The 20 EFF MPs found guilty of charges stemming from their heckling of President Jacob Zuma over his Nkandla home will not plead in mitigation of their sanctions.

“The EFF is not moved, neither is it bewildered by the verdict of this [Parliament’s powers and privileges] committee because its whole work was purely political and a mere fulfilment of the ANC mandate,” said the party today.

“The EFF will further not appear for the mitigation of sanctions because it has from the beginning rejected the whole process as illegitimate and in violation of principles of natural justice.

“The EFF will await the committee to table its report to the plenary of the National Assembly where it will challenge its legitimacy, failing which it will take the matter to court.”

The committee found Economic Freedom Fighters Chief Whip Floyd Shivambu and his colleague Mpho Ramakatsa guilty of seven charges each, and EFF leader Julius Malema and the party’s spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi of four charges each.

The rest of the group, who chanted “pay back the money” at Zuma in the National Assembly during presidential question time on August 21, were found guilty of between one and six charges, committee chairperson Lemias Mashile said earlier today.

“It has been a lengthy discussion on Monday that took us into the night. Eventually the committee reached a conclusion that the charges that the 20 members of the National Assembly are facing have been proved and these charges stick to them and they are found guilty on those charges,” Mashile told reporters.

These charges ranged from refusing to obey an order by the Speaker to sit down or leave the chamber, to creating a disturbance in Parliament and interfering with the functions of the legislature.

Mashile said the EFF MPs would be given an opportunity on Friday to plead in mitigation of sentencing.

The party said Malema made it plain that his party refused to take any part in the disciplinary process, in a submission read to the committee on October 7.

Mashile declined to set out the punishment that could be imposed on the EFF’s members, but according to the parliamentary rules it includes suspension from the legislature for 14 working days.

– Sapa

JOHANNESBURG –Two police officers were robbed of of their firearms and shoved into their own police van by three armed men in Rabie Ridge, Midrand.

Footage was distributed over social media, showing two officers being approached by the trio in broad daylight, while sitting at a mobile police station.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

North West MEC for Social Development Fenny Gaolaolwe on Tuesday said her department is pleased to receive unqualified audit opinion on predetermined objectives according to the Auditor General’s findings.

“Our department was one of the 61 departments which were audited during the financial year that ended in March this year. We are so humbled by this achievement and we intend to keep up the good work going forward, Gaolaolwe said, adding that her department has also received unqualified audit opinion on annual financial statements.

Gaolaolwe said, despite the achievement, her department is still required by the Auditor General to adjust some misstatements and strengthen its internal controls to achieve a sustained clean administration.

The department’s financial indicators were assessed on areas such as budget management, expenditure management, revenue management, asset and liability management, cash management and grant management.

Gaolaolwe expressed her profound thanks to the senior management and staff in the department and encourage them to sustain the good record and accelerate service delivery in the implementation of the annual service delivery plan.

“While we are obliged to render services to our communities we are equally required to do so in accordance with the relevant legislations such as Public Finance Management Act and other departmental policies. This also calls for the observance of our internal controls,” Gaolaolwe said.
-TDN
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Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane was speeding when his Porsche hit a minibus taxi, killing a woman, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

A passenger in the taxi at the time, Matron Mdakane, 68, claimed Zuma left the accident scene to fetch a security guard and was to blame for the accident in February this year.

“I do blame him because he was the one who hit us with his car,” she told the inquest in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, Johannesburg.

Phumzile Dube was killed in the accident and three people were injured.

Mdakane, speaking through an interpreter, said she saw the Porsche go out of control and spin twice before it hit the taxi. The taxi then hit a barrier before coming to a standstill.

She said Zuma got out of his car, left, and came back with a security guard.

“He got off the car, went down, and immediately came back with a man wearing a green vest, a security one.”

Zuma’s lawyer, Gary Mazaham, disputed her version.

“Mr Zuma will deny that he ran away and he will deny that he came back with a security officer,” he said.

Mdakane claimed Zuma had been speeding, but admitted she did not drive herself and did not know how to measure speed.

Mazaham questioned Mdakane’s eyesight, asking how she could see so much when it was raining heavily and the taxi was full. She said her eyesight was good as she had undergone an eye operation in June 2013.

Mazaham argued that experts would dispute her version that the Porsche spun twice before hitting the minibus, saying it was highly improbable.

During Mdakane’s testimony, Dube’s mother sat with her head in her hands crying in the public gallery. She was wearing a black velvet hat, white Nike T-shirt and an olive green jacket.

Proceedings were interrupted after Mdakana became agitated with the interpreter and a different one had to be called in.

Zuma sat in the second row of the courtroom’s public gallery. Wearing a grey suit and black tie he alternated between clasping his hands in his lap and sitting with his right foot on his left knee.

The inquest will continue on Wednesday, when expert witnesses were expected to testify.

In July, the National Prosecuting Authority said it declined to prosecute Zuma due to insufficient evidence. Spokesperson Nathi Mncube said at the time the matter would be referred to a magistrate for a formal inquest to determine whether the accident was caused by a human error.

Sapa

Mahikeng – The labour court in Braamfontein has dismissed the court application by South Africa Municipal Workers Union – SAMWU in Ngaka Modiri District Municipality of the alleged unlawful lock out against the workers in the municipality. SAMWU filed the application alleging that the Administrator and the Department Local Government and Human Settlement had locked out their members after the workers were ordered to remain at home for few days. 

The argument by Administrator was that he had ordered a temporary closure of the Mahikeng offices (Head Office) for a few days as an effort to bring stability to the municipality. Few days later workers went through employment validation process and to be accredited to enter the municipality premises.

When the Administrator Kumaran “Kulu” Nair was to assume his duties together with the Intervention Team on the 26th of September 2014, there were a group of people within the premises of the municipality who were continuously chanting slogans without engaging in any work. Municipal vehicles which included trucks and fire brigade blocked all entrances into the municipality.

Workers were against the decision by the provincial government to dissolve the council and put Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality under administration.

The Intervention Team assumed duties a day after the North West High Court had dismissed an application launched by the municipality to interdict the provincial government from appointing an Administrator and for the court to set aside the EXCO’s decision to dissolve the council.

SAMWU alleged that the action by the department was unlawful and it constituted an unlawful lockout of workers but the labour court dismissed the application. No cost was however made by the court.

MEC for Local Government and Human Settlement Collen Maine said that he never had any doubt that the court will rule in their favour. “The court has confirmed that our decision as the provincial government was lawful as it intended to bring calm and stability into the municipality. Our action had the best interest of workers at heart as we needed to separate workers from those who were rented to bring anarchy to the district municipality. We knew all along that the court application will never see the light of the day” remarked Collen Maine.
-TDN
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Numsa has filed an urgent interdict at the South Gauteng High Court to stop a crucial meeting in which it is expected to be expelled from Cosatu.
For more http://www.mg.co.za

Four people remain in a critical condition at the Upington hospital in the Northern Cape after a crane collapsed at a building site of a new solar plant, killing a man and a woman.

Police spokesperson Jacques September says the incident took place at KHI Solar One, outside the Northern Cape.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za