Category Archives: NEWS

‘Blacks for sale’ ad sparked outrage in Brazil


Rio De Janeiro – A shocking ad on one of Latin America’s biggest online marketplaces, offering “blacks for sale for one real” ($0.42), has sparked outrage in Brazil and a police investigation.

The ad featured a photo of two black children, and suggested any blacks purchased could “serve as carpenters, masons, cooks, security guards, nightclub bouncers, janitors, garbage collectors, or housekeepers.”

Within a few hours, some 1 700 Brazilian responded with outraged comments.

Government officials also weighed in, with the agency in charge of racial equality urging online vendor MercadoLivre to turn over information on the author of the ad to bring charges against him.

The ad was “an offense to the entire society”, rights official Carlos Alberto Silva Junior told AFP Friday.

“Incitement to discrimination or prejudice by race, colour, ethnicity or religion” is punishable by two to five years in jail and by a fine, he added.

He emphasized that the Internet sites should assume their share of responsibility and put in place filters to block any racist content.

MercadoLivre, the biggest online buying and selling community in Latin America, said it has turned over account information for the person who posted the ad, which went up Sunday, to Rio de Janeiro police and an investigation was planned.

Labour and educational rights

Meanwhile, the site had pulled the ad and condemned it.

But David Santos, the head of Educafro, a civil rights group championing the labour and educational rights of blacks and indigenous people, said the ad may have an unintended positive impact.

He told AFP “that unconsciously this person has helped us debate with Brazilian society to make it aware that blacks have the same rights as whites.”

More than half of Brazil’s 200 million people are of African descent, the world’s second largest black population after that of Nigeria.

The Latin American country was one of the last countries to abolish slavery, in 1888, and Afro-Brazilians complain of widespread racial inequality and disproportionate poverty.

After 13 years of debate, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff enacted in August 2012 a controversial law that reserves 50% of university spots to students from public schools, with a priority given to blacks, mixed race, and indigenous people.

AFP

ANC manifesto wonderful- Zuma


Nelspruit – The ANC manifesto will tell South Africans exactly who to vote for, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful manifesto,” Zuma told party heavyweights and supporters at an African National Congress dinner in Nelspruit, ahead of the official launch of the manifesto at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

“We are asking people to come out and vote. It is their hard won vote, and of course tomorrow [Saturday] we are telling them exactly who to vote for, because we believe very strongly that the ANC is the organisation of the people,” he said.

Zuma, who is also ANC president, gave a short description of what could be expected from this year’s manifesto, which was dedicated to former president Nelson Mandela, who died in December.

“Our manifesto says many things…. We present our vision in it. We present our key commitment to move South Africa forward and it goes into detail,” he said.

The manifesto would look at the country’s 20 years of democracy, but also at what the party had done in the past five years.

It looked at policies and plans which had helped the country. It also dealt with the National Development Plan, rural development, job creation and the economy, food security, health and education and crime and corruption, said Zuma.

He told the audience to support the ANC.

“The ANC needs your support, you have a duty to support the ANC…. You will be making a wise investment.”

The ANC had been getting better governing since the dawn of democracy, Zuma said.

SAPA

ANC manifesto wonderful- Zuma


Nelspruit – The ANC manifesto will tell South Africans exactly who to vote for, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful manifesto,” Zuma told party heavyweights and supporters at an African National Congress dinner in Nelspruit, ahead of the official launch of the manifesto at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

“We are asking people to come out and vote. It is their hard won vote, and of course tomorrow [Saturday] we are telling them exactly who to vote for, because we believe very strongly that the ANC is the organisation of the people,” he said.

Zuma, who is also ANC president, gave a short description of what could be expected from this year’s manifesto, which was dedicated to former president Nelson Mandela, who died in December.

“Our manifesto says many things…. We present our vision in it. We present our key commitment to move South Africa forward and it goes into detail,” he said.

The manifesto would look at the country’s 20 years of democracy, but also at what the party had done in the past five years.

It looked at policies and plans which had helped the country. It also dealt with the National Development Plan, rural development, job creation and the economy, food security, health and education and crime and corruption, said Zuma.

He told the audience to support the ANC.

“The ANC needs your support, you have a duty to support the ANC…. You will be making a wise investment.”

The ANC had been getting better governing since the dawn of democracy, Zuma said.

SAPA

ANC to woo disgruntled voters


Mbombela – President Jacob Zuma on Friday launched the ANC election manifesto, hoping to help woo voters increasingly frustrated with persistent poverty, joblessness and corruption.

ANC has in recent years been battered by accusations of graft and blamed for failing to spark greater economic growth.

“We must therefore intervene decisively to take our economy forward,” Zuma told hundreds of party bigwigs and supporters at an African National Congress dinner on the eve of the campaign launch.

General polls are due in the first half of this year but the date is yet to be announced.

“The manifesto talks to what we will do, build an inclusive economy that creates jobs, transform our rural areas and… fight corruption and crime,” said Zuma.

He did not reveal the details of the “wonderful” manifesto saying they will be made public at a rally on Saturday.

Despite its ranking as Africa’s richest country and 20 years after the fall of apartheid, South Africa is still dogged by high levels of inequality and joblessness rates are growing stubbornly high.

“That is why the manifesto focuses a great deal on ensuring that we have the kind of policies that will help us reduce inequality, create jobs and systematically and progressively eradicate poverty,” Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom told AFP.

ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters that “the economy is going to be featuring much more strongly in terms of what we want to achieve”.

He described the text as “actually one of our best manifestos”.

Young voters

Facing one of its toughest elections ever, the ANC is expected to also focus its energy on rallying young voters.

For the first time, South Africans born after the end of apartheid, so-called “born-frees”, will be casting ballots.

Yet they are the generation at the receiving end of slowing economic growth and dwindling job opportunities.

“The ANC faces it biggest challenge amongst younger South Africans,” said political analyst Daniel Silke.

“The younger voter or first-time voter is much more questioning, they are more discerning, they are going to need to be convinced to vote for the ANC,” added Silke.

The manifesto hinges around the so-called National Development Plan, which Zuma painstakingly defended during his speech but is opposed by some of his allies in the labour movement who see it as neo-liberal.

Despite growing unpopularity, the ANC is still expected to win the polls, but could see a drop in its share of the vote to under 60%.

Zuma this week vowed that the ANC would govern South Africa “forever and ever”.

He said the party which turned 102 years old on Tuesday, was on “a journey that is long.”

“It’s still a long walk to prosperity,” said Zuma, borrowing a phrase from Mandela’s autobiography “Long Walk To Freedom”.

Among those challenging the ANC in this year’s vote will be populist politician Julius Malema, a former party youth leader who was expelled in 2012.

AFP

We can go all the way – Khune


A lot will be expected from hosts Bafana Bafana when they play in the Orange CAF African Nations Championship (South Africa CHAN 2014).

 

South Africa’s first match is against Mozambique on Saturday, 11 January at the Cape Town Stadium.

 

Kick-off is at 18h00.

 

They will then face Mali on Wednesday, 15 January and then round off the group stages with a clash against Nigeria on Sunday, 19 January.

 

Team Media Officer Matlhomola Morake spoke to Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune to get his thoughts on the tournament:

 

Matlhomola Morake:                    What can we expect from the team?
 

Itumeleng Khune:                           We are looking forward to the tournament. It is going to be a tough one. It is a new year with new challenges, so we just want to write our own history as the class of 2014 and go all the way to the final and win because we are the hosts and a lot is expected of us. We have to go out there and do what we can to win the tournament. 

MM:                                                      There is a mixture of youth and experience in the team….

 

IK:                                                           First of all I want to welcome the new players (Lindokuhle Mbatha, Asavela Mbekile, Kwanda Mngonyama) in the national team set-up and wish them all the best. After a couple of training sessions, they have fitted in like gloves and if you look at our training sessions you would think they have been here for a while, which is good for the country. I believe we have a formidable team and we are very optimistic about our chances. 

 

 

MM:                                                      Mozambique as the first match, how important is that?

 

IK:                                                           As a player, every match you play is important more so in the national team where you are representing millions of people with a lot of expectations. We all know what is at stake. The plan is to go for three points against Mozambique so that we go into the second match against Mali without pressure. In any tournament you need to win the first game as it could determine how far you can go. When you have collected the first three points you can breathe easily. It would be great to get all nine points in the group stages but we know it is not going to be easy, we have the fighting spirit needed for the tournament. 

MM:                                                      The last international match against Spain raised expectations….

 

IK:                                                           Having beaten the World and European Champions we go into this tournament with an extra boost. But at the same time we are aware that teams will want to defeat us, so we have to fight to get positive results. As the hosts we have been doing well and if we continue from where we left off we will have won half the battle. We are a very balanced team and I believe we have players that are capable of doing well for the pride of the nation. We have been working very hard over the last few days and we are confident that come Saturday, we will do well. 

MM:                                                      The fans, what can you say to them?

 

IK:                                                           The fans have played a major role in the past and we really appreciate and value their support. We urge them to come in numbers to continue with the support – hearing the vuvuzelas gives us extra confidence. Those who have not bought tickets yet must just do so and rally behind the national team. But for those who cannot make it, we know you are behind the team and are grateful for that. 

 

BAFANA’S FIXTURES – Cape Town Stadium

Saturday, January 11

vs Mozambique (18h00)

Wednesday, January 15

vs Mali (17h00)

Sunday, January 19

vs Nigeria (19h00)-TDN
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Basetsana depart for Nigeria


The South African National U20 Women’s National team (Basetsana) departed for Nigeria on Friday morning for their third round, first leg FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 qualifier to be staged at the National Stadium in Abuja on Saturday, 11 January 2014.

 

Kick-off is at 16h00 (15h00 SA time).

 

The Basetsana squad held their final training session at the Edenvale Football Club on Thursday (9 January) prior to their departure for Nigeria.

 

Basetsana coach, Sheryl Botes said she was happy that they were able to fit in the final training session on Thursday before heading to Nigeria.

 

“We had our final training session just to make sure we have everything covered and one or two things we were not happy about following the practice match played on Wednesday (8 January) afternoon.

 

“We worked on the small issues that we needed to repeat to ensure we are covered. Preparations have gone well and we’re ready to compete against Nigeria on Saturday. We also hope that travelling won’t affect the players because it is something we all need to get through,” said Botes.

 

Basetsana head of delegation, Letima Mogorosi urged the players to remain strong, stay focused and that they should remember to go out there and do the country proud in Nigeria.

 

The South Africans are scheduled to return on Monday, 13 January 2014.

 

Basetsana squad:

No.

Name & Surname

Club

Province

GOALKEEPERS

1

Kaylin Swart

University of Western Cape (UWC)

WC

2

Regirl Ngobeni

High Performance Centre (HPC)

GP

DEFENDERS

3

Vuyo Mkhabela

UWC

WC

4

Chamelle Wiltshire

HPC

GP

5

Meagan Newman

HPC

WC

6

Lesego Nkoane

HPC

GP

7

Nomonde Nomtsheke

Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies FC

FS

8

Caryn van Reyneveld

Spurs FC

WC

9

Tiisetso Makhubela

Torino FC

NW

MIDFIELDERS

10

Nomvula kgoale

HPC

LMP

11

Koketso Mamabolo

HPC

LMP

12

Amanda November

Pioneer FC

EC

13

Amogelang Motau

HPC

LMP

14

Thembi Kgatlane

HPC

GP

15

Robyn Moodaly

AIB College

USA

STRIKERS

16

Shiwe Nogwanya

Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies FC

FS

17

Mosili Makhoali

Celta Vigo FC

GP

18

Sduduzo Dlamini

Tottenham FC

KZN-TDN
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Nwest to investigate “job for sex” allegations   


The North West Provincial Government is to investigate allegations of “job for sex” in Kgetleng Rivier Local Municipality, Premier Thandi Modise said on Friday.

 

Premier Modise said the Provincial Government views the allegations reported on page 4 of “The Sowetan of Friday 10 January 2013 that claim that the municipality hired a woman without following proper procedure in a bid to protect an ANC Regional leader in a serious light.

 

The woman is alleged to have opened a sexual assault case in November 2011 at Lethabong police station but withdrew it after entering into an agreement with the said official.

 

She reportedly reinstated the case after her contract was terminated in August last year.

 

Tokyo Mataboge appeared briefly before the Rustenburg Magistrates Court but the case was withdrawn because the docket was not submitted.

 

Modise also welcomed the assurance by the National Prosecution Authority that allegations of rape leveled would be investigated after the docket is handed over by the investigating officer.

 

“We call on women not to be bought into silence irrespective of who is involved but to expose perpetrators for the scourge against to be eradicated. Our communities need to unite in action and support the Million Signature Anti-rape campaign to ensure that women and children are safer in their homes and in our neighbourhoods,” emphasised Modise.-TDN
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Premier Modise did not buy one BMW, but two- report


By Obakeng Maje
Mahikeng-During a meeting of the North West Public Accounts Committee yesterday, it was revealed that Premier Thandi Modise had in fact purchased at least two cars during her time in office and not just one.

The MEC for Transport in North West, Raymond Elisha, indicated that premier Thandi Modise had utilised  another car over and above the R1.3 million BMW she ordered in November and the R1,1m BMW she took over from former premier Maureen Modiselle.

“This car was apparently bought earlier, but the MEC was vague as to why it was purchased, where it is now and why the premier needed another new car” said Chris Hattingh.

DA Chris Hattingh said he raised a number of questions about the cost of the second car, when was purchased where it was purchased and where it is now. Unfortunately MEC Elisha refused to answer any further questions on the matter.

“I will therefore submit a number of questions to premier Modise in writing” said DA Hattingh.

 Questions set for premier Thandi Modise to answer.

1) How many cars for utilisation by the Premier have been purchased since the premier took office?

2) What was the make, type and cost of each car purchased for the Premier?

3) What was the rationale for purchasing the car in each instance?

4) Why has this information not been disclosed earlier?

5) Why did Premier Modise defy Minister Gordhan’s new belt-tightening measures?

These new questions arise after it has come to the fore that the Premier’s Office had lied about ordering her new BMW before Minister Gordhan’s commitment to belt-tightening.

“It was in fact ordered after Minister Gordhan’s announcement in blatant defiance of the new policy” said Hattingh.

Premier Modise has a lot to account for.-TDN
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Four armed robbers arrested in robbery


By Obakeng Maje
Springbok-Four armed men have been arrested and charged for business robbery in Springbok, Northern Cape police said.

“It is alleged that at about 19:00 yesterday evening, the suspects stormed into a local Supermarket store on Toll Road in Springbok and tied up the owner and his employees with cable ties” lieutenant Olebogeng Tawana said.

Police said victims were held at gunpoint and were robbed undisclosed amount of cash, airtime worth more than R25000 and cartons of cigarettes worth R15000.

“After the incident the suspects fled the crime scene in a black Mercedes Benz and immediately all our police counterparts on the exit roads N7 and N14 were activated and blocked the roads” said Tawana.

Police said at approximately 22:00, the suspects were arrested on N14 by the Rosedale police.

“Cash, airtime and cigarettes were also recovered from the suspects during the arrest. They are due to appear before the Springbok Magistrate’s Court on Monday, on charges of business robbery” he said.-TDN
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Road death study needed- DA


Johannesburg – The DA has called for a special parliamentary investigation and debate on the high death toll on South Africa’s roads during the festive season.

“The investigation and debate should result in the recommendation of programmes that will reduce the unnecessary loss of lives on our roads, as well as a review of the manner in which these deaths are reported by the department of transport,” Democratic Alliance transport spokesperson Ian Ollis said on Thursday.

There were 1376 deaths on the country’s roads between 1 December  and 7 January, according to figures released by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters on Thursday.

“A major shift is needed to drastically reduce the number of lives lost on our roads,” Ollis said.

He said the figures did not take into account the coming weekend, which would be one of the busiest on the road as holidaymakers returned home in time for the new school year.

Ollis said the figures were also under-reported, as the department used police reports to measure road deaths, and not data from forensic mortuaries.

“Minister Peters has a responsibility to report on the matter fairly. She has not done so,” Ollis said.

SAPA