Daily Archives: August 15, 2012

Kaizer Chiefs mum on Bobby’s arrest report

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Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung has been arrested after a swoop by the Hawks on Wednesday.

 

Although details remain sketchy, Motaung stands accused of forgery and fraud in relation to his role in the construction of the Mbombela Stadium ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

 

The details of the case against him have yet to be made public.

 

The construction of the venue was fraught with controversy from the start and was the likely cause of at least one death, though this has yet to be been proven in a court of law.

 

Mbombela municipality speaker Jimmy Mohlala, who blew the whistle on alleged corruption in a 2010 construction project, was shot dead in his Nelspruit house in 2009.

 

Mohlala had blown the whistle on Mbombela municipal manager Jacob Dladla, who was accused of manipulating 2010 construction contracts.

 

Mohlala was also already investigating a fraud case involving a company belonging to Motaung that was responsible for the construction of the Mbombela Stadium.

For more details go to http://www.kickoff.com

A “Village Death” rapist arrested

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Johannesburg – An Eastern Cape man accused of a string of rapes and murders in an area of Butterworth dubbed the “village death” has been arrested, according to a report on Wednesday.

 

The Daily Dispatch reported that the man was arrested on Sunday after allegedly hacking an elderly woman to death the previous night.

 

He appeared in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of murder, attempted murder, rape and housebreaking, but was not asked to plead.

 

Captain Jackson Manatha said the man was accused of a number of crimes in the area, which residents referred to as the “village of death” because of the murders of 19 women there since 2008.

 

He was believed to be related to a man convicted earlier this year of murdering a 70-year-old woman and her granddaughter, 12, in the village.

 

He would appear in court again on August 23.

 

SAPA

 

Banyana shift their focus to AWC

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By Obakeng Maje

The South African Senior Women’s National team, Banyana Banyana will be looking to utilise their recent London Olympics experience in the forthcoming Eighth Edition of the African Women’s Championships (AWC) in Equatorial Guinea where they will compete against the continent’s best from 28 October – 11 November 2012.

 

The AWC tournament will be played at the Nkoantoma Stadium in Bata and the Nouveau Stade in Malabo, the venue for some of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations games.

 

Banyana Banyana has been drawn in group A alongside hosts Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and DR Congo. Group B will consist of reigning champions Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire.

The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will be looking to pick up from where they left off when they held World Champions Japan to a goalless draw in their last Olympic game.

Banyana Banyana head coach, Joseph Mkhonza said he would like to pick up from where the squad left off in London. Three top countries will represent Africa at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015.

 

“We are looking to build a strong squad that will compete in the African spectacle and do well. Our profile has gone up since the Olympics and we want to maintain that momentum.

 

“In the upcoming camps, we would like to bring in new talent that we identified during the Sasol League National Championship. That way, we can manage to blend youth with experience so that we can sustain the success and have continuity,” said Mkhonza.

 

The soft-spoken Banyana coach said his technical team has been following the rehabilitation process of regulars like Memory Makhanya and Mamello Makhabane with keen interest.

 

“I am hopeful that they will all recover in time for the AWC. I have been monitoring their progress and I am pleased that Memory (Makhanya) and Mamello (Makhabane) will be ready to join us when we start our preparations for the continental championships.”

 

Mkhonza said he would like to see the players build on what they learnt at the Olympics and maintain the momentum.

 

“It is important that we constantly work on improving because our goal is to do well in Africa and finish among the top three nations and qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.” added Mkhonza

 

 

DA shows their support against E-tolling

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Group of DA supporters gathered outside constitutional court and claim they are against E-Toll gates system.

“We are going to be here the whole day,” Precious Gcabashe said.

 

“We don’t want the toll gate. We are hoping for the government to hear us.”

 

Clad in blue DA T-shirts they sang and danced, holding posters which read: “Hoot for a toll free GP”.

 

Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom said he was expecting up to 300 supporters.

 

The court is expected to hear arguments today as to why it should overturn an interim interdict preventing e-tolling in Gauteng from going ahead.

 

According to the interdict granted by the High Court in Pretoria on April 28, a full review first needed to be carried out before electronic tolling of Gauteng’s highways could be implemented.

 

The SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) and National Treasury are appealing the order.

 

The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa), which was granted the interdict, would oppose this move.

 

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan applied to the Constitutional Court to set aside the court order preventing Sanral from implementing e-tolling.

 

Gordhan argued that Judge Bill Prinsloo had ignored the principle of the separation of powers. He said the decision to halt e-tolling would negatively affect the economy.

 

In its reply, Outa said Sanral was still not ready to launch the project.

 

Last week, the DA said it had applied to join the Constitutional Court case, but it was not admitted as a friend of the court as it had hoped.

 

The High Court in Pretoria would hear further arguments in the e-toll case on November 26.

SAPA

Sexwale fails to placate protesters

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Yesterday Sexwale was in Langa township for the handing-over of the most recently completed houses of the N2 Gateway development.

 

But, instead of listening to the complaints of the protesting residents, Sexwale told a packed marquee that it was wrong to play politics when development was at stake.

 

Earlier, about 200 residents from informal settlements along the N2 sang Sexwale’s praises, saying that he would take them out of shacks.

 

But their high spirits took a dive when the housing minister said those who were not on Cape Town’s housing waiting list would not benefit from the latest phase of the N2 development.

 

“Those who are getting these houses, do not sell these houses. Do not rent them out,” Sexwale told beneficiaries before the ceremonial handover.

for more details go to http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

ANC OR TAMBO REGION ANTI ZUMA-REPORTS

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This decision by the ANC’s top six to order the conference to resume and its results to be released is an indictment on the Eastern Cape’s provincial leaders.

They stand accused of having been at the centre of the chaotic gathering two weeks ago that came to an abrupt end after members of the provincial executive committee (PEC) decided to dissolve the conference and withhold the results.

 

The ANC’s national leaders, including ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, ruled the OR Tambo regional executive committee must reconvene the conference from August 24 to August 26 with the same adopted credentials; that the electoral commission be instructed to announce the results and conclude its work; and that more national executive committee members be deployed to the region to oversee the conclusion of the conference, said an ANC leader.

 

The ANC heavyweights’ decision was a major boost for those lobbying for President Jacob Zuma to be replaced. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale have been touted as possible ANC presidential successors.

 

The results of the conference, which were leaked to the media, show that the anti-Zuma camp in the region had won by a slight margin.

For more details go to http://www.mg.co.za

A school for th…


A school for the blind in Limpopo is still waiting for textbooks, eight months into the school year.

 

The Department of Basic Education has not honoured its promise to deliver Braille textbooks at Siloe School for the Blind in Thokgwaneng village near Lebowakgomo.

 

The school had been sent textbooks for pupils who have sight.

 

Several incidents of books being dumped or destroyed have been reported in the province.

 

Speaking on condition of anonymity yesterday, authorities at Siloe School, which accommodates 143 pupils doing Grades R to 7, confirmed they were still awaiting delivery of the books.

 

A source at the school, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said the department had promised to deliver the required books “soonest”, but there had been no communication between them and the department as to when the delivery would be made.

For more details go to http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

Marques reshuffle Birds nest

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Marques came under fire after the club’s 3-1 defeat to Platinum Stars in their opening Absa Premiership match at the Royal Bafokeng stadium on Sunday, a result he labelled “a freak game”.

 

Swallows will now take on Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 first leg semifinal on Saturday at Lucas Moripe stadium in Atteridgeville, Tshwane, with Marques targeting the competition as his first major title.

 

“The pressure is coming from myself. I want to be successful as the head coach at Swallows.

 

“No two seasons are the same and I think the comparison between last season and this one is unfair. I understand people are looking at me. I must make things happen because I am head coach.

 

“My ambition is to win the league. I’d like to win every single trophy that is available. I want to be remembered for those things. But I also have to be realistic because I am not the only coach who is thinking like that.”

 

Marques was livid at his players after Sunday’s loss to Stars and warned them about the danger of being “complacent”.

For more details go to http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

10 000 Fords recalled in S.A

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Ford’s Indian subsidiary is recalling nearly 140 000 of its most popular cars to rectify manufacturing defects that could cause a fire and date back as far as 2008.

 

Ford said it would examine 111 000 Ford Figo and Classic (Ikon in South Africa) models sold in India and assembled between January 2008 and December 2010 for a faulty rear twist beam which could compromise brake performance and make the vehicle inoperable.

 

10 000 IN SOUTH AFRICA

 

Ford will also replace a hose in 17 655 Figos and Classics assembled in India between September 2010 and February 2011 as a precautionary measure. Oil, it was claimed, can leak from the hose and produce noxious fumes, smoke and, in extreme cases, fire.

 

The company said an additional 10 000 vehicles exported to South Africa would also be recalled.

 

No injuries have occurred as a result of the defects, Ford said.

 

Like other global automakers in India, Ford relies heavily on local suppliers to keep down costs. Toyota, Tata, Honda and Maruti Suzuki have all recalled cars in India in recent years, although not as many as Ford.

 

Ford’s compact Figo, launched in 2010, made the American auto giant a real player in India’s competitive small-car market. The company has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into India, part of the company’s strategy to pursue growth in Asia over the next decade.

 

It laid the cornerstone in March 2012 for a $1-billion factory in the Indian state of Gujarat.

 

WHAT FORD SA SAYS…

 

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa told Wheels24 it was aware of potential concerns with some Ford Figo and Ikon models and will initiate the necessary customer service action from late August 2012. Meanwhile, should customers have any concern relating to their Figo or Ikon, they are encouraged to take their vehicle to an authorised Ford dealer for inspection.

 

They can also contact Ford Customer Service Operations directly through the helpline 0860 011 022.

 

A spokesperson said: “Ford considers the long-term durability and quality of its products to be of utmost importance and will continue to work with our customers to deliver a sound technical guarantee and complete customer satisfaction.”

For more details go  www.news24.com