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A N C D A I L Y N E W S B R I E F I N G
THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 1999
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
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@ STORM-MNCEBA
UMTATA January 20 1999 Sapa
STORM-STRUCK AREAS OF EASTERN CAPE STILL REELING FROM SHOCK
Victims of the devastating storm that swept through the
Kokstad, Mount Ayliff and Tabankulu areas on Monday afternoon were
on Wednesday still trying to come to terms with the disaster.
Twenty-one people were killed and more than 300 injured, homes
were destroyed and telephone and electricity services disrupted by
the freak weather occurrence.
About 114 families were left homeless in the Mnceba area of
Tabankulu.
Mnceba police spokesman Captain Sikhumeuzo Nosenga on Wednesday
morning said six people were killed in the area and a number of
houses collapsed.
"We have no electricity and telephones are out of order."
Nosenga said the destitute were being accomodated at the local
mission hall and school, as school buildings were not affected by
the storm.
He said there were about 325 patients still receiving treatment
at Kokstad, Mount Frere, Umtata and Mount Ayliff Hospitals and the
official death toll was still 21.
"We will be visiting the area during the day to assess the
damage."
He said police had not been able to estimate the severity of
the damage in the area as the situation was still chaotic.
Local women were on Wednesday morning ploughing fields and
scores of children were on their way to school.
However, several shocked residents said they were worried that
storms might strike again.
Some victims received relief tents from the army on Tuesday
night. Blankets and food from the Health Department and the Red
Cross were expected to arrive on Wednesday.
A few local businessmen have donated emergency supplies.
@ POLL
CAPE TOWN January 20 1999 Sapa
NEW POLL SHOWS NAT SUPPORT DOWN
A new poll has shown that although a two-thirds majority may be
beyond the grasp of the African National Congress in the next
election, voter support for the New National Party has nosedived to
nine percent.
According to the poll, conducted by Marketing and Media
Research (MMR) for Independent Newspapers, the ANC enjoys 59
percent of voter support, and this could grow as much as three
percent by the May election.
The group's newspapers reported on Wednesday that this would
bring ANC support back to levels the party enjoyed five years ago.
"The ANC is likely to entice a sizeable proportion of the
undecided vote, which stands at 12 percent. This will see ANC
support exceed 60 percent," they quoted MMR research director Kim
Heller as saying.
The poll shows that New National Party support has shrunk from
20,3 percent in 1994 to nine percent, and could drop even more.
The Inkatha Freedom Party's support has also been slashed by
more than half, from 10,5 percent to five percent.
The Democratic Party's support has grown from 1,3 percent in
1994 to six percent.
The poll shows the DP could increase its support base by
securing a portion, however small, of the "undecided" vote.
According to the poll, support for other small opposition
parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress, the Freedom Front and
the African Christian Democratic Party has not grown.
The recently-founded United Democratic Movement, led by former
ANC MP Bantu Holomisa, has grown impressively, with its current
support being placed at three percent by the survey.
The poll has also found that the ANC's support base has
remained solid. While 88 percent of those who voted ANC in 1994 are
likely to do so again in the May elction, only 50 percent of NNP
supporters are likely to vote for that party again.
The survey is based on interviews with more than 3000 people
over 18, half in urban areas and half in rural areas.
It also shows that the turnout is likely to be lowest in the
two non-ANC-governed provinces: KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
@ CRIME-EVATON
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
SEVEN MASSACRED IN EVATON WERE SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZENS: POLICE
The seven men gunned down at a house in Evaton on Monday night
were all South African citizens, police confirmed on Wednesday.
News reports on Tuesday night said police were reluctant to
disclose the nationalities of the victims, but that the murders
could possibly be connected to a raid on a Mozambican-owned spaza
shop in the area.
Police spokesman superintendent Piet van Deventer said on
Wednesday the victims were definitely not foreigners.
As far as a motive for the killings was concerned, he said, it
was too early in the investigation to speculate.
"All the theories being reported in the media are pure
speculation. The report about a Mozambican-owned spaza shop also
comes as a complete surprise to me."
The four arrested suspects would appear in the Sebokeng
Magistrate's Court on Thursday, Van Deventer said, since police had
not finished questioning them.
Police had by Wednesday not been able to question Daniel
Katadi, the owner of the Evaton home who was seriously wounded
during the attack, because he was too ill.
"He is on life-support machines so we can't question him, but I
also don't think his testimony is crucial to the case at this
point, because we have four suspects in custody," Van Deventer
said.
A spokeswoman at Sebokeng Hospital confirmed on Wednesday that
Katadi was still in a critical condition.
Four men stormed into the Evaton house shortly before midnight
on Monday and opened fire on the occupants of the house.
Police arrested four suspects shortly afterwards and
confiscated three 9mm pistols. One of the pistols was apparently
stolen from one of the dead men.
The African National Congress in Gauteng on Wednesday condemned
the killings and urged a speedy investigation and trial of the
suspects.
"We welcome the swift action taken by the police and the
community... It was through information provided by the community
that the police were able to apprehend the alleged killers, " a
statement released in Johannesburg on Wednesday said.
The ANC encouraged communities to work with the police to rid
the country of criminals, and said it sympathised with the families
of the Evaton victims.
@ DFA ON MANDELA, NZO TRAVELLING
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE VISIT BY PRESIDENT MANDELA TO UGANDA, GERMANY
AND SWITZERLAND : 25 - 30 JANUARY 1999
President Nelson Mandela, accompanied by Foreign Minister Alfred
Nzo, will visit Uganda, Germany and Switzerland from 25-30 January
1999. President Nelson Mandela will visit Uganda on 25 and 26
January 1999.
The occasion will afford him the opportunity to further cement
ties between South Africa and Uganda and discuss regional issues and
other matters of common interest. South Africa is a major investor
in Uganda and trade relations with this East African partner are
expanding rapidly. President Mandela will also open a newly
completed sport stadium outside Kampala, which will be named after
him.
President Mandela will then pay a private visit to Baden-Baden
in Germany on 28 January 1999 to receive the prestigious "Deutsche
Medien Preis" 1998, presented by a German media research company,
"Media Control". It is an internationally acknowledged prize
honouring prominent newsmakers.
Previous recipients have included Presidents Mitterand, Rabin,
Arafat, Jeltsin, Chancellor Kohl and King Hussein. President Mandela
will also meet with the new German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on
the same day.
The President will bestow the Order of Good Hope on Juergen
Schrempp, Chairman of Daimler Chrysler and the South African
Honorary Consul-General in the German Federal States of Baden
Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, since 1995, in
recognition of his outstanding services to South Africa. Mrs Graca
Machel will accompany the President and travel to Strassbourg on 28
January 1999 to receive the North-South Prize from the North-South
Centre, European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity,
Council of Europe.
President Mandela will also attend the annual World Economic
Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from 29-30 January 1999.
The World Economic Forum counts eminent international business
people among its members and the Davos meeting brings together these
CEO's with heads of state and government and other senior
politicians from all over the world.
The South African Government has, for the past few years, been
an institutional member of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum and
has been an active participant in its activities at senior political
level, especially the Davos Annual Meeting. President Mandela has
attended a number of these meetings since 1992 and will use this
opportunity to bid farewell to these business leaders.
The South African business community will be widely represented
at the WEF and will also attend the Davos meeting.
President Mandela will also meet with the President of Swiss
Confederation, Ruth Dreyfuss, the first woman to hold this position,
during this visit.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
20 JANUARY 1999
@ CRIME-CHAUKE
CHAUKE TO BE HELD UNDER MAXIMUM SECURITY AFTER COURT APPEARANCE
Prime heist suspect Colin Chauke, who was recaptured on Tuesday
night after eluding police for more than a year, will be held under
maximum security after his appearance in the Pretoria Regional
Court on Wednesday.
Postponing Chauke's trial to June 1, Magistrate Bill Moises
ordered that Chauke be detained in the high security section of
Pretoria Central prison, known as C-Max.
Chauke, dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, appeared
nervous as he entered the dock at about 9.20am. He was handcuffed
and his feet were shackled.
Looking around, he tried to catch the attention of somebody in
the packed courtroom. Chauke's hair was long and he had grown a
beard and moustache since he was last seen by reporters.
Heavily-armed police kept a close watch as the proceedings got
underway. No charges were put to Chauke, and he was escorted under
heavy security to a police minibus after his brief appearance.
The vehicle swiftly pulled away as a crowd of onlookers tried
to catch a glimpse of Chauke, who has been South Africa's most
wanted fugitive for more than a year.
Correctional Services spokesman Rudi Potgieter said Chauke
would be held under strict security. "We will not take any
chances," he said.
Believed to have been a kingpin in several cash-in-transit
heists, Chauke has been on the run since December 1997 after he and
five others escaped from Pretoria Local prison.
National Police Commissioner George Fivaz earlier in the day
said Chauke was arrested with other suspects in Nelspruit,
Mpumalanga, on Tuesday night. He put up no resistance.
Chauke was early on Wednesday positively identified by his
fingerprints, Fivaz said in a statement.
Chauke, a former member of the African National Congress armed
wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), was in October 1997 arrested in
connection with a R12,6 million robbery from the SBV cash depot in
Pretoria. He is believed to be also linked to several other
cash-in-transit robberies.
In January last year, barely a month after his arrest, Chauke
made headlines when he allegedly attended a 40th birthday party
hosted by Deputy Environmental Affairs and Tourism Miister Peter
Mokaba at his Johannesburg home.
Mokaba at the time denied knowledge of Chauke's presence at his
home.
In May last year, Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi
said he was confident that Chauke would be soon behind bars: "It
will only be a matter of time before he is caught,"
A month later, police predicted that Chauke would be arrested
before Christmas. The reward for information leading to his
recapture was increased to R350,000 in October.
At the time, special investigation unit head Director Bushy
Engelbrecht said Chauke was hard to trace as he was a well-trained
professional who would not make false moves.
Hopes that Chauke was cornered flared up in October last year
when it was reported that he was among eight suspects captured
after a R60 million robbery at Karibib airfield in Namibia.
But fingerprints of the suspects showed Chauke was not among
them.
Fivaz on Tuesday lauded detectives of the Nelspruit murder and
robbery nit, saing they deserved all the credit for Chauke's
arrest. Commendations or awards for their work would be considered.
"I would also like to congratulate the Nelspruit detectives
involved in the arrest of Chauke for the orderly fashion in which
the arrest was effected and followed up," Fivaz said.
Fivaz appealed to the media to afford the detective branch the
opportunity to investigate Chauke's alleged crimes thoroughly and
objectively.
"We will not allow Mr Chauke to be tried via the media," he
said.
Mufamadi said in a statement from London, where he is on an
official visit, he was all along convinced that Chauke would be
recaptured.
"I cannot wait to finish my official business in London and
come back to South Africa in celebration of this feat," Mufamadi
said.
The Freedom Front expressed the hope that Chauke would provide
the police with answers to the alleged involvement of ANC and MK
members in crime.
"If indications are confirmed that MK members are continuing to
make the country ungovernable through crime, the ANC would have to
accept full responsibility," FF spokesman Kallie Kriel said.
The Federal Alliance congratulated the police for capturing
Chauke, and said there were serious questions about a possible link
between senior ANC politicians and criminal suspects.
"We call on Commissioner Fivaz to ensure that every precaution
is taken to ensure that Chauke stands trial unharmed," the FA said.
@ TRUTH-BUTHELEZI
DURBAN January 20 1999 Sapa
BUTHELEZI TO SUE THE TRC
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who is also
Home Affairs Minister, says he is suing the Truth and Reconciliaton
Commission over an affidavit by an amnesty applicant on the June
1992 Boipatong massacre.
The affidavit was made by Andries Matanzima Nosenga, 25, who
handed in a separate application to 16 former hostel dwellers who
have also applied for amnesty for the massacre.
The amnesty hearing is being held in Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal
Triangle.
In a statement on Wednesday Buthelezi said: "The TRC itself
solicited the affidavit rather than waiting for the applicant to
come forward, and in doing so ignored the applicant's own lawyer,
who was not informed or present when the affidavit was taken."
The IFP said it had information that the applicant had not
applied for amnesty, and the TRC approached him for a statement.
Nosenga's affidavit implicated the police and senior IFP
officials. He claimed he attended a rally in Ulundi about a month
after the massacre, during which Buthelezi congratulated those who
carried out the attack.
Buthelezi's statement denied this. He said he had never
congratulated anyone for any crime, nor had he authorised or
condoned any gross violations of human rights.
Buthelezi said: "No wonder that Nosenga stated what the biased
TRC has wanted to hear for so many years, namely allegations
against me.
"My lawyers are suing the TRC because there is no evidence to
support its statements that I was in any way involved in gross
violations of human rights, and it seems that the TRC is now going
to the desperate extreme of fabricating such evidence itself."
Buthelezi said the TRC had nothing to do with a judicial
process in which evidence and allegations could be tested and
contradicted.
"Anybody can say what he or she wishes with impunity,
especially if it is what the TRC wants to hear. "If anyone is
serious about making allegations against me, he or she should have
the guts and decency to do so in a court of law or outside the
immunity granted by the TRC's hearings, where I can prove that he
or she is a despicable liar."
TRC spokesman Mdu Lembede said Nosenga's amnesty application
was received by the TRC on August 25, 1996. Lembede said an
affidavit was attached to the application Nosenga made from
Leeuwkop prison. The affidavit was dated June 1996.
Lembede said the IFP was represented at the amnesty hearing and
lawyers were free to cross-examine Nosenga on his affidavit.
All documents related to the Boipatong massacre were made
public during a public hearing in Vanderbijlpark in August 1998,
Lembede said.
@ NYC-RADEBE
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
TWO-DAY YOUTH CONFERENCE BEGINS IN JHB
Delegates from youth organisations, business and government on
Wednesday began a two-day meeting in Johannesburg, pledging to lay
the basis for a national youth service programme.
Speaking on behalf of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, Public
Works Minister Jeff Radebe said youth participation in renewal
programmes, including the question of governance, was critical.
He said the challenge facing the country was to harness the
energies of youth to the noble goals of reconstruction, development
and renewal of society and the world.
"The role of the youth in the reconstruction and development
process is to learn and acquire the relevant skills to meet the
material-technical, social, political and moral challenges facing a
society undergoing fundamental transformation," said Radebe.
He said a Green Paper on the national youth service programme
would be released during the conference.
The government was committed to programmes creating jobs for
youths, said.
"We can only build on the foundations of our democracy with the
direct participation of the youth. It is your future... of your
children to come.... do not neglect this historic opportunity and
task."
@ STORM-SAHRC
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
HRC URGES GOVT, BUSINESS TO HELP ECAPE STORM VICTIMS
The SA Human Rights Commission on Wednesday urged the
government, business and the public to assist the victims of
Monday's freak storm in the Eastern Cape that killed 21 people and
left hundreds homeless.
"We hope that the business community, government and the
general public will dig deep into their scanty resources and help
rebuild what was lost during the disaster," Tom Manthatha, the
SAHRC's commissioner for the Eastern Cape, said in a statment.
Manthatha said the commission discouraged "unbecoming
behaviour, particularly looting" in the aftermath of the storm.
The storm destroyed homes, crops and livestock on both sides of
the Eastern Cape-KwaZulu-Natal border on Monday.
Police estimated that 95 percent of the people living in the
Mount Ayliff and Tabankulu areas were left homeless.
@ SWAZI-CARS
MBABANE January 20 1999 Sapa
CUSTOMS SEIZE SA-REGISTERED CARS IN SWAZILAND
More than 100 foreign-registered cars, mainly South African and
owned by Swazis, were impounded at a Swazi customs roadblock near
Mbabane on Tuesday, the department of customs and excise said.
The owners failed to reregister their cars in Swaziland - to
avoid paying the required 12.5 percent of their value as customs
tax.
The culprits will now have to obtain police clearance for their
imported vehicles and pay the customs tax due on the cars before
being able to reregister them for legal use in Swaziland.
Customs officials said the foreign cars impounded in Tuesday's
operation represented only a small number of the foreign-registered
cars being used illegally in Swaziland.
Swazis buy a wide variety of new and second-hand cars,
minibuses and vans in South Africa, where vehicles are cheaper.
@ EVATON-MASHATILE
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
RESIDENTS MUST HELP POLICE PROBE EVATON SHOOTING, SAYS
MASHATILE
Gauteng safety and security MEC Paul Mashatile on Wednesday
urged the Evaton community to help the police investigate the
shooting that left seven men dead in an Evaton West home in the
East Rand on Monday midnight.
Four men were detained for questioning.
Shortly before Monday midnight, four armed men stormed into an
Evaton house and opened fire on the occupants. Three 9mm pistols
were confiscated.
Mashatile in a statement on Wednesday said the community must
help police with information pertaining the shooting.
"With their full participation and co-operation, nothing will
be left to chance," Mashatile said.
@ SWAZI-KING
MBABANE January 20 1999 Sapa
SWAZI GROUP CALLS FOR REVIEW OF KING'S POWERS
The Human Rights Association of Swaziland (Humaras) on
Wednesday called for the legislative powers of King Mswati III
outside parliament to be reviewed in the interests of national
unity.
The association's secretary-general, Dr Joshua Mzizi, said a
new law introduced by Mswati giving traditional chiefs sweeping
disciplinary powers could turn the people against the chiefs.
Mzizi criticised the introduction of such a controversial law
without parliamentary debate and at a time when the country's
constitution was being reviewed.
He said any problems experienced by chiefs was a constitutional
issue which could be dealt with in the drafting of the forthcoming
new constitution.
In 1996, amid pressure from trade unions and opposition groups,
Mswati appointed a Constitutional Review Commission, charged with
investigating whether the tiny, landlocked kingdom needs a
constitution.
In October 1998, more than 300 candidates, all pre-approved by
the king, vied for 55 seats in Swaziland's parliament.
The 30-year-old monarch, however, has refused to bow to demands
to lift the blanket ban on all political parties and to scrap the
state of emergency, which has been in place since 1973.
@ DP-PHOSA
MIDDELBURG (Mpumalanga) January 20 1999 Sapa
DP CALLS FOR PHOSA'S RESIGNATION
Mpumalanga premier Matthews Phosa should resign after the
African National Congress admitted over the weekend that it had
used taxpayers' money from the Mpumalanga Parks Board (MPB) for
party political purposes, the Democratic Party said on Wednesday.
DP federal chairman Douglas Gibson was reacting in a speech to
business communities in Ermelo and Middelburg to weekend news
reports that the ANC had accepted funds from the provincial parks
board.
"This admission alone should have prompted Mpumalanga Premier
Matthews Phosa to resign of his own accord, in keeping with
democratic custom", Gibson said.
Phosa had tried to "justify the unjustifiable" with
"convoluted" arguments as to the legality of the ANC accepting the
funds.
Gibson said the DP's demand that the ANC repay the money
obtained from the MPB had been so far met with deafening silence.
"Phosa, as leader of his party in Mpumalanga, is ultimately
responsible, whether he was personally involved in the scam or not.
He should set the example and do the honourable thing by
resigning."
@ MOZAMBIQUE-IRELAND
MAPUTO January 20 1999 Sapa-DPA
IRELAND GRANTS 30 MILLION DOLLARS TO MOZAMBIQUE
Ireland said Wednesday it will grant 30
million dollars to Mozambique to finance health, education,
agricultural, demining and poverty alleviation projects.
Liz O'Donnel, State Minister in the Irish Foreign Affairs
Ministry, said in Maputo that the cash would also be used for the
training of school teachers and Mozambique's development
initiatives.
O'Donnel, who arrived in the Mozambican capital on Tuesday on an
official visit, said that during her stay in the country she would
evaluate various projects funded by her government.
She described bilateral relations as "excellent".
@ STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF COLIN CHAUKE
Issued by: Office of the President
The President wishes to convey his congratulations to the police
on the arrest of Colin Chauke last night. Though our police service
is working under difficult conditions and is often the subject of
easy criticism, achievements like this are a product of the
dedication of men and women of integrity who are determined that we
win the war against the criminals.
The re-arrest of Colin Chauke is a mark of the determination of
government and police to take whatever measures are needed to
apprehend those who commit crime, especially the syndicates,
whatever resources they may have and whatever assistance they may
get from others.
ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
21 January 1999
Enquiries: Priscilla Naidoo
082 555 8339
@ DRCONGO-NAMIBIA
WINDHOEK Jan 20
NAMIBIA TRIES TO EXTRICATE ITSELF FROM COSTLY DR CONGO WAR
Namibia's government wants to disengage itself from the costly
war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after backing
President Laurent Kabila for five months amid bitter criticism at
home.
"Weare for the ending of the war," Prime Minister Hage Geingob
told AFP in an interview this week. "We need to concentrate on our
development," he added.
The southwestern African country's government has justified its
intervention in the conflict, citing the need to maintain regional
stability, already threatened by renewed civil war in its northern
neighbour Angola.
"Our long-term interest is to avoid a destabilisation of Angola
and through Angola, us. It is kind of a domino effect," Geingob
said.
Last year the government of the desert country poured some 10
million dollars into the war in the DRC, where rebels in the east
have since August launched an intense offensive against Kinshasa.
Since then, Namibia has sent 2,000 men - a quarter of its army
- to the country.
Meanwhile, more than half of the 1.6 million people in Namibia
live under the poverty line.
Social inequalities in the country are among the most
pronounced in the world, in part the result of decades of
occupation by South Africa's former apartheid government, from
which Namibia gained independence in 1990.
The chaotic start of the school year last week was blamed on
severe budgetary contraints, reopening bitter public debate on the
costly intervention into the conflict in the vast DRC.
Some schools had insufficient teaching staff, others not enough
spaces for children.
A local journalist told AFP: "The public is very critical.
Namibians do not understand why they should be part of a war which
is happening very far from them."
President of the only human rights organisation in the country,
Phil Wa Nangolo, said: "The money needed for the alleviation of
poverty is used to bring war."
The main opposition party, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance
(DTA), has also been highly critical of the intervention,
especially as it was launched without consultation with parliament.
DTA head Katuutire Kaura said: "We are for a total withdrawal.
The decision (to intervene) was unconstitutional and since August
the parliament has never been informed of what was happening in the
DRC."
The public is also angry that their soldiers are being killed
in the war, about which they are told very little. Government says
10 people have died in the DRC since August, but the press claims
this is a gross underestimation.
Last Friday, two Namibian helicopters collided in the
war-ravaged country claiming 11 lives, five of them Namibian.
It was with great fanfare that President Sam Nujoma this week
hosted five of the countries drawn into the war to a conference
aimed at fast-tracking an end to the DRC's stumbling peace process.
Kinshasa's main allies - Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe - on
Monday met with Uganda and Rwanda, who are backing the rebels, here
in the Namibian capital Windhoek, and urged for a peace deal to be
signed as soon as possible.
That evening, Namibian television and radio announced that a
peace accord had been concluded at the conference.
In fat, the text of the ceasefire document still must be
finalised, accepted by all the parties involved in the conflict and
then ratified by the countries in the region.
And the greatest hindrance to peace must still be overcome -
Kabila must be persuaded to find common ground with the rebels.
@ CHAUKE-REAX
CAPE TOWN January 20 1999 Sapa
DP, NNP CONGRATULATE SAPS ON CHAUKE'S REARREST
The New National and Democratic parties on Wednesday
congratulated the South African Police Services on Colin Chauke's
re-arrest.
Chauke, described as South Africa's most wanted criminal, was
re-arrested on Tuesday night after eluding police for more than a
year.
DP Justice spokesman, Douglas Gibson, described Chauke as one
of the most dangerous criminals in the country and said that having
him behind bars again was a comfort to all South Africans.
"The SAPS, I am sure, will take particular care that he does
not escape again", Gibson said in a statement.
NNP spokesman on safety and security, Piet Matthee, said
Chauke's re-arrest provided the opportunity to "finally" get behind
the truth of his alleged association with high-ranking African
National Congress officials and the involvement of former UmKhonto
WeSizwe soldiers in armed robberies.
@ DRCONGO-RWANDA
KIGALI, Jan 20, Sapa-AFP
RWANDA CALLS ON KINSHASA, REBELS TO SIGN CEASEFIRE
A ceasefire agreement prepared by foreign belligerents in the
war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be joined by
Kinshasa and DRC rebels, Rwanda, one of the key players, said
Wednesday.
"As long as the two actors in the conflict have not agreed on a
ceasefire protocol, it will serve no purpose for Rwanda, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Angola or Namibia to sign the ceasfire protocol" reached
in Windhoek earlier this week, Rwandan Minister to the Presidency
Patrick Mazimhaka told AFP.
DRC President Laurent Kabila, backed by Zimbabwe, Angola and
Nambia, has since last August faced a rebellion supported by
Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
Kabila barely reacted when the ceasefire protocol was announced
Monday in the Namibian capital, saying he had not been "officially
informed," and the DRC rebels, while welcoming the development,
said they were not "directly involved" and would sign nothing that
they had not negotiated.
"Rwanda cannot sign the ceasefire protocol as long as the
rebels have not signed," said Mazimhaka, who added that the
security of Uganda and Rwanda must feature in any deal struck
between Kinshasa and the rebels.
Kigali and Kampala "got involved in the DRC conflict for
reasons of security," stressed the minister, referring to the
alleged use of DRC territory by Rwandan and Ugandan rebel groups.
Kabila, for his part, has long accused Rwanda and Uganda of
invading the DRC and of masterminding the rebellion there, which he
has refused to acknowledge as a force to be reckoned with.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Anastase Gasana on Tuesday said that
the DRC rebels "should be led one way or another to place their
signature" on the ceasefire protocol.
Gasana then said Rwanda would sign the accord, mentioning no
conditions.
@ REGISTER-FREESTATE
BLOEMFONTEIN January 20 1999 Sapa
VOTER REGISTRATION IN FREE STATE RURAL AREAS DISAPPOINTS
The Free State generally performed better than other provinces
in last year's voter registration and had the highest overall
percentage, but figures from the rural areas were disappointing,
provincial electoral officer Chris Mepha told a news conference in
Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
Only three rural local council areas - Thaba Nchu (57,9
percent), Reddersburg (43,16) and Qwa Qwa (42,37) - registered
more than 40 percent of their population.
The lowest rural registration (11,07) was for the Vetvaal area
in the Goldfields.
Best for local council areas was Tweespruit/Kopano (75,99),
while the worst was Allanridge (18,76).
In Soutpan (20.3) and Verkeerdevlei (25,62) there was a big
difference between the census population figures and those of the
actual population. Soutpan grew from 1469 to 4221 and Verkeerdevlei
from 911 to 1811.
Bloemfontein had a 39,8 percent registration, Welkom 37,64,
Sasolburg 35,76, while Kroonstad recorded 54,22. Like other
provinces there was a very low registration in the 16-18 and 18-20
age groups and the Free State Youth Commission committed itself to
ensuring that young people registered in the next phase at the end
of January.
A possible explanation for the small turnout could have been
that many students had already left for their homes in December and
were not in the areas they were likely to be in for the 1999
election, said Mepha. The highest percentage registration in the
Free State (62,69) was in the 60-70 age group, followed by 61,71
for the 70-80 group.
Overall in the Free State more females than males registered,
which Mepha said could be attributed to birth statistics that
indicated more female than male babies.
The Free State still required volunteers to help with the
registration from January 29-31, and would use military staff only
as a last resort. Mepha said the military should be used to ensure
security, and the police to ensure that there was law and order.
The democratic process could be endangered unless the registration
and election process were seen to be managed by civilians.
A training and retraining programme for volunteers would start
on January 25. The basic requirements for registration were in
place, registration stations had been secured, equipment such as
scanners and batteries were in place and all broken equipment had
been rpaired or replaced, said Mepha.
Food for all registration staff has been secured and had been
delivered to Mepha's office, while local election officers received
extra help in the form of area managers at local level to ensure
the opening and proper functioning of registration stations.
Tighter control measures were in place at provincial level to
co-ordinate activities. A provincial help desk was operating seven
days a week until after the February 1999 registration. Public can
call the toll free number 0800 2468 10 to inquire about any aspect
of registration. The service would also advise registration venues
using the special mapping data base (Maptitude).
@ GAUTENG-HEATH
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
GAUTENG ESTABLISHES ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMITTEE
A special committee has been established by the Gauteng
administration to bolster its fight against graft in the province.
It will comprise Gauteng premier Mathole Motshekga and MECs
Paul Mashatile, Jabu Moleketi and Joyce Ggoali, assisted by a team
of lawyers and forensic auditors.
The committee would submit regular reports and make
recommendations to the provincial council, Motshekga said in a
statement on Wednesday.
He said the committee would not try to do the work of the Heath
special investigative unit, but would work with it to fight
corruption.
"If anything, this committee will complement efforts of the
Heath unit, the public protector, the auditor-general and others."
Motshekga called on the public, political parties and civil
servants to report corruption in the administration.
On Tuesday Motshekga met special investigative unit head Judge
Willem Heath. They agreed to ascertain whether there was substance
to allegations of mismanagement and fraud in the provincial
administration, to see if it was necessary for the unit to
investigate them.
The unit is expected to look into the controversy over low-cost
housing subsidies and gambling licences in Gauteng, as well as
allegations that Motsekga's office is mismanaged and several of
his staff are incompetent or dishonest.
@ ZIMBABWE-DOLLAR
HARARE January 20 1999 Sapa-AFP
CENTRAL BANK MOVES TO STABILISE ZIMBABWE DOLLAR
Zimbabwe's central bank has moved to stabilise the country's
foreign exchange rate following yet another tumble of the Zimbabwe
dollar to a record low last week.
Reserve Bank Governor Leornard Tsumba said necessary measures
would be taken to address the problem of uncertainty in the market
which had led to the artificial depreciation of the Zimbabwe
dollar.
Last week the local unit was quoted at 44 to the US dollar, a
rate which the central bank chief said left the Zimdollar
undervalued by 51 percent.
"There is no justification at all for such exchange rate
levels, even after taking into account any negative expectations
engendered by Zimbabwe's involvement in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) conflict, the land issue and the initial indication
that the IMF (International Monetary Fund) might not disburse
(aid)".
"We are going to actively and closely monitor the flow of
foreign exchange to avoid unnecessary holding of foreign exchange,"
Tsumba told a news conference.
Although the bank had recommended to dealers not to let the
currency trade at below 40 to the US dollar, it will not peg the
currency, he said.
"The only action we can take is to ensure the currency is not
grossly undervalued by making sure there is no unnecessary
bidding," he said, adding that licences would be suspended and
penalties imposed on any dealers seen breaching the regulations.
The latest crash of the currency was triggered when the IMF
indicated that it would not immediately disburse the much awaited
53 million US dollars in balance of payment support.
A visiting high-level IMF team early this month simply promised
to recommend in March to the IMF board in Washington to release the
aid, which was frozen last year mainly over the land reforms
programme.
The Zimbabwe dollar has been in freefall over the past year,
losing more than 70 percent of its value against the world's major
currencies.
@ GAUTENG-AUDIT
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
TO GAUTENG TRANSPORT OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH IRREGULARITIES
The Gauteng transport department on Wednesday said charges
would be laid against two officials based on a forensic audit into
maladministration and iregularities during Operation Thiba Two.
Deputy director Nick Putuka and public relations officer Delca
Maluleke would be charged under the Public Service Act, the
statement said.
Charges against Putuka included alleged negligence, fraud and
theft, contravening tender procedures and breach of the public
service staff code.
He allegedly appointed temporary staff without the approval of
the head of department, and disregarded tender procedures in
awarding contracts to Rainbow Catering Services, Impala Security
and contracts for promotional items, the statement said.
Putuka allegedly used official vehicles without authorisation,
and used two official petrol cards for personal fuel expenses, it
said. Putuka's hearing was set for January 26, 27 and 29.
Maluleke would be charged with disregarding proper procedure in
awarding contracts. A hearing date had not yet been set.
The audit was carried out by KPMG. It was arranged by transport
MEC Joyce Kgoali during Operation Thiba Two, a commission of
inquiry into taxi violence.
@ ELECTION-PAC
CAPE TOWN January 20 1999 Sapa
ANNOUNCE ELECTION DATE NOW: MOGOBA
President Nelson Mandela should announce the election date now
so that political parties have a fair chance to prepare for the
polls, Pan Africanist Congress president Dr Stanley Mogoba said on
Wednesday.
This could ease tensions around the election and put the court
cases over it into perspective.
Mandela should make the announcement "politically".
Proclamation of the date was a technical issue, and could be dealt
with bureaucratically when Parliament opened, Mogoba said.
He also said the home affairs department should give clear
statistics on its successes and the backlogs in the issue of
barcoded IDs.
"Truth in this regard will ensure expedient contingency plans
to facilitate a free and fair election. Surprisingly enough, the
outspoken minister of home affairs (Mangosuthu Buthelezi) has kept
mum around these important issues."
Mogoba said an all-party forum should be convened to ensure
that national elections would never be held separately from
elections for provincial legislatures.
At present, provincial premiers have the constitutional power
to announce separate dates.
Mogoba also said the Independent Electoral Commission should be
adequately funded.
"If we want a democratic election, we must pay for this once
and for all. There can be no cheap economy on this matter."
@ STORM-DOIDGE
CAPE TOWN January 20 1999 Sapa
ANC DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP WELCOMES MANDELA'S TORNADO DECISION
African National Congress deputy chief whip in the National
Asembly and MP for Mount Ayliff, Geoff Doidge, on Wednesday praised
President Nelson Mandela's decision to send two Cabinet ministers
to the tornado-affected areas of the Eastern Cape.
Constitutional Affairs Minister Valli Moosa and Welfare
Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi were sent to assess the damage
and make recommendations to the Cabinet on what plans needed to
implemented.
The storm hit Mount Ayliff and Kokstad this week, leaving 21
people dead and scores homeless.
Doidge said the decision to send the ministers was indicative
of the serious light in which the President and the Cabinet saw the
disaster.
The recommendations to the President would ensure very real and
living help and compassion towards people whose lives had been
devastated by this disaster, he said.
He appealed to the public to help by providing homeless people
with food and blankets.
Doidge said the Wild Coast District Disaster Fund had been
established to help tornado's victims. Donations could be paid
directly into the fund's First National Bank account number
62006-762-943, Mount Frere branch, code 210821.
@ TRADE-EU
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
PINHEIRO, ERWIN SET TO MEET IN DAVOS
A meeting between Trade Minister Alec Erwin and European Union
commissioner Joao de Deus Pinheiro has been provisionally set for
January 29 in Davos, Switzerland, where they will try to hammer out
the final details of a South Africa-EU free trade and development
agreement.
Finalisation of the agreement has been stalled over the EU's
insistence that local wine producers stop using the terms port and
sherry.
The Erwin-Pinheiro meeting will coincide with a meeting of the
World Economic Forum, which is to be attended by President Nelson
Mandela.
EU officials were on Wednesday tight-lipped about the process
leading up to the Davos meeting, saying the negotations were at a
very delicate stage.
South Africa's ambassador to Brussels, Elias Links, who is
attending a foreign affairs conference in Vanderbijlpark, said
outstanding issues - other than the disagreement over port and
sherry - would take only a few days to finalise.
@ ZIM-INVESTMENT
HARARE January 20 1999 Sapa
US AND ZIMBABWE SIGN INVESTMENT DEAL
Zimbabwe and the United States of America on Wednesday signed
an updated investment incentive agreement to encourage more
American investment in the country, Ziana news agency reported.
The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa
and US ambassador Tom Macdonald.
Murerwa said: "The new agreement will eliminate the specific
project-by-project approvals and will extend... programmes to
include direct loans to American private companies that may want to
invest in Zimbabwe."
@ ZIM-INFLATION
HARARE, Jan 20, Sapa-AFP
INFLATION HITS RECORD 46.6 PERCENT IN ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe's annual inflation hit a record high of 46.6 percent
last year, the central bank announced Wednesday.
The rate is the highest level reached since 1993, when it was
pegged at 45.1 percent following a devastating drought that ravaged
the country and te region.
The infation rate started off at 24 percent during the first
two months of last year, before it started rising until it reached
46.6 percent by December.
"The hike in inflation was due to increases in the major
components of the consumer price index," said the country's Central
Statistical Office.
"The inflation levels have been much higher than those of its
major trading partners such as the US with a rate of around 1.5
percent; Britain 3.2 percent and South Africa nine percent.
"This coupled with similar inflation levels in other trade
partner countries meant an inflation differential of 40.6 percent
for all the currency basket countries," said central bank governor
Leornard Tsumba.
Tsumba blamed the high inflation environment for the fall of
the Zimbabwe dollar, which lost more than 70 percent of its value
last year.
@ STORM-NDUNGANE
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
NDUNGANE EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES WITH STORM VICTIMS
The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, on
Wednesday expressed his condolences with those who lost relatives
and friends in the storm that tore through Kokstad and Mount Ayliff
in the Eastern Cape on Monday night.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Mount Ayliff
and Tabankulu, and any other places that have been affected by the
severe storms and tornados during the past few days," Ndungane said
in a statement.
The archbishop said he was encouraged by reports that the
government was acting quickly to help those affected by the
disaster.
@ CONGO-REBELS
GOMA, Congo January 20 1999 Sapa-AP
CONGOLESE REBELS BROADEN MOVEMENT TO WIN POPULAR SUPPORT
In a bid to win popular support and overcome internal
divisions, Congolese rebels on Wednesday decided to open up their
movement to other opposition activists and work on a new, federal
government which they say will replace President Laurent Kabila.
What started as a loose, 28-member coalition of ethnic Tutsis,
disaffected Congolese soldiers and opposition politicians with
different ideas on how to run Africa's third-largest nation will
now include a 137-member assembly, a government and a president in
charge of the rebel-controlled eastern half of the Congo.
Once Kabila is ousted, elections will be held for a new
government in Kinshasa, said Sesonga Hipungu Dja, from the
opposition Party for Future. He said the rebels were working to
draft a new, federal constitution for Congo.
The changes in the Congolese Democratic Coalition, which took
up arms in August accusing Kabila of misrule, corruption and
fomenting ethnic hatred, came after rebel leaders started blaming
each other for misuse of funds, failure to rally popular support
and monopolizing the anti-Kabila struggle.
Most Congolese, exhausted by the second rebellion in as many
years, have shown little enthusiasm for the latest rebels, whom
many see as mere proxies of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
Few civil servants have been paid, insecurity is rampant and
generally blamed on unpaid soldiers and most of the roads in
eastern Congo are crumbling.
Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, a former university lecturer in the
United States and Tanzania, will remain at the head of the
movement, but only as the first among equals in the new,
eight-member political committee that will act as a collective
presidency, Sesonga said.
"New people will come in, and new departments will be opened
to improve social and economic life in the liberated territories,"
said Sesonga. "We need to organize administration in the
territories we control, and we need a legal basis for that."
So far, Kabila has refused to negotiate with the rebels,
insisting instead on the withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan forces
that are aiding the insurgents.
Kabila is receiving material and military support from Angola,
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Chad.
On Monday, five of the foreign nations fighting in Congo agreed
to sign a cease-fire at a later date, which is supposed to be
followed by the same agreement between the rebels and Kabila.
But rebel leaders said no cease-fire will be possible without
prior, direct negotiations with Kabila and a timetable for
political talks on the future of Congo.
After six months of war, cracks in the rebel movement have
threatened to slow its military push against Kabila.
On New Year's Eve, Wamba accused his chief rival, former Prime
Minister Vincent de Paul Lunda Bululu, of misappropriating funds
earmarked for uniforms and weapons and setting the stage for the
return to power of associates of the late dictator Mobutu Sese
Seko, ousted in the 1996-97 rebellion that put Kabila in power.
Sesonga said that a restructured and enlarged new movement
would help bury political differences with the participation of new
members.
@ ZIM-EDITOR
HARARE January 20 1999 Sapa
DETAINED EDITOR AND REPORTER HIDDEN BY POLICE
Zimbabwean security authorities have moved the detained editor
and a reporter of the independent Standard newspaper to an
undisclosed location, a Sapa correspondent reported on Wednesday.
Lawyers were trying to find where police took editor Mark
Chavunduka and reporter Ray Choto on Tuesday night.
The newspaper's proprietors were told they had been moved from
Harare's central police station to other police stations "for
security reasons".
They refused to say where the journalists were and there were
fears that the two were under illegal interrogation by the
military.
Chavunduka was seen by his lawyer and family for the first time
on Tuesday since his arrest nine days ago by military police.
His newspaper carried a report claiming that army officers had
been arrested for inciting a coup against President Robert Mugabe.
Choto, who wrote the report, presented himself to police on
Tuesday after evading military police for a week.
Both men are being charged with causing alarm and despondency
under a law enacted in 1960 by the former Rhodesian government in a
bid to suppress black politicians - including Mugabe.
Police took statements from both men on Tuesday in the presence
of their lawyer, Simon Bull.
"We were so elated last night," said Standard managing director
Clive Wilson.
"We saw Mark, the family saw him. He was in the police system
and the worst was over. I opened a really good bottle of wine."
However, early on Wednesday his wife and son arrived at Harare
central police station with breakfast for the two men, and they
were not there.
"They were not kept at Harare Central last night. Nor was there
any record of them in the cell register as ever having been there,"
Wilson said.
Senior officers told Wilson they were at different police
stations, but would not reveal where.
"They said it was security."
Wilson was told he would not be able to see them, for the same
reason.
Zimbabwean law allows police to hold suspects for no more than
48 hours after arrest.
Police have until Thursday to produce the two journalists in
court, where they can apply for bail.
Wilson said Chavunduka on Tuesday showed no sign of injury or
ill-treatment from the week he spent in detention at Cranborne
Barracks in Harare's southern suburbs.
He was in the same clothes he was wearing when he was arrested.
@ TRUTH-BOIPATONG
VANDERBIJLPARK January 20 1999 Sapa
HOSTEL MEN CONTINUE TO DENY POLICE INVOLVEMENT IN BOIPATONG
Former KwaMadala hostel dwellers on Wednesday continued to deny
police and senior Inkatha Freedom Party members were involved in
the Boipatong massacre in the Vaal Triangle in June 1992.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's amnesty committee is
in Vanderbijlpark, hearing applications for amnesty by 16 former
inmates of the local hostel near the local Iron and Steel
Corporation foundry.
The men have admitted being part of an attack on the nearby
Boipatong community in June 1992.
Qambelani Buthelezi, 45, told the committee on Wednesday he
knew of no police involvement in the attack, and also denied
knowing notorious gangster Victor Kheswa, who is alleged to have
been staying at the hostel at the time.
The applicants have all denied police or high-level IFP
involvement in the attack, and claim it was carried out in
retaliation for harassment of hostel dwellers by the African
National Congress-supporting residents of Boipatong.
The denials by the hostel dwellers continue in spite of a
version of the events on the night of the attack presented to the
committee by another applicant, Andries Matanzima Nosenga, 25.
The former ANC supporter who defected to the IFP two years
before the massacre has claimed the attack was instigated by the
IFP's Themba Khoza along with a former police sergeant, Pedro
Peens.
Nosenga has also implicated other policemen, whom he claims he
can identify as having been present on the night of the attack.
Khoza has denied Nosenga's claim.
IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi has given notice that he
will take legal action following claims that he congratulated the
people involved in the Boipatong massacre.
Nosenga is due to testify to the committee during the hearing.
Peens has been subpoenaed to testify, either later this week or
next week.
The amnesty hearings are being attended by a large audience,
including survivors of the Boipatong attack.
The massacre took place on June 17, 1992 after tension between
IFP-supporting hostel dwellers and Boipatong residents erupted into
violence.
A heavily-armed party of IFP supporters entered the township at
night and carried out random attacks on residents, resulting in the
death of 46 people and 21 injuries.
The hearing will resume on Thursday.
@ STORM-MOOSA
PRETORIA January 20 1999 Sapa
BUILDINGS AND SERVICES TO BE REPAIRED AFTER ECAPE STORM
All public buildings and services in the Eastern Cape area that
was hit by a severe storm this week would be repaired urgently, a
Cabinet committee decided on Wednesday.
These included repairs to schools, police stations, health
facilities and an old-age home, Provincial Affairs and
Constitutional Development Minister Valli Moosa told reporters in
Pretoria.
He said the committee on disaster management earlier in the day
also agreed that water, electricity and telephone services would be
restored without delay.
A total of 21 people died and 375 were injured in the storm
that the towns of Mount Ayliff, Ntabankulu and surrounding areas.
Buildings and other structures were extensively damaged.
Moosa said government departments concerned, in conjunction
with their provincial counterparts, would be responsible for
restoring buildings and services.
To this end, a task team headed by Constitutional Development
Director-General Zam Titus was compiling a report on the full
extent of the damage to public and private property.
The committee, which comprises seven Cabinet members, would
after a after a proper assessment decide whether the ravaged region
should be declared a disaster area.
"Such a declaration will mobilise relief for the victims, and
it is quite likely that we will move in that direction."
Moosa said President Nelson Mandela had instructed him and
Welfare and Population Development Minister Geraldine
Fraser-Moleketi to visit the stricken area on Thursday.
@ DISCUSSION PAPER ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
A discussion paper on electronic commerce in South Africa will
be made available by June this year, according to Department of
Communications Director-General Andile Ngcaba.
A discussion paper is the first step towards the drafting of a
White Paper that sets out policy guidelines. Government has to
create an enabling legal and regulatory environment for open and
fair participation in electronic commerce and support technological
developments that will lead to the establishment of global
connectivity. "Government also has to promote education to increase
information literacy among all citizens in order to allow operators
and consumers to reap the full benefits of electronic commerce.," he
says.
The Department of Communications is currently in the process of
establishing a policy framework for electronic commerce for South
Africa. In reviewing and developing policies regarding electronic
commerce, government together with all stakeholders will has
embarked on a process that will result in the legislation being
effected by around mid-2000.
"We expect the policy process will take around two years to
complete,"
Ngcaba says. This period will be divided into the areas of:
* research and information gathering (phase one, September 1998 to
April 1999, leading to the publication of a discussion paper);
* a Green Paper consultative process (phase two, includes
consultation with stakeholders); and
* the White Paper and supporting legislation is expected to be
completed in the period between January 2000 and June 2000.
The concept of electronic commerce encompasses an almost
limitless set of topics, he says, and in conducting the review and
analysis for South Africa's situation, specific attention has been
given to the issues of:
* infrastructure and technological trends,
* Internet governance,
* standards,
* commercial law,
* privacy protection,
* digital signatures and certification authorities,
* intellectual property rights and copyright, and
* taxation.
"Critical factors in this work include building consumer and
business trust, developing clear ground rules for the digital market
place, enhancing access to digital infrastructure and maximising the
potential of electronic commerce through widespread use," he says.
In building consumer and business trust, all parties need to be
assured that the networks they use are secure and reliable and that
their transactions are safe and that they can verify important
information.
Similarly, the development and growth of electronic commerce
requires a predictable, fair, transparent and explicit legal and
regulatory framework for transactions. Some laws and regulations may
need to be revised to accommodate electronic commerce," he says.
The success of electronic commerce will depend on broad and
affordable access to the information infrastructure, and the full
economic potential of electronic commerce will only be realised
through the widespread use by businesses, consumers and
institutions. "To achieve this, a clear understanding of the needs
of enterprises is needed, and that is why our research into the
subject will include consultations with all stakeholders," he says.
Already more than 19 government departments or institutions have
been consulted and form part of the working committees that are
conducting the research on e-commerce issues.
"The working groups will begin operating this month and they
will produce a discussion paper that will provide in-depth
background information, status review, and policy options on
electronic commerce as it affects South Africa. The Department of
Communications has also initiated some discussions with the private
sector represented by the Electronic Commerce Association of South
Africa (ECASA)," Ngcaba says.
The release of the discussion paper in June will be preceded by
a national conference for all stakeholders will be organised in
May/June 1999. This will set a platform for the Green Paper
consultative process.
Contact: Mandy Jean Woods
Phone: 082 653 4211
Email: ma...@doc.org.za
@ STATEMENT ON CABINET MEETING
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
Cabinet held its first meeting of the year today, 20 January
1999. The meeting welcomed the settlement of the dispute around the
Dukuduku Forests in KwaZulu-Natal, which will be to the benefit of
sustainable development and the residents of the area.
The President in particular and Cabinet in general congratulated
the South African Police Service and the Ministry of Safety and
Security for the major breakthrough with regard to cash heists. This
is an important step towards breaking the back of organised crime in
our country. The meeting also noted a report on measures being taken
to deal with violent crime in the Western Cape.
Cabinet approved the following appointments:
* Members of the Board of directors of the State Information
Technology Agency;
* Municipal Demarcation Board;
* Boards of the Council for Geoscience, of Mintek, of the Atomic
Energy Corporation and of the Council for Nuclear Saety;
* Chairperson of the National Electricity Regulator (Dr E Banda) and
Chief Executive Officer of the NER (Dr X H Mkhwanazi).
The meeting also resolved to urgently finalise the list of
legislation for the coming session of Parliament; and in
consultation with the Presiding Officers a date towards the end of
February will be set aside for the debate on the TRC Report.
Cabinet was briefed on progress in the negotiations with the
European Union and government is confident the outstanding matters
should be resolved in a matter of weeks. It was also agreed to
transfer the management of the Freedom Park Legacy Project to the
Presidency.
A number of far-reaching measures pertaining to housing were
decided upon such as the Rental Housing Bill; the National Housing
Project deriving from the Jobs Summit; Housing Amendment Bill on
structures to deal with specialised functions; Consumer Protection
Measures Amendment Bill; and preparation of legislation on fair
lending practices specifically for home loans.
Other Bills adopted for presentation to Parliament are:
* Companies Amendment Bill relating to share-holding matters and
transparency;
* Land Restitution and Reform Laws Amendment Bill to expedite the
work of the Commission;
* Amendments to the Child Care Act and the Probation Services Act to
rectify deficiencies on the treatment of child offenders.
Cabinet accepted the recommendation that the National
Anti-corruption Summit should be held towards the end of March. At
its next meeting, Cabinet will review progress on the implementation
of decisions from the Public Sector Anti-corruption Conference held
last November.
The meeting also agreed on the need to introduce a new Caot of
Arms and implications of this for corporate image as well as a
process which will involve public participation and assessment of
costs.
Reelevant Ministries and Departments will provide details on
these and other issues.
20 January 1999
For further information, contact:
Joel Netshitenzhe
082-900-0083
@ STORM-MBEKI
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
MBEKI EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO TORNADO VICITIMS
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday said he joined
millions of South Africans in sharing the grief and pain of
families who lost loved ones in the storm that struck the Eastern
Cape on Monday.
Twenty-on people were killed in a wild storm which wreaked
havoc in and around Mount Ayliff and Kokstad.
"No amount of words can express our sorrow flowing from this
incident," Mbeki said in a statement.
"On behalf of the South African government and the people of
South Africa I express heart-felt condolences to members of the
bereaved families and wish those wounded a speedy recovery."
He commended police and defence force units who assisted the
wounded and the families of those who lost their lives.
Constitutional Affairs Minister Valli Moosa and Welfare
Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi are to visit the areas on
Thursday to express government's condolences to the storm victims
and to assess damage inflicted on infrastructure.
@ CABINET
PRETORIA January 20 1999 Sapa
SA NEEDS A NEW COAT OF ARMS: CABINET
Cabinet on Wednesday agreed that a new national Coat of Arms
should be introduced, government spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said
on Wednesday.
It decided that the cost of such a move and its implications
for the corporate image of the government should be examined, he
told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Pretoria.
The public would participate in the process.
Cabinet also decided that a date should be set aside at the end
of February for Parliament to debate the final report of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission.
Another resolution was that a national anti-corruption summit
should be held at the end of March.
At its next meeting, Cabinet would review progress made so far
to put into effect decisions taken at the public sector
anti-corruption summit in November last year.
Netshitenzhe said Cabinet wa also briefed on progress in South
Africa's free trade talks with the European Union.
"The government is confident that the outstanding matters
should be resolved in a matter of weeks," he said.
Appointments approved by Cabinet included that of Enos Banda as
chairman of the National Electricity Regulator and that of Xolani
Mkhwanazi as chief regulator.
The Municipal Demarcation Board was also endorsed, and would be
chaired by KwaZulu-Natal academic Michael Sutcliff.
Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development Minister
Valli Moosa said the board was set up in terms of a constitutional
requirement that municipal boundaries should be determined by an
independent authority.
The establishment of the board was a major step towards
restructuring local government, Moosa said.
"The board's decisions will be far-reaching indeed. It will
determine the boundaries of the new metropolitan cities, district
councils and amalgamated local councils."
The next local government elections, in the second half of the
year 2000, would be held in terms of the new boundaries, Moosa
said.
Netshitenzhe said other boards approved by Cabinet were those
of the State Information Technology Agency, the Atomic Energy
Corporation, and the Council for Nuclear Safety.
Three Bills were adopted for presentation to Parliament - the
Companies Amendment Bill, the Land Restitution and Reform Laws
Amendment Bill, and amendments to the Child Care Act, and the
Probation Services Act.
@ STATS-EASTCAPE
BISHO January 20 1999 Sapa
CENSUS FINDS ECAPE FACING TOUGHTEST DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE
Census '96 showed that the Eastern Cape faces some of the
toughest development challenges in the country, Stats SA head Dr
Mark Orkin said on Wednesday.
He was speaking during a visit to Bisho where a Stats SA team
presented the final results of the census to premier Makhenkensi
Stofile and Eastern Cape MECs.
Chief Director of the Census in Stats SA, Pali Lehohla, said
unemployment in the province was 49 percent at the time of the
census, higher than the national average of 34 percent.
He said this could be attributed to the fact that only 37
percent of Eastern Cape households are situated in urban areas,
compared to 54 percent nationally.
Orkin said the census would help the Eastern Cape government
target programmes to address inequalities within the province.
The census found, for example, that 33 percent of Eastern Cape
households still relied on wood for cooking, compared to 23 percent
nationally.
These figures have since improved as a result of Eskom's
electrification programme.
@ LOCKERBIE-GERWEL
LONDON January 20 1999 Sapa-dpa
LOCKERBIE SUSPECTS MAY BE HANDED OVER SOON, SAYS ENVOY
Libya could hand over the two men accused of the
Lockerbie bombing within weeks, a key mediator said on Wednesday.
South African envoy Jakes Gerwel, a close aide to President Nelson
Mandela, said after talks with the Libyans that he detected a desire
in Tripoli to conclude the affair as speedily as possible.
The United Nations Security Council is due to meet next month to
discuss the Lockerbie deadlock, which has already led to sanctions
being imposed on the government of Colonel Moamer Gadaffi over its
refusal to hand over for trial the two men accused of the 1988 Pan Am
bombing in which 270 people were killed in the Scottish town of
Lockerbie.
Libya has so far given a guarded reaction to a British-American
plan for the two men to be tried in The Netherlands by a panel of
Scottish judges, but the issue of where the two men should serve
their sentence if convicted is believed to be one of the main
sticking points.
Professor Gerwel, who travelled to Tripoli with a Saudi diplomat
in a renewed bid to break the deadlock, gave his upbeat assessment in
a BBC radio interview.
"We really feel that we are at that point that hopefully it's a
question of weeks rather than months," he said. "There is a real
sense in Tripoli that they want to resolve this matter, and that they
want to resolve it as speedily as possible."
"The February meeting of the security council was some kind of
benchmark date" by which time, ideally, there would be a
conclusion," he added.
After the two envoys left Libya earlier this month, Libyan sources
said "significant and broad discussions" had taken place, in which
"major practical steps" were taken towards finding a settlement.
Earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook made a
public appeal to Libya to hand over the suspects, assuring them of a
fair trial.
@ SANKIE MTHEMBI-MAHANYELE ON DRAFT RENTAL BILL
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
STATEMENT BY HOUSING MINISTER SANKIE MTHEMBI-MAHANYELE ON THE DRAFT
RENTAL HOUSING BILL, 1999
INTRODUCTION
The decline in the investment in retnal housingstock has led to
an imbalance in the rental market. Signs that the market is not
operating well are high rentals, disputes between tenants and
landlords, lack of maintenance to, and sometimes the abandoment of
the buildings.
There is a serious shortage of low cost rental stock and the
current subsidy policy does not specifically promote the business of
providing rental housing. Public sector investment in rental housing
is limited mostly to municipal housing schemes established in the
previous dispensation. A strong demand exists for rental housing,
especially for the income group R1 500 - R3 500 per month. Rental in
urban areas is often preferred because owenership tends to limit
economic mobility. Ownership is also often preferred in traditional
areas.
The White Paper on Housing, 1994, recognises the need to promote
rental housing, but the institutional subsidy has so far made little
impact. Current national housing policy tends to promote owenership
ahead of rental.
Currentely, the Rent Control Act. 1976, is discriminatory as it
applies to a negligible portion of rental stock on a racial basis
including age of the premises or income and age of the tenant. It is
also outdated and replacement of the Rent Control ACT by appropriate
legislation will contribute to the normalisation of the housing
rental market.
AIMS OF THE BILL
The seeks to:
enhance private investor confidence in the housing rental
market by removing the perceived threat of rent control'
provide a financial incentive that will encourage the private
sector to invest in the rehabiliation/conversion of buildings or the
construction of new higher density affordable housing for rental'
direct new private investment in rental housing to innter city
areas;
promote the establishment of a sustainable social housing
movement by recognising, and providing policy and financial support
to the Social housing Foundation in it's advocacy. development and
capacity building efforts;
mobilise private management capacity and expertise in the
administration of rental housing for historically disadvantaged
persons;
introduce measures and mechanisms to resolve conflict between
landlords and tenants and to normalise the housing market in areas
of propven instability;
afford tenants added protection by expanding on their
constitutional and contractual rights and prescribing fair and
transparent practises in the letting of houses; and
promote integrated and balanced urban planning and development.
In addition, the Bill introduces Rental Tribunals whose
responsibility is to resolve disputes between the landlord and
tenant. We believe that a negotiated settlement based on fairness
and agreed upon by both parties is the desired option that will
provide lasting solutions to tenure problems.
SUMMARY
The Bill promotes access to rental housing for the historicall
disadvanteg people, by regulating housing rental matters only in
areas where a severe breakdown in landlord/tenant relations has
accurred.
Furthermore it seeks to address the breakdown in landlord/tenant
releations by providing for the identification and regulation of
affected areas, and for the establishment of Housing Rental
Tribunals to overseee and normalise affected areas.
The Bill prescribes the form and minimum content of the written
lease agreements supported by stringent penalties for the
infringement of tenants rights and the non-adherence of statutory
obligations. It boldly threads the fine line by balancing the needs
of the tenant and advancing the statutory rights of the landlord by
promoting a human rights culture in an area fraught with abuse.
Lastly in order to obviate the possible extension of rent
control the Bill proposes that the Rent Control Act, 1976, be
repealed. By so doing the new legislation will contribute to the
normalisation of the residential rental market in South Africa.
For more information, contact: Gege Kekana
Phone: (012) 44-1879/4211311
Cell: 083-457-8577
@ ZIM-INTELLIGENCE
MASVINGO January 20 1999 Sapa
ZIM INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE TO BE CHARGED FOR BEATING REPORTERS
A member of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation, who
assaulted journalists based in Masvingo on Wednesday after accusing
them of misrepresenting the facts about security in the country, is
scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
The operative stormed into the newsrooms of several media
organisations and beat up journalists and other staffers, saying
they were practising irresponsible journalism and writing about
coups which did not exist, Ziana news agency reported.
The journalists who were assaulted included the acting
provincial information officer of the government-owned Zimbabwe
Information Service, Samson Muduma.
The chief-sub-editor of the recently launched Tribune
newspaper, Ray Matikinye, was also manhandled, as were advertising
manager Margaret Bure, and advertising representatives of the
Mirror newspaper Tinavo Magaisa and Trust Mabaya.
The officer-in-charge of Masvingo central police, Inspector
Garret Simuchembu, said the man who was in police custody would
appear in court on Thursday morning.
Simuchembu confirmed the alleged assailant was a CIO operative.
The police sent all the people who were assaulted for a medical
examination at Masvingo general hospital, where they were treated
and discharged.
The journalists quoted the operative as having said: "You are
writing about there being a military coup. You are not patriotic."
@ TITO
PRETORIA, January 20 1999 Sapa-AFP
MBOWENI GIVEN MORE RESPONSIBILITIES AT RESERVE BANK
The next Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Tito
Mboweni, is to start playing a key role in the management of the
bank before he takes over its leadership in August, the bank
announced Wednesday.
Mboweni, the former labour minister who is serving an
apprenticeship under current governor Chris Stals, will become
increasingly responsible for the bank's budget and various aspects
of day-to-day running.
"Dr Stals has designed a programme of preparation and
transition for Mr Mboweni that includes the increasing assumption
of responsibilities for the operational and internal management of
the Bank," Deputy Governor Tim Thahane said in a statement.
Mboweni, whose appointment by President Nelson Mandela in July
briefly rocked the markets, will start assuming responsibility for
the internal management of the bank in April, Thahane said.
In addition Mboweni will become more involved in the budgetary
planning process of the bank, Thahane said.
He stressed however that Stals will remain in overall charge of
the Reserve Bank's monetary policy until the end of his term on
August 7.
"The management and staff of the Reserve Bank are confident
that these arrangements are in keeping with the wishes of the
President when he appointed Mr Mboweni in good time to ensure an
organised, gradual and smooth transition in the leadership of the
Bank," Thahane said.
The appointment of Mboweni - who is to be the bank's first
black governor - caused a stir as opposition parties accused
Mandela of destabilising the markets by consulting international
monetary institutions about it beforehand.
Although the South African business community welcomed the
appointment, the rand plummeted to a low of 6.80 to the dollar as
traders absorbed the news.
Mboweni, a trained economist, has in the past six months
undertaken study tours to the International Monetary Fund and the
Federal Reserve Board in Washington, as well as central banks in
Latin America.
@ DRCONGO-PROGRAMME
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo January 20 1999 Sapa-AFP
DR CONGO REBELS WANT FEDERAL STATE, LIBERAL ECONOMY
Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have assembled
a political program calling for a federal state and a liberal
economy, spokesman Etienne Ngangoura told AFP on Wednesday.
The rebels' political wing, the Congolese Rally for Democracy
(RCD), "have agreed on a federal form for the state, with the
setting up of a presidential regime and a liberal economic regime
intensely concerned with social issues," said Ngangoura, head of
the rebels' information and communications department.
The program was hammered out over the course of a general
assembly that has been under way for the past two months, he said.
It will "serve as the political basis for the platform that we
have set up" with various DRC political movements including the
longstanding opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress
(UDPS), the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the new Congo
Liberation Movement (MLC), Ngangoura said.
The emergence of the political program coincides with the
reaching of a ceasefire agreement by five countries with troops in
the country backing either President Laurent Kabila or the
Tutsi-led rebels.
The accord was reached in the Namibian capital Windhoek on
Monday by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe - key military allies of
Kinshasa - and Uganda and Rwanda, who are backing the
five-month-old rebellion.
Kabila barely reacted when the ceasefire protocol was
announced, saying he had not been "officially informed," and the
DRC rebels, while welcoming the development, said they were not
"directly involved" and would sign nothing that they had not
negotiated.
Ngangoura said the RCD general assembly drew from a
constitution adopted in a 1964 referendum "whose implementation was
interrupted by the seizure of power by Mobutu (Sese Seko),"
Ngangoura said, referring to the dictator deposed by then rebel
leader Kabila in May 1997.
Ngangoura said that basic law "is a reference that still speaks
to the Congolese."
The president will be "elected by universal suffrage after a
transition period whose duration has not yet been set, but will
lead to the setting up of a political round table," he added.
Federalism will be guided by the principles of fair
distribution of resources and central management of problems that
become insoluble at the local level.
The general assembly has also decided to ease citizenship laws.
"No longer will there be any stateless Congolese," he said,
referring notably to ethnic Tutsis known as Banyamulenge.
This group, whose forebears settled in the east of what is now
the DRC from Rwanda up to two centuries ago, are generally still
viewed as foreigners in the DRC and were specifically stripped of
DRC nationality by Kabila.
The RCD leadership has been enlarged to 137 members from 28
"for more representativity," Ngangoura said, noting that 22
military men were included.
He said the military and political wings of the RDC had reached
an understanding that would guarantee the movement's solidity and
prevent a military coup or "the return of a new Kabila."
The members of the general assembly, the RDC's supreme
decision-making body, "for the time being are named by the
provinces after consultation with all levels of the population," he
said.
@ EDUCATION DEPARTMENT BLAMES SUPPLIERS FOR FIASCO
BISHO (ECN) - The Eastern Cape Education Department on Wednesday
said that if schools did not have stationery, it was the
fault of suppliers.
In an interview with ECN, department spokesman Phapama Mfenyana
said that delivery of stationery to Eastern Cape government schools
took place from the beginning of last year.
"It's definitely the fault of the supplier responsible for that
school if any school does not have stationery or very little
stationery."
Mfenyana said the department gave suppliers orders last year for
schools in need of stationery.
Provincial newspapers reported that pupils in many regions of
the province returned to school on Tuesday to find no textbooks.
Mfenyana said the department's district offices would have to
verify the reasons behind the lack of delivery of stationery.
Referring to reports about the lack of text books, he said: "We
are not supplying any new text books for any other grade except
grade one and two."
"Grade 12 students will benefit from the donar funding the
national Education depoartment has received."
He said other grades like grade three which have not changed
their curriculum are expected to use the same the textbooks they
were using in previous years.
However, he said: "If schools experience serious shortages they
must link up with our nearest district or regional offices where
assistance could be solicited for the shortages."
On the issue of outstanding debts he said: "Our appeal to our
creditors is that they should link up with our regions to resolve
any areas of misunderstanding in this regard."
United Democratic Movement (UDM) deputy leader Roelf Meyer
said:
"The situation in the Eastern Cape schools are proceeding where
they ended at end of last year in so far as the trouble is
concerned."
"We raised this issue of the non-payment of transport and
electricity bills and the unavailiblity of school books already last
year."
Meyer said it was quite clear that the provincial government was
not able to attend to these serious problems expected in the
province.
"What is of more concern is that the national Education
Department is not concerned about the matter at all."
"The UDM will therefore take this matter further through our
political campaign towards the election, because it's quite clear
that the ANC provincial government is not able to look after the
interests of the people."
Eastern Cape DP leader Eddie Trent said Mfenyana's comments
sounded good on paper, but added: "The school term has already
started and my view is that clearly someone or certain people are
not doing their jobs."
He said the fault could lie with some of the school principals,
district office managers or the regional offices, but added that
"buck stopped" with Education MEC Shepherd Mayatula and the
provincial office.
Trent said it was "absolutely essential" that an enquiry was
instituted into reasons for the blockages in administration, where
they were and who was responsible.
"Where they has been a breakdown in administration, the
responsible people must be disciplined." - ECN
Wed 20/01/99
@ ANGOLA-CUBA
LUANDA January 20 1999 Sapa-AP
ANGOLAN OFFICIALS EVASIVE ON CUBAN MILITARY PRESENCE
Angolan officials declined to confirm published reports
Wednesday that Cuban military advisers are helping the government
army in their civil war against UNITA rebels.
However, they acknowledged that the armed forces have foreign
help.
"We have support from our friends abroad, but it's not
important to say what nationality they are," Defense Minister
Pedro Sebastiao said. He declined to comment further.
An official at the Cuban embassy in Luanda denied the report.
"This is an internal conflict, so we're not getting
involved," said the official, who declined to give her name.
The weekly newspaper Folha 8 reported that 200 Cuban advisers
had arrived in the southwest African country since fighting resumed
last month, shattering a United Nations-brokered peace pact reached
in 1994.
Dozens of Cuban doctors and nurses are working at the Luanda
Military Hospital, where wounded government troops are being
treated, as part of a bilateral cooperation agreement. Cuban
doctors also run two private clinics in Luanda.
Cuban forces fought on the government side after the civil war
first erupted following Angola's 1975 independence from Portugal
and the country became a Cold War proxy.
Angola reportedly owes cash-strapped Cuba millions of dollars
for aid and arms it provided to Angolan government forces before
foreign troops pulled out of the country in 1988.
The UNITA rebels were backed by South African troops and
received funding from the United States.
The government claims that UNITA - a Portuguese acronym for the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola - is using
Ukrainian mercenaries to operate tanks and artillery bought on the
black market.
A peace accord reached in 1991 collapsed the following year. A
new deal, signed in 1994 under United Nations auspices, unraveled
last month and the U.N. mission that was observing its
implementation is pulling out of he country.
@ POLL-NP
PRETORIA January 20 1999 Sapa
NNP DISMISSES FINDINGS OF ELECTION POLL
The New National Party on Wednesday shrugged off the findings
of a poll conducted on behalf of Independent Newspapers Group
saying its position as the official opposition remained
uncontested.
NNP spokeswoman Juli Kilian dismissed reports in the
Johannesburg newspaper The Star on Wednesday that no single party
had emerged as a serious contender to the ANC and that support for
the NNP and IFP had halved since the last elections.
She said the NNP was the only party to have successfully
challenged the ANC in municipal by-elections, gaining 19 seats from
the ANC over the past 24 months.
"Accoding to the survey, the NNP's position as official
opposition was not threatened," she said.
"The support reflected in this survey is very close to the 11,2
percent polled in an opinion survey at a comparable period in the
1994 election.
"In the actual election the NNP doubled its support."
The Independent Indicator, a pre-election poll conducted by
Marketing and Media research for Independent Newspapers found
support for the ANC remained stable at 59 percent, although a
two-thirds majority remained beyond the party's grasp.
It found support for the ANC could increase by as much as three
percent if the party managed to attract people from the large pool
of undecided voters. This would give the party the support it
enjoyed five years ago.
The poll also showed that support for the NNP had shrunk from
20,3 percent in 1994 to nine percent, while IFP support had almost
halved, from 10,5 percent to five percent.
The Democratic Party featured well in the poll, showing a
six-fold increase since the 1994 elections.
The recently-founded United Democratic Movement has three
percent support base.
The results of the poll are based on interviews conducted in
November with more than 3000 people over the age of 18, half from
the rural areas and half from the cities.
Kilian said polls conducted before the 1994 elections did not
adequately reflect the NNP or IFP's rural support base, which was
found to have doubled during the election.
@ PHOSA-PAC
NELSPRUIT January 20 1999 Sapa
PAC DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO PHOSA AND MPUMA ADMINISTRATION
The Pan Africanist Congress in Mpumalanga on Wednesday called
on the national government to investigate Mpumalanga premier
Mathews Phosa and his administration.
African Eye News Service reported that PAC provincial secretary
Sipho Siwela claimed Phosa's alleged involvement in the R25 billion
Dolphin deal and his relationship with suspended Mpumalanga Parks
Board chief Alan Gray supported the party's call for an
investigation.
The Dolphin deal and a later promissory note deal used the
province's game parks as collateral to raise foreign funding.
Siwela said Phosa's reluctance to institute a commission of
inquiry against Gray and his decision to take over the leadership
of the environmental affairs department indicated that he was
desperately trying to cover his tracks since 1994.
@ RE-ARREST OF COLLIN CHAUKE
Issued by: African National Congress
The ANC applauds the heroic work of the police services in
finally putting the law fugitive, Collin Chauke behind bars. This
comes int he wake of intensive programmes set up by the police
nationally to deal with all forms of crime and shows the commitment
of the police services to deal with crime despite few resources and
ensure that our country is rid of this scourge and those who
benefit from it.
The recapture of Chauke should prove even to other evasive
fugitives, that the arm of the law is long, that crime does not pay
and prison is the only place fit to place such criminals and remove
them away from society.
The ANC further calls on the correctional services and the
police to put intensive precautionary measures and stringent
security to ensure that Chauke stands trial and face the charges
levelled against him.
For more info contact Nomfanclo Mayosi at (011) 330-7409
Issued by the ANC Department of Information and Publicity
PO BOX 61884
Marshalltown
2107
20 January 1999
@ MEETING OF INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON DISASTER
Issued by: Department of Constitutional Development
MEDIA STATEMENT BY MINISTER M V MOOSA ON THE MEETING OF THE
INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT (IMC) ON DISASTER
MANAGEMENT HELD ON 20 JANUARY 1999 AT THE UNION BUILDINGS, PRETORIA
The members of the Inter Ministerial Committee on Disaster
Management (IMC) met this morning to discuss the latest series of
floods and tornadoes that occurred during the past week over a
widespread area of the country. These disasters are thought to be
caused by the continuing effects of the La Nina phenomenon that
results in the rapid cooling of sea surface temperatures in the
Equatorial Pacific Ocean causing abnormal weather conditions and
above average rainfall expected to continue until at least March
1999.
The Ministers received reports from the Weather Bureau, the
South African Police Services, the South African National Defence
Force as well as the Interim Disaster Management Centre (IDMC) that
indicated that the tornado event that struck the towns of Mount
Ayliff and Ntabankulu and surrounding areas was the worst to date.
The IDMC is a national, intergovernmental coordinating
mechanism, located in the Department of Constitutional Development,
that manages the prevention, mitigation and relief of disasters
between national departments, provinces and affected communities as
well as the relevant emergency services.
The Ministers commended the emergency services as well as the
Red Cross and the local and provincial governments for their prompt
response in taking care of the most urgent needs of the people in
the areas, despite the extremely difficult terrain. The area is
mountainous and the roads are muddy, making access even by 4x4
vehicles difficult. While additional helicopters have been
dispatched to the area, flying in the misty mountainous areas is
also dangerous.
The IMC decided that the most urgent task, after the provision
of emergency aid to the affected people, is to restore all public
buildings and services. These include repairs to schools, police
stations, health facilities, an old age home, as well the
restoration of water, electricity and telephone services.
The Ministers have also decided that all affected national line
function government departments should, in conjunction with their
provincial counterparts, take responsibility for the restoration of
property and services that fall under their jurisdiction as an
urgent priority. To this end a task team, led by Mr Zam Titus, the
Director-General of the Department of Constitutional Development, is
in the process of drafting reports on the full extent of the damage
to public and private property.
President Nelson Mandela has also requested the chair of the
IMC, Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa and the Minister of Welfare and
Population Development, Minister Geraldine Frazer-Moleketi to join
their Provincial counterparts in a visit of the area tomorrow
(Thursday 21 January).
The MEC for Local Government and Housing of the Eastern Cape
Province has already visited the area. A Joint Operations Centre of
all the relevant role-players has been established.
After a proper assessment of the damage has been completed, the
IMC will be in a position to decide whether a recommendation should
be made to the President to have the affected areas around Mount
Ayliff and Ntabankulu declared a Disaster Area in terms of the
Fundraising Act 1978 which is administered by the Department of
Welfare.
The Interim Disaster Management Centre, housed in the Department
of Constitutional Development, is monitoring the situation on a
24-hour basis and is assisting with coordination of relief.
The IMC was attended by:
Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa - Minister of Provincial Affairs and
Constitutional Development (IMC Chairperson)
Minister Trevor Manual Minister of Finance
Minister Kader Asmal Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
Minister Pallo Jordan Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Minister Stella Sigcau Minister of Public Enterprises
Minister Derek Hanekom Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs
Minister Nkosazana Zuma Minister of Health
Officials from the Department of Constitutional Development, the
Department of Welfare, the Weather Bureau, the South African Police
Services were also present.
Issued by the Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional
Development on 20 January 1999
Contact: Fred Barron on: 082 4567 545
@ MBEKI-MORKEL
JOHANNESBURG January 20 1999 Sapa
MORKEL ACCUSES MBEKI OF TRYING TO DIVIDE CAPE MUSLIMS
Western Cape Premier Gerald Morkel on Wednesday accused Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki of attempting to divide the Muslim community
in the Western Cape and abusing the sancity of a Muslim service.
Morkel's reaction followed Mbeki's address to a service at a
mosque in Claremont on Tuesday to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, the end of
the Muslim month of fasting.
"New NP supporters in the Muslim community are outraged that
the so-called President-in-waiting profaned their place of worship
in an undignified manner on one of the most holiest of days by
bringing politics into a sacred place of worship," Morkel said.
"It is as immoral as the old NP's divide and rule tactics. The
New NP would never tolerate this type of behaviour. We practice
unity in diversity, we don't preach it."
The comment which irked Morkel was made by Mbeki in a speech in
which he urged a spirit of tolerance in the run up to the election.
The Muslim community should join hands to ensure the people
were allowed to campaign freely and without intimidation, and vote
as they wished, Mbeki said.
"If they want to vote for Gerald Morkel, that's okay. I
wouldn't!" Mbeki said.
@ MINISTERIAL VISIT TO TORNADO STRUCK AREAS
Issued by: Department of Constitutional Development
At the request of the President, Minister M V Moosa, Minister
for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development and G
Fraser-Moleketi, Minister of Welfare and Population Development will
be visiting the areas which have been struck by the recent tornado
on Thursday, 21 January 1999 to assess the damage first hand. They
will be joining their provincial counterparts and the team of
local, provincial and national government officials who are already
in the area.
They will be accompanied by the official photographer of the
Department of Constitutional Development. Photos of the visit
will be available on Friday morning. Parties interested in obtaining photos
should call Leon Bezuidenhout at (012) 334 0600 or 082 4596 748.
Media enquiries on the visit will be handled by Fred Barron, who
will be accompanying the Ministers.
Issued by the Department of Constitutional Development
Enquiries: Fred Barron at 082 4567 545
@ NNP-DEFECT
PRETORIA January 20 1999 Sapa
NNP SAYS VERSFELD WAS TO BE SUSPENDED
The New National Party on Wednesday claimed Western Cape MPL
Antoinette Versfeld defected to the Democratic Party to avoid
suspension after objecting to her poor placement on the party's
candidate list.
Versfeld, chairman of the NNP caucus in the provincial
legislature until late last year, announced her defection to the DP
in Cape Town on Tuesday.
She said she was impressed with the quality of the DP's MPLs in
the province and of its provincial leadership.
Western Cape NNP spokesman Mark Wiley said Versfeld's
resignation had not come as a surprise to the party.
"She knew that our leadership was intending to suspend her on
charges of causing dissension after being placed low on the New
NP's candidate's list," he said.
Wiley said Versfeld had failed to honour a written agreement to
endorse not only the prioritisation process, but the outcome.
She was the fourth NNP politician to defect to the DP this
week.
Versfeld said at Tuesday's press conference that she was being
accused from NNP quarters of disloyalty and sour grapes.
But this would ultimately be for the voters to decide, not the
NNP executive, she said.
@ APPOINTMENT OF MUNICIPAL DEMARCATION BOARD
Issued by: Department of Constitutional Development
Cabinet today approved the composition of the independent
Municipal Demarcation Board. The constitution requires that all
municipal boundaries be determined by an independent authority. The
Board is appointed in term of the municipal Demarcation Act. An
independent selection panel chaired by Justice Pius Langa
recommended 14 candidates to the President. The President is
required to choose persons from this list.
The establishment of the board is a major step towards the
restructuring of local government in terms of the Municipal
Structures Act 1988. The Boards decisions would be far reaching
indeed. It would determine the boundaries of the new metropolitan
cities, District Council and amalgamated local councils.
The Board will have the task of reducing the number of local
governments from the present 841 to a move sustainable number. The
Board will be composed of:
Dr Michael Oliver Sutcliff (KwaZulu Natal) - Chairperson
Ms Nkaro Aldefrida Mateta (Northern Province) - Deputy Chairperson.
Mr Vuyo Mlokoti (Eastern Cape)
Ms Renee Hartslief (Free State)
Mr Prince Duke Dludla (Gauteng)
Ms Rosemary Monyamane (Mpumalanga)
Mr Abraham Petrus Marais (Northern Cape)
Mr Kaobitsa Maape (North West)
Ms Jacquilline Marion Subban (KwaZulu Natal)
Mr Khosi Jeffrey Ramovho (Northern Province)
Professor Robert Cameron.
We wish to congratulate all those who have been appointed and
wish them all the best in the very challenging task before.
Issued by the Minister for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional
Development
20/01/00
Contact: Onkgopotse J J Tabane for More Information on 082 465 6166
@ MINISTER ON HOUSING MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
STATEMENT BY HOUSING MINISTER SANKIE MTHEMBI-MAHANYELE
ON THE HOUSING MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL, 1999
20 January 1999
INTRODUCTION
The Bill is an amendment of the Housing Act no. 107 of 1997. The
previous dispensation's housing subsidies according to the
provisions of the Act, were supposed to be phased out a year after
its implementation. However, as a result of unforseen circumstances,
this task could not be executed. The amendment seeks to provide for
the phasing out mechanism to be built in and be completed with in a
year of the commencement of the Act.
The Act also needs to be amended to regulate the transfer of
immovable property to a Provincial Housing Development Board for
purposes of performing certain key functions which require a degree
of expertise int he field. This is to solve the problem related to
the size of the board which is quite small and therefore cannot be
charged with other duties than may arise from time to time.
It also provides for the statutory recognition of the Social
Housing Foundation which will help provide the mechanism for the
establishment of social housing institutions in the country.
AIMS
It seeks to:
* make provision for the appointment of committees and co-opt
persons to the South African Housing Development Board
* recognise the Social Housing Foundation as a national institution
* amend the time frame with regards to the phasing out of the
housing subsidies granted in terms of former housing laws;
* regulate the transfer of immovable property to a Provincial
Housing Development Board (PHDB)
"All these amendments are aimed at oiling the housing delivery
mechanisms and ensuring that tasks which are aligned with the
execution of duties and responsibilities will lead to the speedy
delivery of houses for the poor and homeless," said the housing
Minister, Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele.
For more information please contact: Gege Kekana
Phone: (012) 44-1879/4211311
Cell: 083-457-6577
@ MUNICIPAL-BOARD
PRETORIA January 20 1999 Sapa
MEMBERS OF MUNICIPAL DEMARCATION BOARD APPOINTED
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the composition of the
independent Municipal Demarcation Board, the Department of
Constitutional Development said in a statement.
The Board was appointed in terms of the Municipal Demarcation
Act and will determine the boundaries of the new metropolitan
cities, district council and amalgaated local councils.
It will also have the task of reducing the number of local
governments from the present 841 to a more sustainable number, the
department said.
The Board will chaired by Dr Michael Sutcliff of KwaZulu-Natal,
with Nkaro Mateta (Northern Province) the deputy chairwoman.
The rest of the Board comprises Vuyo Mlokoti (Eastern Cape),
Renee Hartslief (Free State), Prince Duke Dludla (Gauteng),
Rosemary Monyamane (Mpumalanga), Abraham Marais (Northern Cape),
Kaobitsa Maape (North-West), Jacquilline Subban (KwaZulu-Natal),
Khosi Jeffrey Ramovho (Northern Province) and Professor Robert
Cameron.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
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A N C D A I L Y N E W S B R I E F I N G
FRIDAY 22 JANUARY 1999
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.
To unsubscribe from the ANC Daily News Briefing mailing list send a
message to 'list...@wn.apc.org'. In the body of your message put
'unsubscribe ancnews'.
@ FEATURE-DISARMAMENT
UNITED NATIONS January 21 1999 Sapa-IPS
SOUTH AFRICA LEADS EFFORT TO CURB SMALL ARMS
South Africa, the only significant arms producer in a
war-ravaged continent, wants to curb the flow of small arms to
civil wars and ethnic conflicts worldwide.
In a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the SA Government
says it has adopted a policy of destroying all its obsolete and
redundant surplus small arms so that they do not find their way
into battle zones.
"South Africa is further committed to stopping the flow of
illegal small arms across its borders," the letter adds.
Last year the SA Police Service destroyed or melted down 70
tons of small arms and ammunition, including 4,504 pistols,
revolvers, rifles, shotguns and home-made firearms.
Additionally, South Africa and Mozambique have jointly
destroyed more than 100 tons of small arms and ammunition on site
in Mozambique.
South Africa says it has already entered into agreements with
several other Southern African states, with a view to curbing the
trafficking of illegal small arms and ammunition.
In an address to the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that "the scourge of
small arms continues to devastate civilian populations, creating
humanitarian crises the world over.
"These weapons of personal destruction impair economic and
social progress and impede our best development efforts," he said.
Annan said the United Nations, for its part, will help
governments and civil society make disarmament and arms control
central aspects of future peace initiatives.
In West Africa, he said, the United Nations is helping to
implement a moratorium on the import, export, and manufacture of
light weapons. "If successful, this ban could lead to a renaissance
of peace in the region and serve as an example to a continent whose
economic and social development has been all-too- often hindered by
internal strife and conflict."
In its letter to Annan, South Africa points out that it "is
committed to a policy of responsibility and accountability in the
trade and transfer of all arms."
The government has established an arms control system which
makes provision for a ministerial body to set criteria, principles
and guidelines "to ensure the responsible transfer and trade in,
among others, small arms and light weapons."
South Africa has also introduced legislation which requires the
licensing of all civilian small arms, including a requirement for
the safe storage of such weapons.
Under the previous government, replaced by a multiracial
government in 1994, South Africa was the world's 10th largest arms
manufacturer.
The new government of President Nelson Mandela, which took
office in May 1994, inherited a sprawling armaments industry which
at one time produced jet trainers, combat helicopters, warships,
remotely piloted vehicles, missiles, armoured personnel carriers
and small arms.
The industry, which is now under rigid government control,
exported about 265 million dollars' worth of military equipment to
63 countries in 1997. This was a 34-percent increase over the
previous year.
According to South Africa's Directorate of Conventional Arms
Control, the list of arms buyers included India, Switzerland,
Chile, Pakistan, Ecuador, Thailand, Uganda, Singapore and Rwanda.
But the government also turned down requests for arms from
several countries - including Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi,
Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Turkey - either because of human
rights abuses or because they were in conflict zones.
South Africa was one of the co-sponsors of a UN General
Assembly resolution, adopted in early December, which calls for an
international conference on the illicit arms trade. Switzerland has
offered to host the proposed conference which is expected to take
place no later than 2001.
In its letter to Annan, South Africa says that conference
should formulate an action plan to combat the proliferation of
small arms on the basis of the experiences of individual countries.
The resolution also calls upon the Secretary-General to
initiate a
study, as soon as possible, on the feasibility of restricting the
manufacture of, and the trade in, small arms. Additionally, the
resolution proposes a study in establishing, within the UN system, a
single database of authorised manufacturers and dealers in small
arms.
@ EDUC-AG
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
THERE ARE DEFFICIENCIES IN KWAZULU NATAL EDUCATION: AG
There was lack of adequate funding for the acquisition and
provision of vehicles, equipment, repairs and maintenance at
schools as well as inadequate control over personnel and contracts
in KwaZulu-Natal schools, an auditor-general's report said on
Thursday.
The performamce report focused on the planning, organisation,
control and the rendering of education services as provided by the
provincial education and culture department.
Other deficiencies included a lack of co-ordination and
communication, and needs and priorities that were not always
adequately determined and motivated.
@ INSIDERS
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
FSB BEEFS UP CAPACITY TO ENFORCE INSIDER TRADING ACT
The Financial Services Board has beefed up its capacity to
enforce the new Insider Trading Act, which will govern the
investigation and prosecution of insider trading offences.
The Act came into force last Sunday and provides for an insider
trading directorate at the FSB, which will aim at making the
regulation of insider trading more effective.
No one has yet been prosecuted in South Africa for insider
trading.
The new Act will make it easier for criminal charges to be
imposed on people who engage in insider trading, and will also
allow the FSB to take civil action against offenders.
Cases against offenders need only be proved on a balance of
probability, and not beyond reasonble doubt. The maximum penalities
for insider trading are a R2 million fine, a 10-year jail sentence,
or both.
People with inside information who encourage or discourage
others to trade will also run the risk of being convicted of an
offence.
The Act will empower FSB officers to summons or interrogate any
person, and will enable them to obtain warrants to search premises,
open containers and strong rooms, and if necessary to seize
documents.
It can also apply to the courts to attach any assets or
evidence to prevent its concealment, removal or destruction. The
FSB said on Thursday it was establishing a forensic investigation
capacity to utse these powers.
Its new insider trading directorate would issue extensive rules
and guidelines aimed at minimising insider trading opportunities.
"Surveillance of the markets will be part of the regulation
process, and in this regard the FSB will make extensive use of the
JSE's electronic surveillance system," the FSB said.
The directorate is to be funded by levies on equities, bonds
and futures markets.
@ POLL-DP
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
DP TO HOLD BALANCE OF POWER IN WESTERN CAPE: COETZEE
The latest Media and Marketing Research poll showed that the
Democratic Party will hold a balance of power in the Western Cape,
DP spokesman Ryan Coetzee said on Thursday.
He was reacting to the provincial breakdown of the MMR survey
published in the Cape Times on Thursday morning which showed that
the DP had increased its voter support from six percent in 1994 to
nine percent.
According to the poll, support for the New National Party in
the province has dropped from 56 percent of the vote in 1994 to 33
percent.
The African National Congress' support fell from 33 percent in
1994 to 29 percent, the daily reported.
"The provincial breakdown of the MMR poll shows that the DP
will hold the balance of power in the crucial Western Cape and will
become the official opposition in Gauteng where the NP has all but
collapsed," Coetzee said.
He said the results also showed that the ANC was likely to
dominate in all provinces except in the Western Cape.
@ ANGOLA-FIGHTING
LUANDA January 21 1999 Sapa-AFP
MILITARY SITUATION 'WORRYING' IN MALANJE, HUAMBO: ANGOLAN ARMY
The Angolan army admitted on Thursday that the military
situation was "especially worrying" in Malanje, east of Luanda, and
Huambo, in the center, where UNITA rebels have been battling
government forces since mid-November.
In much of Malanje province, attacks by rebels of the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) have been
intense, corroborating sources said.
The private press on Thursday also reported fighting in the
Damba region in the north of northern Uije province. The city was
besieged by the rebels less than a week ago, they said.
On Wednesday the army reported fighting in the central Bie
province, where the chief town Kuito was battered by artillery
attacks in December, and southern Benguela as well as in Malanje.
The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) have succeeded in loosening the
rebels' stranglehold on Malanje, from where traffic has resumed on
the road to Luanda, witnesses told AFP.
A military source said FAA troops had taken over areas to the
west of Malanje.
Early Thursday more than a dozen vehicles including mini-buses
and trucks were gathering at Luanda's main markets to load supplies
for a trip to Malanje.
"For now, the risk is minimal. We're going there because there
are customers who want to leave Malanje for Luanda," said Pedro
Massunga, a mini-bus driver.
The defense minister, General Pedro Sebastiao, said Thursday
that the government "will do everything to neutralize UNITA, its
leader Jonas Savimbi, its men and its military infrastructure."
The Angolan army has meanwhile denied a Portuguese press report
that Cuban military advisers were in the country.
The Diario de Noticias first made the report on Tuesday, and
confirmed it Thursday after its correspondent was asked to leave
Angola on Wednesday.
FAA headquarters described the report as "false and
unfortunate."
In a separate development, the government has reportedly
decided to increase soldiers' wages.
@ FARMERS
PRETORIA January 21 1999 Sapa
MORE PEOPLE BEING KILLED ON FARMS
The number of farmers, their wives and workers killed in
attacks on rural homesteads is increasing dramatically, latest
figures indicate.
The murders of 12 more people over the past six weeks brings to
150 the number since January last year, despite a rural safety
programme and the combined efforts of the police, army and
intelligence agencies.
The death toll is the highest recorded in a single year since
1994.
There have been 740 attacks in which vehicles and firearms have
been stolen, and 356 farmers and workers injured, between January 1
1998 and January 20 this year. A total of 311 arrests have been
made.
The two latest deaths took place near Christiana, North West
Province, on Wednesday, when a farmer and his wife were stabbed to
death in their home by four men who drove off in the couple's
bakkie. Two men were arrested and the bakkie was recovered
following an intensive police search.
Overall, attacks on isolated farms have been occurring mostly
in central KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Free State
and North West Province.
The 740 attacks have been recorded by the National Operational
Co-ordinating Committee (NOCOC), a computerised joint police and
defence force operational headquarters established last year in the
wake of meetings on farm security between organised agriculture and
the government.
It followed confidential intelligence reports given to
President Nelson Mandela which said, inter alia, that the attacks
were not politically inspired, but were criminal acts.
Martin Aylward, of the Rural Safety Task Team which operates
closely with NOCOC, on Thursday said the latest information was
being collated and would probably become available soon.
The NOCOC equipment automatically plots attacks on an
electronic map of the country from information sent by fax or
e-mail from police and army commando officers.
Kobus Visser, spokesman for the SA Agricultural Union (SAAU),
on Thursday said his organisation's statistical information showed
that the campaign of terror against farmers had virtually doubled
the number of attacks and murders in five years.
There has been a steady increase in murder from 92 in 1994 to
145 as of January 31 last year, plus an additional four at
Rustenburg, Weenen and Christiana in the first 20 days of this
month.
The SAAU figures indicate that 556 murders in all have taken
place in the past 61 months, working out at a fraction under 10
murders a month.
The attacks peaked last May and July but resumed in intensity
after a three-month lull, which coincided with appeals for an end
to rural crime from President Mandela, Deputy President Thabo
Mbeki, Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi, and top
government officials.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture is to hold a series
of rural safety conferences soon, starting in the Midlands, where
most of the brutal incidents have occurred, the department said
this week.
@ AGRIC-MANDELA
PRETORIA January 21 1999 Sapa
MANDELA TO ADDRESS SAAU NEXT MONTH
President Nelson Mandela is to address the SA Agricultural
Union next month in support of an initiative to raise money for
rural safety, SAAU president Chris du Toit said on Thursday.
He said the project, dubbed Agri Securitas, formed part of the
SAAU's own contribution to the fight against farm attacks.
Farming communities remained vulnerable to criminals, Du Toit
said in a statement.
"Farm attacks are continuing despite numerous actions to curb
the problem. It is clear that farmers will in the immediate future
have to rely on themselves to find the resources to improve the
situation."
Du Toit said Mandela would be the keynote speaker at a function
in Pretoria on February 24 when several Agri Securitas schemes
would be announced.
They included a marketing programme to raise money from South
African and international donors. The insurance giant Sanlam had
already made a significant contribution.
Du Toit said the SAAU intended using some of the money for an
emergency satellite communication system, and a scheme to provide
victims of criminal violence with medical and disability benefits.
@ STATEMENT ON THE REFERRAL OF BILLS TO PARLIAMENT
Issued by: Office of the President
STATEMENT ON THE REFERRAL OF BILLS TO PARLIAMENT
If the President has reservations concerning the
constitutionality of a Bill submitted to him for his assent, the
President is required to refer it back to the National Assembly for
its reconsideration. For the reasons set out the President is
referring three Bills to the National Assembly for their
reconsideration.
The Broadcasting Bill
While the Bill's purpose as a whole is not unconstitutional the
President is concerned that the formulation of section 40(1)(a)
confers an imprecise, potentially over-broad, power on the Minister
to regulate even on matters which fall within the regulatory
function of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. While this may
be a matter of draftmanship, the President is advised that the
current formulation unnecessarily exposes the Bill to constitutional
attack and that the Minister's regulatory power should be defined
and restricted so as not to expose him to the allegation that his
power overlaps with that of the Authority.
Secondly, as the President is advised, it may well be that the
Minister may need to formulate policy and give general directions in
the public interest regarding some matters dealt with under the Act.
However, if this power impinges upon the independent decision-making
function of the IBA it will run the risk of falling foul of section
192 of the Constitution. As there may be some uncertainty regarding
the exact import of "policy directives" in this regard, an
appropriate definition of this power may protect the Bill from
constitutional review for want of compliance with section 192.
The President is satisfied that the Bill does not infringe the
Bill of fundamental Rights set out in the Constitution.
Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill
In regard to the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill, the
President would want to make it clear that he is satisfied that the
purposes and objectives of the Bill fall within the parameters of
constitutionality. In other words, it is not unconstitutional in
principle to prohibit the advertising of smoking and to prohibit
smoking in public places for the reasons set out in the preamble.
Accordingly it is not necessary for the National Assembly to
reconsider the purposes of the Bill.
Where legislation may impinge on fundamental rights, the terms
thereof should not be over-broad. It should not limit rights in
areas beyond or unconnected to the purposes of the Bill. In this
regard the President is advised that section 3(2) of the Bill, in
prohibiting the organisation, or promotion of, or financial
assistance to an "organised activity" by tobacco-related
enterprises, fails to define "organised activity". The very wide
ambit of this term would mean that activities unrelated to the
purposes of the Act and protected by the Bill of rights, especially
freedom of association, would be proscribed. This defect, the
President is advised, may be cured by a more precise definition of
the "organised activities" contemplated by the Bill.
The President would also draw attention to the possible and
unintended consequence of extending the definition of 'public place'
by section 2(k) to possibly include private places including a
dwelling, apartment, flat or residence in which an employee performs
his or her duties. If this is not the intention of the Bill, it may
also be considered over-broad unless such private places are
exempted. The President is advised that a ministerial power to
extend the prohibition to categories of private residences the
nature of which warrants their treatment as a public place would,
however, be connected to the purposes of the Act.
Liquor Bill
In respect of the Liquor Bill, there is no specific provision as
such which casts doubt on the Bill's constitutionality. Rather the
framework to be introduced by the Bill deals with liquor licensing
in the provinces which the Bill is entitled to do only if it is
necessary for any of the purposes listed in section 44(2)(b) - (e)
of the Constitution.
Although it appears that there are good reasons for believing
that the Bill is warranted, it is not possible for the President to
determine this question withany certainty. The answer to this
question must be determined with reference, not merely to legal
issues, but certain factual and policy questions. In this regard the
constitutional jurisprudence offers no assistance as the courts have
not, as yet, offered any guidance on how such a question is to be
approached. It appears that in this, the first case of its kind,
only the Constitutional Court can authoritatively pronounce on the
Bill's constitutionality. However the Constitution does not allow
the President to refer this Bill to the Constitutional Court unless
it has been referred back to him after reconsideration by the
National Assembly.
The Bill will serve as legal authority for the introduction of a
nation-wide system of liquor licensing, as well as the issuing of
such licences. Should the Act be subsequently declared
unconstitutional, not only the validity of the framework, but the
licences issued thereunder, would be subject to uncertainty and
revocation - resulting in confusion in this sector.
It is with this in mind that the President refer the Bill back
to the National Assembly.
Conclusion
The President would want to stress that Bills approved by
Parliament are not lightly referred back to the National Assembly.
Section 79 of the Constitution does however allow a special
opportunity for any Bill so approved to be reconsidered for the
purpose of placing it on its firmest constitutional foundation. It
is of course up to Parliament itself to decide whether such concerns
need be dealt with and how.
The President has been advised that the three relevant Ministers
have indicated that they would welcome a further opportunity to
resolve or remove any constitutional uncertainties, as they would
want the Bills to be enacted into law only on a sound constitutional
footing and best placed to withstand any constitutional challenge.
ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
21 January 1999
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
COMMUNICATIONS
communi...@po.gov.za
Tel: (021) 464-2100; Fax: (021) 464-2229
Tel: (012) 319-1500; Fax: (012) 323-6080
@ NER-INVESTIGATION
PRETORIA January 21 1999 Sapa
INVESTIGATION INTO NER HINDERED BY MISSING DOCUMENTS
An investigation into irregularities at the National
Electricity Regulator was being stymied because some documents were
missing, Mineral and Energy Affairs Minister Penuell Maduna said on
Thursday.
He told reporters in Pretoria that when forensic auditors
started investigating alleged corruption in the NER in November
last year, they found records were missing on paper and on
computers.
"The bits and pieces that we are putting together are coming
from third sources like banks. They are not coming from the records
right now, and this is making our work very difficult," Maduna
said.
NER's former chief executive officer Magate Sekonya, who
resigned in November last year, gave a report to the Deputy
President's office in January that claimed there were additional
irregularities in the NER.
Maduna said the alleged irregularities being investigated,
included awarding of contracts, staff appointments, salary reviews
and taxation, and allegations by Sekonya against NER board members.
"If indeed the minister was blind to blind to corruption, as
insinuated, let the forensic report reveal this," he said.
After Sekonya resigned, the director-general of the Mineral and
Energy Department, Sandile Nogxina, was appointed acting chairman
of the NER.
"I would like to... thank all those who were involved, and are
still involved, in the running of NER during these challenging
times," Maduna said.
NER's new chief executive officer is Xolani Mkhwanazi, and its
new chairman is Enos Banda.
Smunda Mokoena was appointed deputy director-general of energy,
replacing Gordon Sibiya, who resigned in October last year, Maduna
said.
He also announced new board members for the Atomic Energy
Corporation, the Council for Geoscience, and Mitek. Each board will
serve for one year, starting on February 26, and ending on February
25 next year.
Nok Frick was re-elected director of the board for the Council
for Geoscience, and Vusi Khanyile was elected its chairman.
Aidan Edwards was re-elected president of Mintek's board, and
Sipho Shezi was elected its chairman.
Waldo Stumpf was re-elected chief executive officer of the
Atomic Energy Corporation's board, and Don Ncube was re-elected its
chairman.
Each board will serve for one year, starting on February 26,
and ending on February 25, 2000.
A new board for the Council for Nucler Safety would only be
appointed when the Nuclear Energy Bill and the National Nuclear
Regulator Bill was passed, Maduna said. Its chairman is John
Martin.
@ ZIM-EDITOR
HARARE January 21 1999 Sapa-AFP
DETAINED ZIMBABWEAN JOURNALISTS FREED ON BAIL, ALLEGE TORTURE
A Zimbabwean magistrate Thursday released on bail two
journalists detained for reporting an alleged coup plot against
President Robert Mugabe, after he was told the two were severely
tortured in detention.
Sunday Standard's editor, Mark Chavunduka, and senior reporter
Ray Choto, were freed on bail of 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars (250 US)
and remanded to February 22.
Their lawyer Erik Morris told the court: "It appears that the
accused have been severely tortured, not by the police, but by
certain forces of the Zimbabwean government."
He did not give details.
The state had initially considered opposing bail on the grounds
that the safety of the two was not guaranteed, but Morris said: "We
believe they will be more safe at home than they will be in custody
where certain government forces have access to them."
Clive Wilson, managing director of the Standard newspaper,
earlier said that both men had been beaten and that Choto had been
subjected to electric shocks on his genitals.
"It's absolutely disgraceful, like something out of Nazi
Germany," he said. "There is clear evidence not only of assault,
but torture."
He said the two men had told their lawyer about their treatment
when he was allowed to see them early Thursday.
They said that after being beaten and forced to do humiliating
xercises they were made to strip and roll on wet grass to remove
the blood, said another lawyer for the pair, Simon Bull.
They demanded medical attention and were taken to a civilian
hospital, but were attended to by a military doctor.
Choto's hands were visibly swollen with fresh wounds on them
when he was seen by reporters after his release.
Choto, whose article reported that 23 army officers had been
arrested for inciting others to topple Mugabe, had given himself up
to police on Tuesday after a week in hiding.
He turned himself in when the military, who detained Chavunduka
on Tuesday last week, finally handed him over to civilian police
after the High Court threatened to issue a warrant for the arrest
of Defence Minister Moven Mahachi.
But the two men then disappeared, and were apparently handed
back to the military, which has no right under Zimbabwean law to
detain civilians.
It appeared that Choto was taken from police custody on the day
he surrendered himself and driven blindfolded for about an hour to
Cranborne army barracks.
Sources believe he was a taken to an interrogation centre in
Goromonzi, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital.
There he was taken to an underground cellar with a wet floor
and allegedly tortured.
If convicted, the two who are being charged under the Law and
Order Maintenance Act with creating "alarm and despondency" could
be jailed for up to seven years.
Wilson said they were also asked to name everyone they know in
the army during the interrogation.
The two were ordered to surrender their passports and report
once a week to the police.
@ EDITOR-REAX
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
SAUJ CONDEMNS INTIMIDATION OF ZIM MEDIA
The SA Union of Journalists on Thursday called for
international bodies including the United Nations to protest
against the intimidation of journalists in Zimbabwe.
In a statement issued after Thursday's release on bail of an
editor and reporter detained for a story on an alleged coup plot
against President Robert Mugabe, SAUJ president Garalt Macliam said
the situation for journalists in Zimbabwe was "reprehensible and
intolerable".
The union would speak to other media organisations about
picketing the Zimbabwean embassy in Johannesburg.
The SAUJ called on the International Federation of Journalists,
Amnesty International and the United Nations to protest against the
intimidation of journalists in Zimbabwe and offer what help and
protection they could.
"We extend our solidarity to these colleagues under fire," he
said.
The Sunday Standard's editor, Mark Chavunduka, and senior
reporter Ray Choto were freed on 10,000 dollar (250 US) bail and
remanded until February 22.
They were ordered to surrender their passports and report once
a week to the police.
Erik Morris, an advocate representing the two, told the court
that it appeared the journalists had been "severely tortured" not
by the police but by certain government elements.
Clive Wilson, managing director of the Standard, earlier said
both men had been beaten and one had been subjected to electric
shocks on his genitals.
In a statement issued in Johannesburg, the Freedom of
Expression Institute said Chavunduka's arrest breached the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
The FXI called on the Zimbabwean military to refrain from using
journalists as scapegoats for the consequences of the war in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Asked for comment, spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign
Affairs Adri Cronje said the department would not be drawn into the
matter.
The South African National Editors' Forum is expected to issue
a statement on the issue later on Thursday.
@ CRIME-NNP
DURBAN January 21 1999 Sapa
NNP SAYS CRIME IS A NATIONAL CRISIS
The government should acknowledge that crime is a national
crisis, New National Party leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Danie Schutte,
said on Thursday.
Schutte was speaking at a seminar in Durban attended by
American crime reduction expert Jack Maple.
"With a rape rate which is the highest in the world, a murder
rate 10 times the world average and ever increasing armed robberies
and hijackings, it will indeed be madness not to acknowledge that
our crime situation is a national crisis," Schutte said.
He added that all political parties, church organisations, and
the business and agricultural sectors should unite in the fight
against crime.
"What is called for is strong and united action. But what must
also be said is that if no headway is made against crime, as is the
case, then the government must take the full blame," Schutte said.
@ HEATH-MORKEL
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
HEATH MEETS MORKEL ON CORRUPTION
The head of the Heath special investigative unit, Judge Willem
Heath, on Thursday held what was described as an "excellent"
meeting with Western Cape Premier Gerald Morkel on corruption in
the province.
The meeting followed Heath's complaint this week that the
province had been slow in reporting cases of corruption and fraud
to the unit.
Morkel subsequently told journalists it was not his fault that
there was so "little corruption" in the province, and that he could
not make up cases to satisfy the judge.
In a joint sttement after Thursday's meeting, the two men said
a number of cases raised by Heath had been dealt with, and an
agreement was reached on the future management and referral of
other cases.
The unit was encouraged by the open discussion, and evidence of
initiatives and internal mechanisms aimed at rooting out corruption
and malpractice.
Morkel had reaffirmed his commitment to clean and
corruption-free governance, and had assured Heath of his
unconditional support and co-operation.
The unit had been invited to work closely with premier's office
and internal legal and investigative bodies, the statement said.
@ ZAMBIA-ANGOLA
LUSAKA January 21 1999 Sapa-AFP
ZAMBIA HAS NO INTENTION OF GOING TO WAR WITH ANGOLA: CHILUBA
Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said Thursday that his
country had no intention of going to war with its powerful
neighbour Angola following fresh accusations that Zambia was
supporting UNITA rebels in that country.
"We have no intention to provoke, we have no intention to
engage in any hostile activities against any one of our neighbours.
We have no intention to fight Angola, we have no intention to fight
anybody else, thus we are putting this in writing. We would like
our brothers in Angola to tell us what information they have,"
Chiluba said.
Chiluba said the accusations started three years ago, and that
both the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations
cleared Zambia of the allegations.
"The OAU came to Zambia to investigate the matter and found
there was no proof, the UN also came and they went to the areas,
and they also proved there was no evidence," he said.
Speaking at State House where he swore into office two newly
appointed deputy ministers, Chiluba said Zambia had no expansionist
ideas and lacked the political will or the money to wage a war
against the battle-tested Angola or any of its neighbours.
Civil war resumed in Angola in mid-November between government
forces and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA).
@ BILLS
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
MANDELA REFERS CONTROVERSIAL BILLS BACK TO PARLIAMENT
President Nelson Mandela has referred three controversial bills
- on smoking, liquor and broadcasting - back to the National
Assembly for reconsideration.
Announcing this on Thursday, his office said the step was being
taken because he had reservations about their constitutionality and
therefore had to send them back.
All three were approved by Parliament late last year and sent
to Mandela to be signed into law.
Mandela's office said in a statement that while the
Broadcasting Bill's purpose as a whole was not unconstitutional,
Mandela was concerned that it gave the broadcasting minister an
imprecise and potentially over-broad power to regulate even on
matters which fell under the Independent Broadcasting Authority
(IBA).
"While this may be a matter of draftmanship, the president is
advised that the current formulation unnecessarily exposes the bill
to constitutional attack and that the minister's regulatory power
should be defined and restricted so as not to expose him to the
allegation that his power overlaps with that of the authority."
Mandela was, however, satisfied that the bill did not infringe
on the Bill of Rights.
The statement said Mandela was satisfied that objects of the
Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill - to prohibit the
advertising of smoking and to ban smoking in public places - were
constitutional.
It was therefore unnecessary for the National Assembly to
reconsider the bill's purposes.
But where legislation might impinge on fundamental rights, its
terms should not be over-broad and should not limit rights in areas
beyond or unconnected to the purposes of the bill.
"In this regard, the president is advised that section 3(2) of
the Bill, in prohibiting the organisation, or promotion of, or
financial assistance to, an `organised activity' by tobacco-related
enterprises, fails to define `organised activity.' "
The very wide ambit of this term would mean that activities
unrelated to the purposes of the act and protected by the Bill of
Rights - especially freedom of association - would be proscribed.
Mandela also believed the definition of "public place" could be
interpreted too broadly to possibly include private homes.
On the Liquor Bill, said Mandela's office, there was no
specific provision which cast doubt on its constitutionality.
But there could be some issues which needed to be clarified by
the Constitutional Court, in its first test case of this kind.
However the Constitution did not allow the president to refer a
bill to the Constitutional Court unless it had been referred back
to him after reconsideration by the National Assembly. Health
Minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma said in reaction she welcomed the
president's decision to refer the tobacco bill back to the
Assembly, saying this woudl help strengthen the constitutionality
of the legislation.
She said she acknowledged Mandela's concerns about some
technical aspects of the bill, and equally welcomed his support for
the principles on which the bill was based, its objectives and its
constiutionality.
Chairman of the health portfolio committee Dr Abe Nkomo said on
Thursday afternoon he was not yet able to comment on details of the
referral.
He was also unable to say whether his committee would be able
to deal with the bill in the coming short session of Parliament.
"We'll have to go back to the drawing board and see," he said.
"The priority now is to deal with the budget as far as I'm aware.
There may not be time left over to deal with other matters."
@ STATEMENT ON MINISTERIAL VISIT
Issued by: DEPARTMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE MINISTERIAL VISIT TO THE MOUNT AYLIFF
NTABANKULU TORNADO STRUCK AREAS
Ministers MV Moosa, Minister for Provincial Affairs and
Constitutional Development and G Fraser-Moleketi, Minister of
Welfare and Population Development, today toured the Mount Ayliff
and Ntabankulu areas which have been hit by the recent storms and
tornado.
They said that they were shocked by the extent of the
devastation which they have witnessed. In many villages entire rows
of houses have been reduced to heaps of rubble. The poor, who do not
have insurance or other resources to rebuild their homes, have been
the worst affected and many families have lost all their worldly
possessions.
The two Ministers confirmed that they would immediately
recommend to the President that the two areas and surrounding rural
areas be declared disaster areas in terms of the fund Raising Act
(Act no 107 of 1978, as amended).
A technical team, consisting of officials from national,
provincial and local government, coordinated by Mr Zam Titus,
Director General of the Department of Constitutional Development,
has remained in the area to ensure the speedy and controlled
distribution of materials such as tents, food, medical supplies and
clean water to the affected areas.
Due to the inaccessibility of the terrain, the distribution of
materials is difficult. material no longer required for the relief
efforts at Umtata is also being transported to the affected areas.
Victims who have not yet received tents are being accommodated in
public buildings such as schools.
The Ministers whishes to assure residents in the areas that
everything possible is being done to relieve the plight of those who
have been affected by the tragic turn of events.
Issued by the Ministry for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional
Development on 21 January 1999.
Enquiries: Fred Barron on 082 456 7545
@ ANGOLA-UNITA
LUANDA January 21 1999 Sapa-AFP
ANGOLAN PROSECUTOR DEFENDS ARRESTS OF UNITA DEPUTIES
The attorney-general's office in Angola on Thursday defended
last week's arrests of five UNITA MPs loyal to Jonas Savimbi, head
of the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
"So far there has been no illegality, and the imprisonment (of
the deputies) was approved by the public ministry," the office said
in a communique.
MPs Carlos Candanda, Vicente Vihemba, Manuel Savihemba, Daniel
Jose Domingos and Carlos Alberto were "surely" involved in a "crime
against state security and they were caught red-handed," the
communique said.
They were placed under "preventive detention" following a
decision by the criminal chamber of the supreme tribunal.
The arrests, which UNITA termed "incomprehensible," came
against a backdrop of renewed civil war in the country.
UNITA has 70 members in Angola's 220-seat National Assembly.
@ GODONGWANA HOPES SDIs AND COEGA WILL RESCUE ECAPE
BISHO (ECN) - Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Enoch Godongwana
yesterday (subs: Thurs) said he hoped that current government
strategies like the Wild Coast Spacial Development Initiative (SDI),
the Coega Project and public works programmes would be able to make
an impact on the Eastern Cape's unacceptably high unemployment rate.
Godongwana was reacting to the final Census '96 results which
revealed that the Eastern Cape had an unemployment rate of 49
percent, compared to the national average of 34 percent.
The census also revealed that 38 percent of people in the
Eastern Cape still relied on wood for cooking purposes, compared to
the national average of only 23 percent.
Furthermore, only a quarter of the people in the Eastern Cape
had access to water in their dwellings, which was much lower than
the national average of 45 percent.
Godongwana said the unemployment figures were not new and they
confirmed what was in everyone's mind - that the Eastern Cape had
all the negative indicators of underdevelopment and impoverishment.
He told ECN that the unemployment rate was most acute in the
rural Transkei and added that to change these rural areas into
places were there was economic activity was a mammoth task.
"It is our hope that these current government strategies and
policies will make an impact, but we accept that they will not
eliminate unemployment."
Cosatu Provincial Secretary Pinkie Ntsangani also said the
figures came as no surprise but added that that did not make the
figures any less shocking.
"The difficulties are exacerbated by spacial distortions which
have resulted in certain areas suffering severely from almost total
economic isolation and such distortions are the result of irrational
settlement patterns and development policies imposed under the
apartheid era homeland regimes of the Ciskei and Transkei."
He said the national government must begin to put more resources
into the province so that it could cope with the backlogs and deal
with the problems of infrastructure and poverty.
He said provincial government programmes should be directed
towards providing full-employment.
"It is through an integrated and focused planning programme that
we will be able to begin to eliminate the inequalities of the past."
- ECN Thurs 21/01/99
@ IFP-DEFECTION
DURBAN January 21 1999 Sapa
FOUR IFP LEADERS IN KZN JOIN ANC
Four Inkatha Freedom Party leaders in Bulwer and Donnybrook in
the KwaZulu-Natal midlands on Thursday resigned from the party to
join the African National Congress.
Mbuso Memela, David Mdladla, and Johannes and Mzofayo Phoswa
announced at a press conference in Durban that they had resigned
from the IFP.
They said the IFP failed to bring about development in the
area. The defectors said they would continue to work for peace in
their areas.
"We will call a meeting with our former supporters to explain
to them our decision and we want to let them know that we will
still be working towards peace in our areas," the men said.
They told reporters they were not forced to join the ANC and
had reported to the police that they would meet with party
officials and host a press conference to announce their defection.
Provincial ANC deputy chairman Zweli Mkhize said the party was
in the process of mobilising the community.
"We have already started to recruit members and this process is
not targeted at the leaders, but everyone who wishes to join the
party is welcome," he said.
Mkhize said the IFP and ANC in the province were working
together and were part of peace negotiations.
"This does not mean that members cannot choose the party they
like," Mkhize said.
He said the defections would not harm the relationship between
the two parties.
He condemned a war of words between the IFP and ANC last week
when four IFP members announced their defection to ANC.
Mkhize was referring to an incident in which the IFP leader in
the midlands, David Ntombela, accused the ANC of intimidating and
forcing IFP members to join the ANC.
The ANC in turn alleged that Ntombela removed the new ANC
members from their homes and forced them to rejoin the IFP.
The ANC also called for the immediate resignation of provincial
police commissioner Chris Serfontein. It accused him of being
incompetent and failing to deal with the issue of members who were
removed from their homes, allegedly by the policemen.
The ANC said its members were handed over to Ntombela, who then
took them to a press conference in Durban on Friday and alleged
that they had been forced by the ANC to join the party.
The ANC said it was considering taking the matter to the
Independent Complaints Directorate.
Provincial police spokesman Director Bala Naidoo disputed the
ANC's claims. He said police received a report of illegal firearms
that were kept in the area.
Naidoo said Ntombela was the only person who could identify the
suspects and their houses.
"It was a legitimate operation and firearms were recovered. The
matter is being investigated," Naidoo said.
He said police were not acting on Ntombela's instructions.
Naidoo said the ANC was welcome to take the matter to the
Independent Complaints Directorate for further investigation.
IFP officials were not available for comment on Thursday
afternoon as they were attending a confidential meeting in Durban.
@ TRUTH-APLA
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
TWO EX-APLA MEMBERS REFUSED AMNESTY
Two men who claimed to have been former members of the Azanian
People's Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Pan Africanist
Congress, were denied amnesty by the TRC in Port Elizabeth on
Thursday.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission spokesman Phila Ngqumba
said Bonile Wanga and Aron Dingane applied for amnesty for separate
incidents of armed robbery on Kirkwood and Grahamstown farms in the
1980s, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and escaping
from prison.
Wanga and Dingane claimed the robberies were committed on
behalf of the PAC to acquire arms to use in the struggle against
the apartheid government.
Ngqumba said the TRC amnesty committee found that the crimes
had not been politically motivated.
Former APLA member Silimela Ngesi was successful on Thursday in
his amnesty application for attempting to blow up an East London
petrol depot in 1993.
The committee began hearing amnesty applications in Port
Elizabeth on Monday and is scheduled to finish the hearing on
Friday.
@ COURT-SARGEANT
PRETORIA January 21 1999 Sapa
BRITISH WOMAN CHALLENGES DEPORTATION AT HOME AFFAIRS' COST
A British woman who was deported last week after the sudden
cancellation of her work permit will demand in court on Friday that
Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi allow her back into the
country at the Department's expense.
Esmee Sargeant, who came to South Africa to work at the
Alexander Health Centre in 1997, claimed her deportation was
irregular, unlawful and unconstitutional.
In court papers it was claimed that Sargeant was not even
allowed a telephone call after being escorted to the Johannesburg
International Airport.
She now wants a court order allowing her to lawfully enter and
stay in South Africa pending her court application to restrain Home
Affairs from withdrawing her work permit until the final outcome of
a review.
She also wants the court to order the Minister to pay for her
travelling costs back to South Africa from London, failing which
she wants him to show cause within seven days why he should not be
committed for contempt of court.
She claimed that she was deported before applications for a
stay of the deportation were attended to.
Sargeant initially applied for an advertised position as a
director of the Alexandra Clinic, but Catherine Mvelase was
appointed in that position instead. Colleagues were upset when
Sargeant was given the alternative post of finance and
administration manager without the post being advertised.
Sargeant claimed she was subjected to victimization and
unpleasantness at the clinic and was told outright to leave the
country. This culminated in her work permit eventually being
cancelled and her dismissal from her post with instructions to
leave South Africa immediately.
She submitted that the decision to cancel her work permit was
irregular and unconstitutional and she wanted to exercise all legal
remedies open to her.
Sargeant denied claims that she had misled the Department about
the position for which she applied.
Deputy director of Administration and personal assistant to the
Director General of Home Affairs, Sonja Beukes, in court papers
described Sargeant's application for a work permit as "dicey and
taciturn".
She said it was the Minister's legitimate purpose to reduce
unemployment among South African citizens and provide jobs for
South African citizens before considering foreign nationals.
Beukes said the Department had acted legally in deporting
Sargeant and her deportation did not amount to contempt of court
because no court order had been made in that regard.
@ ELECTION-AZAPO
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
AZAPO CALLS FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
The Azanian People's Organisation in the Eastern Cape on
Thursday called upon the government to ensure that this year's
general elections were free and fair for all political parties.
Chairman Mzukisi Madlavu in a statement sent to Johannesburg
said fair competition among political parties was a vital measure
of how the elections reflected the will of the people.
He sai all parties should have equal access to financial and
other resources.
"It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the equal
treatment of all political parties and actors in their scramble for
votes," said Madlavu.
He said Section 236 of the Constitution, together with the
Funding Act, were both intended to hamper competition amongst
political parties.
These stipulated that only political parties participating in
the provincial legislatures and parliament would receive funding
from government.
AZAPO was vehemently opposed to the Funding Act, Madlavu said.
@ BILLS-SMUTS
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
DP, IFP WELCOME REFERRAL OF BROADCASTING BILL TO PARLIAMENT
Democratic Party spokesperson on broadcasting Dene Smuts said
on Thursday she was "very pleased and encouraged" by President
Nelson Mandela's decision to refer the Broadcasting Bill back to
the National Assembly.
It seemed Mandela's legal advisers had applied the exact
arguments she and Inkatha Freedom Party MP Suzanne Vos had advanced
during the parliamentary process.
Because she and Vos had been so concerned about the
implications for free political speech in South Africa, they had
commissioned a legal opinion from a senior advocate on the
constitutionality of the broadcasting minister's powers to issue
so-called policy directives which would intrude on the independence
of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
When the bill had been passed by Parliament without amendment
of this section or a section on the regulatory powers, they had
sent Mandela a copy of the opinion, together with their arguments.
"We asked him to send the bill back to Parliament, which is
exactly what has happened," Smuts said.
She said she was encouraged by the development and had every
confidence that Mandela would be willing to listen to further
argument and refer the legislation to the Constitutional Court if
necessary.
"The lesson we have learned from the past 40 years is that you
must have free speech, especially on the airwaves," Smuts said.
Vos said she was "obviously very pleased".
Although she and her party, with the DP, had argued on the
technical point which Mandela's advisers now accepted needed
re-examination, the IFP also believed the entire bill was badly
drafted and needed to be approached completely anew.
The party also believed the private broadcasting industry
should be far more vigilant in monitoring the government's powers.
"There seems to have been a very worrying complacency by the
industry on an issue so fundamental to democracy," Vos said.
@ STORM-MOOSA
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
MINISTER "SHOCKED" BY EASTERN CAPE TORNADO DEVASTATION
Constitutional Affairs Minister Valli Moosa on Thursday said he
was shocked by the devastation caused by the storm which struck the
Eastern Cape this week, leaving 22 dead.
Moosa, after he and Welfare Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi
visited Mount Ayliff to inspect the damage, said he would recommend
to President Nelson Mandela that it be declared a disaster area.
"They (the two ministers) said they were shocked by the
devastation they witnessed," Moosa's office said in a statement.
"The poor, who do not have insurance or other resources to
rebuild their homes, have been the worst affected and many families
have lost all their worldly possessions," his office said.
A technical team comprising officials from the national,
provincial and local governments has remained in the area to ensure
the speedy distribution of tents, food, medical supplies and clean
water to the affected areas.
Victims who had not yet received tents were being accommodated
in public buildings such as schools, the statement said.
@ LD-BILLS
CAPE TOWN January 21 1999 Sapa
MANDELA REFERS CONTROVERSIAL BILLS BACK TO PARLIAMENT
President Nelson Mandela has referred three controversial bills
- on smoking, liquor and broadcasting - back to the National
Assembly because he has doubts about their constitutionality.
All three were approved by Parliament late last year despite
strong objections from opposition parties and pressure groups, and
sent to Mandela to be signed into law.
In an announcement on Thursday, Mandela's office said the
president was obliged to send a bill back for reconsideration if he
had doubts about its constitutionality.
The announcement was welcomed by opposition parties and by
Health Minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma, who said the referral of the
tobacco bill would help strengthen it.
The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill aims to ban tobacco
advertising and sponsorship, and prohibit smoking in public places.
The Broadcasting Bill seeks to comprehensively regulate public and
private broadcasting in South Africa, while the Liquor Bill sets
out comprehensive parameters within which liquor may be sold.
Mandela's office said he was concerned that the Broadcasting
Bill gave the broadcasting minister an imprecise and potentially
over-broad power to regulate even on matters falling under the
Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA).
He had been advised that this exposed the bill to
constitutional attack and that the minister's regulatory power
should be defined and restricted.
Mandela was satisfied that objects of the tobacco bill were
constitutional, but where legislation might impinge on fundamental
rights, its terms should not be over-broad.
Mandela had been told that the section of the bill that
prohibited promotion of or financial assistance to an "organised
activity" by tobacco-related enterprises, failed to define
"organised activity".
The wide ambit of this term meant activities unrelated to the
purposes of the bill and protected by the Bill of Rights -
especially freedom of association - would be prescribed.
Mandela also believed the definition of "public place" could be
interpreted too broadly to possibly include private homes.
On the Liquor Bill, said Mandela's office, there was no
specific provision which cast doubt on its constitutionality, but
there could be some issues which needed to be clarified by the
Constitutional Court, in its first test case of this kind.
However, the constitution did not allow the president to refer
a bill to the Constitutional Court unless it had been referred back
to him after reconsideration by the National Assembly.
Chairman of the health portfolio committee Dr Abe Nkomo said on
Thursday afternoon he was unable to say whether his committee would
have the time to deal with the bill in the coming short session of
Parliament.
"We'll have to go back to the drawing board and see," he said.
"The priority now is to deal with the budget as far as I'm aware.
There may not be time left over to deal with other matters."
Democratic Party spokeswoman on broadcasting Dene Smuts said
she was "very pleased and encouraged" by Mandela's decision to
refer the Broadcasting Bill back to the Natinal Assembly.
It seemed Mandela's legal advisers had applied the exact
arguments she and Inkatha Freedom Party MP Suzanne Vos had advanced
during the parliamentary process, she said.
She was encouraged by the development and had every confidence
that Mandela would be willing to listen to further argument and
refer the legislation to the Constitutional Court if necessary.
Vos said she was "obviously very pleased".
Although she and her party, with the DP, had argued on the
technical point which Mandela's advisers now accepted needed
re-examination, the IFP also believed the entire bill was badly
drafted and needed to be approached completely anew.
The party also believed the private broadcasting industry
should be far more vigilant in monitoring the government's powers,
Vos said.
New National Party health spokesman Dr Kobus Gous said his
party welcomed "the fact that the unworkable tobacco and liquor
legislation (which was steamrollered through Parliament late last
year), has beenreferred back to Parliament, as predicted and
fought for by the New NP".
Welcoming the referral of the Broadcasting Bill, Freedom Front
spokesman on broadcasting Dr Pieter Mulder said freedom of speech
and non-interference by the government in the media were one of the
cornerstones of a true democracy.
@ ZIM-INTELLIGENCE
MASVINGO, Zimbabwe January 21 1999 Sapa
CIO OPERATIVE GUILTY OF ASSAULTING REPORTERS
A member of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation
appeared in court on Thursday charged with assaulting six media
personnel based in Masvingo after accusing them of misrepresenting
facts about the country's security situation.
Antony Jacob Gono, who pleaded guilty to six counts of common
assault, will be sentenced on Friday. His application for bail was
refused, the Ziana news agency reported
The prosecutor Titus Taruvinga said Gono had assaulted the six
on Wednesday for allegedly writing about a coup which did not
exist.
They were the government provincial information officer, Samson
Muduma, Mirror newspaper advertising representatives Tinavo Magaisa
and Trust Mabaya, Tribune newspaper chief sub-editor Muza
Matikinye, advertising manager Margaret Bure and security guard
Natas Mpofu.
Gono told the court he assaulted them for denying him
information for his research project on computer studies.
Asked by the magistrate why he had also assaulted the security
guard, Gono said: "I wanted him to leave me alone."
He said he lost his head because he was frustrated about being
unable to get the research material he had been looking for from
banks.
@ CHAUKE-FA
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
KEEP CHAUKE SAFE: FEDERAL ALLIANCE
The Federal Alliance on Wednesday called on national police
commissioner George Fivas to guarantee the safety of heist suspect
Collin Chauke, following reports that Chauke appeared in court on
Wednesday showing head injuries.
The party called for the South African Police Service's
Internal Complaints Directorate to urgently investigate the source
of the alleged injuries and to take pre-emptive measures to prevent
any further injuries to Chauke.
"The Federal Alliance is not jumping on the human rights
bandwagon requesting such an investigation but Collin Chauke's
testimony in court is of national importance and therefore he must
be protected at all costs," FA spokesman Jan Bosman said in a
statement.
The FA is hoping that Chauke's testimony will provide evidence
on links between him and the African National Congress - more
specifically with Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi and
Peter Mokaba, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism - and
that his involvement in cash-in-transit heists was "to fill ANC
money coffers".
In a separate statement party boss, Louis Luyt, threatened to
take Sports Minister Steve Tshwete to court to prevent "Tshwete and
the ANC from further interference in sport."
Referring to an interview on Wednesday with Tshwete in a
Johannesburg daily, Luyt said Tshwete had once again shown his
ignorance of his portfolio.
"Steve Tshwete lacks the statutory power to interfere in sport
and on (sic) the autonomy of sporting bodies. To this effect the
Federal Alliance will assist and support sporting bodies to
maintain their independence and autonomy and if needs be the
Federal Alliance will support sporting bodies with the necessary
legal action to prevent Steve Tshwete and the ANC from further
interference in sport," Luyt said.
@ GAUTENG-ARREARS
JOHANNESBURG January 21 1999 Sapa
GAUTENG'S LOCAL AUTHORITIES FACE FINANCIAL CRISIS
Gauteng's 51 local authorities are facing a serious financial
crisis, with service defaulters owing them a whopping R6 billion in
arrears.
A report released by the department of development planning and
local government on Thursday states that Gauteng's municipalities
have lost over R1 billion in the past six months.
New National Party spokesman Wally Labuschagne said most local
authorities were in trouble as they were unlikely to be able to
collect the money they were owed, and financial institutions were
not prepared to bale them out.
The NNP claimed the Greater Johannesburg's Metropolitan Council
had lost R245 million over the past six months.
The city's total arrears stood at R2,4 billion at the end of
October last year, it said in a statement.
The Greater Pretoria metropolitan council's loss during the
same period came to over R61 million.
The Gauteng provincial metropolitan councils' arrears stood at
R870 million, while the Lekoa/Vaal metro council's arrears came to
R333 million.
The Khayalami Metropolitan Council, which is known for its
strict financial control system, recorded R470-million in service
arrears. The council has lost R7,5 million over the past six
months.
Democratic Party spokesperson on local government, Ian
Davidson, said the R6 billion arrears indicated that local
authorities were facing a crisis.
"The present methods which are used to encourage people to pay
are not working. Local government is going to face a cash-crunch,"
he said.
Payment levels were decreasing in Greater Johannesburg and in
the Pretoria metropolitan council they were fast approaching crisis
level, he added.
@ STORM-EASTCAPE
BISHO January 21 1999 Sapa
EASTCAPE GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE R10m FOR TORNADO REPAIRS
The Eastern Cape government is to release an initial amount of
R10 million to help in the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed
in this week's Mount Ayliff tornado and last December's weather
disasters in Umtata and other places.
This money will be in addition to financial help likely to come
from national government.
According to provincial finance MEC Enoch Godongwana, the
executive council approved the amount which will used to rebuild
schools, clinics and other government infrastructure.
On Wednesday, local government and housing MEC Sam Mazosiwe
accompanied by the Constitutional Development Minister, Mohammed
Valli Moosa and Welfare Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, toured
the areas hit by Monday's tornado.
The disaster left 22 people dead, scores injured and hundreds
of people homeless. Hundreds of rural huts were flattened and
massive damage caused to infrastructure, urban buildings and
houses.
Fraser-Moleketi promised financial assistance from the national
government.
Mazosiwe, who spent the last two day's in the area, said
mopping up operations had started while emergency services and
relief aid were coming from various organisations.
The head of Methodist Church, Bishop Mvume Dandala, said his
church would provide food to the affected communities for three
weeks. Dandala's rural home was among those destroyed by the
tornado.
Other churches, businesses and non-governmental organisations
have indicated their willingness to provide some form of help.
Portnet has pledged to provide containers for the homeless while
the SA National Defence Force is to provide tents.
Mazosiwe expressed concern about the dire shortage of tents,
saying the affected people were likely to be further hit by adverse
weather conditions if no more tents were forthcoming.
@ STORM-DISASTER
PRETORIA January 21 1999 Sapa
MOUNT AYLIFF AND THABA-NKULU DECLARED NATIONAL DISASTER AREAS
The Eastern Cape areas of Mount Ayliff and Thaba-Nkulu, ravaged
by a tornado on Monday, were on Thursday declared a national
disaster area following consultation between President Nelson
Mandela, Welfare Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and
Constitutional Affairs Minister Valli Moosa.
Moleketi-Fraser and Moosa toured the affected areas on
Thursday.
A statement issued by the Welfare Department said the storm had
left 26 people dead, destroyed 416 houses and damaged 821 more.
"Integrated technical teams operating under the Disaster
Management Team are at this stage working on projected costs of the
damage.
"A member of the Disaster Management Relief Fund from the
Welfare Department and a team of social workers are assisting
victims in the assessment of claims," the Department said.
At present the homeless are being housed at local schools and
40 tents are expected to be delivered by the SA National Defence
Force.
Churches have undertaken to provide food for the victims and
further aid is expected from the Red Cross Society.
"To assist victims in dealing with the trauma, counselling
services will be provided, particularly to school children who have
been affected by this incident."
Fraser-Moleketi and Moosa called on the business sector and the
South African public to assist the victims by contributing funds.
A disaster fund has been set up. Contributions can be paid to:
Wild Coast District Disaster Fund, First National Bank, account
number 62006762943, Mount Frere Branch, branch code 210821.
@ UN-ANGOLA
UNITED NATIONS January 21 1999 Sapa-AP
COUNCIL INDICATES DESIRE TO MAINTAIN PRESENCE IN CAPITAL
The Security Council announced Thursday its intention to
maintain a U.N. presence in Angola, despite the resumption of civil
war there and a recommendation by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
withdraw U.N. military observers.
The council said it recognized that a continued presence would
depend on the safety of U.N. personnel and would require the
approval of the Angolan government, which has said it doesn't want
the current mission to remain beyond the Feb. 26 expiration of its
mandate.
Angola's U.N. ambassador, however, hinted that the Luanda
government wasn't opposed to a U.N. presence in Angola - just not
the current U.N. Observer Mission in Angola, or MONUA.
"The matter is not the United Nations presence in Angola,"
Afonso Van Dunem Mbinda said. "The matter is MONUA's presence in
Angola."
He refused to say why the government wanted MONUA out, but the
government has accused the United Nations peacekeeping mission of
failing to prevent the resumption of the civil war it helped end
with a 1994 peace accord.
The U.N. observers were sent to Angola in 1997 to oversee
implementation of the accord. The council has blamed UNITA - a
Portuguese acronym for the National Union for the Total Liberation
of Angola - for failing to carry out key elements of the agreement
requiring the rebel force to disarm and turn over territory to the
government.
The agreement collapsed last month when the government tried to
take the territory by force but was beaten back by the rebels.
The council's presidential statement came in response to a
report issued Sunday, in which Annan recommended the 1,000-member
team be phased out by March 20.
Annan's report said the mission's ability to carry out its
peacekeeping mandate had "ceased to exist." It cited the recent
downing of two U.N.-chartered planes, the resumption of the war and
indications that neither the government, nor UNITA had any
intention of adhering to the 1994 accord.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard declined to comment on the
council's apparent decision to disregard Annan's recommendation.
But he did say the recommendation was "based on his solid
assessment of what the prospects for a continuing mission are."
In the statement, the council refered to "the great importance
it attaches to a continued multidisciplinary presence" of the
United Nations in Angola.
It urged the government and UNITA to allow humanitarian work to
continue. It asked that Angola and UNITA cooperate with a future
U.N. team and asked that Annan urgently consult with the government
on a future U.N. presence.
Already, Annan has told his special representative, Issa
Diallo, to contact the government, Eckhard said. And he has urged
African states and the three countries overseeing the peace process
- United States, Russia and Portugal - to use their influence with
the government to allow the United Nations to maintain contact with
the UNITA rebels.
Nancy Soderberg, a deputy U.S. ambassador, said the United
Nations had invested too much time and money - dlrs 1.5 billion in
the last four years alone - to pullout of Angola entirely.
"We want to very strongly send the signal that the United
Nations is not abandoning Angola if there's something we can do
there," she told reporters.
Nevertheless, the United Nations was continuing its relocation
of U.N. staff and equipment to the capital in preparation for a
pullout, Eckhard said.
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