JOHANNESBURG – Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Friday government is clamping down on local businesses who are selling goods that are not authentically South African. The minister has given the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) the responsibility of verifying South African produced goods. The office will also make sure that local businesses awarded government contracts are actually manufacturing their goods on home soil. The bureau’s Chief Executive Officer Bonakele Mehlomakulu said consumers deserve goods of the highest quality. “We would verify that it is actually a South African product, not just dressed up as South African. We’ll go to the factories and check how much of those components come from South African factories.”

For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Johannesburg – A man died and five people were injured when two cars collided head-on in Krugersdorp, on the West Rand, paramedics said.

The man who died was an occupant of a Corsa, which collided with a Mercedes-Benz on the R28 near West Village at 20:30, said ER24 spokesperson Vanessa Jackson.

A second man in the car was seriously injured and was taken to a nearby hospital, and two children in the vehicle, both though to be seven-years-old, were treated at the scene for minor injuries, she said.

The driver of the Mercedes-Benz was in a stable condition in hospital, said Jackson, his passenger was being treated for severe injuries, including broken bones and suspected internal injuries, she said.

SAPA

The Congress of South African trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape has threatened strike action over what they call the mismanagement of electricity prices by Eskom, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and municipalities. 

In a statement, the trade union federation says poor communities are being prejudiced by increased electricity tariffs and cuts in the amount of free electricity.  

The union says it will go on strike if unfair pricing is not addressed and any future increase above those sanctioned and declared by Nersa, must be immediately withdrawn.

The power utility has applied for a 16% tariff increase per year over the next five years. Nersa held public hearings in Cape Town in January on Eskom’s proposed electricity tariffs increases. 

Nersa had to abandon the hearings when Cosatu members stormed the venue singing and chanting slogans opposing the request.

Eskom estimates that it will need R1.1 trillion for its infrastructure maintenance, staff cost and growth and that the South African public will have to foot the bill. 

A number of organisations are raising objections. 

For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Kaizer Chiefs defender Lincoln Zvasiya will be heading to Greek side OFI Crete on a one-year loan deal, the club has confirmed.

The Zimbabwe international is still tied to the Glamour Boys for two years but Chiefs are confident that more game time for the player will be to his benefit.

Soccer-Laduma reported on Wednesday that the defender was on the verge of completing the move, with Stuart Baxter having used the player sparingly last term.

With Morgan Gould returning from injury, and Zvasiya behind Tefu Mashamaite and Eric Mathoho in the pecking order, his opportunities could remain limited.

Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung said via the club’s official site that the defender will gain good experience in a foreign country.

“Lincolin is a top player. We looked at the team and thought it will be best for him to get game time at another club,” he said.

“We will continually monitor the situation and determine the way forward. It is also good for him to gain experience in a different country.

“He is still young and it is good for his growth and development as a player. And as a club we are spreading our wings in terms of creating relationships both nationally and internationally.

“Football-Club OFI CRETE was professional in the way they advanced their proposal and we looked at it and we found that the deal made sense for everyone. It is Kaizer Chiefs policy to open up opportunities for the players especially when those opportunities will grow and develop the players.”

For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

Johannesburg – Drugs with an estimated street value of R42.6m were seized at OR Tambo International Airport, in Kempton Park, on Friday, said the SA Revenue Service’s (Sars) customs’ team.

Two women arrived from Tanzania with six large, black holdalls, Sars said in a statement.

When the bags were searched, they were found to contain nearly 150kg of crystal methamphetamine, also known as “tik”.

The women and the drugs were handed over to the police.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato raised his concerns about the government’s green paper on policing on Friday, his spokesperson Greg Wagner said.

Plato addressed a packed public briefing, in Cape Town, which was overseen by the civilian secretariat for police’s chief policy director Bilkis Omar.

Community policing forums, government departments, religious groups, and non-governmental and safety organisations also attended.

Plato referred to certain areas of the paper that he felt should be revised.

“Many of these issues relate to the seriously problematic trend of what appears to be a centralisation of power by the national police,” he said.

The green paper came about following a review of the 1998 white paper on safety and security in 2010, which sought to address a number of gaps around implementation of the crime strategy.

The draft white paper was presented in July last year, but was criticised for not addressing broader safety and security concerns.

A task team then resolved that a green paper be drafted while retaining the white paper. The white paper is still being reviewed.

The green paper set out a broad vision for the policing strategy and practice over the medium to long-term.

It proposed investigating the feasibility of implementing policy resolutions for a single SA Police Service (SAPS), which was integrated with municipal police services.

This was to ensure metro police services were more accountable, and to standardise the orientation and training of police officers.

Oppose to single police force

Plato said the Western Cape government would strongly oppose any moves to create a single police force.

“Integrating municipal police services and the SAPS would have a disastrous impact on policing crime. The existence of municipal police services is in line with the international trend towards devolving police powers to tackle local problems.”

He said the Constitution stated that national legislation had to provide a framework for the establishment, powers, functions, and controls of municipal police services.

He believed there were comprehensive measures in place to ensure these police forces were subject to the same national standards and accountability levels as the SAPS.

The green paper also considered the relationship between the provincial government and the SAPS.

It proposed that provincial MECs had a critical role to play in monitoring police conduct and service delivery, and promoting good relations between police and communities.

However, the paper stated that provinces had to be aligned with the national planning process.

The Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act allowed for the alignment of provincial plans with the secretariat and the integration of strategies and systems.

Plato said the provincial executive had to determine how it fulfilled its mandate and allocated its budget.

“Strategic plans and annual performance plans of provinces must be determined by the provincial government and not by national government through the secretariat,” he said.

“In addition, the green paper completely disregards… the Constitution relating to the receipt of complaints about police and policing by the province and dealing with these complaints through investigation or through the appointment of a commission of inquiry.”

Limitations

He said the paper did not sufficiently acknowledge the role of the MECs and appeared to limit their role to monitoring adherence to government policy.

Plato also raised his concerns about the review of the role and regulatory framework for the private security industry.

While he agreed the industry needed proper oversight, it was inadvisable to limit or reduce private security in the absence of improved policing.

Plato’s other recommendations included the more frequent release of crime statistics and the reinstatement of specialised policing units for drugs, gangs, hijackings, and endangered species, among other priority crimes.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s spokesperson Zweli Mnisi said on Friday that a broader consultation process involving communities in rural areas was important.

“In fact, one of the issues raised by some of the workshop attendees was the lack of presence of the youth, as there were few young people at today’s session,” he said.

Mnisi said the paper’s role was not to adopt a “one-size-fits-all” approach to policing.

He said the deadline for comment was extended until 20 July.

According to Wagner, it was announced in the public briefing that the deadline for comment had been extended until 31 July.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The thought of former president Nelson Mandela being unwell is unsettling, but has united people, parliamentary deputy speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo said on Friday.

“We have seen images of people of all colours and creeds, people from all walks of life, including visitors from other countries, converging at the entrance to the Pretoria [Medi-Clinic] Heart Hospital to say their prayers, to lay flowers, to sing, dance, to praise and to shed tears for Madiba,” she said.

“We are here to say a prayer for our father. May God’s peace be upon him.”

She was speaking at Parliament’s prayer service for Mandela at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Friday.

The anti-apartheid icon was admitted to hospital on 8 June with a recurring lung infection.

On Thursday, the presidency said he was still in a critical, but stable condition.

Mfeketo said Mandela was one of a kind.

“We needed you at the worst of times in our history. We need you now, we need you for eternity. May God grant him [Mandela] His favour and his family strength,” she said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko wants an investigation into whether President Jacob Zuma misled Parliament about the upgrades to his Nkandla homestead.

“I have today written to the speaker of the National Assembly Max Sisulu to request that an urgent resolution be placed on the agenda… which would establish a full-scale investigation into whether… Zuma misled Parliament,” she said in a statement on Friday.

“I will also request that all documentation, including the public works task team report, into… Zuma’s private residence be submitted to the National Assembly without delay to form the basis of this investigation.”

Earlier, the Mai l& Guardian reported that the public works department released 42 files with over 12 000 pages on the Nkandla upgrade to the newspaper.

They were released following a request for information, under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, about public spending on Zuma’s private residence in KwaZulu-Natal.

The request was submitted a year ago and pointed out that the act obliged the department to redact parts of the requested information related to security, while making the rest available.

The documents were released to the newspaper two weeks ago, and related to bid evaluations, needs assessments, contracts awarded and their values, and to whether costs were allocated for public or private accounts.

‘Top secret’

The public works task team report was declared top secret and closed to public scrutiny.

The files provided to the newspaper contained numerous references to documents or annexures which were not disclosed.

The Mail & Guardian reported that there appeared to be no security-related basis for their redaction.

There was nothing in the Nkandla files that could not have been publicly disclosed, except for how senior officials and politicians “scrambled” to meet deadlines set by Zuma, and how short-cuts were taken in tendering processes.

Money was also shifted from other programmes to accommodate the unbudgeted spending.

The Mail & Guardian reported that the cost of the Nkandla homestead ballooned from R27.8m in 2009 to a projected total of about R270m by October 2012.

The official expenditure as of June this year was reportedly R210.5m. This did not appear to include bills yet to be paid.

The newspaper further reported that Zuma was expected to pay five percent of the security-related improvements. It said a top-secret March 2011 memorandum split the bill by allocating R203m to the public purse, and R10.5m for Zuma’s account.

Important info missing

Mazibuko said the newspaper’s report showed that Zuma had omitted important information when questioned by Parliament about the upgrade.

“These reports show that he was not merely a bystander as he claimed in his reply to my parliamentary questions on 15 November 2012,” Mazibuko said.

She quoted Zuma as saying in Parliament: “My residence in Nkandla has been paid for by the Zuma family. All the buildings and every room we use in that residence were built by ourselves as a family and not by government.

“I have never asked government to build a house for me, and it has not done so. The government has not built a home for me.”

Mazibuko said the magnitude of the newspaper’s revelations on Friday brought the office of the president into “massive disrepute”.

“Parliament must take urgent action and send the message that corruption at any level will not be tolerated,” she said.

Presidency spokesperson Mac Maharaj declined to comment.

“You say the request was sent to the speaker. The speaker can respond to that matter. There is no need for us to respond to that matter,” he said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Nearly 15 years ago Nelson Mandela was unperturbed by his own death, telling a dying teenager that he had lived his life to the full.

The video dating from 1998, broadcast by American news channel CBS on Thursday as Mandela remained in critically ill in hospital, showed the towering South African statesman visiting a 15-year-old, also named Nelson.

“Understanding the fact that I’m near the end, I remain optimistic with my morale very high, because I’m saying I have lived my life,” the statesman, then 80, told the teen, who was dying of brain cancer.

‘Optimistic spirit’

In the amateur video the boy, his head shaved, smiled shyly from his bed at the peace icon, who wore one of his colourful trademark shirts.

Posters of cars adorned the wall next to where the then-president sat holding a teacup.

“If your spirit is not optimistic, your morale is not high, medicine is not very effective,” the then president said.

The boy died under three months after the visit.

Broadcast as the 94-year-old nears one month in hospital, the words carry added poignancy.

According to court documents from Mandela family lawyers, filed nine days ago, doctors believed Mandela was in a “permanent vegetative state” and they advised his family to turn off his life support machine.

South Africa’s presidency has since said his condition has improved and on Thursday denied he is in a vegetative state.

– AFP