ANC Daily News Briefing Wed 30 Dec 1998

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A N C D A I L Y N E W S B R I E F I N G

WEDNESDAY 30 DECEMBER 1998

PLEASE NOTE: This News Briefing is a compilation of items from South
African press agencies and as such does not reflect the views of the
ANC. It is for reading and information only, and strictly not for
publication or broadcast.

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@ ACCIDENT-LAINGSBURG

CAPE TOWN Dec 29 Sapa

10 INJURED IN TAXI ACCIDENT ON LAINGSBURG'S ROAD OF DEATH

At least 10 people were injured when a minibus taxi overturned
on the so-called death stretch of the N1 near Laingsburg on Monday
- the scene of last week's horror accident in which 23 people died
after a truck and bus collided head-on.

Laingsburg police spokesman Spokesman Sergeant Mark Collins on
Tuesday said the injured, five of whom were reportedly serious,
were all admitted to the Laingsburg Hospital.

Collins said the driver lost control of the vehicle after a
blow-out.

Traffic officials were monitoring the stretch of road - known
as the Laingsburg Road of Death - closely.

Collins said the period leading up to the festive season had
been relatively quiet as far as accidents were concerned until last
week's crash. Prior to that six people died on the road in October
and seven in November.

@ BONDS-FOREIGNERS

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa-INet-Bridge

FOREIGNERS SOLD A NET R126.34M BONDS ON MONDAY

Foreigners sold a net 126.34 million rand worth of South
African bonds on Monday after being net sellers of 173.896 million
rand worth of bonds on Thursday, Bond Exchange of South Africa
statistics show.

Nominal cumulative volume was 5.774 billion rand on Monday
compared with 4.635 billion rand on Thursday.

@ CRIME-PLAIN

CAPE TOWN Dec 29 Sapa

SHOTS FIRED AT MITCHELL'S PLAIN HOUSE - YOUTH INJURED

A teenager was wounded when the occupants of five vehicles
drove past a house in Tafelsig, Mitchell's Plain and opened fire
shortly before midnight on Monday.

Police spokesman Superintendent Wicus Holtzhausen said Mark
Solomons, who was standing outside the gate of the Erica Street
house, was hit in the chest and a leg, and taken to hospital for
treatment.

The owner of the house is a witness in an investigation against
a member of an anti-drug group.

Fifteen spent 9mm cartridges were recovered at the scene.

@ CRIME-MASSACRE

DURBAN Dec 29 Sapa

30 ARRESTED FOR HARDING MASSACRE

Police w The six were killed in faction fighting between two clans in
the area.

In a statement on Tuesday, police spokesman Director Bala
Naidoo said 80 policemen swept on the Msihiwini area and arrested
the suspects, who were camping in the bushes.

Four of the eight suspects for whom warrants of arrest had been
issued in connection with the massacre were among those
apprehended. The remaining 26 were being held for questioning.

"Investigations are still continuing and it is expected that
further suspects will be charged in connection with the attack in
KwaMachi or other related crimes," the statement said.

Naidoo said a large quantity of ammuniton was recovered during
the early morning raid.

Provincial police commissioner Chris Serfontein commended the
policemen for their efforts in bringing the perpetrators to book.

@ HOUSING-MOFOKENG

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

ROW BETWEEN MOFOKENG AND GAUTENG NNP ON AG'S REPORT

The Gauteng housing and land affairs department on Tuesday
dismissed claims by the New National Party that the
Auditor-General's report on departmental irregularities and
corruption had been prematurely released.

Provincial NNP leader Johan Kilian told Sapa that housing and
land affairs MEC Dan Mofokeng jumped the gun on Monday by releasing
the report, which was embargoed until early next week.

"When we contacted an official linking the AG's office and the
provincial legislature, Ockie Ludick, he told us the report was
embargoed until around January 4," he said.

Kilian said Mofokeng flouted the procedure normally followed
when the AG released reports. He said the report should have been
given first to the provincial speaker, who would then hand it over
to the chairman of the public accounts committee before it was
debated in the house.

In response, the department's head, Mogopodi Mokoena, told Sapa
the report was handed to the department on December 7. Acting on
the advice of the AG, they released it to the media and public on
the specified date of December 28.

He said the report was supposed to have been released on
December 21, but was postponed to December 28, because the Gauteng
Provincial Legislature was in recess.

Mokoena said that according to correspondence from the AG's
office, the report was handed over to the office of provincial
Speaker Trevor Fowler on December 14. A subsequent letter to the
department on December 17, advised it could make the report public.

"It is surprising. There was a cry from everybody that the
report be made public. Now we have done so, and the NNP claims we
have prematurely released it.

"I think they were caught by surprise as they wanted to get it
first so that they could hand it over to the media," he said.

The report exonerated Mofokeng, who told journalists he was
suing Kilian and his former head of department, Enos Mkuchana, for
half a million rand each for slandery and defamatory remarks they
made about him.

He admitted there had been flaws in the administration of the
department, but added corrective measures had been implemented.

@ ANGOLA-PLANECRASH

HARARE Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

UN APPEALS TO UNITA FOR ACCESS TO CRASHED PLANE

The chief of the United Nation's mission in Angola has urged
UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi to ensure that his rebels provide help
for search and rescue operations for a UN plane which crashed on
Saturday.

"Government sources have informed us that the aircraft fell in
UNITA-controlled areas and we need UNITA assistance to determine
the exact site of the crash and provide immediate relief to any
survivors that may still be there on the ground," said UN special
representative Issa Diallo.

The plane, a C-130 transport carrying 10 UN observers and four
crew members, came down shortly after takeoff from Huambo in
central Angola en route to Saurimo in the east.

Heavy fighting has been reported between UNITA (the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and government forces
in the area, but Diallo has decribed the crash as an "accident."

Diallo's appeal to Savimbi came in a written message to UNITA,
a copy of which was received by AFP in Harare Tuesday.

"UN has for the past so many years provided humanitarian
assistance to the people of Angola and in our hour of need we
appeal to UNITA to honour this commitment and respond to these
appeals," Diallo said.

He called on UNITA to establish contact with him, provide
information about the crash and give UN personnel assurances of
safe passage to the location of the crash.

"A timely action by UNITA personnel on ground could save
valuable lives," said Diallo.

A UN source in Luanda identified those aboard the plane as four
Angolans, with two Russians and eight other foreigners from
Australia, Bolivia, Cameroon, Egypt, Namibia, the Philippines,
South Africa and Zambia.

@ ACCIDENT-SOWETO

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

15 INJURED AS TAXI PLUNGES INTO DITCH

Fifteen people were seriously injured when a minibus taxi
plunged into a ditch after a tyre burst on its right rear wheel in
Soweto early on Tuesday morning.

Eleven men and four women, including one who is pregnant, were
injured when the taxi driver lost control and the vehicle skidded
for about 30m before landing in the ditch on the Soweto onramp on
the N12 East,

Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Traffic Services spokesman
Conel Mackay said the injured were taken to the Chris
Hani-Baragwanath Hospital.

"It is not clear at this stage whether pregnancy will be
affected," he said.

The road was opened at 8am after the vehicle was removed from
the ditch with the help of a roll-back towtruck and a front-end
loader tractor.

@ EDUC-REGISTRATION

BLOEMFONTEIN Dec 29 Sapa

LATE STUDENT REGISTRATION IS PROBLEM IN FREE STATE: NASGB

The late start of registration is a serious problem in the Free
State and all school governing bodies should ensure that
registration starts by January 4, the National Association for
School Governing Bodies said on Tuesday.

Free State representative Monokoane Hlobo said in Botshabelo
near Bloemfontein that 1998 had been relatively conducive for
learning and teaching. There had only been disturbances in a few
areas.

The NASGB urged all school governing bodies to ensure that
pupils were not discriminated against during the registration
process.

He said in order to ensure discipline in provincial schools,
there would be a code of conduct campaign. The focus would be on
study groups and extra classes to achieve discipline.

Efforts would be made to recover textbooks and other equipment
that had not been returned to schools.

The NASGB also believed under-resourced schools should be
assisted by those with more resources. It appealed to the
Department of Education to concentrate on this.

The NASGB said it supported the actions of the Free State
education department to root out corruption during the marking of
matric papers.

Hlobo said a provincial leadership training course for school
governing bodies in the Free State would be held in February.
Business people were urged to contribute to the success of this
event.

A meeting of the provincial executive committee of NASGB would
be held in the third week of January to discuss strategy on other
educational matters. The PEC meeting would also prepare for the
national congress to be held early in February.

Hlobo said time and energy would be sacrificed in January to
build the association throughout the Free State and to establish
local and regional structures.

@ QUIET EC MOUNTAIN VILLAGES FEEL STEADY GROWTH

Issued by: East Cape News (Ecn)

Quiet EC mountain villages feel steady growth in summer visitors
By Nick Wilson and Mike Loewe

GRAHAMSTOWN (ECN) - Rhodes Village, high in the south eastern
Drakensberg, is pulling in more and more people each year in search
of trout-stocked mountain streams and quietude.

Rhodes mayor and Walkerbouts Inn owner Dave Walker told ECN that
general trends indicated that the numbers of people visiting the
little mountain Mecca are increasing.

However, he said that there had been "fewer folk" visiting the
village this December because of the country's poor economy.

Nonetheless, Rhodes was relatively full this December and Walker
said a lot more people were going to converge on the village for New
Year.

The hilly village also offered mountaineers and mountain bike
enthusiasts an excellent place to explore.

This was said by an Eastern Cape climber who asked not to be
named and who spent his holiday day with his family in the
R35-a-night Rhodes camp site.

Rhodes Hotel owner Dirk Steynberg said trout fishing had become
increasingly popular and an average of four to five people every day
came to get permits during the summer months.

He said his hotel was full at the moment, but added that there
were less people there this December compared to last year.

However, he said this more people had flocked to the village in
October and November compared to last year.

"Every year is getting better. It' a spcial village, there is
no other village like it."

He said there were only 25 permanent residents in the town,
while the rest of the homes belonged to people from "all over the
country".

He said that Rhodes had one of the country's best trout fishing
guides in the form of his son, Fred Steynberg.

Steynberg junior taught enthusiasts how and where to fish for
trout and and then left them to go out and try it for themselves.
Steynberg senior said his hotel was "very well-booked" for New Year
until the middle of January.

Meanwhile, Barkley East the next town down the road from Rhodes
which also has excellent trout fishing during the summer months, as
well as ski resorts during winter, was fairly quiet.

Old Mill Inn owner Fred Woodcock said a couple of tourists had
visited the area, but that most people converged on Rhodes during
the summer months.

He said that June, July and August were Barkly East's busiest
months when the ski resorts opened.

However, he said Barkly East "was still not on the map yet" and
Rhodes had been promoted a great deal more.

He said the Barkly East and Rhodes Tourism Association (Berta),
of which he is vice-chairman, had been operating for about three
years were working hard to put it on the map.

ECN visited his inn recently and found the personalised service,
quality of food and the country-styled decor stunning. - ECN Tues
29/12/98

@ CRIME-BERGVILLE

PIETERMARITZBURG Dec 29 Sapa

THREE KILLED IN BERGVILLE FACTION CLASH

Three people were killed and six homesteads torched in the
Upper Tugela area near Bergville during a gun battle between two
clans on Sunday, the Natal Witness reported on Tuesday.

Themba Ndaba, 38, Jackson Kheswa, 57, and Jikijela Mkhulise,
50, from Balekisi were shot dead during a battle with the nearby
Gangadweni clan at about 11am on Sunday.

A witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
fighting started after the two clans gathered on either side of a
river separating them.

They carried an assortment of weapons, he said.

"The Balekisi side was easily defeated by Gangadweni because
they were outnumbered.

"The Gangadweni seem to have gained a lot of experience in the
war because they have been engaged (in battle) with the Nkosana
clan in the area before.

"It is believed during this war (about two years ago) they
procured all sorts of weapons," he said.

It was believed that the Balekisi were seeking to avenge their
warrior who was allegedly killed by Gangadweni people during a
traditional wedding ceremony in the area in August this year.

The source said the Balekisi warriors were the first to
converge and started to blow a bugle as they surged towards the
Gangadweni area on Sunday.

The bugle traditionally signals war so the people of Gangadweni
armed themselves and surged forward to counter-attack, he said.

The Balekisi fled as they could not combat the shots directed
at them.

"In the process 22 houses and huts were burnt down when the six
homesteads were attacked and set alight," he said.

The battle proceeded in spite of a peace meeting between the
two clans last Thursday.

The battle was linked to the return of migrant workers who came
back for Christmas from cities like Durban and Johannesburg.

Balekisi men are said to be sleeping in the bushes at night and
the people who were left homeless have secured accommodation with
their relatives.

Public order policing members and the army have been deployed
in the area to monitor the situation which has been described as
volatile.

Superintendent Henry Budhram said police found used shotgun,
9mm and 303 cartridges at the scene.

He said police linked the motive for the attack to faction
fighting.

According to Budhram no arrests have been made at this stage
and police investigations would continue.

@ BLOOD-SHORTAGE

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

BLOOD RUNNING OUT IN BLOOD BANKS

The SA Blood Transfusion Service on Tuesday said there was a
big response from the public after Monda's appeal for blood, but
the necessary quota for the week would still not be filled.

Spokeswoman Monique Verduyn said the public was responding well
and phoning in to find out where they could go to donate. But she
feared the response was still not enough, especially in the Gauteng
region where 7000 units were needed for a week's supply.

She said the blood bank was still desperately short of blood
types O and B. Nationally, between 22000 and 24000 units were still
needed to fulfill a week's quota.

The transfusion service on Monday said it had one day's supply
of blood in stock and supplies were dimishing rapidly.

Verduyn told Sapa : "Realistically, if a major accident or
disaster happens, we will not have enough blood to hand out."

She understood blood transfusion centres in KwaZulu-Natal and
Northern Province were also reaching critical shortages, but had
heard the Natal donating service had also received a good response
since Monday's appeal.

The service would also be launching a campaign during the Blood
Donor Week, from January 4 to 10, known as Four Seasons for Reason.

Verduyn said the purpose of the campaign was to get a
committment from donors to give blood four times per year, once
every season.

Anyone who wants to find out about the nearest place where he
or she can donate blood can dial the toll-free number
0800-11-90-31.

@ KASOUGA ERF HOLDERS VOW TO PUT A HALT TO DEVELOPMENT

Issued by: East Cape News (Ecn)

Kasouga erf holders vow to put a halt to development
Mike Earl-Taylor

GRAHAMSTOWN (ECN) - One hundred Kasouga erf holders are
determined and unanimous in their bid to halt a young farmer's
controversial plan to develop a game park and conference centre on
the western bank of the Kasouga River.

Kasouga is South Africa's oldest holiday village and the
residents - many of them direct descendants of the 1820 settlers -
have resolved to resort to legal action if necessary.

This decision emerged at yesterday's (Subs:Mon) annual general
meeting (AGM) of the village's 100 erf holders held in the historic
village hall.

The residents voted unanimously against the proposed development
planned by resident Mr Bruce Stirk who owns nearby Fairview Farm. Mr
Stirk wants to off 60 building plots on the western side of the
pristine Kasouga estuary - a notion which residents called
"environmentally disastrous".

The meeting resolved "that the trustees are authorised to take
whatever action they deem appropriate to oppose the development
proposal by Mr Bruce Stirk relating to the western bank of the
Kasouga river."

The resolution also mandated the trustees "to protect the
interests of Kasouga and to incur the reasonable expenditure to do
so and to take legal action in doing so in promoting the interests
of the village."

Trustees, Mr George Guest, Mr Robert White and local farmer Mr
Walter Currie were given a mandate at the meeting to block the
proposed scheme.

Mr Currie owns the land surrounding the historic village which
was once used as a rest and recreation centre for British imperial
troops in the 19th century.

The village consists of about 140 erven with mainly holiday
cottages and a small number of permanent residents.

The meeting also agreed to a set of proposals for limitations on
the use of motor boats in the estuary as well as the use of vehicles
on the beach which is also a provincial nature reserve.

The environmentally sensitive site is the natural habitat to
many species of bird life as well as indigenous fauna and flora.

The firm stance by members of the resort follows a meeting last
week at Kasouga with the Port Elizabeth-based developer, Mr Tony
Lutz. Stirk, 26, who farms 400 hectares bordering the river wants to
bring eco-tourism to the area.

He is also of Settler stock - his family have farmed in the
area for three generations - and he lives in the village.

In July he began gouging a road into the side of a steep dune
which makes up the western bank of the Kasoega river and had already
gone a 500 metres before outraged residents called in officials from
the environmental protection services who ordered him to stop.

His proposed scheme would see the building of 60 up-market
chalets, a conference centre, a curio shop-cum-restaurant and a
tented camp for day visitors.

The development, if given the go-ahead could create up to 18
permanent jobs - excluding the numbers of people employed in
construction and building of the park.

However, trustee Mr Guest was adamant about the resident's
feelings on the scheme.

He said: "We want to put a stop to this development and we are
trying to do this in a courteous and civilised manner.

"This is an indication of the high regard with which the Stirk
family are held by members of the community.

"We are opposing the scheme because we all feel it is an
environmentally disastrous plan and any road on the western bank is
completely and utterly unacceptable."

Mr Stirk referred all media inquiries to developer Mr Lutz who
said: "The application to develop will be made in terms of current
legislation and will be made in terms of the proposals tabled at a
meeting with affected and interested parties held in Kasouga on
December 22.

"We fully respect the law that provides for full public
participation during all stages of the application procedures, but
this is not going to prevent Mr Stirk from proceeding with the
application.

"Mr Stirk has stated that the proposed development is up-market
and exclusive and aimed at expanding eco-tourism in the Eastern
Cape. "This can only be of benefit to the province and to the
community as a whole in the immediate area."- ECN Tuesday 29/12/98

@ CRIME-NEWYEAR

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

TOUGH ACTION AGAINST HOOLIGANS ON NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS

Tough action to ensure the safety of people and property, and
to see to it that the law was upheld and enforced during New Year's
celebrations, would be enforced in and around Johannesburg on
Thursday night, police warned on Tuesday.

Roads in the Hillbrow area would not be blocked off, but there
would be control points manned by police on several streets,
including Abel and Harrow roads in Berea, Saratoga and Harrow
roads, and Smit and Rissik streets in Braamfontein.

Other control points would be at Twist and Wolmarans streets,
Joubert Park, Empire and Claredon Place in Parktown and Louis Botha
and Houghton drives in Hillbrow.

Police spokesman Inspector Mark Reynolds in a statement on
Tuesday said police experience was that many problems in the
Hillbrow area during that period were alcohol related.

He said Hillbrow police had over the past six months arrested
153 people for illegal liquor dealing, adding that almost 22000
litres of alcohol - valued at about R500,000 - had been
confiscated.

Reynolds said police would have zero-tolerance for general
alcohol abuse and drunkenness, damage to property, irresponsible
and illegal use of firearms and as fireworks, and assaults,
stabbings and shootings.

"Perpetrators will be apprehended and will face the full force
of the law," he warned.

Reynolds said people not familiar with the Hillbrow area should
celebrate New Year elsewhere, adding those who would be celebrating
it in Hillbrow were advised not to park their vehicles in the
streets and not to be involved in unlawful activities.

@ LAND-CLAIMS

PRETORIA Dec 29 Sapa

FLOODS OF SAFRICANS LODGING LAND CLAIMS PRIOR TO CUT-OFF DATE

South Africans wishing to regain land unjustly taken from them
by former governments were flooding the offices of the Commission
on Restitution of Land Rights prior to the December 31 cut-off date
for restitution claims.

The commission in a statement in Pretoria on Tuesday said some
of its regional offices were receiving more than 1000 telephone
calls a day.

Spokeswoman Evelyn Bramdeow said 33265 restitution claims had
been received by December 17.

"By now, we can safely say that we have very nearly reached
40000, if not more."

The commission advised the public to make use of its toll-free
telephone number 0800-11-10-21, which would be open from 8am to
4.30pm on working days, and until 9pm on Thursday - the closing
date for applications.

The commission said people wishing to lodge restitution claims
could submit their application forms after hours by means of
collection boxes at all its offices.

Collection boxes had also been placed at municipal offices,
police stations, and offices of the Department of Land Affairs.

Of the 33265 restitution claims received by December 17, about
4000 had been accepted and were being investigated, the commission
said.

So far, 27 claims involving 247597 hectares of land and
benefiting 13928 households, had been resolved.

The commission said the next five years would be spent
researching and processing the claims lodged.

"Each restitution claim... presents its own unique difficulties
which must be dealt with from the lodgement stage through to the
stages of validation, research, negotiation, and finally
settlement," it said.

"It is an understandably complex process and claimants are
therefore encouraged to be patient and tolerant."

Acting chief land claims commissioner Wallace Mgoqi said the
number of households which had regained their land so far was
heartening.

"This imbues us with optimism that 1999 will be a year of
delivery."

The system of processing claims would change from next year,
becoming more administrative and less of a "heavily judicial
process".

Presently, all claims have to go through the Land Claims Court,
but in future more decision-making powers would be vested in the
commission. This was expected to speed up the resolution of land
claims.

The commission said 1999 "will be a year of rolling action on
delivery of land claims".

@ NEWYEAR-SACP

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

1999, A YEAR TO BUILD ON PROGRESS SINCE 1994:SACP

South Africans will have to find their own solutions and have
the courage to challenge global paradigms that have proved to be
disastrous for developing countries, the SA Communist Party said on
Tuesday.

In its New Year message, the SACP said 1998 underlined some of
the many difficulties and dangers that would face the country in
the coming year.

"The past few sordid months in Washington have emphasised the
moral and political decay at the heart of what is supposed to be
the world's leading democracy.

"Of even greater concern, as the recent bombings of Iraq have
demonstrated, is the way in which Third World countries and their
peoples are victimised in cynical operations designed to distract
public attention," the party said in a statement.

This year had also been the one that exposed the myth that a
new globalised world ecenomy had enabled South Africa to escape the
booms and busts of a private-profit driven dispensation.

Regarding the 1999 election, the SACP said it would campaign
with its allies - the African National Congress and the Congress
of SA Trade Union - to ensure a massive ANC victory.

"We see such victory as absolutely crucial for sustaining the
ongoing transformation process."

@ LABOUR-AMPLATS

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

NEW PAY OFFER MAY END AMPLATS STRIKE

Striking workers at the Anglo American Platinum Corporation
mines in the Northern and North-West Provinces were on Tuesday
considering a significantly improved pay offer by management which
might see a return to work within 24 hours.

Amplats spokesman Steve Calladine told Sapa on Tuesday: "The
mediation talks went very well and Amplats tabled a significantly
improved offer to the National Union of Mineworkers, which NUM
representatives are today taking to their members.

"We would expect to hear from the union later today or tomorrow
(Wednesday) as to whether the offer has been accepted. We are
hopeful there will be a return to work as soon as possible."

Workers downed tools on Wednesday last week at four Amplats
mines and the Waterval smelter at Rustenburg. The Union Section
operation near Amandelbult was not affected.

NUM is demanding an eight percent across-the-board wage
increase.

Amplats offered a pay rise of 8,5 percent which was based on
last year's basic rate, excluding a production bonus.

Calladine was not prepared to give further details of the new
pay proposal.

He said: "At the conclusion of the talks last night, the
mediator specifically asked both sides (Amplats and the NUM) not to
disclose details to the media."

However, NUM deputy general secretary Archie Palane told Sapa
the new proposal came in two parts.

He said his members were offered either an eight percent pay
rise with benefits, such as overtime, from January 1, or a six
percent increase with benefits back-dated to July 1.

Should there be no agreement the parties have agreed to return
to the mediation table on January 4.

While Amplats had not quantified lost production during the
strike, Calladine said it was not considered to be material and the
corporation would be able to meet all short-term contracts.

@ POWERFUL BAKKIES CHURN UP BEACHES

Issued by: East Cape News (Ecn)

Powerful bakkies churn up beaches and frighten strollers and birds
Patrick Burnett

GRAHAMSTOWN (ECN) - Taking a slow stroll on certain East Cape
beaches during peak holiday season could leave foot-bound tourists
feeling like a matador in a bull-fighting ring.

That's if you are unlucky enough to get in the way of one of the
thousands of luxury four-by-four vehicles which are churning up the
sand at places like Kleinemonde near Port Alfred.

ECN visited the beach over the Christmas weekend and witnessed a
large amount of off-road traffic on the beaches.

In one section in front of the river mouth there were literally
no sections of sand which had not been churned up by off-road
traffic. ECN also saw a vehicle with its wheels up a plant-covered
dune and a spot where the tracks to Three Sisters passed within
meters of a black oyster catcher's nest replete with two eggs.

The Black Oyster Catcher is an endangered species and it is
illegal for vehicles to drive above the high water mark.

Strollers noting the plight of the birds had placed two small
rocks either side of the nest to try and protect the birds.

ECN also witnessed a large amount of vehicles on beaches at
Kenton-on-Sea.

Although drivers drove at a sedate pace in most instances, it
was impossible to hear vehicles coming from behind because of the
roar of the sea.

The use of four-by-four vehicles on Eastern Cape beaches
increases dramatically over the holiday season, as tourists flock to
the coast.

Permits are issued at R30 each and require the applicant to
furnish registration plate numbers, the name of the owner and the
address. Nature Conservation officials were unavailable for comment
although a junior officer said permits were issued only for the
purposes of fishing and not just for cruising up and down the beach.

Kleinemonde police station's Inspector Aylward Heinie said:

"You have to get a permit and then you can go on the beach."

"You are not allowed to drive on the dunes and certain bathing
areas and if you violate these regulations your permit can be
revoked." Port Alfred tourism director Heather Haller said owners
were very conscious of their image because of bad publicity in the
past. She said: "We have not had any complaints so far."

She said no jet-skis were allowed on the river although water
skiing was still only allowed in certain areas.

Senior Marketing co-ordinator in the East Cape Tourism Board
Judy van Vuuren urged the public to be responsible in their use of
four-by-four vehicles.

She said the "scary thing" was that four-by-four vehicles were
regarded as a recreational activity.

She said beause of this some people may take it to the point
where they were having a beer while driving on the beach.

She said the Regional Services Council were responsible for
policing the beaches and that not all beaches would be open to
four-by-four vehicles.

At Kleinemond ECN saw a red jeep loaded with rowdy revellers -
some drinking - dragging two men sitting in a tarpauling across the
beach. The vehicle drove at speed into a section of the river
causing a great splash.

Beer-drinking revellers were also seen sitting on the bonnet of
a moving bakkie. - ECN Tues 29/12/98

@ ZIM-WAGES

HARARE Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

ZIMBABWE'S STATE WORKERS WIN 25 PERCENT PAY HIKE

The cash-strapped Zimbabwe government has awarded its 162,000
workers a 25 percent pay rise from next month, a wage-bargaining
official announced in a statement Tuesday.

Ignatius Chigwendere, who heads a joint negotiating forum of
government and workers, said the pay rise was a cost of living
adjustment in light of the deteriorating economic situation in the
country.

"A 25 percent cost of living adjustment awarded for next year
goes a long way towards cushioning the civil servants' plight,"
said Chigwendere, according to whom the figure was agreed in
negotiations last week.

But the state workers's union, the Public Service Association
(PSA), dismissed the statement as incorrect, saying no agreement
had been reached.

"We actually reached a deadlock on the 23rd (of December) and
unanimously agreed that we would seek abitration," Charles Chiviru,
PSA acting secretary, told AFP.

He said the workers had initially demanded a 40 percent hike,
while the government offered 15 percent.

A stalemate was reached and the cabinet was consulted and it
settled for 25 percent, but the workers were adamant that they
would not accept anything below 30 percent.

In July state employees in Zimbabwe, which has seen months of
agitation by dissatisfied workers, received pay increases of
between five and 21 percent.

Private sector wages negotiations are meanwhile under way in
Zimbabwe.

Pay negotiations for both the private and public sectors have
followed mass strikes by the country's powerful trade unions
calling for an improvement in falling living standards.

The labour movement had brought the entire country to a virtual
standstill in protest against President Robert Mugabe's economic
policies.

@ MONETARY-SA

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa-INet-Bridge

NCD RATES CONTINUE TO FALL ON RATE CUT RUMOURS

South African money market rates continued to fall today rumors
of a further cut in lending rates filtered throughout he markets.

One dealer said: "We saw some cash inflows today because
sentiment is very positive with a view that there will be another
interest rate cut."

The dealer added that there is demand in the market also
because NCD rates are better than call rates.

The average repo rate edged down to 19.335 percent today from
19.340 percent on Monday. At the beginning of December the repo
rate had been 19.697 percent.

The money market shortage has already started easing and this
should bode well for a cut in lending rates.

The commercial banks last announced a 50 basis point cut in
their prime rate to 23 pertcent on Dec 2, after the repo rate had
dropped to 19.488 percent from 19.697 percent on Dec 1.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) once again matched the
estimated daily money market liquidity of 7.7 billion rand today.

Notes and coins had been expected to rise to about 28 billion
rand over the Christmas period. They peaked at 27.743 billion rand
on Dec 22 compared with last year's peak of 26.207 billion rand on
Dec 23.

The SARB indicated notes and coins in circulation 28 million
rand higher at 27.231 billion rand on Monday from 27.204 billion
rand on Thursday.

The commercial banks quoted 3-month NCDs lower at 18.70/17.95
percent from 18.7/18.05 percent.

The spreads on the 6-month NCD rates dropped to 18.35/17.80
percent from 18.60/18.00 percent.

The 9-month NCD rates fell to 18.30/17.65 percent from
18.35/17.80 percent while the 12-month rates were also lower at
18.25/17.65 percent from 18.30/17.70 percent.

The 3-month Bankers' Acceptance rate also dropped to
17.85/17.65 percent from 17.85%/17.75 percent.

@ ROUDY LOUTS TO BE ZAPPED BY NEW LASER TECHNOLOGY

Issued by: East Cape News (Ecn)

Roudy louts to be zapped by new laser technology
Patrick Burnett

GRAHAMSTOWN (ECN) - The Eastern Cape has been allocated an extra
R1,4m from the National Road Accident Fund to buy new equipment for
use in the fight against reckless road users.

Arrive Alive Eastern Cape route safety official Goodman Makubalo
said yesterday (subs:tues) the money would buy 16 laser speeding
devices to catch road ravers.

He said 10 Attorney General-approved breathalysers would also be
bought.

Makubalo said the new breathalysers would be of great help to
traffic officers who would not have to look for a District Surgeon
to take blood samples.

Makubalo said four new road block trailers would also be bought,
as well as alcohol "flash lights" which detect alcohol limits in
motorists.

He also reported a case of extreme speeding on the N2 at the Kei
Bridge when a motorists driving a BMW three series was fined R250
after driving at 120km per hour in a 60km zone. - ECN Tues 29/12/98

@ TRAFFIC

PRETORIA Dec 29 Sapa

636 PEOPLE DIE ON SA ROADS

A total of 636 people have lost their lives on South African
roads since December 1, the Arrive Alive campaign said on Tuesday.

This was 33 up from Monday, with 13 people were killed as a
result of vehicles overturning, 12 pedestrians were run over and at
least seven people were killed in head-on collisions.

By the same date last year, 649 people had been killed in road
accidents.

Arrive Alive in a statement in Pretoria said 460 fatal
accidents had been reported by noon on Tuesday, in which 222
passengers, 208 drivers and 206 pedestrians were killed.

Pedestrians were involved in 43 percent of the reported
accidents.

KwaZulu-Natal still topped the list with 118 fatalities,
followed by the Western Cape with 102, the Eastern Cape with 78,
Gauteng with 86, Free State with 66, Mpumalanga with 64, Northern
Province with 53, North-West with 45 and the Northern Cape with 24.

On Monday, three people were killed when a bus collided head-on
with a taxi in Pretoria North.

In the Free State, two people died when two cars crashed on the
Jacobsdal/Modderrivier road after the driver of one of the cars
apparently lost control over his vehicle while negotiating a curve.

The drivers of two vehicles died in Kleinmond in the southern
Cape after a head-on collision at a turn in the road.

At least 10 people were injured when a minibus taxi overturned
on the N1 near Laingsburg on Monday.

Sixteen more were injured, two seriously, after a taxi crashed
into a tree beside the Moloto Road, north of Pretoria.

Arrive Alive called on road users not to drink and drive or
walk over New Year's weekend.

@ ANGOLA-LD-PLANECRASH

LISBON Dec 29 Sapa-AP (Changing from Harare)

UN MISSION IN ANGOLA SAYS ITS CRASHED PLANE IS INTACT

The United Nations mission in Angola has "clear indications"
that a U.N.-chartered cargo plane that crashed three days earlier
near a war zone is mostly intact, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

The C-130 transport plane, which crashed Saturday with 14
people on board, had not disintegrated when it hit the ground,
Hamadoun Toure said . The aircraft crashed 10 minutes after takeoff
in the bush near the central highland city of Huambo, about 500
kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Luanda.

There was only a "very, very minor chance" of survivors being
found, Toure said in a telephone interview from the Angolan
capital, Luanda.

Toure declined to reveal the source of the information.

The United Nations said Monday that it picked up an SOS morse
code signal from the aircraft. However, communications specialists
cannot tell whether the signals - identified as coming from the
plane - are being sent manually or are automatic transmissions.

Toure said the U.N. observer mission, in Angola to oversee
implementation of the former Portuguese colony's 1994 peace deal,
was still waiting for the government and the UNITA rebel group to
guarantee safe passage for a rescue team.

"We've spoken to everyone we can on both sides, but we're
still waiting for a green light," Toure said.

Both sides have said they will only stop fighting after the
other has stopped, Toure said.

He said a U.N. rescue team would need at least 24 hours to
conduct a proper search and rescue operation.

The 10 passengers on board included three Angolans, two
Russians, an Australian, an Egyptian, a Cameroonian, a Zambian and
a Namibian. The crew was made up of a South African, an Angolan, a
Bolivian and a Filipino.

Eight passengers were members of the U.N. mission. Two others
were employed by a private communications company, Dinacom, which
works with the United Nations.

The plane, owned by TransAfric, was painted with the U.N.
colors. Both the government army and rebels were informed of the
flight's schedule before the aircraft took off from Huambo.

The army and UNITA - a Portuguese acronym for the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola - have reported fierce
clashes between their forces in the central highlands where new
fighting broke out Dec. 4.

The U.N. Security Council has expressed dismay at Angola's
apparent slide back to civil war. The country has been ravaged by
conflict since gaining independence from Portugal in 1975.

@ ZAMBIA-VOTE

LUSAKA Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

ZAMBIANS TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS

More than two million Zambians are registered to vote Wednesday
in local government elections expected to indicate the level of
support for President Frederick Chiluba's administration.

The director of elections, Joel Sikazwe, said: "We are
expecting about 2.4 million people to vote in the local government
elections, according to our up-dated voters' register."

The elections, which are supposed to take place every three
years, were last held in 1992, when Chiluba's Movement for
Multiparty Democracy (MMD) won an overwhelming victory.

Opposition politicians have accused the MMD of deliberately
delaying the elections for their own advantage, and say they will
participate under protest.

Among the major opposition groups are former president Kenneth
Kaunda's United National Independence Party, the newly formed
United Party for National Development headed by outgoing
Anglo-American Corporation executive Anderson Mzoka, and the Zambia
Democratic Congress, whose president Dean Mungomba was released
last week after a year in jail on treason charges.

@ AFRICA NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

MBABANE, Swaziland - Swaziland's opposition groups blasted new
laws giving local chiefs near dictatorial powers, saying they were
an invitation to conflict, South African television reported.

The legislation, enacted by one of the world's last remaining
absolute monarchs King Mswati III, gives the chiefs the power to
arrest and try their subjects, SABC-TV reported on Monday.

Local chiefs could also fine their subjects up to 300 rand
(dlrs 50) and evict them from their areas under the new law.

In an interview with SABC, Jan Sithole of the Swaziland
Federation of Trade Unions called the law "a travesty of justice"
and violation of human dignity.

"It is a recipe for confrontation and a catalyst for
oppression and dictatorship at its worst," Sithole said.

A group calling itself the Tigers has said it carried out a
November bombing that claimed one life to protest Swaziland's
system of government. In October, an explosion damaged a bridge and
injured one person, two hours after the king crossed the span.

Political parties are banned in Swaziland, a kingdom of 1
million people sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique.

HARARE, Zimbabwe - The government reinstated 68 air traffic
controllers fired a year ago for going on strike, the Public
Service Commission said.

The controllers were fired after they paralyzed air services in
Zimbabwe to press demands for better wages and working conditions.

Lance Museka, acting secretary for the commission, a state body
responsible for approving appointments to government posts, said in
a statement Monday the controllers were returning to work in
compliance with a High Court ruling that they were wrongly
dismissed.

The government declared the 1997 strike illegal and hired air
traffic staff from neighboring Zambia to run flight schedules.

The Zambians were now being phased out and were returning home,
said Museka.

ARUSHA, Tanzania - A summit of the tri-nation East African
Cooperation is scheduled for Jan. 22 to review progress of the
trading bloc, an official said Tuesday.

The group would also consider a request from Rwanda to join,
said the official who asked not to be identified.

The official, a member of the EAC secretariat based in Arusha,
said the meeting would deal with upgrading the current agreement
into a full-fledged treaty and the release of the much-delayed East
African passport.

Presidents Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Daniel arap Moi of Kenya
and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in April 1997 launched a revival of
the old East African Community that collapsed in 1977.

The collapse stemmed in part from differing economic policies
that have since converged into a pro-market, pro-private sector
approach in all three countries.

In its heyday, the community had a common airlines, railway,
postal system and currency.

The January summit is expected to focus on progress of
establishing a Single Market and Investment Area for the three
member states.

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigerian authorities have charged four
suspects with causing a massive explosion and deadly fire that
killed at least 700 people, according to court records released
Tuesday.

The suspects are accused of tampering with an oil pipeline,
triggering a leak that subsequently fueled the blast and inferno.

The pipeline erupted into flames in October, killing hundreds
of people who had gathered to collect spilled fuel.

The suspects appeared briefly in court on Monday in the
southeastern town of Warri in the oil-rich Niger River delta
region. They will remain in prison until their next court
appearance on Jan. 11, when they are expected to enter a plea.

Pipeline sabotage is not uncommon in Niger's delta region,
where villagers often live in subsistence poverty. Shell Oil, the
largest foreign oil firm operating in Nigeria, says the majority of
minor oil pipeline spills here are caused by sabotage.

Jesse community leaders, however, say the blast did not result
from sabotage but rather from neglect of the pipeline facility.

-
MAPUTO, Mozambique - Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano
said Tuesday that a dlrs 34 million contribution from the European
Union would be used on health, education and road rehabilitation.

The money is part of a financing conversion connected to a
structural adjustment program, a press release from the European
Union said.

Last week, the EU announced that it would contribute dlrs 30
million to support the country's second democratic elections next
year.

@ HOUSING-LD-MOFOKENG

JOHANNESBURG Dec 29 Sapa

MOFOKENG DOCTORED THE AG REPORT: KILIAN

Gauteng housing and land affairs MEC Dan Mofokeng doctored the
Auditor-General's report on allegations of corruption and
iregularities in his department, the New National Party claimed on
Tuesday.

Even the most cursory overview of the report clearly indicated
a number of damning findings by the AG that were unscrupulously
suppressed by Mofokeng's "amateur spin-doctors", alleged Gauteng
NNP leader Johan Kilian.

The department has dismissed Kilian's claims as sour grapes and
Mofokeng has threatened legal action against Kilian. Mofokeng
released the report on Monday and told a media conference that he
and his department had been exonerated by the AG.

Kilian said a glaring omission in the announcement of the
report's release was that the AG considered 10 further allegations
to be of a serious and complicated nature which had to be referred
to the forensic auditors.

These included the fact that the department allowed itself to
be defrauded by paying out R2,9 million to a developer on a project
at Kruisfontein on a false certificate for sites that were never
developed.

In Tsakane near Brakpan, the AG found that a further amount in
excess of R8,5 million was paid for houses that were never built.

Furthermore, said Kilian, R342000 was paid out in terms of a
controversial claim for special foundations that were unnecessary
according to two geotechnical reports.

At a Mooifontein development the department paid out an amount
of R3,4 million for 633 houses that were never erected, he said.

Kilian said the general trend of the report was that "owing to
unreliable management information" it was impossible to determine
how many houses had actually been built in Gauteng. This, he said,
included how many had been paid for but had not been built.

"This is a typical case of a foolhardy African National
Congress politician presenting himself as cleared, when the Auditor
General says nobody can tell how many houses were built under his
control because there is no control," he said.

Kilian accused Mofokeng of putting a "spin" on the report. This
was an unscrupulous coin trick played on the media, who were not in
a position to evaluate the report, he said.

The NNP also claimed the SABC became part of blatant ANC
misinformation by declaring Mofokeng clean on prime time news on
Monday night, whereas his party's media release on the report was
ignored.

Mofokeng, in releasing the report, admitted the department was
not perfect, but added that corrective measures had already been
implemented, including the appointment of a new head of department
to ensure better administrative capacity.

He said a departmental secretary, who was convicted for
stealing R600 from the department and using it to buy groceries,
was forced to resign.

"Our administrative and management capacity has since grown in
leaps and bounds....the pace of delivery is accelerating and the
department is now leading the entire country in terms of delivery
of houses," he told journalists.

For instance, in the Bophelong Focus Area Project, 5000 of the
10,000 houses being constructed at the cost of R164 million had been
completed.

"We are proud also to say that we have also abolished the old
Provincial Housing Board and established a more effective and
efficient Provincial Housing Advisory Board," Mofokeng said.

Earlier on Tuesday Kilian claimed that Mofokeng had jumped the
gun on Monday by releasing the report, which was embargoed until
early next week.

However, the department's head, Mogopodi Mokoena, told Sapa the
report was handed to the department on December 7. Acting on the
advice of the AG, they released it to the media and public on the
specified date of December 28.

@ ANC CALLS FOR MEETING WITH FIVAZ ON CRISIS IN SAPS

Issued by: African National Congress

ANC CALLS MEETING WITH FIVAZ ON CRISIS IN WESTERN CAPE SAPS

ANC leader in the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool today wrote a
letter to Commissioner Fivaz requesting a meeting to discuss the
need to transform the police management in the province as a matter
of urgency. Mr Rasool said:

"I fully support the statements made by acting Commissioner
Blaauw in today's Argus. They confirm that the ANC has been saying
on a consistent basis - racism in rife in the Western Cape Police
and active attempts by the old guard to block change and hang onto
power have plunged policing in this province into a deep crisis.

"All this is happening at a time when bombings continue on a
daily basis, when 105 women laid rape charges over the past weekend
and when children continue to be victims of murder and terror
campaigns. The Western Cape leads all other provinces when it comes
the rate of murder and serious violent crime. Something is seriously
wrong.

"For the last four years the NP has failed to grasp the nettle
of change. Instead they have rallied to the defence of the white old
guard in the SAPS.

"Three different MEC's for Community Safety in four years have
failed to transform the SAPS and direct resources where they are
needed most. Instead they have chosen to blame central government.

"As the ANC we are calling for the immediate acceptance of the
severance package applications of senior police officers. We will be
suggesting to Fivaz that an interim management be put in place by
National to run the SAPS in the province and oversee transformation.

"We insist that the recent attempted appointments of seven
intelligence positions by the provincial selection committee be set
aside. We are aware that early in the new year the posts of 8
assistant area commissioners will be advertised. It is vital that
this opportunity is used to establish a representative, competent
and motivated senior police management in the province." added Mr
Rasool.

ISSUED BY THE ANC, FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT CAMERON DUGMORE ON
082 894 7553

@ MALAWI-ECONOMY

BLANTYRE Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

MALAWI BEMOANS LACK OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT

The poor southern African state of Malawi has attracted foreign
investment worth just some 200 million US dollars during the last
four years, the Malawi Investment Agency said Tuesday.

The agency said the low sum had created a mere 6,000 new jobs
since 1994, when a major drive to attract foreign investment was
launched by the then new government of President Bakili Muluzi.

"This is not a good pointer for a country that has over 200,000
new jobs seekers entering the labour market (every year)," the
agency said in a statement.

Only 500,000 of the 11 million Malawians are considered
gainfully employed on official criteria.

Malawi's failure to attract foreign investment is largely
blamed on poor infrastructure, high transport costs, a shortage of
skilled manpower and inconsistent policies on expatriate permits.

@ MOUNTAINS

PRETORIA Dec 29 Sapa

FIRST BLACK SA WOMAN LEADS MOUNTAIN EXPEDITION

Johannesburg mountaineer Deshun Deysel, 28, was expected to
become the first black South African woman to lead an expedition to
the peak of an African mountain, organisers said on Tuesday.

In a statement the organisation Three Peaks 2000 said the
six-member team was expected to reach the summit of Mount Kenya
early on Friday morning after six days of climbing.

The team comprises four Kenyans and two South Africans -
Deysel and partner Chris van der Merwe.

The 5199 metre summit, called Batiam, presented a serious
challenge to climbers, even those with high-tech equipment, the
statement said.

After scaling Mount Kenya, Deysel would also take part in
attempts to climb Uganda's Mount Stanley in July next year, and
Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro in December.

The three mountains are the highest on the continent.

On January 1, 2000 several teams would attempt simultaneous
ascents of the three peaks as part of the Three Peaks 2000
campaign.

"The campaign is aimed at promoting the ideals of an African
Renaissance and sustainable tourism," the statement said.

Deysel has previously climbed Mount Kilimanjaro as well as
Mount Everest.

@ ZIM-SMITH

HARARE Dec 29 Sapa

ZIM GROUP CALLS FOR SPEEDING UP OF INQUIRY INTO CHEMICAL WAR

A pressure group, Sangano Munhumutapa, on Tuesday called on the
Zimbabwean government to speed up inquiries into the suspected use
of chemical and biological weapons by Ian Smith's regime during the
liberation war, Ziana news agency reported.

Sangano Munhumutapa president Lawrence Chakaredza said in a
statement that the commission of enquiry - set up by the Ministry
of Health and Child Welfare - was taking too long to announce its
results. "We are really incensed that since the announcement there has
not been any visible progress at all," he said.

Chakaredza said since 1995 his organisation had been calling
for investigations into the entire Smith regime. They were also
pushing for the subsequent prosecution of those involved in the
alleged atrocities.

"World truth commissions and tribunals are working daily
searching for the truth, sentencing all those found to have been
perpetrators, nd the same should happen in Zimbabwe," he said.

Chakaredza said it was crucial for the people of Zimbabwe to
know the atrocities the minority Rhodesian government committed
against freedom fighters.

A bitter liberation war raged between nationalist guerillas and
the Rhodesian regime from the early 1970s until 1979. The Lancaster
House negotiations culminated in independence in 1980.

@ CRIME-LD-MASSACRE

DURBAN Dec 29 Sapa

TWENTY CHARGED FOR HARDING MASSACRE, TEN RELEASED

KwaZulu-Natal police on Tuesday charged 20 of the 30 suspects
arrested in connection with the Harding massacre on December 23 in
which six people were gunned down, spokesman Director Bala Naidoo
said.

Six people were killed in faction fighting between two
different clans at KwaMachie near Harding in southern
KwaZulu-Natal.

The 30 suspects were arrested early on Tuesday in the Msihiwini
area where they were camping in the bushes. Police also seized a
large quantity of ammunition.

Naidoo said police released 10 of the suspects after
questioning them.

The remaining 20 will be charged on six counts of murder and
several charges of arson. They are expected to appear in court on
Thursday.

Two of them will also be charged with murdering two people in
May during a faction fight in the KwaMachie area.

Among those arrested were four of the eight suspects for whom
warrants of arrest had been issued in connection with the massacre.

Naidoo said nobody had been arrested for the other massacres in
the province over the Christmas period.

Four people questioned in connection with the Christmas Eve
massacre of eight people at Jericho in Margate could not be linked
to the crime.

They were charged with possession of stolen goods, which was
not related to the massacre, Naidoo said.

A total of 25 people have died in killings in the province
since December 23. Four people were killed at Ntambanhlope on
Saturday, eight at Margate on Christmas Eve and nine people in the
Umlazi and Harding areas.

@ TRAFFIC-KWANATAL

DURBAN Dec 29 Sapa

DEATH TOLL ON KWANATAL'S ROADS 118 AS TREK HOME STARTS

The death toll on KwaZulu-Natal's roads has risen to 118 as
more holidaymakers started their trek back to Gauteng on Tuesday, a
provincial road traffic inspectorate spokesman said.

Logan Maistry said more than 1500 cars were travelling north on
the N3 highway to Gauteng by Tuesday afternoon as people left the
coast to spend New Year's day at home.

By Monday, the death toll stood at 113. Maistry said the
increase in the number was due to people injured in accidents who
later died and late reports of fatalities.

Until Sunday, the department issued 89904 notices for traffic
offences, 70539 of them for speeding. Twenty-two drivers were
arrested for driving over 190km/h, Maistry said.

Twenty-one drivers were caught for reckless and negligent
driving, while almost 1000 people were arrested for not having
licences.

Last year 168 people died on roads in the province between
December 1 and January 12. The death toll for the same period in
1996 was 214.

Maistry said all of the accidents which occurred in the
province so far this festive season were preceded by an offence
such as speeding or illegal overtaking.

@ ANGOLA-2ND-LD-PLANECRASH

PRETORIA Dec 29 Sapa

UN AIRCRAFT WRECK APPEARS TO BE REASONABLY INTACT

The wreck of a United Nations chartered aircraft that crashed
near Huambo in Angola on Saturday had been seen and appeared to be
reasonably intact, the South African embassy in Luanda said on
Tuesday.

A spokesman said UN officials flew over the scene of the crash
late on Monday.

He would not speculate on whether anyone survived, but
confirmed that an SOS in Morse code had been received from the
plane.

The spokesman said the UN observer mission in Angola requested
the government and the rebel Unita movement to allow them safe
entry into the area for a search and rescue mission.

"They are still awaiting a response," he said on Tuesday
afternoon.

Government and Unita troops were asked to help should they come
across the wreck.

The spokesman said the area, where heavy fighting was reported
recently, was reportedly quiet on Tuesday, "but anything can change
in a minute".

The Hercules C130 transport plane apparently went down in
flames east of Vila Nova, about 45km from Huambo, on Saturday.

South African pilot John Wilkinson, was carrying three crew and
10 passengers.

The spokesman said seven of the passengers were members of the
UN mission, two were employed by a Danish NGO, and one by a
security company.

@ MOZ-CHOLERA

GENEVA, Dec 29, Sapa-AFP

CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN MOZAMBIQUE KILLS 300 POPLE: DOCTORS

A cholera epidemic raging in northern Mozambique has killed
some 300 people and 2,000 new cases have been diagnosed since
November 20, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without
Borders) said here Tuesday.

"The situation is worsening and the number of cases is
constantly increasing," MSF said in a statement.

The organisation is providing aid to some 5,000 people in the
hardest-hit provinces of Zambezia and Cabo Delgado.

A cholera epidemic in Mozambique at the beginning of the year
killed some 900 people, particularly in the southern and central
provinces, before it was finally contained in June.

@ ANGOLA-FIGHTING

LUANDA Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

RENEWED UNITA SHELLING KILLS 10 IN ANGOLA

Renewed UNITA shelling on Tuesday killed 10 people in the
central Angolan town of Kuito, three days after Luanda's troops
managed to push back rebel artillery, state radio said.

The government troops also claimed to have destroyed a rebel
base in Ceyilunga, northeast of the strategic town, which is 710
kilometers (450 miles) southeast of the capital.

The army said it launched a counter-attack on the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Ceyilunga
forest on Saturday, forcing its artillery into retreat, the
official Jornal de Angola said Monday.

But at least 10 people injured on Tuesday by the shelling were
admitted to the Kuito hospital, the radio said.

Rebel bombardments of the town began on December 9, and have
killed some 200 people.

In Kunhynga, north of Kuito, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)
killed 20 UNITA rebels during an attack on the government-held
town, and seized abandoned assault vehicles, their commander,
General Simione Mukume told the radio.

@ MATRIC-NPROV

PIETERSBURG Dec 29 Sapa

NORTHERN PROVINCE WILL RELEASE MATRIC RESULTS ON JAN 5

More than 29000 hopefuls who sat their matric exams in the
Northern Province will hear on Tuesday whether or not they got
through, the province's education department announced on Tuesday.

Last year only 30 percent of Northern Province matrics passed.

Northern Province education MEC Joe Phaahla will release the
results at a news conference on Tuesday morning. Education
spokesman Bernard Matsane said Phaahla would also make special
awards to top achievers and schools.

Phaahla was optimistic that this year's matrics would exceed
last year's pass rate, said Matsane.

@ INDIA-SRILANKA

NEW DELHI, Dec 29, Sapa-AFP

BOOST TRADE, EASE REGIONAL TENSIONS: SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Tuesday urged the
seven members of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) to ease regional tensions and boost trade.

Kumaratunga also said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) separatist guerrillas must accept "certain conditions" to
resume the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka.

"It is not an impossible task to dream of a common South Asian
identity," she told the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry.

India and Sri Lanka on Monday signed South Asia's first
free-trade agreement, which will remove tariffs between the two
countries.

Calling for similar steps among other SAARC members, she said:
"For this, we have to think afresh and move away from some
traditional attitudes. Besides, there is also a need to find
methods to reduce tension in the region."

Efforts by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and the Maldives to set up a South Asian Free Trade Agreement
(SAFTA) have been impeded because of military tensions between
India and Pakistan.

Kumaratunga said initiatives to increase trade had to come from
India which accounted for three-quarters of South Asia's combined
national income of about 500 billion dollars.

"India is the largest and the predominant partner and so a
large burden and responsibility lies with India," she told local
business leaders.

"Sri Lanka, on its part is ready to hep promote the process to
ease away the tensions in the region."

Diplomats in Colombo, meanwhile, warned Tuesday the India-Sri
Lanka trade pact could delay the installation of the proposed
SAFTA.

"If SAFTA is going to be in force by 2001, then this Indo-Lanka
agreement is superfluous," an Asian diplomat said. "The message
from this agreement is that SAFTA will not be ready by 2001."

Indian officials, meanwhile, said that Kumaratunga extended her
three-day trip to India, her fourth here since becoming president
in 1994, by a night and will return home Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the ongoing guerrilla war in her
country the Sri Lankan president said: "We want an early end to the
ethnic problem. But the LTTE must agree to certain conditions."

Kumaratunga, who recently shut the door for negotiations with
the LTTE, did not elaborate. Colombo has also said that it was not
willing to accept conditional talks with the rebels.

More than 55,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's drawn
out conflict in the past 26 years.

Kumaratunga also said she did not seek New Delhi's help in
brokering a peace between her government and the LTTE.

"We have had many offers for facilitation or mediation from a
number of countries and several international organisations," she
said of offers from Britain and South Africa to help cobble peace
between the warring sides.

"We will decide when the time comes," she said before her
second round and final of talks with Indian President K.R.
Narayanan.

Before her arrival here, India on Saturday said it was not in
favour of mediating in the Sri Lankan conflict.

The LTTE once enjoyed sanctuary in India, but Indian troops
took on the guerrillas in Sri Lanka's north and east between 1987
and 1990 under a bilateral pact with Colombo.

The Indians returned home after suffering some 1,200
casualties.

But there is a strong demand in India for the extradition of
LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran to face trial in the
assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Gandhi was blown up with a bomb at an election rally in May
1991 by an LTTE woman suicide bomber. The LTTE, which is outlawed
in Sri Lanka and India, has denied its involvement in the killing.

His widow, Sonia Gandhi, who now heads India's main opposition
Congress party, met Kumaratunga on Tuesday, but details of their
talks were not known.

@ ANGOLA-LD-FIGHTING

LUANDA Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

RENEWED UNITA SHELLING KILLS 10 IN ANGOLA

Renewed UNITA shelling on Tuesday killed 10 people in the
central Angolan town of Kuito, three days after Luanda's troops
managed to push back rebel artillery, state radio said.

The government troops also claimed to have destroyed a rebel
base in Ceyilunga, northeast of the strategic town, which is 710
kilometers (450 miles) southeast of the capital.

But at least 10 people injured on Tuesday by shelling were
admitted to the Kuito hospital, the radio said.

Rebel bombardments of the town by the National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) began on December 9, and have
killed some 200 people, before a temporary reprieve at the weekend.

The army said it launched a counter-attack on UNITA in
Ceyilunga forest on Saturday, forcing its artillery into retreat,
the official Jornal de Angola said Monday.

In Kunhynga, north of Kuito, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)
killed 20 UNITA rebels during an attack on the government-held
town, and seized abandoned assault vehicles, their commander,
General Simione Mukume told the radio.

Elsewhere, Angolan civil aviation officials on Tuesday said an
Antonov-12 plane carrying 10 people on Sunday disappeared during a
flight from Luanda to Lukapa, in the eastern province of
Kunda-Norte.

They said the plane belonged to a private company, Ancargo, but
gave no details on the passengers, saying only that its flight plan
passed over a diamond-mining region disputed by UNITA rebels and
government troops.

The disappearance came one day after a privately-owned C-130
Hercules cargo plane chartered by the United Nations Observer
Mission in Angola (MONUA), crashed in Tchikala-Tcholohanga, 45
kilometers (30 miles) east of Huambo.

According to MONUA, the plane went down and burst into flames
with 14 people on board, in a region under UNITA control.

Issa Diallo, the MONUA chief, urged UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi
to ensure his rebels provide help in search and rescue operations
for the UN plane.

Heavy fighting has been reported between UNITA and government
forces in the area, but Diallo has described the crash as an
"accident" in a written statement.

"UN has for the past so many years provided humanitarian
assistance to the people of Angola and in our hour of need we
appeal to UNITA to honour this commitment and respond to these
appeals," Diallo said.

@ IFC

WASHINGTON Dec 29 Sapa

IFC INVESTS IN SA BUSINESS INCUBATOR CENTER

The International Finance Corporation on Tuesday said it would
invest up to US1 million to help establish a centre to support
entrepeneurship and small business through the SA Business
Incubator Centre.

SABIC was the result of a concept developed inside South Africa
to provide small businesses with space, shared support services and
access to business development services such as financing and
marketing, said the IFC.

IFC director for sub-Saharan Africa, Cesare Calari, said SABIC
would play a strong role in helping new businesses grow and survive
during the critical start-up period where they were most
vulnerable.

He said IFC, which was part of the World Bank Group, would like
to replicate the concept in other parts of Africa. SABIC was IFC's
first investment in a business incubator centre.

@ ANGOLA-UN

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 29, Sapa-AFP

UN AIRCRAFT LOCATED AFTER ANGOLA CRASH, UN APPEALS TO LEADERS

The wreckage of a UN plane which crashed in a combat zone in
central Angola with 14 people on board has been located, a UN
spokesman said Tuesday.

Spokesman Yasuhiro Ueki told AFP that the Transafrica company
which chartered the C-130 transport plane to the United Nations had
located the aircraft eight kilometres (five miles) southwest of
Villa Nova.

The plane, with four crewmembers and 10 passengers working for
the UN peacekeeping mission in Angola on board, crashed on Saturday
shortly after takeoff from the central Angolan rebel stronghold of
Huambo.

The plane was bound for Saurimo, in eastern Angola.

A high-altitude reconnaissance plane located the crash site,
but was unable to detect the exact state of the aircraft, Ueki
said.

UN chief Kofi Annan was attempting to send a personal appeal to
both Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and Angolan rebel
leader Jonas Savimbi to allow a UN rescue team access to the site
"without delay", Ueki said.

The team has been awaiting clearance to travel to the crash
site, but so far both the government and Savimbi have ignored UN
appeals.

UN Security Council members on Tuesday expressed "deepest
concern about the fate" of those on board, council president Jassim
Buallay told reporters after closed-door consultations.

Council members urgently called on the government and the rebel
Union for the Total Independence of Angola to "cooperate
immediately and fully" with the search and rescue team, he said.

The UN mission in Luanda said in a statement issued on Monday
that there could be survivors on board, according to Morse code
signals picked up byUN communications.

The United Nations on Tuesday issued a list of the missing
passengers and crew. The plane's captain was John Wilkinson of
South Africa, assisted by an Angolan, a Bolivian and a Filipino.

The passengers included three Angolans, one Australian, one
Cameroon national, one Egyptian, one Namibian, two Russians, and
one Zambian, who were serving with the UN mission.

@ ANGOLA-2ND-LD-FIGHTING

LUANDA, Dec 29, Sapa-AFP

RENEWED UNITA SHELLING KILLS 18 IN ANGOLA

Renewed UNITA shelling killed 18 people in the central Angolan
town of Kuito on Tuesday, according to a private radio station.

Another 10 people were injured by the shelling and taken to the
local hospital, where four were in serious condition, Catholic
radio "Ecclesia" reported.

An earlier report by state radio said 10 people had been
killed.

Government troops on Monday claimed to have destroyed a rebel
base in Ceyilunga, northeast of the strategic town of Kuito, which
is 710 kilometers (450 miles) southeast of the capital.

Rebel bombardments of the town by the National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) began on December 9, and have
killed some 200 people, before a temporary reprieve over the
weekend.

The army said it launched a counter-attack on UNITA in
Ceyilunga forest on Saturday, forcing its artillery into retreat,
the official Jornal de Angola said Monday.

In Kunhynga, north of Kuito, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)
also killed 20 UNITA rebels during an attack on the government-held
town, and seized abandoned assault vehicles, their commander,
General Simione Mukume told state radio.

Elsewhere, Angolan civil aviation officials on Tuesday said an
Antonov-12 plane carrying 10 people disappeared on Sunday during a
flight from Luanda to Lukapa, in the eastern province of
Kunda-Norte.

They said the plane belonged to a private company, Ancargo, but
gave no details on the passengers, saying only that its flight plan
passed over a diamond-mining region disputed by UNITA rebels and
government troops.

The disappearance came the day after a privately-owned C-130
Hercules cargo plane chartered by the United Nations Observer
Mission in Angola (MONUA), crashed in Tchikala-Tcholohanga, 45
kilometers (30 miles) east of Huambo.

According to MONUA, the plane went down and burst into flames
with 14 people on board, in a region under UNITA control.

Issa Diallo, the MONUA chief, urged UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi
to ensure his rebels provide help in search and rescue operations
for the UN plane.

Heavy fighting has been reported between UNITA and government
forces in the area, but Diallo has described the crash as an
"accident" in a written statement.

"UN has for the past so many years provided humanitarian
assistance to the people of Angola and in our hour of need we
appeal to UNITA to honour this commitment and respond to these
appeals," Diallo said.

@ ANGOLA-UN-NAMES

UNITED NATIONS Dec 29 Sapa-AP

UNITED NATIONS URGES PROBE INTO ANGOLA CRASH, UN IDENTIFIES
VICTIMS

The Security Council urged the Angolan government and UNITA
rebels on Tuesday to immediately grant U.N. forces access to the
site of a downed U.N.-chartered plane to determine the fate of the
14 people on board.

"Any further delay jeopardizes the lives of possible
survivors," the council said in a statement to the press read by
the president, Jassim Mohammed Buallay.

The C-130 transport plane, chartered by the U.N. Observer
Mission in Angola, crashed Saturday 10 minutes after takeoff in the
bush near the central highland city of Huambo, about 500 kilometers
(310 miles) southeast of the Angolan capital Luanda.

The United Nations immediately asked that the government and
UNITA grant safe passage to a search and rescue team to get to the
site but hasn't yet received a positive response from either side,
officials said Tuesday.

The area is the site of renewed fighting between the government
and UNITA that has shattered the 1994 U.N.-brokered peace accord
that sought to end two decades of civil war in the former
Portuguese colony.

U.N. officials said Tuesday the plane's owner, TransAfric, flew
another plane high over the site and saw that it was seemingly
intact. But a U.N. spokesman in Luanda, Hamadoun Toure, said there
was only a "very, very minor chance" of survivors being found.

The council was particularly concerned that neitherside had
taken effective action after the disappearance of three other
planes over UNITA territory, Buallay said. He did not elaborate on
the incidents.

A government plane was shot down Dec. 14, but the military
hasn't said who was responsible.

"Council members renew their appeal to the government of
Angola and UNITA to guarantee the safety and freedom of movement of
MONUA personnel and encourage the secretary-general to take
additional steps to ensure adequate security and protection for its
personnel," Buallay said.

The United Nations identified the 14 passengers and crew
Tuesday:

Jose Data and Dala Antonio, both of Angola and both contract
employees of Dinacom, which works with the United Nations. Members
of the U.N. team include Rui Cameling of Angola, Assa Salaam Galal
of Egypt, Wilfried Mateka of Cameroon, Margaret Zulu of Zambia, Lt.
Paulus Willem of Namibia, Patrick Luckman of Australia, Oleg
Kapturovic and Savin S. of Russia. The crew include Capt. John
Wilkinson of South Africa, Carlos Alberto Constantino Tavares Da
Silba of Angola, Carlos Melgar of Bolivia and Benjamin Montefalcon
of the Philippines.

@ MOZAMBIQUE-ECONOMY

MAPUTO, Dec 29, Sapa-AFP

MOZAMBIQUE CLAIMS SUCCESS IN FINANCIAL REFORMS

Central bank governor Adriano Maleiane proclaimed major
successes Tuesday in efforts to reform the financial sector in
Mozambique.

"We are very happy to see the entire banking sector in private
hands," said Maleiane in a year-end address on the state of the
economy.

The governor pointed out that new banks have also emerged.

There are eight commercial banks in Mozambique, five of them
set up over the last five years.

At independence in 1975, the country had only two commercial
banks, Banco Commercial de Mocambique (BCM) and Banco Popular de
Desenvolvimento (BPD) recently renamed Banco Austral.

The proliferation of banks has brought about much-needed
competition in the financial sector.

Furthermore, banks are introducing new management techniques,
and offering new and diversified services, he said.

Some analysts contend that competition among the commercial
banks is undermined by the fact that six of the eight banks are
dominated by Portuguese capital.

@ ANGOLA-3RD-LD-PLANECRASH

UNITED NATIONS Dec 29 Sapa-AFP

UN AIRCRAFT LOCATED IN ANGOLA, MAY HOLD SURVIVORS

The wreckage of a UN plane which crashed in a combat zone in
central Angola with 14 people on board has been located, and may
hold survivors, UN sources said Tuesday.

UN spokesman Yasuhiro Ueki told AFP that the Transafrica
company which chartered the C-130 Hercules transport plane to the
UN had located the aircraft eight kilometres (five miles) southwest
of Tchicala-Tcholohango, a town formerly known as Vila Nova.

A communique from the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola
(MONUA) said "there may be survivors in the wreck, according
signals obtained through our codes."

The plane, with four crewmembers and 10 passengers working for
the UN peacekeeping mission in Angola on board, crashed Saturday
shortly after takeoff from the central Angolan rebel stronghold of
Huambo for Saurimo, in eastern Angola.

A reconnaissance plane located the crash site, but was unable
to determine the exact state of the aircraft, Ueki said.

UN chief Kofi Annan was attempting to send a personal appeal to
both Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and Jonas Savimbi,
head of the rebel Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA) to allow a UN rescue team access to the site "without
delay", Ueki added.

MONUA said UN envoy Issa Diallo had also asked both sides to
allow rescue workers in by road "to try and save the lives of blue
helmets," referring to UN peacekeeping troops.

But the Portugese agency LUSA on Tuesday said UNITA secretary
general Paulo Lukamba Gato denied being contacted by MONUA.

"Communications have been cut," Gato told LUSA. "Since Diallo
arrived in Angola four months ago, we haven't gotten a single phone
call from him," he said.

UNITA retook Tchicala-Tcholohango on December 7, but it says
communications with the town are difficult and that recent heavy
rains have washed out many roads.

UN Security Council members on Tuesday expressed "deepest
concern about the fate" of those on board the plane, cuncil
president Jassim Buallay told reporters after closed-door
consultations.

Council members urgently called on the government and UNITA to
"cooperate immediately and fully" with the search and rescue team,
he said.

But fighting continued on Tuesday between UNITA and government
forces, according to Angolan media reports here.

The United Nations on Tuesday issued a list of the missing
passengers and crew. The plane's captain was John Wilkinson of
South Africa, and its crew includes an Angolan, a Bolivian and a
Filipino.

The passengers included three Angolans, one Australian, one
Cameroon national, one Egyptian, one Namibian, two Russians, and
one Zambian, who were serving with the UN mission.

In eastern Angola, civil aviation officials on Tuesday said an
Antonov An-12 plane carrying 10 people disappeared on Sunday during
a flight from Luanda to Lukapa, in the eastern province of
Kunda-Norte.

They said the plane belonged to a private company, Ancargo, but
gave no details on the passengers, saying only that its flight plan
passed over a diamond-mining region which is also disputed by UNITA
rebels and government troops.

@ TODAY IN HISTORY (Jan 4)

Highlights in Southern African history:

JAN 4:

1834 - Sir Thomas McLean arrives in Cape Town as Royal Astronomer.

1879 - Sir Bartle Frere declares war on the Zulus.

1901 - J G Wolfaardt Janse is executed. He was accused of
stealing four horses, and bullets, and was sentenced to death
by the British Army.

1948 - Marion Island, situated about 1200 miles south-east of
Cape Town in the Antarctic Ocean, is annexed to the Union of
South Africa.

1990 - South African Foreign Minister Pik Btha arries in
Hungary. His arrival is said to be the first known visit of a
senior SA official to a Warsaw Pact country.

1990 - Veteran sports activist Peter Hain announces in London
that he slipped into South Africa secretly to warn against the
planned England rebel cricket tour. The Department of Home
Affairs says Hain entered SA illegally and under a false name.

1991 - The SAP launches Operation Sentry, a massive operation
to track down dangerous weapons, including AK-47 assault
rifles, grenades, explosives and illegal firearms. Large
rewards are offered for information in this regard. The SAP
also announces a campaign to recruit 10,000 new members by July.

1992 - Internationally respected Dr Danie Craven - South
Africa's "Mr Rugby" - dies at his home in Stellenbosch at the
age of 82.

+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Prepared by: ANC Information Services |
| Dept Information & Publicity |
| PO Box 16469 Tel: (+27 21) 262740 |
| Vlaeberg 8018 Fax: (+27 21) 262774 |
| Cape Town Internet: in...@anc.org.za |
| South Africa CompuServe: 100014,344 |
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