No image available
/ 16 December 2006

SA end first Test day a happy team

South Africa ended the first day of the first Castle Lager Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers on Friday the happier team, although neither side really seized the initiative. At close of play on a day in which 133 minutes were lost to delays and interruptions, India had struggled to 156 for five in their first innings.

No image available
/ 12 December 2006

Agliotti lawyer ‘knows nothing’ about drug charge

The lawyer representing Kebble murder accused Glenn Agliotti ”knows nothing” about plans to charge Agliotti with involvement in a multimillion-rand drugs syndicate. The lawyer, Lawrence Hodes, said he did not attend a brief court appearance on Tuesday by Stephanos Paparas (45) at which it was indicated that another accused was to be added to the charge sheet.

No image available
/ 12 December 2006

Airport fuel spill: How it happened

Conservationists panicked when more than a million litres of jet fuel spilled out from OR Tambo International Airport and flowed into the Blaauwpan Dam, east of Johannesburg, in early November. It has been a month since the leak occurred and the area is still being rehabilitated — but how was it possible for so much fuel to end up in the dam?

No image available
/ 11 December 2006

Former spy boss charged with fraud

Former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha was charged with fraud on Monday after handing himself over to police in Pretoria. He was later granted bail of R10 000 in an appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court, said national police spokesperson Dennis Adriao.

No image available
/ 8 December 2006

Teacher union declares formal dispute

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) formally declared a dispute on Friday with the Department of Education over non-payment of teachers. The dispute was declared over an agreement on incentives — termed ”accelerated progression payments” for good performance — Sadtu said.

No image available
/ 7 December 2006

Cabinet denies influence on Gautrain

The Cabinet has denied having influenced the Gautrain consortium selection and defended the right of all citizens, including members of the government, to participate in the economy. At its final fortnightly meeting of the year on Wednesday, the Cabinet noted media reports alleging a conflict of interest when it discussed the Gautrain project.

No image available
/ 7 December 2006

Hit me

2010 World Cup generalissimos Danny Jordaan and Irvin Khoza have denied reports that they almost came to blows three weeks ago over a travel tender that wasn’t awarded to a company owned by a friend of Khoza. But Lemmer wishes they wouldn’t be so quick to bury the whole concept.

No image available
/ 5 December 2006

Motshekga rapped over knuckles in legislature

The Gauteng legislature ordered provincial education minister Angie Motshekga to apologise for infringing its code of conduct by not disclosing her husband’s financial interests in dormant companies. The ethics and privileges committee also warned speaker Richard Mdakane not to declare certain interests in the confidential section of the register of members’ interests instead of the public section.

No image available
/ 4 December 2006

Shilowa denies govt was lobbied by Bombela

Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on Monday refuted a weekend media report that the Bombela consortium lobbied the provincial government to push up the cost of the Gautrain. ”I want to assure the house that those allegations are false and without substance,” Shilowa told the provincial legislature. The paper reported that the provincial government deviated from normal tender procedures.

No image available
/ 4 December 2006

Escaped C-Max prisoner apprehended

Annanias Mathe, the Mozambican prisoner who escaped from Pretoria’s C-Max jail on November 18, was shot, wounded and arrested in Tembisa on the East Rand of Gauteng on Monday, police said. Mathe was arrested after he stole a car with a tracking device from a house in Craighall Park, national police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said.

No image available
/ 4 December 2006

Street-corner mechanics don’t like taxi recap

"This thing [the taxi recapitalisation programme] is going to kill our businesses once and for all. Where will we get customers if all taxis are new and are serviced in town?" asks mechanic and Soweto taxi owner Edward Singo. Singo is one of Gauteng’s vehicle mechanics in the informal minibus taxi support industry who is worried about the government’s taxi recapitalisation programme.

No image available
/ 4 December 2006

Women find their voices on film

Latoya* (17) is confident and articulate. ”I want future generations to see us as leaders, not as followers, because then they will become leaders as well.” She is talking about the Our Own Stories in Our Own Voices project, which takes 45 young women, some of whom are survivors of violence and abuse, and teaches them to document their experiences on film.

No image available
/ 29 November 2006

Gauteng aids unit turns talk into action

Most people were not protecting themselves against HIV/Aids even though they knew of the dangers, a Gauteng Aids expert said on Tuesday. ”Now is the time to turn our thinking and talking into joint and practical action to address the challenge of HIV and Aids,” said Dr Liz Floyd, director of the Gauteng health department’s Aids unit.

No image available
/ 26 November 2006

Lions looking good despite premature end

The four-day Supersport Series match pitting the Lions against the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg remained balanced in favour of the Lions, who had 266 runs to the good, after three days on Saturday, with four wickets standing. The two sides battled it out in weather that ranged from reasonably bright to rain showers.

No image available
/ 24 November 2006

Hoax e-mail trial postponed

The trial of the two men implicated in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) hoax e-mail saga was postponed in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Friday so a third accused could be added. Software salesperson Muziwendoda Kunene and NIA manager for electronic surveillance Funokwakhe Madladla are accused of fraud relating to hoax e-mails.

No image available
/ 24 November 2006

Crime protesters call for tax deductions

Protesters against crime called on the government to offer tax deductions for money spent on security in a memorandum handed to a Gauteng safety and security representative in Johannesburg on Friday. Lorraine Maisel, founder of the organisation Angry About Crime, handed the memorandum to Ian Robertson.

No image available
/ 24 November 2006

How deep is your game?

In football, teams are not given nicknames such as ”Glamour Boys” and ”Bold and the Beautiful” for fun. They are awarded such praise names because of their ability to outplay the opposition at all times. But victory often depends not just on the quality of the first-choice line-up, but on the balance and depth of the squad — giving a team the ability to rise from the dead, if you like.