Johannesburg – More jobs need to be created to ensure that the total number of South Africans employed is significantly increased, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe said on Thursday.

“The benefits will reach many more people through sustainable, decent work opportunities and in this we will avoid youth employment schemes that simply displace older workers.”

Motlanthe was speaking at the launch of the accord on youth employment at the Hector Peterson Square in Soweto.

“I want to stress the urgency with which we need to carry out this task. We have agreed that a comprehensive strategy is necessary to achieve this.

“Such a strategy will require that the structural challenges in the economy are addressed, including poor skills, weak infrastructure, monopolies and cartels and lack of partnerships at workplace level.”

The youth employment accord has six commitments.

The first is on education and training. It commits in particular to improve education and training opportunities for the gap grouping between school-leaving and first employment.

The second commitment is on work exposure, to connect young people with employment opportunities, through support for job placement schemes and work-readiness promotion programmes for young school leavers that provide young people with work experience. The third commitment is to strengthen measures that increase the number of young people employed in the public sector, through co-ordinating and scaling up existing programmes under a youth brigade programme co-ordinated with industries, particularly new industries where young people can be drawn in large numbers and should be progressively realised.

This include clear targets for new jobs in areas such as infrastructure, the business process services sector and the green economy, particularly the manufacture, installation and maintenance of solar water heaters. The fifth commitment is to youth entrepreneurship and youth co-operatives. Public agencies such as Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Small Enterprise Development Agency and the Jobs Fund will be encouraged to develop and strengthen dedicated programmes of support for youth enterprises and youth co-operations. The sixth commitment is to develop private sector measures to expand the intake of young people, with targeted youth support and incentives approved by all constituencies. It is important to improve private-sector youth absorption given that most sustainable new jobs are expected to be created in the private sector. Motlanthe said business organisations have endorsed the youth employment strategy as a practical and concrete way in which partnerships could be developed.

“We wish to complete all the preparatory work so that programmes can be announced between today and June this year, which is National Youth Month.”

He said the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has agreed to set aside R1 billion to make low-interest rate loans available to youth-owned or youth-focussed enterprises over the next three years.

The IDC would also provide technical support to young people to assist in accessing these funds and will refer them to other support available in the state. – Sapa

Johannesburg – Next year we will be commemorating the 20th anniversary of our democratic statehood. Surprisingly, a debate about whether we should continue to blame apartheid for our failures to deliver has erupted.

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

Pretoria – Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Thursday accused unnamed leaders of the trade union federation of treason for feeding rumours to the media.

“At this stage I am of the view that there can be no common ground with those leaders who are sources. Either they succeed to divide and weaken (the Congress of SA Trade Unions) Cosatu or we expose and crush them,” he said.

Vavi was addressing the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa) bargaining conference in Pretoria.

He said divisions and back-stabbing had widened rifts and shifted the focus from the main concern of championing the cause of the down-trodden.

“Eventually, it may take months, or years but we shall defeat these individuals. I have no doubt about that. What they are doing is worse than committing treason.”

He said he had repeatedly challenged his distracters to publicise evidence of crooked deals allegedly involving him.

“We say there is no investigation. They say ‘there is something and he is going now’. If they have evidence about any form of allegation they would have given it to the newspapers long back,” he said.

“I have challenged them ‘bring it on, let’s see’. The day you can prove that I betrayed the workers’ trust by stealing from them, that’s the day I don’t deserve to be in the position I occupy. I will walk away.”

Vavi rubbished reports alleging that he had been caught up in accusations of impropriety in the sale of Cosatu’s old headquarters in Leyds Street, Braamfontein.

“I have asked that the sources provide newspapers with information showing that Vavi and his family benefited from the sale of the building.

“Last Sunday there were five articles on me, in different newspapers, (reporting that) there is an investigation and corruption,” he said.

“In the end, it is not even the parasitic sections of capital, but the real ruling class that will be the main beneficiaries of these divisions the sources are promoting.”

On employment equity, Vavi said the workforce in South Africa did not reflect the demographic profile of the country’s population, of which blacks constituted 78.9 percent, whites 9.6 percent, coloureds 9.1 percent and Indians 2.9 percent.

“We are told that apparently in the (Democratic Alliance-led) Western Cape there is even a greater regression (on employment equity), particularly in Cape Town. They are going to the opposite of where the country is going,” said Vavi.

“They are showing us a window of what to expect if they (the DA) were to win a national election. (That would be) the end of employment equity under the so-called equal opportunities. They say ‘forget about apartheid, (there are) equal opportunities.” – Sapa

Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma has not take a decision to establish a commission of inquiry into alleged problems in South African football, the presidency said on Thursday.

“The matter is still being looked into, and such consideration will take into account the relevant legal framework and protocols governing football, domestic and international,” spokesperson Mac Maharaj said in a statement.

Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula had written to President Zuma requesting a commission of inquiry in terms of Section 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

SAPA

Johannesburg – The family of Nelson Mandela sought on Thursday to present a united front in a dispute with longtime associates of the former South African president over control of two companies.

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

Fifa has sent a warning to Safa and Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula that government interference is not allowed in running of soccer in the country.

World football’s governing body met with the minister in Zurich earlier in the month to discuss the setting up of the Independent Judicial Commission of Enquiry into match-fixing.

This relates to a number of Bafana Bafana matches in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.

At the meeting in was decided that the government would set up the Commission of Enquiry, but not to cross the boundaries as per agreed upon.

“Herewith we would like to emphasise that any other issues not related to the above should be handled entirely by the South African Football Association (Safa), as otherwise this would constitute interference in the internal affairs of the Safa affairs by a third party and would clearly violate the principles contained in articles 13 and 17 of the Fifa Statutes,” read the letter signed by Fifa Secretary-General Jerome Valcke.

For more http://www.kickoff.com

Johannesburg – Kirsty Theologo, who died after being set alight in an apparent satanic ritual, wanted to be sacrificed, the South Gauteng High Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court heard on Thursday.

A magistrate testified on Thursday that one of the accused, Lindon Wagner, made a sworn statement to him admitting to setting Theologo and her friend, who was 14 at the time, alight in October 2011.

Wagner, Robin Harwood, Harvey Isha, and Courtney Daniels have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, and assault to cause grievous bodily harm.

In October 2011, Theologo was doused with petrol and set alight on a hill behind the Linmeyer swimming pool south of Johannesburg.

She died a week later in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Her friend, who was also burnt, survived.

The sacrifice

In the statement, Wagner said Theologo said she wanted to be sacrificed three weeks before the attack at the hill, and that the accused and the girls had spoken about Satanism before.

“It was only under the influence of drugs where we spoke of Satanism,” Wagner said in the statement.

He said that before the group went to the hill they took drugs and alcohol.

The court heard that he tied Theologo and the other girl up with a rope, as if something was controlling him.

He drew a star on a rock and this was where the alleged ritual took place.

Wagner realised what he had done only after the attack.

Earlier, Theologo’s mother testified that her daughter bought dagga before the group went to the hill.

While they were there, Theologo rolled the dagga and smoked it with some of the other youths, she told the court.

The case continues.

– SAPA

The North West Parks and Tourism Board will host exciting events to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the annual Heritage Park Walk this year.

The Heritage Park Walk is a project that seeks to establish a corridor between the Pilanesberg and Madikwe game reserves. The 108km walk will take place over four days in June.

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

The provincial SA Local Government Association (Salga) has added its voice to the growing call for a review of the imposition of Section 139 (1) (b) on three municipalities in the province.

This follows a provincial executive council (Exco) decision to put the Matlosana, Maquassi Hills and Ditsobotla local municipalities under administration, citing a collapsed administration and failure to render services.

Acting local government MEC Paul Sebegoe visited the affected municipalities last week to communicate the new development.

The North-West University (NWU) Mafikeng Campus has heightened the tempo in students’ extra-curricular activities after it awarded R5000 bursaries to the winners of the Miss and Mr NWU 2013 beauty pageant.

The two, Gontse Rakobane and Tshepo Moyaga were on Monday given royal treatment after they were crowned winners at a glamorous ball held on Thursday.

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