The Health Professions Council of SA is in for a major overhaul, following a probe that found the body failed in executing its core functions, says Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.

The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), which has been dogged by several complaints, is in for some sweeping changes, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced on Thursday.

He made public a scathing report which found that the council was filled with unfit management who violated a string of procedures and failed to provide leadership.

“The team was given 60 days to complete the work but as it is, it ended up taking 6 months due to the load of work. The report they handed to me is actually 90 pages,” said Motsoaledi.

For more http://www.news24.com

Bloemfontein – The media was not allowed in court on Thursday for the testimony of a second witness in the bail hearing of a Danish man, Peter Frederiksen, accused of collecting clitorises.

Prosecutor Amanda Bester requested that the hearing be held in camera in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court and the defence had no objection. The magistrate ordered the media and public out of the gallery.

News24 was told that witnesses received threats before testifying, but this could not immediately be verified.

The public gallery was packed again with members of the ANC Women’s League on Thursday.

For more http://www.news24.com

Durban – A top Durban city official has called on the public protector’s office to furnish more information about a Section 36 investigation being conducted at the eThekwini metro.

The municipality previously came under fire for the use of Section 36, which allows officials to bypass supply chain processes and grant tenders.

Section 36 was created for use in emergencies or disaster relief situations.

For more http://www.news24.com

Pic Courtesy: (City of Chicago :: Low Cost Pet Vaccine Clinic Dates)
http://www.cityofchicago.org

Durban – A plucky little kitten clung to the undercarriage of a bakkie for nearly 8km – stuck inside a hole between the engine block and the sump.

Now named Lucky, the gutsy feline survived the ordeal late last month, and was discovered inside the engine compartment of the bakkie when the driver finally parked at a shopping centre in Empangeni. It is believed that kitty’s size was also its saving grace, as it trawled just above the tarmac.

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg – White South Africans were the victims of the very system they were fighting to preserve, co-operative governance and traditional affairs deputy minister Andries Nel said on Thursday.

“For in becoming racialists and exploiters, they become closed off to important areas of human experience,” he said at a round table on whiteness, Afrikaans and Afrikaners in Johannesburg.

“The essential thing white South Africans lose is openness to the future and to other people.”

Nel was speaking under the theme Where are the Suzmans, Slovos, Fischers and Naudes of today?

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg – At the age of 25, Mpho Rakgwale is South Africa’s youngest convicted serial rapist.

He was back in the high court sitting in Randburg on Wednesday after being found guilty of rape, kidnapping and robbery last year.

Rakgwale was convicted of 61 charges: 21 for rape, 17 for kidnapping, six for the illegal possession of firearms, five for aggravated robbery, six for the illegal possession of ammunition and another six for robbery

He received six life terms and 232 years’ imprisonment.

Rakgwale appeared nonchalant, chewing gum during court proceedings.

He was convicted on more charges on Wednesday – 12 for a string of kidnappings, rapes and robberies between May and September 2012.

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

Kids: Principal won’t let us write exams

THESE matric pupils haven’t had maths or physical science teachers for the past year.

And according to them, their principal is now forcing them to get sick notes so they can miss their matric exams in these subjects and write supplementary papers next year.

Angry pupils at Vutomi Secondary School in Orange Farm, Joburg told Daily Sun many of them had already applied to tertiary institutions and the principal was ruining their plans.

Thobile Mgaga (18) and Mercy Nembambulo (19) said: “We planned to complete our matric this year, but now we are being forced to extend it by six months.

“While other pupils will be writing their science and maths exams, we’ll be expected to visit a nearby clinic for a check-up, even though we’re not sick.

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

BY REGINALD KANYANE

COMMUNITY safety and transport management MEC, Gaoage Molapisi and his team came under heavy criticism after the department was found to be incurred about a billion in irregular expenditure.

  This came when the department appeared before the provincial legislature committee at Baga-Phuduhucwana Tribal Authority hall in Taung to present on its financial statements on Tuesday.

  Some of the money is said to have been lost before the reconfiguration of the two departments into one entity.

  Committee chairperson, Jeannette Dibetso-Nyathi said: “The department presented two annual financial reports with different figures. We understand that the first one was designed before the configuration, while the other one came to light afterwards. The department has close to R1bn irregular expenditure, and we wanted to know if there were any other plans in place to deal with irregularities.

“The auditor general also highlighted that there was R10m paid to the monitoring firms. We recommended that they must make sure that they work thorough on their action plan. They presented a well-tailored plan on how they will deal with all irregularities. According to the auditor general, there was a deficiency within the department. We also heard that there was a R140m unauthorised expenditure,” Dibetso-Nyathi said.

  She also said they portfolio committee wanted to know how the department is planning to deal with fleet within the department and the non-monitoring of buses that ferry schoolchildren.

  Head of department, Bailey Mahlakoleng said: “We have established a team which will deal with the internal misconduct. There were some recommendations after investigations. The issue of fleet vehicles, we still want to find a proper way of dealing with that issue. Until today, we are dealing with that issue manually. They drivers fill in log booklets.

  “There are traffic fines that we sitting with, but we working tirelessly for our employees to account on them. Buses transportation management are not monitored on full time basis. Most of the contractors were inherited from the previous department, so we believe in the next financial year we will manage and plan accordingly,” Mahlakoleng said.

  In his submission, MEC Molapisi said the department had applied for condonement so that they could start on a clean slate.

  “We have written to the treasury to make recommendations and give guidance on dealing with prior disclaimers. We hope the condonement will be applied. We have appointed a task team to deal with any misconduct and irregular expenditure by our employees. Recommendations will be implemented,” Molapisi said.

  Responding on the issue of traffic cops having working in old uniforms that were procured back in 2010, Molapisi said: “We planning to make use of cooperatives and buy uniforms from them. It will be very expensive for the department to buy uniform for each of traffic officers at once. So we still working around that issue and see how we could manage in providing them with full uniforms. But we are supplying uniforms to them as much as we can.”

-TDN

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