Johannesburg – The woman who has allegedly been stalking an ex-boyfriend has admitted to The Star that she is not innocent, but said the stalking was two-sided.

The woman, who does not want to be named but whom The Star is calling Megan, claimed she had instituted three assault charges against Sandton resident Duncan D’Ewes and a charge of rape.

For more www.iol.co.za

ur more high ranking officials have been put on “compulsory special leave” relating to the Gupta wedding jet saga, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Friday.

The four were from the SA National Defence Force and the SA Police Service (SAPS), he said.

He named the officials and gave their ranks. They were: a brigadier-general from the SA Air Force (SAAF) command post; a major from the SAPS operational response unit; a Lt-Col from the movement control office; and brigadier-general from the SAAF commanding base.

The move follows the suspension of Chief of State Protocol ambassador Bruce Koloane on Thursday, during a probe into how a Gupta family chartered jet was allowed to land at Waterkloof Air Force Base.

Koloane’s deputy would assume responsibility in the interim.

Briefing the media from Pretoria, ministers from the justice, crime prevention, and security cluster said a preliminary probe had  been done, but a full investigation was underway by the directors general of the affected departments.

The committee of DGs would have seven days to report back to the Cabinet ministers.

The government insisted the landing was not cleared by the proper authorities.

In addition the escort provided to the Gupta wedding guests who arrived on the plane was not provided by police.

A private security company – which illegally fitted blue lights  to vehicles with false number plates – was involved.

Police and metro police officers in the security escort had since been arrested, Radebe said. – Sapa

By Obakeng Maje

Itsoseng-North West police are looking for man who allegedly raped a 12 year-old neighbour.

The ordeal came to light on Tuesday after a man who is known to the victim, was caught red-handed.

The incident took place at Verdwaal village near Itsoseng.

A case of rape was registered by Itsoseng police after a sister of a victim, allegedly heard her crying from a perpetrator shack.

Police said it was not for the first time a man raped the victim.

“A 12 year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour. According to information received, the atrocity took place again in March, but a rape case was never reported” captain Amanda Funani said.

The victim sister allegedly heard her crying and went on to investigate. She allegedly found a man with hi pants down.

“It is alleged that a man threatened a minor and said he will kill her if she tells anyone. A suspect fled the scene and is still at large” captain Amanda Funani said.

Police urge anyone with information that could lead to any arrest to contact Itsoseng police station on (018) 338-000 and investigations continue.

By Obakeng Maje

Delareyville-A 86 year-old found naked and allegedly drunk on the street by two men in Delareyville yesterday. 

Police said a 86 year-old woman went to a local tarven yesterday afternoon and never returned home.

This cause a panic to her children who went out to look for her said police.

“A woman was allegedly brought home by two men who claim they found her lying in the street naked” captain Amanda Funani said.

The woman allegedly that she has been raped by unknown suspect.

The incident unfolded at Delareyville RDP house where she share the house with her children.

A case of rape has been opened by Delareyville police station and investigations continue.

“Anyone with information that could lead to any arrested can contact Warrant Officer Galela on 053 948 0021 or 082 373 7619” Funani said.

Cape Town – Ajax Cape Town midfielder Granwald Scott has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after picking up a knee injury.

According to the Football411 website, Scott clashed with Willard Katsande in the 20th minute of the Urban Warriors’ 3-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday, and was substituted shortly after.

A short statement on the Ajax website read: “Granwald played an integral part in Ajax CT this season making 25 starts scoring two goals.

“Scott was selected to captain the side at the start of the season but relinquished his armband to Nazeer Allie to concentrate on his duties in the middle of the park.”

The club’s public relations officer Shooz Mekuto added: “Losing the services of Granwald Scott is a blow but as we saw last night his replacement Toriq Losper did very well.”

For more http://www.news24.com

The Congress of South African Trade Unions will be visiting Sun International’s resort in the North West to interact with workers allegedly discriminated against by guests of the Guptas, it said on Thursday.

Cosatu said in a statement that the family does not want to be served by the African staff members who are employed by Sun International. 

“They demand that their services must be rendered by white personnel, starting from the cleaning of their rooms, the cooking and the drivers of the shuttles they use in the resort.

“This is racism at its worst and this cannot be allowed to continue to take place in a country where racism is a crime”, it said. 

Solly Phetoe, Cosatu’s provincial secretary, is expected to visit the resort on Friday to interact with the workers who have experienced the racist attitude of the Guptas. 

Phetoe confirmed to EWN that wedding guests asked for white chauffeurs and cleaning room staff.

The new manager at the resort has a tendency of wanting to oppress workers, Cosatu claimed.

“Cosatu has been informed that he refused to let the workers attend the May Day celebrations that were held on May 1 2013,” it said.

The trade union federation called on the government to stop using state resources for private business.

It added that members of the police services who have been deployed to protect the Guptas must be withdrawn with immediate effect.

Sunday World reported last month that the Guptas booked the entire five-star Palace of the Lost City hotel in the resort complex for four nights. 

It stated that suites at the hotel cost between R4 600 to R44 000 a night.

Earlier on Thursday the SA National Defence Force said that the Gupta family’s chartered jet was removed from Waterkloof Air Force Base.

This followed an order on Thursday morning by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula that the jet be removed.

Spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said that it was taken to OR Tambo International Airport.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said that preliminary reports indicate possible transgressions by police officials in the deployment of resources to the Gupta wedding.

The Gupta family, which owns The New Age newspaper and Sahara, is celebrating the wedding of Vega Gupta, 23, to Indian-born Aakash Jahajgarhia, at Sun City in the North West.

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg/London – Anglo American’s platinum arm, under pressure from South Africa’s government, is expected to sharply scale back plans to cut 14 000 mining jobs as part of an overhaul of the loss-making business, industry sources said on Thursday.

Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS], the world’s top platinum producer, is battling to restore profits, but its plan to cut back production and mothball two mines near Rustenburg have met fierce resistance from the ANC and unions.

The 14 000 jobs initially at stake would equate to 3% of South Africa’s mining labour force, and the planned lay-offs come at a time when social tensions are running high.

Labour unrest and wildcat action last year triggered violence that killed over 50 people and led to a credit downgrade.

“The government is being incredibly tough,” said one of the sources, after almost four months of talks.

Another source familiar with the platinum industry and the South African government said limiting the job cuts to half the initial target – or even less – could give the company political space and a political victory, while the original target could eventually be achieved through attrition, given the high turnover in the sector.

“The goal is not achievable at the flick of a switch. You have to look at ways of getting there in as short a time as possible,” the source said.

Both sources said talks were ongoing and no decision was final, but the first source said Amplats was willing to reduce the number of jobs it plans to cut by as much two thirds. Under one of three scenarios presented by the company, it could cut just 5 000 jobs, the source said.

A South African union source also confirmed Amplats had backed down from its original target of 14 000, though unions have not taken part in talks that have been confined to the government and Amplats.

The company’s talks with the government over the Amplats restructuring have been going on almost since the plan was unveiled in January.   

Negotiations were extended for a month at the end of March and Amplats said on Tuesday they had wrapped up and the final plan would be made public next week.

The stakes are high all round.

Amplats suffered its first loss last year because of the illegal strikes and the low platinum price, and it says cuts are crucial to any hopes of swinging back into profit.

For Anglo American [JSE:AGL], ending losses in platinum is a crucial part of the company’s own turnaround effort.

The ANC-led government, meanwhile, is highly sensitive about jobs ahead of elections next year, in a country where one in four adults is unemployed.

Political temperatures have also been raised by last year’s blood-letting on the platinum belt, which was rooted in a labour turf war that saw the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) poach tens of thousands of members from the dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

The NUM is a key political ally of the ANC and so for the ruling party, the union war has meant it has lost tens of thousands of potential voters and their many dependents.-Reuters

Johannesburg – South Africa has demanded an explanation from Zambia on remarks its vice-president Guy Scott reportedly made about President Jacob Zuma and others.

 “We shall be summoning the high commissioner of Zambia… to seek an explanation behind the remarks and what it means in the context of our bilateral relations,” international relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said on Thursday.

 “South Africa has taken note of the negative remarks about South Africa… In view of this development, the SA government has decided to take the matter up through the appropriate diplomatic channels.”

 The report that irked South African officials was written by The Guardian’s correspondent in Lusaka.

 It initially appeared on the publication’s UK website on Wednesday, and was issued by the Mail & Guardian in South Africa on its website on Thursday.

Scott told The Guardian newspaper in the UK Zuma was like former apartheid leader FW de Klerk, and that South Africans were “backward”.

 Said Scott: “He’s (Zuma) very like De Klerk. He tells us: ‘you just leave Zimbabwe to me.’ Excuse me, who the hell liberated you anyway, was it not us? I mean, I quite like him, he seems a rather genial character but I pity him his advisers.”

 Scott went on to speak about South Africans, and black citizens.

 “The South Africans are very backward in terms of historical development… I hate South Africans… they really think they’re the bees’ knees and actually they’ve been the cause of so much trouble in this part of the world,” Scott told the newspaper.

 “I have a suspicion the blacks model themselves on the whites now that they’re in power.”

 He said he disliked South Africa because it was too big and “unsubtle”.

 Scott noted that South Africa had more than 80 tribes and several major language groups. – Sapa

By Obakeng Maje

Mogwase-The Guptas family arrival in south Africa for a wedding has caused so much cry after their private jet allowed to land at Waterkloof which is regarded as keypoint.

The ANC Youth League on Thursday described the controversial landing of a Gupta family aircraft at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria as an “invasion of the country”.

It joined a chorus of political parties and organisations which condemned what has been dubbed “Guptagate”.

“We seek answers from the ANC-led government on how it is that national security was breached in such a callous manner, disrespecting the people and laws of our country,” the league said in a statement.

As that is not enough, now racism allegations doing rounds angered Cosatu in the province.

It is alleged that Gupta family refuse to be served by Africans at Sun City where the wedding is currently at.

Cosatu secretary-general in North West, Solly Phetoe told ETV news desk that the filthy rich Gupta family brought their on chefs and all whites and Indians.

“According to reports received employees at Sun City superbowl are not allowed to serve the Gupta family as they brought in their chefs and all those who are serving them are either whites or Indians” Phetoe said. 

The ANCYL commended President Jacob Zuma for not attending the wedding.

“We call upon all progressive South Africans, particularly ANC leaders and deployees in government who were invited to the wedding to follow President Zuma’s example, as their attendance will be viewed as condoning this security breach.”

The league said this was a case of gross negligence and misconduct. Those responsible should be exposed, dismissed, arrested and prosecuted.

“We join the African National Congress in calling for an explanation on this matter and for heads to roll for those who allowed that plane to land at our military base, a national key point.”

Earlier on Thursday, it emerged that government remained in the dark over who allowed the chartered jet to land at the base.

Those angered included the ANC, DA, IFP, Cosatu, and SA Communist Party.

They called it an abuse of state resources which put the country at risk. The wealthy and politically-connected Gupta family landed wedding guests at the base on Tuesday morning.

Briefing journalists on the fortnightly Cabinet meeting, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said high-level investigations into the matter were underway. The inquiries – by the departments of international relations and defence, and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) – would seek to find whether diplomatic privilege had been abused.

Several government departments had denied giving clearance for the jet to land at the base.

Chabane said he was not aware of dignitaries aboard the plane and whether a police escort was provided from the base to the wedding venue, Sun City, North West.

“I’m not aware of the reason why the escort was provided… escorts are provided for soccer teams,” he said.

On reports that the wedding guests from India were in the country illegally, Chabane said the group would have had to show they had visas. The guests, however, had avoided paying customs duties.

Sars was not told of guests arriving at the base, meaning no customs officials were sent there, spokesman Adrian Lackay said.

Reports suggest invited guests to the multi-million-rand affair included President Jacob Zuma, government ministers, Indian ministers and other dignitaries.

Chabane said he would also not be attending the Gupta nuptials.

Asked about the attendance of South African government ministers at the wedding and whether this was connected to the plane arriving at Waterkloof, Chabane said: “I would say many people received invites to attend, and I don’t think it has a direct line… (to) a minister attending and the events which surround the plane (landing) at Waterkloof.”

Earlier on Thursday the international relations department said the Chief of State Protocol, ambassador Bruce Koloane, had been placed on suspension while it conducted its investigation into the use of the base.

The Gupta family, which owns The New Age newspaper and Sahara, is celebrating the wedding of Vega Gupta, 23, to Indian-born Aakash Jahajgarhia. -Sapa

Cape Town – The ANC Youth League on Thursday described the controversial landing of a Gupta family aircraft at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria as an “invasion of the country”.

It joined a chorus of political parties and organisations which condemned what has been dubbed “Guptagate”.

“We seek answers from the ANC-led government on how it is that national security was breached in such a callous manner, disrespecting the people and laws of our country,” the league said in a statement.

The ANCYL commended President Jacob Zuma for not attending the wedding.

“We call upon all progressive South Africans, particularly ANC leaders and deployees in government who were invited to the wedding to follow President Zuma’s example, as their attendance will be viewed as condoning this security breach.”

The league said this was a case of gross negligence and misconduct. Those responsible should be exposed, dismissed, arrested and prosecuted.

“We join the African National Congress in calling for an explanation on this matter and for heads to roll for those who allowed that plane to land at our military base, a national key point.”

Earlier on Thursday, it emerged that government remained in the dark over who allowed the chartered jet to land at the base.

Those angered included the ANC, DA, IFP, Cosatu, and SA Communist Party.

They called it an abuse of state resources which put the country at risk. The wealthy and politically-connected Gupta family landed wedding guests at the base on Tuesday morning.

Briefing journalists on the fortnightly Cabinet meeting, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said high-level investigations into the matter were underway. The inquiries – by the departments of international relations and defence, and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) – would seek to find whether diplomatic privilege had been abused.

Several government departments had denied giving clearance for the jet to land at the base.

Chabane said he was not aware of dignitaries aboard the plane and whether a police escort was provided from the base to the wedding venue, Sun City, North West.

“I’m not aware of the reason why the escort was provided… escorts are provided for soccer teams,” he said.

On reports that the wedding guests from India were in the country illegally, Chabane said the group would have had to show they had visas. The guests, however, had avoided paying customs duties.

Sars was not told of guests arriving at the base, meaning no customs officials were sent there, spokesman Adrian Lackay said.

Reports suggest invited guests to the multi-million-rand affair included President Jacob Zuma, government ministers, Indian ministers and other dignitaries.

Zuma would not be attending as he was travelling to Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, ahead of an international meeting to discuss matters in the Central African Republic.

Chabane said he would also not be attending the Gupta nuptials.

Asked about the attendance of South African government ministers at the wedding and whether this was connected to the plane arriving at Waterkloof, Chabane said: “I would say many people received invites to attend, and I don’t think it has a direct line… (to) a minister attending and the events which surround the plane (landing) at Waterkloof.”

Earlier on Thursday the international relations department said the Chief of State Protocol, ambassador Bruce Koloane, had been placed on suspension while it conducted its investigation into the use of the base.

The Gupta family, which owns The New Age newspaper and Sahara, is celebrating the wedding of Vega Gupta, 23, to Indian-born Aakash Jahajgarhia. – Sapa