Cape Town – The DA on Tuesday called on government to put the country’s largest teachers’ union in its place.

“Use the courts, do whatever it takes, but make Sadtu [the SA Democratic Teachers Union] understand it does not run education in this country,” DA MP Annette Lovemore said, speaking during debate in Parliament on the education department’s R19.68bn budget.

She called on Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to “reclaim your management prerogative from Sadtu”.

The union, a Cosatu affiliate, has a membership of about 240 000 teachers.

Lovemore said its members should no longer be allowed to get away with ill-disciplined behaviour in the country’s schools.

“No longer should Sadtu interfere with appointments; no longer should Sadtu members refuse to sign performance agreements or undergo competency tests; no longer should Sadtu members escape accountability.”

She said Motshekga had to rise to the challenge.

“Education in the public sector is the prerogative of the government, not of Sadtu,” Lovemore said.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Lesiba Kgwele, head of communications in the office of the North West premier, has been fired following a disciplinary hearing, an official said on Tuesday.

“The investigation into the allegations of misconduct of Mr Lesiba Kgwele was initiated by his supervisor who was also the accounting officer of the office of the premier on 18 March 2013,” said acting director general in the office of the premier, Johannes Rantete.

“Mr Kgwele was charged among others with gross insubordination and failure to carry out lawful orders and routine instructions without reasonable cause.”

Kgwele was dismissed on Friday.

He was found guilty of seven out of the nine charges and the decision to dismiss him was issued by the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, advocate Afzal Mosam, on 21 May, Rantete said.

He said Kgwele had the right to appeal.

Kgwele on Tuesday bemoaned the announcement of his dismissal calling it premature.

“My right to appeal has not at this stage been exercised and all legal processes finalised,” he said in a statement.

“Until such time that the appeal process has been finalised or I have accepted the dismissal, I remain an employee of the provincial government.”

Kgwele claimed his dismissal was part of a “much bigger orchestrated plot to purge and ultimately destroy” him.

“It is unfortunate that power has been abused, individuals manipulated and state resources used to settle a personal grudge,” he said.

Kgwele was spokesperson for former North West premier Thandi Modise during her time at the helm of the province.

SAPA

Johannesburg – A 25-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the Tonga Regional Court on Tuesday for raping a 10-year-old girl.

Bongani Khoza was arrested on 26 June 2010, at his house in Mpumalanga after raping the girl, who is now 14.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared in court on Tuesday.

Khoza’s Legal Aid lawyer, Xolani Mahlalela, asked the court to give his client a lenient sentence.

Mahlalela said his client was an unmarried, first offender without children.

“Your Worship, please also consider that my client was never granted any bail since his arrest four years ago,” he said.

Mahlalela asked the court to consider that the victim did not have any permanent injuries.

“My client is very much sorry about what happened as he had indicated in his affidavit that he was drunk when he raped the girl, whom he grabbed from the street when he was coming from enjoying alcohol,” said Mahlalela.

SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West, with its affiliates, will be celebrating Mandela Day jointly with the alliance by making sure that all the municipalities, traditional houses, old-age homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals and clinics are cleaned and painted.

“COSATU calls on all their members and leaders to make sure that they go out and respect our late president Madiba whose birthday we are celebrating, for the first time in his absence, with 67 minutes of community work” Cosatu provincial secretary-general Solly Phetoe said.

Phetoe said this celebration must be combined with celebrating the life of our first democratic president who made all South Africans what they are today.

The alliance secretariat met on 8th July 2014 and resolved that they must mobilise all their structures to participate in all the activities on Mandela Day with no exceptions for anyone.
Municipalities are requested to make sure that they lead by identifying areas that will need cleaning. Two of the key places where Cosatu agreed to make sure that their mobilised masses to go for cleaning is Mafikeng and Madibeng municipalities.

“We call on all our leaders of the COSATU affiliates to make sure that they participate fully and lead our members to the 67th minutes cleaning program in respect of the life of Tata Madiba” he outlines.

COSATU North West will focus on the following areas for cleaning:

•The hospital in Zeerust where the cleaning will be led by POPCRU
•Manamakgoteng old-age home, led by the NUM
•Sonop old-age home, led by NEHAWU and the COSATU Madibeng Local, jointly with the department of health and the municipality
•Letlhabile old-age home and Letlhabile disability home led jointly by COSATU and the municipality
•The cleaning of a poor family house in Tau Tsokonyane led by COSATU and the municipality.

“Our doctors from our union SAMA under COSATU in the North West calls on all doctors to actively participate in the activity of 18th July 2014 by visiting all hospitals and clinics, in particular in rural areas and spend their 67minutes at old age homes, hospices, special schools and clinics in remote areas” Phetoe said.

Doctors will be doing their normal screening, diagnosing and treating of poor old people and the disadvantaged communities. They will all be wearing their white coats and carry their necessary equipment and diagnostic tools.

The man who led South Africa to freedom is still with the masses of the poor people in spirit and must continue to respect his call to make sure that his date of birth is dedicated to the poor people of this country.

Our schools, clinics, hospitals, sports fields, municipalities, and old-age homes are not respected, due to corruption that continues, due to tenders to clean even our own offices and institutions.

“We are reminding all our members that on this day – 18th July 2014 – we must be ready to respect the old man who died for our democracy which some of us are abusing today” concludes Cosatu.-TDN
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Johannesburg – A task team set up by Agang SA founder Mamphela Ramphele has developed a survey in a bid to assess the state of the party.

The party asked people to fill in the online questionnaire “in the interest of the 52 350 people who voted for Agang” in the general elections.

Respondents had until noon on Thursday to complete and submit the survey.

Agang SA said the results of the survey would be used in the task team’s final report, which would be submitted to the reconstituted national executive committee (NEC) and Ramphele on Saturday.

One of the questions in the survey was: “How would you rate the political maturity of Agang SA’s leadership?”.

There were three possible answers – astute, average or immature.

Another question was “How do you rate Dr Mamphela Ramphele as president of Agang SA?”.

Respondents had an option of replying excellent, average or poor.

The questionnaire also asked about respondents’ feelings about the party’s communication with its members and whether people thought it was a good idea that Ramphele had not become Agang’s MP in Parliament.

The party also asked, “Do you think funders received value for their contribution to Agang SA?”.

There were nine questions in the survey.

Ramphele’s exit

Last week, Ramphele announced that she was resigning as leader of the party.

She said her exit from politics was because she wanted to return to working alongside the country’s citizens in civil society.

At the time acting spokesperson John McConnachie said Agang SA had been divided into two factions with the one side aligned with Ramphele and the other calling for her removal as party head.

The party’s two parliamentary leaders, Mike Tshisonga and Andries Tlouamma, were part of the faction who wanted Ramphele out.

The two were served notices of expulsion by the party last week. This came after their alleged involvement in plans to oust Ramphele from the party.

In June, Ramphele and Tshisonga opened separate fraud cases with police over a bank account opened to receive a refund from the Electoral Commission of SA, believed to be around R200 000.

At the time, Tlouamma announced that Tshisonga, who is also the party chairperson, would be acting president.

Tshisonga and Tlouamma were both members of Agang SA’s former NEC.

The former NEC has been replaced by a newly constituted NEC formed by a task team appointed by Ramphele after the elections.

Tshisonga and Tlouamma and the other members of their faction had rejected the legitimacy of the newly constituted NEC.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Two men accused of kidnapping a group of initiates and taking them to a rival initiation school appeared in the Leslie Periodical Court on Monday, Mpumalanga police said.

The matter was postponed to 28 July for further investigations. Mamake Ditsego, 35, and Ntobeko Swartberg, 27 were released on a warning, Sergeant Gerald Sedibe said.

The two face charges of kidnapping, assault and negligent discharge of ammunition.

On Thursday night, they allegedly went to an initiation school in Lebohang township, Leandra, with a firearm. They allegedly held the caretakers at the school at gunpoint and forcefully took 16 initiates to their own school, in the same area.

“In the process they fired a shot, scaring the people to adhere to their demands, and destroyed their property.”

The men were arrested on Friday.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Correctional services will withdraw from Mangaung prison outside Bloemfontein, after taking over management of the privately run prison last year, the department said on Monday.

“Acting national commissioner [Zacharia] Modise said the department had succeeded in stabilising the situation at the centre and in restoring effective control, discipline and rehabilitation programmes,” spokesperson Manelisi Wolela said in a statement.

The department would withdraw in phases by the end of July, having run the prison for 10 months.

According to a report on security company G4S’s running of the prison, there had been violations of its contract with the department and the Correctional Services Act.

The department took over management of the privately run maximum security prison from G4S in October last year. One of the main reasons was a concern for the safety of inmates and staff.

In September, G4S dismissed 330 Popcru members after they refused to return to work at the prison following a strike. During the strike, the facility, which houses nearly 2 000 inmates, was run with limited staff. A riot broke out.

In October a female warder was taken hostage by inmates for 13 hours. A police special task force rescued her unharmed.

A “complex investigation” had been completed and a report was handed to Bloemfontein Corrections Contract, a G4S company. It was given 21 days to reply to the report.

The department would increase supervision of privately run correctional centres in the country to ensure improved compliance with contracts and legislation.

Mangaung prison is one of two privately run prisons in the country. G4S’s 25-year contract with the department reached its halfway mark this year.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius was involved in an altercation at a trendy Sandton club over the weekend, his spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

Anneliese Burgess said her client was at the VIP section of the club when he was approached by a man who has since been identified as Jared Mortimer.

“The individual, according to my client, started to aggressively interrogate him on matters relating to the trial,” said Burgess.

The Paralympic athlete is charged with murdering his law-graduate and model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year. He claims he mistook her for an intruder when he shot her dead through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home.

The State, however, claims he shot her following an argument.

Elaborating on Saturday’s incident, Burgess said: “An argument ensued during which my client asked to be left alone. Oscar soon thereafter left the club with his cousin.”

Eyewitness News (EWN) reported that Mortimer claimed Pistorius was drunk and had insulted him and his friends before poking him in the chest. Mortimer said he pushed Pistorius and he fell backwards on his feet and onto a chair.

Bouncers

According to EWN, bouncers intervened and stopped the brawl. Officials from the club – the VIP Room – which is at the Michelangelo Towers in Sandton, have denied the incident.

Spokesperson Perry Mermigas admitted that Pistorius was at the club, but denied that anything out of the ordinary happened.

“We are not aware of this,” Mermigas told Sapa.

“[Pistorius] was there, but there was no altercation and if there had been, we would have known about it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pistorius regretted visiting the club.

“My client regrets the decision to go to a public space and thereby inviting unwelcome attention,” said Burgess.

Twitter

On Sunday, just several hours after the incident, Pistorius was active on social-networking site, Twitter.

He tweeted a Bible verse, a collage of pictures of his humanitarian work, and an extract from Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

The text reads in part: “… The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved.

“In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way – an honourable way – in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfilment.”

The verse from the Bible, Psalm 34:18 reads: “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted”.

This was the first time Pistorius had been active on Twitter since the one-year-anniversary of Steenkamp’s death.

Back then he tweeted: “No words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved – and continues to love Reeva.”

“The pain and sadness – especially for Reeva’s parents, family and friends consumes me with sorrow. The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

Last week, the defence closed its case in Pistorius’s trial in the High Court in Pretoria. Final arguments are expected to be heard on 7 August.

SAPA