Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon launched an ”Agriculture Matters” campaign during a visit to the eastern Free State’s rural farming communities on Wednesday, the party said. ”As a positive contribution to addressing the deep concerns of our farming communities, the DA is today proud to launch its ‘Agriculture Matters’ campaign,” Leon said near Ficksburg.
Former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi has apologised for publicly claiming that President Thabo Mbeki’s ”autocratic behaviour” was dividing the party. The African National Congress National Working Committee had ”received and accepted” his unconditional apology, it said after a meeting in Johannesburg on Monday.
Parts of the Western Cape can expect heavy rain and snow on Monday, Weather SA warned on Monday. ”Heavy falls of rain are possible in the Overberg, Breede River Valley, Ruens, Garden Route and the Little Karoo,” said Weather SA. ”Very cold, wet and windy conditions are expected on the high-ground areas of the Western Cape province and western parts of the Northern Cape province.”
The Sharks, needing a full house of five points to be sure of an away semifinal berth, made sure when they convincingly beat the Valke — their old Red Devils nemesis — by 48 points to 10 and seven tries to one in their Absa Currie Cup rugby match in Durban on Saturday.
The Blue Bulls guaranteed themselves a place in the Currie Cup semifinal through a hard-fought and bruising battle that yielded a 41-31 victory over reigning champions, the Free State Cheetahs, at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Cheetahs had come to Loftus already guaranteed of a place in the last four, but also wanted to repeat their miraculous feat of last year.
No image available
/ 22 September 2006
Extreme drug resistant tuberculosis is a challenge that needs a collective regional approach, Southern African Development Community (SADC) health ministers said on Friday. At a meeting held in Maputo, Mozambique, the ministers agreed that the free movement of people between SADC countries could compound the spread of the disease in the region.
No image available
/ 21 September 2006
Tests may have been mistaken showing that South African gold miners contracted a highly drug resistant strain of tuberculosis, health officials and a gold firm said on Thursday. A statement by the provincial department of health late on Tuesday that XDR-TB (extremely drug resistant tuberculosis) had been identified in six gold miners in the Free State, south-west of Johannesburg, sparked panic there.
No image available
/ 20 September 2006
Gold Fields denied on Wednesday that it has had any cases of the so-called ”Killer TB” (tuberculosis) at any of its mines. ”Gold Fields wishes to state that news reports this morning with headlines such as ‘Killer TB spreads to mines’ and ‘Deadly new TB strain found in Free State’, are misleading.”
No image available
/ 19 September 2006
Six miners from the Free State goldfields have been diagnosed with extreme drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the provincial department of health said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Gela Naude said the six confirmed XDR-TB patients were all from Gold Fields and Harmony mines at Welkom.
No image available
/ 16 September 2006
In weather conditions more suited for waterpolo than rugby, the SWD Eagles defeated the Northern Free State Griffons by 25 points to 10 at Outeniqua Park in George on Saturday. On a rain-soaked and muddy field both teams tried to run the ball but had to change tactics.
No image available
/ 14 September 2006
South Africa on Thursday named uncapped striker Nathan Paulse in their 20-man squad for next month’s African Nations Cup qualifier against Zambia in Lusaka. Caretaker coach Pitso Mosimane, in charge of his last match before the arrival of Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, made six changes to the squad that drew 0-0 at home with Congo earlier this month.
No image available
/ 12 September 2006
The Correctional Services department’s efforts to establish the prevalence of HIV/Aids in prisons is being hamstrung by a lack of co-operation from staff and inmates alike, it emerged on Tuesday. The department’s survey was launched last year with a pilot project in Gauteng, and was completed on May 24 this year.
No image available
/ 8 September 2006
Whether through employment or education, transformation and affirmative action strategies have become part of daily life in South Africa, and recent media attention on the admissions policies of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has raised some important questions.
No image available
/ 7 September 2006
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed an appeal by the Free State’s minister of public works, with costs, against a finding that his department had been negligent by not maintaining a road. The Bloemfontein High Court had found that the department’s negligence had caused a vehicle accident in 2001.
No image available
/ 6 September 2006
A group of students handed over a memorandum to the University of the Free State on Wednesday in protest against ”corrupt” student representative council [SRC] elections. ”The process in which the SRC elections were conducted was corrupt,” read the memorandum by the South African Students’ Congress.
No image available
/ 4 September 2006
Free State provincial minister for safety and security Playfair Morule is facing a charge of culpable homicide after a man was killed in a hit-and-run accident, Free State police confirmed on Monday. ”An incident of culpable homicide is being investigated,” said Superintendent Annelie Wrench.
No image available
/ 2 September 2006
The South African Human Rights Commission has expressed concern over the human rights status of the Free State after a three-day visit to the province that ended on Friday. ”What we found is quite worrying in many aspects,” said Tseliso Thipanyane, CEO of the commission.
No image available
/ 1 September 2006
Criminal charges have been withdrawn against the homeless Bloemfontein man who claims to have witnessed the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, Free State police said on Friday. Senior Superintendent Sam Sesing said charges of theft and housebreaking had been withdrawn on Thursday.
No image available
/ 1 September 2006
There is either no discrimination in the Free State or people do not know their rights, Karthy Govender, commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), said on Friday. He was reacting to the low volume of cases being heard in two equality courts visited during a three-day tour by the commission to the Free State.
No image available
/ 1 September 2006
Thousands of homes in central South Africa were left without power on Friday after a marksman hit an overhead power line when taking a pot-shot at a bird sitting on the wire. A spokesperson for the Eskom power company said that two entire towns in the south-east of the central Free State province were blacked out after the incident at breakfast time.
A homeless man claiming to have witnessed the Brett Kebble murder has been arrested on a warrant for housebreaking and theft, police said on Thursday. The 24-year-old Bloemfontein man has been taken into custody relating to crimes in the Free State.
South Africa’s dams are 92% full, according to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s records. The department reports on its website that the dams were only 65% full this time last year. This week, dam levels in the provinces ranged from overflowing in the Northern Cape to 72% full in Limpopo.
National police chief Jackie Selebi has taken a Free State judge’s criticism on delays in DNA testing to the head of forensics, his office said on Wednesday. ”The national commissioner did speak to the divisional commissioner in charge of forensics today [Wednesday],” said Selebi’s spokesperson, Director Sally de Beer.
A Free State judge has sharply condemned delays in DNA testing in a murder case in the province, media reports said on Wednesday. ”Must we close the courts, sit and twiddle our thumbs and do everything in Africa time to accommodate a national police commissioner who doesn’t do his job?” asked judge Arrie Hattingh in a circuit court sitting in Harrismith.
Eskom restored the electricity supply to much of the eastern Free State on Monday after cutting it off earlier in the day for emergency repairs, a spokesperson said. ”The earth wire on one of Eskom’s 88KV high-voltage power lines that was hit by lightning and broken could not be joined and was being removed,” said Chriska van der Merwe.
In the big clash of the day Western Province on Wednesday upset defending champions Southern Gauteng by a solitary goal on the third day of the Spar Interprovincial Women’s Hockey tournament being played at the Randburg AstroTurf in Johannesburg.
Rainfall has eased in the sodden southern Cape but more is expected, said the South African Weather Service on Thursday. In the 24 hours to 8am on Thursday, the weather service recorded 11,6mm in Riversdale, compared to 28mm the day before, 4mm in George (71,5mm on Wednesday) and 18mm in Heidelberg (25mm on Wednesday).
Tournament co-favourites Southern Gauteng and Western Province both had emphatic wins on the second day of the Spar Women’s Interprovincial Hockey championship being played at the Randburg Astroturf in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Police divers recovered the body of an eight-year-old child from a farm dam near Odendaalsrus on Tuesday. Captain Rosa Benade said police divers from Welkom were called earlier in the day to help with a search for the eight-year-old child on the farm Weltevrede in the Odendaalsrus district.
Does ”between a rock and hard place” summarise the current debate on environmental impact assessments and their relationship to development? Perhaps in sentiment, but not specifically. The Latin version of the idiom is more telling: ”In front the precipice, behind the wolves.”
Trailing 13-11 at half-time, defending Currie Cup champions the Free State Cheetahs showed their mettle when defeating Griquas 31-20 in very warm, early-spring conditions in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon. There was very little to choose between the teams in the first half.
The owner of a game lodge in the Free State where two security guards were killed by lions has been charged with culpable homicide, police said on Thursday. aptain Rosa Benade said the man was taken in by local police on Thursday. ”His fingerprints were taken and a charge laid,” said Benade.