Daily Archives: September 4, 2014

We are here for a win – Mashaba


– Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba has insisted that his charges are here to win Friday evening’s encounter against hosts Sudan in a first meeting between the two passionate football nations.

The two clash in the opening Group encounter of the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations qualifier where only two nations go through to 2015 finals in Morocco.

Other teams in the group include Congo and reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria.

After Friday’s game, Bafana Bafana leave Khartoum straight after the final whistle and are expected to arrive in South Africa on Saturday morning where they will catch a connecting flight to Cape Town two hours after arriving.

Mashaba said he was grateful for his employers, the South African Football Association (SAFA) for having organised a chartered plane as this would make their travelling schedule quite easier.

Bafana Bafana arrived in the Sudanese capital on Wednesday evening and their planned training on the same day was disrupted after the plane had taken a short detour to Dar es Salaam to refuel. The team will only train at the match venue at 20h00 on Thursday evening to get a feel of how the atmosphere will be like on Friday.

“Apart from the disruption on Wednesday where we expected to arrive in Khartoum around midday but ended up arriving at the hotel just before 18h00, the boys are in high spirits and are raring to give it a go on Friday evening,” said coach Shakes Mashaba.

“We would want to open this qualifying round of matches with three points. That is what we came here for – a win,” he said adding that a draw would also be a good result.

The straight-talking coach said he was excited about the attitude of his players.

“They are young and raring to give everything for the country. That is the attitude I like from players,” he said.

In keeping with his norm, Mashaba will name the starting line-up on Thursday evening after training.

“Players need to know whether they are in the starting line up or not so that they can condition themselves to the situation. It is the type of procedure I need to keep implementing,” he said.
The match between Bafana Bafana will kick off at 20h00 at El Merreikh Stadium.
-TDN
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MEC Mohono to engage tour operators on tourism transformation


Rustenburg- The promotion and importance of transformation within the tourism industry in the North West Province, will take center stage when the North West MEC for Tourism, Desbo Mohono engages tour operators on the profiling of tourism assets in the townships and villages on Friday in Rustenburg.

MEC Mohono will also reveal her Six Months Tourism Action Plan Schedule which will amongst other things narrate in details, systems put in place by the department to promote Township and Village tourism products. 

The launch will be held as follows:

 

Date: 05 September 2014

Time: 10 AM

Venue: Devine Boutique Hotel (No 12 Keurtjie Laan, Geelhout Park 6, Rustenburg) 
-TDN
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Meyiwa to captain Bafana Bafana


Johannesburg– Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa will lead Bafana Bafana in their crucial CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Sudan at El Merreikh Stadium on Friday evening.

The announcement was made by coach Shakes Mashaba on Friday afternoon ahead of the team’s final training session at the match venue.

“I think the young man has worked hard and deserved the chance. He is a leader and I like his overall attitude,” said Mashaba.

Friday’s match kicks off at 20h00 and Bafana Bafana will fly back soon after the game.

They will travel to Cape Town on Saturday morning to start preparing for the match against Nigeria scheduled for Wednesday, 10 September 2014 at Cape Town Stadium.-TDN
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SEWER SPILLAGES IN MAQUASSI HILLS 


Makwassie – The intervention by the North West Department for Local Government and Human Settlement at Maqussie Hills local municipality will see a stop to massive sewer spillages experienced in the area recently and over the years.

This follows the handing over of sewer machinery worth R1.2 million by MEC Collen Maine to deal decisively with sewer spillages in the area. They include a honey suck truck for over flowing drainage and a jet machine.

MEC Maine said the plea by community members did not fall on deaf ears. “The situation was a health hazard to residents and we believed no one must be subjected to such a situation. We were unable to turn a blind hence we came up with such an intervention. The honey suck truck and a bakkie with a jet machine trailer will stop unnecessary sewer spillages. However the municipality will continue to capacitate residents on the does and don’t of ensuring an unblocked sanitation channel to avoid spillages” remarked MEC Maine.

Few months ago sewer spillages, which were experienced in Lebaleng Extension 3, 4 and 5, were a thorn in the flesh as it left the area with a bad stench. This some residents took to the streets to complain about the situation.

Mayor of Maquassie Hills, Noni Kgabi, expressed joy when receiving both the truck and bakkie from the MEC Maine. “We have been in dire need of these equipments for a very long time. We will now deal with blockages as when they happen, reducing the turnaround time. Spillages in the area which have bothered residents will be a thing of the past” remarked the delightful Kgabi.

Apart from handing over of new equipments, the municipality through the assistance of the department engaged in a sewer pump station refurbishment to the value of over R700 000.

In process 70 young people in the area were employed. The other group engaged in a sewer awareness campaign, the other for disinfecting the area where spillages took place and cleaning of roads, the third group installed new equipments in the sewer pump station and the last group manufactured lockable manhole covers.

Ward 11 councillor Doctor Mohadi said with the machinery the municipality they will be on top of each and every sewer problem that arise. “As the councillor of this ward, now and then I was receiving sewer blockage problems and spillages in the ward. With the refurbishment of the sewer plant and the handing over of this machinery we couldn’t have asked for anything better. This is delivering on our pre-election mandate of putting to a stop the sewer problem in the area” said Mohadi.

The municipality will continue to educate residents on how to avoid sewer blockages which causes spillages.

During the awareness campaign residents were encouraged not to deposit foreign materials into sewer system like plastics, cart boxes, disposable nappies and tins. As a result the municipality will install lockable sewer manhole cover as residents also open the covers and deposits materials which ultimately blocks the sewer system. Only municipal workers will possess the key to the covers.
-TDN
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UKZN lectures suspended

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Johannesburg – Lectures at the University of KwaZulu-Natal were suspended on Thursday after at least three people were injured when protesters and police clashed on the Westville campus in Durban, the university said.

“The Westville campus in particular was not accessible to university staff as well as students who reside outside campus,” spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said in a statement.

“The executive management committee deliberated on the situation this morning [Thursday] and took a decision to suspend the academic programme on all campuses for Thursday and Friday this week.”

The academic programme would resume on Monday.

A police officer and two students were injured on Thursday morning.

“We can confirm that a police officer was injured when he was hit with a stone by the protesters at UKZN Westville campus,” police spokesperson Captain Thulani Zwane said.

No fire-related injuries

Zwane said he was unsure of the officer’s condition.

KwaZulu-Natal emergency services spokesperson Robert Mckenzie said paramedics treated people with moderate injuries.

“A third patient was transported privately from the scene before paramedics arrived… and they were not able to confirm this person’s injuries or condition.”

Mckenzie said no injuries caused by fires on the campus were reported and most of the fires had been extinguished.

“The police and paramedics are still standing by on the scene,” he said.

Seshoka said there had been “serious violent protests” at the Westville, Howard, Edgewood, and Pietermaritzburg campuses on Thursday morning.

“The university regrets the inconvenience caused and apologises to all students whose commitments have been interrupted by the unfortunate activities of a handful of disruptive elements,” he said.

“The SA Police Service and the university’s risk management services are keeping an eye on the situation. Discussions with students are ongoing.”

Water cannon

On Tuesday, police used a water cannon against protesting students at the Westville campus.

At the time Seshoka said about 200 students embarked on illegal protests on the campus, disrupted lectures, and damaged property. A number of cars were stoned and some facilities set alight.

“It is of grave concern that a small group of students is continuing to embark on illegal, destructive and violent protest action,” he said.

“Management condemns the destruction to property and the threats and intimidation of both students and staff.”

Seshoka said the university obtained a high court order protecting the university against “unlawful protests, disruptive gatherings, demonstrations, mass action, intimidation or any violent act to persons or property at the entrance and premises” of the university.

He said offenders would be charged for contempt of court and the university would not withdraw any charges.

In a memorandum, students said financial aid, the draft loans and bursary policy, and funding for postgraduate students, were reasons to protest.

– SAPA

NPA says it complied with spy tapes order

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Pretoria – The NPA has complied with the Supreme Court of Appeal’s order to hand over the so-called Zuma spy tapes, spokesperson Nathi Mncube said on Thursday.

“We have complied and we did come and lodge the documents,” he told reporters outside the North Gauteng High Court.

Mncube said the National Prosecuting Authority handed over a copy of the recordings and transcripts of the recordings.

A copy would be given to the DA’s legal representatives and the originals would stay at the high court.

Ruling

Internal memoranda and representations made by President Jacob Zuma at the time the corruption charges against him were dropped would not be handed to the DA, but be given to Judge Noel Hurt in Cape Town by end of business on Thursday.

This followed the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling last week that within five days the NPA had to comply with a previous order, in an application brought by the DA, to release the tapes.

President Jacob Zuma had opposed the move.

The recordings, internal memoranda, reports and minutes of meetings dealing with the contents of the recordings had to be provided.

The tapes, containing recorded phone conversations, allegedly reveal collusion between the former heads of the Directorate of Special Operations, the now defunct Scorpions, Leonard McCarthy, and the NPA’s former head Bulelani Ngcuka, to manipulate the prosecutorial process before the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007. Zuma was elected ANC president at the conference.

At the time, acting NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe said they showed there was a political conspiracy against Zuma and so the case against him could not continue.

DA leader Helen Zille was at the court for the handover. She said there was a delay in the handover because Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba was studying the SCA judgment to make sure the order was complied with.

– SAPA

North West writer continues to shine in United States Of America

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Picture: (North West-born writer, Mpho Sabata Mokae during his visit at South African Embassy, in America

Picture: (North West-born writer, Mpho Sabata Mokae during his visit at South African Embassy, in America


Iowa City, United States- Mokae Latest Distinguished South African at Prestigious Iowa Writing Program:
Nic Mhlongo, Kgebetli Moele, Pieter-Dirk Uy, James Matthews—are some of South Africa’s most acclaimed writers have participated in the University of Iowa’s renowned International Writing Program.

Award-winning author Sabata-mpho Mokae becomes the latest to inscribe his name in the rolls, as he joins 28 writers from around the world in the 2014 program. The ten-week residency in America’s heartland unites emerging creative writers for workshops, public presentations, and roundtables with American cultural figures and at literary events across the U.S.

Mokae, originally from Taung and now based in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, is one of South Africa’s most ardent proponents of African-language literature. He writes about social issues that matter to his community, like gender violence, race relations, poverty, and corruption.

He has published several works of poetry and fiction in both English and Setswana, including Ga Ke Modisa [I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper], which won two national awards, and a youth novella Dikeledi [Tears] which was launched earlier this year.

His poetry has appeared in several collaborative works as well as in his own collection, Escaping Trauma. He has a Masters in creative writing from Rhodes University in Grahamstown.

Mokae is a familiar name in the Kimberley area through his weekly columns and stories for the Diamond Fields Advertiser newspaper, and he is a recognized authority on the South African literary giant Sol Plaatje. Founder of the Sol Plaatje Literary Festival, Mokae is also the author of the biography, The Story of Sol T. Plaatje, for which South Africa’s former Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe penned the foreword.

The International Writing Program helps participants bring their countries’ literary works to a wider audience and provides them with an opportunity to learn more about American literature. Mokae participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Cape Town.

For more information see http://iwp.uiowa.edu
-TDN
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‘Tears of fury and frustration cloud Ganspan during protest’

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Police arresting alleged suspects during protest#1
By Obakeng Maje
Ganspan- An enraged community members embarked on a poor service delivery protest by taking their grievances to the streets in Ganspan, near Jan Kempdorp, Northern Cape.

This is just one of the dramatic scenes at a service delivery protest that spiraled out of control, turning into a violent confrontation of rocks against rubber bullets and tear gas.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, residents of Ganspan, near Jan Kempdorp started their protest for a decent houses and water taps.

According to the community members, they have been staying in the shacks for more than 8 years and now they want government to heed to their call.

Police arrested more than 20 people mostly were bystanders while others were arrested in their shacks.

“Jan Kempdorp police are investigating a case of arson after protesters set the Ganspan Municipality building alight. The police are monitoring the situation closely in Ganspan” Lieutenant Andre Cloete said.

They marched to the streets, barricaded all roads with tree logs and burning tyres. Police arrived to disperse the protesters. What was already a tense situation went from bad to worse when police started firing rubber bullets and tear gas.

The mobile clinic, library and Municipal offices were burnt down.

“Police are harassing us as they entered house-to-house and arrest everyone even though they were not part of the march. They entered my shack and arrested my boyfriend, Tumelo Sithole with no proof” despondent Lydia Mejane said.

One of the residents was arrested by police while we were busy running interviews and police could not say how they link him to the march and was arrested nevertheless.

The Phokwane municipality spokesperson Kgalalelo Letshabo said Mayor Vuyisile Khan visited the area to inform the residents regarding the housing project issue.

Our crew tried t contact Phokwane Municipal Mayor Vuyisile Khan, but said he is till in the meeting addressing the masses. We tried to contact him afterwards, but our attempt was futile.

More than fifty people were arrested by police.
-TDN
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Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality’s senior officials arrested for fraud

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The MEC of Community Safety and Transport Management Gaoge Molapisi welcome the arrest of two senior councillors and officials of Ngaka Modiri Molema on allegations of fraud and corruption. Former Mayor Phaladi Saku and former Speaker Vincent Dila together with other officials were arrested and briefly appeared before the Molopo Magistrate Court on Wednesday 03rdAugust 2014.

The accused were all granted bail of five thousand rand each and will appear again before the court on the 21st November 2014. MEC Molapisi said, “Premier Mahumapelo in his madden speech emphatically warned the public servants that corruption in not going to be welcomed in his administration irrespective of who you are and what position you hold”.

Corruption is stealing from the poor and deprives people from enjoying the fruits of our hard earned democracy retorts.

In a corrupt state only few people benefit and the rest we must beg from them. This situation is abnormal and cannot be tolerated,” said Molapisi.

The MEC said he is encouraged by the determination of police in the province who are showing no mercy on criminals and heading to the Premier’s call of burying fraud and corruption.

“We will be everywhere and in every corner to deal with clandestine activities that are intended to take our province backwards and encourage the communities to speak out,” he concluded.
-TDN
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Zille to be handed Zuma spy tapes

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Pretoria – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille arrived at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday to an excited crowd of DA supporters present for the handover of the controversial “spy tapes”.

– Are you there? Send us your eyewitness accounts and photos.

Zille was surrounded by the singing supporters and escorted to a truck with speakers outside the court.

She was helped on to the truck where she addressed the crowd and sang the national anthem.

Zille then went into the court.

eNCA reported just after 12:30 that Zille had been handed the spy tapes, and was due to emerge from the court. Other reports indicated the NPA was en route to hand over the tapes.

Zuma charges

Conversations on the recordings were cited as a reason to drop fraud and corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma, shortly before he was sworn in as president in 2009.

Last week the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that within five days the National Prosecuting Authority had to comply with a previous order, in an application brought by the DA, to release the tapes.

President Jacob Zuma had opposed the move.

The tapes allegedly reveal collusion between the former heads of the Directorate of Special Operations, the now defunct Scorpions, Leonard McCarthy, and the NPA’s former head Bulelani Ngcuka, to manipulate the prosecutorial process before the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007. Zuma was elected ANC president at the conference.

At the time, acting NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe said they showed there was a political conspiracy against Zuma and so the case could not continue.

– SAPA