Gauteng

The ”overwhelming majority” of people arriving at Gauteng’s clinics and hospitals seek treatment related to unhealthy lifestyles, Gauteng’s provincial minister for health said on Thursday. ”If we can change this we will make a measurable impact on all facets of healthcare delivery,” Brian Hlongwa told a media briefing in Johannesburg.

Priority crimes are still too common, Gauteng provincial minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia said on Wednesday in announcing a second Operation Iron Fist. ”Specific types of violent crime remain at unacceptable levels, especially house robberies and business robberies,” Cachalia said in elaborating on Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s state of the province address two days ago.

Gauteng provincial minister of transport Ignatius Jacobs has given his department six weeks to clear the backlog in driving-licence examinations. This would be followed by increasing automation at all centres, Jacobs told a media briefing on Tuesday to elaborate on Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s state of the province address.

More than 297 000 people will benefit from housing projects in Gauteng in the next financial year, provincial minister of housing Nomvula Mokonyane said on Tuesday. The 58 552 houses to be built will include give-away, financed and rental houses, Mokonyane said in elaborating on Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s state of the province address.

Jackie Maarohanye, the embattled principal of the Ithuteng Trust school in Kliptown, was taken to hospital after collapsing following her appearance in the Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto, media reports said on Monday. She was allegedly part of a group that held a reporter and driver from the Sowetan newspaper hostage at the weekend.

Gauteng has more jobs and is becoming a better place to live, Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said on Monday. ”A better Gauteng is in the making,” he told the opening of the provincial legislature. By March last year there were about 3,3-million jobs, an increase of 426 000 jobs in four years, said Shilowa, promising to make even more of an effort in this regard.

The embattled principal of the Ithuteng Trust School in Kliptown, Jackie Maarohanye, and 72 other people, have been arrested after a journalist was assaulted and held hostage. Reporter Vusi Ndlovu and driver Mabu Nkadimeng from the Sowetan newspaper were held hostage on Saturday for seven hours.

A reporter and driver from the Sowetan newspaper were on Saturday afternoon held hostage for six hours by a group of people at the school of the embattled Jackie Maarohanye — the principal of the Ithutheng Trust school in Kliptown. Maarohanye handed herself over to the police in October last year for cases including public violence and malicious damage to property.

A mob beat a man to death after he was caught allegedly stealing from a house in Etwatwa in Benoni on Monday. The three were caught ”red handed” by a homeowner, said Superintendent Eugene Opperman. A large group of residents began assaulting the three men with various weapons. They also threw boiling water over them.

A man who may be connected to the recent robbery of popular Afrikaans musician Anton Goosen virtually landed himself behind bars on Friday. A Gauteng police spokesperson said this happened after police conducted anti-crime searches in Diepsloot, north-west of Johannesburg.

Many Gauteng schools are experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers, the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU) said on Wednesday. However, the education department has rejected the statement by the teacher body, saying there is no shortage. SAOU provincial spokesperson Carel Cronje said an increasing number of principals are experiencing problems in finding suitable teachers.

Mixed reaction continued to be expressed on Tuesday following weekend reports that First National Bank had shelved its anti-crime campaign that invited people to write to President Thabo Mbeki. Most Gauteng newspapers condemned the withdrawal the bank’s multimillion-rand campaign as a cowardly act.

Most Gauteng newspapers have condemned the withdrawal of First National Bank’s (FNB) multimillion-rand anti-crime campaign as a cowardly act. They also accused the government and big business of using bullying tactics in the matter. FNB’s R20-million campaign involved print, television and radio advertisements.

Gauteng provincial minister for community safety Firoz Cachalia has denied pledging to quit if crime levels did not decline in a provincial police operation, dubbed Iron Fist. Cachalia said on Friday he was asked by a journalist at a press conference at the launch of the operation if he would consider resigning should crime not decrease.

Gauteng’s provincial community safety minister Firoz Cachalia will on Friday provide feedback on the crime-prevention operation he launched six months ago, his spokesperson said. ”The briefing will take place at Prime Media offices in Sandton tomorrow [Friday],” said Phumla Sekhonyane.

Making former prisons chief Linda Mti 2010 World Cup security chief is ”inappropriate” and ”a national disgrace”, opposition parties said on Wednesday. ”How is it that the LOC [local organising committee] saw fit to appoint a man whose professional reputation is in tatters?” asked Democratic Alliance MP James Masango in a statement.

Former prisons chief Linda Mti has been appointed as head of 2010 Soccer World Cup security, the local organising committee confirmed on Tuesday. ”He took up his post in January,” spokesperson Tumi Makgabo said. Also on Tuesday, Gauteng police said that a case against Mti for alleged drunken driving had been struck off the court roll.