No image available
/ 21 September 2005

To drive or not to drive?

On October 20, Gauteng motorists will have to ask themselves: Do I leave my car behind for one day? Car-Free Day, an initiative from the Gauteng department of transport, challenges motorists to take responsibility for their driving habits. ”We encourage people to … travel with public transport,” a departmental spokesperson said.

No image available
/ 21 September 2005

‘War against crime far from won’

There is no reason for the government to feel complacent about crime, as it is clear the war against crime is far from won, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday. The annual crime statistics — for the 2004/05 financial year — were released in Pretoria on Tuesday. The statistics reveal an average drop of 5% to 6% in most categories of crime, but also show increases in others.

No image available
/ 19 September 2005

Thousands of teachers absent from school

Teacher training will not disrupt Gauteng schools this week despite the absence of thousands of teachers, provincial education minister Angie Motshekga said on Monday. As many as 12 000 out of 49 000 teachers in the province will be attending a workshop on the new curriculum for grades 10 to 12.

No image available
/ 14 September 2005

Typhoid outbreak claims another life

Another person has died as a result of the typhoid outbreak in Delmas in Mpumalanga, government officials said on Wednesday. Two people have so far died and 51 cases of typhoid have been confirmed. The number of the people presenting symptoms of typhoid had risen to 408 by 1pm on Wednesday.

No image available
/ 14 September 2005

ID MPs jump ship to ANC

The Independent Democrats suffered a setback on Wednesday with the defection of two of its seven MPs, Cecil Burgess and Chris Wang, to the African National Congress. Western Cape MPL Mzwandile Manjiya also defected to the ANC along with Burgess and Wang.

No image available
/ 14 September 2005

Chief rabbi built bridges between faiths

South Africa’s chief rabbi emeritus Cyril Harris succumbed to cancer on Tuesday in Hermanus in the Western Cape, a Jewish Board of Deputies spokesperson said on Tuesday. ”His body will be taken to Jerusalem and buried either on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning,” Zev Krengel said on Tuesday night.

No image available
/ 12 September 2005

Rare appeal of the Subaru Legacy 2.0 GT

Subaru has a reputation for building quick cars that are fun to drive, while looking very ordinary. All of their offerings are fitted with horizontally opposed four or six-cylinder engines to provide a low centre of gravity, and all deliver power to all four wheels. Until a year or two back the cars were somewhat marred by relatively low luxury specifications.

No image available
/ 10 September 2005

Gauteng may appoint immigrant cops

Gauteng authorities are considering recruiting immigrants into the police to improve policing in migrant communities, provincial security minister Firoz Cachalia said on Friday. A group of Gauteng police officers was recently shown allegedly taking bribes from illegal immigrants on a television programme.

No image available
/ 9 September 2005

ID’s Sono crosses to new party

The deputy leader of the Independent Democrats, Themba Sono, crossed the floor to a fledgling party just hours after the Cape High Court reversed his expulsion from the ID on Friday. The ID had feared that Sono would defect. ”I have joined the Alliance of Free Democrats,” said Sono in a media statement.

No image available
/ 9 September 2005

Typhoid outbreak will clear up, say officials

The number of confirmed typhoid cases in Delmas, Mpumalanga, rose to 100 on Friday, but the situation is gradually being brought under control, health officials said. Up to 700 people are now suffering from diarrhoea, but proper management and precautions should see the outbreak in Delmas brought under control.

No image available
/ 9 September 2005

Bribed cops suspended at last

Six police officers implicated in taking bribes from illegal immigrants at Booysens police station, in Johannesburg, in a recent television documentary have finally been suspended — five days after Gauteng police management were alerted to the alleged corruption.

No image available
/ 8 September 2005

Bribed cops still on the beat

The Booysens policemen who were filmed accepting bribes from alleged illegal immigrants were still on the beat on Thursday, four days after Gauteng police management were alerted to the alleged corruption. And while two of the policeman were clearly shown accepting bribes in the Special Assignment programme, Gauteng police say this may not be enough to secure their successful prosecution.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

Crooked cops: Public to blame, says union

Police corruption can be nipped in the bud if the public stop offering officers bribes, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said on Wednesday, responding to a television exposé of police taking bribes to release illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the television footage is, on its own, ”insufficient” to secure the officers’ prosecution, Gauteng police Commissioner Perumal Naidoo said.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

Bribed cops still on the beat

It seems that even if police officers are shown on national television accepting bribes, they can keep their jobs. After the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Special Assignment showed officers accepting bribes from alleged illegal immigrants, the seven officers in question were still on the beat on Wednesday.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

Women candidates needed for local elections

Political parties were on Wednesday challenged to field more female candidates as councillors for the upcoming municipal elections by chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula. ”We had about 60% of all voter registrations this weekend being women,” Tlakula said at a briefing on the outcome of the registration drive.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

And now … banking on Sundays

Absa customers may soon be able to negotiate new overdrafts, finance cars and make cash deposits at their branches on Sundays, if a trial run at two Gauteng branches is anything to go by. In a move unique in banking circles in South Africa, Absa opened two of its biggest and busiest branches last Sunday to test the waters.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

Farmers threaten armed struggle

White farmers on Wednesday threatened an armed struggle similar to that waged by the African National Congress unless their property and cultural concerns are addressed. A handful of farmers presented a memorandum to TAU South Africa president Paul van der Walt on the fringes of an agricultural union conference.

No image available
/ 7 September 2005

Crooked cops: ‘Firm and decisive action’ demanded

Gauteng minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia wants the sword to fall on the Booysens policemen shown taking bribes on the South African Broadcasting Corporation televison programme Special Assignment on Tuesday night. ”We are expecting nothing less than firm and decisive action from the area and provincial commissioners,” Cachalia said on Tuesday night.

No image available
/ 2 September 2005

Fate of ID deputy leader undecided

A Cape High Court matter about Independent Democrats deputy leader Themba Sono’s cessation of party membership because of failure to pay a R10 membership fee was on Friday postponed to next Wednesday. Friday’s court proceedings against Sono follow a gruelling legal battle with ID dissident Lennit Max.

No image available
/ 1 September 2005

The thrills and spills of musical chairs

The 15-day floor-crossing window for MPs and MPLs to change parties without losing their seats got under way on Thursday and brought some surprise defections. Among these were African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP and Chief Whip in the National Assembly Louis Green, and ACDP KwaZulu-Natal MPL and leader Reverend Hawu Mbatha.

No image available
/ 1 September 2005

Nadeco sets its sights on fired IFP man

The National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) on Thursday confirmed it has approached Inkatha Freedom Party MPL Jabulani Maphalala to join its ranks. Maphalala, who is based at the University of Zululand, was fired by the IFP on Wednesday — apparently after allegations that he was going to defect to Nadeco.