PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma on Friday sent his condolences to the families of the Drakensberg plane crash victims.

Eleven people, including six crew members, were killed when the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Dakota DC3 C47 crashed in bad weather on Wednesday.

The plane left the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria en route to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

Zuma said the crash caused great anguish to the families of the victims and to all South Africans. 

He expressed gratitude to the servicemen, who died on duty while serving the state and the nation. 

The president said the families needed the support of their compatriots. 

At the same time, the SANDF convened a board of inquiry to establish the cause of the accident. 

Eyewitness News understands military investigators were still scouring the scene for clues.

On Thursday, an aviation expert said the Dakota’s design limitations could have been the reason behind the crash.

For more details go to http://ewn.co.za

Johannesburg – There was a time, long ago, when Collins Mbesuma was the goalscoring darling of Kaizer Chiefs. And there was a time, not so long ago, when Bernard Parker seemed a million miles away from assuming that mantle at Naturena.

Well, the times, to borrow from Mr Bob Dylan, they are a-changin’. If Mbesuma takes the field at the start of Saturday afternoon’s Soweto derby it will be in direct opposition to the Amakhosi, in the black and white of Orlando Pirates. But Chiefs fans can be reassured by the knowledge that in Parker, they have a man transformed, a man who last season treated the back of the net like a mortal enemy, but who now sits swimmingly atop the Absa Premiership scoring charts.

At opposite ends of the pitch, it could well be one of these two strikers who unlocks this derby to send their supporters home with not just Soweto bragging rights, but also a lusty blow in the Absa Premiership title race.

Mbesuma is not quite the same player who smashed in 25 league goals the last time Chiefs won the title, pipping Pirates to the post in the 2004/5 season. The Zambian with thunder in his left foot never exactly possessed staggering mobility, and it has now slowed down to even more of a stroll.

But find Mbesuma in space in front of goal, with the ball at his feet, and there remains only one place it is likely to end up. Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune could testify to this as recently as last month, when Mbesuma sent an unstoppable effort past him at Soccer City to give Zambia the Nelson Mandela Challenge.

And it has not been a bad first season either in Pirates colours for the man they call “Ntofo-ntofo”. Mbesuma has five goals in league and cup for the Buccaneers this season, taking a while to get back to match fitness, but then opening his account with a brace against the University of Pretoria at the start of October.

Kaizer Chiefs’ Bernard Parker is the top scorer this season.

Gallo Images

Mbesuma added another double against Black Leopards in the Telkom Knockout, before producing a rocket similar to his Zambia goal against Leopards in a league game towards the end of November.

If Mbesuma has been good, Parker has been inspired. His confidence restored this season under Amakhosi coach Stuart Baxter, the 26-year-old has rocketed back into the Bafana fold, netting nine times in 14 league and cup appearances.

Parker hit the ground sprinting with an amazing four goals in Chiefs’ opening league game against AmaZulu, and looked set to break records, as he netted seven times in Chiefs’ first five league games. There was another strike in Chiefs’ Telkom Knockout defeat to Bidvest Wits, but Parker did have a slight lull in the league, netting his first Absa Premiership goal since the end of September against Ajax Cape Town on Tuesday night. Chiefs fans might consider that perfect timing just ahead of the derby.

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

Cape Town – The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into the rot that has plagued South Africa’s country’s social grant payouts in recent months.

In the Western Cape, 1.3 million people alone depend on grant payouts every month.

But the system has descended into chaos since new operators, Net1 UEPS technologies took over.

Net1 is jointly listed on the American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and on the JSE.

The US Department of Justice Criminal Division and the FBI have now teamed up to investigate possible corruption in how that company secured a R10 billion tender to issue grants here.

In August, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the process of awarding the tender was illegal and invalid.

Despite this, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) was allowed to continue using Net1 through its subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

The judge decided that although the process was flawed, cancelling the contract would be disastrous and the social service would collapse.

If the American investigation is successful, Net1 could be out of business and senior managers could face arrest.

Sassa and the Social Development Department say they have not been contacted by the FBI or the US Department of Justice Criminal Division.

Social Development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant says by law, government has a constitutional duty to make sure grant monies are paid.

“We have a five-year contract with CPS and we don’t forsee any problems,” she said.

“We have not had any contact with anyone from America, everything we [are] hearing is from the media.”

Meanwhile, the previous grant payout company AllPay, a subsidiary of ABSA, is also still going ahead with its legal appeals.

They want CPS to be replaced after the court ruling that the tender awarded to them was invalid.

This case will resume next year on the Supreme Court of Appeal’s roll.

This double court action has raised concerns that Sassa must have a back-up plan to continue paying grants if Net1 is found guilty of corruption.

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

Cape Town – The DA has called for Jacob Zuma to stand down as president until he can clear his name, after massively damaging allegations against him surfaced on Friday morning.

The Mail & Guardian newspaper on Friday published what it called “crucial evidence in the case against President Jacob Zuma – evidence that was kept hidden when the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) abandoned its prosecution of him”.

The evidence is in a “confidential” September 2006 forensic report, apparently prepared by KPMG for Zuma’s trial – the trial that never happened after then-acting national director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe dropped the charges against Zuma on April 7, 2009.

The Cape Argus has not had an opportunity on Friday to independently verify the allegations or the origin of the report. The Presidency was unable to respond to questions about the report at press time today.

The report revealed that Nelson Mandela gave Zuma R1 million to help settle his debts.

According to the 500-page report, Mandela came to Zuma’s rescue in June 2005, a few days after he was fired as deputy president and after the NPA announced that it would charge Zuma with corruption.

The report also says a total of 783 payments were made to Zuma by his corruption-convicted, former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, amounting to more than R4m.

It says Zuma also benefited from several businessmen, including his nephew, Khulubuse Zuma, and Durban businessman Vivian Reddy.

Large commercial banks bent over backwards to accommodate Zuma because of his political position, writing off bad debt against his name, said the report.

Mail & Guardian editor Nic Dawes said the paper had taken the unusual step of publishing the full report without having offered Zuma or any other parties a right of reply before publication, because “we are convinced that the risk of being prevented from publishing it at all was real”.

Notwithstanding this, Dawes said he believed the report “is a substantial and credible document, based on an assessment of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents obtained by investigating authorities and conducted by experts in forensic accounting”.

The DA’s federal chairman, James Selfe, said in response on Friday: “I do not know how Mr Zuma is going to explain away these revelations, because they go to the heart of the invalid discontinuation of the prosecution against him.”

Selfe said the DA had been waiting for the notorious and mysterious “spy tapes’” transcripts, which the NPA and Zuma’s legal team have refused to make available, despite being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

But Selfe said the information published on Friday, and also elsewhere recently, “fortified” the DA’s argument that the NPA’s decision to drop the charges against Zuma in 2009 was both “irrational and illegal”.

Armed with this fresh “evidence”, Selfe said the DA would now proceed with its court challenge of the NPA’s decision, without necessarily waiting for the spy tapes transcripts.

Selfe said this raised the spectre of a sitting president facing criminal charges.

“The evidence published today alleges that the president has been on the take, that people have provided money for him to live beyond his means,” Selfe explained.

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

Two men died while a third is recovering in hospital after drinking a concoction of Coca-Cola and methylated spirits at the weekend.

Reports from the provincial health department said the three young men, aged between 21 and 24, were apparently looking to get drunk when they mixed the substances.

The incident happened in Coligny, near Lichtenburg on Sunday. One of the victims died on the spot while the other died on the way to hospital. The third is recuperating at Thusong Hospital near Mahikeng.

Provincial health spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said: “The survivor said they wanted to get drunk quickly and someone told them that if they mixed Coke and spirits, they would get high fast. After drinking the mixture, one of them died in Coligny while the other two were rushed to hospital.

“Paramedics dropped one of the victims at Thusong Hospital and proceeded with the other to Mahikeng but unfortunately he died on the way.”

Lekgethwane, who visited the surviving victim at Thusong hospital yesterday said doctors had cleared him of any life-threatening danger.

“He is in a stable condition but complained of severe abdominal pains. However, doctors indicated there was no life threatening harm, all the organs that were inflamed by the mixture would recover,” he said.

It was not clear whether he survived because he did not consume the same levels as his colleagues or because he reached hospital first.

Lekgethwane said parents were urged to monitor the whereabouts of their children during this festive season.

“This is a sad development and as a department, we call on parents to monitor their children because most of them have closed school and run the risk of being tempted to engage in dangerous things,” he said.

He said young people should refrain from accepting concoctions that have not been tested.

“We want to call upon youngsters not to drink or eat anything that has not been certified for consumption,” he said.

The names of the three victims were not readily available at the time of going to press.

For more details go to http://thenewage.co.za

Sanco in the province has called on the ANC NEC to re-run the provincial nominations conference following allegations of gross irregularities.

Sanco was against the ANC nominations list reportedly produced by the majority of alleged illegitimate branches which favoured President Jacob Zuma for a second term in office.

The civic organisation lambasted the outcome of the provincial nominations conference, held in Rustenburg on Sunday, saying the meeting was a one-sided affair dominated by the faction of ANC provincial chairperson, Supra Mahomapelo, allegedly fighting for control against provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge’s camp.

The conference nominated Cyril Ramaphosa as deputy president, Baleka Mbethe (chairperson), Gwede Mantashe (secretary-general), Jessie Duarte (deputy secretary-general) and Zweli Mkhize (treasurer-general).

Sanco provincial secretary Packet Seaketso said 85 legitimate branches were replaced with 105 “bogus” branches to constitute the majority in favour of Zuma.

“Organisational protocol dictates that the secretary is the chief administrator and deals with logistical arrangements and disputes of the ANC and the chairperson is just the political head. As Sanco and members of the ANC, we noted parallel branches presented by the provincial chairperson to have been considered ahead of the authentic report by the provincial secretary on branch general meetings,” Seaketso said.

ANC provincial spokesperson Kenny Morolong said Sanco should approach the ANC NEC if it wanted the reversal of the nominations conference.

For more details go to http://thenewage.co.za/

Poor mathematics results in the recently announced annual national assessment (ANA) have once again brought the debate over the relevance of maths literacy in schools.

Results in the province, and the nation at large, showed a steady decline in the number of pupils who take pure mathematics, opting for the less-challenging mathematical literacy, which is a basic numeracy subject.

Education MEC Louisa Mabe said while mathematical numeracy was still relevant, there was need to make sure more pupils enrolled for pure mathematics.

“Mathematical literacy gives all pupils a chance to learn basic numeracy skills that would help them in life,” she said. “However, the challenge we have is that more and more pupils seem to be leaving mathematics and this does not help as we want future leaders in our mines and agriculture sector.”

Chief director for curriculum and examinations in the North West, Dr Jacobus Myburgh, said debate was raging on the issue of mathematical literacy and that poor ANA results would add to the discussion.

“There has been significant concern over mathematical literacy, but like the MEC said, the subject is good in preparing everyone for their own numerate skills.

“It also gives a good foundation for pure maths. However, it appears some of the pupils who could pass pure mathematics are opting for the less-important maths literacy,” he said.Myburgh said about 15% of pupils in the 2011 matric results scored above 70% in maths literacy, which gave them a good chance to pass pure maths.

The average mark for Grade 9 pupils in the ANA results puts the province at 11.2% against the national average of 12.7%. Other lower grades were slightly better but they all fell short of the national average.

“These results hugely disappointed us as a province and we feel a lot has to be done.

Our Grade 12s usually do well and it is time we put emphasis on all grades because performance at Grade 9 as reflected in the results is very bad,” said Myburgh, indicating that they would wait to see how pupils performed in the provincial examinations at the end of this year.

For more details go to http://thenewage.co.za

SOWETO DERBY – FNB STADIUM, SATURDAY (3pm)

The game sees the Soweto derby debut of both managers: Stuart Baxter for Chiefs and Roger De Sa for Pirates.

Stuart Baxter has impressed in his short stint at Chiefs so far. He’s managed to get his team to play as unit, and more importantly, he seems to have given them a winning mentality.

With thirteen games played, the Amakhosi, top the table with 30 points, having scored 27 goals, and only conceding 9. They have won nine of their games, three draws and a solitary defeat.

Bernard Parker seems to have found his mojo again, finding the net eight times so far. He has been ably assisted by Lehlohonolo Majora with seven goals. Chiefs seem to have what it takes to win their first PSL title in years.

Orlando Pirates are second on the PSL log, just three behind Chiefs.

They have also been without the enigmatic Benni McCarthy for almost three months, sidelined due to knee injury.

McCarthy’s presence cannot be underestimated. He seems to be enjoying his football agains and as a former Champions League winner, he bring experience to the club.

Roger Da Sa in the past has lamented on his side’s inconsistency, and this was once again illustrated when they were held to a draw by newcomers Chippa United.

Verdict: On current form, I must go with Chiefs. 1-0.

One Day Cup semi-final: Cape Cobras vs Nashua Titans, SUNDAY (10am)

The Cape Cobras beat the Titans convincingly by 111 runs Wednesday evening when the two sides met at Boland Park, with Richard Levi hammering 166 off 134 balls.

Levi – the competition’s leading run scorer – has found able mates in fellow opener Andrew Puttick, who has complimentated his aggressive style with a more cautions approach. Stiaan van Zyl has also been impressive in recent knocks.

Justin Kemp has been impressive with the ball this season, taking ten wickets.

The Titans, have blown hot and cold this year. They have an excellent batting line up, with Henry Davids and Heino Kuhn the stadnout performers. Martin van Jaarsveld and Farhaan Berhadien have ably supporting them.

The batting has not been the problem, but the bowling, as illustrated in Paarl has troubled them.

Verdict: Cobras win.

Manchester Derby – Etihad Stadium, sunday (3.30pm)

Manchester City have not looked like the team they were last season, despite being the only team in all four English divisions not to have lost a league game so far this season.

Their home record has been impressive. City’s best rest results have come when David Silva has been at his best. However, the playmaker picked up a hamstring injury last weekend and did not play in the midweek Champions League defeat to Dortmund.

Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero have not hit their straps at all this season, with the partnership not quite delivering the results that Mancini would have hoped this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson, and Manchester United have other problems though. They have been leaking goals left, right and centre this season, and Ferguson is worried – rightly so.

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