Gauteng education minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday she had no knowledge of any investigation of her by the Auditor General. She was reacting to reports that she was being investigated by the Auditor General for possible tender irregularities. ”I do not know of any investigation by the AG against me,” she said.
The Scorpions are investigating the Durban University of Technology, but the National Prosecuting Authority on Friday would not release any details about the investigation. Professor Jonathan Jansen, administrator of the troubled institution, first mentioned the Scorpions investigation last November.
The national office of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) on Friday rejected a request by the organisation’s Gauteng branch to investigate Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya. It said the call came from a group that exists parallel to the official provincial Sanco structure in Gauteng
Writing in his weekly newsletter, President Thabo Mbeki has accused Business Day newspaper of publishing a ”wholly fabricated story” alleging Southern African Development Community leaders were divided over Zimbabwe, and describing a discussion at last week’s SADC summit ”that never took place”.
Two bogus police officers arrested on Friday have been linked to a gang that follows travellers home from OR Tambo International Airport and robs them, police said. Captain Jethro Mtshali said crime-prevention officers on patrol in Kempton Park arrested two men aged 19 and 21 at about 2am, near Kemstar Mall.
It is disturbing that public servants who blow the whistle on corruption, maladministration and other abuses risk being fired and sued, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Friday. Further evidence of this trend is provided by a defamation suit filed recently by the correctional services minister, it said.
Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher will lose 60% of his match fees at the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup after criticising the move to drop star batsman Jacques Kallis, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Friday. A disciplinary panel found Boucher guilty of three breaches of CSA’s code of conduct.
The General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB) has questioned the purpose of a Bill that, if enacted, would require retired judges to obtain permission from the justice minister to undertake paid work. The GCB has expressed its concerns to Parliament about the proposal.
Cheslyn Williams, the former boyfriend of Idols winner Karin Kortje, appeared again in the Bellville Regional Court on Friday, charged with the murder of a Durbanville guest-house owner. Prosecutor Herculene Swart told magistrate Johan Vermaak that the trial was expected to start before him on September 26.
The Sunday Times was overstepping ”in every direction the bounds of propriety and decency” in publishing of the health minister’s hospital records, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Friday. The minister’s lawyers were asking for an interdict to prevent the Times further commenting on or publishing details of the records.
Botswana has repeated its criticism of the unhealthy trade balance with South Africa, saying it is heavily skewed in favour of its economically stronger neighbour. Speaking on Friday, Botswana’s newly appointed High Commissioner, Motlhagodi Molomo, said Botswana President Festus Mogae was concerned about the trade inequality between the two countries.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary for the Tlokwe sub-region died on Thursday, the municipality said. Mpho Badirwang (36) also served in the North West provincial government. ”The office of the executive mayor of Tlokwe municipality, Maphetle Maphetle, wishes to send his deep felt condolences to the family,” mayoral spokesperson Kaizer Mohau said on Friday.
More than half the construction sites visited by inspections from the Labour Department in the past week failed to comply with safety regulations. A statement from the Department of Labour said that inspectors visited 115 construction sites and of these, only 55 contractors (47,8%) were found to be fully compliant.
Whistle-blowers who break the silence around sexual abuse at schools are not safe, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union said on Friday. After a meeting in Johannesburg this week to discuss the issue, union general secretary Thulas Nxesi said that police often did not follow up cases.
The new number-plate system proposed for Gauteng was given a thumbs-up by the Committee for Active Road Safety on Friday. Provincial minister for public transport, roads and works Ignatius Jacobs announced in his budget speech this year that all vehicle owners would have to change their number plates from January 1 2008.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has responded to President Thabo Mbeki’s call for those with evidence of a Cabinet member neglecting their duties to send him the proof. In an open letter published on the DA’s SA Today website on Friday, it has offered the president a list of reasons why he should sack controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Two bogus policemen wearing police-issue bullet-proof vests and with toy guns in their holsters were arrested in Kempton Park on the East Rand on Friday, police said. Captain Jethro Mtshali said members of the Kempton Park crime-prevention unit were on patrol when they spotted two men running near the Kemstar Mall at about 2am.
With South Africa preparing to host the biggest football showpiece, the 2010 Fifa World Cup, negative talk about Africa abounds in the media. And it seems those who intend fighting the negativity are thin on ideas about how to go about achieving a positive image for the continent.
”Although cricket has transformed more or better than other codes of sport, such as rugby, we have not done nearly enough to transform the game fully, as demanded by our Constitution.” Norman Arendse, the new president of Cricket South Africa, tells Lucky Sindane why quotas are desirable.
It is the best and the worst of times for club soccer. Having scored an unprecedented billion-rand-plus for television rights, the game’s top division, the Premier Soccer League, is finally getting close to its commercial worth. But it is the worst of times for the minor league sides in the feeder Mvela Golden League.
Arguments by the Sunday Times and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on the return of the minister’s medical records were expected in court on Friday. The Sunday Times filed court papers on Tuesday and the Health Department confirmed that its reply had been filed on Thursday.
South Africa’s Cabinet has approved R6,1-billion in funding for a national literacy and numeracy campaign. ”Eighty thousand tutors will be engaged to enable 4,7-million adults to achieve basic literacy and numeracy by 2012, at a cost of R6,1-billion,” Themba Maseko, government spokesperson, told reporters on Thursday.
Business was committed to finding solutions for the country’s skill-shortage problems, South African business leaders told President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday. Briefing the media on Thursday, Safika Holdings deputy chairperson Saki Macozoma said business had assured Mbeki that it was committed to working with the government.
Durban’s proposed King Shaka International Airport moved a step closer to becoming a reality after the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism gave the project the green light on Thursday. The department said that a Record of Decision was signed on Thursday, authorising the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) to develop a trade port at la Mercy.
The man who took revenge on his brother’s murderer by hacking him to death with an axe last year was sent to prison for 12 years by the Grahamstown High Court on Thursday. Judge Andre Erasmus said that Milile Ngiwa (26) had struck Luvo Mzozayana (22) with an axe and ”destroyed his face and brain”.
A presidential bodyguard facing a murder charge was rearrested on Thursday after allegedly breaking his bail conditions. Timothy Sabata Mvula will spend a night in the Kuils River police cells before appearing in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Friday to apply for bail on the new charge.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday thumbed her nose at her critics, saying she was there to stay. The media quoted her as telling reporters in East London she would not resign amid accusations that she is an alcoholic who abused her position to get a liver transplant. ”I’m not stepping down,” the minister said.
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South Africa captain John Smit, who has not played since injuring his hamstring against Australia on June 16, will miss Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against Scotland in Edinburgh. Smit was not among the 22 named by the South African Rugby Union on Thursday, although he travelled with the team on their two-match trip to Ireland and Scotland.
A new energy-saving initiative, targeting Johannesburg businesses and homes, has begun. Launched by Talk Radio 702 presenter Jenny Crwys-Williams, the Power to the People campaign urges Johannesburg residents to save energy and protect the environment.
South Africa needs to produce more scientists in order to compete in the global academic arena, the National Research Foundation (NRF) said on Thursday. Speaking at the Johannesburg Press Club, NRF vice-president Albert van Jaarsveld said it was necessary for students to study science to compete with countries such as Germany and the United States.
The South African government expressed confidence on Thursday in free and fair elections in neighbouring Zimbabwe, even as the ruling party and opposition there remained at loggerheads. The Cabinet accepted a report by President Thabo Mbeki that his attempts to broker a stalemate between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition were ”on track”.
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African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma does not have the right to look over the shoulders of investigators all along the way, lawyers for the state argued in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Zuma brought an application to stop the national director of public prosecutions from extending an investigation to the United Kingdom.