Daily Archives: May 7, 2013

Banyana Banyana’s Nyandeni enjoying her time in Russia

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

Banyana Banyana’s industrious midfielder Nompumelelo Nyandeni is enjoying her stay with top Russian Women’s Football championship side FC Rossiyanka.

 

Speaking from Russia, Nyandeni said she was beginning to reap the benefits of playing in a professional women’s league and was having a good time in Eastern Europe.

 

Nyandeni has earned herself accolades at Rossiyanka having scored seven goals in 14 league games, making her the top goal scorer at the club. The team is currently top of the league table.

 

Nyandeni, who has already spent close to three years abroad, said she has adjusted well at the club.

 

“Having been in Russia for almost three years now, I must say I am having the time of my life. It has been a very fulfilling experience and I could not have asked for more. My club mates have been very supportive and I have also been able to make new good friends with most of them,” said Nyandeni.

 

“I have also adjusted well to the weather conditions. We are getting close to the summer season now and conditions are becoming warm and enjoyable. The chilly weather has its down side but I have grown accustomed to it and I feel at home now.

 

She said playing in a professional league was one of the most fulfilling experiences as one has an opportunity to witness a professionally administered league.

 

“The competition is tough, there are no weak opponents and the stakes are much higher,” said Nyandeni whose club lost in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League to German side Wolfsburg. “I had a good game but the Germans were just too good for us.” 

 

 

 

Nyandeni adds that despite losing in the last eight, competing in Europe’s premier tournament was an experience she will cherish forever.

 

 

 

“It was a huge disappointment for the club having made it that far. We had worked extra hard to ensure that we remain in the competition. Our coach however, told us to hold our heads high and focus on maintaining our lead on the log table to enable us to have another crack in the same competition next season.”

 

 

 

The forward said she would like to thank the Sasol League for opening doors for her to play abroad. She said she would definitely use the experience she has gained in Europe to help the national team progress in the upcoming competitions.

 

 

 

 

 

A march of Striking Bus Drivers Intensify

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

Johannesburg – Thousands of striking bus drivers are expected to march through the streets of Johannesburg on Tuesday morning to demand a wage increase.

 

“Our members will come in droves to make employers aware that we mean business. We are not backing down from the double digit wage increase,” said SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) spokesperson Vincent Masoga.

 

Bus drivers are on strike countrywide. The strike, which has entered its third week, has affected commuters.

 

Unions are demanding a 13% wage increase – down from 18% – and allowances for housing, nightshift, and long-distance journeys.

 

Talks between the unions and employers at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) are expected to resume this week.

 

Demands

 

Masoga said the bus drivers would march to the transport and road freight bargaining council in Braamfontein to hand over a memorandum of their demands.

 

They would then proceed to the city centre and hand over another memorandum at the offices of the private security sector provident fund.

 

“The fund has been exploiting workers for years…. Workers contribute to the fund, but get almost nothing from the fund which is supposed to look after their interests,” said Masoga.

 

Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the marchers would gather at Pieter Roos Park in Parktown at 10:00, and would disperse at Park Station at 14:00.

 

The SA Police Service and members of the metro police would direct and monitor the march, said Minnaar.

-SAPA

Ajax’s Khenyeza might be banned for a year

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

Cape Town – Ajax Cape Town star Mabhuti Khenyeza could be banned for 12 months for spitting at a linesman in a Premier Soccer League game last month, according to a Sowetan report.

 

Khenyeza faces a hearing in Johannesburg on Wednesday at which charges of “misbehaviour and unsporting behaviour” will be put to him.

 

Khenyeza is alleged to have spat and verbally insulted linesman Zakhele Siwela after he was sent off late in the game against Mamelodi Sundowns early last month.

Sport24

SAFA unhappy over poor treatment of Orlando Pirates FC in Lubumbashi

NEWS 1 Comment

Image

The South African Football Association (SAFA) intends to express its strong dissatisfaction to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the treatment meted out to Orlando Pirates FC in their CAF Champions League second leg clash against TP Mazembe FC of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Lubumbashi on Sunday, 5 May 2013.

 

Pirates lost the match 1-0 but advanced to the round robin stage with an aggregate score of 3-2 after winning the first leg 3-1 in Johannesburg two weeks ago.

 

“It was a terrifying experience. Our lives were at risk,” said SAFA’s Head of Delegation, Mr Elvis Shishana, who is also a member of the SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC).

 

An SABC crew that had travelled to broadcast the match live was prevented from doing so, with the organisers claiming there was no permission to televise the match.

 

“It was very clear from the beginning that they had an agenda, hence they did not want anyone to record the match. It is difficult to explain why millions of fans were denied a chance to watch this match.

 

 “The officiating was terrible and had we lost, we would have been called cry babies, but now that we are through to the next round, we must complain to CAF,” said a disappointed Shishana.

 

Shishana said despite the harrowing experience, Pirates players had done the country proud.

 

“The boys played as though their lives depended on the outcome. They showed real guts out there, I am proud of them for hanging on under such difficult circumstances. We are also glad we are back home in one piece but I must repeat that it was a scary situation and our lives were really in danger,” said Shishana whose mobile phone was grabbed from him by one of the fans. The security officers at the stadium failed to assist and his phone was only returned after he had threatened to report the matter to CAF.

 

Five suspects robbed a shop and fled

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

By Obakeng Maje

Mothibistad-Police are investigating a case of Business Robbery after five unknown suspects entered a shop,pointed the owner with a firearm and robbed him. 

The incident happened on Sunday,at 19:00.  

“The suspects allegedly took cash, cigarettes, and toiletries and then they fled the scene” Lieutenant Andrea Cloete said. “The items robbed are worth R3595. No arrests has been arrested” police said.  

Anybody with information regarding this incident can contact the Mothibistad police station on 053 773 1752.

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

North West police embark on a “Listening Campaign” across the province

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

By Obakeng Maje

North West-Police in the province embarked on series of Izimbizo known as Listening Campaigns from November 2012, and will continue with the campaign until November 2013. “Listening Campaign for Lichtenburg Police Station will be held on Thursday, 9 May 2013 at Boikhutso Community Hall” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said. 

“The primary objective of these Izimbizo is to address challenges that are being experienced by police and communities in their respective areas, to create awareness, to encourage community participation in the fight against crime through structures like Community Police Forum (CPF). The community will have the opportunity to raise their challenges to the provincial management of the South African Police Service” Mokgwabone said. The campaigns are also aimed at building good relations with communities as one of key stakeholders.  

 

Lichtenburg Police Station is experiencing a high rate of contact and property related crimes such as Assault GBH, Rape, Burglary and Murder said police. 

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo urges all communities to work together with the Police in the fight against crime in our townships, suburbs, rural places including farms. She further emphasizes that police will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to expose and apprehend all those who happen to be on the wrong side of the law. 

“We would humbly like to urge everyone in the community to support this massive campaign by being part of these Izimbizo in their areas” Zukiswa Mbombo said.

Lichtenburg Listening Campaign will be held as follows:

 

Date : 9 May 2013

 

Venue: Community Hall,Boikhutso. Location, Lichtenburg 

 

Time:  17:00

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

 

Mandela label absorbs SA wines

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

Over the years South African icon Nelson Mandela has inspired a clothing line, pricey artworks and countless cheap souvenirs, all of which have fuelled debate over the use of his image.

 

Now wine lovers can toast his name with the “House of Mandela” range launched by family members, a product that has raised fresh questions about the uses and abuses of the statesman’s legacy.

 

The label’s founders are adamant that the venture does not exploit him, however.

 

“This is not about Nelson Mandela, this is about the House of Mandela,” said Makaziwe Mandela, his oldest living child aged 59, who started the label with her daughter Tukwini.

 

“The driving force for us is not only to get into the wine as a commercial entity. This is about honouring all those who have gone before us.”

 

Marketed in the United States earlier this year, the label was started in 2010 with various winemakers selected in the country’s famed Cape vineyards.

 

The range’s premier collection consists of two reds and one white dubbed the “Royal Reserve”

The range’s premier collection consists of two reds and one white dubbed the “Royal Reserve”: A 2007 Syrah, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2008 Chardonnay 2009.

 

The two top drawer reds sell for R399, a hefty asking price in South Africa.

 

“The concept is very good, but I am not sure that the wines are that good, for such a price. That’s the reality. They are too expensive,” said a wine seller who wanted to remain anonymous.

 

Technically, Mandela’s brand is copy-righted and his foundation has shut down several brazen attempts over the years to cash in on his revered global status.

 

A court battle currently rages over the control of companies in his name.

 

Head of the Mandela Foundation’s memory programme, Verne Harris said that Mandela had wanted to avoid exploitation.

 

“The guidelines included things like ‘I don’t want my face on commercial products, I do not want to be associated with tobacco, alcohol’,” and so on,” he said.

 

Wine may be alcohol but the reality is that the Mandela surname is carried by the younger generations — who have taken to projects such as wine making and reality TV.

 

“The name Mandela doesn’t belong to Nelson Mandela. It belongs to a family,” said Harris.

 

And not everyone thinks the wines are distasteful.

 

The Cabernet Sauvignon was judged an “outstanding” 4.5 out of five by South Africa’s well-known Platter guide.

 

The other two got a four-point “excellent.”

 

“They are super premium wines, the quality matches the price, and we are not shy about that,” said Tukwini Mandela, 38, told AFP.

 

Makaziwe agrees, saying the wine aimed to tell the story of the Mandela family’s royal roots.

 

“There is a regalness about Africa. It is not that everything that comes from Africa is substandard. There is good quality,” she said.

 

A sparkling wine has been added to the range, along with six entry-level wines to make the product more accessible and a middle range.

 

Baptised the “Thembu Collection” after the Xhosa tribe the family stems from, the lower priced wines carry labels inspired by Mandela’s trademark colourful shirts.

 

The wines will be available in supermarkets, particularly in the United States giant Walmart, and at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

 

“It is your every day drinking wine,” said Heather Engelbrecht, a sales representative of distributor Vinimark.

 

“This is going to be big, probably in the next three years. If the quality of the wine is there, it is going to sell.”

 

In addition, a middle range called Vusani, made up of four reds, is mainly aimed at the Chinese market.

 

The family’s wine entrepeneurs, who plan to donate part of profits to charity, believe the wine venture is party of their heritage.

 

“My grandfather gave us a great gift and we feel honour bound to maintain his legacy,” said granddaughter Tukwini Mandela.

 

“We think that the wine project is a great project, it’s an honourable project and we’re not ashamed to use our name in any way. We fully embrace what we’re been given.”

 

The wine is meant to be shared while thinking about ways to contribute to a better world, said Makaziwe.

 

“We are proud of honouring our name, it is our legacy, it is our right,” she said.

 

“As long as you do it with responsibility…and integrity, we fully embrace our legacy, we are proud of it.”

For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Tlhwahalang High embattled headmaster arrested for “conspirancy”

NEWS Leave a comment

Image

By Obakeng Maje

Jan Kempdorp-The disgruntled community of Valspan in Jan Kempdorp was shocked yesterday amid the arrested of embattled principal at Tlhwahalang High School yesterday.

Modiakgotlha was allegedly arrested by police for allegedly conspiring against other teachers.

Aubrey Modiakgotlha was suspended last year in October for maladministration of funds and corruption.

The community were up in arms a month ago and closed down the local Tlhwahalang High School to demand the reinstatement of the principal.

 

The headmaster, Aubrey Modiakgotla, was suspended by the education department seven months ago. He is suspected of corruption and maladministration of funds.

 

The general feeling is that Modiakgotla was not given a charge sheet of all his charges.

 

Pupils were not allowed to proceed with classes when schools in the province reopened yesterday. Two opposing groups representing the parents, the school governing body and teachers protested outside the school premises.

 

The group supporting Modiakgotla said the department had acted in bad faith when it suspended the principal.

 

“We have tried so many times to meet the provincial head of department of education (Tshepo Pharasi).

 

“We went to his office (last week) a month ago trying to explain the situation to him,” one of the parents told The New Age.

 

“The division between teachers, the school governing body (SGB) and parents in the school has affected our children a lot. We are afraid if it continues like this it will affect their results at the end of the year.”

 

Local ANC branch secretary, Fana Molola, said the organisation was intervening to stabilise the situation.

 

“The morale is low. As the ANC we are trying to normalise the situation but the pupils are also not willing to come to the party when we try to assist. They are roaming around the streets, which is not good for their well-being,” Molola said.

 

He blamed the department for moving too slowly in resolving the issue.

 

Congress of South African Students (Cosas) national deputy president, Tshepo Louw, who was at the school yesterday, said he would have a meeting with the parents, SGB and teachers, to try and solve the situation.

 

“I will be assessing the situation at the school today to oversee if what we agreed on last month is put in place” Louw said.

Classes could be disturbed this morning as the students are planning to boycott.

“A principal’s issue is not on our discussions. We want to observe the situation whether classes running smoothly” Louw said.

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews