When Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced a total ban on abalone fishing recently, he made no friends. Fishing communities, the labour movement, experts and law enforcement officials all condemned the move. Under immense pressure, Van Schalkwyk buckled a week later, announcing a suspension of the ban until February next year.

Nearly one in four inpatients in a rural South African area could be infected with the multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) by the end of 2012, while close to half would be carrying almost incurable drug-resistant XDR-TB strains of the disease. An article published in The Lancet last week used epidemiological modelling to predict the transmission of drug resistant TB in Tugela Ferry.

The Mpumalanga department of public works has been accused of fraud after a R500 000 construction tender was allegedly awarded to a company different from the one chosen by the bid committee. Mthetwa Skosana believes his Amajalayeza Business Enterprises should have been awarded the contract to construct toilets at the Nkadimeng Primary School near Dennilton in Mpumalanga.

Every journey begins with a first step. While a few steps have been taken by China into resource-rich Africa, the country’s growing influence has been thrown into the spotlight with the investment by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Standard Bank — a deal totalling a staggering R36,7-billion. The Chinese say this is just the start.

Multimillionaire businessman Cyril Ramaphosa is ready to accept nomination for the presidency of the ANC, despite past public statements that he was not interested in the party’s top job. Ramaphosa’s low-profile entry into the ANC’s presidential race prompted by his nomination for the presidency by the party’s Gaby Shapiro branch in Rondesbosch, Cape Town — caused a stir in ANC circles, with some giving an almost audible sigh of relief.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been lashed over its second ”failed” attempt to explain why Cape Judge President John Hlophe will not be impeached. The JSC issued a second statement after pressure from the legal fraternity to provide clarity on the reasons for finding there was no ”prima facie evidence of gross misconduct” against Hlophe.

A veil of silence has been drawn over allegations that National Intelligence Agency boss Manala Manzini abused his wife. The Mail & Guardian reported last week that the ANC Women’s League was planning to discuss the issue with Manzini’s wife, Mavivi Mayakayaka-Manzini, deputy chairperson of the league, at a national working committee meeting.

Western Cape police commissioner Mzwandile Petros has accused Cape Town mayor Helen Zille of ”not telling the truth” when she claimed that the Cape Town city council employed private investigators because the police had failed to probe controversial councillor Badih Chaaban. Said Petros in an interview: ”I called a press conference and played recorded evidence to show that the council employed the private investigating firm.”