Johannesburg – People were likely to use the word “guilty” more than “innocent” in reference to the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, according to figures by media monitoring group Data Driven Insight (DDI).
“The public and media are now likely to use the word “guilty” eight times more than “innocent” in media coverage about the Pistorius case,” said DDI spokesperson Tonya Khoury on Wednesday.

“We took the measurement of the trial and put ‘guilty’ to measure what kind of feedback it would generate.”

Their guilt monitor saw about 8.43% of the world media go with “guilty” while 1.14% of all media worldwide went with “innocent”.

Social media platform Twitter added to the Pistorius news coverage at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Khoury said.

Of the two testimonies heard on Wednesday, that of police colonel Johannes Vermeulen and Pistorius’s friend Daren Fresco, Fresco’s testimony accounted for more media activity.

“When you place these two testimonies alongside each other, Fresco’s media activity accounted for almost 80%.”

Khoury said the trial had generated more interest from abroad.

“The US, Germany, UK and Australia are covering the story more than South African media,” she said.

The data was compiled from 6.2 million social media platforms including blogs, forums, social networks and commentary, 60 000 global online newspapers, 2 000 South African print publications, and 66 radio and television stations.

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Johannesburg – A lot of work has been done to fight poverty, unemployment and inequality since 2009, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
“We have created more jobs than before. Employment is now higher than it has ever been, at 15 million people,” Zuma said in a statement.
He was speaking during the launch of the election edition of the Progressive Leader magazine produced by the ANC Progressive Business Forum.
“More of our people have been lifted out of extreme poverty. Our social grants, received by over 16 million people, are one of the critical instruments in poverty alleviation,” he said.
He told guests of the work the African National Congress had been able to accomplish since coming into government.
Zuma said more than R1trn had been invested in national infrastructure projects, compared with R451bn in the previous five years.
“Nearly 500 informal settlements have been replaced with quality housing and basic services, thus providing our people with dignified housing,” said Zuma.
More was to be done in the area of sanitation and water provision in the next term, he added.
On business, Zuma said government had done a lot to create a conducive climate for business to thrive. He said the initiatives taken by government would translate into stronger domestic growth and more jobs.
Among the initiatives was the call to buy locally produced goods. He said the party wanted the state to buy at least 75% of its goods and services from South African producers and support small enterprises.
“We have also done well in promoting and protecting the country’s automotive sector, which is a valuable source of foreign direct investment.
“We are pleased with the progress in the growth of this sector and welcome all the major investments that have been made,” said Zuma.
He called on the private sector to respond appropriately, by increasing investment, production, exports and employment.
Zuma said private sector investment accounted for 63% of total investment. In addition, the private sector employed 77% of all working South Africans, he added.
“We therefore need active private sector participation in boosting inclusive growth to eradicate poverty and unemployment,” the president said.
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Johannesburg – Four people were still missing in Mpumalanga and Limpopo on Wednesday after extensive flooding in several parts of the country.
Two women, aged 64 and 69, have been missing from Makhado and Bela-Bela since the weekend, police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

“She [the 64-year-old from Makhado] left Tshitale village in the morning to get some wood. She had to cross the Mambedi River at some point and her dog, which she usually travels with, returned to the house alone.”

Persistent rain made it difficult to recover the body of a 69-year-old woman who was swept away with her husband while swimming in Bela-Bela at the weekend.

The two were swimming in an undercover swimming pool at the Kariba Lodge on Friday when the Bela-Bela dam overflowed and they were swept away.

The body of her 74-year-old husband was found on Saturday.

A 15-year-old youth who was reported missing on Monday was found, Mulaudzi said.

The boy was crossing the river with a friend on Monday.

“They were swept away, but the friend managed to grab onto an object and get himself to safety. He then alerted police about his friend.”

“The family did not alert police that he was found [on Monday]. But he is back at school now,” Mulaudzi said.

In Gauteng, Johannesburg emergency management services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said no drownings had been reported on Wednesday.

“We are just busy with mop-up operations around the city.”

Affected by flooding

Earlier, Mulaudzi said about 100 homes were affected by flooding in Zandspruit, near Honeydew, west of Johannesburg on Tuesday.

An emergency shelter was set up in the area for the displaced group of about 200, but they were reluctant to leave their belongings behind, Mulaudzi said.

Diepsloot and Ivory Park were also affected by the flooding. No drownings were reported in both areas, he said.

“We will continue to monitor the affected areas.”

In Tshwane, 10 homes collapsed in an informal settlement in Stinkwater on Tuesday afternoon.

“We assisted in organising alternative accommodation, blankets, and food parcels,” emergency management services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said.

Power had been restored to Mamelodi, Silverton and Samcor Park after the areas experienced power failures due to the heavy rains.

Nellmaphius and a few outstanding streets in Watloo were still out of power, City of Tshwane spokesman Moeketsi Bokaba said.

The two areas were expected to be switched back on by Wednesday evening.

“Consumers are advised to treat all electrical points ‘as live’. Switch off all non-essential appliances to assist with the load on the electrical network.”

March showers

Water affairs department spokesman Themba Khumalo said the rain in Gauteng was the most persistent for the March period in 14 years.

“This is confirmed by the weather services,” he said.

The department was trying to control dam levels in the province.

“If we don’t, they will burst.”

He said places such as Vereeniging would be in danger of being flooded if the Vaal Dam were to burst. The dam was currently 105% full.

“By yesterday [Tuesday] we had opened eight sluice-gates to control the levels so that the water would flow into the Vaal River.

“That puts the river at [risk] of overflowing too.”

He said those who lived near rivers should ensure that they were a good distance from the flood-lines.

“In places like the Jukskei River in Alexandra residents build homes below the flood-lines which is why every year they are affected [by heavy rain and floods],” Khumalo said.

SA weather services forecaster Ezekiel Sebego said there was a severe weather watch for Wednesday and Thursday for the eastern parts of North West, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.

By the weekend the wet weather would move to other parts of the country, he said.

“By Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the rain will be moving to lesser affected provinces [such as] half of North West and the Free State.

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