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ANC plans to gag booing boys


Johannesburg – In a bid to protect President Jacob Zuma from another booing incident, the ANC on Saturday put extraordinary security measures in place at the launch of the party’s election manifesto in Nelspruit.

According to the Sunday Times, thousands of ANC members who attended the rally at the Mbombela Stadium were not only preregistered for the event but also pre-seated according to the provinces they were from.

This move was sparked by the booing of Zuma at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in Johannesburg last month – an incident that exposed widespread unhappiness among ANC members over Zuma’s leadership and use of taxpayers’ money to fund his R206m security upgrade to his Nkandla home in KwaZulu-Natal.

In contrast to the memorial service incident, Zuma was clapped and cheered when he took to the podium at Saturday’s rally. His electoral promises included six million job opportunities, one million housing opportunities, cheaper private health care and the promise to clean up government by dealing decisively with corruption.
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ANC losing support- survey


Johannesburg – A recent survey has found that the ANC has lost huge support – as much as 19% of the national vote – since 2008.

According to the Sunday Independent, the survey, conducted by research company Ipsos, found that the loss appears to have happened between November 2012 and November last year.

Issues contributing to this include the Marikana shooting incident, the scandal around President Jacob Zuma’s R206m security upgrades to his Nkandla home in KwaZulu-Natal and to other ANC leadership issues.

The study also found that new and smaller parties could make some inroads in the national ballot. Ipsos said however, that a second study was scheduled for early this year.
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Bafana skipper disappointed about ‘soft goal’ conceded


By Kgatliso Ramose
Cape Town-South Africa’s number one and Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune took on twitter to show his disappointment about the goal he conceded on the opening game of CHAN.

Despite the Bafana Bafana victory Khune wrote oh his official twitter page @IIKHUNE..32..16 “To those who didn’t see the goal I conceded, the ball deflected off our player and I tried to save the ball then I slipped. Very disappointed”.

Immediately after conceding that goal in the first 11 minutes of the game, South Africans took on different social networking platforms to show their dissatisfaction on what labeled as “soft goal”.

The Green Point was slippery due to the mild weather of Cape Town.

The Mozambican coach blamed the slippery pitch for his team’s performance.

Itu as the Khune is affectionately known by his fans is arguably one of the most decorated goalkeepers in Africa. He played a vital role in Kaizer Chiefs double last season.

His sterling performance saw him winning big at the SA Sports awards last month. Bafana Bafana won 3-1.-TDN
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ANC manifesto a mixed bag


Nelspruit – The ANC’s 2014 election manifesto, launched in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Saturday, was a mixed bag of old and new pledges.

President Jacob Zuma said the party would continue to focus on job creation, rural development, land reform, food security, education, health and fighting crime and corruption.
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By Kgatliso Ramose
Cape Town-Bafana Bafana came from behind to beat Mozambique 3-1 in an electrifying opening game of the African Nations championship at the Green point stadium earlier this evening.

This is the first tournament to be given “A” status by the football controlling FIFA which means that the players will get international caps for the games, their goals will count as international goals.

The games will have impact on the FIFA rankings.

During press conference, the CAF president Issa Hayatou said that in 10 years time CHAN will be the biggest tournament in the world of football.

The first goal of the tournament came on the 10th minutes from starting time. On the 30th minutes Sbu Vilakazi was brought down just near the penalty spot and the penalty was awarded.

Kaizer Chiefs striker converted the penalty.

Katlego Mashego almost doubled the score-line for Bafana Bafana four minutes after that,but he was denied by the up right post.

On the 58th minutes Hlompho Kekana gave Bafana Bafana a lead with a stunner just few meters away from the centre line.

After that it was a one way traffic as Bafana Bafana were all over Mozambique like a rash. Bernard Paker sealed a game, scoring his 21st international goal in the Bafana colour.-TDN
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A murder-accused go on trial


A Norwegian national accused of killing his cell mate in a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo, went on trial on Friday in Kinshasa, his lawyer said.

Joshua French, who also holds British citizenship, is accused of murdering his friend and fellow Norwegian Tjostolv Moland, whose body was found at Kinshasa’s Ndolo military prison on August 18.

French’s lawyer Marie-Andre Mwila said her client appeared in front of the Ndolo military court in the capital on Friday.

“He is depressed. I need time so that he can get himself together a bit,” she told AFP, adding that she had evidence proving that Moland had committed suicide.

Mwila said she feared if French continued to be held under current conditions “he will lose it too”.

Moland, 32, and his friend French, 31, were arrested in DR Congo in 2009 and sentenced to death in June 2010 after being convicted of killing the Congolese driver of a car they had rented.

The men, both former soldiers, denied the charge and said the driver was killed by bandits. They said they had come to DR Congo to set up a security firm.

Oslo, which had tried in vain to get the two men transferred to Norway, expressed its incomprehension at the charges against French, saying in December a joint investigation between Congolese and Norwegian forces had concluded there was a lack of evidence against him.

No executions have been carried out in DR Congo since President Joseph Kabila came to power in 2001, and death sentences have regularly been commuted to life imprisonment.

Penal facilities in the vast country date from Belgian colonial times and are decrepit and overcrowded.

Inmates are exposed to disease, dehydration and starvation. Rights groups report that prisoners can die of hunger or torture. – Sapa-AFP

Zuma: We planning to create six million jobs


Mbombela – President Jacob Zuma says the ANC is aiming at creating at least six million jobs in the next five years.

President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday the ANC aimed at creating at least six million jobs in the next five years.

“[The] majority [of jobs] will be reserved for young people,” he said.

He was speaking at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga where the party launched its 2014 election manifesto.

The stadium was packed to capacity with followers enjoying song and dance ahead of Zuma’s address.

He said the African National Congress was also planning on increasing the number of training and skill centres throughout the country.

Zuma said the party would ensure the youth subsidy was effective.

“The ANC will take practical steps to ensure implementation of the youth subsidy does not replace incentivised working,” he said.

He said the financial sector would be encouraged to be more inclusive and accessible.

SAPA

‘Blacks for sale’ ad sparked outrage in Brazil


Rio De Janeiro – A shocking ad on one of Latin America’s biggest online marketplaces, offering “blacks for sale for one real” ($0.42), has sparked outrage in Brazil and a police investigation.

The ad featured a photo of two black children, and suggested any blacks purchased could “serve as carpenters, masons, cooks, security guards, nightclub bouncers, janitors, garbage collectors, or housekeepers.”

Within a few hours, some 1 700 Brazilian responded with outraged comments.

Government officials also weighed in, with the agency in charge of racial equality urging online vendor MercadoLivre to turn over information on the author of the ad to bring charges against him.

The ad was “an offense to the entire society”, rights official Carlos Alberto Silva Junior told AFP Friday.

“Incitement to discrimination or prejudice by race, colour, ethnicity or religion” is punishable by two to five years in jail and by a fine, he added.

He emphasized that the Internet sites should assume their share of responsibility and put in place filters to block any racist content.

MercadoLivre, the biggest online buying and selling community in Latin America, said it has turned over account information for the person who posted the ad, which went up Sunday, to Rio de Janeiro police and an investigation was planned.

Labour and educational rights

Meanwhile, the site had pulled the ad and condemned it.

But David Santos, the head of Educafro, a civil rights group championing the labour and educational rights of blacks and indigenous people, said the ad may have an unintended positive impact.

He told AFP “that unconsciously this person has helped us debate with Brazilian society to make it aware that blacks have the same rights as whites.”

More than half of Brazil’s 200 million people are of African descent, the world’s second largest black population after that of Nigeria.

The Latin American country was one of the last countries to abolish slavery, in 1888, and Afro-Brazilians complain of widespread racial inequality and disproportionate poverty.

After 13 years of debate, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff enacted in August 2012 a controversial law that reserves 50% of university spots to students from public schools, with a priority given to blacks, mixed race, and indigenous people.

AFP

ANC manifesto wonderful- Zuma


Nelspruit – The ANC manifesto will tell South Africans exactly who to vote for, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful manifesto,” Zuma told party heavyweights and supporters at an African National Congress dinner in Nelspruit, ahead of the official launch of the manifesto at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

“We are asking people to come out and vote. It is their hard won vote, and of course tomorrow [Saturday] we are telling them exactly who to vote for, because we believe very strongly that the ANC is the organisation of the people,” he said.

Zuma, who is also ANC president, gave a short description of what could be expected from this year’s manifesto, which was dedicated to former president Nelson Mandela, who died in December.

“Our manifesto says many things…. We present our vision in it. We present our key commitment to move South Africa forward and it goes into detail,” he said.

The manifesto would look at the country’s 20 years of democracy, but also at what the party had done in the past five years.

It looked at policies and plans which had helped the country. It also dealt with the National Development Plan, rural development, job creation and the economy, food security, health and education and crime and corruption, said Zuma.

He told the audience to support the ANC.

“The ANC needs your support, you have a duty to support the ANC…. You will be making a wise investment.”

The ANC had been getting better governing since the dawn of democracy, Zuma said.

SAPA

ANC manifesto wonderful- Zuma


Nelspruit – The ANC manifesto will tell South Africans exactly who to vote for, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful manifesto,” Zuma told party heavyweights and supporters at an African National Congress dinner in Nelspruit, ahead of the official launch of the manifesto at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

“We are asking people to come out and vote. It is their hard won vote, and of course tomorrow [Saturday] we are telling them exactly who to vote for, because we believe very strongly that the ANC is the organisation of the people,” he said.

Zuma, who is also ANC president, gave a short description of what could be expected from this year’s manifesto, which was dedicated to former president Nelson Mandela, who died in December.

“Our manifesto says many things…. We present our vision in it. We present our key commitment to move South Africa forward and it goes into detail,” he said.

The manifesto would look at the country’s 20 years of democracy, but also at what the party had done in the past five years.

It looked at policies and plans which had helped the country. It also dealt with the National Development Plan, rural development, job creation and the economy, food security, health and education and crime and corruption, said Zuma.

He told the audience to support the ANC.

“The ANC needs your support, you have a duty to support the ANC…. You will be making a wise investment.”

The ANC had been getting better governing since the dawn of democracy, Zuma said.

SAPA