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/ 16 January 2007
Several publications on Tuesday expressed fears that the current restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS) will severely limit the media’s ability to access information. Up until the restructuring started, media outlets approached designated police officers at area level. However, media organisations have now been told to contact designated officers at a provincial level.
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/ 16 January 2007
Crime-combating strategies should be decentralised and province-specific, the South African Institute for Race Relations said on Tuesday. Researcher Kerwin Lebone said the institute advocated the decentralisation of crime-fighting strategies following the release of a report on crime across the provinces.
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/ 16 January 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has rejected the Gauteng education department’s plans to close underperforming schools and instead proposed a rescue plan that it said would help improve matric results in those schools. DA education spokesperson George Boinamo told reporters in Cape Town on Tuesday about the proposed six-point plan.
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/ 16 January 2007
The Department of Minerals and Energy could implement a retail petrol-price cut of 24 cents per litre (c/l) on February 7, provided the daily over-recovery remains at or above the January 15 level. South Africa’s daily unleaded petrol price over-recovery eased to 31,869c/l on January 15 from 34,879c/l on January 12.
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/ 14 January 2007
A 44-year-old man was arrested on Saturday in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife and the wounding of two of her colleagues at an Absa bank on Friday, said Gauteng police. Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the man was arrested at a flat in Turffontein, south of Johannesburg, at 4.30pm.
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/ 13 January 2007
In a dramatic final day at The Links at Fancourt, the 2007 Ernie Els Junior Tour came to an end with another new champion in the boys’ competition. It was Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation member Keenan Davidse who triumphed after a magnificent two-under par 71 on Friday morning gave him an unassailable lead after the second round.
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/ 12 January 2007
Typically changeable Cape Town weather, the pragmatists would have said as the skies opened over Newlands last week, forcing the final Test against India into a gripping if soggy final act. There’s always one rainy day around New Year, the veterans would have pointed out. Nothing out of the ordinary.
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/ 11 January 2007
Two men have been arrested after they blew up an ATM in Mamelodi East outside Pretoria, Gauteng police said on Friday. Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the men blew up a Standard Bank ATM at a Shell garage and an AK-47 rifle, a 9mm pistol and a BMW were seized by the police.
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/ 10 January 2007
Provincial education departments experienced a smooth start to the first day of school on Wednesday with no major problems being reported. Schools reopened in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West and Free State. ”All our schools opened today [Wednesday],” said Gauteng education spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi.
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/ 10 January 2007
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), which represents about two-thirds of all teachers in South Africa, has welcomed the fact that the threat to close poorly performing schools has been retracted. Sadtu was responding to a threat from Gauteng education provincial minister Angie Motshekga to close dysfunctional schools.
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/ 10 January 2007
The plight of grade 11 pupils who failed last year is the biggest challenge facing education in South Africa in 2007, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said on Wednesday. Sadtu president Willie Madisha told a media conference in Johannesburg the Department of Education will have to give clear directions on how to deal with grade 11s who failed.
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/ 10 January 2007
The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust has denied news reports that it has been meeting African National Congress leaders to discuss ”so-called alternative candidates” for president. The chairperson of the trust’s Gauteng branch, Clement Mlangeni, told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday: ”It is our humbly held view that the media reports are malicious and confusing to the public.”
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/ 10 January 2007
All Gauteng schools opened on Wednesday for the start of the 2007 school year with a few minor hitches reported, the provincial education department said. ”All our schools opened today [Wednesday],” said spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi. ”From our side we are quite excited that everything went smoothly.”
Underperforming schools in Gauteng and the Free State will remain open, the provincial education departments said on Tuesday. ”The [provincial minister] is not closing any schools for non-performance,” said the Gauteng education department spokesperson Mbela Phetlhe.
Provincial education departments on Tuesday reported readiness for the arrival of millions of pupils at the start of the 2007 school year on Wednesday. Schools will reopen in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West and Free State. ”The Gauteng department of education is ready to roll out the 2007 academic calendar,” education provincial minister Angie Motshekga said.
Shebeens near schools are a source of school violence and an access to drugs and alcohol for minors, the Young Communist League of South Africa said on Tuesday. The league was announcing at a Johannesburg press conference the launch of its Joe Slovo ”Right to Learn” campaign, which will run from Thursday until the end of January.
A state funeral and private burial will be held respectively in Pretoria, Gauteng, and Bloemfontein, Free State, on Saturday for the late former state president Marais Viljoen, who died in Pretoria last week, according to the South African government news agency, BuaNews.
Gauteng provincial minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia will provide feedback on the crime operation he launched six months ago at the end of January, his spokesperson said on Monday. ”A detailed evaluation will be undertaken later this week to identify the successes of Operation Iron Fist and to establish what challenges still need to be overcome,” said Phumla Sekhonyane.
Confusion reigned at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday when a Pretoria High Court judge arrested for drunken driving failed to appear at the court. After waiting outside the court for about half an hour, journalists learnt that Judge Nkola Motata, who was arrested on Friday, had already been released on bail. He will appear at the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on February 27.
The Gauteng department of education has threatened to close down 200 badly performing schools, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. Spokesperson for the department Panyaza Lesufi said the department has given principals until the end of January to present plans to turn their schools around.
President Thabo Mbeki should appoint a judicial commission to investigate the 1999 arms deal, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday in the wake of new revelations on the affair. The media reported on the weekend that Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is investigating alleged ”substantial payments” from BAE Systems to a senior South African Defence Ministry official.
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) is investigating charges of defeating the ends of justice after claims of a cover-up in the Robert McBride car-crash investigation, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Sunday. Witnesses said McBride appeared to be drunk, and that they were intimidated and assaulted.
Gauteng police Commissioner Perumal Naidoo has said that 2007 should be dedicated to a no-nonsense approach to fighting crime. Naidoo was speaking at a handing-over ceremony of 250 police vehicles on Thursday in Aeroton, Diepkloof, outside Johannesburg.
Welkom police divers will resume searching on Thursday for a man who is believed to have drowned when a boat capsized on the Vaal Dam early on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the body of a 35-year-old man was recovered from the Nigel Dam on the East Rand on Wednesday, and a man was found dead in a swimming pool in Johannesburg.
Rescue workers are searching for two men who were washed down a crevice along a Port St Johns beach on Tuesday, the National Sea Rescue Institute said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, two men drowned in separate incidents while swimming in Parys and Heidelberg, and a man drowned when a boat capsized at the Vaal Dam.
The festive-season death toll on South Africa’s roads has dropped despite an increase in the number of cars and drivers, the Department of Transport said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said 1Â 366 people had died in 1Â 168 crashes over the December 2006 period — a drop from 1Â 454 deaths in 2005.
Pupils from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls will be sent for HIV/Aids testing with their parents’ consent, said Oprah Winfrey at the opening of the school at Henley-on-Klip, Meyerton, on Tuesday. The school for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds was officially opened by Winfrey at a star-studded event.
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/ 31 December 2006
Two relatives are among the six suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Avhatakali Netshisaulu, son of City Press editor Mathatha Tsedu, reported the newspaper at the weekend. City Press said a suspect arrested on Friday was a relative and was allegedly the ”mastermind, financier and recruiter of Netshisaulu’s killers”.
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/ 30 December 2006
A total of 1 277 people have died in 1 104 traffic accidents since December 1, the Department of Transport said on Friday. Spokesperson Collen Msibi said that while this was a slight decrease compared to 1 372 deaths in the same period last year, the department was concerned about the increase of fatal crashes involving pedestrians.
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/ 29 December 2006
Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride’s car accident in Centurion last week. A case of reckless or negligent driving was opened against McBride after he lost control of his car last Thursday. Controversy surrounding the crash has included allegations that McBride was under the influence of alcohol.
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/ 28 December 2006
The matric class of 2006 lived up to former state president Nelson Mandela’s expectations, said Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on Thursday. ”The 78,35% pass rate shows very clearly that we have succeeded in creating a culture of learning and teaching that Nelson Mandela talked about when these matriculants started school in 1994.”
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/ 28 December 2006
Nine people have been arrested for allegedly using explosives to blow up ATMs, police said on Wednesday. Two were later released. Gauteng police spokesperson Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said four suspects were arrested on Christmas day and appeared in court on Wednesday.