint companies and its director, Alain
Thétard purportedly in terms of a search warrant issued by a
Mauritius court. Copies thereof were subsequently used as
evidence in the successful prosecution in South Africa of Mr
Schabir Shaik and his companies on counts of corruption and
fraud. The state then successfully applied to the Durban High
Court for a letter of request to be issued to Mauritius in
terms of section 2(2) of the
International Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act 75 of 1996. It
wishes to obtain the original documents for use as evidence in
the upcoming criminal trials of Mr Zuma and the Thint
companies.
On 8 November
2007, the Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the
appeal of Mr Zuma and the Thint companies against the High
Court decision to issue the letter, holding that neither had
standing to challenge that decision and that it was lawful in
any event.
Mr Zuma and the
Thint companies now ask the Constitutional Court to overturn
this decision and to prevent the request for documents being
issued to the Mauritian authorities. They argue that they have
standing to challenge the request, that the State has not
shown that section 2(2) was applicable in this case and that
therefore the letter of request should not have been in issued
in terms of that section, and that the consequence is that
their constitutional rights to a fair trial have been
threatened.
Again, the state
resists these arguments and maintains that the decisions of
the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal are beyond
reproach.
In sum, in the
second and fourth applications, this Court must decide whether
the High Court's issuing the request
letter to the Mauritian authorities was lawful.
Zuma takes aim at prosecutor Downer - 14 March
Prosecutor Billy Downer could be forced into the dock - and
potentially disqualified from leading the corruption case
against Jacob Zuma - if the state is stopped from obtaining
original evidence from Mauritius. State counsel Wim Trengove SC
argued in the Constitutional Court on Thursday that Downer's
cross-examination by Zuma's legal team was one of the scenarios
that could follow if the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)
was barred from requesting 14 documents, used to convict Zuma's
former financial adviser Schabir Shaik of fraud, from Mauritian
authorities. - IOL website
Court reserves judgment on Zuma case - 13 March
A South African court on Thursday put off judgment on whether
ANC leader Jacob Zuma can prevent seized documents being used
against him as evidence at a corruption trial that could stop
him becoming president. -
Reuters website
We can't help Zuma, says Mauritius PM - 13 March
The SABC reported today that Mauritian Prime Minister
Navinchandra Ramgoolam told media that assisting Zuma would
undermine the independence of the judiciary in his country. -
Daily News website
Kemp
says Zuma documents inadmissible - 13 March
The advocate for African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob
Zuma, Kemp J Kemp SC, said in the Constitutional Court yesterday
that the state had abused the process when it applied for a
letter of request, to Mauritian authorities, to get documents it
needed for trial. Kemp said the state used the section that gave
it the right to request information for investigations, and not
for evidence to be presented at trial. -
allAfrica website
Pre-trial pleas 'give justice a bad name' - 12 March
The state has called on the Constitutional Court to put a stop
to pre-trial litigation that has resulted in African National
Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma and French arms company
Thint challenging the validity of search and seizure warrants
before their criminal trial has even started. "It is cases of
this kind, which if left unchallenged, will give administration
of justice a bad name," the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's)
advocate Wim Trengove SC said yesterday. -
allAfrica website
Zuma could have burnt documents : Kemp - 12 March
Jacob Zuma had two months to "burn" documents seized in raids if
he had wanted to hide them from the court, the Constitutional
Court heard on Wednesday. "The searches and seizures took place
on 18 August. We had two months to burn things," said Zuma's
advocate, Kemp J Kemp, in his replying argument. -
IOL website
Zuma counsel 'unconvincing' - 12 March
Judge Yacoob appeared unimpressed by arguments advanced by
Zuma's counsel, Kemp J Kemp, and Thint advocate Peter Hodes that
the warrants should have been far more specific about what they
sought. "It is a broad conspiracy, if it is one, that has used
national and international methods," Judge Yacoob said, adding
this was why the State needed to ensure it had a "catch-all
phrase" in the warrants that would allow it to seize whatever
material it thought to be relevant. -
Cape Argus website
State sticks to its guns on Zuma - 12 March
If the National Prosecuting Authority had given French arms
company Thint notice of plans to raid its offices, vital
evidence might have disappeared, the Constitutional Court heard
yesterday.
The search warrants were used to seize more than 90
000 documents, which are to form the basis of the state's
case against Thint and ANC president Jacob Zuma, who goes on
trial on charges of corruption, fraud and racketeering in
August. - The Times
website
Search warrants 'no rubber stamp'
- 11 March
Warrants used by the Scorpions to search the premises of French
arms company Thint were flawed because they failed to state for
which case they were needed, the Constitutional Court heard
today.
Peter Hodes, an advocate representing Thint, said
: "The warrants never indicated that the fraud and tax
offences (mentioned in the warrants) were offences committed by
Zuma.
"There has to be limits of what is covered by the
warrants. A case needed to be made out in the affidavit to
(Judge Bernard) Ngoepe".
The state had had the benefit of a "general ransack
persuant to a defective search warrant". -
The Times website
Zuma looks for a legal lifeline - 11 March
ANC president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thint will
apply for a lifeline from the Constitutional Court today.
Zuma's lawyer Michael
Hulley, and Thint, will make a last-gasp attempt for evidence
gathered in the Scorpions' 2005 raid
to be kept out of court.
Zuma's criminal trial, on
charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering, is set for August
4 in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. -
The Times website
Zuma
asks Concourt to rule against Scorpions - 11 March
ANC president Jacob Zuma will take his seat in the
Constitutional Court today in a last-ditch bid to prevent key
documents being used against him.
His legal team will argue that his constitutional
rights were violated when the Scorpions raided his home, and
that of his attorney, in 2005.
Both Zuma and his attorney, Michael Hulley, are
claiming that their constitutional rights to privacy, dignity,
property and a fair trial were violated by the raids. -
Dispatch Online website
Pay up or I'll sue : Zuma - 10 March
Jacob Zuma has threatened the Presidency with legal action for
the state's "nonsensical" reluctance to continue paying for his
corruption trial defence. But the state attorney's office is
adamant that the Presidency will not undertake to pay Zuma's
future legal costs, until he provides a detailed account of how
he spent the R9-million in legal funding he previously received
from the state. - IOL
website
Zuma lawyer quiet on legal bills - 10 March
Jacob Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley on Monday declined to
comment on a report that he has threatened legal action against
the state attorney for failing to pay his client's mounting
legal bills. The Star newspaper reported earlier on Monday that
Aletta Mosidi, the head of the state attorney's office in
Pretoria, had confirmed that she received a letter from Hulley
to this effect. - IOL
website
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Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
-
http://www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za/index.html
; wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/sca/index.php ;
http://www.uovs.ac.za/apps/law/appeal/
10 March
2008
[2008] SCA 6 (RSA)
Wightman v Headfour (Pty) Ltd [2008] SCA 6 (RSA)
Practice - application - dispute of fact - real, genuine or
bona fide - what constitutes. Possession - spoliation - builder
making duplicate keys available to owner for limited purpose -
whether possession ipso facto lost - owner using keys to
place other contractors in occupation - possession taken against
consent of builder and illicitly
7 March
2008
11/07 [2008] ZASCA 4
Zietsman v Electronic Media Network
7 March 2008
257/2007 [2008] ZASCA 5
Van Bosch v Charles
Injury ruling could knock accident fund - 10 March
A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal last week could
have serious implications for the Road Accident Fund (RAF) as it
has opened the way for claimants to include injuries that become
evident years later. -
Business Day website
See
6 March
2008
[2008] SCA 3 (RSA)
Nonkwali v Road Accident Fund [2008] SCA 3 (2008)
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Land
Claims Court of South Africa
-
www.law.wits.ac.za/lcc/
Battle over 2010 stadium land - 10 March
A legal battle for the site of the Nelspruit 2010 World Cup
stadium will unfold in the Land Claims Court after a family lodged
an application saying the land is rightfully theirs. The Nkosi
family will ask the court to review a 2003 decision by then
minister of agriculture and land affairs Thoko Didiza to award
6 000ha of land, which includes the site of the Mbombela Stadium,
to the Mdluli clan. "We strongly believe that our client has a
strong claim," said Bulelwa Khemese, of Werksmans Attorneys,
representing the Nkosi family. The Mail & Guardian reported
on February 22 that finances, tenders and contracts relating to
the construction of the stadium have been the subject of an
investigation by attorneys Nkosi Ngobe because of alleged
irregularities. - Mail & Guardian
website
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Cape
Provincial Division
-
http://law.sun.ac.za/cgi-bin/list.php ;
http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/
10 March
2008
13189/2007
Homes & Others v Various Occupants & Others
This is an application for the eviction of various occupants,
Respondents, from the informal settlement commonly known as Joe
Slovo. The Applicants allege that the Respondents are occupying
the property in question unlawfully inasmuch as no consent was
given to them for such occupation. Within this main application,
various other applications were brought. Firstly, as part of the
main application, an application was brought for an order in terms
of which the Applicants could be allowed to dispense with the
forms and service provided by the Uniform Rules of the High Court,
and enabling this matter to be treated as one of urgency in terms
of Rule 6(12), and in accordance with the provisions of section 5
of the Prevention of
Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of
1998. Secondly, the essence of the main application, an
application for the eviction of the various occupiers
(Respondents) from the area known as Joe Slovo informal
settlement, and in the event of their failure and/or refusal to
vacate the said area, an order to authorize and direct the Sheriff
of this Court to enter the premises occupied by the Respondents
and to remove all the movable items in the premises to an
identified place in the temporary relocation area in Delft and to
eject such Respondents in accordance with the schedule which was
handed in as annexure "XS31"
to the principal founding affidavit. Furthermore, an order in
terms of which the various occupiers would be interdicted from
returning to the Joe Slovo area for purposes of erecting a new
informal settlement or from taking up residence thereat in a
manner that undermines the implementation of the national housing
policy and the achievement of the N2 Gateway Housing Project. In
response thereto, the Respondents brought an Interlocutory
application for review of the various Land availability agreements
and the decision taken to eject the occupants from the property.
To counter this interlocutory application, applicants brought a
Rule 30 Application to set aside same as being unprocedural and
irregular
Keyphrase :
Delft Eviction
Case
Anger at Cape eviction order - 10 March
The Cape High Court has given the go-ahead for the eviction of
several thousand residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement to
make way for a housing development. The order, handed down by
Judge President John Hlophe on Monday, followed an application by
state-owned developer Thubelisha Homes, Housing Minister Lindiwe
Sisulu and Western Cape minister of housing Richard Dyantyi.
Hundreds of Joe Slovo residents, who had gathered in the street
outside the court, chanted angry slogans after the judgment was
handed down. - Mail & Guardian
website
Slovo site evictions to start on Monday - 10 March
The relocation of more than 4 000 informal dwellers from Joe
Slovo in Langa will begin as early as next Monday. This is if
the dwellers do not appeal today's Cape High court ruling that
orders them to make way for Phase Two of the N2 Gateway Project
- SABC News website
Why small
local guy should win this video battle - 10 March
Some of the most creative and productive companies in the world
own hardly any physical assets, so I would be the last to rubbish
the value of intellectual capital. And I have no problem with
legal protection being given to the owners of nontangible assets
to prevent wholesale copying of other people's original ideas.
There is a limit to the protection that should be afforded
to knowledge and ideas, though, and that is the point where ideas
have been around so long that they can be considered common
property, or they are improved upon by others, or enough time has
elapsed for the originator to have covered his costs and turned a
reasonable profit. A civil case being heard in the Cape High Court
epitomises the US approach. Mr Video, the local rental franchise
operation, is being sued by US-based film producers Universal City
Studios for alleged copyright infringement. In a nutshell, the
complaint is that Mr Video has been buying DVDs in the US at a
fraction of their cost in SA, and distributing them to franchisees
as rental stock. - allAfrica
website
Terry vs Trevor - 13 March
Trevor Manuel has been parrying jabs from Terry Crawford-Browne
for more than six years, and dishing out a few of his own, but now
he wants the Cape High Court to play referee. "If you want to box,
box above the belt, and all we say is, we want Queensbury rules,"
Manuel's advocate, Brian Pincus, told Judge André le Grange,
asking for an urgent interdict to stop Crawford-Browne from
calling his client a criminal. -
Mail & Guardian website
Rath / TACC Case
'Health chiefs have failed our people' - 13 March
The health department has shown a decided lack of enthusiasm for
investigating the activities of vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath,
the Cape High Court was told on Wednesday. "The government has
failed completely in its constitutional and statutory duties to
protect the health of the public," said Geoff Budlender, advocate
for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). -
IOL website
TAC on
the case against Rath - 13 March
On 12 to 14 March 2008, the court action initiated by TAC and the
South African Medical Association (SAMA) against Matthias Rath and
the Government of South Africa will be heard in the Cape High
Court. This court case is critical for the rule of law as it
relates to the Medicines
Act. - Politics Web
website
'People die taking Rath's products' - 12 March
People with Aids were dying because they took Matthias Rath's
vitamin products, the Cape High Court was told on Wednesday. The
court is hearing a bid by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) to
force the department of health to stop Rath from distributing what
the TAC says are unregistered medicines, and from claiming his
vitamins reverse the course of Aids. Advocate Geoff Budlender, for
the TAC, told Judge Dumisani Zondi that the issue was not whether
Rath was selling the vitamins - he claims he is distributing them
free - but about preventing quackery. -
IOL website
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Durban and Coast Local
Division
SA govt taken to court over teacher's salaries - 14 March
The Durban High Court is to hear an application next week by SA
Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal against the
decision of the Education Department to dock salaries of teachers
who went on strike last year. Sadtu wants the court to order the
department to refund monies deducted from teachers' salaries.
Provincial Sadtu Secretary Sipho Nkosi says the department has
reneged on its agreement not to deduct teachers' salaries until
they have concluded negotiations on issues related to the strike.
- SABC News website
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Eastern
Cape Division
-
http://wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/echc/index.php
EL
firms accused of conspiracy - 10 March
Two East London companies have been accused of conspiring against
a KwaZulu-Natal businessman to stop him setting up operations in
the province. Following an urgent application by Pietermaritzburg
businessman Colin van Heerden, Grahamstown High Court judge Elna
Revelas on Thursday ordered the sheriff to search the premises of
businessmen Bruce Bishop and Tyron Power and attach all
correspondence between them. Revelas issued the search warrants
after reading startling documents, including one by former police
detective Sicelo Ntengento, which read like a Hollywood script.
Ntengento, now employed by Qush Security, told how
Power infiltrated Van Heerden’s company, Truda Snacks KZN, bribed
his employees and procured confidential business information to
stop him from operating in the Eastern Cape. -
Dispatch Online website
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Natal
Provincial Division
-
http://www.saflii.org.za/
10 March
2008
2267/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 16
Vulindlela Security force CC v MEC of the Department of Public
Works, Province of Kwazulu- Natal
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Northern Cape
Division
-
http://www.saflii.org.za/
7 March 2008
CA&R
118/07 [2008] ZANCHC 13
S v Blom
7 March 2008
CA&R
117/07 [2008] ZANCHC 12
S v Dlamini
29 February 2008
479/06
[2008] ZANCHC 10
Bens v Sam and Another
29 February 2008
K/S
50/99 [2008] ZANCHC 7
S v Kesielwe
29 February 2008
213/2008
[2008] ZANCHC 6
Actaris South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Sol Platjie Municipality and
Another
15 February 2008
754/04
[2008] ZANCHC 9
Langeberg Stene BK v Pick-A-Brick and Others
15 February 2008
CA&R
92/07 [2008] ZANCHC 5
S v Bartlette
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Transvaal
Provincial Division
-
http://www.saflii.org/
; (Court rolls at
http://www.courtroom.co.za/roll.php)
Justice dept granted leave to appeal - 13 March
The Pretoria High Court has granted the Justice Department leave
to appeal its decision against Minister Brigitte Mabandla on
applications for presidential pardons. "On Tuesday the court
granted the department leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of
Appeal in the Mqabukeni Chonco and 383 others' matter. We are busy
preparing to appeal," said justice ministry spokesperson Zolile
Nqayi. - SABC News website
SARS
looks abroad for King's fortune - 12 March
With Dave King now estimated to owe the taxman more than R4bn with
interest, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has launched a
full-scale bid to get its hands on all his overseas assets which
it believes make up two-thirds of his wealth. Following the sale
of King's private jet, a Falcon 900B, for R100m last month after a
six-year battle and two Supreme Court of Appeal judgments in its
favour, SARS can turn its attention to King's overseas assets,
thought to be close to R1bn. SARS is awaiting a judgment in the
next two weeks in the Royal Courts of Justice in London which will
determine if King must disclose world-wide assets.
- allAfrica website
SA lawyer to care for Sudan boy burnt in war - 12 March
Lawyers for Human Rights was on Tuesday appointed as curator to
look after the interests of a 12-year-old orphaned Sudanese boy
who was severely burned by soldiers three years ago. He is in
South Africa to receive medical treatment. The Pretoria high court
on Tuesday appointed Jacob van Garderen, a LHR advocate, to
investigate all issues pertaining to the child who may not be
identified as he is a minor. This includes with whom he should
stay while in South Africa, his medical treatment and the
education he is to receive while in the country. The application
for the appointment of a curator was brought by the Centre for
Child Law at the University of Pretoria, which told the court that
there was apparently conflict between the child's granny, who came
with him to South Africa, and the organisation Children of Fire,
which takes care of burnt victims such as this boy. -
IOL website
Child
support grant saga and who calls the shots - 7 March
A very interesting subplot to the budget has been unfolding over
the past few weeks. It involves the negotiations around the
extension of the child support grant to children up to 18 years of
age between the African National Congress (ANC), Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel and Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya. This
may not seem the subject of high drama, but for those in the
social security sector it has been a nail-biting example of how
politics have shifted since the ANC's national conference in
Polokwane in December last year. -
allAfrica website
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Magistrates Courts
Lower Tugela
KZN
employer convicted of child labour - 11 March
A KwaZulu-Natal employer has been fined R8 000 or will have to spend
18 months in prison after being convicted for practicing child
labour by the Lower Tugela Magistrates Court. Scrap metal
businessman Jisingh Singh was arrested last year by inspectors from
the Department of Labour for employing a 13 year-old boy on a
full-time basis. - allAfrica
website
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Competition
Commission, Tribunal and
Appeal Court
-
http://www.compcom.co.za/
;
http://www.comptrib.co.za/
South Africa antitrust regulator rejects Netcare fine - 10
March
South Africa's Competition Tribunal rejected a fine imposed on
Netcare Ltd, the first time the nation's highest antitrust
authority has overruled a settlement agreement. The Pretoria-based
tribunal, which rules on antitrust matters like a court, declared
the 6 million rand ($760 000) penalty
too low in an e-mailed statement today. The fine was set by the
Competition Commission, which makes recommendations to the
tribunal after studying cases. -
Bloomberg website
See also :
Cartel Investigations below
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Government
and Legislation
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Parliamentary Monitoring Group
-
http://www.pmg.org.za/
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Please note
that the PMG website is undergoing extensive amendments at
present. You may be required to be a subscriber to access certain
Committee reports |
Committee Minutes
Agriculture and
Land Affairs Committee
12 March
2008
Department of Agriculture Budget and Strategic Plan 2008/09
4 March 2008
Farm Evictions : Briefings from Deputy
Minister, Nkuzi Development, Transvaal Agricultural Union of
South Africa, Agri SA & National African Farmers Union of South
Africa
Arts and Culture
Committee
4 March 2008
Arts & Culture Portfolio Committee Strategic Plan and Programme
for 2008
Budget Committee
7 March 2008
Second and Third Quarter Expenditure Reports : adoption and
consideration
Communications
Committee
11 March
2008
Communications Department Strategic Plans & Budget 2008/09
7 March 2008
Digital Television and Broadband : Sentech briefing
4 March 2008
Minister of Communications briefing on Targets and Goals for
2007, State of Nation Address
Correctional
Services Committee
7 March 2008
Department of Correctional Services Budget 2008/09 : preparation
4 March 2008
Electronic Monitoring And Inmate Tracking Systems : DCS briefing
Defence Committee
5 March 208
Castle Management change : Discusssion
; SA Army Seminar 21 : Report Back
4 March 2008
Castle Management Repeal
Bill & Draft Defence Amendment Bill
: Defence Department briefings & German MP’s briefing on
German Defence
Economic Affairs
Committee
5 March 2008
Department of Foreign Affairs' 2006/7 Annual Report briefing
Education
Committee
4 March 2008
Department of Education Budget & Strategic Plan 2008/09
27 February 2008
2001 Unesco Convention on Protection of Underwater Cultural
Heritage & 2003 Unesco Convention Safeguarding of Intangible
Cultura
Environmental
Affairs and Tourism
11 March
2008
National Environmental
Management : Waste Bill : finalisation
4 March 2008
Waste Bill
: discussion on incineration ;
National Environmental
Management : Integrated Coastal
Management Bill : public
hearings
3 March 2008
National Environmental
Management : Waste Bill [B 39-2007] :
Department response to submissions
Finance Committee
7 March 2008
Statistics South Africa on the Income and Expenditure Survey
5 March 2008
Division of Revenue Bill
: Departments of Provincial and Local Government,
Minerals and Energy and Water Affairs and Forestry
5 March 2008
Draft Taxation Laws
Amendment Bill &
Second Amendment Bill : public hearings
4 March 2008
Division of Revenue Bill
hearings : Transport, Education and Health Departments’ Capital
Spending
4 March 2008
Taxation Laws Amendment
Draft Bill & Minerals and Petroleum Resource Royalty Draft Bill
: Briefing
29 February 2008
Budget 2008: submissions by NEDLAC Community Constituency
- Black Sash & Financial Sector Campaign Coalition, FEDUSA &
BUSA
27 February 2008
Tax and Exchange Control Proposals :
briefing by Treasury, submissions by Tax Experts
27 February 2008
Expenditure Trends of all Provincial Departments : 3rd Quarter;
Budget Process Workshop
27 February 2008
Tax and Exchange Control Proposals : briefing by Treasury,
submissions by Tax Experts
Foreign Affairs
Committee
5 March 2008
Department of Foreign Affairs' 2006/7 Annual Report briefing
5 March 2008
G8's Commitment Towards Africa
: Foreign Affairs Department briefing
27 February 2008
Trade Negotiations : briefings : Dep
Minister, Trade & Industry & Minister of Foreign Affairs
Health Committee
11 March
2008
Department of Health : Budget and
Strategic Plan 2008/09 & Briefing on
Tobacco Products Control
Amendment Bill
4 March 2008
HIV / AIDS Dual Therapy : Department of Health briefing
Home Affairs
Committee
11 March
2008
Committee Programme : Adoption ;
Refugees Amendment Bill
: Briefing by the Deputy Minister ; Director General's
Allegations : Discussion
4 March 2008
Meeting with the Home Affairs Director General
Housing Committee
5 March 2008
National Housing
Development Agency Bill :
public hearings
4 March 2008
Public hearings on the
Housing Development Agency Bill
27 February 2008
Passage of Housing
Development Agency Bill : discussion
Joint Monitoring
Committee on Children, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
Committee
5 March 2008
State of Nation Address : Office on the Status of Disabled
Persons briefing
29
February 2008
State of the Nation Address : briefings by Office on the Rights
of Children
Justice and
Constitutional Development Committee
5 March 2008
Jurisdiction of Regional
Courts Amendment Bill : deliberations
4 March 2008
Jurisdiction of Regional
Courts Amendment Bill : public submissions &
Implementation Policy briefing
Labour Committee
11 March
2008
Nedlac Workplan and Budget 2008/09
4 March 2008
Department of Labour Strategic Plan and Budget 2008/09
Local Government
and Administration Committee
4 March 2008
Kwazulu Natal Local Municipality Interventions Progress Reports
: Amajuba & Umzinyathi Districts, Newcastle Local Municipalities
4 March 2008
Local Government Laws
Amendment Bill [B28b-2007] : Finalisation
Matters Relating
to Ex-Mineworkers Committee
10 March
2008
Fidentia : Curators' briefing
29 February
2008
TEBA and Eastern Cape Department of Health
: briefing
Mineral and Energy
Affairs Committee
11 March
2008
Draft Minerals and
Petroleum Resources Royalty Bill : public hearings
5 March 2008
National Electricity Shortage Response Plan
Private Members'
Legislative Proposals Committee
7 March 2008
Transnet Pension Fund
Amendment Bill : Further
Discussion & Buthelezi
Constition 18th Amendment Bill to Amend the Current Executive
System
Buthelezi calls for re-introduction of PM - 14 March
IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has called for the
re-introduction of a Prime Minister as head of government in
South Africa. Introducing his Draft Bill to Parliament's
Committee for Private Members' Legislative Proposals, he said
the President should be above party politics. -
SABC NEWS
website
Provincial and
Local Government Committee
11 March
2008
South African Local Government Association, National House of
Traditional Leaders & Municipal Demarcation Board : Budget
Review
Public Accounts
Committee
5 March 2008
Eskom, Department of Sports & Recreation Audit Qualifications &
Boxing SA
Public Enterprises
Committee
28
February 2008
Strategy Plan and Budget 2008-2011: Department of Public
Enterprises
27 February 2008
Department of Public Enterprises Budget briefing
Public Service and
Administration Committee
5 March 2008
Public Service Commission 2008/09 Budget
Public Services
Committee
5 March 2008
Briefing on the Social
Housing Bill B29B of 2007
Safety and
Security Committee
7 March 2008
Second-Hand Goods Bill
: deliberations
5 March 2008
Second-Hand Goods Bill
: public hearings
4 March 2008
Second-Hand Goods Bill
[B2-2008] : Public hearings
27 February 2008
Second-Hand Goods Bill
B2-2008 : briefing
Science and
Technology Committee
11 March 2008
Human Sciences Research Council Strategic Plan and Budget
2008/09
4 March 2008
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Strategic Plan
for 2008/09
Social Development Committee
5 March 2008
Committee Programme : adoption
Sport and Recreation Committee
4 March 2008
Cancellation of Department of Sport and Recreation 2008/09
Budget and Strategy briefing
Trade and Industry Committee
11 March
2008
SA Customs Union : Functions And
Challenges : Tralac briefing
7 March 2008
SAMAF- Budget And Strategy Meeting 08/09, SEDA – Business Plan
And Budget 08/09
5 March 2008
Industrial Development Corporation (ICD), National Empowerment
Fund (NEF), and Khula Budget and Strategic Plans 2008/09
29 February 2008
Cartel Investigations : Competition Commission briefing
Transport
Committee
11 March
2008
Budget Hearings on the Rail Safety Regulator
4 March 2008
Cross-Border Road Transport Amendment Bill [B51- 2007]
27 February 2008
Cross Border Road
Transport Amendment Bill :
Transport Department briefing
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Useful
Links and Items of Interest
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Legal Profession
Ireland
Government waters down watchdog plan to curb rogue lawyers - 12
March
The Government rowed back yesterday from proposals for full
independent policing of the legal profession, despite a series of
scandals involving solicitors. Instead of establishing a legal
services commission with the power to regulate barristers and
solicitors, the cabinet has approved a bill to set up a legal
services ombudsman. This body will have the power to oversee
complaints made by members of the public about inadequate services,
excessive fees and misconduct. But the disciplinary process itself
will still be controlled by the Law Society and the Bar Council of
Ireland. - Independent
[Ireland] website
Efforts to secure collapsed site - 12 March
Efforts are continuing to secure a building site in Belfast in which
six people were injured after concrete framework collapsed. The men
were injured when the platform they were working on gave way as
concrete was being poured. It's not yet known when work on the new
Law Society building will begin again. Some workers fell about 30
feet and had to be pulled free from steel girders, scaffolding and
rubble. - BBC News website
Tests
after scaffold collapse in Belfast - 11 March
Health and safety officials in Northern Ireland are continuing to
examine a building site in Belfast city after yesterday's scaffold
collapse. Work on the construction of the new headquarters for the
Law Society of Northern
Ireland has been suspended. -
RTE News website
United Kingdom
Law Society backs in-house lawyers in landmark privilege case
- 10 March
The Law Society of England and Wales has formally applied for
permission to intervene in a closely-watched European case that
has threatened the ability of in-house lawyers to claim
professional privilege. The body has written to the European Court
of Justice requesting permission to speak at a forthcoming appeal
during which Akzo Nobel, a Dutch chemicals group, will challenge a
European ruling that drew a significant distinction between the
status of in-house and external lawyers. -
Times Online
website
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South Africa
Accounting
Company directors urged to study revised corporate law - 13
March
The revised Corporate Laws
Amendment Act (CLAA) will revolutionise the role of the audit
committee and that of the auditor, and also introduces other pivotal
amendments to the 35-year old
Companies Act. -
itinews website
Black Economic
Empowerment and Transformation
Wine Council flexes muscles on social transformation in the wine
industry - 12 March
Social transformation in the South African wine industry received
extra muscle last week when the SA Wine Industry Council accepted
a set of directives that flowed from last year's Making Wine Work
for All conference. During its recent board-meeting, the SA Wine
Council, organisers of this conference, announced responsibilities
and targets for social transformation in the wine industry. "The
South African wine industry will take active responsibility for
and support economic and social transformation in the wine
industry through the application of the Wine Transformation
Charter throughout the value chain and through the various
directives that were agreed upon by representative industry
players," said Prof Kader Asmal, chairperson of the SA Wine
Council. - South African Wine
website
Black
bank fights off 'hostile takeover'
- 11 March
The future of South Africa's only
remaining black-owned bank hangs in the balance after it failed to
comply with banking regulatory requirements. But Meeg Bank is
fighting what its officials describe as a "hostile
takeover" from its minority partner,
banking giant Absa. If the deal, which is more kindly
referred to as an amalgamation, goes through the move would see
Meeg lose its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) credentials for the
first time in 31 years. -
Dispatch Online website
Sasol to unveil final terms of R25bn BEE deal this month - 10
March
South African petrochemicals giant Sasol said at its interim
results presentation on Monday that it had reached its final terms
of its "huge"
black economic-empowerment (BEE) transaction, with an announcement
expected later this month. The initial BEE deal stood at
R17,9-billion, but grew to a staggering R25-billion since initial
announcement was made last year. The new amount included the
selling of 10% Sasol ownership to black investors. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
Agriculture industry bridles at BEE attack - 10 March
Sapa reported that agriculture and land affairs minister Lulu
Xingwana said that black economic empowerment (BEE) compliance had
to be taken into account before firms were allowed to take
advantage of the government's international export agreements. She
announced that trade and industry minister Mandisi Mpahlwa had
approved and signed an application for the gazetting of the
agricultural black economic empowerment (AgriBEE) charter. The
department of agriculture was also finalising the formation of the
AgriBEE council. - Business
Report website
Minister : Black empowerment must factor in export deals - 7
March
Company black-empowerment levels must be considered before firms
benefit from international export agreements, Agriculture and Land
Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana said on Friday. "The government has
opened the doors for not one race, or one sex .
. . but for all the people of
South Africa," she told agriculture sector partners in Boksburg. -
Mail & Guardian website
Business
Business confidence falls to seven-year low - 12 March
Business confidence levels in South Africa hit a seven-year low in
the first three months of the year, after its biggest nosedive
between consecutive quarters in over two decades, Stellenbosch
University’s Bureau for Economic Research (BER) said on Wednesday.
The news came in the wake of upward-marching interest rates,
towering inflation, and, of course, the electricity crisis that hit
the country in January and February. -Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Criminal Justice System
Judges flout guidelines and let rapists off lightly - 9 March
Judges are under fire for dishing out light sentences to rapists
based on shocking court rulings - that include an attacker having
intended "no harm"
to five victims other than to satisfy his lust.
Women’s groups are demanding judges show more compassion for rape
victims and want attackers handed much harsher sentences.
This follows research by the University of Cape Town's
Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit, which has named judges who
fail to impose minimum mandatory sentences on rapists. -
The Times website
Bids in for five new private–public prisions - 7 March
The first private-sector bids are in to build and manage what will
be South Africa's five newest prisons, reports the Department of
Correctional Services (DCS). The DCS is developing five
public-private partnership (PPP) prisons - which means these
facilities will be built and managed by the private sector, on
behalf of government. These correctional centres will be built in
Nigel (Gauteng), Port Shepstone (KwaZulu-Natal), East London
(Eastern Cape), Klerksdorp (North West), and Allandale (Western
Cape). "These are now known as the five PPP projects," states the
DCS. - Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
Debt Collection
Law body tackles debt collection system - 10 March
The SA Law Reform Commission (SALRC) has made recommendations
regarding the abolishment of administration orders. The
recommendations, to be considered by parliament, were handed to
Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla recently. They are based on
research conducted by the SALRC into anomalies in the debt
collection and recovery industry. Senior SALRC researcher Tienie
Cronje said administration orders were carried out under the
Magistrates' Courts Act,
but the industry nevertheless had been left largely unregulated. -
IOL website
South Africans are living on the credit edge - 10 March
More South Africans are applying for credit everyday. Studies have
revealed how South Africans are living on credit. Of the roughly
17-million credit active South Africans, nearly 6,5-million
blacklisted are on record as not creditworthy. The SA Law Reform
Commission has recommended a time limit of five years for debtors to
make repayments on their debt, thereafter the debt would lapse. -
IOL website
Attorney's
crusade to get people out of jaws of debt - 7 March
If Stephen Logan wore a cloak, you could call him the caped credit
crusader. This mild-mannered debt counsellor and attorney who works
out of an office in Dunkeld is passionate about consumer rights.
When it comes to consumer credit, he wrote the book, literally. As
he sits down to lunch he starts on the topic straight away. "There's
such desperation. Debt counselling offers a route to get to an
affordable payment amount," he says. Logan was the second debt
counsellor recognised under the
National Credit Act
that took effect in June last year. -
allAfrica website
Eastern Cape
Outstanding EIAs to be finalised soon : MEC - 12 March
The
department of economic development and environmental affairs (Dedea)
aimed to finalise all outstanding environmental impact assessment by
September this year, MEC Mbulelo Sogoni said yesterday. The MEC said
the recent Appeals Court ruling with regard to illegal structures on
the Wild Coast had "greatly strengthened our resolve to put a stop
to land grabs and the activities of unscrupulous developers on the
Wild Coast. We are now taking the fight to environmental crime
syndicates that have for some time been robbing museums, as well as
private and state game reserves of highly valued rhino horns".
-
Herald Online website
Biodiversity expert questions biofuels plan - 12 March
The Port St Johns area is set to be a key proving ground for Bhisho's
newly unveiled macro-conservation plan, with an intensive
development project balanced against exceptional eco- value, in an
area of soaring poverty. -
Herald Online website
Environment
Environ
challenges must be managed better - 11 March
Poor countries must manage their environment better if they are to
survive, says President Thabo Mbeki. In his message on Commonwealth
Day, held on Monday, the President said : "Better environmental
management is not just a matter of preserving our natural heritage.
It is a matter of survival". -
allAfrica website
Durban beaches in serious trouble - 14 March
Durban has lost the majority of its "blue flag" swimming beaches,
the Mercury newspaper reported today. The city has already
lost four out of six flags, and one of the remaining two flags is
likely to be pulled soon because of unacceptable faecal pollution
readings. The South African co-ordinator of the international Blue
Flag beach scheme, Allison Kelly, said there was no clear
explanation for the sudden deterioration in beach water quality. "It
appears that there could be many factors causing the problem, from
polluted rivers, illegal connections between sewage and storm-water
systems, or possibly huge sewage spills. "But whatever the cause, we
are really concerned about the water quality on the eThekwini
beaches". - SABC News website
SA enviro lawyer honoured amongst world's
Planet Savers - 10 March
South African environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan has been honoured
for his contributions to the environment in a book entitled
Planet Savers : 301 Extraordinary
Environmentalists. Desmond’s book applauds Cullinan for his
pioneering work in the development of environmental law and policy.
As a director at South Africa's first
environmental law firm, Winstanley & Cullinan, Cullinan has acted on
behalf of a wide range of public sector, private sector and
non-governmental organisations. Some of his work includes the
drafting of the Integrated
Coastal Management Bill, waste legislation for KwaZulu-Natal
and laws governing sustainable land use in the Western Cape.
Cullinan is also
the founder of EnAct International, a London-based environmental law
and policy consultancy. In 2003 Cullinan wrote and published a book
entitled Wild Law : A Manifesto for
Earth Justice. -
SA :
The Good News website
Electricity
sector has significant emission reduction potential, prof says -
10 March
Climate change was no longer debatable at Eskom, and was receiving a
significant amount of attention from the electricity utility's
Research and Innovation department. In terms of greenhouse-gas (GHG)
emission mitigation, the ideal was said to be that emissions peak in
2015 and decline thereafter, but University of Cape Town Energy
Research Centre associate professor Harald Winkler indicated that
South Africa was "not going anywhere near
that at the moment". He added, however,
that there was significant emission reduction potential in the
electricity sector, as well as the building sector. South Africa was
a signatory to the United Nations Convention and the
Kyoto Protocol, but,
as a developing country, did not have quantified mitigation
commitments under the protocol. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
Storm knocks out refineries - 13 March
Two of South Africa's biggest oil refineries have been completely or
partly knocked out by the heavy rainstorms which battered Durban on
Tuesday night. Municipal staff also had to break open the mouth of
the Isipingo River on Wednesday to prevent a tide of raw sewage from
wiping out fish life in the Isipingo estuary after several large
sewage lines were torn open. Some sources estimated that up to
30-million litres of untreated sewage had flowed into the river in a
day, and it could take several days to plug the flow. A preliminary
analysis of rainfall readings also suggests that the storm was
comparable to a one-in-50-year or possibly a one-in-100-year storm
event, according to senior eThekwini official Andrew Mather. -
IOL website
Human Rights
12 March 2008
CGE in Equality Court case on Umlazi trousers incident, Durban
SA Government
Information website
11 March 2008
CGE and partners meet Taxi Association on the mini-skirt matter
Johannesburg
SA Government Information
website
Definite 'no' to death row : Asmal - 8 March
Human rights lawyer and outgoing ANC MP Kader Asmal has urged the
South African government to intervene on behalf of a South African
who faces the gallows in Botswana. This follows the Botswana High
Court's handing down of two death sentences to Michael Molefe on
Friday. - IOL website
Death
penalty:- let country vote - 7 March
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma says if enough
people want the death penalty returned, SA should hold a referendum
on the matter. Zuma made the comment during a wide-ranging interview
with the Financial Times. While Zuma told the newspaper he supported
the ANC's position against the death penalty, he said he could not
stand in the way of debate on the issue. -
allAfrica website
Insurance
Ombudsman for long-term insurance : a practical perspective - 14
March
The differences between the role of a Judge and that of an
Ombudsman. I was appointed as Ombudsman with effect from 1 June
2007, and having now served as such for 9 months and 1 week I have
come out of confinement, so to speak, and am in a position to share
with you my impressions of the new experience. Article by Brian
Galgut. - itinews website
Labour Issues
Workers ask
Mbeki for extra public holiday - 12 March
Workers have asked President Thabo Mbeki for an additional public
holiday this year. This comes in view of two public holidays - Good
Friday and Human Rights Day - falling on the same day next week.
Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) general secretary Dennis George
said yesterday that although provision was made in the
Public Holidays Act of 1994
for public holidays that fall on a Sunday, the legislation was
silent on public holidays falling on the same day. Both public
holidays fall on March 21. -
allAfrica website
Good Friday may be great Friday - 11 March
Agreement on remuneration for the two public holidays - Human Rights
Day and Good Friday - which both fall on March 21 should be reached
before the date, a legal expert warned on Tuesday. With both falling
on the same day an employee is entitled to regard it as two separate
public holidays and in the absence of any agreement entitled to be
paid the remuneration for both, Brian Patterson, director and joint
head of Deneys Reitz Attorney's labour division, said on Tuesday. He
said the exact nature of the remuneration could be argued either
way. - Fin24 website
Land Affairs and
Property
Development
SAPOA advocates positive incentives to encourage consumers to comply
with electricity regulations - 10 March
Months of rolling blackouts have made the need for demand-side
management of electricity consumption more urgent than ever and
SAPOA is pleased to see that the Department of Minerals & Energy is
working on draft electricity regulations to address the situation.
"We fully support the intention of the
proposed regulations," says SAPOA CEO Neil
Gopal. "However, we believe that the tone
of the regulations is unnecessarily negative. A positive incentive
would be more effective in encouraging good consumer behaviour".
SAPOA identifies several specific sticking points in the draft
regulations. - itinews
website
Flexible offices
comes to Cape Town - 10 March
Habitaz Global Workspaces, local developer of the world's first
pay-per-use office card, has brought its flexible office concept to
Cape Town's prestigious new Convention Tower to provide much needed
office facilities to mobile workers, international visitors and
established companies in the city. Habitaz provides fully serviced
private office suites on flexible lease terms, making landmark
offices available to companies needing less space than what is on
offer in the traditional leasing market. -
Cape Business News website
Unrealistic asking prices holding up the property market - 11
March
Sellers who demand unrealistic prices for their properties are
increasingly finding that, together with more show days, their
properties are sitting on the market for longer periods of time. The
net effect is an overall slow-down in the property market. -
itinews website
Higher rates and Credit Act has cooling effect on KZN market - 7
March
Tightening economic conditions, energy supply problems and political
infighting within the African National Congress has had a distinct
cooling effect on KwaZulu-Natal's
residential property market in the opening two months of this year,
according to RE/MAX of Southern Africa. -
Rodney Hayter website
Property Law
Draft law to make building hijacking illegal - 13 March
Draft legislation tabled in Parliament on Monday seeks to prevent
illegal evictions, but includes safeguards against building
hijackings. According to a memorandum attached to the draft
Prevention of Illegal
Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill,
many buildings, particularly high-rise buildings, have been and
continue to be occupied unlawfully, often at the instance of
non-owners who then collect rent from the illegal occupants. The
bill proposes the definition of "land" be expanded to include
"buildings and structures on land". An "unlawful occupier" is
defined as someone occupying land without the owner's consent, or
without any other lawful right to occupy it. -
IOL website
Minerals and Energy
Assmang
refuse union-appointed investigator - 13 March
Numsa yesterday stated that the Assmang,
the iron ore and manganese producer, had declined a union-appointed
investigator access to the company's electronic data and information
from interviewing workers at its Cato Ridge ferrometal smelter. The
union had appointed Nick Haywood to investigate the cause of the
explosion, but the Assmang management had
restricted his efforts to investigate. -
McGregor BFA website
Union conducted own investigation into Assmang blast - 12 March
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said on
Wednesday that the efforts of the expert it had appointed to
investigate the blast at Assmang's Cato Ridge works had been
hampered. Numsa spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani explained that
University of Cape Town's industrial health resource group expert
Nick Haywood had been at the Cato Ridge plant two day's after the
blast, which occurred on February 26, to begin investigations, but
that he had encountered difficulties with gaining access to
information and permission to interview staff at the workplace. -
Creamer Media's Mining
Weekly website
Assmang says blast cuts ferromanganese output - 11 March
South Africa's Assmang will lose up to 50 000 tonnes of high-carbon
ferromanganese and 7 000 to 8 000 tonnes of refined ferromanganese
until the end of June because of a furnace explosion at its Cato
Ridge plant last month, a company official said on Tuesday. Assmang,
jointly owned by African Rainbow Mineral and Assore Ltd, would start
recommissioning its furnaces at the plant towards the end of March,
Jan Steenkamp, head of ARM's iron ore unit, said. -
Reuters website
Municipal
Management and Procedure
Municipal
Scopas 'need skills to perform' - 13 March
Analysts and opposition parties say municipal public accounts
committees - which were formed in Gauteng last year as part of a
pilot project - can improve accountability and service delivery
provided they are given capacity and enough powers to do their
job. The municipal standing committees on public accounts, also
known as Scopas, were launched by Gauteng local government
department MEC Qedani Mahlangu last year to promote oversight and
accountability in municipalities. Last week the Scopas held a
workshop to discuss challenges and share ideas. -
allAfrica website
SALGA to
addresss service delivery in municipalities
- 9 March
The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) is to
address service delivery in municipalities at its National Members
Assembly (NMA) in Sun City. The two-day NMA, which kicks off on 19
March in the North West, will focus on strategic issues in the
local government sector, more specifically on enhancing municipal
service delivery. The theme of the Assembly is "Deepening
Developmental Local Government in Building a Caring Society". The
NMA is expected to draw a large pool of participants, both local
and international, overall, about 15 00 delegates are expected to
attend the event. - allAfrica
website
Farmers and amakhosi unite against rates - 13 March
Traditional leaders have joined commercial agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal
in criticising the extension of property rates to rural areas.
Last week, Senele Magwaza-Sibisi, mayor of the Zululand
District Council, said implementation of the
Municipal Property
Rates Act would cause
"conflict and animosity"
between town and country. -
Business Day website
eThekwini
Ethekwini
welcomes urban development zone extension - 10 March
The eThekwini Municipality has welcomed the extension of the
inner-city Urban Development Zone (UDZ), which has proved most
successful and beneficial to the city. The urban renewal tax
incentive scheme, originally set to expire in March 2009, has been
extended by government for a further five years to enable the
private sector to play an increasingly significant role in
assisting with the development of South Africa's inner cities. -
allAfrica website
Press Release : 7 March 2008
Investors looking to
capitalise on a national Government Urban Development
Zone (UDZ) tax incentive have been given a break, thanks
to Finance Minister, Mr Trevor Manuel.
The scheme,
originally set to expire in March next year, has been
extended by five years to enable the private sector to play
an increasingly significant role in
assisting with the development of South
Africa's inner cities. The announcement formed part of the
Minister's recent 2008 Budget Speech in Parliament.
Many cities - and
most notably Durban - around the country have
registered a growing number of applications by investors
and developers during the latter part of
the incentive scheme's operating period.
Commenting,
eThekwini Municipality's City Manager, Dr Michael
Sutcliffe, said : "The UDZ tax
incentive was a welcome, if unexpected,
innovation by National Government. It has taken a few years for
the municipalities to understand the
potential impact of the scheme and to
optimise take-up by private investors. Most cities are now seeing
accelerating numbers of applications. There are also
indications that the larger property
owners, financiers and investors are more aware of
the scheme and are beginning to plan large-scale property
developments and refurbishments that
will take advantage of the depreciation
allowance".
"The extension to
the UDZ tax-break scheme expiry date will now allow
developers who have committed to enterprises in Durban, and
cities around the country, to complete
their projects and still qualify for the
tax incentives. The move is being regarded in a most positive
light by stakeholders around South Africa, all of whom
appreciate the additional time allowed.
This will have the effect of ensuring a
marked increase in overall inner city development, which would
have been impossible, but for the
Government's decision regarding the UDZ
incentive scheme," Dr Sutcliffe added.
Investment valued at
more than R1 billion has been committed to
Durban's inner-city UDZ, assisting in the arrest of urban
decay and contributing positively to the
restoration of the city's business and
residential status. The eThekwini Municipality already regards the
investment turn-around in Durban as being indicative of the
overall success of the UDZ incentive
scheme in the city and has welcomed the
extension as a means of maximising investment and development in
previously neglected areas, the result of the displacement
of capital from the inner city to other
urban areas and the suburbs.
Head
of eThekwini Municipality's Strategic Projects Unit (SPU), Ms
Julie-May Ellingson, said : "The
UDZ incentive scheme has proved most
successful and beneficial to Durban. The city has received more
than 350 enquiries from prospective
investors since the inception of the
scheme and forthcoming developments qualifying for the
depreciation allowance will bring the
total value to some R1,2 billion. This figure
is likely to be significantly exceeded now that the scheme
has been extended by Government for a
further five years. I believe this to be
a tremendous boost for our city and one which will greatly assist
in rejuvenating both the business and
residential elements which make-up the
CBD and its immediate surrounds".
The scheme extension
means that projects regarded as being under
threat of the scheme's cut-off, will now qualify, while
others in the pipe-line are set to
proceed, giving further impetus to the city's
regeneration. Two projects - a residential development in
Baker Street and a refurbished building
in Hospital Road, now operating as a lodge
- have been completed and an additional three projects
registered since a February workshop in
Durban called to discuss concerns about
the scheme's time-frame, which led to the five-year extension. The
new projects include a General Motors
Dealership on the corner of Prince Alfred
Street and Old Fort Road, Himalaya House at 273 Yusuf Dadoo
Street, and Albaraka Bank at Kingsmead Office Park.
Durban, in
particular, appears to have emerged as a hub of investment
activity, driven by the city's dedicated approach to CBD
regeneration, its sport and tourism
events-led strategy, moves to improving
inner-city transport systems and the development of related
infrastructure. The success of the incentive is evidenced
by the development of the new Standard
Bank regional offices at Kingsmead
Office Park, the recently launched ABSA building in Gardiner
Street, the JBS building,
housing a Mr Price shop, and the Olwandle Guest
House in Stalwart Simelane Street, amongst others.
For more
information, contact :
Ms Fikile Ndlovu
eThekwini Municipality
Strategic Projects Unit, Loram House, 70 Masabalala Yengwa
Avenue, Durban
Telephone : 031-311
4731
Fax : 031-311
4727
Email :
ndlovufikile@durban.gov.za
Rates hike fury mounts - 13 March
Thousands of objections, including those from almost an entire
Durban neighbourhood, are expected to flood municipal offices as
fury over council's market valuations and rates increases mounted.
Claims that the council and city manager Michael Sutcliffe had
misled the public have flooded the Daily News, with angry
ratepayers claiming their rates will now increase from between 100%
and more than 300%. Entire neighbourhoods are now also preparing to
lodge objections to their market valuations, including whole streets
of residents in the Manor Gardens area above Glenwood. -
Daily News website
Your rates questions answered - 12 March
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions on the revaluation
process. - Daily
News website
ANC's proposal a ploy : opposition - 11 March
An eleventh-hour announcement by the ANC that will lead to massive
rates savings for pensioners and the poorest of the poor is being
eyed with suspicion by opposition parties, who have labelled the
move a clever political ploy. The new rates proposals, to be tabled
and possibly approved at today's executive committee meeting after
intervention by the ANC's eThekwini region hierarchy, will see
pensioners paying no rates on homes valued at R400 000 or less. -
IOL website
Press Release
: 11 March 2008
eThekwini Municipality
Property Valuation Process
The attack on the
credibility and integrity of professional valuers
used in the general valuation process is indicative of the
lengths to which the Democratic Alliance
will stoop to bring eThekwini municipality
into disrepute.
In yesterday's Daily
News the Democratic Alliance's John
Steenhuisen is reported to have claimed
that the valuations were done by a small
team of "possibly under qualified" valuers.
Thankfully, the city is not
controlled by people like Steenhuisen who clearly have no
competence to judge professionals.
The fact is that
eValuations assembled probably the largest team of
qualified valuers ever used in our municipality to value
properties. Attached is the list of
valuers from the project. It is clear that
most of them are highly experienced, all are registered valuers and
were properly designated in terms of Section 35. At least 32
professional valuers were used actively in the project, most
undertaking valuations whilst others were involved in
training, valuation review and quality
analysis.
For the number of
residential valuations in the city (480000), it
would have been impossible both in terms of cost and
timeframe to use valuers to physically
inspect each and every property themselves.
Instead, one of the most commonly used methods of valuation -
Computer Aided Mass Appraisal (CAMA) - was
used, and this is an international best
practice, and currently used in all of the major metropolitan
municipalities in South Africa.
Section 45 of the MPRA
states that physical inspection of the property
is optional, and that CAMA techniques including use of aerial
photography is supported. To augment the team of valuers,
Evaluations employed data collectors, who
were employed mostly from technikons, and
they were all properly trained by valuers. This is allowed by
Section 36 of the Act. Just from a numbers game, with 20
months to complete 480000 properties, it
would have meant 1200 property inspections
per day, just for the data collection. In total we used
150 data collectors, 50% from the construction and
engineering departments at DUT with the
others from local communities. All of the
data collection was quality controlled by a team of 18 people, using
a 10% sample as a proxy for quality
analysis. Therefore, there was adequate
supervision and processes in place to monitor quality.
Access to properties was a major issue, and that is why we
are sitting with some problems where
people are complaining about overestimates
simply because they refused us access to their property and we had
to base our valuation on other available
information.
All available data was
used, including the current valuation roll, the
data collected by the valuers and fieldworkers, the data
reviewed by the valuation reviews and the
many overlays of information we have on
our GIS system. In some cases, where we did not have any
information, we used the CAMA system to
generate that using statistical methods.
The process of CAMA
valuation for mass appraisal is covered by the
following core areas :
1.
Sales are reviewed to ascertain the market conditions in the
various neighbourhoods of the city. In total, 48
000 sales were reviewed, and after
removing 'dubious' and invalid sales, this
was reduced to around 30
000. The sales largely drives the modelling
process and is key to providing the location factor.
2.
Data Collection is undertaken for all properties, and in
eThekwini, an attempt was made to collect the necessary data
for every single property. In some cases,
data collectors visited properties more
than once, or made appointments and also left forms that required
interested owners to submit their information.
3.
The data is then reviewed from a completeness perspective,
and where missing data occurs, a
statistical technique call 'missing value
replacement functions' are used. This was largely used in
cases where properties were not able to be
accessed, and the technique works on a
averaging basis, subject to the location of the property in relation
to other properties close by.
4.
The CAMA model is developed using the sales. In areas where
there is no sales activity, a benchmarking process is used to
generate values that are used as
'dummy' sales.
5.
The CAMA model is then applied to the data and valuations are
generated. This is a highly sophisticated process, and
widely used globally, even in cities like
Calgary, New York City, Chicago, as well
as in Europe.
6.
Once the values are generated, they are then subject to a
review process that looks at values in relation to it's
neighbourhood. Where values are consistently lower or
higher, then adjustments are made and the
model re-calibrated to generate newer
valuers. In other cases, where individual valuers are not in line,
then a valuation review process is undertaken to look at
these properties.
7.
All in all, the process is very standardised and looks for
consistency. Obviously, where there are over half a million
properties, there will be a degree of error, which is then
covered by the objection process.
The city and
eValuations are adequately geared to handle 20
000 plus objections, and to date
only 1500 have been received. Most of these
are residential valuations, and indeed if we find out the
data used in the valuation is incorrect,
we will then fix up and revalue very
easily. This can apply either to individual properties or whole
neighbourhoods and is subject to information supplied through
the objection process. It is also not
required that all objections are processed
before implementation, and if the property valuations are
incorrect, they will be updated and effective from the
implementation date, as outlined in
Section 55. If ratepayers have overpayed, then
their annual rates will be adjusted and they will be
reimbursed accordingly by the
municipality. Alternatively, in the case of
under-recovery, the municipality will raise the additional
rates from the property owner.
The
valuation process for eThekwini is indeed groundbreaking, it is
the largest implementation of a municipality moving from a
cost basis to a market value system, it
brings almost one hundred thousand new
sectional title properties that were not valued separately before,
and is the first time an end to end
valuation of the entire city is being done
in a uniform consistent manner. If anyone thought that this was
a simple process, given financial and time constraints, then
one should consider other cities in the
world, for example, the City of Calgary in
Canada has about 400000 properties, and they used 140
qualified assessors to compile the valuation roll. The use of
innovation and technology by eThekwini to overcome these
constraints, highlights the fact that we
are up there with the rest of the world.
I have no doubt that
all right-thinking people living in Durban will
see the Democratic Alliance's ploy for what it is
: a last gasp scramble to try and
keep a few elitists from not paying their fair
share of rates in our city.
Dr Michael Sutcliffe
City Manager
Contact name
/ Reg Type /
Comments and experience
G Cowden
/ PV / Over 120 years experience,
with municipal valuation, used for
training of valuer and data collectors
T D Labuscagne
/ PV / 33 years experience with
several years of experience in
municipal valuations. Managed the
non-residential valuation process
Y Kader
/ PAV / 5 to 7 years experience in
municipal valuations. Managed the
sales review and data collection training
B Rahmin
/ PAV / 20 years in municipal
valuations
B Nyanga
/ PAV / 10 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations
K Louter
/ PAV / 15 years in municipal
valuations and maintenance
L Manci
/ CV / 3 year in municipal
valuations
G Andrews
/ PAV / Specialised in residential,
has 10 years experience,
previously worked for municipality
C Hearn
/ PAV / 15 years in municipal
valuations and maintenance
G Swart
/ PV / 25 years experience, used
for value review and training
S Dell
/ PV / 20 years experience, used
for value review and training
L Kirane
/ PAV / Specialised in residential,
has 10 years experience,
previously worked for municipality
K Dunkley
/ / 30 years experience with several years of experience in
municipal valuations
P Robinson
/ PAV / 10 year experience, with
market valuation
K Jones
/ PV / 10 and 15 years
experience with several years of
experience in municipal valuations
E Chandony
/ PAV / Work on the project but
found that his work did not
pass QA and we had to change his values
M Gelman
/ PV / 15 years in municipal
valuations and maintenance
A Stephenson
/ PV / 20 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and specialised in agriculture
S Aldridge
/ PAV / 5 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and specialised in agriculture
M Pardey
/ PV / 20 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and specialised in agriculture
J Terblanche
/ PV / 20 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and specialised in agriculture
R Pardey
/ PV / 30 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and specialised in agriculture
N Barber
/ PAV / 40 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations
M Parsons
/ PAV / 40 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations
D Cockhead
/ PAV / 35 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations
D Ward
/ PV / 50 years experience with
municipal valuations internationally.
Performed CAMA modeling for ETK the residential
and sectional title project
properties
I Smoothey
/ PV / 10 years experience with
several years of experience in municipal
valuations and CAMA
R Naidu
/ PAV / 5 years
experience with several years of experience in
municipal valuations
Nikki Laubscher
/ PAV / 7 years experience in
residential valuations
B Ryle
/ PV / Over 10 years in non
residential market based valuations
Warren Dárcy
/ PV / 5 years in non residential
market based valuations
Wally Meyer
/ PV / 30 years plus experience in
valuations
Zenzele Gina
/ PV /10 years in valuations
Johannesburg
City
celebrates clean audit - 10 March
Over the past five years the City has overhauled its financial
management, enabling it to quadruple its capital budget and boost
its credit rating. Then, in January, the City and its 14
municipal-owned entities all received an unqualified clean audit
report from the auditor-general for the 2006-07 financial year. -
City of Johannesburg website
Officials kick out illegal campers - 7 March
Johannesburg City health inspectors raided an illegal squatter camp
in Soweto occupied by workers of a construction company.
They gave the company two days to comply with sanitary
regulations.
The construction company had ignored municipal health and
environmental by-laws by setting up the campsite in the middle of a
residential area without following required procedures, the
inspectors said.
Much to the indignation of horrified neighbours, Madlayi
Construction put up the camp on land between Letsibogo High School
for girls and Tumelo Primary School in Zone 3, Meadowlands. -
Sowetan website
uMgungundlovu
Municipality
KZN
govt takes over Harry Gwala Stadium project - 12 March
Struggling uMgungundlovu Municipality has found itself in trouble
over the delay in the refurbishment of Pietermaritzburg’s Harry
Gwala Stadium for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. According to a report
in the The Witness today, MEC for local government and traditional
affairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu, announced yesterday that the provincial
government has taken the function of upgrading the stadium away from
the district municipality. The stadium is one of the stadiums in
KwaZulu-Natal that has been earmarked for use as a training venue
during the World Cup tournament. -
Kickoff website
National Prosecuting
Authority
Community
prosecutions can help reduce crime - 12 March
Partnerships between community prosecutors, municipalities, local
communities and police forums can significantly help reduce crime
rates as well as anti-crime initiatives. This is according to
findings revealed on Wednesday by the National Prosecuting Authority
(NPA) - sponsored community prosecution project survey, which was
initiated in 2006. - allAfrica
website
Public Service
"Know Your
Service Rights" book unveiled - 10 March
The "Know Your Service Rights" book, unveiled on Monday, will help
assess the mechanisms within governmental departments with the aim
of taking public service to the people. Speaking at the launch of
the book in Johannesburg, Public Service and Administration Minister
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said : "We are
bringing government to the people by working across the social
cluster departments to roll out the campaign while assessing and
redressing mechanisms within departments. -
allAfrica website
Miscellaneous
KZN
victims of crime to know their rights - 10 March
Those who fall prey to crime in KwaZulu-Natal will now know their
rights on how to get proper and relevant information, protection,
assistance, compensation and restitution. This follows the launch
of the province's Service
Charter for Victims of Crime on Friday at the Camperdown
Magistrates Court. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development regional head Brigitte Shabalala said
the Victims Charter is in line with government's vision that seeks
to cultivate a human rights culture by ensuring those victims'
needs, either material or emotional, are met. -
allAfrica website
Mbeki beats trail to Mauritius just weeks after Zuma’s visit -
11 March
Just three weeks after African National Congress (ANC) president
Jacob Zuma flew to Mauritius in a bid to frustrate the state’s bid
to obtain evidence of corruption against him, President Thabo
Mbeki is in that country meeting high-ranking government
officials, including members of the judiciary. -
Business Day website
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Africa
Equatorial Guinea
Africa coup plotter points finger at Spain, South Africa - 12
March
A British former special forces soldier admitted his part in a
failed 2004 coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in an interview
broadcast Tuesday, but denied he was the mastermind. "I was involved
and I was the manager. .
. I was the manager. Not the architect and not the main man,"
Simon Mann told Britain's Channel 4 News in an interview conducted
in the jail where he is being held in the capital, Malabo. The
former Special Air Services (SAS) soldier instead pointed the finger
at the governments of former colonial power Spain and South Africa
as well as Ely Calil, a Nigerian-born Lebanese businessman who has
British citizenship. - AFP
website
Uganda
Museveni
rejects Hague LRA trial - 12 March
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says leaders of the rebel Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) should face local justice, rather than trial
at The Hague. Three LRA leaders including leader Joseph Kony face
prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The LRA
insists that the war crimes indictments are lifted before signing a
deal to end the long, brutal conflict. -
BBC News website
Zimbabwe
SA govt to meet business on new Zim law - 12 March
The South African government would meet with business leaders to
see how the country's interests in Zimbabwe could be protected in
light of a new law giving locals a controlling share in
businesses, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on
Wednesday. -
Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website
Impala ready for Zimbabwe's new local ownership law - 12 March
Platinum major Impala Platinum (Implats) said that it had planned
for the Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Bill, which was signed into law by
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Friday last week. The law
gives black Zimbabweans the right to take a majority shareholding
in foreign firms, including banks and mines. Implats, which owns
almost 87% of Zimplats, explained that it had planned for this
eventuality, adding that it had "agreements in place, which will
be taken into account when looking at the overall compliance to
the new law". - Creamer
Media's Mining Weekly website
Mugabe approves Zim nationalisation law - 9 March
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has signed into law a Bill
giving local owners the right to take majority control of foreign
companies, including mines and banks, a government newspaper
reported on Sunday. The government has sought to allay business
fears of a blanket seizure of companies by saying the authorities
would work with different industries to set timetables for
foreign-owned firms to transfer shares to locals. -
Mail & Guardian website
Jail for
defacer of Mugabe poster - 10 March
A man has been jailed for a month for destroying an election
poster of President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's Herald
newspaper reports. - BBC News
website
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Asia
China
China court rejects death rulings - 8 March
China's Supreme Court has rejected 15% of all death sentences
handed down by lower courts in 2007. Chinese media quoted the
Supreme Court chief judge as saying this was due to unclear or
insufficient evidence and wrong application of procedures. Huang
Ermei said that China had no plans to abolition the death penalty.
Amnesty International says China carried out two-thirds of the
world's executions in 2006. Official figures are a state secret in
China. - BBC News website
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Europe
France
Prosecutor
seeks Concorde - 12 March
A French prosecutor has asked judges to bring manslaughter charges
against US airline Continental over the crash of an Air France
Concorde in 2000. The prosecutor also recommended similar charges
against two Continental employees and two French officials. One
hundred and thirteen people died in the crash outside Paris. A
French inquiry said it was caused by a metal strip from a
Continental Airlines plane, which shredded one of the Concorde's
tyres as it took off. - BBC News
website
Greece
Macedonian court convicts bear of stealing honey - 13 March
A Macedonian court convicted a bear of theft and damage for
stealing honey from a beekeeper who fought off the attacks with
thumping "turbo-folk" music. -
SABC News website
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Middle East
Gulf War
Gulf War
illness 'chemical link' - 11 March
There is evidence linking chronic health problems suffered by Gulf
War veterans to exposure to pesticides and nerve agents, US
research has found. A third of veterans of the 1991 war
experienced fatigue, muscle or joint pain, sleeping problems,
rashes and breathing troubles, the research found. A US
Congress-appointed committee on Gulf War illnesses analysed more
than 100 studies in the research. -
BBC News website
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United Kingdom
Courts
Gambling addict loses case against bookmaker - 12 March
Compulsive gambler Graham Calvert, who had claimed bookmaker William
Hill should have stopped him placing bets, lost his case on
Wednesday. The greyhound trainer from Houghton Le Spring, Tyne and
Wear, was suing for negligence as well as compensation for personal
injuries at the High Court in London. The 28-year-old, described by
his lawyers as a "pathological gambler", claimed he had lost more
than two million pounds, as well as his marriage, livelihood and
health as a result of a six-month gambling spree in 2006. In the
landmark case, Calvert's legal team had argued the bookmaker had
been guilty of "negligent encouragement and inducement" by not
acting to curb its client's gambling, even though he had indicated
he wanted them to on at least two occasions. -
Reuters website
Education
Pupils 'to take allegiance oath' - 11 March
School-leavers are to be encouraged to swear an oath of allegiance
to Queen and country under new proposals being unveiled on British
citizenship. Ex-attorney general Lord Goldsmith, who is calling
for the ceremony in a report to Gordon Brown, says it would give
teenagers a sense of belonging. But Labour peer Baroness Kennedy
says : "I think it's rather silly". He
is also proposing a new public holiday to celebrate "Britishness"
along the lines of Australia Day. -
BBC News website
Schools 'breaking admissions law' - 11 March
A "significant minority" of schools in England are breaking new
laws that were designed to make the admissions system fairer, the
government has said. In a sample three areas - Manchester,
Northamptonshire and Barnet - it found parents illegally being
asked for money or information about their backgrounds. -
BBC News website
Environment
Queen set
for Terminal 5 opening - 14 March
Heathrow Airport's controversial Terminal 5 is set to be opened by
the Queen in a ceremony involving hundreds of airport and
construction workers. Operator BAA says it will "transform" the
level of service at the airport. But environmental and residents
groups have opposed it, insisting it will lead to more flights,
noise and pollution. Some 60 000 people have worked a total of 100
million man hours to build Terminal 5, since construction began in
September 2002. Built on the site of a former sludge works at the
western end of the existing airport, Terminal 5 has been designed
by 2006 Stirling Prize winners Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners.
Its construction has involved diverting two rivers, building what
is claimed to be the UK's largest free-standing building and
tunnelling 13km for rail and baggage links. -
BBC News website
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United States
Land Affairs and
Property
US wants
tougher mortgage rules - 14 March
Top US financial policymakers have laid out plans for stricter
regulation of mortgage firms as the country wrestles with its
worst housing crisis in years. The move comes after the US housing
market weakened, and mortgage defaults surged, with many critics
blaming lax and excessive lending policies. -
BBC News website
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International
Conservation
Tentative steps to whaling peace - 8 March
Talks between pro- and anti-whaling countries on how to resolve
their differences have ended with agreement to look for dialogue
and common ground. Japan pledged not to seek commercial whaling
quotas in the immediate future, and offered to discuss its current
scientific hunt in the Antarctic. Some delegates talked of an
eventual "package deal" between the factions. Delegates spent
three days in talks near Heathrow Airport called by the
International Whaling Commission (IWC). -
BBC News website
Urban Development
InfoUpdate
Read of the Day - 12 March
Cities on the edge of chaos - 9 March
The future of the city has suddenly become the only subject in
town. It ranges from tough topics such as managing water
resources, economic policy, transport planning and law enforcement
to what is usually presented as the fluffier end of the scale,
such as making public spaces people want to spend time in. It's
about racial tolerance and civilised airports, the colour of the
buses and the cost of the fares on them. Unless you have some kind
of framework to make sense of all that, the city can seem to be
about so many diverse things that it is about everything and
nothing. And that is how I found myself swept up in Urban Age, a
mobile think-tank set up by the London School of Economics Cities
programme, with the Alfred Herrhausen Society, a well-funded
charitable arm of Deutsche Bank. The starting point of the Urban
Age project, originated by Richard Sennett and Ricky Burdett of
the LSE, was that a successful city has to be based on an
understanding that it is shaped both by politics and by ideas
about space and architecture. Their idea was to bring together a
diverse selection of people, not only those who spend their time
thinking about cities, but also those who have to try to do
something about them. Over two years, the group toured six of the
world's key cities - New York, London, Shanghai, Mexico City,
Johannesburg and Berlin - in a series of conferences.
Endless City, edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic, is
published by Phaidon next week at £35. -
Guardian website
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Miscellaneous
The
effectiveness of the job applicant selection process - 1 March
On what is the decision to hire someone generally based? Any of
several methods are currently used in the process of hiring a job
applicant. - Leader website
Exit
interview : a valuable feedback process - 1 March
Have you ever wondered what goes on in the minds of employees who
have just resigned and are serving notice? Did they have a terrible
experience and regret the day they joined your organisation? Did
they have the best experience of their life? Or are they just
indifferent? - Leader website
Health
When a brain scientist
suffers a stroke
- 13 March
As a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, Jill Bolte Taylor has always
known more about brains than most people. But when a brain
hemorrhage triggered her own stroke, she suddenly had a front-row
seat on the deterioration of the brain. Dr Taylor recounts the
details of her stroke and the amazing insights she gained from it.
- New York Times
website
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Miscellaneous E-Things
Social
networking trends in South Africa - 11 March
Teenagers are not the only generation bent on enjoying the online
media space, and what new technologies have to offer South Africa.
Many companies are starting to join the numerous networks that have
been promulgating the Internet in a quest to keep up with the
growing demands of an informed public. -
Leader website
How to social
network - 10 March
With a view to giving managers and executives an inside look into
knowledge networks and their crucial, but often overlooked, role in
business, the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) will this April
be offering a pioneering programme – Social Networking for Industry
Leaders – as part if its Executive Education suite of short courses.
According to Dr Karin Stephenson, the emerging field of network
analysis has not yet been 'commoditised'
for the business education market and forward-thinking South African
managers should use this unique opportunity to learn how to
recognise and make use of the webs of relationships and trust within
their organisations. - Cape Business
News website
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Pietermaritzburg.
College Road Supreme Court
History of old building needs to be recorded - 11 March
It appears Pietermaritzburg has a building of historical
significance that is unknown to the tourism industry. I have failed
to find any reference to this building in our tourism brochures.
From the accompanying recently taken photograph it becomes evident
that this building is going to disappear beneath a layer of tall
grass, weeds and trees. I believe that many prominent court cases
were later conducted in this building. I am anxious for the building
to be saved as a historical building of Pietermaritzburg and that
its history be recorded as an integral part of the history of
Pietermaritzburg. - The Witness
website
See also online
references to the building and related events :
"National Department
of Public Works request for the disposal of Old Supreme Court,
situated at No.4 College Road, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The
Department of Public Works intends to dispose of the above property
and invites interested parties to submit proposals for the
development and disposal of the property . . . An information
meeting will take place on 14 February 2001. Details are
included in the tender documents. Enquiries : Mr F Potgieter, Tel
(012) 337-2365"
Government Tender Bulletin no.1982 / 19 January 2001
http://www.info.gov.za/tenders/2001/ten1982.pdf
"The functions and
duties of the Committee were defined in clause 7 of the Agreement
which reads as follows "once elected as set out above the Executive
and Advisory Committee shall meet at College Road Court House,
Pietermaritzburg at 9.00 am on Monday, 14 August 1978, in
order to perform the functions laid down in clause 8 of the Deed of
Donation"."
Succession Conflict within the Church of the Nazarites : iBandla
zamaNazaretha / G C Oosthuizen. University of Durban-Westville,
Institute for Social and Economic Research, 1981
http://scnc.udw.ac.za/doc/reports/iser/OOSTHUIZEN%20GC_Conflict%20within%20%20
nazarites.pdf
"Dikobe
wa Mogale was arrested in November 1983 and held in solitary
confinement at the Hilton police station until he was charged with
treason in the College Road
Supreme Court
in Pietermaritzburg
during May 1984."
Prison poems / Dikobe wa Mogale. Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2005
www.jonathanball.co.za/modules.php%3Fop%3Dmodload%26name%3Dbooks%26file%3
Dindex%26req%3Dview_cat%26cid%3D6+court+pietermaritzburg+%22college+road%22
&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4
"Lingisie was in pawn
clothes and we were taken into Court in College Road in the Supreme
Court in Pietermaritzburg" [1968]
Truth and Reconciliation Commission : Human Rights Violations.
Submissions : questions and answers. 20 June 1996. Case EC0191/96 -
Umtata. Ezra Sigwela. Day 3
http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/hrvtrans/umtata/sigwela.htm
"Five
Pietermaritzburg prison warders, facing 13 charges under
the Intimidation Act
in connection with a Police and Prisons
Civil Rights Union strike in February, were released on
warning by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday.
SABC radio news reports that this followed the cancellation
by the Attorney-General of an order
prohibiting their release on bail.
The State closed its case on Wednesday morning after which
counsel for the defence asked that the accused be acquitted
on the grounds that there was insufficient
evidence against them. The hearing, which
has been held in camera in the Regional
Court in College Road, will be open to the public in future.
The court will decide on whether to acquit the men next week
Tuesday."
ANC Daily Newsbriefings. 12 May 1993
http://70.84.171.10/~etools/newsbrief/1993/news9305.13
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