The Siya crew can reveal that Lennox Bacela has passed his medical at Orlando Pirates and looks set to join the Soweto giants!

It was revealed by the crew yesterday morning that the Bloemfontein Celtic striker was in Mayfair undergoing a medical, after the club had expressed an interest in signing him.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

According to a Siya crew source, Lebogang Manyama’s potential move to Kaizer Chiefs could be back on, with Ajax Cape Town waiting on Mabhudi Khenyeza’s appeal.

There were rumours circulating in recent months that the Amakhosi were keen to land the 22-year-old from Ajax, although his agent, Alfred Phiri, moved to quell the rumours, insisting that he was going nowhere.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

Platinum Stars has confirmed that they have appointed Senzo Mazingiza as Football Manager at the club.

Soccer-Laduma reported yesterday that Mazingiza had left Orlando Pirates, with the official stating that it was simply his “time to leave”.

He had joined the Buccaneers back in September 2011 after his contract as Project Manager at the Premier Soccer League had expired.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

The Johannesburg Housing Company has unleashed the Red-Ants on residents of Newtown Housing Village in Fordsburg.

This is the second group to be evicted following a similar incident over a week ago.

Gauteng South African Communist Party (SACP) secretary Jacob Mamabolo says the evictions are acts of corruption in which residents are supposed to be co-owners of the building.

He says they will be working with residents to make an urgent application in court. At least 150 people are said to have become victims.

Mamabolo says, “We are seriously disturbed by this. We strongly condemn the conduct, action of the Johannesburg housing corporation. We believe that they are very much insensitive and inhuman in their conduct. There are women and children, people with disabilities and we think this conduct is a violation of a basic human right of our people.”
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Former president Nelson Mandela’s wife Graca Machel left his bedside on Thursday to thank South Africans for showing their love for the ailing statesman.

“I want to take this opportunity in the presence of ministers and the sport fraternity to again thank you for the outpouring and humbling demonstration of love, the care and the support of hope,” Machel said.

“We have taken it into our hearts every single day. It is important to find the occasion to tell every person that humbled himself to pray for us that God is listening, but we are also taking note.”

Machel was speaking at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, where ministers and members of the sporting fraternity delivered a pledge and messages of support for Mandela.

Ministers of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale, Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile, and Sport Fikile Mbalula were among the dignitaries.

Earlier, Mbalula launched the Nelson Mandela Sports Day at a breakfast in Sandton.

“As we continue to soldier on to celebrate his legacy, these are the things he lives for, like the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital,” Mbalula said.

“He did not do those things for himself, he did them to make a difference for others and that is what we must carry on as a people.”

Machel said the initiative stood for everything Mandela symbolised.

“Although Madiba sometimes may be uncomfortable, a very few times he is in pain, but he is fine,” she said.

“The best gift which he has given to this nation again is unity. At the beginning he offered South Africa the gift of reconciliation, of bringing together all people of all races and of all ages to rally around a dream of a South Africa which belongs to all.”

The legacy which is going to be tangible, it is going to be everlasting

Machel said this dream might have faded over the last few years, but while Mandela lay in hospital he offered the nation the opportunity to once again be united.

She said sport also played its role in uniting the nation.

Machel said Mandela was touched by the plight of children in the country, which led to the dream of building the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

“I thought it was fitting that while we all pray and wish him well we should also think of the future,” Machel said.

“The legacy which is going to be tangible, it is going to be everlasting and with a multiplying effect as a hospital.”

Mandela’s grandson Zodwa Mandela thanked South Africans and the world for their support and prayers for his grandfather.

“The gestures from South African children have been inspirational. Please continue to keep our grandfather in your prayers and keep positive,” Zodwa Mandela said.

The Nelson Mandela Sports Day, a brainchild of the sport and recreation department, will see the Springboks and Bafana Bafana playing against Argentina and Burkina Faso respectively at the FNB Stadium on August 17.

Mbalula revealed that the proceeds from the day, which would also include a concert after the Springbok’s match, would go towards the hospital.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

LONDON – Extraditing Shrien Dewani to South Africa would be the lawful, logical, clinically sensible and the right thing to do, the Westminster Magistrate’s Court heard on Thursday.

The 32-year-old is accused of masterminding the murder of his bride Anni in Cape Town back in November 2010.

Prosecutors have been summing up why they believe Dewani should returned to South Africa, with the judge’s decision being sent to the British government to be rubber stamped.

Hugo Keith, acting on behalf of South African authorities, told the court since the successful appeal against Dewani’s extradition his health has significantly improved.

He told the court a lot had changed and Dewani was no longer in danger of committing suicide.

The British businessman denies any involvement in his wife’s murder.

Earlier this week, he was excused from court to continue with treatment.

On Wednesday, Dewani’s legal team asked for a further six-month delay before a final decision on his extradition was taken.

He is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

South African authorities say he will be allowed to continue with his treatment if extradited.

Three South African men are serving lengthy jail sentences after being convicted for the crime.
Xolile Mngeni is serving a life sentence for firing the gun that killed Anni, while Mziwamadoda Qwabe was jailed for 25 years and taxi driver Zola Tongo was sentenced to 18 years.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) President Joseph Mathunjwa on Thursday said if some of his union’s demands are not met, government’s neutrality will come into question.

He made the comments following Wednesday’s failed peace talks aimed at restoring stability to the troubled mining sector.

Mathunjwa refused to sign the agreement as he wanted to consult with members.

The deal was brokered by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and agreed upon by other major role players, including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Chamber of Mines.

Amcu’s main rival union, the NUM, is affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), a member of the ruling tripartite alliance.

Mathunjwa said they were ready to bring up this issue if needed.

He says his members strongly believe unions shouldn’t get involved in the business of mining.

“There mustn’t be any union that has a business links where we are organising. There must not be any politicians that have a stake in any mining because we saw what happened in Marikana.”

Miningmx writer David McKay said the demands could possibly derail the process as the NUM had interests in the sector.
“I think it’s a dig at NUM and nothing else and it’s a potential deal-breaker for this agreement.”
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Madibeng – A report on financial irregularities in Madibeng recommends that criminal cases be opened against its municipal manager, and the heads of corporate services and IT, AfriForum said on Thursday.

The document alleged that municipal manager Monde Juta, corporate services head Andrew Modise, and IT head Xola Magwala were at the centre of financial malpractice at the municipality, AfriForum North West organiser Ian Cameron said in a statement.

“We will have to act, because government is still refusing to take steps against the offenders,” he said.

“According to the report, they facilitate and create an environment for corruption to thrive.”

Cameron said AfriForum had decided to make public the report, which was compiled by a task team appointed by Co-operative Governance Minister Richard Baloyi.

This was because council speaker Buti Makhongela had withheld certain information in the report from the rest of the council.

He said AfriForum would ask the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute Makhongela for manipulating the report.

The Madibeng municipality said on Thursday it was not aware that the report contained names and allegations against certain individuals.

“The minister’s report tabled to council on 14 June 2013

recommends that an investigation be concluded on all alleged acts of impropriety,” municipality spokeswoman Lebogang Tsogang said.

“Nowhere does it mention specific individuals and recommend sanctions.”

She said the support team appointed by Baloyi would conduct investigations in the case of implicated officials.

It would be improper for the task team to recommend that action be taken against individuals without giving them an opportunity to respond to the allegations, she said. – Sapa

Members of the ANC burnt party T-shirts outside the Tlokwe local municipality offices in protest against the expulsion of 14 councillors, the party said on Thursday.

“This conduct by all involved vindicates the ANC and confirms the correctness of the decision to expel these ill-disciplined members by the provincial disciplinary committee (PDC),” provincial spokesperson Kenny Morolong said in a statement.

The ANC condemned the burning of T-shirts and maintained its position that it do not recognise the removal of Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle, Morolong said.

The ANC claimed that 16 of its councillors participated in an irregular council meeting where they voted for Maphetle’s unseating.

This was the second attempt to remove him.

In November, ANC factions in the municipality passed a motion of no confidence in Maphetle.

He was replaced by Annette Combrink – the first Democratic Alliance mayor in the province – when she defeated ANC candidate Lucky Tsagae by 20 votes to 19.

However, Maphetle was returned as mayor in February, when he won by 31 votes to Combrink’s 21.

In the latest attempt to oust him, DA North West leader Chris Hattingh said 29 councillors from all parties, including the ANC, had unanimously voted to return Combrink to the position of mayor.

The ANC said the actions of its members were contrary to the party’s code of conduct.

The 16 councillors were scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday, but only two of them attended the meeting.

The two, who pleaded guilty, were “reprimanded” by the PDC and it was decided that they would be provided with “guidance” by the party, and would not be expelled.

The other 14, who did not arrive for the meeting, were expelled.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Almost one in four young South Africans do not plan to vote in the 2014 general elections, a survey by Pondering Panda has found.

“It is concerning that almost one in four young people might stay home and not cast their vote in 2014, but what is of even greater concern are their reasons for doing so,” said Pondering Panda spokesperson Shirley Wakefield.

“The vast majority of respondents with no plans to vote feel nothing will change no matter who wins, or that there is no one worth voting for.”

Disillusionment

She said this indicated a strong sense of disillusionment with both politicians and the political process.

“If competing parties want to tap into these disaffected voters, they need to field candidates who are better able to connect with young people, and demonstrate a commitment to meaningful change in South Africa, if elected.”

The survey found that 23% of young people did not intend voting, compared to 74% who planned to vote.

Wakefield said 3 725 people between the ages of 18 and 34 were interviewed across the country.

Young people in the Northern Cape and Gauteng were found to be “least likely to vote”.

Young people most likely to vote were in the North West, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.

About 19% of people in each of these provinces said they did not plan to vote.

“There were no significant differences according to age, gender, or race,” the survey found.

The survey found that young black and coloured South Africans were most likely to think nothing would change regardless of the result of the elections.

New political parties

People were also asked whether the new political parties, Agang SA and Julius Malema’s proposed Economic Freedom Fighters, changed the way they felt about voting in 2014.

“Reaction to this question was almost evenly split, with 39% of respondents saying these new parties made it more important to go out and vote, and 40% saying that having Agang SA and the EFF on the ballot did not change the way they felt about voting,” it said.

All interviews were carried out on cellphones between 26 June and 1 July.

– SAPA