As voter registration weekend draws closer, North West Premier Thandi Modise urged everyone in her province to register in order to excise their hard earned democratic rights to elect the government of their choice next year.

South Africa is gearing up for the 2014 elections with the commencement of voter registration this weekend.

“People must make sure that they register in order to participate in the democratic process. First time voters and those who have relocated since the last election must visit their nearest voter registration points with their green, bar-coded Identity documents to register,” said Premier Modise.

The Independent Electoral Commission has set aside the weekend of 9 and 10 November for a nationwide voter registration campaign targeting more than two-million new eligible voters.

The voting registration points will be open between 8am and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

“It is also important that we all check if our names appear in the voter’s roll to avoid last minute disappointment.  South Africans must remember that the majority of our nation was not allowed to vote during apartheid and must therefore ensure that they fully exercise that right as it is part and parcel of the democratic process,” said Modise.

DA leader Helen Zille has admitted that the party “dropped the ball” in supporting the Employment Equity Bill and that she would take responsibility for it.

Her admission follows an outcry from especially the die-hard liberals in the party, including former leader Tony Leon, who said the party’s support of the bill placed it at a crossroads and was a mistake.

In her online letter, SA Today, Zille said the DA’s parliamentary caucus made a series of errors that led to its support of the bill.

She said the bill went against all the DA’s principles on economic empowerment.

“Not only is it based on racial coercion, it will undermine growth, reduce jobs, drive away investment and work against black empowerment,” she said.

“It will be subject to political manipulation, and undermine our chances of building the ‘capable state’ which the National Development Plan identifies as a top priority.”

She said the DA voting for the bill was the result of a series of errors.

Zille added that although the ANC was likely to pass the bill into law anyway, “that is no excuse for the DA’s deficient handling of it at its inception”.

She set the errors out as follows:

» The DA’s representatives on the portfolio committee were inadequately prepared;

» The many and varied submissions on the bill were rushed through the portfolio committee in four meetings;

» The long parliamentary recess intervened before the bill went to the National Assembly and so we were unable to debate the implications of the bill adequately in caucus;

» When the bill did come before caucus on the day it was due to be debated and voted on in the House, the explanatory memorandum produced by our spokespeople was defective; and

» To make matters worse, we had five minutes [literally] to consider seven different bills.

She said the problem was “a number of sequential errors”.

She said: “I, as the captain of this plane, must take responsibility. And I do. I believe it is best to acknowledge mistakes and seek to rectify them.”

Zille added that DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko has acknowledged the deficiencies in the caucus management system that allowed for the errors to slip through.

The party will “correct” their mistake by proposing amendments to the bill when it comes before the national council of provinces, and if those amendments aren’t accepted, the party would vote against the bill when it returns to the National Assembly.

Source: www.citypress.co.za

Seven customs officials and two police officers have been arrested for alleged extortion in Johannesburg.

The SA Revenue Service (Sars) can confirm the arrest … of seven customs officials on suspicion of involvement in incidents of robbery and extortion,” spokesperson Adrian Lackay said in a statement.

Their modus operandi was to obtain information about foreign business people who held large amounts of money and who may have acted illegally.

“The suspects would allegedly extract further information about the targets from the Sars and SA Police Service systems.”

During unauthorised raids, the officials threatened the foreigners with arrest.

Acting Sars commissioner Ivan Pillay welcomed the arrests.

“Sars welcomes the investigation of corrupt elements within its ranks. To that end, over the years, we have created a special capability to combat corruption which has a proven record.”

The nine were expected to appear in court tomorrow on charges of corruption, extortion, robbery and defeating the ends of justice.

“Internal disciplinary processes will be pursued by Sars against the implicated officials,” Lackay said.

– Sapa

Orlando Pirates midfielder Thandani Ntshumayelo says he and his teammates will be ready to fight to win the CAF Champions League final second leg against Al Ahly in Cairo on Sunday.

Source: www.soccerladuma.com

Members of trade union Nehawu marched on the Tshwane University of Technology on Thursday to deliver a set of demands to management.

Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the issues included deteriorating governance standards and irresponsible management of the university.

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