NUPEN TO RETURN TO ILO CHARLES NUPEN, the director of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, will leave his post at the end of October to resume his contract with the International Labour Organisation, the labour ministry announced on Tuesday. The ILO released Nupen to take up a short-term contract with the CCMA when the new Labour Relations Act established the dispute-resolution body last November. Labour Minister Tito Mboweni expressed his appreciation for the work done by Nupen and wished him well in his ILO responsibilities.
DIPLOMATS PRESENT CREDENTIALS The ambassadors of Barbados and Vietnam on Tuesday presented their credentials to President Nelson Mandela in Pretoria. Barbadian amabassador Peter Simmons was previously based in London, while Vietnamese ambassador TA Nguyan last served in Luanda, Angola. Nguyen said he hopes his appointment will contribute to further strengthening co-operation between South Africa and Vietnam. He is the first Vietnamese ambassador to South Africa.
GORILLAS BACK HOME AFTER SHOOTING MAX the gorilla and his mate Lisa were back in their enclosure at the Johannesburg Zoo on Tuesday, following the shooting of Max by a suspected burglar on Friday. “We couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion to the whole affair,” warden Phillip Cronje said soon after Max, 26, and his mate Lisa, 26, ventured out into the open for the first time since the incident. Max’s injuries — a bullet wound in the shoulder and a swollen chin — are healing well.
Meanwhile, the fugitive accused of shooting Max identified himself in court, after having refused to divulge his identity to police. He told the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court he is Isaac Mofokeng, 28, of Mapetla, Soweto. Mofokeng was remanded in custody and will appear in court again on August 11, when he is expected to apply for bail.
‘RADIOACTIVE’ MAN ARRESTED POLICE arrested an unnamed Johannesburg man on Monday for dealing in unauthorised radioactive substances, and confiscated three containers of uranium oxide. One of the policemen who arrested the man had to be rushed to the Pelindaba nuclear plant to be treated for radiation contamination.
DEPUTY SPEAKER DENIES FRAUD DEPUTY speaker Baleka Mbete-Kgositsile has denied police claims that she attempted to have her “fake” drivers licence endorsed into a new ID book. She says she returned her identity papers as instructed, and the errors were made by officials. She says she may sue newspapers which reported the incident.
GUARDS FOR COUNCILLORS GAUTENG councillors, whose homes have been repeatedly attacked by residents in recent weeks after electricity was cut to non-paying residents, are to receive special police protection. The National Party objected to the protection measures, saying the ANC had only itself to blame for the “culture of ungovernability” in the townships.
SHARK MAULS SURFER AN Australian surfer was mauled to death by a shark near Dwesa on the Transkei Wild Coast on Monday. His name is being withheld until his family have been informed.
MBOWENI ‘ONLY JOKING’ LABOUR Minister Tito Mboweni has retreated from his Friday remarks that he plans to resign, saying on Monday that he plans to complete his five-year term, and that reporters had misinterpreted remarks “obviously said in jest”.