Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma’s decision to refer the controversial protection of state information bill back to the National Assembly was widely welcomed on Thursday.

The Right2Know Campaign (R2K) said the president’s decision was a “victory for social justice”.

“We call on members of Parliament to seize this opportunity to redeem themselves and redraft the bill, to bring it in line with the values of openness and transparency upon which we can ensure an accountable democracy able to deliver the needs of our people.

“Parliament must now take up the baton and remove every draconian measure from the poisonous bill,” R2K said in a statement.

ANC Chief Whip Stone Sizani said the ruling party’s caucus appreciated the president’s views on the bill.

Zuma wants two sections of the bill redrafted, after concluding they will not pass constitutional muster.

One section deals with criminalising the improper classification of state information and provides for prison sentences of five to 15 years, depending on the level of wrongful classification.

The other section stipulates that the written authority of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is needed to institute charges in respect of any crime under the legislation that carries a jail term of five years or more.

Sizani said: “Indeed Parliament must ensure that an appropriate process is instituted to ensure that amendments are accordingly effected.”

“It is important that the laws Parliament pass are of highest quality and are not in conflict with the Constitution.”

Details of the bill

The DA also gave its nod to Zuma’s decision, but said it would await the full details, which would be published in parliamentary papers.

“Once published, the DA will analyse these details and respond accordingly. The DA has fought hard to ensure that this bill, in its current form, is not signed into law and will continue to do so,” DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said.

One of the biggest opponents of the bill, the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), was also in agreement with Zuma’s decision.

“We agree with the remarks made by the president today [Thursday] that certain sections of the bill are irrational and unconstitutional,” Sanef said in a statement.

“The bill criminalises the possession and dissemination of classified state information even if such information is in the public interest.”

The forum will continue fighting for the inclusion of a public interest defence “to protect journalists and whistle-blowers”.

A few hours after Zuma’s announcement, National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu said party whips would be consulting on the establishment of an ad hoc committee to consider Zuma’s reservations.

“Once the committee has been established, the bill together with the president’s reservations will be referred to it for consideration and report in terms of the Joint Rules of Parliament,” Sisulu said.

State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele also weighed in.

“The decision will allow Parliament to give effect to the areas of concern pertaining mainly to typographical errors that affect the meaning and rationality of the bill,” Cwele said in a statement.

– SAPA

Pretoria – Protesters handed over a memorandum to the presidency in Pretoria on Thursday, demanding legal funding for miners wounded and arrested at Marikana.

Directors in the presidency, Sifiso Mkhize and Shimi Mashweu, received the memorandum at the Union Buildings.

The marchers were unhappy that President Jacob Zuma was not available to receive the memorandum.

March convenor Bishop Joe Seoka said they would not rest until they secured state funding.

“If the government does not do anything about the workers’ plea for state funding, they will embark on a mission to put pressure on the government… that will be revealed over the weekend,” said Seoka.

The march was organised by Citizens4Marikana, a group of ordinary South Africans who came together through social media on the first anniversary of the Marikana shootings.

It wanted to appeal directly to Zuma for legal funding in its quest to get to the truth about what happened at Marikana.

The wounded and arrested miners’ counsel Dali Mpofu recently provisionally withdrew from the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 44 people in strike-related unrest at Marikana, North West last August, because of a lack of funding.

He applied for the commission’s hearings to be postponed while he sought funding, but chairperson, retired Judge Ian Farlam, ruled on Monday that it would not be prejudicial to his clients to continue the hearings in his absence.

Among the politicians at the march on Thursday was Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, who was welcomed with revolutionary songs.

Malema, who wore a brown Steve Biko T-shirt, was at the forefront of the march.

DA spokesperson Mmusi Maimane also took part in the march. He said political party affiliation did not matter.

“What matters is that South Africans came together to sing in one voice.”

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi and chairperson of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) Wayne Duvenage were also among the marchers.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A number of factors would influence crime statistics for the 2012/ 13 financial year, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said on Thursday.

These include police resources being diverted for public violence, the new police leadership, the deterioration of the crime intelligence unit, and concerns about police brutality and corruption.

The crime statistics were due to be released next Thursday.

In the 2011/12 financial year, South Africa’s murder rate was 4.5 times higher than the world average, said the ISS’s governance, crime, and justice head Gareth Newham.

There were 43 murders a day on average and 50 688 cases of violence against children, an average of 140 cases a day.

70 000 more cops

In that year, there were 180 573 cases of violence against women, an average of 496 cases a day.

Interventions should include reducing children’s exposure to violence, improving parenting skills, increasing self esteem among young adults, and changing attitudes.

These interventions required the assistance of social workers, teachers, community development workers, and health professionals.

“In the past 10 years we’ve hired 70 000 additional police officers, while we have a shortage of over 52 334 social workers,” he said.

Newham also said that crime statistics should be released every month.

“Police update crime statistics every 24-hours. We only get it after it’s been outdated,” ISS Newham said.

“If you could get it once a month… communities could see what’s happening in their neighbourhoods and start acting without the help of police.”

This would take a “massive burden” away from police and residents would be able to take precautions, implement initiatives and change ineffective ones.

Statistics out of date

“Right now, people have no clue what’s happening in their areas.

“Communities should be entitled to quickly identify emerging crime trends…. It’s our information, we deserve it…. We pay our taxes.”

Crime statistics were between six to 18 months out of date when they were released, and the decision not to release them monthly was a political one, he said.

Withholding detailed and regular information about crime went against the constitutional principles of transparency and accountability.

“Communities and individuals are not able to assess their safety risks.”

This undermined transparency and building partnerships to reduce crime.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The incompetence displayed by the Eastern Cape health department is a glaring example of the government’s betrayal, Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele said on Thursday.

“When we gained our freedom, we… built solid foundations on which to grow a prosperous society that redressed the many wrongs of the past,” she said in a speech in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape.

“Denying people access to decent health care is a fundamental departure from the principles on which this nation is founded.”

After nearly 20 years of democracy, leaders had failed to deliver on the promise of freedom for which so many people fought and died, Ramphele said.

A report compiled by, among others, Section 27 and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), was released on Wednesday and detailed stories of patients not getting help at hospitals and clinics because of a lack of medications in the Eastern Cape.

It also described hampered service delivery as a result of the poor state of health care facilities.

Ramphele said the time had come to restore the promise of a free South Africa.

“Our country has reached a crossroads. We need change now, before things get worse and the damage becomes too difficult to fix.”

This was why a new government was needed in 2014, she said.

Corruption was at the core of what was wrong in the country. This was not the legacy past leaders had in mind, Ramphele said.

“This is not the country dreamed of by our beloved Madiba, by Steve Biko or Lillian Ngoyi, by Ruth First or Robert Sobukwe or Chief Albert Luthuli or Charlotte Maxeke or Cecilia Makiwane.

“Once again, our country needs modern day heroes and heroines to save it from the cancer of corruption that has become integral to the politics of our young new nation,” she said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Gupta family denied on Thursday that there was a robbery at its family home in Houghton, Johannesburg, but Gauteng police insisted it did happen.

“The Sowetan today [Thursday] reported a house robbery at a family home of the Guptas in Houghton. The report is erroneous,” Gupta family spokesperson Gary Naidoo said in an e-mail to Sapa.

“The family can categorically state that none of their properties were robbed.”

However, Gauteng police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini insisted the newspaper report was correct.

“I am not going to say anything against what they are saying, but there was a robbery at the property that belonged to the Guptas in Houghton.

“We have arrested a domestic worker. She will be appearing in court tomorrow.”

The worker was arrested in Benoni on Wednesday, Dlamini said.

“The domestic worker was found in possession of some of the stolen goods,” Dlamini said.

She had disappeared shortly after three men in two vehicles robbed the house earlier in the day.

Apparently, the men overpowered a gardener at noon and stole money, household goods, and jewellery.

It was not immediately clear which of the Guptas owned the house.

The domestic worker would appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Police were searching for the men.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The KwaZulu-Natal executive has thanked the teams that responded to two recent accidents in which 32 people died in the province, for their services.

Acting Premier Senzo Mchunu on Thursday commended the teams, including police, forensic and fire services, and private paramedics, for their professional work under distressing circumstances.

Last Thursday, 22 people died when an articulated truck’s brakes failed on Field’s Hill in Pinetown.

On 1 September, 10 people died when a bus transporting them from the annual reed dance ceremony went over an embankment and overturned on the R66 near Nkwalini, between Melmoth and Eshowe.

Seven girls who participated in the dance, which was held at Enyokeni Royal Palace, at KwaNongoma, and two women who accompanied them as guardians, and the bus driver died.

Mchunu conveyed the KwaZulu-Natal executive’s condolences to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, as host of the ceremony, and the bereaved families.

The executive rejected alleged attempts at political point scoring in the wake of the accidents.

“We caution against political grandstanding of any nature during this difficult time for the families,” he said.

“It is in fact foreign in our culture that even before the deceased have been laid to rest, some would seek to make political capital out of this very unfortunate incident.”

The executive was awaiting a full report on the accidents from Transport MEC Willies Mchunu.

“That report will be presented to cabinet and interrogated thoroughly before it is tabled in the legislature for all parties to give inputs. For now, let us pay respect to the departed,” said the acting premier.

“Out of respect for the departed, we will only delve into the circumstances around the accidents after the funerals.”

A memorial service for those who died in the Field’s Hill crash was planned for Thursday morning, and a mass funeral for 13 of the dead was planned for Saturday morning.

– SAPA

Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma’s announcement in Cape Town that he was sending the info bill back to Parliament, caused considerable confusion on Thursday.

He referred the controversial protection of state information bill back to the National Assembly for redrafting on two sections.

Zuma said he had arrived at the conclusion that the bitterly contested bill would not pass constitutional muster.

“I have referred the bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration in so far as sections 42 and 45 lack meaning and coherence, and consequently are irrational and accordingly are unconstitutional,” he told members of the Parliamentary press corps at a lunch meeting.

Zuma declined to explain why he thought the sections problematic and, as numbered in the final version of the bill adopted by the National Assembly, they did not tally with those set out in an explanation subsequently provided by his office.

It appeared that Zuma in fact referred to sections 45 and 48.

Section 45 criminalises the improper classification of state information and provides for prison sentences of five to 15 years, depending on the level of wrongful classification.

Section 48 stipulates that the written authority of the national director of public prosecutions is needed to institute charges in respect of any crime under the legislation that carries a jail term of five years or more.

Shortly after Zuma announced his decision, Speaker Max Sisulu informed the National Assembly that an ad hoc committee would be established to deal with the President’s reservations on the bill.

Rising to address the Assembly, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele said the ANC welcomed the president’s decision because it would strengthen the legislation.

– SAPA

The North West Provincial government is in the process of developing a Freight Transport Strategy including Passenger and Freight Rail Plan for the province. A feasibility study for the development of a Freight Hub at Mahikeng International Airport is part of the strategy development process.

The Airport is undergoing infrastructure upgrade to bring it to strictl compliance to  South African Civil Aviation Authority(SACAA) and International Aviation Organization(ICAO) regulations so that it can achieve a category 6/7 safety status  for its international license status to be transferred from the Pilanesburg International Airport.

In terms of the infrastructure upgrade project plan, R15 million is being spent on the Civil Project that is underway for the rejuvenation of the runway, taxiways, apron and landing strip markings.

A new 16 element Instrument Landing System(ILS) which will give the Mahikeng Airport ILS the same status as the Oliver Tambo International Airport has been installed as part of upgrading the Electrical Grounding Lighting System and ILS upgrade project. Thirty Million Rand is also being spent on the project to be completed in the current financial year.    

The development of Mahikeng Airport was one of the provincial priorities outlined by Premier Thandi Modise in her State of the Province Address

According to the approved Provincial Land Transport Framework report which recommended the development of a Freight Hub/Dry port in Mahikeng to complete the Spatial Development initiatives, enhance regional trade and eliminate border crossing delays and to minimize administrative inefficiencies.

By Obakeng Maje

Jan Kempdorp-Two cops appeared at Jan Kempdorp Magistrate Court yesterday with other two accused .

Four suspects were allegedly arrested by Police Special Unit whilst business robbery.

Constable Aobakwe Mafura, Sam Bodumele and other accused were allegedly arrested after their plan to rob a supermarket in the area foiled.

“Police acted on acted on a tip-off after the suspects planned to break into the shop” lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said.

Police set a trap and went into the shop to wait for the suspects.

In the early hours of the morning in Sunday, police allegedly heard a noise on the roof of the shop and arlams were deactivated.

“All suspects entered into the shop through the roof and were allegedly arrested for business robbery and being in a possession of unlicenced firearm” Mdhluli said.

One of the suspects was shot in a leg after he tried to escape the wrath of justice.

They appeared before court and their case was postponed until next week Wednesday.

According to our investigation, apparently one of the suspects who is a constable at Jan Kempdorp, seems he cannot keep his hands away from criminal activities as he was allegedly arrested previously for the same matter.

Police investigations continue.-TDN

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By Obakeng Maje

Potchefstroom-North West police are investigation a case of culpable homicide and drunk and driving case after a North West University student(Potchefstroom campus) died in an accident.

Sergeant Kealeboga Molale said a 23 year-old driver was allegedly travelling with other four passangers when he allegedl lost control of his vehicle.

“A 20 year-old girl perished in an accident at the scene and other three occupants were allegedly taken to local hospital for minor injuries” Molale said.

A driver appeared before Potchefstroom Court for culpable homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol charges.

“The police investigations continue and the accident took place in the early morning of Thursday” she said.-TDN

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