Engineers in South Africa are an endangered species. Latest labour department figures show that the skills shortage in the industry had surpassed the 10 000 mark by the end of last year. South African Women in Engineering aims to turn things around and has set their sights on attracting and keeping women in the profession.
In the Southern African Development Community about 45% of the population lives in extreme poverty. For many poor people in the region informal trade is the only way to sustain themselves and their families. Governments in the region, however, ignore this parallel economy, hampering their citizens’ attempts to survive, say experts.
The unpredictable Moroka Swallows were flying high after delivering a crushing blow to Ajax Cape Town’s Premier Soccer League title aspirations with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory on Sunday. In other matches, Sundowns beat Chiefs 1-0; Celtic and Leopards drew 2-2; and AmaZulu and Platinum Stars drew 0-0.
Cassius Baloyi won his sixth world title on Saturday when he out-pointed Mzonke Fana to regain the IBF world junior lightweight crown at the University Sports Complex in Mafikeng. However, Baloyi (33) won the contest by a puzzling ”majority” decision that few in the audience could possibly understand.
The Eagles saved their best for last when they trounced the Pumas 50-12 in a Vodacom Cup rugby match at George on Saturday. The match was only of academic value and neither side qualified for the cup play-offs. The Eagles scored eight tries to the two of the Pumas.
Two men from the United States and one from Norway died when the shark-diving boat they were in capsized near Kleinbaai on Sunday, the National Sea Rescue Institute said. A spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the boat capsized offshore of Kleinbaai near Gansbaai with an estimated 19 people on board.
Money might be able to acquire a great deal, but, more often than not, it fails to buy success in soccer. This was the lesson a razor-sharp Golden Arrows handed Thanda Royal Zulu while coasting to a comfortable 3-1 Premier Soccer League victory at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
An early four-try scoring blitz fashioned a 50-22 Super 14 triumph for Wellington Hurricanes over title holders Northern Bulls on Saturday. ”We were shocking,” was the blunt assessment of scrumhalf and captain Fourie du Preez as the Bulls returned to their home ground after a dismal four-match Australasia tour.
Overcoming an early shock in front of an enthusiastic, capacity crowd at the Tali Tennis Centre, the well-tuned doubles combination of Wesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee gave South Africa what could prove a decisive 2-1 lead in the Euro-Africa Group 2 Davis Cup tie in Helsinki on Saturday afternoon.
SuperSport United remained on top of the Premier Soccer League table after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Orlando Pirates at the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday night. Elias Pelembe scored in the second minute to keep United in the hunt for a first league title. They now have 47 points from 25 games.
Police have exhumed the body of a man alleged murdered by the executive mayor of Bushbuckridge. The body of Jeffrey Sedibe was exhumed on Friday, a day after the arrests of mayor Milton Morema (41) and a senior municipal official, Lakios Mosoma (42), said Captain Leonard Hlathi.
More than 36Â 000 jobs have been created through the establishment of the Job Creation Trust, said its chairperson, Willie Madisha, on Saturday at the trust’s annual awards evening. Earlier, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) had said Madisha would be defying the union if he addressed the awards ceremony.
The Stormers ran out comfortable 34-22 winners over the Cheetahs in a Super 14 fixture at Newlands on Saturday. A great kick-off by Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant set up the platform for the team’s opening try in the second minute. Grant’s kick went into touch 5m from the Cheetahs’ try line.
Western Province (WP) retained their unbeaten record by the skin of their teeth when they were held to a 23-23 draw by Griquas in a Vodacom Cup match at Newlands on Saturday. Griquas unsettled WP with their speedy playing patterns at the outset and it came as no surprise when they scored a try in the seventh minute.
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma celebrated his 66th birthday on Saturday. Unlike Zuma’s birthday last year, when 1Â 000 people attended a lavish affair at Durban’s International Convention Centre, no major events have been planned for his 66th birthday.
Despite a valiant 70 not out by Roelof van der Merwe, a record haul of five for 13 by Elton Chigumbura gave Zimbabwe a thrilling, 12-run victory over the Titans in their Standard Bank Pro20 match at Supersport Park on Friday night. It was the Titans’ third successive loss.
Jomo Cosmos denied Santos maximum points as they held them to a 1-1 draw at the Athlone Stadium on Friday night. Cosmos looked bright early on, in particular down their right wing, where Bongi Macala and Siza Dlamini had a couple of chances. Then another move down the right saw Bamuza Sono release Macala with a long ball.
A Metrorail passenger train derailed early on Saturday morning at Durban’s Merebank railway station, injuring 135 people — 21 of them seriously. The Umlazi-bound train derailed at 6.30am. While none of the carriages overturned, a steel support of the overhead electric power cables buckled on to the second of the train’s six coaches.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Friday accused President Thabo Mbeki’s government of deliberately seeking to emasculate the African National Congress. A new style of political leadership is required, he told the National Union of Metalworkers in the Eastern Cape.
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu’s controversial ”shoot to kill” comment has received African National Congress president Jacob Zuma’s backing. He was speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Local Government and Traditional Leadership’s fund-raising gala dinner on Friday night
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) suspended group executive of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala, has lodged a case with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Murdered theatre personality Taliep Petersen considered divorcing his wife, Najwa, but was worried about what people would think of him, his younger brother, Igsaan, told the Cape High Court on Friday. Igsaan was the third witness in the trial of Najwa and three alleged hit men, who have pleaded not guilty to Taliep’s execution-style shooting.
West Coast aquaculture farm products were never at risk from possible shellfish poisoning, the Environmental Affairs and Tourism Department said on Friday. ”The aquaculture industry is monitored separately through a Molluscan Shellfish Monitoring and Control Programme,” it said.
A bake sale where cake prices were determined by a person’s race was broken up by the University of Pretoria’s campus security on Friday. The Freedom Front Plus student organisation, VF+TAS, said it held the sale to illustrate the unfairness of affirmative action. The organisation asked white, Indian and coloured students to pay significantly more for cake than black students.
Private health facilities should be more accessible to the general public, Health Department Director General Thami Mseleku said on Friday. Speaking at a primary healthcare conference in Boksburg, he suggested a system that provides for the government to refund private hospitals and clinics for treating patients without medical funds.
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) will stage the first of a series of protests against rising food prices in a march through Polokwane in Limpopo on Sunday, spokesperson Patrick Craven said on Friday. Besides drawing attention to rising food prices, the protesters will also complain about the electricity crisis.
The use of the word ”boesman” (bushman) by newspaper Die Burger is not derogatory hate speech, the Equality Court ruled in Cape Town on Friday. Kobus Faasen, an academic who says he is a descendant of the Khoisan people, had claimed the newspaper’s use of the word in several articles was ”contaminated with racism”.
Abbey Makoe, political editor at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has resigned from the public broadcaster, it said on Friday. Makoe said: ”I am very sad to leave the SABC. Of all the media institutions for which I have worked, I found the SABC the most transformed and progressive.”
President Thabo Mbeki is blatantly violating human rights, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) claimed in a document handed to Amnesty International on Friday. The party’s chief whip, Koos van der Merwe, handed a written complaint against Mbeki to a representative of Amnesty International in Pretoria.
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African National Congress president Jacob Zuma on Friday said that the issue of bail for those accused of rape and murder needs to be debated. Speaking at the launch of the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Local Government and Traditional Leadership Fundraising Summit, Zuma said: ”I don’t think we have debated the issue.”
Taliep Petersen’s death looked ”suspect” from the start, his younger brother, Igsaan, told the Cape High Court on Friday. Igsaan was the third witness to be called in the trial of Taliep’s wife, Najwa, and three alleged hit men, who are accused of murdering him on the night of December 16 2006.
Former bouncer Gary Beuthin and his two co-accused will go on trial in the Johannesburg High Court on October 20 for attempted murder and kidnapping. Beuthin (43) and his co-accused, Melanie van Nierkerk (31) and Warren Schertel (34), were formally served with a high court indictment in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.