Johannesburg – An act prohibiting the possession of dangerous weapons, replicas or imitations in public will come into operation in January, the presidency said on Wednesday.

“President [Jacob] Zuma has, in terms of the Dangerous Weapons Act, 2013, determined 2 January 2014 as the date on which the said act will come into operation,” presidency spokesperson Mac Maharaj said.

The act seeks to revoke all existing legislation which regulates dangerous weapons in the country, in order to provide a uniform legislation across the country.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – There was “a bit of a cover-up” over the security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead according to former ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa, Eyewitness News reported on Wednesday.

“I don’t think anybody has tried to justify Nkandla. I think there is a bit of a cover-up and I think we need to know the truth, and the sooner we know the truth the better,” Phosa told the radio news station.

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi has declined to make available a task team report into why his department spent over R200m on Zuma’s private home in KwaZulu-Natal.

Nxesi has said the report was classified.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is determined to attain record voter turnout in next year’s election, chairperson Pansy Tlakula said on Wednesday.

“We are preparing ourselves for an exceptionally high… voter turnout,” she said at the media launch for the 2014 elections in Midrand.

“In South Africa, our legislative framework requires citizens to register before they vote. Registration is apolitical and everyone has a role to play.”

Tlakula said voter registration needed to be embraced by, among others, political parties, organised labour, organised business, faith-based organisations, and civil society.

The IEC had started consulting with the relevant parties in this regard.

She announced that registration for next year’s elections would take place on 9 and 10 November.

“All our voting stations in the country will be open for the purpose of voter registration from 08:00.
“Our officials will be ready to welcome and assist all potential voters.”

Tlakula said those who were already registered should take the opportunity to check their details on the voters’ roll, and those who had moved should register in their areas.

She called on young people, especially those who were voting for the first time, to register.

“Democracy and freedom came at a great price and you cannot take it for granted. We should treasure and use the opportunity to exercise that right [to vote],” Tlakula said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A case of pointing a firearm is being investigated against Mandla Mandela, Eastern Cape police said on Wednesday.

A man who accused Mandela of threatening him with a gun opened the case at the Madeira police station on Tuesday, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said.

Mandela allegedly pointed a gun at the man and threatened to shoot him during an argument in Nelson Mandela drive, Mthatha, on Tuesday evening, said Fatyela.

No arrest had been made.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Supreme Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance’s (Outa) challenge to e-tolls makes no difference to Cosatu’s campaign, the trade union federation said on Wednesday.

“This decision will make no difference to Cosatu’s unwavering campaign against this attempt to privatise our public highways,” Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.

“… Our roads are a public asset already paid for through taxation and the fuel levy, and motorists should not therefore have to pay again to drive on these public highways.”

Earlier, SCA Judge Fritz Brand refused Outa’s appeal against the SA National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral) plans to introduce e-tolls. No costs order was made.

However, Brand set aside the order granted by the High Court in Pretoria directing Outa to pay Sanral costs, and replaced it with a ruling that there be no costs order.

Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage said the alliance and its lawyers were studying Brand’s judgment.

The Democratic Alliance said the fight against e-tolls was now in the hands of the people of Gauteng.

“E-tolling will kill jobs in Gauteng and make it harder for people to make ends meet,” DA spokesman Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.

“The power of the vote is the surest way to stop tolls.”

Maimane said this was not the end of the road in the fight against e-tolls.

He said the DA had contributed R1m to Outa’s court action because it believed it was important to contest the principle of e-tolling.
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Johannesburg – Opposition parties in Mpumalanga called for the suspension of community safety, security and liaison provincial head Thulani Sibuyi on Wednesday.

Sibuyi, 37, who was convicted of drunken driving in 2008, appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday on new charges of drunken driving, impersonating a police officer and resisting arrest.

The DA and the Congress of the People (Cope) said keeping Sibuyi at work set a bad example.

“As the head of the provincial task team implemented to fight drunk driving in the province, Sibuyi must lead by example and, therefore, should be suspended with immediate effect, pending the outcome of investigations into his criminal case,” said DA Mpumalanga leader Anthony Benadie.

“If found guilty, he must be fired,” he said.

The DA also called for an internal investigation into Sibuyi’s alleged use of blue lights on his vehicle.

“According to reports, Sibuyi left the accident scene by using the blue lights on his car, which allowed him to portray himself as a policeman,” said Benadie.

“By law, the use of blue lights is strictly for law enforcement officers and political officials. Sibuyi is neither,” he said.

Cope MP leader Zale Madonsela questioned Sibuyi’s ethics.

“What message is he sending as head of department and an important individual? What message is he sending about his entire department and the provincial government?” he asked.

He also questioned the provincial government’s reluctance to act against Sibuyi.

“When he was arrested in August on a tender fraud related case, the provincial government refused to comment on his fate and said he was innocent until proven otherwise.

“With the seriousness of impersonating a police officer and resisting arrest, does our government still believe in that cliché?”

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Sibuyi and his co-accused, Vusi Mashaba, 41, who own the company implicated in the fraud, are out on bail of R50 000. They are scheduled to appear in court again on 23 November.

Provincial government spokesperson Nonkululeko Mbatha said Sibuyi would continue to work until the criminal cases were concluded.

“We will make any pronouncements in due course, because for now, this matter is sub-judice,” she said.

“The [head of department] was arrested, appeared in court and was granted bail. For now, it’s important to respect the court processes.”

She would not comment on the use of blue police lights in the drunk driving matter.

Police spokesperson Katlego Mogale told a Sapa correspondent Sibuyi was arrested on the new charges early on Sunday, after he was involved in an accident in Gauteng.

He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court and he was released on bail of R1 000.

– SAPA

The body of a woman was found in a shaft at the Kroondal Platinum Mine in Rustenburg, North West on Wednesday, the Aquarius Platinum mining company said.

“The employee’s name is being withheld out of respect for her family. The board and management of Aquarius extend to them their deepest condolences,” the company said.

“While the circumstances of the incident cannot be disclosed, it was apparent during the initial investigation that the woman may have been assaulted.”

Blasting activities at the Kwezi shaft, where the body was found, had been suspended until police investigations were completed.

Police could not immediately be reached for comment.

– SAPA

Cosatu in the North West expressed shock and anger on Wednesday at the deaths of a father and son while they were unblocking a municipal sewer.

“The municipality must take responsibility for all the cost for the funeral and making sure that the family is not exposed to poverty,” said Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) North West provincial secretary Solly Phetoe.

The two died when they inhaled toxic fumes while trying to unblock a sewerage system at Huhudi township, in Vryburg, on Friday, police said.

“It is alleged that both victims went inside the sewerage main hole which is next to the old dumping site to unblock the sewer,” police spokesperson Pelonomi Makau said at the time.

Batlhaleheng Mohumapelo, 60, was a permanent municipal worker. His son Monnapula, 24, was a contract worker.

Cosatu conveyed its condolences to the family.

“There is nothing more painful than losing a parent and a child on the same day.”

It said the deaths were apparently as result of a lack of the correct tools and protective clothing for workers, and this had become a trend in the province.

Cosatu urged Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant to ensure that municipalities complied with health and safety standards.

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Lechesa Tsenoli should intervene before the situation worsened, Phetoe said.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has refused to respond to a parliamentary question regarding the cost of the 1999 arms deal, saying she cannot do so while the procurement process is under scrutiny by the Seriti Commission.

The minister said in reply to a question from the Freedom Front Plus that supplying the figure could compromise the defence department’s testimony to the judicial commission of inquiry.

“It is the view of the department and its legal representatives that such information, in so far as it relates to the matters under consideration by the commission, has the potential of compromising the department of defence witnesses and their evidence during the commission’s proceedings.”

‘Unaffordable’

Democratic Alliance defence spokesperson David Maynier said he had twice asked the minister the same question and she refused to respond on both occasions.

“It is important to probe the whole question of the life cycle cost because it is likely to prove that the defence department knew that the equipment purchased as a result of the arms deal was unaffordable, given the projected defence budget. If this proves to be true it will be evidence of a monumental failure in the defence acquisition process,” Maynier added.

The commission was appointed by President Jacob Zuma in 2011 to investigate allegations of corruption in the multi-billion-rand arms deal.

It is in its third month of hearings, but these have been suspended until next week to give Armscor time to have documents declassified by the defence department.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The case of two people accused of involvement in the murder of a man whose body was found in the boot of his car at Montecasino in Fourways was postponed by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The case was postponed to 6 November for further investigation and to allow newly-appointed lawyer Mark van Schalkwyk to acquaint himself with the case. He is representing former stripper Maruschka Robinson.

Robinson and Jean-Pierre Malan, believed to be her boyfriend, were arrested last month after security guards found Dustan Blom’s decomposing body in the casino’s parking garage. They investigated the car after noticing a bad smell coming from it.

Robinson had allegedly rented a room from Blom, the widowed father of infant twins.

On Wednesday, a clean-shaved Malan stepped into the dock, wearing a brown shirt and tan jersey. He paid hardly any attention to his co-accused, Robinson. The black-haired ex-stripper wore a black top and blue jeans.

Both paid little attention to the cameras pointed at them before court began.

During their last appearance, they reserved the right to apply for bail. It was unclear whether they would try to get bail at their next appearance.

Prosecutor Yusuf Baba said the case was expected to be transferred to the high court later.

– SAPA