Johannesburg – Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is embroiled in an alleged rape and blackmail scandal in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague who then demanded R2m for the problem to go away.
City Press has obtained documents which lift the lid on the scandal, and the married Vavi on Friday confirmed the allegations against him but denied he had raped the woman.
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Cape Town – Mitchells Plain in Cape Town needs a focused anti-drug campaign, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday.
“We now require at national level a focus, a direct focus in Mitchells Plain,” he told community leaders at the Shekinah Tabernacle in the area.
“We should immediately begin to take action and, even if at provincial level we may not have such success, which we should have, that there should be a campaign….”
Ramaphosa said the focus of such a campaign would be to rid the area of widespread drug addiction and drug lords who preyed on young children.
Members of the community told the African National Congress leader about the struggles they encountered with the interlinked problems of drugs and gangsterism.
Ramaphosa said President Jacob Zuma had previously answered the call of parents with similar problems.
Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, resident Doreleene James, mother of a teenager undergoing drug rehabilitation, appealed to Zuma earlier in the year to rid the area of drug dealers.
Plan
Ramaphosa said Zuma had swiftly responded with a clean-up of the area.
One woman leading the fight against drug abuse in Mitchells Plain, who called herself “Mama Madiba”, told Ramaphosa that the government had ignored similar problems in her area.
“What Doreleene James is getting in Joburg, we want it 10 times better because Mitchells Plain’s problem is bigger. She [James] is getting too much publicity,” she said.
“Please don’t get a woman [James] from Johannesburg to come open a woman’s desk here in Cape Town… It will be a slap in the face for us.”
Ramaphosa said the National Development Plan (NDP) was putting measures in place to reduce such criminality.
The plan also addressed “opening the minds” of young children through early childhood development centres and improving social welfare.
“The one thing we are not is a stagnant country. We are a country on the move,” Ramaphosa said.
“As our people face challenges, as we have problems, we have a responsive governing party that will realise a storm is coming… and take proactive actions to do something.”
He said the NDP was not lying dormant.
The ANC had decided to appoint an “economic recovery” task team, to look closely at practical implementation of the NDP going forward.
He said the party was looking at compiling a summarised version of the NDP for easier access. Translation to other languages was also under consideration.
This followed complaints that the plan was too long to read and not easy to understand. Ramaphosa was in the area to get feedback from the community on issues affecting them.
SAPA
North West Province has resolved to position itself as the hub for high moral standards, tolerance, social cohesion and peacemaking in order to become a destination of choice for investors and a model for reconciliation and peaceful resolution in the country and the continent. North West Premier Thandi Modise said this initiative was crucial because the people of the province are generally known for their tolerance, respect and devotion to peace and harmony.
Premier Modise made a call in her keynote address delivered at the Provincial Rebranding and Positioning Stakeholders Conference held in Mahikeng on Friday for the province to recapture, rebuild, remold and reproduce the good that it is known for.
“We expect the Strategy Development Process that we are launching to have as an outcome the creation of a new brand reality, rooted in the culture of service delivery envisioned in the National Development Plan, and the promise of improved, world class livelihoods and infrastructure and ultimately a better life for the citizens of the Province,” stressed Modise.
She said that having taken a stand against corruption, there should be rippling effect that goes down to municipal and ward level that says that the province shall not countenance or tolerate corruption.
Premier Modise called on elected public representatives to act responsibly to improve the image of the province. She said that they should realise that reputation of an individual leader can break or make a province or country. “For me rebranding of the North West must begin with a huge turnaround of how we perceive ourselves. While those who are involved in marketing and business will look at how a brand is sustained, real rebranding of the province must start with the individual citizen. It must begin with an honest filling of the 8 hours plus that we are paid for. It must begin with us nurturing, identifying and developing the strengths and skills that we need to ensure that this image is buttressed,” emphasised Modise.
President of National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC-North West) and National Treasurer, Charle Moagi committed that business in the province will support and participate in the rollout of the rebranding consultation process.
“We commend the process intended at improving productivity and efficiency as it will attract investments into the province,” said Moagi.
Cynthia Chishimba from the Are Ageng Social Dialogue Forum, established by the Provincial government in 1998 as a platform for social partners to engage in policy discourse appreciated that the process will involve participation of communities and be aligned to the key pillars of the National Development Plan.
Meanwhile, the province is to close its Mandela Month programme with a Provincial Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration Summit aimed at carrying forward the nation building and reconciliation legacy of former President Nelson Mandela.The two-day summit to be addressed by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Minister of Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile and Chairperson of the Moral Regeneration Movement, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa is scheduled to commence at the Mmabatho Convention Centre in Mahikeng on Monday.
Stakeholders invited to be part of the summit include political parties represented in the North West Provincial Legislature, business sector, private sector, organised labour federations, academics from institutions of higher learning, traditional leaders, Churches, Faith based organizations, business sector, Non-Government Organisations, women and youth organisations, people with disabilities, provincial government departments and municipalities.
Johannesburg – The EFF criticised the University of Johannesburg for denying the group access to its Doornfontein campus on Friday.
“UJ must be ashamed that it has joined the long queue of manipulated public institutions used to settle political scores by the ruling party,” spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.
“We are not moved. If anything the events of the University of Johannesburg, like others earlier this week in the Vaal and other areas across the country, only serve as proof that ZANC [Zuma-African National Congress] is intimidated and now they resort to cheap tricks of intimidation, manipulation and street gossip,” Ndlozi said.
Earlier in the day, EFF supporters ripped up ANC T-shirts after they were barred from the campus, where leader Julius Malema planned to speak to students.
University spokesperson Herman Esterhuizen said the EFF did not follow the proper procedures to obtain approval for the meeting.
“There was not an official application submitted to the university for approval in due time,” he said.
Ndlozi disputed this, saying permission for the event had been granted.
Groups of ANC supporters in black T-shirts and EFF supporters in red berets sang and danced in support of their respective organisations. EFF supporters also took ANC T-shirts and drove over them with their cars.
EFF member Kenny Kunene arrived at the university but there was no sign of Malema.
SAPA
Johannesburg – Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supporters ripped up ANC T-shirts at the University of Johannesburg’s Doornfontein campus on Friday.
This came after some supporters were not allowed on campus, where EFF leader Julius Malema was scheduled to speak to students.
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On Thursday Orlando Pirates coach, Roger de Sa, explained that the club is still looking to add one more forward to their striking department, despite the coach having six quality strikers in his squad.
Kermit Erasmus penned a deal with the Soweto giants on Tuesday, joining the likes of Collins Mbesuma, Lennox Bacela, Ndumiso Mabena, Rudolf Bester and Thulasizwe Mbuyane at the club.
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Platinum Stars are expected to be Sibusiso Hadebe’s new club for the 2013/14 season. It was recently revealed by Soccer-Laduma that Dikwena are the frontrunners to land the player’s signature.
Hadebe played for Golden Arrows in the 2012/13 season but parted ways with Abafana Bes’thende recently. A source close to Hadebe told the Siya crew that negotiations with Stars for the player to sign for the club are at an advanced stage.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com
Tlou Segolela has signed a new three-year deal with Orlando Pirates, putting an end to the speculation regarding his future with the Buccaneers.
Earlier this morning a Siya crew source close to Pirates confirmed that Segolela and Pirates could finalise the new deal before the end of the day.
Pirates have now confirmed on their official Twitter account that Segolela has finalised his deal with Pirates.
“Tlou Segolela has signed a new deal with the club,” read the tweet on the club’s official Twitter account.
Segolela’s future with Pirates had created some uncertainty on whether or not he will play for Pirates in tomorrow’s Carling Black Label Cup against Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium, with Segolela having been voted into Bucs’ line-up for tomorrow’s game.
However, the crew can confirm that the speedy winger will definitely play for the Bucs on Saturday.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com
A company distributing workbooks for KwaZulu-Natal pupils has apologised for destroying about 100 rain-damaged books.
Basic education spokesman Panyaza Lesufi confirmed that an apology had been received from UTi, the company which is tasked with distributing workbooks to schools.
The books were destroyed at the company’s warehouse in Empangeni, where staff at that branch had decided the books were beyond repair.
The company said no schools had been affected and there was no evidence of “criminality” or “corruption”.
Once UTi had identified the schools for which the damaged books were intended, the workbooks were replaced and UTi delivered them directly to the schools concerned.
This replacement was done within two weeks, and no schools were compromised by non-delivery.
Lesufi pointed out that it was workbooks that were destroyed and not textbooks as had been previously reported.
Each and every pupil received a workbook containing exercises.
Lesufi said these workbooks also helped teachers to track the progress of pupils, but they did not replace textbooks.
-Sapa
The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) on Friday denied signing a wage deals with Eskom after sister union Numsa claimed it had done so.
“We reject with contempt the lies spread by Numsa shop stewards at their meeting yesterday (Thursday) where they alleged that the Num has signed a 5.6% wage increment with the parastatal,” the union said in a statement.
Eskom had referred the Num wage dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. “The Num has on a number of occasions shown its displeasure with Eskom’s approach to industrial relations, as well as its proposal for a five year deal,” says the Num.
Numsa president Cedric Gina says he was not part of the shop stewards’ meeting. However, what the Num did by issuing the media statement “actually flies against the principles of Cosatu”.
“If the shop stewards said that, then the management of [the] Num should have approached the Numsa leadership and raised this instead of doing it through the media,” says Gina.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za
The Guardian 