Daily Archives: May 22, 2012

Khoza lashes out at Hunt

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Irvin Khoza has hit out against SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt and COO Jose Ferreira’s ‘mindless tirades’ against the Vodacom sponsorship deal. 

The Orlando Pirates boss says he does not know whether to attribute the comments to “ignorance or mischief making”, and has decided to respond publically to these “careless and callous people” because he believes “the courtesy of behind closed doors discussions will encourage the incorrigible to join in this ‘gang- bang’ of mindlessness.”

Vodacom have signed a new five-year sponsorship deal with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, a deal worth “plus-minus R1-billion,” according to Khoza.

Gavin Hunt and SuperSport chief operations officer Jose Ferreira said yesterday that the deal is detrimental to the health of the PSL.

“I think if South African football has been in trouble for the last 10 years [it is because] of the money pumped into the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. When I hear of a R1-billion sponsorship, I think we are all in serious trouble,” Ferreira says on Businessday.co.za.

“It is getting to a stage where all the other clubs are just there to make up the numbers. Somebody should look into that.”

Do you agree with Ferreira? Or do you think Chiefs and Pirates deserve the injection of cash? Have your say on our Facebook page HERE!

Hunt agrees, saying that if his players had not been lured into big money moves over the years, he would have a much more successful club.

“If a players earns R5 here and then he is offered R50 down the road, what can I do?” Hunt said.

“If I had been able to keep all the players we released to these sides over the past five years alone, we would have won the League every year by 20-point margins.”

But now the Iron Duke has hit back on the Pirates website:

“I read with grave concern mindless utterances attributed to the SuperSport United Chief Operating Officer and coach in response to the sponsorship announcement of our nations’ two largest clubs, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, by a key supporter of football in our country, Vodacom.”

Khoza reckons Hunts’ criticisisms are no more than “diversionary tactics” ahead of the Nebank Cup Final against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.

“I have been observing with sadness how Gavin Hunt, the SuperSport United coach, has in the last few years resorted to mindless tirades aimed at everyone other than himself all in his quest to divert attention from his recent lack of achievement. This is an accomplished coach, who characterised ‘cool’, and never make any of these outbursts when he was on the driving seat winning three Premierships in a row. Mamelodi Sundowns, which SuperSport is facing in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday, was not spared from Hunt’s tirade. Is this … in case he loses to Sundowns on Saturday?”

The Pirates boss further questions Ferreira and Hunts’ motives, saying he wonders whether “this is Super SportUnited Football Club and Multichoice, their parent company’s official position”. 

“I am responding publicly to this mindless action by people who should know better because the courtesy of behind closed doors discussions will encourage the incorrigible to join in this ‘gang-bang’ of mindlessness,” Khoza continues.

In the rest of his statement, Khoza documents the “hard work” that has been done in the last 15 years to ensure the PSL brand recovers from being “undervalued” on the continent. 

“We have made significant progress in this regard. When we started, 15 years ago, clubs received from the league a grant of a million rands per annum. Today all the clubs in the PSL receive a grand of a million rands a month.”

Khoza continues: “The sacrifice and selflessness of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in creating an equitable and competitive league cannot be over emphasised. Distribution of proceeds in the PSL is done the same for each team notwithstanding the size and contribution by Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. 

“In mentioning the players he claims to have lost, Hunt chooses to omit the high prices SuperSport charged. Every time Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs express an interest in players, prices skyrocket. To now decry the sponsorship that Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs command due to their market positions is not only deflationary but create a risk of devaluing football in South Africa once more.”

Read the full statement on Orlandopiratesfc.com

It’s time to kick that smelly, sickening habit in the butt

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st ashtray

If you want to be more productive, have better health and more spending money in your pocket, consider giving up smoking this May, which is Anti-Tobacco Month.

Research estimates that the average smoker spends approximately one hour a day on feeding the habit at work.

From an annual perspective, the one-hour breaks add up to 244 hours of lost productivity a year and 1.2 years over the course of an average working life (44.5 years).

“From a local perspective, 23 percent of South Africa’s adult population, or 7 million individuals, smoke,” says Professor Jacques Snyman, clinical advisor for Resolution Health Medical Scheme.

“Over and above the 244 hours lost per smoker per year, this group of individuals also has a 33.3 percent higher absenteeism rate and a shortened career by 9.1 percent when compared to a non-smoker.”

The habit’s burden on the healthcare system can also not be ignored.

A 2009 study by the US’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that smokers not only cost the country $97 billion a year in lost productivity but they contributed to an additional $96bn a year in direct health-care costs.

“Smoking damages almost every organ in the body and often results in the individual requiring costly health-care treatments in the long term,” Snyman points out.

“The ultimate result is a marked increase in health-care utilisation as smokers typically fall ill more often and claim more than non-smokers.”

Globally, smoking is responsible for approximately 71 percent of lung cancer, 42 percent of chronic respiratory disease and 10 percent of cardiovascular disease.

From a cost perspective, all three diseases fall in the top 10 list of most expensive chronic diseases for medical schemes.

The burden on the private and public health-care system as a whole is significant.

“Combined with the substantial loss in productivity, the habit is having a resoundingly negative effect on South Africa’s economy,” says Snyman.

Encouragingly, 72 percent of South African smokers admit that they want to quit, with 24 percent having attempted without success.

Key to the process, says Snyman, is to provide these individuals with the necessary tools and incentives to follow through – and corporate SA is perfectly poised to drive internal “stop smoking” initiatives.

“Nowadays most medical schemes will cover a portion of the cost or offer a discount on smoking cessation programmes, and information on these courses is easily obtainable from the health-care providers or medical schemes,” Snyman explains.

He believes that employers should take a proactive approach in encouraging smokers to take full advantage of these offers and allow them time off work to attend these programmes.

There is no one-size-fits-all programme. Smokers need to consult their doctors to establish what will work best as some programmes may include scheduled medicines.

Snyman suggests that where there are shortfalls in medical scheme coverage, employers assist employees to find smoke cessation programmes that are offered free of charge.

SA film makers to challenge Cannes

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Eulalia Snyman

I can’t help but notice that lately I have been watching more South African movies than ever before.

It’s just that I enjoy them so much; the stories are so good. Fortunately, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) believes that international audiences will feel the same. The foundation, in association with the Department of Arts and Culture, left yesterday with a delegation of SA film makers to attend the 65th Cannes International Film Festival.

With some 130 film makers, this year’s delegation is the largest ever. Of these film makers, 11 have been sponsored by the NFVF, which has been mandated by Parliament to spearhead the development of the local film and video industry.

“South Africa’s growing participation at international level, including at Cannes, demonstrates that our film makers are global competitors in the field, and their projects are authentic stories that resonate in the international market place,” says the foundation’s Zama Mkosi.

“It is therefore imperative to ensure that the local film industry is adequately supported and well represented in order for our productions and talent to receive the global recognition they deserve.”

In April, South Africa won nine awards at the 2012 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Nigeria.

Competing against 23 other countries across the continent, SA took the AMAA 2012 prize for Best Film for How To Steal 2 Million.

Azania Muendane, the NFVF head of marketing and public affairs, points out that Cannes is another strategic platform to promote SA as a co-production partner, a film-making destination of choice and a country that tells authentic stories.

“Cannes is recognised as the world’s premier film festival, where the world’s distributors, financiers and programmers buy film projects, negotiate distribution deals and funding,” she says.

This year the NFVF will showcase 12 local feature films and eight documentaries. These include Otelo Burning; Semi-Soet; Blitz Patrollie; 31 Million Reasons; Five Fingers for Marseilles; One Last Look; The Umbrella Man; Tok Tokkie; RollaBall; Sobukwe; Wandering Fever; and I am Craig.

While in Cannes, the Department of Arts and Culture is also to sign a co-production treaty with Ireland. The treaty will enable productions from both territories to qualify for the different incentives associated with home-grown content and enable collaboration between producers.

The first South African co-production treaty was signed with Canada in 1997, and was soon followed by a host of others. Out of these treaties, films such as Skin (SA/UK), The Bang Bang Club (SA/Canada),Death Race (SA/Germany), Skoonheid (SA/France) and A Million Colours (SA/Canada) were produced.

The good news for those who haven’t made it to Cannes, but dream of having a career in the film and television industry, is that the NFVF is offering free part-time training to aspirant script editors.

Script editors are the people responsible for checking the story structure, pacing and characters to ensure that production requirements are being met, and they help to spot and resolve problems in a script.

The Sediba “Spark” Screenwriters Training Programme will be run for five months. It consists of one workshop a month, held during weekends.

Workshops will be held in Joburg. Travel and accommodation for those based outside Gauteng will be arranged and paid for by the NFVF.

Selected individuals will be required to attend a compulsory induction on Friday, June 22 ahead of the first workshop, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24.

To qualify for this free training, you need a relevant tertiary qualification or extensive experience in the film and television industry.

You also need to prove you have experience in writing intellectually challenging and coherent reports, articles and/or essays for a degree programme, newspaper or magazines, a web blog, or va creative or professional writing programme.

You are also required to have a satisfactory understanding of storytelling based on one of the following:

l Study of drama, film, television or literature in a university honours degree course;

l Completion of a screenwriting or script editor’s professional development programme or;

l Experience as a published short story writer, novelist, storyline writer, script writer/ script editor for a television drama series or feature film screenplays.

The NFVF will give preference to applicants who are committed to making a big impact on South African film and television drama and are proficient in at least one of the indigenous South African languages besides English.

l For more information, visit the NFVF website at http://www.nfvf.co.za

Mahlangu guilty of ET murder

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Ventersdorp – Chris Mahlangu has been found guilty of the murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche. His co-accused Patrick Ndlovu has been found guilty of housebreaking.

Mahlangu and the teenager were charged with beating Terre’Blanche to death in his farmhouse outside Ventersdorp, in the North West, on 3 April 2010.

Both pleaded not guilty to murder, housebreaking, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Mahlangu claimed he acted in self-defence. The teenager denied involvement in the crime.

The youth turned 18 shortly after the proceedings were postponed.

More details to follow.

AmaZulu agree to sell Sangweni to Sundowns

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Bafana Bafana midfielder Thamsanqa Sangweni will appear in Mamelodi Sundowns colours next season, after AmaZulu agreed to sell the player to the Brazilians. 

Sangweni, who was also on the wanted list of Orlando Pirates, is expected to put pen to paper with Sundowns before the end of this week, after both clubs agreed on a transfer fee rumoured to be around R3-million yesterday.

“Everything has been finalised and the only thing left is for Sundowns to send down the papers to put everything in writing,” an AmaZulu official tells KickOff.com on condition of annonymity. 

“In principle he is a Sundowns player now.” 

Meanwhile, after securing a top eight position in the League this season Usuthu are already preparing to challenge for top honours next season. The club have signed defender Prince Hlela and striker Sifiso Vilakazi to reinforce their squad.

Ernest Fakude

No justice, says abused woman

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Julia Kumalo7505

By Karabo Seanego

Beaten, throttled and fearing for her life after a series of alleged acts of abuse at the hands of her estranged husband, a Pretoria woman feels let down by the country’s justice system as her pleas for help seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Julia Khumalo said her husband of seven years had instilled fear in her. She had been reporting the abuse to police, but nothing was being done about the cases, she said.

On April 10, her husband assaulted and throttled her until she fainted, Khumalo said.

She opened a case of assault at the Akasia police station, but “he was never arrested and he is still roaming the streets”.

Khumalo said her husband also followed her and on May 16, he waited for her as she was making her way to work and attacked her.

“He waited for me when I was about to (get) a taxi to work and assaulted me.

“He wanted to force me into his car, but luckily residents raised the alarm and the police came.”

Khumalo again opened a case of assault, but this time at the Rietgat police station.

However, still no action was taken and the man allegedly continued to send her SMSes boasting that he was not arrested.

Fearing for her life, she approached the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court for a protection order.

“(After) the assault, I applied for a protection order, but this interim order has still not been made final for reasons only known by the magistrate in Pretoria North.

“Because my husband sees that the law is failing me, he has the guts to call me as he pleases and threatening me and sending me threatening SMSes,” she said.

Khumalo said the man told her that he was well connected and knew people in the justice system.

Last week Khumalo found herself having to spend a night behind bars after her husband had allegedly assaulted her.

She said he went to her place of work on Wednesday to verbally abuse and assault her.

“The security guard at our premises realised what was happening and contacted the police.

“I laid a charge of assault against him, but the following day as I was walking to catch a taxi from work he came behind me and informed me that police were looking for me.

“I went to Rietgat police station to find out what was happening and they informed me that he had laid a charge of assault against me and they locked me up.”

Khumalo said she was informed that she had contravened a protection order which her husband had obtained against her.

She could not understand how it came about that she had contravened it while she was the one being followed.

Khumalo said she had also tried to divorce her husband but had not succeeded with that.

“He keeps telling me that he is connected and knows the justice system. I instituted divorce proceedings, but they have not gone anywhere. And he calls me and tells me that no magistrate or prosecutor will process the divorce.

“He is very violent and I am scared of him,” she said.

Khumalo said she feared her husband would end up killing her.

“For my son’s sake and for the sake of other women I need help,” she pleaded.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said police were looking into the matter and investigations were at an advanced stage.

Ndou said the husband “was arrested, and released by the court, and an instruction was issued that the complainant must apply for a protection order”.

The protection order was still an interim one and both the wife and husband were to appear in court soon for the wife to give reasons as to why it must be made a permanent order with a warrant of arrest, said Ndou.

Now that an interim protection order had been issued, the docket was back in court for a decision.

“The investigator is aware of the second case opened at Rietgat and is liaising with that station to have a joint investigation of the two cases,” said Ndou.

Pretoria News


Cruising for a boozing

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drunk drivers argus may 22

By Sibusiso Nkomo

A total of 89 motorists were arrested for drunken driving on the Cape’s roads at the weekend – 72 of whom were nabbed in four roadblocks in the Cape Town metro.

Over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the figure was equal to more than one arrest for every hour.

The arrests were made despite a vigorous campaign by both the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works Safely Home campaign. The Name and Shame roll – in which the names of convicted drunken drivers were published by the Cape Argus – was part of this campaign.

This month alone, the number of drunken drivers arrested on the roads increased steadily from a figure of 55 (33 on provincial and national roads and 22 on city roads) to a staggering 89 for the past weekend (17 on provincial and national roads and 72 on city roads). The 72 motorists were caught at just four roadblocks in the city, which started on Friday and continued through to Sunday.

* On Friday, officers arrested 15 motorists on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol during roadblocks along Nooiensfontein and Van Riebeek roads in Kuils River. One breathalyser test registered 1.11mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath. (The legal breath alcohol limit is less than 0.24mg in 1 000ml of breath.)

* That same day, officers arrested another 14 drunken drivers during roadblocks along Helen Suzman Boulevard in Sea Point. The highest breathalyser test registered 0.77mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath.

* On Sunday afternoon traffic officers arrested 15 drunken drivers during a roadblock along Vanguard Drive, between Frans Conradie and Milton roads in Goodwood. One breathalyser test registered 1mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath.

* Later that afternoon, officers arrested 28 drunken drivers during a roadblock along Spine Road, between Walter Sisulu and Ntlazane roads, in Khayelitsha. The highest breathalyser test registered 1.3mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath.

The City of Cape Town’s traffic services spokeswoman, Maxine Jordaan, said the number of drunk drivers being arrested depended on where roadblocks were held. “We are seeing more people being arrested for drunken driving in the late afternoons.”

Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa said the number of drunken drivers arrested was increasing and pointed to the “bad attitude towards other road users”.

The City of Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said the high number of arrests for drunken driving was an indication that its campaign to curb the problem was working.

“The decline is based on diminishing road fatalities in the past two years and we are almost reaching our 25 percent goal,” said Smith.

Africa said

: “Our motorists need to change their attitude. They need to be more cautious and careful. There is no need to overtake.

“Three of the accidents this weekend were head-on collisions. We will not stop with our efforts to keep drunk drivers and speedsters off our roads.”

Africa said other drivers who saw reckless and negligent driving should report to the traffic officials what they saw.

“People should use our number, 021 946 1646, to report the wrongdoing,” he said.

Caro Smit, director of South Africans Against Drunken Driving (Sadd), said the Western Cape appeared to be doing well in terms of arresting drunk drivers.

“But the Department of Justice is not treating these cases as serious crimes. Hundreds of billions are lost every year because of drunk drivers,” she said.

“What concerns Sadd is the prosecution. We want people to be tested and tried within two weeks so that their licences can be suspended.”

 

Cape Argus


‘The Spear’ defaced

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'The Spear' has been defaced. Picture: Twitter

JOHANNESBURG – Two unknown men have defaced the controversial artwork of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed on Tuesday.

Caught on an eNews camera, The first man took a small can of red paint and slowly marked two large ‘X’ symbols over the genitals and the face with a paintbrush.

After a while, another man with a small can of black paint smeared the painting using his hands.

Footage on eNews showed security forcefully cuffing the men with cable ties after the painting had been defaced.

eNews journalist Iman Rappetti witnessed the incident, “Suddenly I see him whip out a can of red paint and a paint brush and he draws an ‘X’ over the genital area.

“He had a smile on his face which also appeared bizarre to me.

“Then he painted an ‘X’ on the president’s face and I realised something was wrong, so I apprehended him and asked ‘What are you doing?’

The men have since been detained by the gallery’s security.

Meanwhile, dozens of protestors have gathered outside the South Gauteng High Court after Zuma took the gallery and City Press newspaper to court.

Gauteng Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo decided that a full bench of three judges will now hear the case around the Goodman Gallery’s picture of Zuma

Police have surrounded the area and a small stage is being set up outside with music blurring as protesters sing and dance.|

Many are holding up posters that read “no to the abuse of artistic expression.”

Young students are also demonstrating.

They said Murray’s painting was disrespectful to the president and should be removed.

Zuma’s children have also been allowed to intervene in the case.

The judge said the decision has been made because of the huge national importance attached to the issue.

A lawyer representing Zuma’s children has also applied to allow them to be part of the case.

Meanwhile, the artist Brett Murray, is also going to be allowed to argue along with the gallery that his work should still be exhibited.

At the same time, e-news has been allowed to broadcast from the courtroom when the proceedings begin on Thursday morning.

Murray’s artwork “The Spear” has been slammed by Cosatu, ANC, ANCWL, SACP and Zuma’s family for showing the president’s genitals.

(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu) 

Ghana name team for Cape Town

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Ghana has named a 21-man squad for this week’s Under-20 friendly tournament in South Africa. 

Coach Orlando Wellington’s squad is entirely made up of home-based players, with five players coming from the second tier league.

Inter Allies duo of Daniel Amartey and Bernard Arthur as well as Daniel Sowatey of Great Olympics, Unity FC’s Emmanuel Obour and Bernard Arthur of Feyenoord make up the line-up of players from the Division One League.

The Black Satellites will leave for Cape Town on Monday night ahead of the tournament which starts on 25th May.

Ghana have been drawn in Group A to face Argentina, Nigeria and hosts South Africa in the competition.

South American giants Brazil will play Cameroon, Kenya and Japan in Group B.

The Black Satellites will open their campaign on 25 May when they take on archrivals Nigeria at the Athlone Stadium, and then play South Africa at the Cape Town Stadium two days later before playing Argentina on 29 May.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals.

GHANA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Felix Annan (Kotoko), Muntari Tagoe (Medeama)
Defenders: Baba Rahaman (Kotoko), Richmond Nketia (Mighty Jets), Daniel Sowatey (Great Olympics), Emmanuel Obour (Unity FC), Lawrence Lartey (AshGold), Edwin Frimpong Manso (Liberty Professionals), Daniel Amartey (Inter Allies), Isaac Sackey (Liberty)
Midfielders: Prince Baffoe (Kotoko), Tamimu Muntari (Mighty Jets), Jacob Appau Asiedu (Medeama), Moro Ibrahim (New Edubiase), Mumuni Abubakar (New Edubiase), Sarfo Gyamfi (Wa All Stars), Seidu Salifu (Wa All Stars)
Strikers: Fatau Safiu (International Allies), Benjamin Fadi (Heart of Lions), Bernard Arthur (Feyenoord), Abdul Basit Adam (Edubiase)

Josephs, Rodgers out of Bafana

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Moeneeb Josephs and Eleazar Rodgers have requested to be withdrawn from the 30-man Bafana Bafana squad that is currently in camp in Phokeng near Rustenburg. 

19 players have reported for national team duty so far.

In a letter written to team management and the technical team through his representatives, Josephs he will be not be able to honour this national team call-up or any in future owing to personal reasons. 

The Orlando Pirates goalkeeper has also requested a meeting with Pitso Mosimane and the team manager to explain his reasons.

Mosimane has asked the player to pen a letter himself to explain the situation, before meeting him. The technical team is expected to make a decision on the way forward once they have received it.

Meanwhile Rodgers’ team Santos have requested that he be excused from the Bafana camp as they are involved in Relegation Play-offs from May 23 to June 23.

It was a first call-up for the Santos striker, who admitted to being “surprised” to receive it, although he was second top scorer in the League this season.

Bafana Bafana will play three back-to-back matches in June – Ethiopia and Botswana in World Cup qualifiers on June 3 at Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, and June 9 in Botswana.

The venue for the friendly against Gabon on June 15 is still to be determined.