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South Africa

Arms and Ammunition

Archive sues Zuma for weapons reports - 16 August
The South African History Archive is suing President Jacob Zuma, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and its chairman, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, to obtain the committee's annual reports produced since 2004. The Pretoria High Court is due to hear the application in October, although the government has asked for a postponement. The National Conventional Arms Control Act stipulates that the NCACC must present a report on its activities to Parliament each year. Only the "quantity of controlled items involved" are to be submitted "on a confidential basis". - IOL website

Mfeketo rules out DA arms statements - 18 August
An attempt by the DA to highlight aspects of South Africa's arms trade in the National Assembly on Tuesday was cut short by Deputy Speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo. After hearing two Democratic Alliance members' statements on the matter, Mfeketo ruled the party was transgressing a parliamentary rule and therefore out of order in pursuing the topic. - IOL website

Maynier shouted down by arms committee chair - 2 September
National Conventional Arms Control Committee Chair Jeff Radebe has presented Parliament with the long-awaited annual report on the country’s weapons transactions. The 2008 report presentation did not deal with recent allegations that some dodgy transactions were conducted with countries boasting a poor human rights track record. DA MP David Maynier was shouted down as he tried to gather information on deals being considered with, among others,  Syria  and Zimbabwe . - Eye Witness News website

Radebe silent on 'dodgy' arms deals - 3 September
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe yesterday said he would reveal all on the alleged "dodgy" arms deals authorised by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee - only at Parliament’s insistence. - The Times website

Black Economic Empowerment

Draft law can boost BEE role in state jobs - 19 August
The government has issued draft preferential procurement regulations which, if approved, will give more weighting to the black economic empowerment (BEE) credentials of bidders than bid prices in government contracts valued at up to R1 million. Trade and Industry director-general Tshediso Matona said yesterday existing regulations, gazetted seven years ago, gave more weight to the price in the awarding of contracts "and very small points to black empowerment", even though the BEE codes placed "much store" on government procurement leverage. - Business Report website

Transport BEE codes gazetted - 28 August
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) codes for the transport sector, one of the biggest contributors to South Africa's infrastructure and Gross Domestic Product growth, were gazetted this week. Their targets include increasing black ownership of bus commuter services, increasing the number of black pilots, and providing training for the country's taxi drivers, reports SouthAfrica.info. - BuaNews Online website

'Tougher penalties' for BEE defaulters - 25 August
South Africa's Commission for Employment Equity has recommended that companies be punished more harshly for not abiding by the country's laws on racial diversification in the workplace. Commission chair Jimmy Manyi said the government's approach of persuasion was not having the desired effect, and that black and coloured South Africans were bearing the brunt of it. - SouthAfricainfo website

Not enough BEE firms participating in liquid fuels sector : govt - 1 September
The Department of Energy on Tuesday lamented the slow progress that the liquid fuels industry was making in terms of black economic empowerment (BEE), pointing out that not enough companies were involved in the sector. The Liquid Fuels Charter, which comes with a deadline of November 2010, compels industry participants to provide for 25% black empowerment in all sectors of its operations, including its entire value chain and its shareholding. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Communications

Axed SABC head costs SABC R22m - 16 August
The cash-strapped SABC has forked out more than R22 million in salaries, bonuses and legal fees to end Dali Mpofu's 18-month nightmare at the corporation, which began with a suspension by the former board at 1am on May 6, 2008. His four-year tenure at the SABC ended on Friday with a settlement costing the corporation millions of rands, which it says was in the interests of helping to shape a better public broadcaster. Mpofu was given R6.7 million, a R4.4 million restraint of trade payout from the department of communications, R900 000 in bonuses, and R2.1 million for legal fees. - IOL website

Company Law

King Code of Corporate Governance 2009
http://african.ipapercms.dk/IOD/KINGIII/kingiiicode/

Source : OSALL (Lucy)

Public input adds value to King III  - 3 September
The King Code of Governance Principles and the King Report on Governance (King III) should be a non-legislative code, said a member of the King Committee on Corporate Governance yesterday. Lindie Engelbrecht, chief of the Institute of Directors SA and a member of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, praised the non-legislated principle-based approach. - The Times website

Non-compliant directors could be replaced under King 3  - 2 September
Company directors falling foul of the newly-launched King 3 report on corporate governance would from next March be pulled out of board directorships and be replaced, report author Mervyn King warned yesterday. "We are asking companies to comply or explain. If they do not comply and explain, then we will use the Investors Code to deal with them," King told Business Report, speaking of the code to be launched towards the end of the year. - Business Report website

King 3 warns on directors' rewards - 2 September
The latest King report on corporate governance warns against independent directors receiving share options as incentives, and emphasises the need for more disclosure and transparency on executive remuneration. Mervyn King, on releasing the final version of the third King report, said yesterday share incentives could influence directors to align their interests with executives and impair their objectivity. - Business Day website

King 3 tightens rules for nonexecutives - 1 September
The final King 3 report on .corporate governance, which will be released by the Institute of Directors today, has tightened up recommendations for nonexecutive directors sitting on boards of companies. Lindie Engelbrecht, CE of the institute, said yesterday : "SA might end up having fewer independent nonexecutive directors sitting on boards but they will be truly 'independent'." - Business Day website

King calls for more transparency - 2 September
South African companies will have to display more transparency, accountability and integrity in light of yesterday's release of the third King report on corporate governance. The code applies to all companies, public entities, private companies and all other forms of businesses. The report proposes that directors be required to "apply the code or explain" the reasons for not doing so. - Business Day website

Correctional Services

'Jail time at home for moms' - 16 August
The government wants to send young mothers in prison home, to return later to serve the rest of their terms once their children have grown. The Minister of Correctional Services, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has stirred a hornet's nest by proposing to Parliament a deferred sentence system to allow convicted mothers to serve a portion of their sentence under correctional supervision while raising their offspring. - IOL website

Red tape could free hundreds of prisoners - 16 August
Hundreds of prisoners, convicted of serious crimes including murder, could be freed due to bureaucratic bungling. At least 400 serious offenders could walk out of jail because the transcripts of their trials have apparently been lost by the Department of Justice or are "inaccessible" - and a judge could set aside their convictions and sentences and let them go. They would be freed because their constitutional right to appeal had been infringed. They are all prisoners trying to appeal their convictions and/or sentences before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), or petitioning the SCA for leave to appeal, but neither of these can be done without transcripts. - IOL website

Time to kill - 14 August
Two weeks ago I was getting ready to go to work, wearing a crisp white shirt and polished shoes that match my Italian suit. The doorbell rang and I answered to the sheriff of the court who had in hand instructions to detain me for 30 days in prison for contempt of court relating to a maintenance case. The sheriff couldn't find Diepkloof prison, confessing that he hadn't taken a civil case there in 10 years. I knew the south of Johannesburg well having worked there for seven years - so I made some route suggestions and we arrived at Diepkloof. The sheriff escorted me into Medium B and asked the warder to take me. The warder refused. He pointed out there was no arrest warrant, no detention order, and he was not going to put me in there. I suspect my crisp white shirt was to blame for his reluctance - clearly it wasn't a white collar facility. - Laurence Cramer on the Mail & Guardian website

See also :
Labour Issues. Correctional Services
Lockerbie bomber released on medical grounds [UK]

Criminal Justice System

Crime stats shock Parliament - 3 September
Police statistics show about 11 000 criminal charges are filed against children annually. The Justice Department said this was because many youngsters were coerced into a life of crime by adults. - Eye Witness News website

Cyberlaw

MXit fetishist arrested - 28 August
A man was arrested after he allegedly recruited teenage girls on MXit to treat him like a baby and change his dirty nappies in exchange for a fee. After his arrest in Durban's exclusive Morningside suburb just over two weeks ago, the 23-year-old man apparently related how he had practised this fetish since the age of 12. - News24 website

Education

Age is definitely not just a number - 27 August
A teacher hired to teach Afrikaans by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) will not be paid because he is too old. Christopher Ronald Muller was given the position of Afrikaans teacher at Oakdale Secondary School in Ennerdale, south of Joburg in April. He said the school had been struggling to find a teacher to fill the post and the children were without a teacher for several months before he arrived. Four months after not being paid the GDE told him that he could not be paid because the computer would not accept his age. The Gauteng Shared Service Centre will not allow anyone over 65 on its system. Muller is 66. Muller believes he is being discriminated against because of his age and says this is against the bill of rights. Muller left the country 20 years ago as a political activist but decided after a visit by Nelson Mandela, who urged South Africans to come home, that he would return as an asset to his country. - IOL website

'System has failed my son' : victim's mother - 15 August
Six Roosevelt High School pupils, including the head boy, who had been facing assault charges for allegedly brutally beating up a schoolmate in June, have been let off the hook. After a two-month investigation, prosecutors have informed the parents of a 14-year-old victim of the violence that the case will not go ahead "due to insufficient evidence". - IOL website

1st stage of trial in Winfrey school scandal ends - 2 September
The prosecution finished presenting witnesses Wednesday in the case of a woman accused of abusing six teenagers at Oprah Winfrey's school for poor South African girls, presenting a picture of a short-tempered, jealous young woman. The testimony from the last prosecution witnesses wrapped up the first stage of the trial, which began more than a year ago. The defendant, Tiny Virginia Makopo, allegedly tried to kiss and fondle the victims and is also accused of assaulting one of the girls as well as fellow supervisor. The 28-year-old pleaded innocent to 14 charges of indecent assault, assault and criminal injury. - AP on Google website

No evidence against ex-matron : lawyer - 7 September
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy matron, who is accused of sexually assaulting pupils, has failed to have charges against her withdrawn. Tiny Makopo's lawyer, Mosala Mmoleli, made the application on Sunday in the Sebokeng Magistrate's Court before Makopo was expected to take the stand. - IOL website

Emigration and Immigration

White flees 'SA oppression' - 1 September
A white South African man has been granted refugee status in Canada after an immigration board ruled that his "fear of persecution by African South Africans" was justified. Brandon Huntley, 31, who grew up in Mowbray, Cape Town, made his refugee claim in April last year. William Davis of the immigration board added that the unemployed irrigation sprinkler salesman had given "clear and convincing" proof of the state's "inability or unwillingness to protect him". Between 30 and 40 newspaper clippings were presented as evidence of life in South Africa. One article quotes the leader of the "Uhuru cultural club" as telling youngsters who attended a Human Rights Day celebration to steal from whites because "it is the right thing to do". "The judgment was a direct criticism of the South African government", Huntley's lawyer, Russell Kaplan said. - The Times website

SA accepts white refugee ruling - 31 August
A representative of the South African High Commission in Ottawa, Anesh Maistry, says South Africa has taken note of the decision by Canadian authorities to grant a white South Africa, Brandon Huntley, refugee status. Huntley, 31, claimed that he would be persecuted if he returned home to South Africa. - News24 website

SA white gets refugee status - 31 August
A white South African man has been granted refugee status in Canada, after an immigration board panel ruled he would be persecuted if he returned home to South Africa, the Ottawa Sun reports. This is the first time a white South African has been granted refugee status in Canada claiming persecution from black South Africans, the newspaper said. - News24 website

ANC condemns 'racist' Canadian refugee ruling - 1 September
The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday condemned a Canadian decision to give a white South African refugee status from crime-ridden South Africa, rejecting it as "racist", "sensationalist" and "alarming". - Mail & Guardian website

ANC racist about asylum status in Canada : FF+ - 1 September
"For the ANC to label the decision of Canada to grant the South African, Brandon Huntley, asylum status, as racist, is in itself racist. Part of Huntley's application was that he had been called a 'white dog' and a 'boer' by criminals during an attack on him. These name-calling terminologies are nothing unusual and even black police officers have called white victims of crime 'white dogs'. The FF Plus has in this regard already laid two complaints with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) against police officers. - Politicsweb website

SA sucks, says crime refugee - 2 September
Brandon Huntley is the South African who was granted asylum in Canada because of the violent persecution he claims he faced for being white. During the alleged attacks, Huntley told the refugee board, he was called "a white dog" and "a settler" - a reference to South Africa's colonial past based on apartheid. He never reported the attacks to the police. The board's panel chairman, William Davis, found that Huntley "was a victim because of his race rather than a victim of criminality". - IOL website

South Africa objects to a white citizen's refugee status in Canada - 2 September
The South African government is protesting a Canadian decision granting refugee status to a white South African who said he was attacked by blacks because of his race. The chairman of the tribunal, William Davis, added in the written decision provided by the lawyer, "I find that the claimant would stand out like a 'sore thumb' due to his color in any part of the country". - New York Times website

Canada studying contentious S Africa refugee case - 2 September
Canadian government lawyers are studying a controversial decision by an immigration board to grant refugee status to a white South African who said he suffered racist attacks at home, an official said on Wednesday. Once the federal immigration department's legal team has finished its work, Ottawa has the option of turning to Canada's Federal Court and asking for a formal review. - Reuters website

No precedent for refugees - 2 September
A ruling by Canadian authorities to grant a white South African man refugee status is unlikely to set a precedent or pave the way for others, an immigration law expert says. "Do they book a plane and get to Canada? Bottom line is : no. It would be very difficult to replicate the circumstance," immigration attorney, Chris Watters told News24. Watters pointed out that asylum seekers were assessed on a case-by-case basis. - News24 website

Canada moves on SA refugee ruling - 3 September
The Canadian government is going to court to try to overturn a controversial decision to grant refugee status to a white South African who said he suffered racist attacks at home, an official said on Thursday. - IOL website

Is Canada's ruling on Huntley case racist? - 3 September
Just because the majority of the victims of violent crime in South Africa are black, it doesn't necessarily follow that Huntley was not targeted because of his race. Rather, it must be borne in mind that, since 80% of South Africans are black, they are necessarily going to be higher in numbers are both perpetrators and victims. Sure, more detailed demographic crime information would be informative, but the South African government hasn't been forthcoming with such figures. Nor should they be. Why not? Because, as the Times reports, Huntley apparently lied to the Canadian refugee court in pleading his case. He claimed that he had reported his victim status in crimes to South African police and that the police failed to help him. Now he admits he never reported any incidents to the police. - Examiner website

Canada, asylum and the sprinkler salesman - 4 September
Canada is a very large place, seriously in the market for more people. So Brandon Huntley had to find some other means of persuading the Big Empty to have him. - Simon Barber on the Media Club South Africa website

A year's wait for refugee Huntley? - 6 September
Brandon Huntley may only know in a year whether the refugee status granted by the Canadian Immigration Board a week ago will be revoked or not. This is according to Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration, which decided last week to apply to the Federal Court for leave for a judicial review of the ruling that saw Huntley being granted refugee status on the grounds that he was being persecuted by black people in South Africa. - IOL website

'Huntley conned me into marriage' - 8 September
Crime refugee Brandon Huntley's estranged Canadian wife believes he "suckered" her into marriage in a bid to secure permanent residence in her country. And mother-of-two Melanie Crete-Huntley has reacted with shock to Huntley's claims to the Canadian Immigration Board that he separated from her - after she gave him a home and financially supported him for nearly a year - because "she was not a nice woman". - IOL website

Huntley has a strong case says lawyer - 8 September
The lawyer for South African refugee Brandon Huntley - facing a potential appeal over his admission into Canada - says his client has the law on his side. In a statement yesterday, Ottawa based Russell Kaplan said there were "Brandon Huntley stories from all over the world coming in every day. Personal stories of fear, by white South Africans, based on the colour of their skin, and of atrocities suffered by them and their family members and friends, because they are white, keep streaming in", said Kaplan, who himself emigrated to Canada 20 years ago. - The Times website

The Brandon Huntley saga - 6 September
I know that one of Brandon's 'white' cousins cohabits with an African woman in Khayelitsha and has been a worker in black townships for ages and has not been living in fear of his life. Over fifty percent of Brandon's relatives are people of colour in Cape Town and don't share his race attitudes or so-called 'fear problem'. At least one of his direct family, his father's brother, is married across the colour line. Brandon Huntley is a fourth generation descendent of William Huntley and Mary Anne Haddon whose children married black and white South Africans. - Patric Tariq Mellet on the Cape Slavery Heritage blog

SA's 604 overseas refugees - 5 September
Brandon Huntley, South Africa's white refugee who 'fled' to Canada to escape being targetted by 'black criminals' is not alone. The Saturday Star can reveal, as diplomats scramble to repair the rift caused by the international embarassment to South Africa, that Canada has granted asylum to a further 32 South Africans. - IOL website

Environment

New waste regulations will thrust responsibility on to manufacturers - 28 August
New waste management legislation and regulations would extend responsibility for waste management to producers, making them accountable for the life cycle of products, the Institute of Waste Management Southern Africa said this week. The onus would be on businesses to reuse or recycle waste, and they would be better off not producing hazardous waste in the first place, said Deidre Nxumalo-Freeman, the institute's Eastern Cape chairwoman. - Business Report website

Pebble-bed study 'fatally flawed' - 26 August
A key assessment document for the proposed pebble bed modular reactor was fatally flawed, the Public Service Accountability Monitor said on Tuesday. A decision on whether to go ahead with a PBMR demonstration project involved choices on the use of substantial public resources, the Grahamstown-based NGO said. It said the socioeconomic impact assessment (SEIA) carried out on the project did not give the public the information it needed to participate meaningfully in these decisions. It said the SEIA was based on a proposal for a 400 megawatt demonstration unit. - Mail & Guardian website

Eros Port Edward power line : notice of environmental authorisation - 20 August
The Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism have issued an Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the establishment of a 132kV substation at Zwelethu (near Bizana) and 2 x 132kV lines to feed the South Coast, Bizana & Xolobeni region. It's futile and counter-productive to protest progress and future energy requirements, obviously ; but as can be seen from the attached diagrams the approved power line on the Eastern Cape side comes directly to the north perimeter of the proposed Xolobeni mining tenement. - Wildcoast website

See also : Row brews as minister mulls go-ahead

Assmang Enquiry

Lawyers clash at Assmang hearing over medical reports - 4 September
The knives were drawn yesterday between the attorneys representing ferromanganese firm Assmang and nine workers dismissed on the grounds that they were 100 percent disabled, as legal eagles clashed over whether confidential medical information should be disclosed in the arbitration hearing. The hearing took place at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council and was arbitrated by commissioner Hilda Grobler. - Business Report website

Family Law

Woman who made SA's top crime-cracker crack - 15 August
Mbuyiselo Botha, senior programmes adviser at Sonke Gender Justice Network, said there had been a marked increase in the reporting of female violence on men. While there were cases of visible physical abuse, most of the incidents involved psychological and emotional abuse. He said there were cases where men were ridiculed at police stations when they reported abuse from their spouses. "It is considered a point of shame".  - IOL website

Government

Manuel, Chabane set the ball rolling on new ministries - 4 September
Two documents on how the new ministries of National Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation will work were released on Friday, shedding light on how the ministries intend to carry out their mandate. President Jacob Zuma set up the ministries, led by former finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane, to guide and monitor the work of government for the next five years. This would also form part of efforts to step up government delivery. The Green Papers, which will guide the work of the two ministers, is a culmination of a consultation process with various stakeholders in and outside government, and will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday where members will debate its contents. - BuaNews Online website

4 September 2009
Briefing notes on Green Paper National Strategic Planning
SA Government Information website

4 September 2009
Media statement by the Minister in the Presidency T Manuel for National Planning on the release of the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning
SA Government Information website

4 September 2009
Media statement by the Minister in The Presidency responsible for National Planning Trevor Manuel on the release of the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning
Presidency website

4 September 2009
Media statement by Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Collins Chabane on the release of the Green Paper on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation
Presidency website

4 September 2009
Questions and Answers on the release of the Green Paper on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation
Presidency website

Manuel's new deal for SA - 6 September
Radical proposals unveiled by the government last week aim to put an end to the short-term planning and lack of co-ordination that have seen good policies founder through botched implementation, costing the taxpayer billions in wasted spending. - IOL website

Manuel eyes best brains for commission - 7 September
Some of the best brains in the country are likely to be recruited by President Jacob Zuma to serve on the National Planning Commission and hammer out a long-term strategic plan for the country. While Manuel did not name names, ex-World Bank executive Mamphela Ramphele, Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell and SABMiller chairman Vincent Maphai have already been mentioned as potential planning commissioners . - IOL website

Zuma defends his chief justice choice - 27 August
In his first question time in the National Assembly, Zuma undertook to act against public servants who broke the law. This follows a damning report by the auditor-general on thousands of public servants doing business with entities owned by them or their families. Zuma said he had instructed Public Service Minister Richard Baloyi "to expedite the development of the Conflict of Interest Framework and to send it to Cabinet in the next few weeks". The framework is meant to plug holes in public service regulations. - Business Day website

No mercy for noncompliant public servants : Zuma - 26 August
President Jacob Zuma says government will not tolerate any conduct by public officials that is in breach of the law or public service regulations. - BuaNews Online website

Fired civil servants rake in millions - 16 August
Politically motivated management placements have lead to taxpayers having to continuously pick up the tab for "golden handshakes" over the past few years. Managers are often let go early, usually for incompetence or mismanagement.  - IOL website

Who's the most corrupt of them all? - 4 September
In a report released by the Public Service Commission yesterday, the Department of Justice was found to have the highest number of cases of financial misconduct "by" officials during the 2007/08 financial year - the period under review. - IOL website

Health

Health Ministry lambasted over national medical aid plan - 3 September
The Health Ministry was on Thursdaycriticised for prematurely announcing it intends having legislation in place by April next year which will implement a national health insurance plan. Deputy Health Minister Molefi Sefularo told delegates at a healthcare industry conference on Wednesday that he expects the green to white paper process to be completed by the end of this year. - Eye Witness News website

Home Affairs

FF Plus welcomes legislation about voting abroad - 31 August
"The FF Plus has taken note of the instruction which the Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, gave her Department's Legal department to draw up legislation which provides for guidelines according to which all South African citizens who live abroad, will be allowed to participate in South African elections". - Politicsweb website

SA suspends ID suicide officials - 3 September
Two South African officials have been suspended in connection with the suicide of Skhumbuzo Mhlongo. The 22 year old committed suicide after being refused the identity documents he needed to start a job on Monday. - BBC News website

Suicide letter of the man who couldn't get an ID - 4 September
". . . I am not prepared to steal. I don't want to go to prison. I would rather die than go to jail. I have so many debts, which I am struggling to repay. Death is the only option. I am sorry, but I have no other choice other than to kill myself . . .". - Sowetan website

Intellectual Property

Cipro launches on-line patent data base - 3 September
The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) this week launched its on-line South African Electronic Patent Database, providing access to all the full original documents of granted patents in South Africa between 1984 and 2005. This formed part of the first phase of the data-base project, which aimed to digitalise all granted patents in force from 1988 to 2008. The office was planning to expand the coverage of the data base, which could be accessed on-line at http://patentsearch.cipro.gov.za, on an ongoing basis. Further, Cipro was also supplying scanned images of South African patents to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, which would perform an optical character recognition on the documents, index the bibliographical information and make the South African patent collection available on their electronic patent search facility PatentScope. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

International Policy

Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to host SA Heads of Mission Conference, 13–15 August 2009 - 17 August
The Conference takes place a few months after the fourth democratic elections as well as at a critical time when the world experiences a myriad of challenges such as the economic and financial crises that have a direct bearing on the work of the South African Diplomatic Corps abroad. Accordingly, the Conference will endeavour to sharpen and re-emphasize South Africa’s international relations policy approaches to a range of issues of national and international importance in line with the pronouncements made by the President in his State of the Nation address on 3 June 2009. - ISRIA website

War crime suspects must think twice - 21 August
The international condemnation over Israel's winter invasion of Gaza and allegations of war crimes has made it increasingly uncomfortable, if not difficult, for members of the Israeli military to travel abroad. A recent incident in South Africa reveals the power and limitations of attempts to enforce international law and to hold war criminals accountable. - The Electronic Intifada website

War crime warning to SA - 2 September
About 75 South Africans serving in the Israeli Defence Force could face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) if South African authorities decline to prosecute them for involvement in the Gaza conflict. The Media Review Network and the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance - both based in South Africa - on Tuesday discussed this with ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo in The Hague. - IOL website

Judicial Service Commission, and, Judiciary

The increasing dangers of transformation at all costs - 27 August
The past three weeks have seen unprecedented media attention being lavished on the judiciary, virtually none of it favourable. The ham-fisted manner in which President Jacob Zuma's office handled the designation of the next chief justice generated a wave of contention and unwonted speculation. This was then compounded by the latest chapter of shocks in the seemingly endless Judge John Hlophe soap opera. - Johann Kriegler on the Business Day website
"Kriegler is a former high court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judge. These are his speaking notes for an address to the Wits Law Faculty last week"

'Do not sacrifice judicial independence' - 19 August
Can judicial independence survive transformation? Johann Kriegler thinks it can, provided everyone does their job. The former Constitutional Court judge on Tuesday night gave a public lecture at Wits University on the independence of the judiciary and transformation. - IOL website

Transformation a threat to judicial independence : Kriegler - 20 August
Comments by former Constitutional Court judge Johan Kriegler, that transformation could be a threat to judicial independence, has received support from some part of the legal fraternity. - Eye Witness News website

Transcript of the public lecture delivered by Judge Kriegler at the Wits School of Law on 18 August
This transcription also contains questions from the audience.
Audio
Wits website

Hlophe's lawyer blasts Kriegler - 21 August
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe’s lawyer lashed out at former Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler on Friday, calling him an "old man" who has made "disturbing comments" about his client. - The Times website

MP's, President debate nomination of Judge Ngcobo - 26 August
BuaNews Online website

Ngcobo welcomes challenge - 28 August Justice Sandile Ngcobo has accepted President Jacob Zuma's nomination as head of South Africa's highest court - 18 days after Zuma named him as his candidate of choice. And the judge who started his career as a Barclays Bank clerk will not be vying with any other candidate for the position of Constitutional Court chief justice. Judicial Service Commission spokeswoman Vuyelwa Masangwana on Thursday confirmed that the JSC had received Justice Ngcobo's acceptance of Zuma's nomination on Wednesday and that no other nominations for the position had been made. - IOL website

Lesbian judge lashed - 28 August
Judge Kathy Satchwell should not be appointed to the Constitutional Court because her homosexuality meant that God-fearing South Africans "will not be able to identify" with her. So contends attorney Zahir Omar, whose society went to court to fight for the quashing of the Jacob Zuma corruption case, in a submission to the Judicial Service Commission that further described Judge Satchwell as "very emotional in court proceedings". - IOL website
Keyphrase :
Society for the Protection of our Constitution

Choosing new custodians of our constitution - 29 August
In the near future, four judges of the Constitutional Court will retire and be replaced by new ones. It is important to remind ourselves of the significance of this changing of the guard, and the reasons behind it. - Judge Ngoepe, Judge President of the North and South Gauteng High Courts, on The Times website

JSC changes in October - 24 August
The Justice Ministry says a new law that will change the composition of the Judicial Service Commission's Disciplinary Committee will only come into effect in October or November. Under the JSC Amendment Act, a disciplinary committee will be composed of only judges and not political appointments. The JSC's current committee is made up of judges, three presidential appointments and several lawyers. - Eye Witness News website  

Judge's battle for top job - 26 August
The judge who reportedly disputed 99,9 percent accurate DNA results confirming his paternity of a teenage boy wants a job at the highest court. And, in his attempt to secure one of four vacant positions at the Constitutional Court, Pretoria High Court Judge Ntsikelelo Poswa has blamed computer problems, missing court files, illness and difficulty with the Afrikaans language for delays in delivering his rulings. - IOL website

Judge withdraws from Concourt race - 3 September
Judge Robert Nugent, who was nominated for one of four vacant posts at the Concourt by vocal Hlophe critic and former Concourt Justice Johan Kriegler, yesterday sent a letter to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) withdrawing his application. - IOL website

W Cape appoints two judges - 6 September
Two new judges have been appointed in the Western Cape - senior counsel and former Cape Bar Council chairperson Ashley Binns-Ward and former magistrate and senior prosecutor in the NPA's asset forfeiture unit, Elizabeth Baartman. - IOL website

'Justice delayed' irks judge - 1 September
A Cape High Court judge has lashed out in open court at the lack of judges at the court when he was asked to postpone a murder trial for nine months because there was no one available to hear it. It was the second time that the trial was postponed due to the unavailability of judges. Three of the 27 High Court judges are presiding over cases in other courts, including the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Labour Appeal Court, the Land Claims Court and the Equality Court. - IOL website

Winter of malcontents - 4 September
I'm now convinced that the greatest threat to the independence of the judiciary is the judiciary itself. Or some of its leading lights, at least. They're people without a backbone who simply sway with political winds. They're bringing the judiciary into disrepute. Soon it could be a laughing stock. If Hlophe eventually becomes chief justice - which seems to be his destination - they would have earned the right to be led by him. Editorial. - Financial Mail website

Judge Hlophe

JSC decides : Hlophe might be off the hook - 16 August
The acrimonious legal battle between the Constitutional Court and controversial Cape Judge President John Hlophe continued on Saturday amid speculation that he was going to be let off the hook, bringing to an end the long-running saga that has divided the judiciary and severely dented the image of the Constitutional Court. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) confirmed it had reached a decision on the Hlophe matter following a meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday and that an announcement would be made this week. - IOL website

Hlophe still awaits verdict on probe - 17 August
Cape Judge President John Hlophe was on Sunday still waiting to hear whether the Judicial Service Commission will proceed with a formal inquiry into misconduct charges against him. - IOL website

Hlophe disgraces the nation - 17 August
It amazes me that our country still debates whether Cape Judge President John Hlophe should serve on the Constitutional Court and perhaps even become chief justice. - Justice Malala on The Times website

Judge Hlophe's humble beginnings - 27 August
Judge President John Hlophe was a child labourer who worked in the KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane fields, lived in a tiny mud shack and survived on a diet of cornmeal and leaves. This is according to the Justice for Hlophe Alliance, which has told the Judicial Service Commission that Judge Hlophe's poverty-stricken childhood was instrumental in preparing him to fill the position at the Constitutional Court - the future of whose bitter dispute with him is likely to be decided tomorrow. - IOL website

The story of John Hlophe - 28 August
Captivated by the remarkable circumstances of his rise in the judiciary, and intrigued by how nearby to each other we had once lived, albeit in different circumstances, I wrote a column about him in this newspaper. - John Conyngham on The Witness website

The dream of a young boy in a cane field fades as the Hlophe cult grows - 5 September
In response to opposition parties' warnings about a "dark cloud" hanging over the judiciary, the Justice for Hlophe Alliance put out this Malema-esque statement : "The truth is that most of them (the decision's critics) live in Cape Town which is a city that is known for its unpredictable weather and cloudy conditions. They are so used to cloudy conditions that they sometimes mistaken (sic) sunshine for clouds because they have lived in the mountainous city for too long. Such has been their long stay there that their minds are already preconditioned to see clouds even where there is none (sic)". This is the depth of thinking of some of those the honourable judge is surrounded by. The damage Hlophe has caused goes way beyond the judiciary. - The Times website

A sad day for our judiciary and the JSC - 28 August
In late medieval times, so it is claimed, theologians argued about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The majority of the disciplinary committee of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) would have felt right at home amongst those theologians. In their decision, handed down today, on why it would not proceed with a full hearing of the complaint of the Constitutional Court judges against Judge President John Hlophe, the JSC provides a stunning example of splitting hairs and drawing distinctions without any meaning in order to justify their decision not to proceed with a full inquiry. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking blog

Controversy surrounds Hlophe ruling - 29 August
Opposition parties on Friday night reacted with shock and dismay, saying the matter had effectively been "swept under the carpet" and raised questions about the Judicial Service Commission's role as the defender of the judiciary's integrity and independence. - IOL website

Senior judges wanted Hlophe case to continue - 30 August
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe voted for the gross misconduct complaint against Cape Judge President John Hlophe to be dropped - while two of South Africa's most respected senior judges wanted it to continue. The Sunday Independent has established that Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal Lex Mpati and North and South Gauteng Judge President Bernard Ngoepe voted in favour of the dispute between Judge Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court being referred to a formal hearing. - IOL website

Why JSC ruling sounds an alarm - 31 August
Cape Judge President John Hlophe has on more than one occasion drawn parallels between his conflict with the Constitutional Court judges and President Jacob Zuma 's prolonged and ultimately victorious battle against the prosecuting authorities. The manner of the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC's) handling of the accusation that Hlophe tried to influence the outcome of Constitutional Court cases involving Zuma indicates that Hlophe has been right all along, although not in the way he would like to believe. - allAfrica website

Hlophe's lawyer says judge is free - 31 August
Newly exonerated Judge John Hlophe ducked a television interview on Sunday night and sent his lawyer instead. "This matter is now over," Judge Hlophe's lawyer, Barnabas Xulu, told the Interface programme. Xulu said that unless the Constitutional Court judges took the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) decision on review, the matter would go no further. The judge could then participate freely in the coming JSC interviews for a vacant Concourt position. - IOL website

Press Release by Justices of the Constitutional Court Justices of the Constitutional Court and Judges Jafta and Kroon who laid the complaint concerning the conduct of Judge President Hlophe, have received the decision of the Judicial Services Commission and note the contents of the majority and minority decisions. The Commission is the body mandated by the Constitution to deal with complaints relating to judicial conduct. The Justices have no comments regarding the decision of the Commission. They wish to reaffirm their commitment to continue to uphold the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and, to the best of their ability, to adjudicate all matters before them in accordance with their oath or solemn affirmation to administer justice to all people alike, without fear, favour or prejudice, guided only by the Constitution and the law. Issued on 1 September 2009 Constitutional Court Braamfontein, Johannesburg Contact person : Mrs Martie Stander Contact number :  011-359-7460

 

Press release : 2 September 2009 : For immediate release Law Society Supports Independence, Impartiality and Dignity of the Judiciary and the Courts The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) has noted both the majority and minority decisions of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on the impasse involving Judge President John Hlophe and the justices of the Constitutional Court . The LSSA has also noted the statement by the justices of the Constitutional Court of 1 September 2009. 'The attorneys' profession will support the current and the future leadership of the judiciary in upholding the independence, impartiality and dignity of the judiciary and the courts', say LSSA Co-Chairpersons, Thoba Poyo-Dlwati and Henri van Rooyen. 'We are facing interviews for and appointments of the leadership of our judiciary in the person of a new Chief Justice and a number of new Constitutional Court judges. It is imperative that the new leaders of the judiciary ensure the continuing independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the judiciary and of our courts. The integrity of the judiciary is paramount. It must, at all times, remain above suspicion otherwise its credibility will be threatened. As the body duly mandated by the Constitution to pronounce on complaints regarding judges, the LSSA accepts the JSC's ruling not to proceed with formal hearings on the complaint by Judge President Hlophe or the counter-complaint by the Constitutional Court justices. Issued on behalf of the Co-Chairpersons of the Law Society of South Africa by : Barbara Whittle Communication Manager, Law Society of South Africa Telephone : 012-366 8800 or 083-380 1307 E-mail : barbara@lssa.org.za Website: www.lssa.org.za

Zuma appointees swing JSC vote - 1 September
President Jacob Zuma's new appointments to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) are believed to have swung the debate in favour of a decision not to continue with investigations regarding allegations that Judge John Hlophe inappropriately tried to influence the judges of the Constitutional Court. According to reliable sources, only four of the JSC's complaints committee’s 10 members agreed that the complaints against Hlophe should be investigated any further. - News24 website

Cape Bar welcomes Hlophe resolution - 1 September
The fact that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had made a decision on the Hlophe matter meant the long process of restoring faith in the judiciary could begin, the Cape Bar Council said today. The findings of the JSC's disciplinary committee would not undo the damage which had been caused by the saga, council chairman Jeremy Muller said in a statement. However, the decision had at least brought to a conclusion a process which, because of its drawn-out nature, could "only have aggravated the problem". - The Times website

Kriegler to challenge Hlophe decision - 2 September
Former Constitutional Court Judge Johann Kriegler will announce an intention to legally challenge the decision not to proceed with a misconduct probe into Cape Judge President John Hlophe. A news briefing on the matter would be held on Thursday to provide further details, his spokesman, Niall Gahan, said on Wednesday. Kriegler is seeking a legal remedy on behalf of a non-government body, Freedom Under Law, of which he is chairman of the board of directors. - IOL website

Hlophe in crosshairs again - 3 September
Former Judge Johann Kriegler says the decision of the Judicial Service Commission not to probe allegations against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, was "the biggest threat to rule of law that South Africa has experienced since it emerged from darkness". He was speaking at the launch of a law body, Freedom Under Law, on Thursday. - News24 website

Kriegler takes on JSC - 4 September
The application to "compel the JSC to do its constitutional duty" will be brought by Freedom Under Law, a not-for-profit body created to protect the rule of law. Rormer Constitutional Court justice Johann Kriegler is a board member of the organisation and its spokesman. - The Times website

On acting "arbitrarily and capriciously" - 3 September
I have been wondering on what basis a decision of the JSC not to proceed with a full hearing could be reviewed and set aside. There seems to be ample grounds on which the decision could be reviewed in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA). - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking website

Kriegler questions why judges accused by Hlophe weren't cleared - 7 September
Freedom Under Law Chairman Johann Kriegler on Monday told Talk Radio 702 he cannot believe the Judicial Service Commission exonerated Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe but did not clear  two Constitutional Court  judges. - Eye Witness News website

Kriegler defends challenging Hlophe decision - 8 September
Freedom under Law (FUL) Chairman Judge Johann Kriegler said his organisation did not base its decision to challenge the Judicial Service Commission's Judge John Hlophe finding along racial lines. Kriegler said the board's decision was made by people from a variety of backgrounds : "It is across the spectrum African, of Asian extraction, coloured, WASP and Afrikaner". - Eye Witness News website

Divided JSC's ruling leaves damaging legacy for justice - 3 September
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has spoken on the complaint of the Constitutional Court against Judge John Hlophe, and his complaint against the court. These complaints give rise to the most important issues the JSC will ever be required to confront. The stakes could not be higher. - Article by David Unterhalter, professor of Law at Wits University, on the Business Day website

War over Judge Hlophe heats up : now Rhema boss hits at Tutu - 7 September
Controversial Rhema church leader Pastor Ray McCauley yesterday accused Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Kriegler of waging "a personal vendetta" against Hlophe. - Sowetan website

NILC support for JSC on Hlophe to be welcomed - 6 September
Though I accept that there is a definite partisanship that has emerged from apartheid as well as racism down the centuries this cannot be allowed to continue to destroy the fabric of South African society heading into the future. Indeed rather than proudly pronouncing on how each view or incident confirms that which divides races, people must try to see the views of all others as the aggregate of our country’s collective standpoint on issues. - Michael Trapido on the Thought Leader blog

Where was Zille? - 4 September
Should Helen Zille have been part of the JSC committee who decided not to proceed to a full hearing in the matter between Judge President John Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court? A clever and alert reader of this Blog thinks so – and I agree. This would mean the JSC was unlawfully constituted when it made its decision and on that ground alone the decision could be set aside by a court. Section 178(k) of the Constitution states that "when considering matters relating to a specific High Court", the Judge President of that Court and the Premier of the province concerned, or an alternate designated by each of them, must form part of the JSC. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking blog

Where is Hlophe? - 31 August
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe was not back in his office at the High Court on Monday, court staff said. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) last week decided not to pursue a misconduct investigation against Hlophe. The decision followed claims by two Constitutional Court judges last May that he approached them about the now abandoned corruption case against President Jacob Zuma. Hlophe, who was on special leave while the matter was before the JSC, was expected to return to work on Monday. - IOL website

Hlophe back at work - 7 September
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe was back at work in his high court office on Monday, his secretary said. - IOL website

Freedom Under Law

Ramaphosa quits over Hlophe challenge - 5 September
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa and Johannesburg High Court acting Judge Kgomotso Moroka resigned on Saturday from civil rights body Freedom Under Law (FUL). - IOL website

Kriegler accused of patronising attitude - 7 September
The brewing legal battle by Freedom Under Law, headed by retired Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler, has sparked three resignations and several public responses. Justice Kriegler's spokesman Niall Gahan confirmed yesterday that he had received letters of resignation from Acting Judge Kgomotso Moroka and advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, both of whom are on the organisation's board of directors. - IOL website

Kriegler is racist : Ntsebeza - 7 September
Former judge Johann Kriegler has a condescending attitude toward black people, said Judicial Service Commission (JSC) member advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza. - IOL website

Why I resigned from Freedom Under Law : Dumisa Ntsebeza - 7 September
Adv Dumisa Ntsebeza SC announced his intention to resign from the Board of Directors of Freedom Under Law following Judge Kriegler's announcement that he intended to challenge the decision of the Judicial Services Commission. - Politicsweb website

Why turn Kriegler's challenge into a race row? - 7 September
My experience of Kriegler is that he does not mince his words. Like most judges he is condescending to everybody. Just ask anyone of any race who covered the 1994 election when he was chair of the IEC. - Ray Hartley on The Times website

Labour Issues

'Ruling raises questions on AA' - 20 August
Media reports that Affirmative Action in the Civil Service has been "dealt a blow" by the ruling of the Labour Court against the South African Police Service must be welcomed, if not purely for the questions it raises. This ruling highlights the futility of a system that is failing on so many levels to deliver the intended effect, but also suggests a basis for fair and effective implementation of affirmative action. - News24 website

SAPS shows how not to implement "affirmative action" - 19 August
The South African Police Services (SAPS) yesterday agreed to an out of court settlement with four chemical analysts at the SAPS forensic laboratories after the four challenged a decision not to promote them to the rank of Captain, despite the fact that the post were left vacant because no suitably qualified black candidates could be found. As part of the settlement they have all been promoted and this promotion was back-dated to the time when the promotion was denied. The SAPS argued that it kept the posts vacant as part of an affirmative action strategy but after employing real lawyers to advise them on the case, they suddenly settled the case (perhaps to avoid a precedent setting judgment on the matter?) and this settlement was made an order of court. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking website

McBride wants his job back - 7 September
Former Ekurhuleni City Manager Patrick Flusk wanted payment to testify for the council in the arbitration proceedings of sacked former police chief Robert McBride. This came out during cross-examination at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and arbitration today (Monday) of the sacked police chief. Flusk will now testify for McBride even though the council presented evidence on Sunday that showed official communication from him that seem to support the council's case that McBride was never given an oral agreement to the effect that he would retain his position. - IOL website

McBride fighting losing battle? - 8 September
Axed Ekurhuleni police chief Robert McBride has outlined an uneasy relationship between two of the most senior members of the metro council's officials, yesterday. McBride was challenging his dismissal in September 2008 in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). He wants to be reinstated to his post. - IOL website

Conducting a fair disciplinary hearing - 13 July
According to the Labour Relations Act, a dismissal is unfair if it is not effected for fair reasons and in accordance with fair procedure. - The Skills Portal website

'Negotiators arrived late and empty handed' - 14 August
Halted wage negotiations in the public service sector had left some unions no option but to declare a dispute, the Independent Labour Caucus (ILC) said on Friday. ILC chair Manie de Clercq said unions - which represented more than 40 of unionised public servants - were expected to embark on declaring a dispute with the department of public service by 4pm on Friday. - IOL website

Vote on textile strike - 25 August
Workers in the clothing industry on Monday began casting their votes in a national ballot to decide whether they will go on strike, a union representative said. However labour and management are to meet in Cape Town on Wednesday for more talks on their wage dispute. - iafrica website

Correctional Services

Managers step in to guard prisoners - 18 August
The management at the Pietermaritzburg New Prison had to roll up their sleeves and guard the prisoners during breakfast yesterday morning as the majority of the guards, who are still angry about the occupational specific dispensation (OSD) agreement, reportedly went on leave. A source said the prison was operating with a skeleton staff as most guards had booked themselves on leave. - The Witness website

Defence Force

Minister lashes out at SANDF protest - 26 August
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu has lashed out at South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members who have indicated they will embark on a protest march to the Union Buildings, in Pretoria. Soldiers and staff belonging to the South African National Defence Union (SANDU) will be marching from the Pretoria City Hall to the Union Buildings on Wednesday. They are demanding a 30 percent wage increase. The minister said the protest march was unnecessary, irresponsible and in breach of national security. - BuaNews Online website

Soldiers' march declared illegal - 26 August
A planned protest march by South African army soldiers over salaries was declared illegal by the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday. The court dismissed an application by the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) to force the army to release its soldiers to take part in a protest march to the Union Buildings later on Wednesday, ministry of defence and military veterans spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said. - News24 website

Police use rubber bullets to disperse soldiers - 26 August
Tshwane police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse about 1 000 soldiers attempting to gain access to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the Defence Department said on Wednesday. When a group of protesters tried to climb over the first fence leading on to the property police retaliated with the "necessary force", spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said. "As the protesters were leaving they damaged some cars and set alight a military vehicle". One protester was slightly injured. - Mail & Guardian website

SAfrica police fire water cannons to break up soldiers' march - 26 August
Police used water cannons, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse about 1,200 soldiers who staged an illegal march on South Africa's government offices, the defence ministry said Wednesday. Several cars were damaged as police pushed the soldiers back from the Union Buildings in the capital Pretoria, he said. Soldiers threw a petrol bomb into one vehicle, the SAPA news agency reported. - AFP on Google website

Violent troops face Sisulu's wrath - 26 August
Soldiers who were dispersed with rubber bullets and teargas following an illegal march on Wednesday, will be immediately suspended without pay, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said. Between 1 000 and 2 000 soldiers face tough disciplinary action and possible criminal prosecution after a pay increase march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria turned violent. - News24 website

26 August 2009
Address by Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu on the illegal march by SANDU members to the Union Buildings
BuaNews Online website

SA inquiry into soldier protest - 27 August
The South African authorities are investigating how hundreds of soldiers were able to march on government buildings in a dispute over pay. More than 1 000 soldiers left their Pretoria barracks on Wednesday and approached the Union Buildings, which houses the president's office. - BBC News website

Soldiers to appear before military tribunal - 27 August
Two SANDF soldiers arrested for public violence during an illegal strike in Pretoria would soon appear before a military tribunal, a community safety spokesman said on Thursday. - IOL website

Govt must review unionisation of army, say veterans - 31 August
The government must review the unionisation of the military, veterans said on Monday. ". . . We have and will always oppose the unionisation of the security cluster, especially based on the fact that there is a thin line between mutiny and protest action by soldiers," the Umkhonto weSizwe and Azanian People's Liberation Army military veterans' associations (MKMVA and APLAMVA) said in a statement. Soldiers were the protectors of the Constitution and their allegiance lay with the country, they said, adding that there was always an expectation that a soldier's patriotic actions be defined by pride, honour, duty and sacrifice. - Mail & Guardian website

S African 'strike' troops sacked - 31 August
Nearly 700 soldiers from the South African defence force have been sent letters of dismissal following last week's strike action. Up to 3 000 military personal clashed with the police on the streets of Pretoria during demonstrations over pay and conditions. The action was condemned by both the defence minister and the secretary general of the ruling party, the ANC. The soldiers' union says the sackings are illegal and will inflame tensions. - BBC News website

Union wants defence minister arrested - 2 September
The South Africa Security Forces Union (Sasfu) on Wednesday called for Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to be arrested for violating a high court order. The minister was in breach of an order which ruled that the Defence Department's HIV/Aids policy discriminated against HIV-positive soldiers, Sasfu deputy president Charles Jacobs told journalists in Pretoria. "In terms of that policy, HIV-positive soldiers cannot be promoted or deployed outside the country". He said the court had ruled the department must review its HIV/Aids policy and present a new one within six months. "The six months lapsed on November 16 last year. We are currently six months after the stipulated day". - Mail & Guardian website

Defence Ministry says Sisulu didn’t ignore court on Aids policies - 31 August
The Defence Ministry has hit back after calls for the arrest of its head Lindiwe Sisulu for being in contempt of court. "This court judgment was in December 2008, Minister Sisulu was appointed in May 2009 and after her appointment we have had a number of meetings with the sergeant general and the team that is working on the Aids policy," the Defence Ministry’s Ndivhuwo Mabaya says. - Eye Witness News website

Sisulu sticks to her guns - 3 September
One of South Africa's biggest military unions will fight in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday to have Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu arrested. The announcement comes as Sisulu, despite a barrage of attacks by military unions, whose members ran riot in street battles with police last week, refused to back down on her decision to have hundreds of soldiers who took part in the violence fired. - IOL website

Worries over pay, discipline hurt S Africa's military : experts - 4 September
Tensions over pay and worries about discipline are undermining the integrity of South Africa's military, experts say, after soldiers marched on the president's offices last week in Pretoria. - ABS-CBN News website

See also : Pay armed forces more, Clegg says [UK]

Municipal Workers

Public servants likely to accept pay offer - 4 September
Trade unions look likely to accept the government's latest wage offer for the public service, averting further mass action in the sector. Some unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) yesterday said the offer, which averaged at 11,5%, was reasonable considering the recession. Labour had said earlier they would not accept anything less than a double-digit increase, and initially demanded 15%. - allAfrica website

Post Office

Post office staff begin stayaway - 21 August
At least 9 000 post office workers began a nationwide strike yesterday, the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) said. - Business Report website

Is the postal strike legal? Court to answer today - 4 September
The  Labour Court  in Braamfontein will today hand down judgment in the South African Post Office's urgent application to stop a strike by its employees. Postal services across the country have been disrupted over the past two weeks as members of the Communication Workers’ Union remain on a stay away. - Eye Witness News website

Labour Court rules on Post Office strike - 4 September
The Labour Court has granted an interdict stopping the strike at the Post Office, declaring it unprotected, an SA Post Office spokeswoman said. - IOL website

SARS

SARS employees threaten strike over pay increase - 7 September
Employees at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) are expected to go on strike today, after unions rejected a revised 9,5% average pay rise offer tabled at the weekend, SARS said yesterday. The Labour Court will rule this morning on a bid by SARS for an urgent interdict to halt the strike, on grounds that its employees provide an essential service. SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay told Business Day that for now the strike was "protected" by the timing of the court's decision. - allAfrica website

SARS tables revised wage offer - 7 September
The South African Revenue Services (SARS) tabled a revised wage offer after talks with unions at the weekend. "The new, revised offer proposes salary increases on a sliding scale of between 9 percent and 11 percent for the respective grades in SARS. SARS believes the revised offer is in line with developments in the broader public sector wage negotiations," said the revenue services in a statement. SARS and the negotiating teams from the National Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the Public Service Association (PSA) met at the National Bargaining Forum on Saturday and Sunday. - BuaNews Online website

Green light for Sars workers' strike - 7 September
The Labour Court has dismissed an application by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) on Monday for an urgent interdict against strike action by its workers. "The court dismissed the application on the basis of urgency," said Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay. - IOL website

Taxi Industry

Taxi union to strike over bus transport system - 19 August
South Africa's taxi union said on Wednesday it would go on strike in protest at a new public transport system for the 2010 World Cup, the latest in a wave of industrial action in Africa's biggest economy. The South African National Taxi Drivers Council (SANTACO) said it would stage a nationwide strike after failing to agree with government on how the new bus service would work. "There will be mass action between (Aug) 27 and (Sept) 3rd, and it might even be extended beyond that," SANTACO spokesman Vernon Billet said. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup

Taxi forum in court bid to suspend BRT system - 27 August
The United Taxi Association Forum on Thursday lodged legal papers in the High Court in Pretoria to have the launch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system suspended, the SABC reported. The BRT system is expected to start operation in Johannesburg next week. However, forum spokesperson Ralph Jones told the broadcaster they wanted the court to suspend the BRT system until proper talks had taken place. - Mail & Guardian website

BRT launch to go ahead, taxi strike called off : Transport Minister - 27 August
In the latest salvo fired in the war of words between government and some members of the taxi industry, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele vowed on Thursday that Johannesburg's Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system would start operations on Monday, August 31. Cabinet spokesperson Themba Maseko also noted that threats of violence and actual violent conduct were viewed in a "very serious light", warning that law enforcement agencies would not hesitate to take strong action. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Taxi strike postponed while parties consult - 1 September
South African taxi drivers will meet the government again on Thursday to discuss their opposition to a new rapid bus service and avert a nationwide strike, a union official said on Tuesday. The South African National Taxi Drivers Council (Santaco) had threatened to strike over concerns the bus service, launched in Johannesburg this week, would cripple their business. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Telkom

Telkom, union sign wage deal - 19 August
Fixed-line telecommunications provider Telkom on Wednesday reported that it had agreed a final wage settlement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to tackle the issues of annual general salary increases and the salary disparities that have resulted from historical issues. The parties have agreed to a 7,5% general salary increase, and a two year moratorium on forced retrenchments. The parties also agreed to an accelerated process to address the salary disparities, and that all future increases would be performance based. On average, this translated to an 11,22% increase for bargaining unit staff and all adjustments. All adjustments are effective from the beginning of August. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Land Affairs and Property

Revised building regulations likely to be published by year-end : SABS - 2 September
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) hoped to publish the revised building regulations by the end of the year, said SABS spokesperson Vanida Lennon. The national building regulations were initially administered by the Department of Trade and Industry in 1997, and enforced at the point of construction by local authorities, compliance was verified by a competent person, and approval at the local authority was based on the sign off by a competent professional. The specific regulations were developed in conjunction with the SANS 10400 standard, and would contain regulations, performance requirements, and guidance, and was currently broken down into 20 parts, explained Lennon. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Largest commercial property deal - 4 September
Old Mutual Life Assurance Company of South Africa (OMLACSA), current owner of the premier retail properties,  Cavendish Square and Connect Shopping Centre in Cape Town and Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria, has signed sale agreements in respect of 50% undivided ownership interests in these properties with Pareto Ltd, for a purchase price of close to R2.5 billion. Ben Kodisang, managing director of OMIGPI said this is the largest commercial property transaction in South Africa since the sale of the V&A Waterfront. - Cape Business News website

17 August 2009
Speech by the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan at the presentation of Land Bank's 2009 annual results, Midrand
Land bank looters will be brought to book. - Politicsweb website

Court ends Madiba's grandson, cousin dispute - 2 September
Nelson Mandela's grandson has won the right to evict his second cousin from the home she and her family have lived in for 18 years. After a fierce legal battle, the Gauteng Housing Adjudication Board on Tuesday acknowledged Nkosi Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela as the rightful owner of the Orlando East house - once home to Evelyn, Nelson Mandela's first wife. - IOL website

City puts stop to gym that 'degrades' - 15 August
An Auckland Park, Johannesburg, man has won a two-year battle against his neighbour who illegally built a two-storey structure protruding over his house.  Georg Knoke says the structure degrades the suburb and has led to the value of his property dropping. He also believes the rubbish from the construction has caused a rat problem in the suburb. City of Johannesburg spokesman Nthathise Modingoane confirmed that the application had been denied and said Building Control had been asked to resume legal action for the demolition of the building. - IOL website

Estate agents face risk of delays in getting qualifications  - 4 September
A breakdown in the relationship between the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Sseta) and the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) could result in delays in estate agents getting their qualifications. These qualifications are required ahead of the introduction of compulsory qualifications for the real estate industry from 2011. - Business Report website

Land Claims and Expropriation

Zuma : land reform not working - 17 August
President Jacob Zuma on Monday declared unequivocally that his government is planning to make "significant changes" to the willing-buyer-willing-seller method of land redistribution. - Fin24 website

Land claim purchases on hold - 27 August
The Land Claims Commission has placed a moratorium on buying land under claim until money can be found to bail it out. "There will be no new sale agreements signed until the money comes", chief land claims commissioner Blessing Mphela told Business Day yesterday. "Willing sellers who want quick decisions need to know there is no money to pay them". - Business Day website

Land grabs : back on the table - 31 August
The prospect of mass land grabs is back on the table. And the fresh expropriation talk is worrying South Africa's biggest property investors. The possibility of land expropriations was put on the backburner while our politicians got on with the business of elections and settling in President Jacob Zuma. Although out-of-sight, plans by politicians to dramatically speed up the transfer of land from mostly white to black hands was not buried. Instead, there are rumblings in the corridors of Parliament that expropriation must go ahead - even if it means annoying owners because they cannot receive a market-related price, thanks largely to a lack of government funding. - Realestateweb website

Minister scuppers successful farming schemes - 13 August
Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti has pulled the plug on farm share equity schemes - probably the most commercially successful land-reform model in SA to date. The department's spokesman, Eddie Mohoebi, yesterday confirmed "a moratorium" on funding share equity schemes was in place, although no official announcement has been made yet. The move is a blow to the government’s efforts to meet land-reform targets while keeping highly capitalised commercial farms productive at a time of rising food prices and budget constraints. The scheme lets workers pool state grants to buy stakes in farm enterprises, and has been responsible for success stories, including prestigious wine estates such as Spier, Beyerskloof, Nelson's Creek, Backsberg and Mont du Toit, and fruit farms such as the Crispy Group in Ceres. - Business Day website

Free State govt evicts female farmer of the year - 2 September
There were many reasons why the Free State's Female Farmer of the Year of 2008, Kero Kgobe, had been evicted from her farm outside Bloemfontein, the Free State rural development department said on Wednesday. But the main reason was that she was operating a shebeen on the farm, the department said. - Mail & Guardian website

Mapungubwe's future in doubt - 26 August
In what is considered the largest land claim in the history of South Africa, Mapungubwe - a world heritage site - as well as 56 farms in the far north of Limpopo, have been awarded to the Machete royal family. The Machetes' successful claim has, however, placed the future of Mapungubwe in doubt, as it is set to become part of a transfrontier park in the near future. Tele Mapoto, land claims commissioner for Limpopo, said his office and SANParks are currently holding talks with the Machete family, with the aim of trying to find a negotiated agreement regarding Mapungubwe. - News24 website

'We will not claim ownership of Greytown' - 6 September
The Nxamalala clan would not claim to have Greytown back, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. Speaking during Inkosi Mathomela memorial lecture in the Greytown City Hall on Saturday night, Zuma said his clan would demand to have the Greytown back. - IOL website

Maritime Law

New rules can affect local shippers - 20 August
A new international convention that governs cargo liability during sea and inland inter-modal transport will be signed by the United Nations, next month (September), which could have far reaching implications for local shippers. - Cape Business News website

Minerals and Energy

Row brews as minister mulls go-ahead - 16 August The dispute over community consent for Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project is hotting up as Minerals and Energy Minister Susan Shabangu considers granting the final go-ahead. The plans are to excavate 346 million tons of titanium and other heavy minerals along a 22m stretch of the Wild Coast below Port Edward.  But conservationists are protesting because the mineral area lies in a vast, unspoilt wilderness region that offers considerable ecotourism potential. - IOL website Oz mining group accused of fraud - 16 August An Australian mining enterprise stands accused of using an allegedly fraudulent certificate of consent containing 3 087 names to try to persuade top South African government officials that there is overwhelmingly community support for proposed heavy minerals mining along the Wild Coast. - IOL website

Petroleum industry seeks exemption from Competition Act to avoid fuel shortages - 26 August
The petroleum industry in South Africa is to ask that it be exempted from current competition legislation so that adequate co-ordination and planning between key role players can take place to avoid future fuel shortages.  The South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) presented feedback on the recent jet fuel shortages at OR Tambo airport and other problems facing the petroleum industry to the select committee on economic development in Parliament. - SabinetLaw website

Independent service provider to undertake SA Mining Charter review - 3 September
South Africa has appointed an independent service provider to conduct a review of the country's Mining Charter, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said on Thursday. Speaking at the Africa Downunder conference, in Perth, Shabangu said that the review was an important process for all stakeholders, and added that the department planned to announce the outcome as soon as the review was completed. The Mining Charter represented an agreement among all industry stakeholders, which entailed specific targets of transformation, including the transfer of part ownership, participation in, or benefiting from, existing or future prospecting and production operations to historically disadvantaged South Africans. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Getting tough on mines - 21 August
Mining companies could soon be faced with hefty fines if they are found to have not complied with the law in the safe-keeping of explosives used underground. Parliament's select committee on economic development proposed to the National Assembly earlier this week that the Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act be amended to increase the fine for non-compliance from the current R200 000 to R1-million. The proposal comes after several hearings held by the committee on illegal mining and followed by an oversight visit to Harmony Gold mine in Welkom. - Business Report website

Mining industry fights levy hike - 26 August
The mining industry is going to court to avoid paying nearly 30 times more in statutory levies to the compensation fund that deals with mine workers' claims for occupationally acquired lung diseases. The Chamber of Mines is seeking a declaratory order in the North Gauteng High Court to overturn the levy hikes proposed by the Department of Health's compensation commissioner for occupational disease. - Business Report website

Shabangu : mines must give back to communities - 17 August
Mining companies have a responsibility to plough back profits into the communities in which they operate, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said. "When we grant a company a licence to mine the wealth of our country, that company has to table a social and labour plan," said the minister in a statement issued on Sunday. "These plans require that companies invest in and improve the conditions of communities in the areas where they operate". - Mail & Guardian website

R626m offer for Pamodzi Gold group 'inadequate' : liquidator - 19 August
The latest R626-million "expression of interest" for the entire Pamodzi Gold group was not only "inadequate" and "not in the interest of creditors", but might result in "further protracted delays" and had "no binding effect", liquidator Enver Motala said on Wednesday. Believed to be Chinese supported, the R626-million offer was made by Pamdozi Gold founding chairperson Ndaba Ntsele. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Mandela/Zuma company bids R215m for Pamodzi Gold Orkney, preserves jobs - 24 August
Black economic-empowerment company Aurora Empowerment Systems, of which President Jacob Zuma's nephew Khulubuse Zuma is chairperson and Nelson Mandela's grandson Zondwa Mandela is MD, has bid R215-million for the provisionally liquidated assets of Pamdozi Gold Orkney and has undertaken to preserve all jobs. Joint provisional liquidators Enver Motala, Allan Pellow and Deon Botha announced on Monday that Aurora, which has a controlling interest in the JSE-listed Cenmag, had been selected as the preferred bidder. Motala described Aurora as a well-capitalised company that had local and Middle Eastern shareholders. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Knockout blow for Pamodzi liquidators - 25 August
Liquidators, lead by Enver Motala, could be looking at fees of less than R1m instead of the R60m+ currently lining their pockets. The cut in fees comes from the liquidators being paid an hourly rate as opposed to 10% of the liquidation value. This only holds if the groups' recapitalisation plan goes ahead. - Moneyweb website

Pamodzi probes clues to liquidation - 25 August
The joint liquidators of Pamodzi Gold would investigate wrongs that led to liquidation despite a R200 million loan as capital injection from the Industrial Development Corporation, liquidator Enver Motala of SBT Trust said yesterday. - Business Report website

Bid for entire Pamodzi Gold group is faster, higher : Kobus du Plooy - 26 August
The bid for the entire Pamodzi Gold group had the potential to be concluded far faster than any of the other deals on the table and offered a significantly higher final amount of R1,7-billion, Pamodzi Investment Holdings executive director Kobus du Plooy said on Wednesday. Du Plooy, who cofounded Pamodzi Gold with Ndaba Ntsele, told Mining Weekly Online that the China-backed group bid could be finalised "in less than two months" and was committed to a payout of R626-million immediately and to the redeeming of R1,7-billion worth of obligations "in a couple of years". - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Pamodzi Gold liquidation deadline extended to Dec 8, Aurora eyes Free State - 1 September
The North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday granted an extension to December 8 for the final liquidation of the provisionally liquidated Pamodzi Gold mines, while Aurora Empowerment Systems visited Pamodzi Gold Free State to pip Harmony Gold's bid at the post. Joint liquidator Enver Motala said that Judge Southwood had granted the fourth extension to the liquidation under duress and that a fifth extension of the deadline was unlikely to be tolerated. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Update from Pamodzi Gold's President Steyn Mine : package by Chris Blaine  - 3 September
Moneyweb website

Pamodzi's ultimatum - 4 September
Pamodz liquidator Enver Motala has given the gold miner's management an ultimatum:  raise R11m by Monday or else no deal. Motala confirmed late on Friday that he has met with the management of Pamodzi and given them until the end of business on Monday to raise R11m to pay for the care and maintenance of Pamdozi's President Steyn mine in the Free State. If managers can achieve this they will have bought the China Africa Development Fund 30 days to conclude its due diligence for its proposed R626m investment. - Moneyweb website

Pamodzi can't pay for mine upkeep - 8 September
Troubled miner Pamodzi Gold failed yesterday to raise R11-million needed to pay for care and maintenance of its President Steyn mine in Free State. Provisional liquidator Enver Motala said : "They haven't raised the money yet. The way forward will be discussed at the liquidators' meeting [today]". - The Times website

Harmony takes Pamodzi Gold Free State - 8 September
Gold major Harmony has clinched the provisionally liquidated Pamodzi Gold Free State, liquidator Enver Motala confirmed to Mining Weekly Online late on Tuesday. Harmony, which had suspened its position as the preferred bidder to facilitate the late but failed entry of the China Africa Development Fund, returned to the negotiations to ink the deal for the Pamodzi Gold asset. With  the black economically empowered company Aurora having secured Pamodizi Gold Orkney, all that remains to be bought out of provisional liquidation are Pamodzi Gold East Rand and West Rand. Aurora was also considering bidding for Pamodzi Gold Free State. Harmony paid R405-million for Pamodzi Gold Free State and Aurora R215-million for Pamodzi Gold Orkney. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Donen Report

Exclusive : the report Mbeki and Zuma hid from you - 22 August
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has been named by a government-appointed commission as being "privy to material information" relating to controversial businessman Sandile Majali's shady oil deals with the former Iraqi regime. Motlanthe is named in a report compiled by the Donen Commission, which was set up by former president Thabo Mbeki. It was asked to probe the involvement of South African companies and individuals in the violation of the UN sanctions on Iraq. - The Times website

Could Zuma do an Mbeki on Motlanthe? - 23 August
Over the weekend the Sunday Times highlighted a report by advocate Michael Donen SC that had been commissioned by Mbeki to investigate the possible involvement of South African companies and individuals in the violation of the UN sanctions on Iraq. The Donen Commission report has purportedly been requested from former presidents Mbeki, Motlanthe and current President Zuma on a number of occasions seemingly without success. I'm sure clarification in this regard will be forthcoming this week. - Michael Trapido on the Thought Leader blog

Zuma, opposition discuss oil deal report - 27 August
A report on the role senior government officials played in suspect oil deals with Iraq was raised in discussions with opposition leaders on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma said. Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Athol Trollip had said he would ask Zuma to reconstitute the Donen Commission on the role senior government officials played in oil deals with Iraq during the meeting. - IOL website

Municipal Management and Procedure

Govt acknowledges municipality maintenance problem : official - 3 September
There has been an increase in reports of deteriorating infrastructure in municipalities across South Africa, which highlights the critical need to maintain existing infrastructure to sustain and support public service delivery and boost economic growth in the future. In response to massive service backlogs and recent widespread protests against inadequate service delivery, the government has accelerated investment into infrastructure. The failure to preserve these new investments, along with what is already in place, will not only jeopardise these investments, but will also threaten stability further, and give rise to costly repairs later on. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Cape Town

Cape Town fires moonlighting staff  - 17 August
Seven staff in the City of Cape Town's building plans department have been dismissed for offering their services for personal financial gain without permission. A further 14 employees are likely to be charged for more serious offences in the second phase of the crackdown. The dismissals form part of a drive by the City of Cape Town to eradicate internal conflicts of interest. Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs' forensic and labour departments were appointed last year to investigate the problem. Bradley Conradie, a director in the law firm's employment law department, said on Friday the probe followed rumours about corrupt and underhand activities in the building plans department and information from a whistleblower. The dismissed staff had between 18 and 20 years' service on average and earned between R300 000 and R600 000 a year. - Business Report website

Fraud rife in Cape Town planning dept, says report - 27 August
A damning report leaked to the Mail & Guardian exposes how fraud was rife at the City of Cape Town’s planning and building development management department, with many instances of money changing hands across the counter to speed up the approval of building plans. The report by employment law specialists Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs describes cases where city officials drew up building plans for clients without permission, and then ensured the plans were approved in record time. - Mail & Guardian website

Have your say about the draft Access to Premises By-law - 20 August
In order to improve service delivery, the City of Cape Town is promulgating a by-law conferring the right of entry to City officials onto premises. The draft Access to Premises By-law addresses the issue of access into non-City owned premises for service providers that provide a municipal service on behalf of the City, without necessarily having to obtain the consent of the owner, where the owner is not available or his or her whereabouts are unknown. - City of Cape Town website

City re-drafting Public Parks by-law  - 24 August
The City of Cape Town is in the process of consolidating its Public Parks by-law, so that a single by-law will apply to all of the city's 3 052 parks. In the past, each municipality which made up the former unicity had its own parks by-laws, which resulted in unnecessary duplication and general confusion. - City of Cape Town website

eThekwini

Street renaming under judicial scrutiny - 24 August
Two years after Durban's streets and buildings were "renamed" by the eThekwini Municipality, the legality of the process is to come under judicial scrutiny. Before the Durban High Court on Tuesday is an application by the DA and the IFP, who are seeking to have set aside the council's controversial decision to rename about 100 streets, roads, highways and two buildings. If successful, the original names would have to be restored and the council would have to begin the process anew. - IOL website

Press Release : Response to the KZN Provincial Task Team report back on the Early Morning Market and the Warwick Avenue Mall Development This press release was emailed out at : 27 August, 2009 17:58 The eThekwini Municipality welcomes the report by the KZN Provincial task team  regarding the Early Morning Market and Warwick Avenue Mall Development. The report was released today at a meeting held at the ICC for all stakeholders. The findings and recommendations included the following : 1. The consultative process must be reopened and concluded by 30 September 2009 2. The benefits of the development must be recognized 3. That there is a need to determine who the interest parties in the matter are and their rights and needs must be provided for in any future development 4. There should be a memorandum of understanding between stakeholders 5. The development should meet black economic empowerment objectives 6. The need to provide for all sectors, even the marginalized 7. The symbolic and historical significance of the site should be recognized 8. The need to de-racialise the debate 9. The need to address administrative issues by 31 October 2009 10. That the process and project is open and transparent 11. Existing right holders must be catered for 12. Facilities must be provide for marginalized traders 13. Temporary facilities must be available for traders during the construction phase 14. City should proved basic services 15. That finding a resolution to the matter should be expedited 16. For all role players to commit themselves to the development 17. The MEC for Economic Development and Tourism should expedite the finalisation of an informal trade policy 18. That the Environmental impact assessment be finalized 19. That interested parties should attend suitable relationship building exercise 20.  That the tourism potential of the project must be recognized 21. that legal disputes should be settled The Municipality would like to state that findings of the task team are reasonable and respected. The City Manager, Dr Sutcliffe will now table a report with recommendations to the Council regarding the way forward. For more information contact Philip Sithole : Head Business Support and Market Unit. Telephone 031-311 4329 or 083-288 8793. Email sitholep@durban.gov.za Issued by the eThekwini Municipality, Communications Department. Telephone Sohana Singh

 

Director makes noise about 'lewd' poster ban - 17 August
A show poster of a woman standing in a doorway in white underwear and stockings, promoting a new local stage comedy, has been banned by the eThekwini Municipality on the grounds that it is "lewd and provocative". The comedy, Noises Off, opens at Durban's Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre this week. The poster ban has so enraged the show's producer and director, Steven Stead of Durban's KickstArt theatre company, that he has called on the public, via email and Facebook, to write to municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe to complain. He believes the theatre community is being victimised and that double standards are at work. - IOL website

Press Release : Row Over Posters Is So Much About Nothing This press release was emailed out at : 19 August, 2009 13:23 Stories that Mr Steven Stead's posters were summarily banned by the City Council have been greatly exaggerated. We also wonder if the letters published in The Mercury newspaper, for instance, were a reflection of the views of all who wrote to the newspaper. As a City Manager, I have had a number of calls from people lauding our decision not to approve the first poster. But interestingly, very few are published in the particular newspaper. Further, let us note that as a city, we have to take into account feelings of a wide spectrum of our communities. Not just of those excited by nudity and the like. On this note, it must be remembered that our hard-earned democracy is emphasizing on the issue of honouring and respecting our mothers. And this is Women's Month. To many women, using them in the manner as done by Mr Stead is a form of women abuse in the first order. Let's place on record that all the city did was to take into consideration issues around public safety and indecency. We made recommendations on how to amend the posters so that they are more acceptable in line with the country's acceptable advertising standards. The first poster supplied to the department was not banned as indicated in the article. Siyaya Promotions had applied for permission on behalf of Mr Steven Stead of KicksArt Theatre Company, on 11 August. Based on the content of the poster, particularly the picture, which is deemed to be indecent, the application was turned down by the Manager : General Advertising. The City suggested the use of a different picture or that something be done on the existing picture to cover up the woman portrayed in it. A final poster was submitted to the Development and Planning Unit on the 14th August 2009, and approval was granted. It was simply on the basis of the decision of the owners that a different picture, without the woman figure, was used instead, because they clearly would not accept using a cover-up lady. The municipality would like to place on record that theatre applications were always accommodated even at very short notice, but the content has to be within reason. The aesthetics of posters are determined by whether the poster will not be a danger to traffic and that the content is not of an indecent, obscene, objectionable character or of a nature to calculate to produce a pernicious or injurious effect to the public. Poster advertising is primarily to convey to the public what is happening, when and where. Strict rules apply when seeking permission to put up posters and it is always advisable to show the artwork to the General Advertising Department for advice before printing of the poster is done. This will save the applicant time and money if the poster that is printed is not approved for erection on the street poles. Appeals against any decision on posters can be made to the Head : Development Planning and Environment Management Unit. The department will remove illegally erected posters and a fine of R652 per poster will be raised against the perpetrators.  Issued by the eThekwini Communications Department. Telephone Sohana Singh, Communications Officer, on 031-311 2044 or email singhsohana@durban.gov.za

See also : Crackdown on 'boomerang bosses'

Provincial Government

Hands off the provinces, FW tells Zuma - 18 August
Former president FW de Klerk warned President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday against changing the Constitution to enable the national government to rein in the powers of the provinces. "I emphasised the necessity, which I firmly believe, that we should not in any way undermine the historical compromise which is encapsulated in our Constitution", he told reporters after a private meeting of more than an hour with Zuma at Tuynhuys. - IOL website

Road Accident Fund

'RAF doomed without overhaul' - 1 September
The head of the embattled Road Accident Fund (RAF) told MPs on Tuesday that it could not hope to survive without a comprehensive legal overhaul held up by the courts. Joe Modise said the scheme was not sustainable, not affordable, lost millions through fraudulent claims and was unable to treat poor accident victims in an equitable manner. Modise said both the RAF and victims were losing a fortune to lawyers, which should instead go directly towards paying the medical bills of those injured in accidents. - IOL website

Court decision 'harming RAF' - 1 September The head of the embattled Road Accident Fund (RAF) told MPs that it could not hope to survive without a comprehensive legal overhaul held up by the courts. The fund earlier this month lost a court battle with a group of lawyers affiliated to the Law Society of SA over its new system designed to pay compensation directly into the bank accounts of victims. The Cape High Court ruled that the fund should not implement the new system and ordered it to pay the court costs. - The Times website

New accident fund 'to end lawyers' greed' - 2 September
It has taken nearly a decade to finalise, but a draft policy for a no-fault-based system of compensation for road accident victims would be presented to the Cabinet's social cluster next week, MPs were told yesterday. Implementation, however, was likely to take several years, not least because of the fierce resistance expected from the legal profession, which earns billions of rand in pursuing claims on behalf of clients. - Business Day website

South African Police Service

Fresh scandal for police station - 22 August
Explosive new allegations of corruption have been levelled against police officers at KwaZulu-Natal's most notorious station - as well as the province's top cop. Damning accusations against provincial police chief Hamilton Ngidi and Mountain Rise police station commissioner Hariram Badul emerged this week in an affidavit by the suspended head of the province's police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate. The ICD's Tabisa Ralo has blown the lid on alleged dodgy conduct at the station. She says misconduct charges against her, which could result in her dismissal, were brought against her because of her probe into the station. Ralo's court application follows closely on the legal battle of Mountain Rise policeman Craig Josiah, who alleges he was suspended for blowing the whistle on crime-statistics manipulation at the station. The 33-year-old ICD chief's affidavit was part of her application to have the High Court in Pietermaritzburg order she be allowed legal representation at her internal disciplinary hearing, instituted in February. The matter has been adjourned to December. - The Times website

Sport and Recreation

IAAF Gender verification policy - full text - 26 August
Mail & Guardian website

Law Society slams sex tests - 26 August
The sex testing on Mokgadi Caster Semenya has been labelled as an insensitive decision by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). This statement was made by the Transformation Committee Women's Desk of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces chairman Kathlene Matolo. The committee has condemned the IAAF's decision to run sex tests on Semenya, based on her physique and running style. - Citizen website

Rights group takes up Semenya race issue - 31 August
. . .with the world's governing body of athletics against the president of Athletics South Africa (ASA) for inciting racial polarisation over athlete Caster Semenya. Afriforum chief executive Kallie Kriel said he had laid a charge against Leonard Chuene, with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). - Mail & Guardian website

Caster duped into tests - 7 September
Caster Semenya believed she was undergoing standard doping tests - but, in fact, it was her gender that was being determined. This is according to national athletics coach Wilfred Daniels, who has resigned in the wake of the controversy. Yesterday, Daniels personally apologised to Semenya because of the way he and Athletics South Africa (ASA) had handled the gender-testing debacle. - IOL website

Hullabaloo over Habana contract unnecessary - 20 August
Springbok wing Bryan Habana is well within his rights to shop around and find the best deal before signing a new contract; after all, he is one of the best players in world rugby and should be compensated as such. But the publicity his meeting with Western Province received was totally unnecessary. - Business Day website

Habana moves south - 25 August
Bryan Habana has quit the Bulls - by e-mail. The wing has decided to join Western Province on a two-year contract. Habana's agent, his father, Bernie Habana, informed the Bulls in an e-mail to chief executive Barend van Graan. The news broke yesterday, unofficially, that Habana would move south. Habana will reportedly become one of the highest-paid players in South African rugby - R3- million a year. The Bulls refused to match Habana's demands. - The Times website

Habana transfer could go to court - 25 August
Bryan Habana's agreement to join Western Province and the Stormers next year could lead to a court case if the Springbok winger is in breach of his contract with the Blue Bulls. - SA Rugby website

Fourie must now respect signature he put on paper - 17 August
When Jaque Fourie checks his bank balance every month there is a deposit from the Golden Lions Rugby Union. Fourie is under contract at the Lions, and has been his entire professional career. Now that he wants to relocate to France or use Cape Town as a lifestyle alternative, Fourie, through his lawyer Frikkie Erasmus, has challenged this contract as not being binding. The point is the Lions have a duty to the professional game to ensure Fourie doesn't get out of his contract. The Lions have to be prepared to take the matter to the highest court and show the young professionals of today that there is such a thing called integrity, and it is this integrity that is assumed a given when a player commits his signature to a piece of paper, plays for a team and gets his match and monthly financial rewards. - allAfrica website

Taxation Laws

Bills to provide tax relief for South Africans - 2 September
The 2009 Taxation Law Amendment Bills will result in South Africans receiving tax relief of R13.5 billion, said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Tuesday. "For individuals, the most important amendment was the adjustment to the personal income tax thresholds, which resulted in tax relief for individuals estimated at R13.5 billion," said Minister Gordhan. The minister said the bills contain the tax proposals as announced in the February 2009 Budget Speech by the previous Minister of Finance and as elaborated on in the 2009 Budget Review. For technical reasons, he said, the amendments are split into two Bills - a money Bill (under section 77 of the Constitution) and an ordinary (or section 75) Bill. - BuaNews Online website

Trade and Industry

SA wary of EU's new trade pacts - 25 August
The European Union is too focused on commercial interests, undermining efforts to forge a new, fairer trade pact with South Africa, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday. The 27-nation EU has concluded economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with several southern African countries, including top diamond producer Botswana, but South Africa, Namibia and Angola have not yet signed due to concerns over the text. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Important tariff on Chinese clothes set to hit 45%  - 26 August
South Africa is increasing the threshold of the tariff on imported clothing from China from 40 percent to the maximum of 45 percent allowed by the World Trade Organisation, subject to approval from Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. The National Assembly trade and industry portfolio committee yesterday was told by International Trade Administration Commission chief commissioner Siyabulela Tsengiwe that it was considering the proposal. - Business Report website

Minister calls for R6bn motor industry bailout plan to be accelerated - 31 August
Almost R750-million in assistance has been allocated to "distressed" companies in the motor industry, a Cabinet minister has told Parliament. In a briefing on the R6-billion plan – administered by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) – Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel called for swifter distribution of the funds. Patel said 49 applications were in the pipeline after finance bids totalling R743-million had been approved since April . - Weekend Post website

31 August 2009
Reply by Minister of Trade and Industry R Davies on questions posed in the National Assembly for written reply
SA Government Information website

See also : Trade ministers head for fresh Doha talks

Traditional Leaders

Commission reviews kingship claims - 7 September
The Moleleki Commission on Monday said it would continue processing the kingship claims of South African traditional leaders. The assurance came after traditional leaders raised concerns that their claims would not be processed as the commission's term of office ends at the end of October. - IOL website

Prince is set on kingship claim : 'I want same status as Zwelithini' - 7 September
Prince Melizwe Dlamini of the Nhlangiwini Traditional Council intends to approach the high court after his attempts to gain the same status as that of Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini hit a snag. Dlamini is one of the kings who has applied to the Moleleki Commission to be put on the same pedestal as Zwelithini. - Sowetan website

Miscellaneous

Taliep's kids to receive 'a mere pittance' - 19 August
The estate of murdered music icon Taliep Petersen has been wound up and all that remains is a modest R10 000. Now city attorneys are turning their attention to Petersen's multi-million-rand insurance policy payout to secure his six children a bigger slice of the estate. - allAfrica website

InfoUpdate : an Information Service supplied by the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society