Cape Town

Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour has tabled in Parliament the full executive summary of the final Jali Commission of Inquiry into fraud and corruption in prisons. However, the names of allegedly corrupt officials are omitted.

It is kick-off time for the ”real hard work” in preparing for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, President Thabo Mbeki told a workshop in Cape Town on Tuesday. He told the participants that South Africa will spare no effort to make sure that everything necessary for a successful tournament happens on time.

Parents wanting to decorate their children’s rooms, toys or playground equipment in bright colours should make sure the paint they use is lead-free, the Medical Research Council (MRC) warned on Monday. MRC health and development research group acting director Angela Mathee told the media the occurrence of lead in pigmented enamel paint her team had sampled was ”well over 80%”.

The multiparty coalition that rules Cape Town — led by the official opposition Democratic Alliance — is to hold a march through the Mother City’s streets on Thursday to protest against attempts by the provincial-ruling African National Congress to reconfigure the city governance system.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and state-owned oil company PetroSA settled their ”Oilgate” documents dispute on Monday, with the DA claiming victory. Under the agreement — made an order of the court by Cape Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso — PetroSA has to supply the DA with documents relating to the so-called Oilgate transaction by November 13.

Boland captured the 2006 South African Rugby Union provincial sevens title on Sunday with a comprehensive 42-12 victory win over Border in the Cup final played at Florida Park in Ravensmead, Cape Town. Earlier in the day, Eastern Province A lifted the women’s title after getting the better of Boland.

Ajax Cape Town came from behind to share the spoils with Santos in their Cape Town Premier Soccer League derby at the Greenpoint Stadium on Saturday. The game ended 1-1. Santos blew their chances of collecting full points when Byron Hendricks was sent off in the first half.

More land is to be made available for housing developments targeting low-income earners, the City of Cape Town said on Saturday. The homes will be made available to people who earn too much to qualify for government housing subsidies and too little to take part in the competitive property market, a statement said.

Criticism of the South African National Editors’ Forum by home affairs portfolio committee chairperson Patrick Chauke earlier this week was ”uninformed”, the Media Institute of Southern Africa and the Freedom of Expression Institute said on Friday in a joint statement.

”We will not resign.” That is the line African National Congress MPs who have pleaded guilty to charges of theft and fraud in the Travelgate scandal are taking with their party bosses. Five MPs who last year entered plea agreements with the National Prosecuting Authority were asked to resign their parliamentary seats.

South Africa needs to take more assertive action on the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Friday. This is especially necessary in the light of its election to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, he said in his weekly newsletter.

South Africa’s responsibility as a member of the United Nations Security Council to live up to the expectations of the African people and the rest of the world community does not rest solely with government, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.

The London home and the offices of an arms broker linked to a supplier in South Africa’s multibillion-rand arms deal have been raided by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office, it was reported on Thursday. The Guardian said the raids were part of a probe into corruption allegations against Britain’s biggest military hardware exporter, BAE Systems.

Blanket amnesty will not be granted for all involved in fraud in the Department of Housing, and each case will be dealt with on merit, Director General of Housing Itumeleng Kotsoane said on Thursday. ”We do not want to send the wrong message that corruption pays,” he told a media briefing at Parliament.

More than 300 families were left homeless on Thursday after fires ravaged an informal settlement in Fishhoek, Cape Town local disaster management said. Spokesperson Craig Pillay said firefighters responded to a reported fire at Masiphulele township at about 2am.

Former LeisureNet joint chief executives Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell have to wait more than a month to know whether they will be found guilty of the array of charges against them. A marathon session of closing arguments, which lasted more than a week, finished on Wednesday, and acting Judge Dirk Uijs said he would deliver his findings on December 1.

The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) has denied its submission to Parliament on the draft Civil Unions Bill endorses same-sex marriage. Media reports regarding the DRC’s submission to the home affairs portfolio committee were in some cases ”un-nuanced” and did not always fully reflect all the facts, the DRC’s Kobus Gerber said on Wednesday.

South Africa’s housing backlog has widened due to growing urbanisation and demand despite the building of 1,9-million new homes for the poor since the end of apartheid in 1994, the government said. Of the total figure, 1,6-million houses worth about R37-billion have already been transferred to poor households, according to a review released late on Tuesday.

The Dutch Reformed Church has come out in favour of a single law for all marriages, including gay unions. It made the proposal in a submission this week to Parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee, which is weighing up whether to approve a Civil Unions Bill, separate from the existing Marriage Act, to cater for same-sex partnerships.

South African Airways (SAA) board chairperson Jakes Gerwel came under fire from ruling African National Congress (ANC) members of Parliament for not attending a meeting with the National Assembly public enterprises portfolio committee on Wednesday.

Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel on Tuesday said the salaries of municipal managers ”in aggregate” were ”not awfully high”. He was speaking at a media conference after the release of the Local Government Budgets and Expenditure Review at Parliament.