Johannesburg – Two men and a woman have been arrested on the road between Keiskammahoek and Port Elizabeth for possession of Mandrax, Eastern Cape police said on Thursday.

Mali Govender, police spokesperson, said a white Jetta with three occupants, was searched at a check point.

“Police found a medium-sized travelling bag in the boot.”

They found 5 000 Mandrax tablets and close to R15 000 cash in the bag on Wednesday afternoon. The drugs had a street value of R300 000.

The three, aged 43, 28, and 25, would appear in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANC’s retention of Ward 9 in the Tlokwe by-election indicates that the DA is not the answer to the ruling party’s dominance, the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) said on Thursday.

“Despite expectations that the African National Congress’s internal woes in North West could benefit the Democratic Alliance, they did not actually pose any threat,” CDP leader Theunis Botha said in a statement.

“Although the latest by-election results in Tlokwe indicate that smaller parties did not make much headway, it also shows that the DA is not a clear-cut solution to ending the ANC regime’s dominance.”

Botha said parties with a Christian ethos should consider joining forces.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced on Thursday that the ANC had retained control of Ward 9 in Tlokwe, with 738 votes out of a total of 1 458 valid votes cast at two polling stations.

Independent candidate Khotso Ratikoane received 504 of the vote, putting him in second place.

The ward was also contested by the DA, which got 196 votes, the Congress of the People (Cope), which received eight votes, and the African People’s Convention, which got 12 votes.

‘Resounding success’

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) congratulated the ANC on its “resounding success” in the by-election.

“The victory came after a well-oiled campaign to undermine the gains of the ANC by both its disgruntled members and the opposition parties,” spokesperson Vusumuzi Bhengu said in a statement.

The ANC’s supporters, including activists and young people, had mobilised in an extensive door-to-door campaign, he said.

“Thus, the overwhelming victory of the ANC was solely based on the vast human mass that rallied behind their long-established movement of struggle.”

Earlier, National Education, Health, and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) North West secretary Patrick Makhafane congratulated the ANC on winning the by-election.

“Nehawu in the North West province congratulates both the ANC and the revolutionary alliance for their convincing win in the recently held by-elections in the area.”

Makhafane said the victory should be used to regain control of the municipality and restore people’s confidence in the ANC in preparation for the 2014 general elections.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A decision not to fund a particular treatment for a cancer patient was based on an expert panel’s advice, Discovery Health said on Thursday.

“Evaluating new health care treatments is complex, and Discovery Health Medical Scheme’s approach is to defer to the leading independent experts in the field to ensure that the care our members receive is the best and most appropriate,” it said in a statement.

Health-e News Service reported on Thursday, as published in The Star, that Thobeka Xaba, 23, a Discovery member, had not had chemotherapy since 25 March because the medical aid refused to pay for the medicine her oncologist recommended.

Dr Daleen Geldenhuys told Health-e that if she used Doxorubicin, Discovery’s recommended drug, she had up to a 40% chance of suffering heart failure.

“So if the medical aid has a heart ready for a transplant, then I will give it to her because the regimen they want me to give my patient will damage her heart,” she was quoted as saying.

Geldenhuys said Xaba had an inoperable, aggressive tumour.

Discovery said that during an appeal hearing with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) on Thursday, Geldenhuys conceded that Discovery’s recommended treatments were acceptable.

According to Discovery, Geldenhuys told the appeal hearing Xaba had been on treatment the whole time.

The medical scheme said it had referred Geldenhuys’s recommended drug, Paclitaxel, to a panel of leading academic oncology specialists for advice.

“The feedback from this panel was clear – that there is no published clinical evidence that the drug would be effective or safe for this patient’s condition.”

In addition, the panel found there were other safe and effective treatments, which the medical aid would cover in full. The scheme would have covered more expensive treatments for Xaba, which were supported by clear evidence.

“Importantly, the decision was not a financial one, but one that places Ms Xaba’s health as the top priority,” Discovery said.

Earlier, the CMS said the medical scheme and Xaba had settled the dispute about payment for her treatment.

“The parties have settled… A full report will be released on Monday, once full details are received,” CMS spokesperson Elsabe Conradie said.

Health-e reported that Discovery wrote a letter to the CMS on 31 May, saying it would not pay because it was not a benefit covered in Xaba’s selected plan type, and the treatment was not the level of care available in the public sector.

In June, the council ruled against Discovery, but it wrote back two weeks later saying it would appeal.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Twenty-five people arrested for public violence in Fochville, near Carletonville, appeared in the Carletonville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, police said.

“The 25 suspects were released on a warning; the case was postponed to 27 September,” police spokesperson Busi Menoe said.

Initially, 36 people were arrested but only 25 appeared in court because the others were minors.

Another 26 people were arrested on Wednesday for public violence.

They were expected to appear in court on Monday, Menoe said.

On Monday, residents embarked on a service delivery protest and blocked roads with stones and burning tyres.

“A spaza shop, a bottle store, and a house, believed to belong to a councillor, were set on fire,” police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said at the time.

On Tuesday, Mazibuko and Merafong municipality Mayor Maphefo Mogale Letsie was meant to meet residents to discuss their concerns, but the meeting had to be abandoned when protests erupted.

– SAPA

NORTH WEST – The ANC has lost Ward Four in the Mahikeng by-elections to an independent candidate, its North West branch said on Thursday morning.

“We note the setback suffered in Ward 4 in Mahikeng…,” said ANC provincial spokesman Kenny Morolong in a statement.

“The ANC shall in the aftermath of this outcome engage the residents of this ward to reflect on this development and assure them of an unending ANC support.”

The party released the preliminary by-election results of other wards in the province, saying it was in the lead.

The African National Congress secured 735 votes in Tlokwe’s Ward Nine, 1304 votes in Rustenburg’s Ward 19, 760 votes in Ward 14 of the Ramotshere Moiloa area, and 528 votes in Ward 12 of the same area.

In Ward 12 of Mahikeng, the ANC took 492 votes.

The party secured 578 votes in Ward 20 of Ditsobotla, 843 in Kagisano Molopo Ward Four, and 685 votes in Ratlou Ward 14.

Morolong said the party was “elated and humbled” by the figures.

“Our victory is a demonstration that the ANC remains rooted on the ground and that its strength resides in its mass base,” he said.

He said the people of the North West had spoken through their votes.

“Indeed, the ANC remains the undisputed property of the people of South Africa and the outcomes of these by-elections are a testament of this unquestionable reality.”

-Sapa