Another Cape Town informal settlement goes up in flames

At least fifty more Cape Town families have been left homeless following a fire in the Ocean View area Thursday morning. About 50 shacks burnt down in the Masiphumele informal settlement, while firefighters also had their hands full with a brush fire at nearby Slangkop. According to Cape Town Disaster Management spokesperson Johan Minnie, no injuries or fatalities have been reported. Minnie said that residents affected by the blaze are receiving assistance. There has been a spate of fires in the Cape in the last week, with strong winds fanning the blazes that have left hundreds of people homeless over the festive season

The Cape minstrel march is off

The Cape minstrel march – traditionally held on the second of January - is reportedly officially off as talks between the minstrels and the premier's office have reached a dead end. The premier's office says it will not be entering into any more negotiations with the Kaapse Karnival Association about funding. The Cape Times reports that no further meetings have been planned. On Tuesday, the KKA said that Premier Ebrahim Rasool's office had promised it one-point-five-million rand, but instead, they had only received one-point-three-million rand. The organisation says there is not enough money to stage the event - a popular tourist attraction in Cape Town.

The latest road death toll figures

The death toll on South Africa's roads during the holiday season has reached almost a thousand but is still down one-thousand-140 on the same period last year. According to a statement issued by the Department of Transport a total of 965 people have died on the country’s roads so far. 411 of these were pedestrians and 88 children under the age of 14. Most fatalities were in KwaZulu-Natal with 183 deaths, followed by Gauteng with 162, the Eastern Cape 115, Mpumalanga 110, the Western Cape 104, Limpopo 91, North West 87, the Free State 79, and the Northern Cape with 34.

Safety precautions for Matric celebrations

Western Cape police have taken measures to ensure the safety of residents and students during matriculation celebrations. The national results will be released on Thursday morning countrywide. Celebration venues that have been identified as areas of concern include the Grand Parade, Cape Peninsula beaches as well as beaches on the west and south coasts. In a statement issuedon Wednesday morning police said they would perform patrols and access controls. Roadblocks will also be set up at strategic points. Firearms and alcohol will be not be allowed onto beachfronts and pavilions. Action will be taken against drinking in public, drunkenness and rowdy behaviour, public violence and serious and violent crimes. The measures will be taken in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and the Department of Community Safety's Bambanani volunteers.

Fraud-probe urged into fuel shortage

The South African Institute for Corporate Fraud Management says a thorough forensic audit is needed to investigate signs that fraud could have led to the fuel shortages experienced in the country over the past few weeks. The Cape Times quotes Institute president Bart Henderson as saying the Scorpions have already been called on to investigate the matter and the request is under serious consideration. According to Henderson the shortage was not what he calls an ‘’oops”, but rather a matter that compromised national security. He says all the red flags are there that indicate massive fraud. Consumers contribute about 700-million rand a year for the fuel industry to keep a 25-day supply of reserve stocks.

SA’s drivers disregard heavy fines

South African motorists are still showing a strong disregard for the heavy fines they could be given for driving under the influence of alcohol and hundreds have been arrested so far this holiday season. A senior police spokesperson reminded motorists who drink and drive that they could face fines of up to 120-thouand rands or six years in prison. The legal limit is naught-point-05 grams per 100 millilitres. The spokesperson pointed out that this means that a motorist should not drink more than two cans of beer or two glasses of wine or just one double tot of spirit liquor every two hours. Roadblocks will be increased during the New Year festivities.

Petrol price to drop next week

The price of petrol is expected to drop by five or six cents a litre next week when South Africa switches over to cleaner, unleaded fuel on the first of January. Economists said consumers had been expecting the fuel price to drop by much more than the projected five or six cents a litre. The price of diesel should drop by as much as 14 to 15 cents a litre. This would be the third month in a row that fuel prices eased. The economists say the move should boost the country’s economy as consumer confidence had dropped toward the end of this year as the fuel price rose.

Alcohol a leading cause of road carnage

At least 93 road users died on the Western Cape’s roads over the Christmas weekend. The province’s community safety spokesperson, Makhaya Mani said that drunken driving and pedestrians not wearing reflective clothing, or walking around drunk, continued to be a problem. He says of the 93 fatalities, 27 were drivers, 31 were passengers and 35 pedestrians. Mani says the figure of 93 fatalities is an improvement on the same period last year, when 126 people died. Traffic authorities have doubled roadblocks from last year. Mani says they are setting up roadblocks where motorists don't expect them to be and are catching drivers by surprise.

Western Cape residents asked to use water sparingly

Residents of several suburbs in the Cape Peninsula have been asked to use water sparingly following a major break in a water main at the Voëlvlei Dam. The dam is one of Cape Town’s major water suppliers and the break has put further strain on residents who have spent a frightening weekend watching encroaching veld fires threaten their homes. Spokesperson for the City Pieter Cronje has appealed to residents of Melkbos, Blouberg, Duynefontein, Milnerton, Plattekloof, Goodwood and Morning Star to use water sparingly. Cronje says the reservoirs are full and there is no crisis at the moment, but residents in these suburbs should not water their gardens or fill their swimming pools until tomorrow afternoon when the break in the water main should be repaired.

Toddler dies in Cape Peninsula fire

The Weather Bureau has warned that Western Cape fire fighters can expect little rest today as weather conditions remain favourable for runaway fires. Hot, dry conditions have been forecast for the Peninsula, Boland, Swartland, Breede River Valley and the West Coast. The strong wind is expected to continue blowing over a wide area. The fires that ravaged the Peninsula over the Christmas weekend claimed at least one life when a toddler was burnt to death in a shack fire in Site C in Khayelitsha late yesterday. More than a thousand people have been left homeless following seven fires in informal settlements in the Peninsula.

DNA links man to Knysna killings

Prosecutors say they have DNA evidence that links a Knysna man to the murders of two young women in the town. Heinrich van Rooyen is accused of the murders of Jessica Wheeler and Victoria Stadler, and the state claims to have recovered his DNA from the body and clothing of the two women. It is reported that State prosecutor MP Heyns says Van Rooyen’s DNA was found on Wheeler’s body, while he also matched a semen-sample found on the pants Stadler was wearing the night of her murder. Van Rooyen’s bail application has been postponed until January 16th.

Dire warning for motorists who do not obey rules

Traffic officials countrywide have increased surveillance on South Africa’s roads as the end-of-year-holiday traffic rush gets under way. Law enforcement spokesperson Collen Msibi says roadblocks will be set-up on most of the busiest routes and offenders can expect little or no mercy. Random checks will be held for speeding, drunken driving and drug abuse. Msibi warned that driving under the influence could lead to a fine of 120-thousand rand or six years imprisonment. The death toll on the country’s roads since the start of the holiday season stands at 560. Of these, 325 were pedestrians.

A fuel price cut in January

Fuel prices are likely to fall further in the new year with an expected price cut of seven cents on January 4th. According to I-Net Bridge, a stronger rand and lower oil price is the main reason for the price cut. Meanwhile, thousands of tons of European fuel is to be imported into South Africa next month. At least 150-thousand tons will be imported to deal with supply gaps following the recent shortage of fuel due to refinery upgrades and maintenance.

Speared fisherman critical

A spear fisherman who accidentally speared himself in the chest at Cape Point on Thursday was still in a serious condition in the Groote Schuur hospital late Thursday night. The 33-year-old man had apparently been demonstrating the spear gun to people when he was shot. NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon says the spear was embedded in the victim’s chest but could not be removed at the scene. The patient was flown to hospital by helicopter where doctors operated to remove the barbed spear from his chest.

Drowned man’s body found at Fisherman’s Walk

By Megan Hartogh

The National Sea Rescue Institute discovered the body of a 23-year-old man on Fisherman’s Walk Wednesday morning. The man was reported missing on Saturday, December 17th and was presumed to have drowned. NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, says that the body was found near to where the incident occurred.

Speculation that the Knysna murder accused is innocent

There is speculation that the wrong man is being held for the recent murders of two young Knysna women. Heinrich van Rooyen will be applying for bail in the Knysna magistrate’s court on Thursday, after he was arrested in connection with the murders of Jessica Wheeler and Victoria Stadler. However, News24 reports that a source close the private investigation into the murders says the accused might be innocent because police were “under pressure to arrest someone". The source claims that van Rooyen was arrested on circumstantial evidence and suggests that there is in fact no link between the two murders.

Air crew back from Equatorial Guinea

The two South Africans who were held in Equatorial Guinea over a business dispute have arrived at Johannesburg International Airport. Ruwayda Kalbine and Seshan Pillay were flown from Malabo to Libreville on Wednesday morning before departing for South Africa. They had their passports returned on Tuesday night after a meeting between South African and Equatorial Guinean foreign affairs officials in Pretoria. Kalbine and Pillay went to the country to work as crew members for a local airline, but were detained because of a business dispute between the company that employed them and another airline. The pair were prevented from leaving Equatorial Guinea for more than a month.

No stats on SAPS protection

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula says owing to security reasons information on the number and cost of private security firms protecting South African Police Service facilities cannot be provided. Nqakula was replying in parliament yesterday to the Democratic Alliance’s Roy Jankielsohn, who had asked what the value of each contract was. I-Net Bridge quotes Nqakula as saying only the national contracts were put on tender, due to the fact that total expenditure exceeded 200-thousand rand. He said requirements for security services with a total expenditure below 200-thousand rand were finalised on a quotation basis by different decentralised procurement offices.

Five people die in a car accident

By Busisiwe Mtabane

Five people have died in an accident outside Cradock on Thursday morning. Police spokesperson Captain Erris Claassen says a truck had tried to overtake a bakkie towing a caravan from Colesberg to Port Elizabeth at 08:30 on the N10 highway Between Middelburg and Cradock. The driver of the bakkie and four passengers died. A nine-year-old girl who was in the vehicle is in a serious condition in hospital in Middelburg. Police arrested the driver of the truck on five counts of culpable homicide.

A breakthrough in the Philippi murder and rape case

Police in the Western Cape believe they have made a major breakthrough in the so-called Philippi serial killer case. Provincial commissioner Mzwandile Petros issued a statement on Tuesday night, saying a 41-year-old man had been arrested in Constantia Tuesday afternoon in connection with four murders and two rapes in the Philippi area. According to Petros the arrest follows a thorough investigation, and based on conclusive evidence police are confident that they have made a major breakthrough in solving one of the most complex cases. The man will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, December 22. Earlier, a man known as Jesus was arrested in connection with the same case, but released later.

Stranded air crew could be on their way home

The commercial dispute that has led to two South Africans being held in Equatorial Guinea since the 17th of November may be resolved on Monday. One of the companies involved in the saga says it is meeting with Foreign Affairs again and hopes to finalise the pair's return. Cabin crew members Ruwaida Kaldine and Sechan Pillay were prevented form leaving Equatorial Guinea over a debt owed by their company Gal Aviation. Authorities in Equatorial Guinea plucked the two from the plane that was to take them to Johannesburg on the 13th of December, after South African ambassadorial staff had escorted them on board a flight in Malabo.

Fuel crisis task team to be appointed soon

The minerals and energy department expects to announce the terms of reference of a task team on Monday, to probe the fuel crisis that left some service stations dry. Nhlanhla Gumede, the chief director of hydrocarbons, told Business Report the department would give the task team about two months to complete its work, due to the urgency of the crisis Minerals and Energy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks lashed oil refiners last week for causing the fuel shortages through failure to hold a 25-day stockpile of refined products and insisted the industry refund motorists for the oversight.

Meanwhile, Colin McClelland, the director of the SA Petroleum Industry Association, says things are getting better. But it will take some time before the industry has the reserve stocks that McClelland will be comfortable with. He says they don’t have the levels of stock they’d like to have anywhere yet, but there is enough to keep the system going and they are making special efforts for farmers in the Western Cape and Free State. The industry and the government have set up a logistics task team to co-ordinate fuel supplies across the country.

Police seek missing person

By Megan Hartogh

Cape Town police are requesting the public’s assistance in locating 47-year-old Roger Muller. Muller was last seen on Thursday, December 15th, at his place of work in Riebeeck Street at around 10 A.M. Police spokesperson, Bernadine Steyn says that Muller is believed to be driving a maroon Suzuki "Intruder" motorcycle. Muller is approximately 1.75 metres tall, weighs about 100 kg, and has short brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cape Town police station's Operational Room on (021) 467 80 93 or the investigating officer, Inspector Herman van Deventer on (021) 467 80 18. Alternatively, they can call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10 111.

Inset: Roger Muller, who has been missing since December 15th.

A nasty surprise for cheating matrics

A nasty surprise is waiting for Western Cape matrics suspected of cheating. Their results will not be published in newspapers. Provincial deputy director-general for education Brian Schreuder says his department is investigating at least 40 incidents of irregularities. These include pupils using crib-notes. He says in cases where pupils have been caught in exam venues, investigations have already been finalised. Irregularities found during the marking process could not be finalised because pupils were on holiday and couldn't be reached.

Another suspected drowning in False Bay

Rescue authorities have resumed the search for a 26-year old man who went missing while swimming in False Bay on Sunday although they presume he has drowned. The man apparently went swimming at a beach close to Monwabisi in Cape Town, and has not been seen since. According to National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon, the beach the man was swimming at is not patrolled by lifeguards. Lambinon says that a rescue helicopter has been despatched to continue the search for the man, after a combined search by the NSRI and police divers found no trace of the man on Sunday.

Fuel slowly returns to the Cape

By Megan Hartogh

Western Cape fruit farms are slowly receiving fuel supplies. This comes after diesel supplies ran dry in the Klein Karoo and Boland a week ago. However, if the fuel supply does not normalise this week, grape and peach harvests will be threatened. Should this occur, it would add to the fruit industry’s loss of millions of rands because of spoiled fruit. The fuel being received comes as the minister of Minerals and Energy, Lindiwe Hendricks, plans the establishment of a task team that will manage and co-ordinate fuel distribution. It is reported that the fuel shortage is due to fuel companies not keeping a 30 day fuel reserve, as per a moral agreement with government, ahead of switching to cleaner fuels in January 2006.

Hundreds die since start of festive season

By Megan Hartogh

Hundreds of people have lost their lives since the start of the festive season. Five-hundred-and-62 people were killed on the roads and ten lost their lives due to drowning over the past weekend. The latest fatalities to add to the horrific total were two motorists who died in separate incidents at Laignburg and Three Sisters. According Community Safety spokesperson, Makhaya Mani, motorists are still driving at high speeds and thus contributing to the amount of deaths on the roads.

A busy weekend for the NSRI

Members of the NSRI were once again kept busy on Sunday with 11 people being saved from drowning at Plettenberg Bay and Cape St Francis. Spokesperson Craig Lambinon SAYS lifeguards had saved eight people at Nature’s Valley near Plettenberg Bay when they were swept out to sea. Three people were rescued at Cape St Francis when their ski-boat capsized at Shark Point about 500 metres from the harbour. The boat was recovered and towed back to harbour.

Fuel industry slammed over shortages

FEDHASA Cape has slammed the fuel industry for the shortage that has led to a crisis in the industry. Chairperson Nils Heckscher said it was almost incomprehensible that the tourist industry should be saddled with a fuel shortage of this magnitude at the height of the holiday season. Heckscher said measures should have been put in place to prevent the disaster, adding that the shortage seems to be the result of very bad planning, and is not in line with the first world experience that the Cape is promoted to be.

Zuma takes on the SABC over cancelled interview

Former deputy president Jacob Zuma is to take the SABC to task for canceling an interview with him as newsmaker of the year. Zuma’s aide Ranjeni Munusamy is reported as saying Zuma intends writing to the SABC to ask why the planned interview had been cancelled at the last minute. Acting SABC spokesperson Lesego Mncwango told the Sunday Independent one of the reasons for the cancellation was because the invitation had been sent before Zuma had been charged with rape. He said it would have been impossible for Zuma to discuss certain things without breaking the sub judice rule.

Mbeki calls for greater steps towards reconciliation

President Thabo Mbeki says South Africans of different races have not done enough to overcome the divisions of the past. Speaking at Reconciliation Day celebrations in Pretoria on Friday, Mbeki says despite the work of parliament to abolish apartheid laws, there has not been the same level of initiative by the people to create a non-racial and non-sexist society. He went on to say that South Africans need to question whether enough has been done to overcome the stereotypes that were entrenched by the racist policies of the past.

South Africa’s Nobel Peace laureates to become a permanent fixture in Cape Town

South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize laureates are to become a permanent fixture at the V&A Waterfront, after an unveiling at the V&A Waterfront on Friday, December 16. Larger-than-life statues of former president Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former president FW de Klerk, and African National Congress founder Chief Albert Luthuli will now enjoy pride of place in the newly named Nobel Square at the Waterfront.
A memorial to commemorate struggle heroes Robert Waterwitch and Coline Williams, who both died at the age of 20, WAS unveiled earlier today. The uMkhonto weSizwe duo were killed in a blast in Athlone on July 23, 1976. The memorial has been erected in Lower Klipfontein Road, on the sidewalk near where their bodies were found.

Another teenager missing on the Cape Flats

Another Cape Town teenager has gone missing. Fourteen-year-old Kristy-Ann Michaels went missing on Sunday, December 11th. She was last seen at the Ons Plek Shelter in Albert Street, in Cape Town. Police spokesperson, Bernadine Steyn, says that Kristy has a scar under her chin and on her right arm. Anyone with information regarding Kristy's disappearance is asked to contact crime-stop on 0860-10111.

Thousands arrested for crimes against women and children

The ministry of safety and security says more than seven-thousand suspects have been arrested since November 25 for crimes committed against women and children. The ministry says in a statement that the arrests in Operation Basadi were for crimes ranging from rape, indecent assault and child abuse to kidnapping, abduction, murder and attempted murder. About a thousand police members carried out a string of co-ordinated pre-dawn raids at roadblocks and during stop and search operations. About a thousand addresses countrywide were visited. The operations formed part of the 16-day campaign of activism against woman and child abuse.

QQ Section area committee meet with city officials

By Busisiwe Mtabane

The area committee for QQ section in Khayeliltsha met with officials from the City of Cape Town and members of the mayor’s Executive Committee on Tuesday, December 13.

QQ section made headlines when residents embarked on protest marches demanding to be moved to serviced plots as a first step towards getting houses.

The meeting was the first time since the struggle in QQ section gained prominence in May that officials came to see conditions in which people live. Leader of the QQ section area committee Mzonke Poni said they resorted to burning tires since their councilor and Council officials ignored them for so many years.

Airlines consider legal action against fuel companies

At least two airlines are considering legal action against petrol firms over the fuel crisis which left passengers stranded at the weekend. SA Airways and Nationwide say they will consider legal action against fuel companies after several flights were delayed because of a shortage of aviation fuel at Cape Town International Airport at the weekend. The general shortage of fuel, including aviation fuel, petrol and diesel, has been due to the country’s six refineries upgrading ahead of the conversion to cleaner fuels from January.

Stanley "Tookie" Williams may be buried in South Africa

Former South African first lady Winnie Madikizela-Mandela will do everything in her power to ensure that executed murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams is buried in South Africa - if it is still his family's wish. However, Beeld quotes Madikizela-Mandela’s spokesperson, Udo Froese, as saying so far there has not been any official communication between her and the Williams family in Los Angeles. 51-year-old Williams was executed yesterday in California’s San Quention Prison, despite requests from groups opposed to the death penalty and celebrities, asking governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant him clemency.

Mbeki to attend municipal imbizo in Khayelitsha

By Nadia Samie

President Thabo Mbeki is to attend a municipal imbizo at the O.R Tambo hall in Khayelitsha in Cape Town on Wednesday, December 14. Mbeki will be accompanied by cabinet ministers, as part of the imbizo programme, which is intended to strengthen the municipality’s capacity to deliver on their mandate. The Imbizo will seeks to engage communities and stakeholders in the implementation of Project Consolidate, (a hands-on local government support and engagement programme), as a practical, national programme to deal with challenges.

Medical service launched on notorious road

To curb the high death toll on the stretch of N1 in the Karoo, known as the road of death, the Western Cape MEC for Health, Pierre Uys, launched a new emergency medical service on the highway between Laingsburg and Beaufort West today. The service, based at Leeu-Gamka, will significantly improve response times to accidents in the area, which claim many lives each year. Health spokesperson Herman van der Westhuizen told NewsFlash the service will relieve the burden on emergency services in towns in the Karoo. The provincial traffic department will also be receiving 20 new vehicles to assist in policing during the festive season.

Fuel shortage continues to bite

The South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) says people who battle to find petrol should phone oil companies to find out where they will be making deliveries. Business Report quotes Sapia director Colin McClelland as saying oil companies are trying to keep petrol stations along the major routes supplied. He advised desperate city motorists to drive out to the nearest highway filling station. Meanwhile, government has announced a review of the country's fuel stocks as it accused oil companies of reneging on an agreement to keep 30 days' worth of supplies. Motorists pay between two and three cents a litre to compensate oil firms for the storage.

Government calls for review of fuel stocks

By Nadia Samie

Government has called for an urgent review of fuel stocks. After a meeting held in Pretoria yesterday between Minerals and Energy Minister, Lindiwe Hendricks and captains of the fuel industry, it emerged that fuel companies had broken a moral agreement by not keeping the required 30 day fuel supply, resulting in the current fuel shortages. The shortages are now spreading to neighbouring countries as well. Nhlanhla Gumede, the Chief Director of hydrocarbons in Hendricks department, says that in line with the basic fuel price mechanism motorists pay about 2 or 3 cents a litre for the costs incurred by fuel companies to store 30 days fuel supply. The fuel shortage is also the result of "bad planning" on the part of the South African oil industry. "Emergency imports" are now being purchased from tankers to cope with the shortage of fuel in the province, while refineries with surpluses are sending fuel by rail to Cape Town, the city worst hit. Cape Town now has four days' aviation fuel in stock and more is being produced.

South Africans believe that politicians are corrupt - study

Transparency International’s latest annual worldwide survey on corruption shows that South Africans believe political parties are the most-corrupt institutions in the country. According to the report between 51 and 70 percent of South Africans believe that corruption greatly influences political life. This places South Africa on par with countries such as Bulgaria, Cameroon, France, Russia and South Korea. The report was released on Monday, a day before the United Nations convention against corruption comes into effect. The convention, signed by South Africa, enables countries to recover assets and money that rulers stole in the past, as well as to curtail money laundering, corruption and bribery more effectively.

Provincial Spatial Development Framework to be released Tuesday

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rassol and Provincial Minister of Environment, Planning and Economic Development, Tasneem Essop will release the Provincial Spatial Development Framework and other related guidelines at the Langa Sports Hall at two-thirty on Tuesday afternoon. The Framework and guidelines are the department’s contribution to the Krismisbox campaign announced by the Premier in September. The campaign has been running since 2004.

Table Mountain safety concerns for tourists

#No arrests have yet been made after another tourist was attacked on Table Mountain over the weekend. A man from the Democratic Republic of Congo was stabbed and robbed on Lions Head on Saturday while walking alone to watch the sunset over the city. Police spokesperson Randall Stoffels says that two men armed with knives robbed him and stabbed him in the neck. Stoffels says that the suspects fled on foot. A string of attacks in the vicinity of Table Mountain has prompted tourist authorities to warn people not to venture out alone on the mountain.

Ajax star faces second ban

SPORTS
Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs faces his second six-month ban for the use of a banned substance in his asthma medication. Josephs, one of four goalkeepers in contention for the African Cup of Nations squad, previously served a ban after testing positive for salbutamol earlier this year. According to reports, he had earned a medical exemption for the substance after the first ban. Ajax boss John Comitis has expressed outrage at the decision to ban Josephs for a second time. Comitis says the ban is ridiculous and will not go unchallenged.

Two feared drowned in the Western Cape

Two people, including a 14-year-old boy, are believed to have drowned in separate incidents in the Western Cape. In Mossel Bay on Sunday, the National Sea Rescue Institute was called to the scene where two children got into difficulty in the water. One of the boys was rescued by a relative, while the other boy is still missing. NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the search for the missing boy will resume this morning.

Meanwhile, divers and rescue personnel have also started searching again for a 50-year old man who went missing off Paarden Island late on Sunday. He is thought to have gone for a swim, but did not return to the car where his friend was waiting.

Motorists warned against drunk-driving

Transport Minister Jeff Radebe has received the Torch of Peace in support of the Arrive Alive campaign this festive season. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka handed over the torch in Lichtenburg, marking the end of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. Lit on 25 November at the launch of the 16 Days campaign, it has now been handed over to Radebe to encourage peace on the roads. Radebe warned that officials would come down hard against people who drink and drive during the holiday period.

Seven arrested after boy killed in gang crossfire

Two suspects will appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the death of 11-year-old Toufiq Jacobs. Toufiq died when he was caught in the crossfire during a shoot-out between the Yakkies and Bad Boys gangs. He had been playing outside a house in Bokmakierie Street on Monday night when he was hit in the head. He died in hospital the next day. Police spokesperson, Bernadine Steyn, said the investigation into the shooting led to the arrest of another five people in Athlone, Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein when police came across illegal arms and ammunition. The firearms have been sent for ballistic testing…

Chaos at Cape Town International Airport eased

The chaos at Cape Town International Airport has eased since fuel became available late on Sunday afternoon, but airlines have nevertheless been warned to keep their contingency plans in place. Fuel became available on the runway just after five o’clock. However, BP spokesperson Kader Jacobs said that airlines would have to keep their contingency plans in place for three or four more days to allow the airport to build up a fuel reserve. Major delays became the order of the day when tanks ran dry at the weekend and even the Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan had to endure a delay of some six hours on a flight to Johannesburg.

Telkom gets a competitor

Telkom's competition has finally arrived after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa licensed a second fixed line operator on Friday. SNO Telecommunications received its licence nearly four years behind schedule, and it is hoped that they will be able to offer consumers a choice between fixed line operators by sometime next year. The licensing process was delayed several times because of infighting among the shareholders, which include India's Tata Group and state-held Transtel and Esitel, which are Transnet's and Eskom's telecommunications arms.

NPA to investigate claims of a media campaign against Zuma

The National Prosecuting Authority has asked the Public Protector to investigate allegations that the media is being used to bring down Jacob Zuma. Zuma has also accused the NPA of leaking affidavits to the media. The Mail & Guardian says Zumalashed out in a statement at two newspapers that published a story of a woman who claimed she was paid to provide favours for him. The newspapers claimed they had a transcribed version of the woman's testimony that was in the possession of the Scorpions. Zuma says he never met the woman. NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi says they will give the Public Protector their full co-operation in the investigation.

Western Cape on red alert as fires rage

Three people have been killed in yet another fire in the Cape Peninsula. Police have confirmed that a woman and two teenagers have burnt to death in a fire in Khayelitsha. The blaze began in the early hours of this morning and spread rapidly in the strong wind. The cause of the fire is still not known. Another fire is burning in Nyanga at this time.

Last night, panic stricken residents of Llandudno on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula began fleeing from their homes as a fire swept through the fynbos in the area. The fire started in the Oudekraal area shortly after midnight and was soon whipped up out of control by the strong southeasterly wind. Early this morning it was feared that the flames could sweep in on Camps Bay and Victoria Road from Hout Bay has been closed to traffic.

Meanwhile, weary fire fighters have had their hands full since yesterday when a number of fires broke out in the Peninsula, on the West Coast and in the Boland. By late last night it appeared that the dangerous fire above Kommetjie had been brought under control. A spokesperson for the Cape Town Fire Department told NewsFlash the fire had been water bombed until late and houses in the area had been saved. A fire next to the N-Seven motorway near Dassenberg north of Cape Town badly damaged a factory and a house yesterday. And in Bain’s Kloof in the Boland a group of campers had to flee for their lives when a run-away fire threatened the area.

Parliament approves Gautrain project

Parliament has given its official approval of the controversial Gautrain Rapid Rail link, after considering a detailed presentation on the project. The merits of the project,which is estimated to cost at least 20-billion rands, was recently questioned by parliament’s transport portfolio committee, which argued that it will be too expensive and would create a dependency on foreign parts. However, government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe says project has the full support of government, but agrees that more needs to be done to integrate the rail link with existing rail transport networks in the province.

Suspect arrested for Knysna murders

Police have made a breakthrough in the investigation of the murders of two young Knysna women who were killed in the space of a few weeks. Spokesperson Eddie Cronjé says the 23-year-old suspect, who was arrested in Hornlee on Thursday night, will appear in the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on Friday. He says the man’s bail hearing will probably be postponed. The brutal murders of 19-year-old Jessica Wheeler, whose body was found in a churchyard in October, and 20-year-old Victoria Stadler, who was found about a month later in bushes near Hornlee, shocked the popular Southern Cape tourist town.

Commuters charge Metrorail with corporate manslaughter

Frustrated commuters in the Western Cape intend charging Metrorail with murder, culpable homicide and serious assault in what could be the country's first so-called corporate manslaughter case. The Rail Commuters Action Group, or RAG, and 49 others have already filed a civil suit against Metrorail, claiming damages of 40-million rands for death and personal injury, in a bid to compel the company to implement proper operational procedures. According to the Cape Argus, the head of RAG Lesley van Minnen says relatives of people who have died or have been severely injured on trains intend laying criminal charges against Metrorail on Friday.

City cuts funding for N2 Gateway Project

The City of Cape Town has cut its budget for the ambitious N2 Gateway housing project, apparently because planned allocations from provincial and national government did not materialise. According to Business Day, the city has reduced its overall spending by more than 30-percent, and will also be cutting its budgets for water and electricity services, as well as traffic and roads services. The N2 Gateway project was initially projected to build six-thousand-600 units over the next 18 months, but this will now be reduced to two-thousand-200 units.

Another power cut in the city

Parts of the Cape Peninsula were plunged into darkness again on Wednesday night after another power failure. Large parts of the province suffered three huge power cuts last month due to a partial shut-down at the Koeberg nuclear power station. But the City of Cape Town says last night’s power failure in the city centre and the Atlantic seaboard was apparently caused by an infrastructure problem which led to a feeder cable overload. To make matters worse, a water mains burst in Three Anchor Bay on Thursday morning turning Beach Road into a river and leaving many people without water.

City admits irregularities with jewellery project

Staff reporter

The city of Cape Town has admitted that a lucrative contract awarded to a Johannesburg-based consultant to set up an "African Jewellery City" was never put out to tender. According to the Cape Argus, the city awarded former SA Local Government Association chief executive Thabo Owen Mokwena’s company with a contract worth more than six million rands for consultation work on the first phase of the proposed jewellery precinct. City manager Wallace Mgoqi says the first part of the project was regarded as a closed bid, because of the intimate knowledge and networks that Mokwena’s company had on the project. City of Cape Town Media liaison, Sputnik Ratau, says the project has been launched to create jobs, in the cities where it has been implemented…

Matric fraud rocks top Western Cape school

Allegations of exam fraud at one of the Western Cape's most-prominent high schools have sent shockwaves through the province's education and matriculation circles. The results of at least 56 pupils are now in jeopardy. Matriculants at Bellville High School and parents were told at a special meeting on Tuesday night that a teacher at the school had apparently tampered with the answer sheets for the Computer Studies practical-exam paper. The teacher has been suspended pending an investigation by the Western Cape department of education. He could also face criminal charges. School principal Johan Crous did not want to confirm the teacher’s identity.

Law society to visit Pollsmoor

Members of the Cape Law Society, accompanied by Correctional Services minister Ncgonde Balfour, will be visiting Pollsmoor Prison on Friday, December 9. The visit is part of an ongoing joint venture where the conditions of all prisoners, more specifically children and women in custody, are reviewed annually. The review includes general conditions as well as access to health services, and specifically access to education for juveniles awaiting trial. Members from the Specialist Criminal and Family Law Committees will give guidance and deliver talks to prisoners awaiting trial on plea-bargaining and domestic violence. Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Committee chairperson Vincient Saldanha and former Law Society president David Mc Donald will be leading Friday's delegation.

Mbeki reacts to rape charge against Zuma

President Thabo Mbeki says the ANC is going through an extremely difficult patch, and issues around former deputy president Jacob Zuma fill him with sadness. Answering questions about Zuma during a live broadcast on the SABC’s Radio Metro last night, Mbeki said people should spare a thought for Zuma’s alleged rape victim. Zuma was charged with rape in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning. Mbeki said the ANC supported Zuma while he was being charged with corruption earlier this year. However, he said the party also supported the woman who had laid the rape charge. Mbeki added that the law should be respected, as it was important to stick to the principle that a person should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Another fire in Cape Town informal settlement

Community leaders in Khayelitsha will meet to plot the way forward following a fire that ripped through an informal settlement in the area yesterday afternoon. Firefighters estimate that between 200 and 250 shacks were destroyed in the Site B settlement, although John Brown of Cape Town Disaster Management says this is a conservative estimate at this stage. Brown says that the cause of the fire has not yet been established. No fatalities have been reported, although a fire fighter sustained light injuries while extinguishing the blaze. Brown says officials have ordered meals and blankets for residents of the settlement

Fuel shortage in the Western Cape

The continuing fuel shortage in the Western Cape is heading for a crisis as millions of litres of fuel, which were supposed to reach the region yesterday, are now only expected later this week. To make matters worse, the fuel price dropped by 30 cents a litre at midnight.
BP said at the weekend that at least 20-million litres of fuel were on the way from their refinery in Durban. At least three-million litres would arrive in Cape Town by rail, and another seven-million would be shipped in. However, Die Burger quotes BP spokesperson Melanie Silberbauer as saying millions of litres are expected to arrive on Friday. She said the situation was looking bad, as the shortage and crisis would only be resolved next week.

Jacob Zuma formally charged with rape

Jacob Zuma has formally been charged with rape. The former deputy president appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court early this morning. A 31-year-old Aids activist has accused him of raping her at his Forrest Town home, but Zuma denies the allegations. It is understood that Zuma’s lawyer Michael Hulley consulted with police before his court appearance. He says his client will respond to the charges in a statement later today. It is not yet clear whether Zuma will stand down as deputy president of the ANC now that he has been charged with rape.

Local athletes do their bit for charity

The annual Engen Athletics Community Challenge will see numerous well-known athletes participate in Cape Town’s premier charity athletics event. Athletes such as Llwellyn Herbert, Janice Josephs and Godfrey Mokoena will participate in the event which will be held at the Parow Athletics Track on December 16th. Spokesperson for the event, Mariana Meyer.

Suspected serial murderer in suicide attempt

The man arrested in connection with a spate of murders and rapes in Philippi in Cape Town is in hospital following an apparent suicide attempt while in police custody. The man was due to appear in court yesterday, but is under police guard in hospital after he tried to hang himself on Sunday night. The man, who faces 11 charges of murder, three of attempted murder and eight counts of rape, was found lying on the floor of his cell with injuries around his neck, head and face.

Child seriously wounded in gang crossfire

Another Cape Town child has become the victim of gang violence. An 11-year-old boy is in a serious condition in a hospital after he was hit by a stray bullet during a fight between two gangs in Athlone. Police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn says the boy was playing in front of a house in Bokmakierie Street on Monday evening when he was hit in the head. A case of attempted murder is being investigated.

Taxi bosses slammed for poor treatment of differently-abled people

The Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad says the taxi industry needs to make its vehicles more accessible to persons living with disabilities. Speaking in Rustenburg, Pahad said taxi owners and drivers resent the space and time taken by people in wheelchairs when they board taxis as it costs them money. Pahad said this issue needed to be addressed as a human rights issue. He said people should be made aware that it was a crime to violate the rights of people with disabilities.

Eskom told to explain power cuts

The National Electricity Regulator has instructed Eskom to report on the causes of widespread power interruptions that occurred in the Western Cape during November. Eskom has also been told to come up with measures to reduce the likelihood of these interruptions happening again. NER spokesperson Nhlanhla Cebekhulu said that the present capacity to supply the load in the Western Cape depends on the availability of supply from Koeberg as well as from the generation pool in Mpumalanga. In all three incidents during November, these supply points were not available. Cebekhulu said the NER would put pressure on Eskom to ensure that the chances of failure of equipment is minimised.

Cape Town beefs up security ahead of festive season

The City of Cape Town has beefed up its Metro Police Department to provide a safe, responsive and sustainable environment for residents and visitors alike during the festive season. The City’s peak season programme began on the 1st of this month and it will run until the 31st of January 2006. Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Maatje Malan, said the city is a key supporting stakeholder in the safety and security environment, so it is the city’s duty to assist and ensure public safety during the festive season.

Suspected Cape Town serial killer in court today

A man suspected of killing and raping a number of members of the farm worker community in Philippi on the Cape Flats appears in a Cape Town court today. The 49-year-old suspect was arrested on Thursday. Police believe they can link him to at least eight murders and six rapes in the area over the past few months. The community took their case to the Independent Complaints Commission and hunted for the killer themselves, after accusing police of not responding to their plight. The farm workers say they are still living in fear because they believe the suspect operated with a gang which is still at large.

Government to recruit skilled South Africans working abroad

Government says it is looking to recruit about 400 engineers from outside SA to help implement and manage the country’s infrastructure investment programme. According to Business Day, most of the recruits will be South Africans currently working abroad. Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin says Eskom and Transnet will hire most of the recruits, as the government seeks to accelerate its multi-billion rand infrastructure development programme. Last week Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that Eskom and Transnet have already identified at least 200 skilled professionals who fit the profile of the people required.

Tripartite alliance to meet for talks

An urgent meeting is to be held among the tripartite alliance in the Western Cape to discuss their relationship and the upcoming local government elections. This comes after the SA Communist Party accused the Western Cape ANC of racism and sidelining them as an alliance partner. SACP provincial secretary Khaya Magaxa says the party has received an ANC invitation to a meeting next week. ANC provincial chairman James Ngculu says he has spoken to Magaxa, who indicated that they should meet. He says he does not think there is a rift in the alliance. Meanwhile, Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich says the alliance has never worked and that it should heal the rift. SACP Provincial Secretary Khaya Magaxa.

Farmworkers unsure about arrest of serial killer

Farm workers in Phillipi and Mitchell's Plain in the Cape Peninsula are sceptical about whether police have arrested the right man in connection with the so-called Jesus murders. Police say the 49-year-old man was arrested in connection with eight murders and six rapes committed in the area during the past four months. The alleged serial killer will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s court on Monday. Community leader Abe Fransman said he thought police had arrested the wrong man. Fransman said the community would continue searching and would not rest until the real killer had been caught. Farm workers say the killer has the word Jesus tattooed on his upper lip.

WORLD AIDS DAY

DECEMBER 1st IS WORLD AIDS DAY

A second national HIV/Aids study confirms that roughly 11 percent of South Africa's 45 million people are infected with the Aids virus, with young women the most at risk. The survey, coinciding with World Aids Day today, is among the most comprehensive of any Aids study done in Africa, involving more than 23 thousand people of whom almost 16 thousand agreed to be tested for HIV. According to the survey the national percentage has not changed significantly since the first study in 2002. Reuters quotes co-principle investigator of the report, doctor Thomas Rehle, as saying now is a very critical time to see this plateau is kept, or see a decline in coming years.

Focus schools for disadvantaged communities

Twenty-eight high schools in historically disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape will be transformed into Focus Schools over the next three years. The schools will specialise in three fields: Arts and Culture; Business, Commerce and Management; and Engineering and Technology. Western Cape Education MEC Cameron Dugmore says 49-million rand has been allocated for the initial development of these schools in each of the seven education districts of the province. Dugmore says his department will increase access and quality in subjects that were previously not available to all learners, and equip them with scarce skills needed in the marketplace.

Same-sex marriages given the green light

The Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of same-sex marriages. The decision follows a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling last year that said same-sex couples could get married. The ruling also obliges parliament to draft new legislation within a year. In delivering the ruling in Johannesburg this morning Justice Albie Sachs said the common law definition of marriage is declared to be inconsistent with the constitution and invalid to the extent that it does not permit same-sex couples to enjoy the status and benefits it accords heterosexual couples. Courts are now requested to change the common-law definition of marriage from being a union between a man and a woman to a union between two persons.

Tourist bus robbed in Khayelitsha

By Nadia Samie

A tour bus filled with German travel agents was held up in Khayelitsha on Wednesday night. The bus stopped during a tour in Makhaza at about 6PM, and the tourists disembarked to have a look at the tradtitional dancing that was taking place. Armed men then got onto the bus and robbed the tourists who had remained on the bus. The group was said to be extremely traumatised, and police had to organise counselling for them. The group were the first of 700 German travel agents to arrive in Cape Town as part of a programme to encourage tourism to South Africa. Police spokesperson Billy Jones says that a case of armed robbery has been opened.

Western Cape political parties at loggerheads

By Megan Hartogh

With the municipal elections exactly three months away, the two major parties in the Western Cape find themselves having to deal with infighting. The ANC have openly shown the rifts within the party, when they recently engaged in a "verbal sparring" match with the SACP. According to senior members of the Democratic Alliance, their party’s rifts are due to competition for the top twenty positions on the party’s representation list. Compared to the ANC however, the DA has opted to remain silent about their differences, which they have termed "internal matters" as they believe it would not be right so close to elections.

New ARV clinics for the province

Staff reporter

The Western Cape Health Minister, Pierre Uys, will open an Anit-Retro Viral clinic at Idas Valley in Stellenbosch, an ARV-clinic at New Somerset Hospital and Khayelitsha Site B from nine o’ clock this morning (Thursday) as part of World Aids Day. The minister has promised that by Christmas 2005, the Provincial Department of Health will have 13 300 patients on the Anti-retroviral treatment at 41 sites in the Western Cape. This forms part of a range of activities to raise awareness around World Aids Day by communicating Aids facts to the public…

South African opera star shot dead

South African opera star Deon van der Walt has been shot dead, apparently by his father who then committed suicide. Their bodies were found on their wine estate near Paarl yesterday afternoon. 47-year-old Van der Walt was shot in the chest and his 78-year-old father Sarel had a single shot to the head. A revolver was found next to him. According to police spokesperson Randall Stoffels their bodies were found by Van der Walt's mother, Sheila, after returning to the Veenwouden estate. Multi-award winner Van der Walt was counted among the leading tenors in the world and performed at all the major opera houses.

Zuma not to comment on rape allegations

Former deputy president Jacob Zuma will make no further comment on rape allegations against him before a decision on whether to prosecute him has been made. Yesterday, Zuma confirmed he was facing rape allegations. His lawyer, Michael Hulley, said he had been told authorities needed more time to investigate the rape allegations. Hulley said such an approach was in keeping with the integrity with which the police dealt with the investigation, in contrast with that of some media organisations. Reuters reports that the allegations, first published in newspapers earlier this month and denied by Zuma, laid bare divisions in the ANC and intensified debate on who will succeed President Thabo Mbeki and when.

City opens a new clinic

The City of Cape Town officially opened a clinic worth 2.5 million rand in Claremont on Tuesday. The Claremont Clinic located in Old Stanhope Road now replaces the Station Road Clinic that has been demolished to make way for the taxi facility. Frank van der Velde from the City of the Cape Town says the facility is part of the Claremont Transport Interchange and the Claremont Boulevard Project, which is proposed to be constructed in partnership between the City and the Claremont Improvement District Company. Van der Velde says the new clinic incorporates a building which existed on the site, a newly constructed wing, nine consulting rooms, ample parking and landscaping.

Knysna murders linked to syndicate

Police have confirmed that that three murders committed in Knysna over the past two months were carried out by the same syndicate. Police spokesperson Eddie Cronje says the suspects have been identified and they will be arrested soon. The body of 19-year-old Jessica Wheeler was found in a church yard on October 13. Her mouth was filled with soil. On November 10 the body of 20-year-old Victoria Stadler was found in bushes in a similar position as Jessica’s. On that same day, a man was reported missing in the same area. The unidentified man was found strangled not far from his home.

Springbok captain suspended for six weeks

Springbok captain John Smit has been suspended for six weeks for his elbow to the throat of French lock Jerome Thion in Saturday’s match against France. The incident happened in the first half of the match, and left Thion hospitalised for four days with a broken larynx. Smit was cited by Independent Citing Commissioner David Gray of New Zealand after the match. His suspension will commence on 14 January next year, the opening day of the new season in South Africa. The suspension, against which Smit has the right of appeal, was handed down by Denis Wheelahan of Australia at a disciplinary hearing in Paris on Tuesday afternoon.

Local school to remain open

Western Cape Education MEC Cameron Dugmore altered his decision about the closure of Avonwood Primary School in Elsies River. The school will be kept open for the next twelve months, when the situation will be reviewed again.The decision comes after COSATU and the community pressurised the department into rethinking its settlement. COSATU regional Secretary Tony Ehrenreich has thanked the minister. He also called on other schools who feel that the Department has given them a raw deal to demand that they also be kept open for the next 12 months at least.

Daily paper suspends two senior staffers

Staff reporter

A Cape Town daily newspaper has allegedly suspended two senior staff members, pending an internal investigation. While the Cape Argus editor, Ivan Fynn, confirmed the suspension on Monday, he refused to name the two staff members. Die Burger newspaper has, however, reported that the staff members political editor Joseph Aranes, and senior political writer Ashley Smith. According to the report, they are alleged to have been on the payroll of western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool.

ANC Youth League re-affirms support for Zuma as ANC president

The ANC Youth League has reaffirmed its support for former deputy president Jacob Zuma to become the leader of the party. In a statement, the ANCYL says it will continue to drum up support for the beleaguered Zuma, as there is no reason for them to change their stance on the succession debate. This follows statements by the South African Communist Party and Cosatu claiming they never previously called for Zuma to be president of the ANC. Youth league president Fikile Mbalalu says although Zuma faces a corruption trial and allegations of rape, he should be considered innocent until proven otherwise in court.

Identity theft expected to rise

The Consumer Profile Bureau warns that criminals are going to have a bumper season this year by stealing identities. Business Report quotes CPB managing director Fred Steffers as saying identity theft is expected to reach record proportions over the Christmas season, as identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country. Together with other white-collar crimes it siphons off more than 40-billion rand a year from the economy. Steffers says their system shows that there are substantially higher numbers of identity theft and resultant frauds that are committed with stolen documents. He advises that the less information one carries the less one has to lose to criminals on the prowl.

More delays expected at Cape Town International Airport

Further delays are expected at Cape Town International Airport today, following extensive delays due to runway problems yesterday. All domestic and international flights were delayed for several hours because of technical problems on the runway, and there will be further delays today as airline staff battle to deal with the passenger backlog. According to the Cape Times, a spokesperson for the Airport Company of SA spokesperson Deidre Hendricks says the damage to the runway was caused by environmental factors, but there have been reports that the runway was damaged by a cargo plane.

Government reconsidering the amount of provinces

Government has confirmed that the possibility of reducing the number of provinces to ensure better delivery is being considered. Bheki Nkonyane, spokesperson for Provincial and Local government minister Sydney Mufamadi says the issue is under discussion, but adds that the matter is a long-term consideration which needs extensive consultation. The issue was apparently raised at a meeting between Mufamadi and provincial MEC’s last week. Deputy president Pumzile Mhlambo-Ngcuka also told a Sunday newspaper that government might reconsider having nine provinces.

Police not security gaurds, says Selebi

Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi says his officers will not be turned into what he termed shopping mall guards despite the recent spate of robberies in Gauteng. In an interview with City Press, Selebi urged mall owners to secure their properties against robbers. In one of the most recent incidents, a policeman was killed when police exchanged fire with robbers in a mall in Rosebank on Friday. Robbers also targeted a mall in Fourways. Selebi told the newspaper that it was impossible for the police to guard every shop in the area but would diligently investigate each incident.

City lends support to shark spotting

The city of Cape Town will give support of four hundred thousand rands to the Shark Spotting and Warning Programmes at Muizenberg Pavilion on Tuesday, November 29. The Mayoral Committee Member responsible for Planning & Environment Councillor Carol Beerwinkel, will hand over a cheque to fund the Shark Spotting and Warning Programmes. She will also announce the City of Cape Town’s intensified efforts on shark safety. Spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, Gregg Oelofse explains.

Zuma to hear this week if he will face rape charges

Observers expect more political upheavals this week as former deputy president Jacob Zuma waits to hear whether he is to be charged for rape. There appears to be a clear switch in the strong support that Zuma has been enjoying since being sacked by President Thabo Mbeki. The South African Communist Party indicated at the weekend that while it still supported Zuma in what it terms the difficult time he is facing, he is not their candidate to succeed Mbeki. SACP deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin told the media yesterday that the party had not discussed the alleged rape charges against Zuma, but that the SACP had expressed its deep concern at the escalation of violence against the vulnerable members of our society.

WHO apologises for failing HIV treatment targets

The World Health Organisation has apologised for missing its target to get 3 million people in poor countries on life-saving AIDS drugs by the end of 2005. Dr Jim Yong Kim, the director of the WHO's HIV/AIDS department, admits that the organisation has not moved fast enough to meet the ambitious target. Acording to Reuters, the aim was to provide three million people with treatment but by June only one million people were receiving ARV treatment. Kim says the project can be considered a success as more people now have access to life-saving drugs.

Arrest made in 1979 rape case

A suspected rapist from Camps Bay has been arrested after a rape incident that occurred in January 1979, after police profiled fingerprints in their criminal record centre. The prints matched those of the man, who is now aged 49. A 19-year-old girl was raped in her Highlevel Road flat in Sea Point. The case was under investigation, but the identity of the male suspect remained a mystery. Police spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones says the complainant is keen to testify against the suspect, and has no intention of withdrawing the case.

Township fire claims 200 homes

About 200 shacks have been destroyed in a fire that ripped through the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the blaze has not been established yet. Spokesperson Johan Minnie said no deaths or injuries have been reported. Temporary accommodation has been provided for those who lost their homes.

Waterfront workers continue with strike action

V & A Waterfront workers are continuing with their strike action on Tuesday after negotiations failed to yield satisfactory results over the weekend. The workers have vowed to continue with the action until their demands are met. Four strikers arrested on Friday appeared in court on Monday on charges of public violence. Shop steward, Vincent Erasmus says that the management is not willing to negotiate a better offer.

Local artist assaulted in Italy

A South African artist has been assaulted and seriously injured in a small town in northern Italy. 27-year-old conceptual artist Ed Young is due to undergo surgery on his leg in an Italian hospital tomorrow. Die Burger quotes Young’s mother Elize as saying two Italian men overpowered her son shortly after he had sent an e-mail from an internet cafe and drawing money at an ATM in Ceunen. She says one of the attackers, who fled initially, returned to assault her son further because he was an unwelcome tourist. Young became famous after selling Cape Town pub owner Bruce Gordon as a work of art.

Inflation to peak next year

South Africa's inflation is expected to peak at slightly above five-point-five percent in the first half of next year but will stay within its target range. Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni told a forum in Johannesburg that lifting exchange controls could lead to more capital inflows, and he saw more exchange rate stability going forward. Reuters quotes Mboweni as saying more rand stability can be expected. He says South Africa's real interest rate is not prohibitive and that money supply and credit growth are not worrying. According to Mboweni the country's economy could grow faster with microeconomic reforms.

Automated airport baggage machines coming soon

Airports Company South Africa, or ACSA, has installed automated baggage machines at the country’s airports in a bid to eliminate theft. The state-owned firm has installed equipment that scans, sorts and then delivers baggage to the right flights, limiting human contact with passanger luggage. According to Business Day, ACSA decided on the system after a number of airlines and customers complained about bags that had been tampered with or stolen. The majority of thefts occur at Johannesburg International Airport, but similar safety measures have already been introduced at Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Pipe bomb attack in Mitchell's Plain

By Nadia Samie

A pipe-bomb attack occurred in Mitchell’s Plain on Thursday night. The device was thrown onto the roof of the house in Northwest Street, Rocklands, near Merrydall and Caravell Roads. Residents allege that the house is that of a known drug dealer, but police would not confirm this. The occupants of the house are said to have been asleep at the time of the attack. The roof structure of the house was damaged and police recovered the remains of the explosive device on the scene. It has been sent for forensic testing. Police spokesperson Captain Randall Stoffels says that the motive for the attack is unknown and the case is being investigated.

Teacher shortage by 2008

A study by the Educator Labour Relations Council has raised serious concerns of a severe shortage of teachers by 2008. The study, conducted in conjunction with the Human Sciences Research Council, found low job satisfaction and a lack of career advancement are the main reasons for teachers leaving the profession in search of other opportunities. It discovered that teachers are unhappy with working conditions, and many suffer from high stress levels due to problems with administration and the current education system. The research also found that HIV and Aids contributed to the declining number of teachers, with 12-point-7 percent of teachers currently infected with the virus. HSRC spokesperson, Professor Karl Peltzer, elaborates…

Final weekend for voter registration

The Independent Electoral Commission has urged all potential voters to take advantage of the final voter registration drive over this weekend. Chairperson Brigalia Bam says with the announcement that the elections will be held on the first of March next year that, the IEC is ready to handle more than 20 million potential voters. Addressing the National Press Club in Pretotia, Bam said that logistical preparations for the elections include the printing of ballot papers and getting nominations lists from political parties. Bam assured the public that security would be tight at all the 18 thousand 730 polling stations across the country.

Police seek assistance with murder case

By Nadia Samie

Police are seeking the public’s assistance with a murder investigation. Late Wednesday afternoon police found the body of a 55 year old female with stab wounds to her head and neck, lying at the entrance to the lounge. On further investigation, police found the 85 year old mother with a serious stab wound to the head on the lounge floor. She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is currently in critical condition. A male in his twenties was allegedly seen running from the scene of the crime. Police spokesperson Randall Stoffell’s says the motive for the murder is not yet known. Anyone with information is asked to contact the investigating officer, Inspector Steven Young on 021 - 710 7300 or Crime Stop on 0860010111.

Teachers not spending enough time doing their jobs

South African teachers are spending only three-point-two hours a day on their core task of teaching. The Herald Online says a Human Sciences Research Council report with this finding was made public today. It states that policy determines that educators should spend 64 to 79 percent of the 35-hour week on teaching, but the average time teachers actually devote to teaching is 46 per cent. The study has found that teachers spend less time teaching as the week progresses, with very little education occurring on Fridays. Teachers in urban areas spend more time on teaching and administration than rural teachers.

Veld fire causes another power cut in Cape Town

A veld fire appears to have caused the power outage that affected Cape Town this afternoon. A much larger blackout last week was apparently caused when one of the generators at Koeberg shut down, but Eskom says initial reports indicate that a fire near one of its substations caused today’s cuts. Eskom spokesperson Marcelle Adams said that it appeared that a fire at the Droërivier-Muldersvlei substation in the Western Cape caused a disruption to power lines. Adams says technicians are busy restoring power to affected areas.

Anti-rape picket outside Parliament

By Nadia Samie

Activist group Rape Crisis embarked on a lunchtime picket at the gates of Parliament on Wednesday. The picketers are campaigning for a Sexual Offences Act that includes a new definition of rape that observes sexual violation of men and boys and a national policy framework in order to ensure inter-sector co-operation and coordination in the management of sexual offences, amongst other issues. The picket is part of the Justice Denied campaign. Rape Crisis is accusing the government of using 1957 legislation, no and slow arrests missing dockets and corrupt officials. They say survivors are silenced in court. About 150 supporters attended the picket. Gassan Solomon, a member of Parliament, came out to collect the memorandum. Solomon said that pressure is now on the government to perform.

eTV to appear before committee

By Busisiwe Mtabane
Parliament will be taking steps to force eTV to appear before a committee and explain its role in the reckless distribution of pornography. This comes after the privately owned broadcaster repeatedly ignored invitations to attend meetings organised by Parliament’s Home Affairs Portfolio Committee. Three cellphone operators and the SABC appeared before the committee yesterday to clarify their role in the increasing accessibility of pornography to children.

Prisoners build churches for the community

By Busisiwe Mtabane
About forty prisoners on parole from the Mitchell’s Plain Correctional Services department office have helped to build two churches on the Cape Flats this year. The programme is part of their community service and is supervised by the correctional services. It was started by the Mitchell’s Plain office two years ago. The next big project for the parolees is to help clear the Bush of Evil in Delft, where several bodies have been discovered this year.

Education in the Western Cape gets a boost

Western Cape education is set for a major change, with 68 public schools being transformed into "speciality" schools focusing on maths, science and technology, business management or arts and culture. The provincial plan, which comes into effect next year, aims at giving poorer children access to focused training in specific fields. The Cape Argus reports that Premier Ebrahim Rasool says the speciality schools will be spread across the province. Fifty of the new schools will focus on maths, science and technology with ten focusing on arts and culture, while eight will concentrate on business management.

Police seek armed robbery suspects

Police are investigating cases of Armed Robbery and Attempted Murder and are appealing for public’s assistance in finding the suspects. This comes after three armed men allegedly robbed Corners Fisheries in Mountain Road Airport Industrial on Monday afternoon. Police spokesperson Debby Pheiffer says the suspects fled on foot and are still at large

Winnie Mandela accuses Italy of Racism

Former South African first lady Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and her delegation were apparently held in custody for 45 minutes for no apparent reason at Rome's Fumicione Airport last Thursday. Speaking to Beeld at Johannesburg International Airport after her return from Rome, she said it was ironic that during her visit to address a conference on human rights, she had been the victim of blatant racism. She said it was shocking that a First World country like Italy could be guilty of violating human rights through racism. Madikizela-Mandela said all their documents were in order and the Italian authorities still have given no reason why they were held.

World Diabetes Day - November 14

The 14th of November has been recognised as World Diabetes Day. Western Cape Health MEC, Pierre Uys, has stressed that eight out of every 100 people in SA have diabetes, but there are probably many people who do not even know they are sufferers. Statistics indicate that at least fifty percent of all people, who have diabetes, are not aware of it. Health MEC Uys said the aim of his department is to get volunteers to help out at least 50% of all clinics.The volunteers will help with the introduction to special lifestyles and eating habits.
Minister Uys also announced that the 19th World Diabetics Conference would be held in Cape Town next year.

Lekoto ready to go home

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has improved to such an extent following his heart attack in Cape Town last week that he has been moved to Two Military Hospital in Wynberg. Lekota received treatment in the intensive care unit at the Gatesville Hospital in Athlone following his heart attack. Lekota’s spokesperson is reported as saying the minister’s health was not at risk any more and that he wanted to go home. Lekota would need about three weeks to regain his health completely. An acting minister will not be appointed despite the fact that Lekota will miss a crucial ANC National Executive Committee meeting later this week.

Zuma's future hangs in the balance

Former deputy president Jacob Zuma’s legal team is expected to make a decision soon on whether the Sunday Times is to be sued over a report that a claim of rape had been laid against Zuma. Attorney Michael Hulley told The Witness on Sunday the matter was under discussion at the moment. The Sunday Times reported that Zuma had been accused of raping a woman guest at his Johannesburg home last Wednesday. Apparently semen found on the victim's underwear had been taken for DNA testing. The Sunday Tribune, on the other hand, reported that the woman had denied that she had ever laid a charge. People close to Zuma say the claim is a cruel disinformation campaign.

Major announcement expected from De Beers

The world's biggest diamond producer, De Beers, is to make an announcement this morning about a change of ownership of its South African business. According to an invitation to a news conference in Johannesburg, the announcement concerns the most significant change of ownership of De Beers Consolidated Mines since its formation in 1888. It is expected that a major black economic empowerment deal is on the cards. Mining Minister Lindiwe Hendricks is also due to attend the news conference.

Black investors buy into Sun City

The owners of gambling resort Sun City - which became a symbol of apartheid-era repression - is seeking to bury its past by drafting in black shareholders. Reuters quotes Sun International as saying it has agreed to sell a seven percent stake to a consortium of black investors called Dinokana Investments Ltd, led by investment firm Lereko Investments, and Sun International staff and community groups. The deal is worth 604-million rand. Lereko is led by former North West province premier Popo Molefe and former Tourism Minister Valli Moosa.

Popcru concerned over prison drama escape

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union has once again expressed its concern about security in prisons following the foiled escape attempt at the Zonderwater prison near Cullinan on Sunday Evening. Five inmates held prison officials hostage for several hours while trying to escape, before police regained control of the situation. One of the inmates was killed in the rescue, with another wounded. Popcru says the incident confirms that a shortage of prison staff could lead to more escape attempts.

Two in court over church murder

Two men are to appear in court today for the murder of the janitor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Paarl in the Boland whose tortured body was found in a storage room at the church. Fifty-three-year-old Charles Jacobs had two stabs wounds in his stomach and a pair of shorts had been pulled over his head. His hands were tied behind his back. Police would not elaborate on the murder but family members say Satanists appear to have been involved. The word Satun was written in Jacobs’ blood on the floor of the building. Apparently the murdered man had been arranged to look like Jesus Christ on the cross.

Police break up ANC protest

Staff reporter

Members of the City Police broke up an ANC protest at Gugulethu Sports Complex yesterday. Protestors gathered at the sports complex, where the parties provincial general council meeting was being held to show that they are unhappy with their party’s leadership. COSATU provincial secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, is now demanding an investigation into who deployed the City Police to break up the protest. City Police commander, Bongani Jones, says that they were deployed because the protest was being held illegally on council property. Police used pepper spray on the crowd and detained six people. Ehrenreich says that instruments of the state are being used for party political reasons.

Cape Town family in shock after hostage ordeal

Four members of a Cape Town family are being treated for shock after they were held hostage in their home on Wednesday morning. A 17-year old youth armed with a fishing knife arrived at the family’s home early on Wednesday morning, and demanded money from the homeowner. The youth then apparently locked the door and forced the family into a room at knifepoint. Neighbors alerted the police, who arrived at the scene and convinced the youth to surrender. According to reports, the suspect, who is apparently known to the family, will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate Court on Friday.

SA creates 30 thousand jobs per month - report

A report by the United Associations of South Africa trade union has found that employment in South Africa is growing at around 30-thousand jobs a month. Mike Schussler, who researched the South African Employment Report, says the formal labour market may already exceed nine million people. Schussler says that 360-thousand new jobs need to be created each year to absorb new entrants into the employment market, and adds that if 240-thousand jobs are created each year the country will halve its current unemployment figure by 2014.

Fires still rampant in Southern and Eastern Cape

Devastating veld fires were still rampant in large areas of the Eastern and Southern Cape last night, and it is reported that a farm worker burnt to death when he was trapped in a fire near Jeffrey’s Bay. Firefighters were battling to get to all the fires, which have already destroyed several buildings – including houses - and about 15-thousand hectares of forestry. Working on Fire spokesperson Val Charlton said in the Witfontein area near George, teams had doused 20 fires in one day. However, at least 15 fires were burning out of control in the Southern and Western Cape yesterday. Several people had to be evacuated near the Van Stadens River Bridge. Meanwhile the N2 highway, which was closed to traffic earlier yesterday, had been reopened.

NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

NEWSLINE

Tune in for Bush Radio’s news and current affairs show, Newsline, at 7PM on Thursday, or catch the re-run on Friday at 8pm. This week the team explores:

Uproar surrounding Grade 9 assessments (produced by Nadia Samie)

Principals, teachers, parents and pupils in the Western Cape are up in arms after the national education department bungled the delivery of test papers to certain schools. We find out why...

The mini budget (produced by Megan Hartogh)

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel recently released his mini budget. Newsline explores its contents.

Firearms (produced by Bronwen Dyke)

Many people have died as the result of gunshot wounds in South Africa. Tune into Newsline to find out all you need to know about the scourge of our society that is gun violence.

Water Restrictions (produced by Lunga Guza)

Catch the update on the reduced water restrictions in the province.

Street Children (produced by Nadia Samie and Lunga Guza)

Street children in Cape Town come under the spotlight. What is the City of Cape
Town doing to help?

Don't miss it!

Hundreds of shacks destroyed in Khayelitsha blaze

Fire fighters battled to extinguish a huge blaze amongst shacks in Khayelitsha yesterday, in which one man died. Between 250 and 300 shacks have been destroyed by the blaze at V-Section in Site B informal settlement, leaving hundreds of people homeless for the night. City of Cape town officials assisted in organising community halls and churches as well as blankets and meals for the night. It is not yet clear what caused the fire, and details of the damage are only expected to emerge at first light this morning. Disaster Management Spokesperson Johan Minnie says a fire fighter and a member of the public were hospitalised for smoke inhalation. Meanwhile rainy weather has moved in over the Cape Peninsula.

YOU CAN HELP!

If you can assist the people of Khayelitsha who have been left homeless by the fire, please call us here at Bush Radio. You can also come and drop off non-perishable food, clothing and blankets. Bush Radio will deliver it to the people of Khayelitsha.

You will find us here:

330 Victoria Road

Salt River

7925

(tel) +27 21 448 5450

We welcome your contribution. Every bit will make a difference.

Cape Town cop commits suicide

A Cape Town policeman shot dead his girlfriend and committed suicide in Mfuleni early yesterday evening. It is reported that the officer was attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit. Police spokesperson Billy Jones says the 31-year-old constable was not on duty when he shot his 22-year-old girlfriend with his private firearm at her house in Mfuleni. She died on the scene. The policeman fled to his own home where he shot himself in the head. The Independent Complaints Directorate will investigate the tragedy.

In Khayelitsha, police have appealed for assistance from the public in the search for a five-year-old boy who went missing from the vicinity of his home in the Green Point informal settlement early on Monday evening. Jones told NewsFlash little Spenathi Loliwe can be described as very dark of complexion, slender, with brown eyes and short black hair. Jones says Spenathi is small for his age and was wearing a grey jersey and long green pants when he was last seen. Anyone with information can call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Makeshift hearses on the increase on national roads

It is reported that coffins, suitcases and cadavers are often part of the luggage in vehicles and trailers on the country's roads. The makeshift hearses on the N1 and N2 are on their way to cemeteries in the Eastern Cape and various other destinations over weekends. A traffic official says over holidays and long weekends, as many as 15 bodies are transported by family members and most of them are taken to the Eastern Cape. A manager of a funeral parlour says families are often forced to do this because they don't have enough money to pay an undertaker.

Taxi driver killed in Khayelitsha

Three men killed a 44-year-old taxi driver inside his taxi in Khayelitsha last night. It is reported that Adolphus Zitha was instructed by the armed men, who were passengers in the taxi, to stop the vehicle in Walter Sisulu Drive. They then began shooting at Zitha while they got out of the taxi. Zitha sustained several gunshot wounds to his body and died on the scene. Police spokesperson, Billy Jones, says that the motive for the attack is unknown, and a case of murder has been opened. Anyone with information, is asked to call the Crime Stop number of 08600 10 triple 1.

The Bush Radio Newsroom

In the pic: (seated) Nadia Samie and Lunga Guza. (standing, L to R) Megan Hartogh, Busisiwe Mtabane and Bronwen Heather Dyke.

Life in a newsroom is always a frenzied one. The newsroom at Bush Radio, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is no exception. The five people who make up the newsteam are constantly governed by time and driven by a constant stream of deadlines.
As a community organisation, Bush Radio exists to serve the community. Therefore, the newsteam’s most valued source of information is the woman/man on the street.

At least 80 percent of each news bulletin is made up of local news.
Probably one of the biggest differences between commercial media and community media is that the former will source the story from the top down, while the latter will tackle the same story at grassroots level, and then approach the top echelons (be it government or business) and ask what is being done about the problem.

The Bush Radio newsroom currently comprises of a trainee news editor who is a Journalism graduate from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), a reporter who is a Journalism graduate from Rhodes University in Grahamstown and three interns (2nd year journo students) from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (who are required to complete a one-year internship in order to complete their National Diploma in Journalism).
Nadia Samie
Trainee News Editor

We value your input. Want to comment? Drop the newsroom an email to news@bushradio.co.za or to find out more about the Mother of Community Radio in Africa, log onto www.bushradio.co.za.

No more squatters allowed in District Six

The City of Cape Town says it will not allow any more families to build shacks in District Six. City police removed two families, who tried to move onto the land near the CBD over the weekend. They reportedly wanted to join the 35 families who were relocated there from a nearby settlement known as Beverley Hills. The city has repeatedly said that the move is temporary and that plans are already in place to build a shelter for them in Delft. The squatters will be moved early next month.

Nyanga kids take to the streets

By Megan Hartogh

Numerous township streets were closed to traffic yesterday, as almost 200 children from Nyanga took to the streets to play cricket. The cricket game, which is the first of many to be played over the next six weeks, was organised by a group of teenagers from the area. The teenagers from Nyanga Cricket Club and Nyanga Chrysalis Community Club say that these matches are being done in an attempt to steer children away from crime and help them take an interest in the game.

Cape Town surfer survives shark attack

Yet another surfer has been attacked by a Great White shark off the Cape coast. Twenty-year-old Stiaan van Zyl of Tokai near Cape Town was bitten on the right foot at the popular Uilenkraalsmond holiday resort near Gansbaai. Van Zyl was wading chest deep into the sea when a three-metre shark grabbed his foot, lifting him out of the water and shaking him like a rag. The shark suddenly let go and Stiaan managed to reach the shore where bystanders rushed to his aid. He has been admitted to the Groote Schuur Hospital where his Achilles heel tendon was stitched up in an emergency operation.

ANC leadership row deepens

Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils has warned that the e-mails doing the rounds about an alleged conspiracy involving the leadership of the ANC should be ignored. Kasrils compared the e-mails to the practices of the apartheid era Stratcom. Kasrils gave little detail about the e-mails in a public statement, but Intelligence Inspector-General Zolile Ngcakani has been tasked to investigate their origin. The intrigues around the country's intelligence community and the struggle over the presidential succession within the ANC has necessitated another extension of the investigation that started with a probe of unlawful surveillance of businessman and leading ANC figure Saki Macozoma.

A man arrested for possession of cocaine at Cape Town Airport

Western Cape police say they arrested a 38-year-old Peruvian man for the possession of cocaine at Cape Town International Airport yesterday. The cocaine was estimated to have a street value of 350-thousand rand. Police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn told NewsFlash the arrest followed an investigation by the Organized Crime Investigation Unit after they received a tip-off. The man arrived on a flight from South-America and was carrying ninety Cocaine bullets in his stomach that were medically recovered and seized.

Race row still raising concern

The race row in the judicial system still raises concerns. The Cape Bar Council has joined others in the legal fraternity by expressing concern about the lack of resolution in the recent race row. Ashton Schippers, Chairperson of the Cape Bar Council says the council had referred the racism allegations to the Chief Justice for consideration and appropriate action. Meanwhile Acting Judge Tandazwa Ndita who claimed that she wanted to quit soon after taking up her appointment because of racism and sexism in the judiciary has withdrawn her compliant to the Cape Law Society. Ndita’s racism issue is left unresolved.

Reaction to suspension of top officials

The Democratic Alliance says reports that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils has suspended two top officials from the National Intelligence Agency are cause for grave concern. DA chief whip Douglas Gibson said that the two officials’ suspension for allegedly ordering the illegal surveillance of ANC heavyweight, and close loyalist of President Thabo Mbeki, Saki Macozoma, illustrates yet again how infighting within the ANC is threatening to undermine national security. Gibson says the conduct of NIA Director General Billy Masethla must be urgently investigated, to determine whether he sanctioned illegal activity of this sort.
Meanwhile the African Christian Democratic Party calls on Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils to explain what steps are being taken to ensure that the use of state resources for unauthorized surveillance do not occur in the future. ACDP spokesperson for Justice and Constitutional matters, Steve Swart, says they have just learned that NIA Director General Billy Masetla is suspended. Swart says they will be taking the matter in Parliament

Winelands toll road approved

Residents of Somerset West near Cape Town are studying the impact of a toll road on the N2 highway, approved by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk. If the toll road is built, together with the proposed toll road on the other Cape Town highway, the N1, it will mean that most people will have to pay to get in and out of the city. In Somerset West, Van Schalkwyk has recommended that part of the new road should include a 150 metre long underground tunnel, to avoid the community of Helderzicht being split in two.

Armed robbery in Woodstock

By Nadia Samie

An armed robbery occurred outside the Woodstock Day Hospital in Mouintain Road, Woodstock on Thursday afternoon. One of the robbers was allegedly shot by a hospital security guard. A woman, Faieza Wyngaard, and her nineteen-year-old daughter Fatima, were held up at gunpoint by two robbers after they withdrew ten thousand rand from the Absa bank in Victoria Road. The incident occurred at around 1pm. Wyngaard spoke to Bush Radio, at Woodstock Day hospital, where she works. She says that she suspects the teller who gave her the money may be in on the robbery, as he had made her wait for an unreasonably long time once she had requested the cash. She also alleges that the robber knew exactly where on her body the money was. Although Woodstock police had arrived on the scene, they waited for a full hour to interview Wyngaard.

Car free day today

By Megan Hartogh

Today has been declared National Car Free Day. Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe, announced this in an attempt to encourage the use of public transport. Between 6 A.M and 9 A.M, as well as between 4 P.M and 6 P.M today designated vehicles will use bus and taxi lanes only. The route from Mitchell’s Plain to Cape Town will also be closed to cars. This route starts in Mitchell’s Plain, into Vanguard Drive and continues on the N2, before joining the Main Road in Mowbray.

New waste drop-off facility in the city

By Lunga Guza

The City of Cape Town has announced that a new waste drop-off facility has been opened. The new site is situated off Princess George Drive in Wynberg, between the electricity service offices and the Bonnytown house school. The waste drop off facility will operate between 7:30am and 5:30pm, from Monday to Friday. It will also be opened on public holidays. Co-ordinator for Planning and development for City of Cape Town Stephen Morkel says people in Wynberg and the surroundings will have easy access to the drop facility, the services of which will be free of charge.

Public servants in court for fraud

By Busisiwe Mtabane

At least sixty-five public servants in the Western Cape will appear in the Athlone District Court today to face charges of defrauding the social grant system. Peter Bishop from the Special Investigating Unit says the officials were arrested after an interdepartmental initiative was launched to rid social grant system of unscrupulous beneficiaries who illegally benefited from the money meant for the poor.
Social development Minister, Zola Skweyiya has vowed to continue to clamp down on corrupt operators involved in crimes against the social grants system.

Nursing bill comes under the spotlight

By Bronwen Heather Dyke

The nursing profession has once again come under the spotlight. Parliaments portfolio committee on Health is currently engaged in hearings concerning the implementation of the Nursing Bill. The purpose of the hearings is to engage with the relevant stakeholders concerning certain provisions within the bill. The Bill’s objective is to serve and protect the public when accessing health services provided by the nursing profession as well as to make provision for acceptable nursing care. The Society of Nursing Practitioners has reportedly opposed the bill because of its proposed licencing fees as well as registration periods. There has also been dissatisfaction regarding the lack of reference made to Midwives, who are internationally recognized as a distinct profession.