Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance is ensuring that it gives black South Africans an opportunity to progress, party leader Helen Zille said on Thursday.

“You’re arguing for rapid paths of promotion for disadvantaged South Africans. We say we support that on the basis of offering opportunities,” she said at a Black Management Forum debate in Sandton on affirmative action.

“[We are] ensuring people use that opportunity and the next door opens, and the next door opens and the next door opens.”

Zille said DA Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko did this very well.

She explained how Mazibuko had worked her way up in the party but admitted she would not have got to where she was at this stage if she was not black.

“I can tell you, if she was white, no matter how brilliant she was, she would have not been the leader of the opposition when she was less than 31 [years old],” Zille said.

“So obviously the fact that she was black was important… But if she was just black and not highly intelligent and not highly articulate and not a very good politician we wouldn’t have put her in there no matter what her colour.”

The same went for DA Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane. Zille said the DA had the most diverse leadership of any party in the country.

She was in debate with ANC economic transformation policy committee head Enoch Godongwana, Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann and BMF deputy president Koko Khumalo.

ANC believes in race

Godongwana said the African National Congress believed in quotas.

“We unashamedly say we [are] going to use quotas,” he said.

The party also believed in applying positive discrimination.

“The difference between me and them [others on the debate panel] is they say it must trickle down… but my one is saying now we are going to apply what is called positive discrimination,” he said.

This would be a positive step towards advancing those who had been disadvantaged.

Godongwana said South Africa was a society with a racial mould and imbalances of the past needed to be addressed.

He pointed out that it was because of the ANC’s policies that there was an increase in the black middle-class. Affirmative action was an important tool. Hermann said affirmative action had failed.

“Affirmative action has failed… not only here but also globally,” he said.

“We need a new social dialogue in South Africa on affirmative action with a view of a new national consensus.”

Hermann said the country had radical ideas about race and minorities were being alienated.

– SAPA

Gaborone-Kaizer Chiefs supporters cannot wait for the arrival of the Amakhosi. This is according to Brian Thompson, a Kaizer Chiefs supporter since the 90s.

“This is like a dream come true for me and many Batswana. It means a lot to us to see our beloved Amakhosi coming to Botswana this weekend. Saturday will be buzzing with excitement. The anticipation for the game is palpable in and around Botswana. I have been waiting for this moment for the whole of my life. We will be using this visit to launch a new Supporters Branch in Botswana;’’ said Thompson who was influenced to follow Chiefs by his mother who was an ardent Chiefs supporter.

Thompson is a resident of Maru-A-Pula, a township located 5min drive from the National Stadium where Kaizer Chiefs will be playing against the Botswana Premier League reigning champions on Saturday at 19:00;

“I attend most of the Kaizer Chiefs games in South Africa. I travel to the FNB Stadium especially for the Soweto Derby. I am certain the National Stadium will be packed on Saturday. Mochudi Centre Chiefs are a household name in Botswana. They are one of the big teams if not the biggest team, in Botswana. They played in the CAF Champions, lost to TP Mazembe and should they have won that game, they were going to meet Orlando Pirates in the next round.

We wish the Bafana Bafana players were also coming but we know that Chiefs has a squad of big players all round. Batswana are a pleasant Nation and I am certain Kaizer Chiefs will be welcomed here,” said a jubilant Thompson.

Thompson and his fellow Amakhosi supporters will welcome the Kaizer Chiefs Team when they land at the Gaborone International Airport on Friday midday. The supporters will follow the Kaizer Chiefs Activations at the Airport Junction Mall on Friday, 15 November 2013 at 12:00. On Saturday the Activations will continue at the same venue from 11:00.

Stand tickets are sold at Puma Garages in Gaborone and the categories are as follows:

P100 – North and Eastern Stands (Both behind the goal posts)

P120 – Eastern stand

P200 – Grand Stand

The VIP and Presidential suites are selling fast and to book your seat call (+267)72737561/73999999

P1000 – VIP

P1500 – Presidential Suite

Packages are available through Ora Travel Tel: +267 3933826; Fax: +267 3933832 and Mobile: +267 71990452

Packages from Johannesburg by road – Total Package: P2200 / R2800 per person sharing

– Return Coach from Johannesburg

– Match Tickets (Grand stand tickets available on request)

– Return Stadium Transfers

– 1 night accommodation bed and breakfast

Packages from Johannesburg by air – Total package: P4650 / R6200 per person sharing

– Return flights from Johannesburg

– Return airport transfers

– Match Tickets (Grand stand tickets available on request)

– Return Stadium Transfers

– 1 night accommodation bed and breakfast

Packages from Mafikeng by road – Total package: P1750 / R2200 per person sharing

– Return coach from Mafikeng

– Match Tickets (Grand stand tickets available on request)

– Return Stadium Transfers

– 1 night accommodation bed and breakfast

Packages from Rustenburg by road – Total package: P1900 / R2400 per person sharing

– Return coach from Rustenburg

– Match Tickets (Grand stand tickets available on request)

– Return Stadium Transfers

– 1 night accommodation bed and breakfast

Excluded: Curios, Staff gratuities & tips, Items of a personal nature and any other items not mentioned above
Source: http://www.kaizerchiefs.com

Johannesburg- Kaizer Chiefs midfielder, Siphiwe ‘Shabba’ Tshabalala expressed his joy to be back in Bafana Bafana. ‘Shabba’ missed the last trip when Bafana Bafana went to play a friendly international game against Morroco, in Morocco on the 11th November 2013. ‘Shabba’ has been capped 83 times in the National Team.
“It is a great feeling to be in the squad. There are a lot of youngsters in the squad now. I think it is a step in the right direction and will benefit the country in the long run. I am helping and guiding the younger guys by giving them advise and motivation. They all deserve to be here as they have done well in their Clubs and in the National Team,” jubilant ‘Shabba’ told Chiefs official website.
Bafana Bafana will face Swaziland in an international friendly match on Friday, 15 November at the National Stadium in the Swazi capital of Mbabane. The match is scheduled to kick off at 20h30.
“It is hot in Swaziland. We had our first training on Wednesday at 18:30 and trained again on Thursday at 11:00. We will be playing on Astroturf. Even though we played Swaziland before, this time they will be a closed book;” Shabba said.
Bafana Bafana played against Swaziland on three occasions, and have won all three encounters and conceded only one goal against their neighbouring country. Siphiwe Tshabalala came on as a substitute at the 78th minute, when Bafana Bafana beat Swaziland 1-0 in the Cosafa Castle Cup played in Gaborone’s National Stadium in 2006.
Coincidentally Kaizer Chiefs will be playing at the same stadium this coming weekend in the Botswana Challenge against Mochudi Centre Chiefs. The game is on Saturday, 16 November 2013. Kickoff is at 19:00.
‘Shabba’ is joined by other Chiefs players in the squad, Reneilwe Letsholanyane with 45 caps, Tsepo Masilela with 51 caps, Tefu Mashamaite with 1 cap and Bernard Parker with 62 caps.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Kimberley – Two men were seriously injured when a fuel tank they were working on exploded in Kimberley on Thursday, paramedics said.

“The men were busy with some welding on a fuel tank when the heat caused it to explode,” ER24 spokesman Christo Venter said in a statement.

He said both men sustained second and third degree burns and one of them suffered a broken bone.

They were taken to the Kimberley provincial hospital.

Sapa

Klerksdorp – An elderly woman and a 13-year-old boy died when their house caught fire in Klerksdorp, North West on Thursday, paramedics said.

“Initially the young boy was rescued by an official and rushed to hospital but sadly passed away later,” said ER24 spokesman Christo Venter.

He said another woman and a child were injured.

“A mother and a young child fortunately survived the ordeal…They were treated for smoke inhalation and transported to the Anncron Hospital in Klerksdorp for further care.”

The cause of the fire was not yet known, he said. – Sapa

Setlagole-Three houses and two taverns have been set alight by angry residents in the Setlagole area outside Mahikeng, North West police said on Thursday.

The houses and taverns were burned on Wednesday evening, but no one was injured, said Sergeant Kealeboga Molale.

The structures belonged to people accused of kidnapping a seven-year-old boy on November 1.

“Community members were angry that none of the suspects were arrested.”

They also looted three foreign nationals’ shops in the area and torched a structure where tribal meetings are held.

No one had been arrested.

Police were investigating a case of malicious damage to property, looting, business robbery and arson, said Molale. – Sapa

Cape Town – The body of prostitute Hiltina Alexander was covered with leaves and marks, a detective told the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.

Constable Angus James was called as a detective to the scene, next to the N7 highway in Philadelphia, near Atlantis, on May 19, 2008.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Cape Town – A recruitment company is fraudulently using the Western Cape government’s name to recruit aspiring traffic officers, an official said on Thursday.

Provincial community safety department head Gilbert Lawrence said the company invited candidates to submit their CVs and pay R150.

“The public is warned to be alert as the department will use its own website or place the recruitment advert in the relevant media, to invite prospective applicants to apply,” said Lawrence.

“This process will take place at no charge.”

The matter had been reported to the police.

Sapa

Johannesburg – A Diepsloot couple accused of murdering and neglecting the woman’s seven-month-old baby appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

The case against Nokuthula Gumede, 23, and her boyfriend Fernando Sidanvo, 35, was postponed until November 20. They would remain in custody, said Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng.

The baby was found dead and mutilated in a shack in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, on Sunday morning. Police spokesman Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said on Monday that rats bit off the baby’s foot while it was left alone in a shack.

Gumede was arrested in a Randburg tavern on Tuesday night. Sidanvo was arrested in Diepsloot on Wednesday.

Sapa

Kimberley – The State closed its case on Thursday against a 17-year-old youth accused of a triple murder on a farm near Griquatown in the Northern Cape last year.

Prosecutor Hannes Cloete told the Northern Cape High Court, in Kimberley, that all those on the witness list whom he had not called to the stand, would still be available to the defence team.

Northern Cape Judge President Frans Kgomo is hearing evidence in Kimberley in the trial of the teenager accused of murdering Griquatown farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14.

They were shot dead on their farm Naauwhoek on April 6, 2012.

Cloete said on Thursday: “All witnesses on the list that were not called are at the defence’s disposal.”

Many of the witnesses became irrelevant during the trial due to admissions made by the defence.

The witnesses included the police’s helicopter pilot, who was asked to help on the night of the murders and the next day; Griquatown farmers; and people who were in contact with the youth during the weekend of the murders.

Willem Coetzee, for the youth, asked the court for a postponement to Monday to decide which witnesses the defence wanted to use.

These witnesses need to be identified, contacted, consulted and be asked to be present in Kimberley by Monday for the defence’s case.

The State agreed and Kgomo postponed the matter to Monday.

On Thursday, Kgomo read into the record his report of the in loco inspection in March of the murder scene.

The cross-examination of police crime scene and blood spatter expert Captain Marius Joubert was also concluded.

Joubert’s conclusions about the blood spatter patterns on a blue T-shirt, allegedly worn by the youth, were questioned, specifically those marks identified as impact spatters.

He was also questioned about his interpretations of the blood flows described on the girl.

The trial continues on Monday.

Sapa