East London – Public transport must help people access socio-economic opportunities, Eastern Cape transport MEC Thandiswa Marawu said on Tuesday.

“This product will be a lasting legacy of the current term of government, which will be appreciated by many generations to come,” she said at the launch of the province’s integrated transport master plan in East London, according to a copy of her speech.

The plan was aimed at improving the quality of life of Eastern Cape residents, supporting economic growth, and improving access to community services and facilities. It would focus on inter-town and long-distance public transport. The intention was to establish a provincial public transport network.

Arrangements needed to be made with existing operators, such as the minibus taxi industry, to help make the shift to the new system. It was proposed the new system would be operated by businesses the local operators formed.

Several such contracts were envisaged based on geographic areas and operational circumstances, said Marawu.

Only 15.5 percent of households in the Eastern Cape had a car, and 15.9 percent used minibus taxis. Nearly fifty percent of travel within the province was for educational purposes, the highest in South Africa.

About a third of households spent more than 10 percent of their income on transport. A “shocking” 23 percent spent more than 20 percent of their income on public transport, she said.

Sapa

Johannesburg – Gauteng government departments spent R18.6 billion in the first quarter of this financial year, finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe said in the provincial legislature on Tuesday.

“This represents an increase of R500 million compared to the same period last year,” his spokesman John Sukazi said in a statement.

Nkomfe said R343.3m was transferred to non-profit organisations to benefit child care protection services, HIV and Aids initiatives and services to the elderly, among others.

The community safety department used its first quarter resources for operations including road blocks, speed traps and weigh bridges.

The province collected R998.9m in the three months ending in June. This represented a quarter of the annual projection.

Gauteng increased the amount of revenue collected by R165.5m, when compared with the same quarter last year.

“It means that for the remainder of the current financial year, an average amount of R992.9m per quarter must be collected to meet the targeted projection of R3.972bn,” Sukazi said.

The provincial government was working with departments to help improve their revenue collection and management.

Sapa

Johannesburg – Traditional leaders should hold government accountable if it failed to improve the lives of rural communities, North West local government MEC Manketsi Tlhape said on Tuesday.

“Government should be taking the lead from traditional leaders as they know and understand the needs of their communities,” Tlhape said.

If necessary, traditional leaders should summon government and advise it on what needed to be done in their communities, she said.

“They should be directing government’s programme because they are better placed in the communities.

“We must demonstrate co-operation between traditional leaders and government in our province, our communities should see us working together not against each other.”

Tlhape was on a consultation drive in the province following her appointment to the provincial cabinet last month.

She has met traditional leaders in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Ngaka Modiri Molema Districts and the North West House of Traditional Leaders.

“Issues that traditional leaders have raised, include capacitating the administration supporting staff complement at traditional council and district offices,” Tlhape said.

Sapa

Durban – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa urged Ulundi residents on Tuesday to help police in their hunt for the killers of an ANC councillor.

Mthethwa said: “We call upon members of the community to come forward with information, no matter how little it may seem, which would assist in the apprehension and most importantly securing of convictions.”

The statement was issued after Mthethwa and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Betty Mmamonnye Ngobeni visited the family of the slain councillor Makhosonke Msibi in Ulundi.

Msibi was gunned down on Sunday night after returning from a meeting in Nongoma.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Vincent Mdunge said on Monday that a man knocked at the door of Msibi’s house. His son opened the door and a man asked to see the councillor.

According to Mdunge the man fired shots at Msibi when he emerged. The 48-year-old councillor sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead at the scene.

Mthethwa called for political tolerance ahead of the 2014

national elections.

“We are aware that we have now entered a silly season where some leaders would make inflammatory remarks which fuel violence and political intolerance. We urge them to exercise maturity and refrain from making remarks that are destructive and perpetuate killings and violence,” said Mthethwa.

Sapa

Durban – The death toll in last week’s bus accident near Pongola in northern KwaZulu-Natal has increased to seven, the community safety department said on Tuesday.

Five people initially died at the crash scene 15 kilometres from Pongola last Tuesday and one more succumbed to his injuries a while later.

A tyre burst on the N2 around 11am, causing the bus to crash into a wall, MEC Willies Mchunu’s office said in a statement.

Mchunu will attend a memorial service for the crash victims on Thursday.

Sapa

New Mamelodi Sundowns striker Cuthbert Malajila believes that a ‘one-game-at-a-time’ attitude will be key to his new team achieving success in 2013/14.

After finishing last season outside the top eight, Brazilians coach Pitso Mosimane went all out and bought a brand new team, including the Zimbabwean marksman from Maritzburg United, where he netted 13 goals in 2012/13.

On his Sundowns debut against Bloemfontein Celtic, the 27-year-old delivered a sterling performance – in the first half he set up Bongani Zungu with a sliding pass, only for the former Tuks midfielder to hit the post.

And in the second half, Malajila scored with a brilliant volley after a pin-point pass from Teko Modise.

“I know everyone is talking about Sundowns trying to win the League title, but we need to take it one game at a time,” he tells KickOff.com.

“It is too early to start saying Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates will give us a fight because there are 29 matches remaining. All the teams still have a chance and we need to take them very seriously. There’s a long road ahead of us.”

Malajila is in the best form of his career and despite facing competition from the likes of Katlego Mashego, Katlego Mphela and Richard Henyekane, he is likely to be Mosimane’s first-choice striker this season.

However, he refuses to set targets for this season.

“How many goals do I want to score? I can’t say. I believe in myself, but I don’t have targets.

“The coach spoke to me after our camp in Limpopo and he told me exactly what he wants and he made it clear that his plans will depend on the opponents we will be facing.”
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Lebohang ‘Cheeseboy’ Mokoena has been cleared to resume full training, but admits he is still withdrawn at training.

Mokoena underwent a hip operation almost a year ago. In fact, the last time ‘Cheeseboy’ played for Mamelodi Sundowns in an official match was on September 2 in a 2-1 loss to Maritzburg United.

The player tells the club’s official website he is keen to get back into action: “The vibe is very positive here at Chloorkop and its plain to see that the players are determined to do very well this season and I can’t afford to miss that.”

Sundowns’ website reports: “According to the team doctors the player is now working to regain full fitness, but Mokoena admitted that he doesn’t want to rush himself.”

The 26-year-old has been out for so long he says he feels like a new player!

“I’m very excited to be cleared off the injury list and I feel like a completely new player because I haven’t played football for a long time” ‘Cheeseboy’ tells Sundowns’ official website.

Mokoena has already featured in two club practise matches, coming on as a late substitute against Azam FC of Tanzania and playing the whole second half when the first team played Sundowns reserves.

The fan favourite says he is commited to doing extra work on his fitness, but admits he still has to work on his mental strength.

“At training I really want to get involved in the thick of things but whenever I see strong tackles fly at training I still get withdrawn a little bit. You see once you have been out injured for too long, you definitely will do anything to avoid going back there.

“I know my fitness levels and right now I’m nowhere near that but I’m putting in extra training on my legs, sometimes before and after training because I’m very determined to play for the team once again.”
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Ajax Cape Town will have waited a month before they play their second League fixture.

Ajax played their first match against Golden Arrows on August 3.

Arrows vs Ajax report

The Urban Warriors were scheduled to play a League match against Orlando Pirates next Tuesday, but owing to Pirates’ participation in the MTN8 the fixture has been postponed.

Bucs were drawn against their Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 semi-finals. Both legs will be played next week, with the first on August 20 and 21, and the return legs on August 24 and 25.

Precise dates and venues are yet to be confirmed.

Ajax coach Muhsin Ertugral says the situation is far from acceptable, but admits there is nothing he can do.

“It’s the start of the season we only had one game, you start the season with playing one game and then four weeks you don’t play a game, but I’m not complaining about it because it’s out of my hands,” Ertugral tells KickOff.com.

Meanwhile, the Cape side have decided to register Cole Alexander for the after he impressed Ertugral at training.

The midfielder’s future with Ajax was uncertain after the club decided they already had enough cover in the middle of the park, but they have decided to register him after all.

Ajax’s next match is against AmaZulu on September 1, while the game against Pirates has not yet been scheduled.
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Arrigo Sacchi insists Real Madrid’s pursuit of Gareth Bale is nothing more than a ‘commercial stunt’.

The Spanish giants’ chase of the Tottenham Hotspur winger has dominated headlines over the past month, with a €120-million transfer apparently mooted.

However, the former Real director of football doesn’t believe the move will be purely for footballing reasons.

“€120-million is a huge amount of money,” Sacchi tells Meridiano. “I think it’s just a commercial stunt. For Real Madrid to take a British player, it’s probably for sponsor-related reasons.”

Sacchi had a brief spell at the Bernabeu between 2004 and 2005.
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Bidvest Wits have turned down Mpumalanga Black Aces’ request to take goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane on a season-long loan deal.

Aces, who only have two keepers on their books in Calvin Marlin and Bafana Nhlapo, had enquired about the former youth international last month.

Mabokgwane has found himself further down the pecking order following the arrival of Moeneeb Josephs and Denis Onyango, while the club still has teenage keepers Steven Hoffman and Jethren Barr.

Wits CEO Jose Ferreira confirms there was interest in Mabokgwane’s services from Aces, but that they will not be releasing him.

“There was interest from Aces, but we are not doing anything there because we need him. After what happened to our goalkeepers last season we need all the keepers that we have now,” he tells KickOff.com.

Last season Wits were left in crisis after Emille Baron, Ryan Harrison, Hoffman and Mabokgwane all went down with injuries, forcing the club to call Andre Arendse out of retirement four years after he had ended his playing career.

Meanwhile, Polokwane City appear to have frozen their interest in Wits defender Tlou Molekwane, despite the two clubs having already reached an agreement a fortnight ago.

“There was interest from Polokwane City and we had an agreement, but then it ended there because since then we never heard from them again,” says Ferreira.

Molekwane has battled for game-time since arriving from Kaizer Chiefs last season and is also further down the pecking order at right-back behind S’boniso Gumede and Katlego Pule.
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