Johannesburg – The ANC is confident it will increase its majority at next year’s elections, ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said on Monday.

“We are not in a position to tell you that we are going to have a decreased majority – I think that’s the wish of the opposition and they are welcome to wish,” she told reporters in Johannesburg.

“We are going to work for an increase in majority. We are very confident that we will win this election decisively.”

She said this was not based on polls but rather on the “ground work” the African National Congress was doing.

Duarte said the ANC was working hard to win back the Cape Town metro from the Democratic Alliance.

‘We should have worked harder’

She said the party was working primarily with black communities in the Western Cape.

“There is suspicion of the DA but there is also unhappiness with the ANC,” Duarte said.

“People say we shouldn’t have given over the Western Cape. We should have worked harder to retain it and as a result they are suffering.”

She said the ANC would conduct door-to-door campaigns aimed at nine million people who were not registered as voters.

She said a significant amount of people said they were satisfied with basic service delivery. However, the middle class wanted to know about the “next step”.

“The priority for the ANC right now is rural infrastructure. For many middle class people that means that there will not be that much infrastructure development in and around cities,” Duarte said.

“I don’t want to blame apartheid for anything but there is a massive backlog of service delivery, especially in rural areas.”

‘Parties steal ideas’

She said the ANC was not concerned that the last election, where its majority seemed to decrease, was a “trendsetting” election.

She said the ANC was looking at the election as though it was the first one in 1994.

ANC election co-ordinator Amos Masondo said it was unlikely that political parties would speak about their election manifestos this year.

He said parties stole ideas and the ANC did not want its ideas known at the moment.

Masondo said the ANC was going into the elections as a powerful brand.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Two people have been stabbed during a strike in Sandown, Johannesburg, police said on Monday.

“We have received reports that construction workers were involved in a strike action over wages, and that two people were stabbed and taken to hospital,” said police spokesperson Kym Cloete.

Cloete said the circumstances surrounding the stabbings were not immediately clear.

– SAPA

Ajax Cape Town PRO, Shooz Mekuto, lashed out at the Premier Soccer League for their protection of the Johannesburg teams, claiming the League has lost all its credibility.

The scathing attack comes after the Urban Warriors saw their League fixture against Orlando Pirates, originally scheduled for August 20, postponed due to Bucs’ MTN8 semi-final fixture against Kaizer Chiefs four days later. 

The revised date was then moved to August 27, but that was also postponed by the PSL as Pirates where told to travel earlier than expected to Egypt for their CAF Champions League fixture against Zamalek on Sunday. 

For more http://www.kickoff.com

The 61-year-old woman allegedly attacked her partner after learning of his affair, battering him repeatedly about the face and head with the mug at their home southwest of Tokyo on Sunday afternoon, the Asahi Shimbun and other media reported.

A Japanese housewife battered her septuagenarian husband to death with a coffee cup after discovering he was cheating on her, reports said Monday.

The 61-year-old woman allegedly attacked her partner after learning of his affair, battering him repeatedly about the face and head with the mug at their home southwest of Tokyo on Sunday afternoon, the Asahi Shimbun and other media reported.

Yasuo Hirose, a 70-year-old honorary professor with Yokohama National University, was taken to hospital but later confirmed dead.

“He had an affair with a woman I hate,” Emiko Hirose told police, according to the reports. “I went mad and hit him more than 10 times with a cup.”

The wife has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, reports said. Immediate confirmation was not available.-Sapa

JOHANNESBURG – As the country prepares for strike action in several key industries this week, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu)’s members on strike at the OR Tambo International Airport have just received a new offer from South African Airways (SAA). But striking workers have rejected the offer of 6.4 percent tabled by management, demanding 6.5 percent. Satawu’s 4000 members downed tools today for higher wages. The strike mostly involves SAA employees, but it’s understood other smaller airlines might also be affected. The Airports Company of South Africa Limited (ACSA) said there have been no flight delays at the airport, but shop stewards claim some flights have departed late. Satawu’s Matthew Ramosi says the impact is already being felt.  “We’ve been told a couple of flights are delayed and some of the flights have been cancelled because there are no technicians.”  Demonstrators are now protesting at the main gate of the airline’s technical park. The demonstration is gaining momentum as more people arrive. Ekurhuleni Metro Police are also on the scene to make sure passing cars or employees reporting for work are not intimidated. Meanwhile, ACSA says Cape Town International Airport has so far been spared the impact of the industrial action. ACSA’s Deborah Francis said, “Everybody has reported to work thus far. SAA technical and ACSA also have contingency plans in place to ensure everything runs normal.”  (Edited by Tamsin Wort)

Source: http://www.ewn.co.za

Pretoria – A 6-year-old girl has shot and killed her best friend in a freak accident while playing with her grandfather’s firearm.

Beeld reported on Monday that the children were at the Lejwe La Metsi private game reserve near Bela-Bela on Saturday when the tragedy occurred.

Sibongile Moima, also 6, was shot in the face and died at the scene. Her friend, who was not named because of her age, apparently found the .38 Special revolver in a wardrobe in her grandparents’ home.

Her grandfather had apparently taken the weapon out of his gun safe on Friday after an attempted robbery, and forgot to put it back in the safe.

He was apparently so traumatised after the incident that he tried to hang himself on Sunday. He is due to appear in the Bela Bela Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a charge of negligent handling of a firearm.

“We do not know how to handle this. We are dismayed,” the grandmother of the girl who fired the shot said.

“My granddaughter asked me if I would speak to her again after what happened,” she added.

For more http://www.news24.com

JOHANNESBURG – It’s understood Gauteng Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros has already begun clearing his office after his contract expired in mid-August and was not renewed. It’s not immediately clear when Petros will officially leave office or who will replace him, but it’s believed National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega is seeking a replacement. Petros made an official announcement in an impromptu speech on Saturday night at a glittering police awards ceremony. Although his speech was vague, it has ended weeks of speculation about his future within the force. “After 10 years being the captain of the ship. This captain has embarked the ship,” he said. Petros was initially deployed from the Western Cape to Gauteng, but officially announced on Saturday night that he was leaving the police force. It is not yet clear what his next appointment will be and police have declined to comment on the matter. It is believed he will make an official announcement sometime this week. Meanwhile, Phiyega thanked Petros for helping to reduce Gauteng’s notoriously high crime rate (Edited by Tamsin Wort)

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

By Obakeng Maje

Taung-A 23 year-old man is expected to appear before Taung Magistrate Court today after he allegedly killed his granny.

The atrocity took place at Dryharts village, near Taung where a man allegedly was engaged in an argument with his granny regarding her pensison money and that led to bludgeoned.

“A 23 year-old man was arrested on Thursday after the neighbour saw a 79 year-old granny lying in pool of blood” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.

Police were summoned to the scene and allegedly found a man sitting outside on the stoep.

Police asked him to open the door, but he decided to ask help from his knees.

Mokgwabone said the police chased and arrested him.

“He will appear on Monday for alleged murder at Taung Magistrate Court” he said.

A granny was confirmed dead on the scene by paramedics and suffered a open wounds on her forehead and other one below her ear.

Police investigations continue.-TDN

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The Barolong Boo Mariba Traditional Council have undertaken to use profitably the six farms they received as part of the land that was stolen from them through the 1913 Land Act. The farms valued at R60 million were handed over to the community by North West Premier Thandi Modise at a celebration in Dalyspan Farm near Mabule in Ratlou Local Municipality over the weekend.

There was exhilaration when the elated Premier Modise belted out a popular freedom song about the land, 

Mabayeke Umhlaba Wethu, loosely translated, “the land must return to its rightful owners.”  

Modise who sang the tear-jerking song in high spirit to the finish said the government will make sure that all the land is returned and urged the traditional council to use the land fruitfully and preserve it for future generations.

“Never and never again must this country experience some of the things that many of us are still reeling from. Hold on to the land we return to you today. Don’t allow people to steal it. We must preserve our land for our children. It was stolen and it is being returned. Don’t let it slip through our fingers again,” said Premier Modise on Saturday.  

Speaking on behalf of the traditional council, Kgosi Kopano Lekoko said he was thankful to the government for having had the wisdom to resort to negotiation to obtain the land.

“We are thankful to the ANC led government that the land was being returned without bloodshed. There are many farms in the land that we have claimed. So far only six farms have been returned. We owe it to the government to demonstrate to them that we will use it profitably to feed our people, the country and the international market. The work on the farm begins as soon as this celebration ends,” said the jubilant Kgosi Lekoko.

Community member, Olebogeng More, 62 said it has been a long wait and the hand-over shows that patience is virtue. “We are going to safeguard the land of our forefathers. No one will do what they like here. Our cattle will no longer starve. We are back on course after many years of oppression and land dispossession. Our dignity will be restored,” he said.

“We will now be able to sleep. To ours the land is an important asset. But it is also more than just a commodity. It’s also about our identity and it’s therefore consecrated because if you are evicted from your land you are dehumanised,” said 63 year old granny Tshenolo Tlhogi.  

Kobus Odendaal, 77, who bought the Dalyspan farm seven years ago from another farmer said he and his wife Susan are very happy for the community although they will always miss the good life they had at the farm. “It was a very good farm, very productive.”

Premier Modise, who also toured the farms to inspect facilities available, said her administration is hard at work looking at various models to make life easy for farming communities and people in rural areas in general.

She said in addition to availing training opportunities through the Kgora Training Centre which seeks to equip subsistence and aspirant farmers with farming skills, she plans to lead a delegation to Thailand where they will investigate, among others, solar opportunities to make it easy for people in far-flung areas to have cheaper electricity.

Premier Modise who was accompanied by Mayor of Ratlou Local Municipality Councillor Victor Mance thanked the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti for his tireless effort in driving the land restitution programme.

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