The government’s decision to reopen teacher training colleges — announced this week by Education Minister Naledi Pandor — indicates that despite programmes to increase the number of teachers trained, there is still a shortage in key areas, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.
The Education Department is considering reopening teacher training colleges, says Education Minister Naledi Pandor. In a written reply to a question in Parliament by Desiree van der Walt of the Democratic Alliance, Pandor said the department is investigating options for expanding the provision of teacher education.
There is no conclusive evidence that water problems caused the death of 78 children in the Eastern Cape, the Ukhahlamba district municipality said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Dispatch Online said nearly 80 children had died in the Eastern Cape district due to unsafe tap water, and authorities had failed to take any action.
Mike Moriarty is to step down as Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader in Johannesburg to make himself available for nomination as a member of the province’s legislature in next year’s parliamentary election, the party said on Wednesday. Moriarty would leave his current post on September 1.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille was emerging as a person who would go to extremes to cover up the truth, a former member of the DA said on Tuesday. ”[She is] a person who criticises the judiciary and the media because their duties do not fit her political agenda,” Kobus Brynard, a Western Cape MPL for the African National Congress, said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has called for the immediate suspension of the city manager. The DA’s Rika Hunter said on Tuesday that city manager Peter Flusk failed to consult the council when he appointed Dehal Attorneys to act on behalf of Robert McBride, the chief of the Ekurhuleni metro police.
The mayor of Bushbuckridge, Milton Morema, should be suspended, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Morema is currently facing murder charges. DA local government spokesperson Anthony Benadie said the mayor should be suspended immediately, pending the outcome of investigations.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Monday vowed to take her fight against the Erasmus commission to the Constitutional Court. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool in December 2007 to investigate the City of Cape Town’s probe into controversial councillor Badih Chaaban.
Cases of corruption in the public sector reported to the National Anti-Corruption Hotline increased by 46% between 2004 and 2007, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday. DA spokesperson on public service Karel Minnie said this was according to a 2008 report released by the Public Service Commission.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday it would again write to National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete to request that she reconsider her decision to turn down a request for a special sitting of Parliament to debate the crisis in Zimbabwe. DA chief whip Ian Davidson said his party believed that President Thabo Mbeki’s policy on Zimbabwe had been a failure.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Friday urged President Thabo Mbeki and national conventional arms-control committee chairperson Sydney Mufamadi to stop the transfer of arms aboard a ship, the An Yue Jiang, in Durban harbour to Zimbabwe. The ship has been at anchor off the port of Durban since Monday.
After a contamination scare on Friday morning, residents of northern Johannesburg can now safely drink their tap water again, Johannesburg Water said. During routine water testing, a "possible compromise" of the quality of drinking water in several suburbs had been detected.
Residents in northern Johannesburg areas were on Friday warned not to drink tap water as the quality was not up to standard, Johannesburg Water said. Spokesperson Baldwin Matsimela said during routine sampling on Thursday, it was found that the water supply was not up to standard.
Opposition to a shipment of arms being offloaded in Durban and transported to Zimbabwe increased on Thursday when South Africa’s largest transport workers’ union announced that its members would not unload the ship. A government spokesperson said the country could not stop the shipment from getting to its destination.
The Erasmus commission’s sittings have been suspended pending the City of Cape Town’s application to the Cape High Court challenging the commission’s legality. This emerged after a day of behind-the-scenes negotiations on Wednesday between the legal representatives of the various parties involved.
The Erasmus commission is facing three new urgent interdicts to put its activities in Cape Town on hold, prompting commission chairperson Judge Nathan Erasmus to adjourn proceedings on Tuesday afternoon. The interdicts are expected to be heard in the Cape High Court on Wednesday morning.
The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of a persistent hatred towards it following a meeting between the parties on the future of the Scorpions. ”The only thing the DA and the Scorpions have in common is their persistent hatred of the ANC,” ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said.
Erasmus commission chairperson Judge Nathan Erasmus on Monday dismissed an application by the City of Cape Town for the commission’s suspension. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool last year to probe the city’s own investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
The fate of the Scorpions will be discussed at a meeting between African National Congress (ANC) general secretary Gwede Mantashe and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille, the DA said on Monday. The opposition leader called for a meeting with the ANC after a decision was taken to ”dissolve” the Scorpions and incorporate them into the police.
It is possible that the crime-fighting Scorpions may not be incorporated into the South African Police Service by June, African National Congress national executive committee Siphiwe Nyanda said on Thursday. He was speaking at a seminar hosted by the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu must be fired for her comments that police should shoot and kill criminals, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. ”Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula has no choice but to fire her with immediate effect,” DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
Efforts to push legislation through Parliament to disband the Scorpions are falling behind schedule, the deputy president’s office said on Thursday. ”It’s mainly because of consultation … which has taken much longer than was thought,” said Thabang Chiloane, spokesperson for Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Claims by chairperson of the Forum for Black Journalists (FBJ) Abbey Makoe following a South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) finding against the FBJ — which Makoe labelled a ”judicial ambush” — are mischievous and untruthful, the SAHRC said on Wednesday.
South Africa should use its powerful position on the United Nations Security Council to put the Zimbabwean election saga on the international body’s agenda, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Zille, who is currently in New York, said in a statement she would meet South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations.
There is an urgent need to double electricity prices over the next two years, Eskom tells the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in its recent application for a tariff hike. Nersa made an edited version of Eskom’s application available on its website on Tuesday.
The City of Cape Town has launched a high court challenge to the legality of the Erasmus commission, city speaker Dirk Smit announced on Tuesday. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool last year to probe the city’s own investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
The Democratic Alliance and trade union Solidarity want Eskom to release a full, unedited report of its application for a 53% tariff increase, they said on Tuesday. The application was due to have been published at noon on Tuesday on the website of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.
Opposition parties on Monday criticised President Thabo Mbeki’s assessment of Zimbabwe’s elections. Mbeki’s remarks, made in Britain on Sunday, indicated he was either woefully out of touch with reality in Zimbabwe or he was attempting to ”deliberately mislead the world’s media”, the Democratic Alliance’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
Eskom has signed a five-year agreement to import an additional 250MW of power from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam, the company announced on Monday. ”We are trying to squeeze as much capacity out of every resource,” said Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger. The agreement was signed on Thursday April 3.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille on Friday accused the African National Congress (ANC) of shutting down the space for free and informed debate. Writing in her weekly newsletter, Zille said recent events suggested the image of openness that ANC president Jacob Zuma was cultivating was just a smokescreen for closing down the public space.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday called for a speedy, comprehensive investigation into the death of the deputy president of Swaziland’s main opposition movement, Gabriel Mkhumane. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mkhumane was shot dead in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday.
The death toll in a bus accident near the Lebombo border post has risen to 17, with 24 injuries reported, Komatipoort police said on Thursday. Constable Richard Khumalo said seventeen bodies had been pulled from the wreckage and emergency services were still searching for more. Of the 24 people taken to hospital, 14 have been discharged.