Johannesburg – Nelson Mandela, the revered anti-apartheid hero, spent a third night in hospital after South Africa prayed for him on Sunday amid calls for his family and the nation to “let him go”.
Government officials have given no update on his health since announcing that the 94-year-old was admitted early on Saturday and was in a “serious but stable” condition with a recurring lung infection.
For more http://www.iol.co.za
By Obakeng Maje
A 35-year old lawyer is set to be back in court after he has been granted bail of R10 000 in the Mogwase Magistrate’s Court in Rustenburg in North West. Mandla Gumbi was arrested after allegedly driving into a group of pedestrians in Ledig near Sun City.
Five were killed instantly and seven injured.
The accused was believed to have been under the influence of alcohol and allegedly speeding.
He has been charged with five counts of culpable homicide and reckless driving.
“He was released on R10 000 bail and the matter was postponed to 10 June 2013 for further investigation. The matter was originally placed on the roll for the April 3, 2013 and it was later changed to April 2, at the discretion by the prosecution as long as the matter appears within 48 hours after the arrest,” says National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in North West Frank Lesenyego.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za
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A team of experts has been appointed to improve the running of North West’s Madibeng municipality, the provincial local government department said on Thursday.
The move followed a recommendation by a ministerial task team sent to Madibeng, it said in a statement.
The team’s brief was to assess a report by a previous administrator.
“The recommendations by the [task] team were supported by [Co-operative Governance Minister Richard] Baloyi, North West premier Thandi Modise and the acting MEC for local government and traditional affairs Paul Sebegoe,” said the department.
Sebegoe said the team comprised both national and provincial government officials. It would help Madibeng develop, introduce and oversee recommendations made previously to improve financial management and service delivery.
“The team, which will function for a period of six months, has started operating on June 4 [Tuesday] and has already had a briefing session with the mayoral committee,” the department said.
-Sapa
North West deputy provincial commissioner Maj-Gen William Mpembe on Friday told the Farlam Commission how he saw two police officers being hacked to death during the Marikana unrest last year.
Mpembe said the two officers, Tsietsi Monene and Sello Lepaku, were killed as police escorted striking mineworkers on August 13.
“I heard [teargas] shooting. I then realised that strikers had turned against police. It wasn’t a very good scene… ,” he said.
“I saw warrant officer Monene being chopped and killed in front of me… I saw how officer Lepaku was killed.”
Several of the officers’ family members were upset by Mpembe’s testimony and left the auditorium in Centurion.
“Captain Baloyi defended himself… At the same time, the police came to his rescue and he was taken to hospital,” said Mpembe.
The strikers robbed the dead officers of their pistols, a shotgun and rifle.
Mpembe said he then decided police should withdraw and return to the joint operations centre.
He later identified the officer who had fired the teargas when the strikers turned on police.
“He said he had heard an order [to fire], but he couldn’t tell me who gave the order,” said Mpembe.
“The emotions were extremely high, but as a senior officer, I tried to cool down the members,” he added.
Mpembe said he was then approached by Lt-Col Salmon Vermaak, who told him that his life was in danger.
A statement by Vermaak stated that other officers had blamed Mpembe for the deaths of their colleagues.
They claimed to have been against Mpembe’s instruction to go after the armed strikers.
Mpembe said he told Vermaak he would not withdraw from the operation until he had handed over to Maj-Gen Ganasen Naidoo.
The commission heard that the officers were killed just several hours after Mpembe’s arrival at Marikana.
He said he had been on leave and was called to Marikana by provincial police commissioner Luzuko Mbombo that morning.
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega then appointed him overall commander of the operation.
The commission, chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam, is investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths of 44 people during the unrest at Lonmin’s Platinum mine in Marikana last year.
Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers on August 16. Another 10 people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.
Mpembe, led by Vuyani Ngalwana, is delivering his evidence-in-chief before the commission. Sapa
Hundreds of Westbury residents convened a meeting calling on President Jacob Zuma to join the local community in fighting notorious drug lords in the impoverished neighbourhood on the West Rand on Sunday.
“How many more meetings are we going to have until the president comes,” asked a woman who could not be named.
For more http://www.thenewage.co.za
Cape Town – An increase in the petrol price will no doubt have a huge impact on already over-indebted households, experts have warned.
BDLive reported on Wednesday that consumers should not get too used to the lower fuel price because the petrol price could once again breach the R13/l mark. According to the Automobile Association (AA) the price of petrol might go up by 90c/l.
This does not bode well for already over-indebted consumers.
According to Friedl Kreuser, debt expert at 6cents.co.za, a division of Summit Financial Partners, consumers must prioritise their debt so that they don’t fall behind on monthly payments and end up with tarnished credit records, court judgments, garnishee orders and repossessed assets.
Kreuser, one of Fin24’s debt experts, was responding to recent reports that the petrol price is putting enormous pressure on already indebted consumers.
He urged consumers to make paying their debt a priority. This would prevent them falling behind on monthly debt repayments.
South Africa has over 19 million credit-active consumers. Of them, nearly 10 million have impaired credit records.
Consumers are already struggling and an increase in the petrol price will no doubt have a huge impact on already over-indebted households.
While many struggling consumers will look to debt counselling as their saviour – even debt counsellors are urging consumers to look at basic means of reigning in out of control finances.
Roger Brown, chief executive of national debt counselling firm Credit Matters has warned of tough times to come.
“A substantial rise in the petrol price will have huge short term and long term effects.”
To start with, people will immediately have less disposable income, Brown said.
“Many South Africans already live below the breadline so the poor will once again be most negatively affected.
“In the long run, there will definitely be a knock-on effect and a price increase on food, transport, electricity and other necessities.
Brown maintains that one of the main reasons people are so hard hit by changes in the economy, is that they are still clueless about their true financial position.
“There is no longer an excuse for consumers to be uninformed about their finances,” he said.
“There is no magic wand which will make a bad debt situation disappear. Consumers should become pro-active and take control of their financial lives.”
As a debt counsellor, Brown has some tips for consumers:
* Don’t panic
* Never ignore letters of demand, final notices or a summons
* Make the time to go through your statements and learn exactly who your creditors are and what your balances owing, your installments, your interest rates and your credit agreement terms are
* Draw up a realistic household budget on paper – clearly defining the differences between luxuries and necessities
* Be assertive and approach their creditors and /or a debt counsellor if they see that they are struggling with repayments
* Change your lifestyle and cut down on unnecessary spending.
For more http://www.news24.com
Black Leopards are willing to listen to offers for their defender, Humphrey Khoza, according to a Soccer-Laduma source close to the club.
The 25-year-old was one of the club’s regular starters this season in what was a disastrous campaign for Lidoda Duvha, and it is believed that PSL outfits have now been alerted that his club are willing to let him go at the right price.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com
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Free State Stars have exercised their one-year option on the contract of Tshepo Motsoeneng for him to stay with the club.
Motsoeneng did fairly well in his first season with Ea Lla Koto, despite the strong competition for the number one jersey in the team’s goalkeeping department.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com
Johannesburg – ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to stop whining about problems in the country, the Sunday Times reported.
“South African must move away from being the biggest whiners,” Ramaphosa was quoted as saying during an address to the Black Management Forum in Johannesburg on Friday.
“We must move away from being the biggest complainers.”
Ramaphosa said South Africans had a right to criticise, but that if they were going to do so, they should also offer solutions.
“Do not become an armchair critic, get into the scrum and show us what you can do.”
Ramaphosa said often big business would complain about matters such as the current unrest in the mining industry, but not acknowledge their role in this.
“Quite often the strikes that we have are a result of the breakdown of relations between workers and business, but quite often fingers are pointed at workers only.”
Ramaphosa said it was not solely government who needed to be responsible for solving these kinds of problems.
“I say business wake up. Wake up and ensure that this country moves forward.”
People had a right to criticise the national development plan.
“There are no NDP police out there waiting to arrest anyone. It is not a plan cast in stone. It has gaps like any other plan.”
Nevertheless, critics should also offer alternatives.
SAPA
Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund showered his charges with praises after an impressive showing against the Central African Republic (CAR) on Saturday where the national team ran away 3-0 winners to keep alive the chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“The CAR team is really a tough side. They showed it both in Cape Town, and again today (Saturday). But I am proud of my boys; they had so much belief and worked for each other.
“I like the team spirit. The guys on the bench were celebrating with the players on the field – and that is what builds true camaraderie which I believe we had today. I just want to celebrate this win tonight (Saturday) and tomorrow I will start thinking about Ethiopia,” said Igesund.
“I am proud of the players because between our match with Lesotho last weekend, we had only one training session due to some setbacks we do not want talk about again. Winning 3-0 away from home shows some character. I am happy with the score line though we dropped a bit in the second half. We can build the momentum from this result going to Ethiopia.”
Igesund said despite his side remaining on second position after Ethiopia defeated Botswana 2-1 in Lobatse, Bafana Bafana were still masters of their own destiny.
“We are not interested in what happened in the other match, we have to play both sides and we will be looking forward to the challenge. We do not expect favours from anyone. We must do all the work ourselves,” added the Bafana Bafana mentor.
Igesund also had time to wish former South African State President Nelson Mandela well.
“First of all, I would like to thank the people of Cameroon for being great hosts and making us feel at home. Secondly, and on behalf of the entire Bafana Bafana squad, I would like to wish former President Nelson Mandela a speedy recovery as we heard he was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Saturday morning. Our prayers are with him and we ask the whole world to also pray with us during these difficult times for Madiba,” concluded Igesund.
Captain Itumeleng Khune said he was impressed by the way his side were gelling.
“I am a big fan of team effort. This is not about me or anyone else but Bafana Bafana. Three goals and a clean sheet, we could not have asked for anything better. We showed mental strength out there. The approach to the game was positive that is why we came out tops. For now, we need to enjoy the victory but must quickly remember that we still have a mountain to climb in Addis Ababa. Both teams have won their matches and they will go into this clash high in spirits. But I am positive we can complete this mission,” said Khune.
Bafana Bafana next play Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Sunday, 16 June.
The Guardian 