Cape Town – Almost a year after 10 new ambulances were donated to the Northern Cape’s Kuruman Hospital, five of them have yet to hit the road, according to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question on Friday, he pinned the blame for this on paperwork.

“[The] trust [that donated the ambulances] did not provide the necessary documentation required to register the vehicles as ambulances, and this delayed the registration,” Motsoaledi said.

The question was posed by Congress of the People (Cope) MP Paul Mnguni, who wanted to know if the minister had been informed “that 10 brand new ambulances donated to the [hospital] by the John Taolo Gaetsewe Developmental Trust last December are still standing unused at the back of the hospital”.

Motsoaledi said he knew about the vehicles.

“The department had to start the process of registration and five of the ambulances have been registered and operational.

“The other five were incorrectly registered and this error is being rectified,” he said.

The John Taolo Gaetsewe Developmental Trust is located in the Northern Cape municipal district of the same name.

Kuruman is the administrative centre.

According to its website, the trust aims to carry out “public benefit activities in a non-profit manner and with an altruistic or philanthropic intent”.

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Johannesburg – The government’s biggest challenge is to make maths and science exciting and popular for school pupils, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

“Science offers students the ability to access a wealth of knowledge and information, which will contribute to an overall understanding of how and why things work the way they do,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery.

“Through science, you will be able to explain the mechanics and reasons behind the daily functioning of complex systems, which range from the human body to sophisticated modern methods of transport up to the workings of the Square Kilometre Array telescope that our country won the bid to construct.”

Zuma was speaking to finalists of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. He was hosting them as part of National Children’s Day at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House, in Pretoria.

Zuma said that by producing more science and technology graduates, the country was assured of a bright future economically.

“It means our economy will have all the scientists, technologists, engineers, artisans and other skills that we need for economic development.

“It also means we will have all the expertise we need to prevent and cure diseases or to fight poverty through better agricultural methods,” he said. 

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Johannesburg – Crime is a complex problem and to defeat it social partnerships need to be formed, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Friday.

“On a daily basis, we continue to develop and implement plans to reduce crime, with the support and in partnership with all law-abiding citizens of our country,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery at the launch of the North West “duty calls” campaign.

He said the festive season should be a period of relaxation which families could enjoy free from crime.

“We are here today to say that we cannot allow criminals to rule your festive season. We cannot allow criminals to rob you of your all-year earnings, which you acquired through legitimate hard work and dedication,” Mthethwa said.

“This is your sweat and toiling. As such, you deserve to enjoy your hard work free from crime, but to achieve all this, the police cannot do it on their own, they need your support.”

He said that since the start of operation duty calls in the province in October, a total of 690 arrests for serious crimes had been made.

Police visibility in the province would be intensified and there would be concerted programmes to deal with aggravated robberies, border security, illegal firearms and road safety, he said. 

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