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South Africa
2010 FIFA World Cup
FIFA
: South Africa not ready yet to host World Cup - 24 February
FIFAsecretary general
Jerome Valcke says South Africa isn't ready yet to host the
World Cup, and he still doesn't know where all the teams will be based
during the tournament.
With barely three months
until the event starts, organizers still face problems with Soccer City -
the incomplete Johannesburg venue for the opening match and final - and
filling stadiums. - USA Today
website
2010
draft liquor bill not anti-business - 21 February
The draft liquor control policy, which recently caused an outcry from
liquor sellers, is not intended to stifle business during the Soccer World
Cup. Trade and Industry Deputy Director-General of the Consumer and
Corporate Regulation Division, Zodwa Ntuli, said the proposed bill was
however intended to maintain security and control the trading of liquor
during the spectacular tournament. Media reports which claimed that
organisers or owners of any public viewing event of the Soccer World Cup
will have to pay R50 000 for a special liquor licence caused an upheaval.
- BuaNews Online website
World
Cup 2010: Liquor licences - 22 February
The recent headlines expressing "outcry" and "fury"
over the Department of Trade and Industry's draft 2010 Soccer World
Cup Liquor Policy is another unfortunate example of misunderstanding the
specific FIFA guidelines - this time relating to public viewing sites. -
moneyweb website
22
February 2010
Statement
by the office of the Minister of Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk on
World Cup accommodation prices, survey to be conducted
SA Government Information website
Audit
of World Cup hospitality prices launched - 23 February
The Department of Tourism has appointed Grant Thornton to conduct a survey
of World Cup accommodation prices to ensure establishments are not
inflating rates excessively. - Business
Report website
Fifa
worry about use of muti - 22 February
Fifa is concerned that players at the World Cup could use undetectable
stimulants derived from traditional African medicines that aren’t
currently banned substances. Fifa medical committee chairperson Michel
D’Hooghe yesterday said he wanted the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to
analyse some African plants that could give athletes an unfair advantage.
- Sowetan website
Mugabe's
nephew in Fifa deal - 22 February
In Zimabwe, the exclusive and lucrative contract to sell Fifa's World Cup
hospitality packages has been awarded to president Robert Mugabe's nephew,
businessman and former Zanu-PF MP Philip Chiyangwa, who is the subject of
international sanctions. Chiyangwa's Native Investment Group (NIG) was
hand-picked late last year to sell World Cup packages for Fifa. While
ticket prices are being slashed in South Africa to fill stadiums, and
Zimbabwean fans had only bought 546 tickets by the beginning of this
month, Chiyangwa has claimed his Native Investment Group, which he
directs, is doing a rip-roaring trade. - IOL
website
1
March 2010
Keynote
address by Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, on the occasion of the
gala dinner marking 100 days to the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
SA Government Information website
2
March 2010
Address
by President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Jacob Zuma,
at the reception hosted by High Commissioner Dr Zola Skweyiya on the
occasion of the state visit to the United Kingdom, also marking the 100
Day FIFA World Cup kick off and launch of the International Marketing
Council logo, London, England
SA Government Information website
Access to
Information
Can
citizen journalists in South Africa help open up government data? -
27 February
Communities need information, particularly information about what
government is doing, and how people can access government services. In
South Africa, this information doesn't flow so much as trickle - and
often a paper-based trickle at that! In many areas, government is doing
more than people know, but the lack of data sharing and access to basic
information helps incite anger and frustration. - Public
Broadcasting Service blog
Communications
Irregularities
lead to suspension - 23 February
A forensic investigation has revealed the details behind the suspension of
a deputy director-general at the Department of Communications. It
found irregular expenditure of more than R3 million on two contracts
relating to one transaction and irregularities on two others. - Business
Report website
Correctional
Services
22
February 2010
Correctional
Services Minister, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula MP, terminates contract of
Correctional Services National Commissioner, Ms Xoliswa Sibeko
SA Government Information website
Balfour's
wife on full pay pending hearing - 24 February
The wife of former correctional services minister Ngconde Balfour has
been suspended on full pay for two months at a cost of R131 532 to
taxpayers but disciplinary steps against her had not yet begun,
Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said
yesterday. - Business Day
website
Sugarcane
killer suspect tries to escape - 22 February
The sugarcane serial killer suspect Thozamile Taki was seriously injured
when he fell while trying to escape from the Westville Prison on Sunday
afternoon, KwaZulu-Natal police said. It was believed that Taki and other
prisoners broke the roof of their cell and he fell from the fourth floor
of the building, injuring himself. - Sunday
Tribune website
Prison
break : warders unaware - 22 February
It was the desperate crying from pain by the alleged Umzinto serial killer
after he fell four storeys that alerted guards at Durban's Westville
Prison to the escape of eight dangerous prisoners yesterday. Taki has
pleaded not guilty to murdering and robbing 13 women, 11 of whose bodies
were found in a cane field at Umzinto on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in
2007, and the other two in the Eastern Cape. Taki was expected to
appear at the Ramsgate High Court today for the continuation of his
trial. With Taki's injuries described as serious, there is a strong
possibility that the trial, set down to the end of this month, will be
adjourned to later this year. - IOL
website
Escaped
prisoners 'colluded' with officials - 22 February
A "high level" team is to probe the escape of eight dangerous
awaiting-trial prisoners from the Durban Westville correctional centre in
KwaZulu-Natal, the correctional services department said on Monday.
Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said in a statement that a preliminary
investigation into the escape pointed to clear signs that the prisoners
had colluded with officials at the facility. - IOL
website
Prison
boss retires after fence blunder - 2 March
Bheki Mabanga, head of the Westville prison, who accused the SA Human
Rights Commission of ordering that an electric fence be shut down,
allegedly leading to the escape of eight dangerous prisoners, has retired.
It also emerged yesterday that the fence in question had never been
electrified. - IOL website
See
also : Accused
pleads for girlfriend's release [KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban]
Cyberlaw
When
IT projects go bad - 24 February
Fundamental aspects of businesses are often outsourced or subcontracted
to third-party service providers. Though these arrangements often result
in efficiencies and cost savings, they also pose considerable risk. This
is particularly evident in contracts that deal with the development,
maintenance or outsourcing of IT systems. - Article by David Walker,
director at Werksmans Incorporating Jan S de Villiers, on the Tech
Central website
See
also : South
African National Cybersecurity Policy [Legislation]
After
Wednesday's court decision in Italy, The
Daily Maverick asks Is this the end of Internet freedom, or the
beginning of Google's accountability to the individual?
See link in the
Know-Go Zone blog
Education
'Granny
scam' costs millions - 21 February
University
students are robbing the government's financial aid scheme of millions
of rands - by fraudulently using their grandmother's pension details to
qualify for study loans. The
National Student Financial Aid Scheme, set up to help the country's
neediest students, caters mainly for families who cannot afford to
contribute anything towards their children's tertiary education. - Times
Live website
Star
awards : the rebel alliance - 25 February
Employers tell
us time after time that they are on the lookout for original thinkers,
for young people who respond well to unexpected situations, who can
solve original problems in the workplace, who think for themselves. I
therefore do not ask young people to rebel just for the heck of it ; I
am asking them to change their pattern of thinking, and to alter their
disposition towards rules and authority. I am very grateful to a
Pretoria high school for agreeing to give an award that I had proposed.
This award now features regularly on award night. It is for the student
who respects people, but who breaks the rules. The citation reads :
"One for whom convention is a burden". Article
by Jonathan Jansen on the Times
Live website
Emigration and
Immigration
Policy
shift on immigration set to benefit SA's economy - 25 February
A policy shift that has largely gone unnoticed in the public domain is
that the government has in principle accepted that planned and managed
immigration should be harnessed as a development strategy to bring needed
skills and business investment into South Africa. Government's current
thinking is that migration should not be viewed as a nuisance to be
combated, but as a positive process that can lead to the development of
the national and Southern African regional economy, among other benefits.
- The Skills Portal website
Gauteng
Gauteng
can save R7bn in contracts - 23 February
The Gauteng government expects to save about R7bn through the review of
contracts this year, after a similar process resulted in multimillion-rand
savings last year, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said yesterday. The province
cancelled several contracts last year in a bid to direct funds to the
priorities of the new administration after the election. These included
the cancellation of a R273m contract the health department had with 3P
Consulting to run the department's project management unit, and the
winding down of the Gauteng Motorsport Company which ran a R500m
motorsport programme. - Business
Day website
MEC
to appeal court ruling on 3P Consulting judgment - 10 December [2009]
The Gauteng South High Court today delivered a judgment in the case
brought by 3P Consulting challenging the cancellation of their contract by
the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development. - SA
Government Information website
Health
smart card progress stalls - 14 December [2009]
The Gauteng Health Department has been instructed to pay over R40 million
to 3P Consulting for breach of contract and outstanding payments –
delaying any decisions on the progress of its R609 million health smart
card tender. Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu noted that she would fight the
decision of the Gauteng South High Court, and added that the money the
department would have to pay 3P consulting would affect other projects. - my
Digital Life website
South
Gauteng High Court
10 December 2009
09/32100
3P Consulting v Gauteng MEC for Health
Cachalia
confirms end of motor sport programme - 25 February
The Gauteng government had closed down its motor sport programme,
economic development MEC Firoz Cachalia said yesterday. As Business
Day reported late last year, Cachalia announced the termination of
the R500m motor sport contracts but did not give full details of the
settlement reached with motor sport bodies in terminating the
contracts. - Business Day
website
Government Tenders
Zuma-linked
women in spotlight - 27 February
Opposition parties have called for further investigation into the
lucrative catering contract awarded to Nonkululeko Mhlongo, who has two
children with President Jacob Zuma. This was the second woman in the
president's life to appear in the spotlight this week. It was also
reported that the lavish lifestyle of Zuma's second wife, Nompumelelo
Ntuli-Zuma, is being bankrolled
by generous benefactors. - IOL
website
Zuma
and Vavi wives in business pact - 25 February
A
probe of the wives of political leaders shows that President Jacob
Zuma's second wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli, and Cosatu chief Zwelinzima
Vavi's second wife, Noluthando Vavi, share business interests in a
property registered in the name of Vivian Reddy. The 35-year-old wife of
the president is the director of at least six companies, all of which
are registered in her maiden name and many of which were started after
she got married in the wake of the Polokwane ANC conference. - IOL
website
Premier's
family lands juicy contracts - 21 February
A company owned by the family of Premier Zweli Mkhize has secured a
government tender worth R3.3-million and there are reports that it is
the beneficiary of more state work. - Sunday
Tribune website
Mkhize
: no wrong doing in family tender - 23 February
KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize on Monday denied there was a
conflict of interest in the awarding of a government tender to a
company in which his wife and daughter were directors. A visibly upset
Mkhize told reporters he had never been involved in any of the
business activities of the company known as Bookize Supply Corporation
CC. - Daily News website
Malema's
millions - 19 February
You
do the maths . . .
Two houses : R4,6m
Cars : R1,2m plus
Breitling watch : R250 000
Monthly salary : R20 000
The
Star
on the IOL website
The
Star
steals lifestyle audit thunder. Oh, and destroys Malema too
- 22 February
The paper's report
checks all the boxes required of ethical journalism. It is in the public
interest. It's even in line with official government policy, and it has
the effective backing of Cosatu. Had it tried this trick in January it
may have faced ANC criticism. But publishing immediately after finance
minister Pravin Gordhan announced a plan for official lifestyle audits
has put it beyond direct reproach. - The
Daily Maverick website
Julius
Malema and the non-denial - 20 February
The story published in The
Star yesterday
about Julius Malema's alleged lavish lifestyle has truly set the cat
amongst the pigeons. The reason is that it goes to the heart of the
titanic struggle within the ANC for access to state power and the
legal and illegal tenders and benefits that flow from holding such
power. - Pierre
de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
See
also
: How
Julius Malema got Gordhan out of a hole above
How
Malema made his millions - 21 February
ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's millionaire lifestyle is
being bank-rolled by lucrative government contracts awarded to his
companies. A Sunday Times investigation has found that, despite
his claims to the contrary, Malema has benefited substantially from
several tenders - and that most of them stem from his home province
Limpopo, where he wields significant influence. One of Malema's
businesses, a small engineering firm, has profited from more than
R130-million worth of tenders in just two years. - Times
Live website
Call
for probe into Malema tender saga - 21 February
Congress
of the People (COPE) president Mosiuoa Lekota is demanding an official
probe into the procedures followed in the awarding of government tenders
to companies linked to ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leader Julius Malema.
The Malema tenders saga has also prompted calls for the review of the
government's tendering process to put brakes on the "plundering"
of the country’s coffers by the ruling elite. - The
Citizen website
SACP
wants review of govt tenders - 25 February
The South African Communist Party (SACP) called on Sunday for a review
of the process under which government contracts are awarded and demanded
that leaders stop using State resources to amass personal wealth. - Polity
website
Malema
and the tenderpreneurs - 25 February
politicsweb website
Tenderpreneurs
'are economic terrorists' - 1 March
South
Africans needed to stand up to tender entrepreneurs who benefited from
state contracts, "a form of economic terrorism", imposing a
cost on state services and conferring no benefit, the head of the
country's most powerful grouping of businesses said at the weekend. In a
rare case of business standing up to government corruption, the chairman
of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), Bobby Godsell, slammed his
own colleagues in big business who granted themselves
"obscene" pay packages which bore no real relation with value
creation. - Business Report
website
ANC
'must address conflicts of interest issue'
- 22 February
It
was time for the African National Congress (ANC) to draw a line in the
sand and bring an end to the involvement of office bearers in state
tender processes once and for all, said Judith February, head of the
parliamentary information and monitoring service of the Institute for
Democracy in SA (Idasa).
- allAfrica website
Malema's
supporters cry foul but unions hit back - 22 February
African
National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema's supporters on
Monday claimed reports his businesses had government contracts were
part of a campaign to disrupt his efforts to oust Gwede Mantashe as
ANC secretary general. - Eye
Witness News website
Julius
: so many questions and so few answers
- 22 February
The
ANC is correct to point out that in principle, it is not illegal or in
contravention of any code of conduct for a company in which Julius
Malema is involved, to receive government tenders. Malema is not
an elected member of any legislature and neither is he a member of the
executive. He is "merely" the President of the ANC Youth
League and if he happens to be a director of a company that has been
awarded lucrative government tenders, so be it. It might be
unwise, but it is not illegal.
- Pierre de Vos on the Consitutionally
Speaking blog
22
February 2010
Malema's
media conference
News24 website
Malema
puts the record straight
- 22 February
ANC
Youth Leader Julius Malema has spoken out against
"misrepresentations and lies" spread through
newspapers, and has clarified allegations against him. The Youth
League called a media conference on Monday after media reports that
Malema's lavish lifestyle was being bankrolled by lucrative government
contracts awarded to companies he has interests in. The Sunday
Times
reported that Malema's companies were awarded more than 20 contracts,
worth between R500 000 and R39m between 2007 and 2008. - News24
website
Malema's
denial, defence and race play - 22 February
ANC
Youth League leader Julius Malema admitted on Monday he never
signed any letters of resignation from four companies that allegedly
benefited from tenders issued by
Limpopo
municipalities. - Eye
Witness News website
Malema
'resigned' but no signature - 23 February
Companies
database Cipro said on Monday a company's director had to sign a
resignation form if he left the firm.
- Eye Witness News
website
Malema
fails to convince that he does not benefit from tenders
- 23 February
Julius Malema was put through the wringer by Radio 702's Redi Direko
this morning and he was not convincing. He said he had documentary
evidence that he was no longer a shareholder in companies benefitting
from government tenders, but said he would not produce the
documentation unless asked to do so by the ANC or the South African
Revenue Services. Redi produced documentation which showed that he was
still involved in several companies. Malema said the companies
register might not have been updated. "Why is this issue not
before the law enforcement agencies?" Earlier Malema said he did
not have to account for anything to journalists. - Times
Live website
Mystery
of Malema's companies - 23 February
Julius
Malema, in a state of angry denial, has deepened the mystery
surrounding his wealth. Addressing the media at Luthuli House in
Joburg yesterday, the ANC Youth League leader blamed the government
companies register, a smear campaign run by leftist ANC officials and
"unethical" journalists for "unfounded" media
reports. - IOL website
Sue?
Nah, never
- 23 February
Julius
Malema said today that he "will take legal action against the Star
newspaper and consider doing the same with other newspapers"
because they defamed him. I will donate one months salary to the ANC
Youth League if Malema's defamation suit against The Star
is ever heard in court. Unless Malema is really stupid – which I do
not think he is – he will never actually follow through on this
threat. The
reason is very simple. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
Malema
fracas : blame the 'forces of darkness' - 23 February
Mail & Guardian website
Moloto
would've jailed me : Malema - 22 February
IOL website
Malema
got tenders illegally : Moloto - 24 February
Former
Limpopo premier Sello Moloto says ANCYL president Julius Malema got
government tenders in the province illegally.
- Sowetan website
Moloto
lashes Malema - 24 February
Eye Witness News
website
Malema's
media spin cycle - 25 February
Mail & Guardian website
Malema
in Zuma plot rage - 24 February
ANC
Youth League leader Julius Malema has claimed that he has an
"intelligence document" listing the names of prominent
political leaders who backed President Jacob Zuma's rise to power, but
who are now being targeted to be toppled. - IOL
website
Malema
and the spy papers - 24 February
Julius
Malema's "intelligence document" was compiled by a former Sars
employee - who is facing criminal charges but insists he was part of a
sting operation. Malema told e.tv that the document was compiled by
"very senior people in Sars, very senior management, some of them
in cabinet today" - a tacit reference to former Sars commissioner
and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Coincidentally, Gordhan called for
lifestyle audits in his budget speech last week. - IOL
website
Cele
makes SARS 'hit list' - 25 February
National
police commissioner Bheki Cele and Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula
are among those believed by ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to be
targeted by the tax services, the Mail&Guardian
reported on Friday. The weekly published a list with the names of 15
people, most of them allies of President Jacob Zuma, apparently linked
to Malema's explosive claim this week that SARS is targeting people
close to the president. - IOL wesite
Analysis
: Malema's many conspiracies - 24 February
According
to the ANC Youth League's leader and its leading light, the world is
full of enemies and condescending conspiracies. So we decided to take
a closer look at his claims.
- The Daily Maverick
website
Don't
look now : but Malema's in the kak - 25 February
Jeremy Gordin says the ANCYL president has been messing with the wrong
marines. - moneyweb website
Malema's
war : lifestyle, plot and intrigue - 26 February
Mail & Guardian website
Has
Juju bitten off too much? - 26 February
When
Juju was insulting women he was confident that he could brush away
anyone who complained without being shaken. When he successfully
provoked Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi into a
spat by calling him a "factory fault", he could predict that
Buthelezi would write one long missive and that would be the end of
that. When he called Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille "a
racist little girl", he knew that the DA's efficient communications
machinery would issue a statement in reaction, but that he would have
long moved on. But Malema began stirring a hornet's nest when he took on
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe and other leaders of the South
African Communist Party, calling them fake leaders who spend most of
their time drinking red wine. Sparks have started flying. - Mail
& Guardian website
Julius's
web of influence
- 26 February
Julius
Malema's business partner has scored again - this time from Limpopo's
roads and transport department. On-Point
Engineers, a company belonging to Lesiba Gwangwa and Kagisho Dichabe,
was awarded a R51-million tender by the department in October last year
to establish a project management unit (PMU) to assist with
"internal capacity building".
- Mail & Guardian website
See
also
: Transport
dept to probe work by firm linked to Malema : minister below
Malema
fighting for his political life - 27 February
IOL website
Malema
says 'capitalist system' must be audited - 28 February
Mail & Guardian website
Malema's
denials : an audit - 1 March
Malema's lawyer, Tumi Mokwena, told the Mail & Guardian that
"Julius only became aware that he was listed as a director of SGL
on Sunday. He didn't know that he was part of the company. I will
investigate how he was registered because my instructions are that he
never signed to become a director". Revelations
over the past week have raised questions over all these denials.
Certainly, the available documentary evidence appears to contradict
them. - moneyweb website
Mr
Malema, it's time to come clean! - 1 March
Submitting to a lifestyle audit would send a powerful message. - moneywebtax
website
'We
can't comment on Malema's fines' - 1 March
The
City of Johannesburg on Monday would not comment on whether ANC Youth
League President Julius Malema owed thousands of rands in outstanding
traffic fines, a councillor said on Monday. - IOL
website
SABC
denies Malema-story censored by board members - 1 March
The
SABC
has denied allegations that one of its board members instructed the
broadcaster’s regional editor not to report on a protest against ANC
Youth League President Julius Malema. - Eye
Witness News website
Malema
lawyer blames 'miscommunication' - 2 March
ANC
Youth League leader Julius Malema was "not aware" that he was
still a director of a company that won multi-million rand government
tenders in Limpopo, his lawyer has said. Tumi Mokwena faced the press at
a briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday called by the Youth League to
"clarify" Malema's position with regard to his business
interests. City
Press
on Sunday published excerpts from company registration records that
showed Malema owns 70 percent of SGL Engineering projects, which built
bridges and roads in Limpopo that washed away or collapsed soon after
completion. - IOL website
2
March 2010
Tumi
Mokoena's statement on Malema
News24 website
Julius
Malema's business : somebody is lying, but who? - 2 March
Officially,
Julius Malema owns 70% of an engineering company that received
government tenders. "It's common cause", his lawyer says.
Except he never put his signature on the relevant documents, he claims.
So either somebody committed fraud, or Malema is lying, or his lawyer is
lying on his behalf. And – in theory – it shouldn't be hard to
prove who done it, and either send somebody to jail or end a career.
Contrary to what you’d expect, Julius Malema's lawyer was smiling
broadly as he said it. - The
Daily Maverick website
Malema's
lawyer still needs to clarify a number of issues - 2 March
[Eight questions] - article by Michael Trapido on the Richmark
Sentinel website
See
also :
Cosatu
wants 'lifestyle audit' for state officials -
10 February 2010
[InfoUpdate
3 of 2010]
More
arrests soon as Gordhan outlines fight against corruption - 17
February 2010
Business Day website
[InfoUpdate 4 of
2010]
Health
Private
aid for state hospitals - 22 February
In a move that has already sparked controversy, the treasury is to draw
private business into the public health sector as a way of upgrading the
services provided by state hospitals. In his budget speech Finance
Minister Pravin Gordhan artfully linked the expanded role envisaged for
the private sector to national health insurance, a key demand of the
labour movement. - Mail & Guardian
website
23
February 2010
Implementation
of National Health Insurance on course
SA Government Information
website
Home Affairs
ID
book 'most stupid document imaginable' - 23 February
The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that deputy minister of
home affairs Malusi Gigaba said the green bar-coded ID book was a mess.
"I think whoever designed it should win a Nobel stupidity prize. It
is the most stupid document you can imagine", he said at a
Johannesburg workshop on Monday on human trafficking ahead of the World
Cup. Gigaba said the identity books were easily forged, creating
problems for his department. - IOL
website
Human Rights
1
March 2010
Statement
by Minister of International relations and Cooperation, Maite
Nkoana-Mashabane, at the high level segment of the 13th session of the
Human Rights Council, Geneva
SA Government Information website
International
Affairs
North
Korean weapons shipment reported seized
- 22 February
South Africa has intercepted a North Korean weapons shipment bound for
Central Africa, South African officials informed the United Nations. The
seizure took place in November, when South African authorities received
information that a ship headed for Congo Republic was carrying suspicious
cargo, according to a letter South Africa recently sent to the Security
Council. - New York Times website
Arrest
warrant to determine fate of genocide suspects in South Africa
- 23 February
A Rwandan couple, working in a South African hospital can only answer to
genocide crimes they allegedly committed during the 1994 genocide against
Tutsi if an international arrest warrant is issued. Dr
Pierre Mugabo and his wife Felicité Musanganire are said to be working at
the pharmacology department of the hospital under the University of
Western Cape. Mugabo was sentenced to 30 years by the Gacaca court of
Ngoma Sector, Southern Province last year, while his wife was sentenced to
25 years in 2006. According to an article published in the Guardian, a
South African newspaper, the university will continue to employ Mugabo on
the grounds that charges against him had yet to be brought before court. -
allAfrica website
State
set to seize proceeds of global sex ring - 20 February
South Africa's Assets Forfeiture Unit is going after the local properties
of a British-based sex ring and experts believe the unusual action could
succeed. UK authorities requested the help of the National Prosecuting
Authority to seize the properties of a Cape Town woman, Shamiela Clark,
and her husband, Irish mob kingpin Thomas Carroll, both of whom were
imprisoned earlier this month for heading an international sex ring. Carroll's
daughter, Toma Carroll, was sentenced to two years for money laundering. -
IOL website
NPA
to prove grounds for seizure - 22 February
The Law Society of South Africa said on
Sunday it would not be easy for local authorities to seize the assets of a
South African woman convicted in the United Kingdom
on human trafficking and prostitution charges. Former Capetonian,
Shamiela Clark and her husband were given prison sentences after being
found guilty earlier this year of heading an international sex ring. The
Assets Forfeiture Unit hoped to seize three multimillion rand properties
in the
Western Cape
and Gauteng
belonging to
Clark. The society's William Booth said Clark's conviction in the UK
did not necessarily give local authorities the green light to seize
her assets. - Eye Witness News
website
Judicial Service
Commission, and, Judiciary
JSC
releases list of names for top court posts - 27 February
The Judicial Service Commission is only going to interview a single
candidate, Herbert Msimang, for the position of Kwazulu Natal judge
president. The listing of Msimang as the candidate for KwaZulu-Natal judge
president is seen as surprising because Judge Leonard Theron had been
heavily tipped to take the job. - Eye
Witness News website
Vacancies
for six judges : 12 short-listed - 28 February
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has announced that six combined
vacancies exist for judges in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg
and the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for which 12 candidates have
been short-listed. In all a total of 65 candidates for vacancies in 13
different court divisions will be interviewed by the JSC. - Citizen
website
Shady
but familiar judicial appointment - 21 February
One wonders what our stoically silent chief justice makes of the perplexing
gyrations of the political leadership around the appointment of our newest
acting judge in North West province. - Paul Hoffmann on the Times
Live website
Justice
Justice's
top official takes rap for Simelane - 25 February
Newly appointed Department of Justice director-general Nonkululeko Msomi
had a baptism of fire before Parliament's standing committee on public
accounts (Scopa) yesterday when she and her delegation were grilled
about a damning audit report. Msomi was appointed only in November and
had to answer for the performance of her predecessor Menzi Simelane, who
was "promoted" sideways to controversially become SA's
director of public prosecutions. - Business
Day website
KwaZulu-Natal
Land Affairs and
Property
Frustrated
wage negotiations halt new land transactions - 7 January
Several critical Surveyor-General Offices have effectively ceased to
function and others are on a go-slow due to the failure of protracted
negotiations about wages and staff levels over the last year within the
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Despite meetings between
NEHAWU and the minister in late January there had been no
breakthrough at the time of going to press. - ee
Publishers website
KZN
signs affordable housing MoU with Standard Bank - 26 February
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and Standard Bank have signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU), committing them to a number of shared
and individual activities to accelerate the identification of affordable
housing projects across the province. The parties would also cooperate to
secure development financing for such projects and to expand the supply of
housing to middle-income families. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
South
African fund to invest in Mozambican real estate project - 23 February
A large-scale property project is being planned for Matola municipality on
the outskirts of the Mozambican capital Maputo, in which a South African
fund will invest US$200 million. A manager of the Cidadela de Matola
project, Lucio Sumbana, said the investment would be made by the Public
Investment Corporation, a South African investment fund specializing
exclusively in the public sector. Its clients include the government's
pension fund, as well as an insurance and unemployment fund and a
compensation fund, all from South Africa. - macau
hub website
Squatters
costing WC taxpayers R83 000/day : MEC - 24 February
The Western Cape government says a group of squatters is costing taxpayers R83 000
daily. Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela has applied for a court order to
evict 63 families from a temporary relocation area in Delft. "We cannot allow a situation where two hundred families are denied
access to their houses by sixty three people who do not qualify",
says Madikizela. - Eye Witness
News website
Land
Claims and Expropriation
Land
reform still just 'trundling along' - 22 February
Despite receiving half a billion rand more from treasury than last year
with funds of just over R4-billion, land reform is still spluttering
along in South Africa. And surprisingly land restitution seems to be the
biggest loser this year in the land budget. Ruth Hall, a land analyst at
the University of the Western Cape's Institute for Poverty, Land and
Agrarian Studies (Plaas), said the budget showed that there was no
indication of a new direction for land reform. - Mail
& Guardian website
See
also : Municipal
manager hides in office [North Gauteng High Court]
Minerals and Energy
Eskom
told to charge companies fair rates - 23 February
Instead of forcing ordinary South Africans to swallow 35 percent
electricity hikes, the government could solve the power crisis virtually
overnight by cancelling or renegotiating Eskom's "sweetheart"
power deals with international aluminium smelters and big mining houses.
This was the call in Durban last night from nearly 100 civil society
groups which have launched a global campaign to prevent Eskom from
securing a $4 billion (R30 billion) loan from the World Bank to finance
new coal-fired power stations. - Business
Report website
Nersa
approves 24,8% Eskom tariff hike for 2010, followed by two more of
25%-plus - 24 February
Creamer Media's Engineering
News website
Nersa
moves to prevent municipalities from milking Eskom price hike - 24
February
South Africa municipalities will not be able to simply pass on the full
nominal power price increases approved for implementation by national
utility Eskom, with the energy regulator announcing guidelines on
Wednesday that should hopefully prevent municipal distributors from
unfairly milking their residential and business customers. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Energy
Minister implores municipalities to heed Nersa's tariff guidelines -
25 February
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters on Thursday implored South
Africa's municipalities to heed the energy regulator's guidelines on how
the tariff increases granted to Eskom should be passed on to residential
consumers. - Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
Regulator
sets much-vaunted block tariff structure in motion - 24 February
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) offered the first
practical glimpse on Wednesday of what the long-awaited
"residential inclining block rate tariff structure" would
mean, when approving tariff hikes for Eskom under the so-called second
Multiyear Price Determination Period (MYPD2). - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
25
February 2010
Statement
by the Minister of Energy, Dipuo Peters, on the National Energy
Regulator of South Africa's (Nersa) electricity tariff determination
SA Government Information
website
Nersa
tackles tariff gap - 26 February
Electricity prices are likely to triple for all but the poorest
households, while the gap between what industrial users and domestic
consumers pay is set to shrink, following the tariff decision by the
National Energy Regulator (Nersa) this week. - Mail
& Guardian website
Eskom
hike to hurt municipalities - 26 February
Eskom's tariff hikes will increase the liquidity problems of South
African municipalities, and credit downgrades await municipalities that
do not improve debt collection, warns international rating agency
Moody's. - Fin24 website
Eskom
'protects' municipalities - 1 March
Eskom fears town
residents could rise up against their municipalities if they find out
how much the municipalities owe the electricity utility.
This is one of the
reasons advanced by Eskom for its refusal to provide the National
Taxpayers Union (NTU) with information on outstanding municipal debtors.
- Fin24 website
Parliamentarians
turn up pressure on Eskom
- 3 March
Parliamentarians have
turned on the pressure on Eskom to scrap favourable electricity supply
contracts with big industrial clients, Primedia's Eyewitness News
reports. While Eskom told MPS that it was still in confidential talks
with the companies in an attempt to renegotiate several contracts that
guaranteed the firms were sold electricity at very low tariffs,
Parliament is keen to get the issue sorted out. - Times
Live website
23
February 2010
Press
Gallery Association briefing background document Mineral Rights in South
Africa [issued by the Presidency]
politicsweb website
23
February 2010
Background
document on Mineral Rights in South Africa from the Presidency, in
connection with the President's address to the Parliamentary Press
Gallery Association
Polity website
South
Africa concludes audit of state mining assets - 23 February
South Africa's department of mineral resources has completed an audit of
the state's mining assets, and is preparing a proposition to cabinet to
consolidate the assets under one company, the presidency said on
Tuesday. - Creamer Media's Mining
Weekly website
SA
govt invites Peter Leon to join mining growth task team - 23
February
The South
African government has invited mining law stalwart Peter Leon to
be part of the mining industry's growth, development and employment task
team (Migdett). Department of Mineral Resources DG Sandile Nogxina has
invited Leon to participate as a regulatory and legal expert in
Migdett's competitiveness body that will consider a wide spectrum of
issues that affect the competitiveness and growth of South Africa's
mining industry. - Creamer
Media's Mining Weekly website
Cabinet
to consider state-owned mining firm proposal - 24 February
Repeating what he said in the reply to the debate on his state of the
nation address, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday that his government
does not have a policy to nationalise mines. "The policy on
minerals and mining does not make provision for nationalisation of
mining assets", he told a press briefing in Parliament.
"But," he hastily added, "it does not preclude the state
from participating actively in mining". A proposal for a major
state-owned mining company is to be put to cabinet before long. - Business
Report website
Shareholders
threaten to quit ARM over Motsepe's nationalisation prevarication -
22 February
Shareholders on Monday publicly threatened to withdraw their investments
from diversified miner African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) after its
executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe prevaricated on the
issue of the nationalisation of South African mines and indigensation in
Zimbabwe, where ARM may invest. - Creamer
Media's Mining Weekly wesbite
Motsepe
wades right into nationalisation debate - 23 February
Nationalisation was the elephant in the room when Patrice Motsepe
arrived to present African Rainbow Minerals' interim results at the
Sandton Convention Centre yesterday. And, impatient with Motsepe's
seeming reluctance to express a definitive opinion on the matter, they
took him to task at the meeting of more than 60 shareholders, with
analysts and media firing questions. - Business
Report website
Farmers
up in arms over mining - 25 February
Farmers and environmental groups are up in arms over a mining company's
plans to dig in the winelands. The African Exploration Mining and
Finance Corporation eyed the hills between Kuilsriver and Stellenbosch.
Environmental organisations and farmers said they would oppose the
corporation’s bid to dig for tine, zinc, copper, lead, manganese and
silver. - Eye Witness News
website
Wine
farmers in shock over plan to reopen mines - 23 February
A government which could destroy part of the Cape Winelands by
re-opening defunct mines has been met with widespread dismay. - Business
Report website
Mining
proposal came from nowhere : WWF - 27 February
The World Wild Life Fund for Nature on Friday claimed proposed mining
activities in the
Western Cape winelands area had sprung up unexpectedly. - Eye
Witness News website
Municipal
Management and Procedure
25
February 2010
Local
government budgets 2009/10 financial year second quarter local government
section 71 report
SA Government Information website
eThekwini
See
also : David and
Goliath battle in court [KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban]
Msunduzi
Broke
KZN capital takes the biscuit - 21 February
Kwazulu-Natal's capital city is bankrupt - and tea and biscuits for
municipal bosses have been the first cost-cutting casualty. In his
executive summary of the municipality's 2008/2009 budget, municipal
manager Rob Haswell wrote : "Watch this space. The 2008/2009 year
will be the year of visible implementation of various projects, the
year of service delivery and putting people first." - Times
Live website
Municipality
in a mess - 24 February
Workers at the cash strapped Msunduzi municipality are worried that
they might not get their salaries at the end of the month despite the
intervention of the KwaZulu-Natal government. Yesterday,three
officials deployed by MEC for cooperative governance and traditional
affairs Nomsa Dube assumed duty. - Sowetan
website
Municipal
workers fear not being paid - 3 March
Workers of the Msunduzi Municipality, incorporating the city of
Pietermaritzburg, on Wednesday said they feared they would not get
their salaries at the end of the month. Municipal services came to a
grinding halt on Wednesday when thousands of workers took to the
streets to deliver a memorandum to the office of Cooperative
Governance MEC Nomusa Dube. - News24
website
Officer
accused of slapping a heavily pregnant woman - 2 March
A Msunduzi traffic department official accused of slapping a heavily
pregnant Pietermaritzburg woman in the face for allegedly disobeying
her instruction has come under fire from the DA in KwaZulu-Natal. The
incident, which took place during Sunday’s Maritzburg Marathon, has
left Buyisiwe Makhoba shaken. DA transport spokesperson Radley Keys
said according to reports, Makhoba was one of several frustrated
motorists forced to wait at an intersection after the officer failed
to allow cars through, despite gaps between groups of runners. Makhoba
has laid a charge of criminal assault against the officer. Msunduzi
police confirmed the incident, with Superintendent Kwenza Khumalo
promising a full investigation. - Sowetan
website
Name Changes
Changing
place names detracts from nation building - 26 February
If there is one aspect of South Africa's post-1994 history which has been
the opposite of Madiba's vision of nation building, it is name changing.
The whole spirit of name changing is the opposite of nation building. This
is particularly true of the fact that it nearly always ends up in a
mudslinging match between factions. The name changing always appears to be
an attempt to get one up on the opposition. Nearly always, the name
changing has no apparent logic in actually producing something positive. -
Kelvin Kemm on Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
National Planning
Commission
National
Planning Commission updates on nominations - 27 February
On 18 January, government invited nominations for people to serve on the
National Planning Commission. The response has been simply overwhelming;
with 1279 applications received by the closing date of 10 February. More
critically, the quality of the nominees is exceptional, with a myriad of
experts in various fields nominated to serve on the Commission. - Presidency
website
Parliament
Budget
Speech 2010
Gordhan
stands his ground - 21 February
Gordhan reaffirmed the policy of inflation targeting and the 3%-6%
target range; he endorsed the present constitutional mandate of the
South African Reserve Bank and said nothing about leftist demands to
nationalise the institution; he left a proposed national health
insurance scheme on the back burner; and he announced a job creation
incentive that would include reduced rights for first-time workers
taking subsidised jobs. - Times
Live website
How
Julius Malema got Gordhan out of a hole - 22 February
When Gordhan made his long-anticipated announcement that "lifestyle
audits" and tax data would play a wider role in the government's
anticorruption drive, Malema's ostentatiously ostentatious consumption
gave this potentially divisive initiative an unexpected popular
resonance. The day after Gordhan's anticorruption initiatives were laid
down in the budget, Mantashe made a timely announcement that the ANC is
introducing disclosure requirements for those of its members involved in
business. The new interest register will be managed by the
secretary-general’s own office. - Business
Day website
Pension Funds
See
link to Golden
years : time spent in retirement has sharply increased [Europe] in
the Know-Go Zone blog
Presidency
24
February 2010
Transcript
: FT interview with Jacob Zuma
William Wallis, FT Africa editor, and Richard Lapper, FT
Southern Africa correspondent spoke to Mr Zuma in the presidential
residence in Pretoria
Financial Times website
Hotline
changes first caller's life - 23 February
Ivy Buziwe Ngaleka's husband passed away in 2006. "He had written
a will indicating his wishes, but when I tried to access his pension
at the municipality to ensure that he received a dignified burial,
life became difficult and I was shoved from pillar to post", she
said. Ngaleka, who had all the necessary documents to claim her
husband's pension, was advised to approach the master
of the high court. "He was finally buried after the courts
intervened". Police denied her access to the local municipal
offices where President Zuma was but listening to him later at the
stadium she heard the number for the presidential hotline. Today, the
51-year-old mother of three, who attended the State of the Nation
Address earlier this month, has received all monies due to her. - BuaNews
Online website
Road Accident
Fund
RAF
R31m in the red - 24 February
Motorists may have to pay higher vehicle registration fees and bigger
traffic fines, while a surcharge may be imposed on sales of alcohol
under Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele's far-reaching proposals to bring
the Road Accident Fund back to financial health. The fund is R31-billion
in the red. In his draft policy, published in the Government Gazette,
Ndebele says financing the fund through a fuel levy alone would not meet
the requirements of the Road Accident Benefit Scheme he wants to
introduce. - IOL website
See
:
3 February 2010
No-Fault Policy : briefing by Department of Transport
Includes links to Proposals
for the No-Fault Road Accident Benefit Scheme : Department of
Transport. 3 February 2010 and Draft
Communications Strategy (Version 3) : No-Fault Policy
http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20100202-briefing-department-transport-no-fault-policy
[InfoUpdate 3 of 2010]
Social Welfare
Minister
rejects agency head's resignation - 21 February
Social Development Minister Edna Molewa has rejected an attempt by the
chief executive officer of the SA Social Security Agency to resign
after a probe into alleged irregular procurement practices. Fezile
Makiwane therefore remained an employee of the agency despite
attempting to resign on January 29, said a social development
spokeswoman, Zanele Mngadi, on Sunday. - IOL
website
24
February 2010
Public
servants must not resign to escape charges
SA Government Information website
Call
to stop resigning to escape law - 25 February
The
resignations of public servants facing charges should be declined. This
was suggested by Parliament's standing committee on public accounts
yesterday, saying public servants should not resign to escape charges.
Resignations must only be accepted when disciplinary proceedings are
concluded. This follows the decision by Minister of Social
Development, Edna Molewa to reject the resignation of the chief
executive of the SA Social Security Agency Fezile Makiwane because he
is facing charges of a R11million tender irregularity. - Sowetan
website
South African
Institute of Race Relations
Jansen
warns SA is 'on the precipice' - 25 February
President Jacob Zuma initiating a national dialogue on morals is like
the AWB calling for a country-wide debate on racism, said Professor
Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State
(UFS). He was speaking at a breakfast briefing for the South African
Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) on Thursday morning. Jansen's public
address, titled The Politics of Forgiveness: How I See South
Africa's Future, was his first as president of the SAIRR, to which he
was elected last year. - Mail &
Guardian website
South African
Police Service
Jogger
hires lawyer - 22 February
The UCT student who gestured at President Jacob Zuma's blue light convoy
has appointed a lawyer to take legal action against the police officers
who arrested him. Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa had urged the public
to "respect police investigations, not draw premature
conclusions" and to "lay the matter to rest". Maxwele's
attorney, Neil O'Brien, said : "We've taken instructions and we are
considering the legal position". - The
Star website
Man
attacked by Zuma convoy to sue cops - 26 February
The Cape Town man who was arrested for gesturing at President Jacob Zuma's
blue-light convoy is pressing ahead with a damages claim against the
police, his lawyer said yesterday. "This claim will be instituted
in the high court and counsel has been briefed accordingly", said
Port Elizabeth attorney Neil O'Brien. - Sowetan
website
MPs
blast arrest of jogger - 4 March
A heated row has broken out in Parliament over the treatment meted out
to the Cape Town jogger arrested two weeks ago after allegedly making a
rude gesture at President Jacob Zuma's convoy. Deputy Police Minister
Fikile Mbalula refused to reply to questions from opposition MPs
yesterday about whether Chumani Maxwele's treatment at the hands of
Zuma's protection detail would be investigated. - IOL
website
See
also :
Motlanthe
acts on unanswered questions - 3 March
IOL website
Mbalula
flayed over cops - 4 March
Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula came under fire from opposition
parties yesterday for refusing to promise the public protection against
allegedly abusive blue light cops.
MPs in the National Assembly grilled Mbalula over the treatment Cape
Town student Chumani Maxwele received at the hands of Zuma's bodyguards.
- Sowetan website
Curbing
blue light convoys difficult : expert - 20 February
A legal expect said on Friday it would be difficult for transport
authorities to enforce any legislation relating to curbing powers and
mandates of blue light convoys. Western Cape Premier Helen Zille intends
banning them in the province. Paul Hoffman said Zille would be able to
have laws around how blue light convoys operated in the Western Cape
introduced. The problem lies in provincial traffic authorities
being able to go against these convoys in enforcing the province's road
laws. - Eye Witness News
website
Cops
attacks are political : IFP - 1 March
The IFP will lodge a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission
after allegations that police in Nongoma launched politically motivated
attacks on residents. - IOL website
Sport and
Recreation
Chuene
bought Merc for R1 : report - 23 February
Former Athletics SA (ASA) boss Leonard Chuene bought a car - an E Class
Mercedes-Benz - from the embattled organisation for just R1 in 2004,
eNews reported on Tuesday. ASA's administrator, Ray Mali said he made
the discovery while going through the minutes of previous ASA board
meetings. He also discovered that three other cars were sold to ASA
officials for R1 each. - IOL website
Taxation Law
Cosatu
proposes wealth tax on earnings above R1m - 26 February
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its allies in
the People's Budget Coalition have proposed to Parliament that a wealth
tax should be imposed on the rich in order to improve the flow of
revenue to the government, and also to reduce the growing inequality
between the rich and the poor. Prakashnee Govender, the head of
Cosatu's parliamentary office, told a joint meeting of the finance and
appropriations committees of both houses of Parliament on Friday that
the tax should be imposed on people earning more than R1-million a year.
- Mail & Guardian website
Traditional Leaders
Govt,
traditional leaders to intensify partnership - 23 February
President Jacob Zuma has called for a stronger partnership between
government and traditional leaders saying this would ensure sustainable
development, especially in rural areas. "Let me emphasise that
traditional leaders have a key role to play as partners with government,
to build a better life for all our people", he said on Tuesday.
Zuma was speaking at the opening of the National House of Traditional
Leaders, where he paid tribute to traditional leaders who used their
position to fight the apartheid regime. - BuaNews
Online website
23
February 2010
Zuma
address to National House of Traditional Leaders
Richmark
Sentinel website
Terror
in the name of tradition - 26 February
A firm believer
in the development of customary law by the people, not just their
leaders, I fear that ordinary poor, rural citizens stand little chance
of being heard as the juggernaut of ever-increasing institutional
support fortifying the powerful position of traditional leaders tramples
their rights while putatively protecting "custom and
tradition". We now know 2010 will be a big year for
"traditional" law. - article by Sindiso Mnisi on the Mail
& Guardian website
Transnet
Transnet's
auditors find irregularity in Gama contract - 23 February
Transnet's external auditors Deloitte & Touche have found a
"reportable irregularity" in terms of the Auditing
Profession Act in a contract concluded by suspended Transnet
Freight Rail (TFR) CEO Siyabonga Gama. The alleged irregularity related
to the conclusion of a locomotive contract amounting to R867 million by
Gama. - Business Report website
Transnet
lost R18 million due to irregularities - 24 February
Transnet
had lost R18 million as a result of an alleged tender irregularity,
the parastatal said yesterday. The loss was the result of a locomotive
contract worth R867m that was concluded by suspended Transnet Freight
Rail chief executive Siyabonga Gama. - Business
Report website
Transport and
Roads
National
roads in order : Ndebele - 1 March
There is no maintenance backlog on South Africa's national road network,
says Minister of Transport S'bu Ndebele. The minister was on Monday
responding to recent media reports about potholes and the state of the
country's roads. Briefing the media as part of government's
Infrastructure Development Cluster, Ndebele said the system they had in
place allowed government to respond to potholes on the national road
network within 48 hours. - BuaNews
Online website
Transport
dept to probe work by firm linked to Malema : minister - 1 March
Transport
Minister S'bu Ndebele and his department are looking into reports that
some of the roads and bridges built by a company linked to ANC youth
League President Julius Malema were washed away shortly after
completion. The minister was asked to respond to newspaper reports
claiming Limpopo communities are up in arms over the quality of roads
erected by SGL Engineering. Ndebele described the reports as
"serious". - Eye
Witness News website
See
also : Malema
lawyer blames 'miscommunication'
above
How
about filling your own potholes?
- 2 March
moneyweb website
End
'criminal' drag racing - 1 March
A much-loved illegal motor sport – drag racing – will soon be banned
if Minister of Transport Sbu Ndebele has his way. Ndebele announced a
clampdown on reckless behaviour that leads to fatalities on the roads at
the National Road Safety Summit in Johannesburg at the weekend. "They
use stolen cars because no one in their right mind would spin their cars
the way these boys do".
- Sowetan website
Learner's
licence valid for 2 years - 23 February
The validity of a learner's licence has been extended from 18 to 24
months and driving licence tests may now also be taken on Sundays.
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele made the much welcomed announcement
on Monday. The minister published two notices to this effect in the
Government Gazette on 17 February. - BuaNews
Online website
Xenophobia
Residents
bid to stop funeral fails - 22 February
Police were called in to restore order when angry residents of Ga-Boqa,
near Giyani in the Greater Letaba municipality, put a huge rock in the
grave into which the body of a Zimbabwean man, Orlando Hlongwane, was to
be lowered. After the funeral, those opposing the burial gathered at an
open ground and took a decision to dismiss pastor Tiyane Khanyane Dlomo
from the village for having buried the man and for calling the police.
"Such acts of barbarism and xenophobia cannot not be tolerated in a
democratic state such as South Africa", said Joshua Matlou, ANC's
regional chairman and executive mayor for the Mopani district
municipality. "After several failed attempts to locate his family
the Modjadji royal family and the Mopani district municipality took a
decision that Hlongwane be buried in the village he was living in before
he died", he said. - Sowetan
website
See
also : Khoza
trial rolled over [Regional Courts]
Miscellaneous
'Widow'
claims more than just hubby's house - 22 February
Nhlanhla Nxumalo, the woman who married a comatose man in hospital and
then claimed his house, continues to help herself to the deceased's
fortunes. But it seems Nxumalo is claiming more than just the house.
Nomasonto recently received a letter from her father's insurance
company, saying Nhlanhla had made a claim of R15 000 as Mbuyisa's widow.
- Sowetan website
Welkom
"robbers" nominated for SA Dumbest Crooks of 2010 - 28
February
As
a specialist criminal attorney by trade there is nothing I enjoy more
than reading about the antics that our criminal geniuses get up to
almost on a daily basis. Some of the stuff they dream up is so
hysterical - in every sense of the word - that you wonder why they
don't rather write fiction and make a fortune. - Richmark
Sentinel website
|