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/ 17 December 2007
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On Sunday a picture emerged of strong support for Jacob Zuma, overshowing the rest and spectacularly managing to humiliate national ANC chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota. As strong an indicator as it was, some delegates supporting President Thabo Mbeki insisted that an Mbeki win remained a possibility.
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/ 17 December 2007
Uncertainty over the prosecution of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi was not in anyone’s best interest, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said. The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Sunday that a decision had been made on whether Selebi ”has a case to answer”.
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/ 15 December 2007
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Delegates to the African National Congress’s Polokwane conference, some of them weary after driving through the night from other parts of the country, began registering shortly after 10am on Saturday. Registration is taking place in a cavernous and hot aircraft hangar at the Gateway Airport north of Polokwane.
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/ 13 December 2007
The pompom weed — a plant in the daisy family — is rapidly becoming one of the most serious threats to the conservation of South African grasslands, the Working for Water programme said on Thursday. The weed’s beautiful flowers are leading members of the public to collect and inadvertently spread it to more places.
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/ 13 December 2007
The R230-million Gautrain tunnel-boring machine has been christened ”Imbokodo [Rock]”, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said in Johannesburg on Thursday. Shilowa said the name symbolises the country’s heritage of willpower and women’s emancipation. ”If you strike a woman, you strike a rock,” he said.
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/ 13 December 2007
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) still expects to make an announcement regarding its investigation of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi this week, NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Thursday. ”An announcement will be made this week but I can’t say if it will be today,” said Tlali.
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/ 12 December 2007
Proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court came to an end on Wednesday without any sign of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Phantom sightings and rumours that he had been arrested and due to appear in court had sparked a media frenzy at courts around Gauteng.
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/ 12 December 2007
Gauteng crime rates are still unacceptably high and the province will continue to implement safety strategies to combat festive-season crime, provincial minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia said on Wednesday. Briefing the media in Johannesburg on festive-season policing, he said crime-blitz operations, road blocks and searches would be conducted.
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/ 12 December 2007
The motorist who was caught doing 257km/h in his silver Audi TT on Sunday night has been named as Ukhozi FM’s DJ Sbu, Talk Radio 702 reported on Wednesday. DJ Sbu, or Sbusiso Leope, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. He was released on R1 000 bail, Johannesburg metro police said on Wednesday.
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/ 11 December 2007
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is quite unacceptable that Eskom does not give adequate warning to the public about its load shedding. "It is a crying shame that Eskom can paralyse the economic powerhouse of Africa — Gauteng province — every time it needs to do maintenance to power-generating equipment," the DA said on Tuesday.
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/ 10 December 2007
More than 250 people have been killed on South African roads since the beginning of the festive season, the Department of Transport said on Monday. Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said 275 people were killed in 230 crashes — 65 drivers, 84 passengers and 126 pedestrians.
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/ 10 December 2007
South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy has converted Harmony Gold Mining’s old-order mining rights into new-order mining rights, Harmony said on Monday. Harmony has been granted 13 new-order mining rights covering all its South African gold-mining operations including its Evander, Doornkop and Randfontein operations.
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/ 10 December 2007
More than 100 houses were finally received by Sinqobile residents in Kagiso on the West Rand after a housing project that began in 2003 was completed, the Gauteng housing department said on Sunday. ”The long wait for houses has finally ended,” said spokesperson Aviva Manqa.
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/ 8 December 2007
Heavy rains swept across Gauteng and the Free State on Saturday afternoon, turning roads into rivers. The roof of the Dion store in Alberton caved in during heavy rain, said Netcare 911 spokesperson Mark Stokoe. In the Free State, a 10-year-old girl drowned when she was swept down a sewerage trench, provincial police said.
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/ 7 December 2007
The sheer number of crimes being committed in South Africa is still at an unacceptable level, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Friday. The decrease in reported crime, however, is encouraging, it said. The rights body said its finding on the unacceptable level of crime is ”exacerbated by the massive under-reporting of crime”.
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/ 6 December 2007
The South African Police Service (SAPS) was not involved in reviewing the arrest warrant for its National Commissioner, Jackie Selebi, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Thursday. However, he confirmed that the warrant was indeed the subject of review.
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/ 6 December 2007
House robbery, business robbery and truck hijacking increased between April and September this year, the police announced in Pretoria on Thursday. House robbery rose by 7%, business robbery by 29,3%, and truck hijacking by 53,3%. There were 6Â 711 house robberies in the six months from April to September, up from 6Â 271 over the same period last year.
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/ 5 December 2007
The Gauteng provincial police service received a cash boost of R500 000 on Wednesday for the specialised training of detectives. The South African Insurance Association’s deputy executive officer, Refiloe Moletsane, said the unacceptable levels of crime in the country had prompted the association to assist with the funding of the training programme.
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/ 30 November 2007
Fifteen people were arrested during a crime-fighting operation at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Friday, said the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa). ”Fifteen people have so far been arrested and 10 vehicles have been impounded,” said Acsa spokesperson Tasniem Patel.
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/ 30 November 2007
The retail price of all grades of petrol will increase by 43 cents a litre on Wednesday December 5, the Department of Minerals and Energy announced on Friday. The latest changes bring the retail price of a litre of 95-octane unleaded petrol in Gauteng to R7,47 and to R7,23 at the coast — new highs.
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/ 29 November 2007
The Gauteng government is trying to curtail opposition politicians’ investigations into public health facilities, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Thursday. The FXI said a complaint by provincial minister of health Brian Hlongwa about Democratic Alliance member Jack Bloom’s visits to public health facilities in the province was ”problematic”.
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/ 29 November 2007
An extra R87-million has been allocated to help people living in extreme poverty, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said on Thursday. The money was in addition to funds already given to provinces for relief, he told reporters after meeting provincial ministers of social development in Durban.
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/ 29 November 2007
Even if Thabo Mbeki wins the African National Congress (ANC) leadership at Polokwane — and this looks increasingly unlikely given the outcome of the provincial general councils last weekend — he will face a totally new power configuration after December 21.
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/ 28 November 2007
A 24-year-old Gauteng woman was found buried in a shallow grave 54m from her boyfiend’s KwaZulu-Natal home on Tuesday afternoon, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe the grave was found at the Qakwini Reserve in Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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/ 28 November 2007
When patients hear they have Aids, their first reaction often is to think they have been given the death sentence. But, between the disease and dying lies a grey area, and that’s when palliative caregivers are most needed by patients. Palliative care aims to relieve the suffering and improve the quality of life of patients with life-threatening illnesses.
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/ 27 November 2007
Progress was being made in strengthening Gauteng’s economy but unemployment was still a concern, Gauteng minister of finance Paul Mashatile said on Tuesday. ”[W]hen we report back to the people of Gauteng [in 2009] we will be able to say boldly and without fear of contradiction that we have successfully completed our five-year mandate,” he said.
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/ 27 November 2007
More than 28 000 animals were stolen from farms around the country over the past 18 months, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Less than 40% of the stock — including game, cattle, sheep and goats — was recovered, DA rural safety spokesperson Ryno King said in a statement.
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/ 27 November 2007
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The African National Congress’s (ANC) Women’s League late on Monday nominated deputy leader Jacob Zuma as its candidate to head up the organisation, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. Their backing for Zuma for the top job comes after the ANC Youth League on Friday also nominated Zuma.
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/ 26 November 2007
The Highveld regions of eastern Gauteng and western Mpumalanga, including towns such as Witbank, Standerton and Boksburg, have been declared air-pollution hot spots. ”There is little doubt that people living and working in these areas do not enjoy air quality that is not harmful to their health and well-being,” the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said on Monday.
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/ 26 November 2007
Absa and the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to speed up the provision of housing in several provinces. Absa has committed R2,6-billion for the building of 100Â 000 units by 2010. The bank has also committed an additional R150-million for project preparations.
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/ 26 November 2007
The Gauteng health department should sell off its 66 houses and plough the proceeds into providing better healthcare, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. This comes after Gauteng health minister Brian Hlongwa revealed that his department was conducting an audit of its houses.
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/ 26 November 2007
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The African National Congress Women’s League is to finalise its nominations for the party’s leadership on Monday. Earlier, it was reported that the women’s league favoured Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The league, however, refuted this saying it would ”speak for itself” once it had consolidated the provincial nominations.