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Parly mum on Nkandla report committe


Cape Town – Whether Parliament will set up an ad hoc committee to consider Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on Nkandla could not be officially confirmed on Wednesday.
“Parliament will make an announcement in this regard when there are developments further to our last communication,” Parliament spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs said in an e-mail sent to Sapa.

He was responding to a question on whether reports that National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu had decided to set up such a committee were correct, and if so, when.

The “last communication” referred to is understood to be Sisulu’s 2 April announcement that Zuma’s response to Madonsela’s report would be published in the parliamentary Announcements, Tablings, and Committee Reports document.

On Tuesday, Beeld newspaper quoted DA Chief Whip Watty Watson and Freedom Front Plus Chief Whip Corné Mulder, who both confirmed that Sisulu would appoint an ad hoc committee.

“The Speaker phoned me and told me he planned to set up an ad hoc committee and that he wanted to consult,” said Mulder.

“The Speaker said the ad hoc committee would have to work morning, noon and night up to the elections on 7 May to get the work done in time.
“He [Sisulu] said he wanted to complete it before 6 May. That means the committee should present a report before then and then the National Assembly should be called upon to consider the report.”

According to parliamentary rules the Speaker needed to consult with political parties before setting up such a committee.

In her report, titled “Secure in Comfort”, Madonsela found that President Jacob Zuma and his family improperly benefited from the R246m security upgrades to his private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

These included a swimming pool, a cattle kraal, and an amphitheatre.

Madonsela also found that Zuma breached the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.

She recommended that a percentage of the money be repaid.

Zuma, in his response to the report, said last week he would await a Special Investigating Unit report on the matter before giving full and proper consideration to the matter.

Sisulu’s office reportedly told Beeld that a statement would be released once a decision on the committee had been taken.

– SAPA

Do not argue with me- Nel warns Oscar


Pretoria – Prosecutor Gerrie Nel cautioned murder accused Oscar Pistorius not to argue with him and answer his questions in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“Mr Pistorius, please answer the question. Don’t argue with me. If you argue or think about other evidence you will get into trouble,” Nel told Pistorius during cross-examination.

He was questioning the Paralympian about a statement submitted at his bail application that he went onto his balcony to bring a fan into his room.

This was in the early hours of 14 February last year, shortly before he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, apparently thinking she was an intruder.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

“I never went onto the balcony,” Pistorius told the court.

He said he placed a stainless steel fan, which was on a tripod, with one leg on the balcony tiles, the other two legs on his bedroom carpet. He said he placed a second fan on the carpet in front of the first.

“I went onto the balcony to bring a fan in,” Nel read from the statement.

Pistorius conceded that this was the case.

‘My story hasn’t changed’

Earlier Pistorius said he never changed his account of how he shot dead Steenkamp.

“My version never changed,” said Pistorius.

“The State’s case has changed many times,” he added.

He said he had read the statements of over 100 witnesses on the time he “took Reeva’s life” on Valentine’s Day last year and there were some things he did not remember.

Switching the light on in the bathroom, calling security, carrying Steenkamp downstairs after he shot her dead in the toilet at his home were among them.

There had been no “reconstruction” of her death taking into account evidence he had seen or heard since then.

“I tendered my story to my counsel… my story hasn’t changed since then.”

He said he wanted to address the court during his bail application last year but he was told he would not cope.

There were “some aspects” he spoke about to his counsel that were not included in his bail statement.

Court was adjourned for lunch.

Pistorius is charged with murder and with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 Septembe 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

SAPA

Watermelon remark distasteful- Oscar


Pretoria – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius admitted in his murder trial on Wednesday that a comment he made about an exploding watermelon he shot at was distasteful.
“That day I shot at a watermelon and the comment I made was distasteful. It was made with reference to a watermelon and not to Reeva,” he told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria under cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

“Am I correct in saying that your shooting at a watermelon was to see what the effect would be if you shoot somebody in the brain?” Nel asked him.

Pistorius replied he had shot at many materials, including wood.

The video, in which Pistorius refers to a gun as “a zombie stopper”, was screened in the court.

It shows Pistorius and several other people at a shooting range.

The murder accused fires at a watermelon with a handgun. As he hits it and it explodes, there are whoops of triumph.

“It’s not as soft as brains but fuck it’s a zombie stopper,” a person who sounds much like Pistorius is heard saying. The video found its way online.

Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, apparently thinking she was an intruder, through the locked door of his toilet on 14 February last year.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

The athlete is charged with murder and with contravening the Firearms Control Act.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 September 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Pistorius has denied guilt on all the charges.

SAPA

Warning: Pic of Reeva’s bloodied head shown in court


Pretoria – Prosecutor Gerrie Nel brought murder-accused Oscar Pistorius to anger and tears in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday when he tried to force him to look at a photograph of Reeva Steenkamp’s bloodied head.
Nel asked Pistorius to compare it to an exploding watermelon that he had been filmed shooting at.

“You know that the same happened to Reeva’s head. It exploded,” said Nel after showing Pistorius a clip from a Sky News video of Pistorius at a shooting range.

Pistorius was asked to look at a picture of Reeva Steenkamp whom he had admitted shooting dead in a toilet in his house.

With a screen right next to him, he would not.

Steenkamp’s mother June was held tight by a friend in the front of the court as a picture of her daughter with blood and tissue on her blonde hair was shown.

Pistorius said: I will not look at a picture of where I am tormented by what I saw.”

Nel said: “It is the same thing as a watermelon.”

‘Uncalled for’

As the court gasped, Pistorius’s lawyer Barry Roux SC jumped up and said: “That is uncalled for.”

Pistorius started crying and Judge Thokozile Masipa allowed an adjournment for Pistorius to compose himself.

Even hardened reporters in the gallery were seen wiping away tears and muttering under their breath.

During the adjournment, another prosecutor Andrea Johnson went over to June Steenkamp.

She told Steenkamp and her family and friends, within earshot of the gallery, that what had happened in court happened in murder trials every day

‘Zombie stopper’ video

Earlier, the video in which Pistorius refers to a gun as “a zombie stopper” was allowed to be screened in court.

Roux said he would not persist with his objection if the State did not see it as part of its evidence.

Nel agreed and the video was shown.

The video, of Pistorius and several other people at a shooting range, shows the murder accused firing at a watermelon with a handgun. As he hits it and it explodes, there are whoops of triumph.

“It’s not as soft as brains but fuck it’s a zombie stopper,” a person who sounds much like Pistorius is heard saying. The video found its way online.

Mistake

Earlier, Nel began his cross-examination by confronting Pistorius with the fact that he killed Steenkamp.

“You made a mistake?” Nel snapped at him.

“You killed a person. You shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. Why don’t you take responsibility for that?”

Nel began with the statement: “Mr Pistorius you were and still are one of the most recognised faces in the world. You are a model for disabled and able-bodied sportsmen all over the world.”

Pistorius replied softly that this was the case before he made “a mistake”.

“Let us get to the truth,” Nel continued.

Charges

Pistorius shot Steenkamp, apparently thinking she was an intruder, through the locked door of his toilet on 14 February last year.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the toilet door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

The athlete is charged with the murder of Steenkamp and with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 September 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Pistorius has pleaded not guilty on all the charges.

SAPA

Oscar: ‘I did not intend to kill Reeva or anybody else’


Pretoria – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius reiterated in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday that he did not murder his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
“I did not intend to kill Reeva, My Lady or anybody else for that matter,” said Pistorius after being asked by his lawyer Barry Roux SC.

He has been charged with her murder after shooting her dead through his toilet door on Valentine’s Day last year.

He has pleaded not guilty, saying he mistook her for an intruder.

Running across room

Pistorius agreed with earlier testimony that he was seen rushing across his bathroom the night he killed Steenkamp but differed over some details, the court heard.

He agreed with neighbours Anette and Johan Stipp’s testimony that he ran from right to left in his bathroom and that three thudding sounds were heard.

“What they must have seen was me running from right to left to kick the door,” he said.

“I fired the shots without my prosthetic legs on. I put my prosthetic legs on and tried to get access to Reeva to get her out,” he said.

They would have seen his torso if he had his “legs” on, he said.

The noise they heard was the cricket bat hitting the door when he tried to free her.

There has been a difference in forensic opinion over whether he had his prosthesis on or not when he shot through the toilet cubicle and then broke the door down.

Demonstration

Earlier, Pistorius was asked to demonstrate how he kicked and hit the door of his toilet through which he shot and killed Steenkamp.

Roux first asked him to show how high he could kick at the door with his prosthetic legs on. Pistorius got out of the stand and took up position in front of the door, which is part of a mock-up of the cubicle in his house.

“Please don’t kick the door,” Roux cautioned him.

“Show how high you can lift your prosthesis in a kicking motion.”

Pistorius swung his right leg up to the level of the door handle.

According to his bail application statement he kicked at the door and smashed it open with his cricket bat.

Pistorius got back into the stand, but did not sit down.

“Now would you demonstrate how you would have handled the cricket bat?” Roux asked.

The athlete hesitated, sat down and spoke into the microphone. He referred to testimony and a demonstration by Colonel Johannes Vermeulen, who testified that Pistorius would have had to have swung the bat in an “unnatural way” had he been on his prosthetic legs.

“In breaking down the door you don’t swing the bat in a natural way. I used my entire body. It’s very hard to demonstrate how I did it in a passive way,” Pistorius said.

He then got out of the stand and picked up the bat which was propped against the door. He swung it twice over his right shoulder. It connected with a mark, indicated by a sticker, several centimetres above the door handle.

“How hard did you hit the door?” Roux asked him when he got back into the stand.

“I hit the door with all my might.”

Roux asked him if he was standing in the same position while doing so.

Pistorius said he doubted this, since he was wearing his socks on his prosthetic legs and standing on a tiled floor.

SAPA

MEC MALOYI TO HAND OVER 100 HOUSES IN PIET PLESSIS


Piet Plessis- MEC for Human Settlements Public Safety and Liaison Nono Maloyi will on Thursday hand over about 100 houses to the Piet Plessis families in the Kagisano Molopo local municipality.

The benefiting families are mostly those that have been staying in informal settlements while others settled in the area after they were evicted from the local farms. The department has prioritized families headed by the elderly, child and people living with disability.

“The Piet Plessis community has from time to time experienced racial challenges where farm workers were allegedly assaulted while and murdered by farmers” departmental spokesperson Ben Bole.

The handover is part of celebrating twenty years (20yrs) of freedom, and also in line with the Outcome 8 of the National Development Plan vision 2030 which is intended to improve the quality of people’s lives and bring back dignity to the marginalised communities across the province.The hand over programme is also part of the department’s service delivery initiative and reduction of housing backlog in the province.

The handover will take place as follows:

Date: 10 April 2014

Time: 10H00

Venue: Piet Plessis Sport Ground
-TDN
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Premier Modise to officially open house of traditional leaders


By Obakeng Maje
Mahikeng –North West Premier Thandi Modise is to lead the official opening of the 9th session of the fifth term of the North West House of Traditional Leaders on 11th of April 2014 at Chambers – Lowe Building, Mahikeng at 10h00. 

Premier Modise will be accompanied by MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Manketsi Tlhape, Chairperson of the North West of House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi Madoda Zibi, traditional leaders and representatives from the National House of Traditional Leaders and other provincial houses as well as representatives of traditional leaders from Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.

“As a build up to the opening ceremony, on the 10th April 2014, 11h00 at Lowe, Mahikeng, some of the Dikgosi, under the guidance of members of the traditional house, will slaughter a cow as an important ritual before the actual opening. Learners from Bophelong Special School in Mahikeng will be taught how to slaughter a cow and the importance of different body parts of the cow and their significance to the Batswana culture” departmental spokesperson Dineo Lolokwane said.

The meat will later be donated to the school.
-TDN
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North West celebrates 20 years of freedoom through art


By Obakeng
Rustenburg- As we celebrate 20 years of our democracy in our country, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in partnership with Bojanala District Municipality and SAFA (South African Football Association) will be hosting a sporting event celebration on 12 April 2014 at Olympia park stadium at Rustenburg.

The aim of the celebrations is to mobilise a collective ownership of the country’s 20 years of democracy by South Africans and different sectors of society. It is also to promote awareness of the progress that freedom has brought and a sense of challenges of the third decade especially through sport.

These games will be creating a build-up of public awareness and excitement, towards freedom day on April 27th and sustain it thereafter throughout 2014.

“Fun run will kick start the day’s events with distances of five (5) and eight (8) kilos, open to clubs and individuals of all ages. There will also be artistic aerobics for participants who will not participate in the fun run” departmental spokesperson Shirley Montsho.

Following the fun run will be followed by ladies soccer match between 12h30, whereby teams who are in the SASOL League from four Districts within the Province will compete against each other and the winning teams will face off at the finals.

MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture in the North West Province Mme Tebogo Modise calls members of the community to celebrate freedom through Sport, Arts and Culture’s activities and participate in the promotion of a physically active lifestyle.-TDN
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Tshwane free Wi-Fi project “The best in Africa”


Cape Town – The free Wi-Fi rollout in the City of Tshwane is going according to plan, despite moans from critics, says an NGO.

The city began rolling out a free Wi-Fi network in 2013 and the plan is to expand the network to universal access and connectivity as part of the city’s vision.
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