Marikana – The North West province is in the hands of the Economic Freedom Fighters, provincial convenor Alfred Motsi said on Sunday.

“North West is not a contested terrain for the ANC. It is EFF’s country,” he said to the applause of the crowd at the launch of the party in Marikana, Nortn West.

“When you go home ensure that your mother and friends vote EFF next year.

“Let us turn the country red, let us turn our house red.”

He said there had been corruption within the ANC.

“We in the EFF will stop corruption and ensure that all criminals within the ANC are arrested and prosecuted,” Motsi said.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The DA has dismissed as rumours claims about an internal battle over the use of party resources by its parliamentary leader and its Gauteng premier candidate, the Sunday Independent reported.

According to the report, Lindiwe Mazibuko and Mmusi Maimane would likely stand against each other in the party leadership race after current leader Helen Zille’s tenure.

Democratic Alliance MP Geordin Hill-Lewis, a senior aide to Zille, said: “This is nothing but internal rumour mongering before an election.

“There is no truth to it.”

According to the report, the allegations were part of the political rivalry between Mazibuko’s and Maimane’s respective supporters.

Mazibuko’s opponents reportedly claimed she was being probed over a R35 000 bill for use of a chauffeur-driven Mercedes-Benz during a recent trip to London.

Her opponents reportedly countered that the DA was paying four bodyguards for Maimane.

Maimane reportedly said: “Any candidate would have [bodyguards]. I have received threats”.

DA federal executive chair James Selfe denied Mazibuko was being investigated.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Convicted fraudster Jackie Selebi says it seems people are looking forward to his death, the City Press reported on Sunday.

“The only time it gets difficult is when you get people who give you an impression that they can’t wait for you to die.

“They don’t say it, but from what they do, you get an impression that these people just can’t wait that I die and if they could speed it up, they would do it,” Selebi told the newspaper.

The terminally ill former police commissioner was responding to claims that he was seen shopping in Pretoria.

Selebi, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, was released on medical parole after serving less than a year of his sentence.

He was said to be suffering from end-stage kidney disease brought on by his diabetes.

His wife, Anne Selebi, quit her job to take care of him.

She told City Press it had not been easy.

“I like seeing him getting better. But to get these reports that he’s up and about and he’s in the shops, they hurt.

“Jackie is sick. They know he’s sick. It’s just that now he’s a little better and dialysis keeps him going,” she said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A man died in an accident in Penina Park, Limpopo on Sunday, paramedics said.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Santi Steinmann said the man crashed his quad bike into a tree.

“Upon their arrival on scene they found that [he] had tragically lost his life,” said Steinmann.

The cause of the accident was unclear.

– SAPA

Mbombela – More than 100 000 people face an electricity shutdown if the Thaba Chweu local municipality in Mpumalanga fails to pay a R146m debt to Eskom before Wednesday.

The looming deadline comes after the utility provider issued an ultimatum demanding payment of the long-standing debt, or the entire municipal area of 5 719 km² would be plunged into darkness.

“The municipality has not communicated with us at all and so far there have been no payments made, so, as it stands the power cut will be going ahead,” said Eskom’s spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.

Phasiwe said the municipality would be left without power indefinitely until the debt has been paid.

Thaba Chweu encompasses the tourist towns of Mashishing, Graskop and Sabie, and has a total population of just more than 100 000 people.

“We don’t enjoy doing this, but we expect customers to pay or at least come to us with an agreement discussing ways in which to negotiate payment.

“We are hoping that the municipality will communicate with us. Our door is always open,” said Phasiwe.

In September, a municipal task team was dispatched to Thaba Chweu by the provincial government in order to prevent what Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza described as “a total collapse”.

Thaba Chweu communication director Surprise Maebela said that the municipality was struggling to gather payments from its own debtors.

“There are people who owe us money, but we are waiting to see what the results of the task team’s investigation will reveal.

“We are, however, confident that we will resolve this issue before the deadline,” Maebela said.

At the signing of a memorandum of understand with Eskom in Mbombela recently, Premier David Mabuza said that a team of nine MECs had been appointed to resolve the situation in Thaba Chweu.

“I understand Eskom’s point of view because it is a business that needs to make money. I pay my rates and taxes so why should I have to sit in darkness because of the municipality’s problems?” said Mabuza.

“This is a very abnormal situation and Thaba Chweu has big problems with its billing and revenue collection systems. As provincial government we are stepping in to assist and we assure Eskom that the debt will be paid.

“Everything is under control. There is no need to worry.”

– African Eye

Johannesburg – Fuelling of aircraft at OR Tambo International Airport resumed after an attempted cable theft caused flights to be delayed, the Airports Company SA said on Sunday.

“I wish to confirm that normal fuelling operations have resumed… the airport had been operating at significantly reduced fuelling capacity for about six hours,” spokesperson Unathi Batyashe-Fillis said in a statement.

Technicians implemented a temporary solution to activate fuelling services shortly after 16:00, Batyashe-Fillis said.

“The fuel pumps are now able to transmit fuel for uplift into aircraft.”

Domestic and international flights were affected by the incident. Flights could not take off from around 10:00.

Batyashe-Fillis said the attempted robbery of cables happened just outside the perimeter of the airport.

Police were investigating. Acsa regretted the incident, she said.

“The incident has inconvenienced our passengers and airline partners. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for revised times and relevant information.”

South African Airways spokesperson Tlali Tlali said his company was notified about the delays and apologised to customers.

“Whilst the situation is out of the airline’s control and has affected all flights across the board, SAA nonetheless would like to apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience caused by this incident,” Tlali Tlali said in a statement.

The backlog created by the interruptions would take a while to bring operations back to normal as per the schedule, despite fuel supplies having resumed, he said.

“Every effort is being made to reduce the effect on later flights which are mostly international. The impact of the interruptions was in the form of flights being delayed by up to two hours in some cases.”

– SAPA

Marikana – UDM leader Bantu Holomisa on Sunday welcomed the Economic Freedom Fighters into the political arena, but warned them to brace themselves for trying times ahead.

“You should not delude yourselves into thinking that life as an opposition is a bowl of cherries,” he said.
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Paris – France’s First Lady Valerie Trierweiler will meet a lesbian couple in South Africa on Monday, the first day of an official visit to the country by President Francois Hollande.

Despite having some of the world’s best legal protections for gay people, South Africa has seen numerous cases of homophobic violence, including deadly attacks on lesbians, who also risk falling victim to what is known as “corrective rape”.

Trierweiler will have lunch with activists from women’s and gay and lesbian rights groups in Johannesburg before meeting a lesbian couple, her entourage said.

She will be accompanied by Justice Minister Christiane Taubira.

Trierweiler will also visit a hospital housing children with psychological and mental problems and meet South African President Jacob Zuma’s wife.

On Tuesday, she will visit Sky, an orphanage in Soweto.

After that, Trierweiler will join Hollande for a visit to the former Soweto home of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, which has been transformed into a museum.

– AFP

24 road infrastructure projects for which the North West Provincial Government has budgeted R1, 49 billion for implementation in the current financial year is on track, the North West Executive Council (Exco) has noted.

Although Exco has expressed concern about the delay caused by legal processes on the Koster-Lichtenburg, Mmamutla-Kgomotso and Maphoitsile-Magogong roads, it also noted that close to R325 million has thus far been spent on the road infrastructure development projects in this financial year.

MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Raymond Elisha reported that 3 projects consisting of repairs to 10 bridges are at procurement stage, four projects are at bid specification stage while 2 projects are to be implemented through District Term Contracts.

According to MEC Elisha, progress on rehabilitation of roads P231 (R504) from N12 at Wolmaranstad to P12/1 at Schweizer-Reneke, P54/1 from Matooster to Ruighoek, D215 Manthe to Cokonyane is advanced.

Work to rehabilitate, reseal the D114 Boshoek to Phella via Lindleyspport, Afrikaner roads D842,D860 and R507,P13/2 from Lichtenburg to Ottosdal including intersection and section of P28/0 to Coligny,P117/1 Rostraville to Sannieshof is proceeding well.  

Adjacent roads on the light rehabilitation project of the12 kilometers of Road D623 from Swartdam to Makapanstad are also being assessed for upgrade while a contractor has established site for rehabilitation and resealing of 8 kilometer road P1/3(R107) from Maubane to Carousel.

 Elisha also informed Exco that 24 consultants have been appointed to start design of new projects to be implemented during the 2014/2015 financial year.-TDN

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