Johannesburg – Transport Minister Ben Martin has lamented the death of 15 people in an accident in Sandfontein in North West, an official said on Monday.

“The minister sends his heartfelt and sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wishes those injured a speedy recovery,” said spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso.

“He has called on every road user to take personal responsibility in road safety and ensure that South African roads are not turned into killing fields.”

The accident happened on Sunday afternoon on the R510 road at the Sandfontein village off-ramp.

Rikhotso said preliminary indications were that a light delivery vehicle turned into oncoming traffic and collided with a bus.

Those killed were passengers in the delivery vehicle, and 29

people injured in the crash were on the bus.

Rikhotso said Martins had urged the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to speed up its investigation into the accident. – Sapa

London – Honeymoon murder accused Shrien Dewani’s mental health has improved and he has talked about returning to South Africa to fight a murder charge, a London court heard on Monday.

The British Press Association reported that his depression was now moderate, and not severe.

Dewani, 33, is accused of orchestrating the murder of his wife Anni, who was shot while visiting Gugulethu, Cape Town, in November 2010.

While he has denied any involvement in her murder, he faces extradition to South Africa for trial.

Opening the case for the South African government at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Hugo Keith QC said Dewani’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and risk of suicide had all improved.

The businessman, who was excused from attending the hearing, is being treated for the conditions in a mental hospital near Bristol.

“Our case is not that it would be oppressive to extradite him,” Keith said.

“We suggest that there has been significant and sustained improvement [in his depression], largely as a result of the administration of drugs, but also due to the grounding techniques and coping therapies, which he has acquired during his time at Fromeside [clinic] and more recently at Blaise View since his transfer to Blaise View [mental health hospital] in January this year.”

In April, his PTSD was found to be “considerably less” and was now moderate or severe, rather than severe.

The court heard that Dewani still had a substantial inability to concentrate and poor memory, but he no longer made active references to suicide.

“There are more positive observations about how he wishes to return to fight the case against him,” Keith said.

The South African government had offered reassurances that he would be admitted to a mental hospital if he was found to be ill.

If held in jail, he would be kept in a single cell, which would reduce the chance of him being attacked.

– SAPA

Agang SA, South Africa’s newest independent political party, confirmed that the Independent Electoral Commission has completed its party registration.

Thabo Leshilo, Agang SA’s Director of Communications said: “We are delighted to confirm the completion of the registration of Agang SA with the IEC. 

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

Labour federation, Cosatu, will on Tuesday morning embark on a drive slow in Pretoria against the implementation of e-tolls in Gauteng.

The federations’ leadership says after the drive slow the convoy will head towards the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital where former president Nelson Mandela is currently being treated, to wish him a speedy recovery.

The drive slow will begin in Hatfield at End street, between Church and Pretoria streets.

The proposed route for the drive slow will be, N4 and proceed to N1, joining R21 towards the airport, off-ramp at Neilmapius road back to the R21 to the city of Tshwane where they will proceed to the Medi clinic-Heart hospital.

Cosatu is appealing to motorist in the Pretoria area to support their cause.

DA wants to know why the ANC-led government continues to pursue the e-tolling system despite evidence showing that the project has not been successful in other countries.

Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance wants to know why the ANC-led government continues to pursue the e-tolling system despite evidence showing that the project has not been successful in other countries, such as Portugal.

Reports say lower than expected revenue from e-tolls was recorded in Portugal.

The country’s road chief even warned that there would not be enough money for road maintenance. The DA says Portugal’s e-tolling failure is clear evidence that the system does not work.

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

Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund has welcomed the decision from the world football governing body, FIFA regarding the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in which it sanctioned the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) for fielding an ineligible player in their match against Botswana last month.

Igesund added that the decision gives South Africa another chance in the competition.

“We welcome the decision, which I believe was expected. It was never in doubt because rules are rules, so in our view it is a correct decision.

“The decision also gives us a second bite on the cherry; we now have to beat Botswana and hope Ethiopia loses or draws against Central African Republic. But I am very pleased with the outcome,” said Igesund.

In a statement, FIFA confirmed it has sanctioned the EFF for fielding an ineligible player in the preliminary competition match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ between Botswana and Ethiopia played in Lobatse on 8 June 2013. Ethiopia won the game 2-1 but the match has now been awarded to Botswana following the FIFA disciplinary committee hearing.

“The match is declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Botswana, with the EFF also receiving a fine of R60 000 after the FIFA Disciplinary Committee considered the EFF liable for having breached article 55 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and article 8 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Regulations,” read the statement.

“The sanction relates to the Ethiopian player Minyahile Teshome Beyene failing to serve the automatic one-match suspension imposed on him following two cautions received in two different matches (article 17 paragraph 3 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code).”

The decision by FIFA means South Africa still has a chance to proceed to the play-offs of the qualifiers if they beat Botswana in the last game and Ethiopia fails to beat the Central African Republic.

“We accept and welcome the announcement by FIFA,” said SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble.

“Regarding our issue where we also wrote to them (FIFA) about the same player featuring in our match having not served his suspension, we were not looking for three points but were just inquiring about the status of the player in the qualifiers.

“We would also like to reiterate our coach’s views that there is now much more to play for in the qualifiers as we believe we stand a good chance of proceeding to the next round of play-offs, even though it must be noted that it’s no longer in our hands. But we will go there (match against Botswana) and do the best we can, and hope for a favourable result in the other match.”

Bafana Bafana are now two points behind Group A leaders Ethiopia with one round of group stages matches remaining. South Africa will have to beat Botswana in September and hope that the Central Africa Republic (CAR) draws against or beats Ethiopia in the other match.

Four men suffered serious burns when an explosive device was thrown into a fire in Mmakau near Brits, North West police said on Monday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Lesego Metsi said the incident happened on Sunday as three people were sitting around a fire.

Their neighbour allegedly tossed a detonator used in mine blasting into the flames and it exploded.

“All four of them survived with serious facial and bodily burns… and were taken to Brits hospital.”

The neighbour suffered third-degree burns and was transferred to George Mukhari Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa in a serious condition.

Metsi said the man apparently worked for a company that owned a nearby quarry.

“The device, believed to be used for crushing stones, is suspected to have been stolen from the suspect’s workplace,” said Metsi.

The man would face charges of attempted murder and possession of explosives when released from hospital. The motive for his action was not yet known.

– SAPA

Soweto residents severely assaulted two men who tried to rob a pedestrian at the weekend, police said on Monday.

A 37-year-old man was walking home from Inhlazane railway station in Jabulani on Sunday night, Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.

Three men held him at gunpoint before hitting him over the head.

“Before the man fell down he screamed. The screams were heard by people in the township who came to his rescue.”

The man with the gun fled as residents caught and attacked his accomplices. They were being treated under police guard at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Makhubela urged people not to take the law into their own hands.

“We encourage citizen arrests, but strongly discourage mob justice. Once a suspect has been apprehended, they must be brought to us injury-free,” he said.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Fast and decisive action must be taken against criminal police officers at all levels of the police service, the DA said on Monday.

Its call follows reports at the weekend that national police commissioner Riah Phiyega had ordered “a purge of convicted criminals” from the SA Police Service (SAPS) after an in-depth audit of its ranks.

In a statement, DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard welcomed the news.

“The DA calls on SAPS management to take swift and decisive action against criminals within the service, including those within its higher echelons.”

She said her party would submit parliamentary questions to determine when the audit would be finalised, and what steps would be taken in future to “prevent criminals infiltrating the police service”.

The City Press reported on Sunday that Phiyega had – in a letter sent to the police ministry and the service’s top brass – ordered that police officers convicted of a crime be removed from the SAPS.

It quoted Phiyega, in the letter, dated 29 May this year, as saying: “The findings of the audit revealed an unpleasant picture of employees with criminal convictions and who have criminal cases pending against them.”

The audit was reportedly close to completion.

Kohler-Barnard said all members of the SAPS, including those within its leadership, should be professional police officers who protected South Africans from criminals.

“They should not be criminals themselves. We trust that the national police commissioner will take swift action in dealing with any criminality within the service.”

– SAPA

Mthatha – A legal spat between former president Nelson Mandela’s eldest grandson Mandla and members of the family over a grave site is set to resume in the Eastern Cape High Court in Mthatha on Monday.

Mandla Mandela, who is the official head of the Madiba clan and an ANC Member of Parliament, had the remains of three family members exhumed from Mandela’s home in Qunu and re-buried in his home village of Mvezo two years ago.

On Friday, 16 members of the Mandela family, led by Mandela’s eldest daughter Makaziwe, 60, were granted an order by the high court for Mandla Mandela to return the remains to Qunu.

The three exhumed graves are those of Mandela’s eldest son and Mandla’s father Makgato Mandela who died in 2005, Mandela’s first daughter Makaziwe who died as an infant in 1948, and Mandela’s second son Madiba Thembekile who died in a car accident in 1969.

Former president Mandela, who is in a critical condition in a Pretoria hospital, has said he wants to be buried in Qunu alongside his family.

Mandla Mandela, who was named the chief of Mvezo after the death of Makgatho Mandela in 2005, is due to respond to the order in court on Monday.

He claims that Mvezo, where he is building a multi-million rand hotel, is the birthplace of the Mandelas and holds historic significance.

‘Mandla stormed out of meeting’

A Mandela family member told Sapa that when the matter was raised at a family meeting in Qunu last week, Mandla Mandela refused to answer why he moved the graves without consulting the family and stormed out of the meeting.

“When Mandla was ordered to bring back the remains, he stormed out,” the family member said.

Mandla Mandela was taken to court by a community member last year for digging up community graves to build the hotel. The case is still to be heard in court.

A member of the Mandela family told the Dispatch newspaper on Monday that Mandla Mandela would be “on his way down and out of the family” when Nelson Mandela died.

“He stole the remains of Madiba’s children from Qunu to Mvezo in 2011 because he knew that he [Nelson Mandela] would want to be buried with [his] children, and that would be his diamond field,” the family member told the newspaper.

Mandla Mandela said in a statement on Sunday he was “regrettably compelled” to go to court and respond to the action.

“The way we are handling this matter is contrary to our customs and a deep disappointment to my grandfather and his ancestors,” he said.

The case had not yet resumed by Monday afternoon.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele has denied classifying the long-awaited findings of the probe into the R206m upgrade of President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.

In a statement on Monday, Cwele appeared to pass responsibility for the matter to his public works counterpart Thulas Nxesi, who late last month dashed expectations that the report would be tabled in Parliament.

“It is factually incorrect that the minister of state security, Dr Siyabonga Cwele, has ‘classified the report top secret’ or issued an instruction to this effect, as claimed in some media reports,” his office said.

It said that in terms of the current classification regime – the minimum information security standards (MISS) policy – a document could only be classified by its author.

The report was written by a task team of justice and security officials commissioned by Nxesi, to investigate claims of irregularity in the use of public funds to improve Zuma’s private home in the KwaZulu-Natal hamlet.

“As the report is authored by the task team and owned by the commissioning minister of public works, the minister of state security cannot classify or de-classify it or issue instructions to this effect.”

The ministry added that Cabinet’s security cluster had intended the report to be handed to Parliament.

“From the JCPS [Justice Crime Prevention and Security] cluster, the intention and advice was for this report to be tabled to the relevant committee of Parliament.”

Cwele’s statement follows protest from the opposition over Nxesi’s failure to table the report in Parliament, where Speaker Max Sisulu has been expecting it for some months.

Nxesi said the report had been classified secret in terms of the MISS and would not be handed to Auditor General Terence Nombembe or Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, who was investigating the upgrade at Nkandla.

Cwele’s spokesperson, Brian Dube, could not say whether the report had in fact been classified by the task team.

Nxesi’s spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

The DA said classifying the report in terms of the MISS would be invalid because it was not a law, and would amount to a cover-up to shield Zuma from scrutiny.

The cost of the upgrade has made headlines for months and been termed “clearly outrageous” by Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin, who said a preliminary report indicated over-charging by contractors.

– SAPA