Johannesburg – Nelson Mandela has countless streets named after him, his own foundation, his own fan page and now his own social network.

The website mandela.is allows users, called “citizens”, to connect, share inspirational thoughts, photos and articles in an effort to emulate the apartheid icon’s positive impact on the world.

The site is the brain-child of two Mandela grandsons and it was set up by the company behind Lady Gaga’s online social community littlemonsters.com.

“It’s a social network around the inspiration my grandfather gave to the world,” said Ndaba Mandela, 30.

“People can share what Mandela inspired them to do, to give back to their communities.”

Hospitalisations

Few people today command the same global adoration as Mandela, 95, who for many embodies peace and forgiveness.

He walked free after 27 years in jail for opposing apartheid and united a deeply divided SA as its first black president in 1994.

Four years ago the UN declared his birthday on 18 July Mandela Day – calling on people around the world to spend 67 minutes doing good for others to mark the number of years he spent as an activist.

But four hospitalisations in a year are a reminder of Mandela’s old age and mortality.

He has spent over two months in hospital for a critical lung infection and is on life support machines.

“We only celebrate our icons, our leaders when they have passed away,” Ndaba said.

“We came together as a family and said ‘guys, let’s not wait until he is dead, let us start the celebration now [while] he is still moving, talking, communicating,'” said Ndaba.

Business

Entrepreneur Ndaba developed the idea with his cousin Kweku, 28, who has a background in entertainment and marketing.

The cousins’ parents Makgatho and Makaziwe are Mandela’s children with his first wife Evelyn Mase, whom he divorced in 1958.

Mandela.is quietly launched in March this year.

Still in the beta phase, it has around 1 000 members, some of them already vocal.

Kukogho Samson, a 28-year-old Nigerian journalist, often posts his poems:

“Seek the honour in doing good: A word to sweeten sour mood, A loaf for mouths that lack, A cloth to cover naked back.”

Kathleen Ndongmo, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Cameroon, is outspoken about justice in Africa, lashing out at child marriage in Nigeria and corruption in Guinea.

The platform combines features from Facebook and Twitter into one site where users post information, pictures and multimedia.

Posts are tagged with key words like “inspire”, “everyday heroes”, and “random act of kindness”, which facilitates searches by other members.

“Rather than focus on Nelson Mandela’s singular achievements, our goal is to engage a global community in dialogue about the inspiring acts of those all around us,” the site states.

“This is a business like any other business,” said Ndaba, though he insists the priority is “to create a platform that is credible, respectable and enjoyable by users”.

“It’s not about the money, but to make the people understand who is Nelson Mandela and give back to their communities,” he said.

AFP

Pretoria – The first witness will start testifying at the Seriti Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria on Tuesday.

This was part of the first phase of the public hearings into the country’s arms deal where several government departments and entities would be called to make presentations.

Navy members from the department of defence and military veterans were expected to be first.

First phase

The commission officially started on Monday with evidence leader Tayob Aboobaker and Ramagaga Matshego giving opening statements outlining the commission’s processes.

Aboobaker said the first phase of the commission dealt with executive justification.

Matshego said the defence department, arms procurement parastatal Armscor, and the national treasury would make presentations on the rationale behind the armaments acquisition.

The SA Navy, SA Air Force, and Armscor would address the commission on the utilisation or non-utilisation of the equipment.

The trade and industry department would give evidence on the “realisation of job opportunities and the offsets anticipated to flow” from the arms deal.

“The evidence to be presented during this first phase will be limited to the terms of reference [of the commission] which deals with the rationale, utilisation, and the offsets, including jobs [from the arms deal],” she said.

Delay

The commission’s official opening, after a five-month delay, was postponed on 5 August after it was decided that time was needed to decide how to proceed with declassifying documents relevant to the inquiry.

In a statement the commission said the main reason for the adjournment was the resignation of one of the commissioners, Judge Francis Legodi.

This resulted in the remaining two commissioners, Judge Willie Seriti and Free State Judge President Thekiso Musi, not being properly constituted.

President Jacob Zuma had since decided that the commission would continue with just two commissioners.

Seriti on Monday made it clear that the commission was properly constituted.

SAPA

Aisha Fundi did not return to the site where the body of her husband Hassan was found, after he was brutally killed by striking Lonmin mineworkers a year ago.

“It’s like living it all over again. It takes your breath away. I would rather not go back there.”

Instead Fundi chose to join the mine employees in prayer earlier in the week to remember her security guard husband who with his colleague Frans Mabelane was attacked and their vehicle torched five days before 34 mineworkers were shot dead by police.

“I have a young daughter who was like a princess to him and it hurts badly every day to see how much she misses her dad,” Fundi said. “Life has been nothing but difficult for us.”

She is not alone.

In Potchefstroom on Tuesday, Elizabeth Maubane joined the North West police in a day of prayer to honour her brother, Tsietsi Monene, and his colleague, Warrant Officer Sello Lepaaku, who were killed in Marikana last year.
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Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters is postponing its planned official launch in Marikana in the North West this weekend, it said on Monday.

“Economic Freedom Fighters have, after careful legal advice, decided to postpone the official launch that was planned for Marikana this weekend.”

Spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the process for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to certify the EFF as a political party had not been completed.

“Since this process has not completed, it means (the)…decision to launch EFF as a political party in Marikana will be premature till the IEC process has confirmed the EFF and certified it as a political party.”

The EFF, led by axed ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, decided to register as a political party at its national assembly in Soweto last month.

Last Thursday, the IEC confirmed that the EFF had submitted documents to register as a political party. The party intended to contest the elections next year.

At the launch in Marikana, the party would have demonstrated its certificate of registration as an official political party.

‘Fighters’, as members of the EFF call each other, would continue the formation of ground structures in building the organisational depth of the party as rigorously as it has been unfolding, including mass work, in the form of rallies, protests, agitations and lectures, Ndlozi said.

He said the announcement of the new date (for the launch) would be in consideration of the IEC’s timeline registration process and the (party’s) central command team meeting later this week.

Last Friday, during the first anniversary of the Marakana killings, Malema accused President Jacob Zuma of having the miners’s blood on his hands.

Sapa

Cape Town – The defence department could not say on Monday whether the sale two years ago of “obsolete” military field guns to a private contractor was properly and legally recorded for export.

“I can’t give you a yes or no; I’ll have to look at the annual report,” communications head Siphiwe Dlamini told Sapa on Monday.

He was responding to a question on whether the sale of 10 “88mm Howitzer GVI Guns” to African Union contractor Lefa Engineering and Security, in 2011/12, had been recorded in government’s reports to the UN, as required by international law.

Earlier on Monday, the Cape Times newspaper reported: “These guns are not listed in the National Conventional Arms Control Committee annual reports on weapons exports.”

Dlamini said he would have to check “how this process unfolded” before he could respond, insisting that the department’s “agent” when it came to the sale of obsolete and redundant military equipment was Armscor.

“From our side, we hand over [the equipment] to Armscor, [which] does all the processes,” he said.

Dlamini said he was “not saying it’s not our responsibility”, but suggested the question be put to Armscor.

Armscor was not immediately able to comment on the matter.

Communications head Barileng Dichabe asked that any questions on the matter be forwarded via e-mail to the state-owned corporation.

“We, hereby, confirm receipt of the correspondence. We will respond shortly,” she said in a return e-mail.

The sale of the guns was revealed in a recent written reply to a parliamentary question by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

The reply listed details of “excessive, obsolete, redundant and unserviceable” military equipment, including bombs, guns, planes and vehicles, “disposed of” over the period 2009 to end June this year.

Included were the 10 howitzers.

“The alienation of defence materiel is facilitated by Armscor,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is postponing its planned official launch in Marikana in the North West this weekend, it said on Monday.

“Economic Freedom Fighters have, after careful legal advice, decided to postpone the official launch that was planned for Marikana this weekend.”

Spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the process for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to certify the EFF as a political party had not been completed.

“Since this process has not completed, it means [the]… decision to launch EFF as a political party in Marikana will be premature till the IEC process has confirmed the EFF and certified it as a political party.”

The EFF, led by axed ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, decided to register as a political party at its national assembly in Soweto last month.

Last Thursday, the IEC confirmed that the EFF had submitted documents to register as a political party. The party intended to contest the elections next year.

At the launch in Marikana, the party would have demonstrated its certificate of registration as an official political party.

“Fighters”, as members of the EFF call each other, would continue the formation of ground structures in building the organisational depth of the party as rigorously as it has been unfolding, including mass work, in the form of rallies, protests, agitations and lectures, Ndlozi said.

He said the announcement of the new date (for the launch) would be in consideration of the IEC’s timeline registration process and the (party’s) central command team meeting later this week.

Last Friday, during the first anniversary of the Marakana killings, Malema accused President Jacob Zuma of having the miners’ blood on his hands.

– SAPA

Pretoria – A potential donor was still deciding whether to fund lawyers for miners wounded and arrested in Marikana last year, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Monday.

“The final decision of the possible donor will be made tomorrow [Tuesday],” commission chairperson retired Judge Ian Farlam said.

Earlier, the Constitutional Court dismissed the application for State funding by Dali Mpofu, who represents the miners.

Mpofu had applied for the State to pay the fees of his legal team.

Farlam said this was not the end of the road in terms of the funding issue.

The commission, sitting in Centurion, is investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths of 44 people during strike-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations in Marikana, North West, last year.

Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers on 16 August 2012. Ten other people, including two police officers, were killed in the preceding week.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A soldier has been killed during an operation in the Kruger National Park, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said on Monday.

Private Thabiso Zulu, of Regiment East Rand, was deployed on Sunday with 2 SA Infantry Battalion.

“[He] was allegedly involved in a fatal shooting incident while on duty during Operation Corona in the Kruger National Park,” said SANDF spokesperson Xolani Mabanga.

A board of inquiry had been convened to investigate the shooting incident, he said.

Mabanga declined to comment on circumstances surrounding Zulu’s death.

He said further information would be released once the investigation had been completed.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula expressed condolences to the soldier’s relatives.

– SAPA