Das neue Südafrika

Crime: Mbeki proven wrong

2007-12-6 20:35

Cape Town

Opposition parties have lamented the increases in crime detailed in the latest statistics for April to September, released on Thursday.
It was deplorable and made a mockery of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula's assurances to business leaders, locally and overseas, that the crime rate was under control :D, DA spokesperson Diane Kohler-Barnard said.

House robbery - house break-ins that included violence - increased by seven percent, truck hijacking by 53.3%, and business robbery by 29.3%.

The police claim that incidents such as murder - which was down by 6.6% - rape, attempted murder and assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm had decreased over the past six months.

"This may be the case, but it is important never to lose sight of the fact that a high number of cases are never reported to the police," Kohler-Barnard said.

By focusing exclusively on dropping or rising crime statistics over fixed periods of time, the SA Police Service failed to address the very real issue that a significant portion of the population did not even report crimes.

"Indeed, according to the AC Nielsen crime survey, 32% of crime victims interviewed failed to report the crime to the police, with 61% of those victims stating 'police inefficiency' as the reason."

Mbeki 'proven wrong'

The last Victims of Crime Survey stated that the reporting rate of crime was less than half of all crimes committed, Kohler-Barnard said.

Freedom Front Plus spokesperson Pieter Groenewald agreed, saying the statistics proved the public was not safe because of crime.

Last year there was an increase of 25.4% in house robberies and it now appeared to be still increasing.

President Thabo Mbeki's view that people were complaining unnecessarily about crime and it was merely a perception created by the media, had now been proven to be wrong.

"People are supposed to feel safe in their own homes, but the statistics indicate that it is increasingly unsafe in one's own home."

The public was therefore justified in complaining that crime was getting out of control and that South Africa was unsafe to live in, Groenewald said

Die andere Seite:

RSA , die Welt in einem Land...schoene Bilder

http://www.focus.de/kultur/leb…suedafrika_aid_55399.html

Btw, that's my bay on the right...

SA politics are 'a joke'

2007-12-9 09:18

Cape Town

As South Africa contemplates the deadly serious business of who will head its fledgling democracy, satirists have no shortage of material for gags designed to cut their leaders down to size.

Whether lampooning ANC leadership hopeful Jacob Zuma for trying to beat Aids by showering, President Thabo Mbeki as being stuck in an ivory tower or the country's police chief as a mafioso, cartoonists and stand-up comedians hack away relentlessly at the indiscretions of the powers-that-be.

But the laughs and innuendos mask only superficially the need for sober reflection as these modern-day court jesters hold the mirror up to South Africans grappling with the very essence of their 13-year-old democracy.

"The satirist in South Africa today has become probably more of a psychiatrist than an entertainer," reflects comedian Pieter-Dirk Uys, whose female alter-ego Evita Bezuidenhout has kept generations of South Africans in stitches.

"There is something very therapeutic about laughing at fear," he said.

And so Uys and others poke fun at such serious topics as Mbeki questioning whether HIV causes Aids and the sexual antics of Zuma who is favourite to unseat Mbeki at the helm of the governing ANC this month and thus place himself in pole position to become the next head of state.

Another popular target is Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang whose touting of vegetables to help combat Aids has won her the nickname Dr Beetroot.

Award-winning cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, known by his signature Zapiro, sees the role of the satirist as that of a social pressure valve.

"Finding ways not to take these things quite so seriously is important," said the man who first attached a showerhead to the forehead of his Zuma caricature - a now near-permanent fixture.

This was after Zuma, also the subject of a corruption probe, testified in his rape trial last year that he showered after having had consensual sex with his HIV-positive accuser to prevent infection. He was acquitted.

"The satirist plays the role of a kind of prism that directs light in one way and turns it and focuses it in another way," said Shapiro.

"If you use humour, there is this little synapse thing in the brain that makes those insights exciting and digestible and quick and full of impact."

He has taken to drawing Tshabalala-Msimang as any of a variety of vegetables, Mbeki as a "Stalin lite," and Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi with a "long arm of the law" encircling his alleged friends in the criminal underworld.

In a frocked and bejewelled appearance at the Cape Town Press Club, Bezuidenhout had her audience rolling with laughter when she recently launched a mock bid for the presidency.

Known fondly as "Tannie (Auntie) Evita," the 72-year-old fictional grand dame married an apartheid-era National Party cabinet minister and was herself an ambassador for the whites-only regime before swearing off her theoretically bigoted ways.

She claimed to enjoy the company of polygamist Zuma, saying: "He has always treated me with great respect, although I've never been alone with him in a room for more than a minute."

Zuma, she added, "always asks me to call him by his Zulu name, Innocent".

On Mbeki, generally perceived as an aloof autocrat, she declined to go into detail "because as you know there is no detail".

The apartheid regime had done Mbeki a disfavour, she added, for not having jailed him and thus robbing him of struggle credentials.

"Everybody in the ANC was in jail, following Nelson Mandela's example. As a young man, Thabo Mbeki threw stones at police cars and the police threw them right back. We didn't think he was important."

While Mbeki had no sense of humour and Zuma laughed only because he was the joker, South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela understood the value of a good laugh, said Bezuidenhout.

"To form a government with the people who locked you up requires one hell of a sense of humour."

On a more serious note, Uys contended that freedom of speech was under threat, citing a R10m defamation suit by Zuma against Shapiro.

While the ANC government did not censor the media as its apartheid predecessor did, the signs were worrying and the guarantees fragile, he said.

"There is a certain sinister symmetry (with the apartheid state)," echoed Shapiro - citing ANC control over the output of the public broadcaster SABC and party officials' regular condemnation of an "unpatriotic" press.

Added Bezuidenhout: "The day we allow democracy to happen behind closed doors is the day we go back to the old days. Nobody wants to go back."

Keeping South Africans interested and engaged was the only way to fight this phenomenon, she said, and vowed to keep doing her part.

Das kann ja lustig bzw.traurig werden wenn die Fans zum Soccer WC kommen.

Zur Zeit verdient man mit Tourismus mehr als bei den Goldminen, die Zeiten haben sich geandert.

China ueberholt bald RSA in der Goldproduktion und die haben mehr Hirn als........

Was Alltaegliches hier.......wieder mal..

South AfricaHijack victim puts up fight

2007-12-9 13:41

Johannesburg - A 21-year-old man sustained serious injuries in an attempted hijacking in Weltevreden Park on Sunday, Johannesburg paramedics said.

ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said the attack took place at a housing complex in Without Street around 02:00.

"Paramedics that arrived on the scene found the 21-year-old lying in the house at the time. He sustained serious injuries to his face, head and possible fractures to his hands and wrists," Vermaak said.

It was understood that the man had been visiting a friend in the complex and was about to leave when a group of men tried to hijack his Toyota Corolla outside the complex.

"The 21-year-old put up a vicious fight," he said.

It was believed that hijackers fled the scene.

The severely beaten man was found lying next to his car by his friend who dragged him into the house.

The man was taken to Life Flora Clinic in a stable condition.

Finance24

Investors assess Jacob Zuma

2007-12-9 14:48

London

Investors nervous over the possibility of a populist left-leaning president in South Africa are hoping Jacob Zuma will turn out like Brazil's Lula rather than Venezuela's Chavez.

Zuma, a survivor of scandals that would have buried most politicians, is favourite to win party elections this month, largely because of grassroots support from trade unions and members of South Africa's poor black underclass.

A win would put him on course to become president of Africa's biggest economy in 2009.

But investors are not thrilled.

His trade union and left-wing links make him suspect in many investors' eyes. They fear he will be pressured to up spending on social programmes and relax the fiscal discipline of the last decade.

Some hope Zuma's track record of centrist voting and his attempts to reassure investors - most notably, during a recent private visit to the United States - are signs he may turn out more like Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who came to power on a leftist platform then proceeded with reforms that have made Brazil an emerging markets darling.

"It is definitely a risk, the news that Zuma may be the next president. He is not a market-friendly candidate, his reputation is worse than Lula's ever was," said Maarten-Jan Bakkum, portfolio strategist at ABN AMRO Asset Management, which runs almost $2bn in emerging markets investments.

"But on the plus side, institutions are very strong in South Africa, there is a solid policy direction and we don't see that one man can completely change that," he added.

Bakkum has put his money where his mouth is - he has gone long South African stocks, noting valuations 12 times forward price-to-earnings versus about 14 for emerging markets overall.

"South African companies are among the best-managed in emerging markets. The government has done a good job and we want to see a continuation of the policies of past years," he said.

Chavez?

There is of course the chance of another Hugo Chavez, seen by many as wasting Venezuela's oil bonanza on nationalising swathes of the economy and on lavish social spending.

Ratings agency Moody's, however, is not too worried.

"Zuma has never taken a different position on economic policy than that which was generally agreed by consensus among policy makers," said Moody's Vice President Kristin Lindow.

"Investors at this stage are not particularly alarmed as Zuma has been doing his best to reassure them."

Since the dismantling of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has been held up as a beacon of multi-racial democracy. Poverty, unemployment and disease are rife but there is also a growing middle class, driving economic growth of 5% a year.

Investors have been pumping cash into South African bonds and stocks with flows year-to-date at over $13bn. The stock market is just off record highs hit earlier this year.

But now, uncertainty over future policy is coinciding with double-digit interest rates and a slowing economy. Data from fund consultancy EPFR Global shows funds have steadily reduced weighting to South Africa since January 2006.

"We are extremely underweight South Africa. Stocks there are relatively cheap and from a bottom-up point of view, they look interesting. But you have not seen the full impact of the rate rises and you have the politics on top," said Oliver Bell, senior investment manager at Swiss fund Pictet.

The South African Treasury's conservative fiscal stance, beloved of rating agencies, has drawn fire from local left wingers and trade unions. Zuma may have no choice but to oblige with more social spending and some fear, even nationalisations.

"From an investor point of view Zuma is a complete unknown. The biggest worry is what favours he is having to pull in from the trade unions to get elected," Bell said. "He may say he will not change policy but I'm quite happy to be underweight the market and wait and see as it all unfolds."

Spending needed?

But many argue South Africa can tolerate some fiscal loosening. This may even be desirable, especially if spending is directed to education and infrastructure - the main constraints the economy is bumping against as it tries to ramp up growth.

Unemployment is over 25%, blamed mainly on a skills shortage while more healthcare spending may help tackle an Aids epidemic - factors that are inhibiting direct foreign investment. But there is not much public debt.

"Zuma has talked of loosening fiscal policy and spending more on schools and hospitals. Markets would be hard-pressed to say that's not essential," said Kieran Curtis, fund manager at Morley Asset Management with $1bn in emerging markets.

"They have worked hard with counter-cyclical monetary and fiscal policy so they should be able to loosen both if growth slows. And if Zuma wants to spend more there is plenty of room.

"The Lula scenario is what people are hoping for," he said.

- Reuters

'Explosive' file on Selebi

2007-12-9 23:36

Johannesburg

Startling revelations of allegations forming the basis of the Scorpions' case against, among other people, National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, have come to light in a lengthy document acquired by Beeld newspaper.

The 141-page document was compiled from sworn statements handed to the Scorpions.

The statements were taken by former Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) security chief Paul O'Sullivan, as part of his private investigations into Selebi.

They're contained in a file compiled by O'Sullivan and given to the Scorpions.

Sources close to the investigation into Selebi, the so-called Project Bad Guys, confirmed to Beeld that the O'Sullivan document was the basis of the Scorpions' investigation into Selebi.

The statements apparently reveal a clear trail of alleged organised criminal acts committed by Glenn Agliotti, with the help of his friend Selebi.

Agliotti reached a plea agreement with the Scorpions last week and was found guilty of drug-dealing.

He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, suspended for five years, as well as an admission-of-guilt fine of R300 000, and a payment of R200 000 to the asset forfeiture unit.

From a statement by someone referred to as "Casual Source", taken by O'Sullivan and handed to the Scorpions, it appears that Agliotti played a far bigger role in organised crime than he had admitted in court.

"Casual Source" alleges that murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble's former security consultant, Clinton Nassif, and Kebble himself were involved in organised crime, assisted by Selebi.

'Large sums of cash'

Nassif earlier reached a plea agreement with the Scorpions on the Brett Kebble murder charge, and the drug-dealing charge on which Agliotti was sentenced last week.

O' Sullivan's transcription of the statement by "Casual Source" reads: "Glenn Agliotti 'GA' is a friend of Jackie Selebi."

The statement by "Casual Source" continues: "(The source) says the three of them (Selebi, Nassif and Agliotti) own a place in Midrand and, every fortnight or so, large sums of cash are collected from there and taken to a certain bank.

"(The source) says the bank manager (the name of the manager and the bank are known, but have been withheld by Beeld on legal advice) ensures the Fica requirements are circumvented and that the money is clean."

Beeld heard that amounts of between R1m and R2m at a time were involved.

The bank manager apparently had resigned from the bank eventually and was working with Nassif full time "to launder his money".

"Casual Source" also claimed Nassif and Agliotti travelled to London every month, to deposit money into bank accounts there.

He alleged that Selebi helped to ensure that Agliotti and Nassif were not stopped with the money at OR Tambo Airport, and that, in return, deposits were made into an account at a London bank for Selebi.

Weapons-smuggling claimed

It's also alleged in the statement that Selebi and other well-positioned police sources had helped to obtain information for Nassif and his security company, CSN.

It's claimed, also, that Selebi helped Nassif in weapons-smuggling activities.

Neither Agliotti nor Selebi would comment about the file when approached by Beeld.

A message on the cellphone of Marius du Toit, Nassif's attorney, said he would be available again on January 8.

S.Africa: November/December Crime Hell Round Up...

http://www.africancrisis.org/N…9&Action=V&Sort=D&Page=1&

Date Posted: Tuesday 11-Dec-2007

Here is a sample of some of the current crimes:-

UK travel insurance company: SA is the 'violent-robbery' hotspot for tourists

How S.Africa's worst serial rapist lured victims135 victims - charged with 229 counts

SA: Armed robberies targetting remote supermarkets: carried out like military training exercises

SA: ATM bombers hit Rustenburg and open fire at cops

S.Africa: Pension Paypoint robbery: 2 Police shot & injured during robbery

S.Africa: Corruption: Police bust Home Affairs wedding scam: 1,500 fake weddings

SA: Johannesburg: House Attack: Mother, son killed in house robbery

S.Africa: Criminals prefer to attack houses when people are at home

SA awash with illegal guns: 'robbers now prefer to hit when you're home' says expert

S.Africa: Naked Kickboxing woman battles armed thugs

S.Africa: Crime: Women's Organisations: Govt's declining Rape statistics are LIES!!!

SA farmer Anonio Caldeira killed with 'long knife' - ninth Limpopo farm attack this month

SA: House robberies up in 2007, Truck hijackings up 53%

SA: Male Hijack victim found dead on railway line

German, US navy ships corner Somali pirates of Japanese chemical tanker

A brief glance at German news about South Africa reveals emphasis on crime problems

A Dutch and SA sports journalist warn that SA is too dangerous for Soccer World Cup 2010

SA: Rape ordeal prompted woman to abort foetus

S.Africa: Rapists are getting YOUNGER & also Rape victims too!!

S.Africa: Crime: My brother was screaming in pain from torture with a hot iron

S.Africa: Afrikaner Woman's fingers chopped off by black attackers: 'I'd rather have bled to death'

S.Africa: TAU: Farm Murders and Attacks are Continuing

SA is at war: 'Declare State of Emergency' warns ex-Minister Pik Botha
2 farmers killed, 3 injured since Oct 26 in Limpopo farm attacks - expect a bloody season warns TLU

Police Corruption goes up dramatically since Anti-Corruption unit was shut in 2002

S.Africa: 500 Vehicle hijacks revealed despite crime stats ban

S.Africa: Pretoria Dad killed trying to save his family

SA police video - Afrikaner family stabbed, tortured to death, including 2 school-children

S.Africa: Crime: Robbery hero relives shooting horror

S.Africa: Crime: Couple gunned down in Pretoria

S.Africa: Legalise prostitution for 2010

SA: Afrikaner businessman David Burger fights off knifeman in Lakeside, Knysna home

S.Africa: Diners applaud police after they nab suspect
20071124 Susarah Greyling, 73, beaten to death on Scholtzrus farm, Schweizer-Reneke

SA: Cape Town: Cable theft: 170 arrests in three months

Widow of murdered Afrikaner engineer: 'I must get my children out of SA'...
Two convictions for 'Cattle-whip Attackers' against Afrikaans farmer Joan Schonken, 72, Kirkwood

SA: armed robber caught, 'necklaced' by furious Phillippi community

SA: Second Rondebosch resident murdered, body found decomposed.

SA: Dr Donald Allan of Rayton, Pretoria seriously injured in armed attack at home

http://www.africancrisis.org/default2.asp

Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception

Dark days ahead for SA

2007-12-12 14:49

Johannesburg

Constant power cuts are darkening the mood among South Africans, with President Thabo Mbeki admitting that government was at fault for ignoring growing energy needs.

Africa's largest economy is buckling under energy-pressures after failing to heed pleas by state power utility Eskom to invest more in electricity generation to keep up with the country's growth.

"We said not now, later. We were wrong. Eskom was right. We were wrong," Mbeki said in a rare public apology during a speech on Tuesday night.

To some the power cuts are a mere annoyance, small businesses lose money and some - like the owner of a popular South African ice cream brand - face financial disaster when energy giant Eskom tightens its straining energy belt.

A booming post-apartheid economy, and scant regard for energy efficiency as South Africans lavishly squander electricity at the cheapest rates in the world, are some of the reasons Huberto Stempowski now has to find another way to chill his ice-cream.

"It's a big worry. We are being forced to invest in a generator. That's a huge expense for the business," says the owner of popular Huberto's ice-cream.

Embarked on media blitz

But the R160 000 needed to generate his own electricity is worth it considering the R300 000 worth of stock he stands to lose in an extended blackout.

This week, planned power rationing in suburbs across the country has resulted in outages of up to three hours each.

Eskom has embarked on a media blitz to educate South Africans on energy efficiency, with the prospect of shortages stretching into the next decade.

With radio adverts urging office workers to switch off the lights and billboards encouraging staff to switch off their coffee-maker, Eskom has even asked that South Africans use energy efficient Christmas lights.

Eskom enterprises chief executive Brian Dames told AFP that solutions to the crisis were being pinned on new coal-fired power plants in the medium term while investigating more nuclear technology in the longer run.

"It's quite a tough task to get behaviours to change, to get people to look at energy as a precious resource," he said at the company's Johannesburg headquarters.

Bill Lacey, an economist for the South African Chamber of Commerce, warned potential investors may be put off by unreliable energy output.

"Because of the cost implications of adequate backup measures, small businesses may be the hardest hit by such disruptions."

Electricity in SA cheapest in the world

Dames said investors would have to weigh up the risks themselves, as industrial electricity in South Africa was still the cheapest in the world.

Currently, South Africa's peak demand has reached 36 500 megawatts, while Eskom is able to supply 38 000MW, or 40 000MW with electricity imported from the Cahorra Bassa dam in neighbouring Mozambique.

South Africa aims to add another 40 000 megawatts to its power grid in the next 20 years, and at least half of that will come from nuclear technology with the rest coming from coal, and a small amount from renewables.

While South Africans may grimace at having to rein in their energy use, Richard Worthington of environmental group Earthlife Africa says it may be just what the energy inefficient country needs.

"Probably the best thing that could've happened to us is for people to experience early signs of what we will have to live with in future, an energy constrained future."

Rich in coal resources, South Africa's total electricity generating fleet is 88% coal-based, and is one of the worst carbon dioxide emitters worldwide.

However, much to the chagrin of environmentalists, South Africa sees a future in predominantly nuclear energy as the only sustainable option.

"We have no other big capacity options other than the coal and the nuclear and those take time," said Dames.

- AFP

Heute sogar in der FAZ:

Polizei in Südafrika erschießt zehn Räuber

tos. JOHANNESBURG, 11. Dezember. Bei einem missglückten Überfall auf einen Geldtransporter in der südafrikanischen Provinz Limpopo sind am Dienstag zehn der insgesamt zwölf Räuber von der Polizei erschossen worden.

F.A.Z. vom 12.12.2007

Zeit wird das man aufraeumt und hart vorgeht.
Sonst nimmt alles ueberhand und die Lage explodiert.
Das war nur ein Tropfen auf den heissen Stein hat aber ein Message hinterlassen.

Its hot in RSA.....there is a law, you bastards out there !

Irgendwo habe ich gelesen das die RSA Army nun weisse Soldaten sucht.

Wo sind die ueberhaupt ?
Eine der besten Armies die ich kenne war das mal.
Die besten arbeiten nun im Ausland.

Die Schwarzen ruinieren alles, kein Wunder bei den Chiefs im Parlament die sich nur die eigene Tasche fuellen und sich dann verabschieden.

Schade um das schoene Land , IMO leider es geht erstmal noch weiter runter bis es wieder rauf geht.

Wenn die Schwarzen gescheitert sind und einsehen das es ohne Weisse in Afrika nicht geht.....(siehe Zimbabwe)
Die kriegen hier nicht mal die Stromversorgung im Griff z.B.
Da sind Welten dazwischen Asiaten und unsere Bimbos.

Back to the jungle........

XEX

Two shot dead in Durban

2007-12-13 12:47

Durban

A man and a woman were shot dead in Durban's Umlazi area in the early hours of Thursday morning, police said.

Superintendent Danelia Veldhuizen said a 38-year old woman and a 36-year old man were shot in Umlazi's V-section shortly after 01:00 as they were walking along a road.

The woman died at the scene and the man managed to flee before succumbing to his wounds in Umlazi's E-section.

Veldhuizen said a handgun was used in the attack, but that the motive for the shooting was unknown.

Ten more years of power cuts

...bringt die Taschenlampe mit zur WM...

2007-12-13 21:36

Cape Town

How long will the present Eskom load shedding continue? Ten years at least.
Because there is such an acute shortage of generation capacity, because electricity demand is growing steadily and because it takes at least 6 years to build the baseload stations we need, it will be 10 years or more before we have sufficient reserve margin to end the load shedding.

On Tuesday President Mbeki apologised publicly for the power shortages, saying the government had not allowed Eskom to build new stations when it wanted to.

He said, "Eskom was right. We were wrong".
Now this is a jolly decent thing for him to say, but it is wrong on two counts. First, Mbeki suggests that it was rather difficult to tell whether we needed new power stations.

It wasn't. It was blindingly obvious. Second, he is too chivalrous in taking all the blame upon his government; half must fall on Eskom.

Doing the math

Let me give some simple figures. In 1994, Eskom's maximum demand was 24 800 MW (megawatt) and its operating capacity was 32 370 MW. In the past, electricity demand had grown at least as fast as economic growth (from 1956 to 1995 it grew twice as fast).

But assume it would only grow at the same rate. In 1994, the ANC government was talking about 6% economic growth, which was perfectly reasonable; many developing countries have grown faster.

Six percent electricity growth would have lead to a maximum demand of 52 897 MW in 2007. Add 15% to that for a safe reserve margin and we should have required a capacity of 60 831 MW in 2007. Our actual capacity now is about 38 500 MW.

Suppose in 1994 we had assumed a very modest 3% electricity growth. We should then have required a capacity of 41 883 MW in 2007.

The excuse that "we were caught by surprise by unexpectedly high economic growth" is unmitigated nonsense. Economic growth has been less than expected. We have never reached the hoped for 6%.

After 1994, the ANC government began to speak about breaking up Eskom's generation monopoly and introducing private generators or IPPs (Independent Power Producers).

Half-baked policy

In 1998 it forbade Eskom from building new stations. The policy was half-baked. Electricity prices were much too low for any IPP to come in and nobody built anything. So, as Mbeki has confessed, the government is culpable for the present crisis.

But so is Eskom. Eskom knows far more about electricity supply than anybody else, including the government. Eskom's own figures showed we had to build stations.

Eskom should have shouted this to the government; instead it whispered. Eskom has got a good planning department but it had no authority, did not report to the Eskom board, was usually ignored and sometimes actually ordered to put silly assumptions into the plans and projections.

The Eskom bosses were in a dreamlike state of denial, hoping that the looming crisis would somehow go away. Until very recently Eskom was still giving us nonsensical assurances that there was no crisis but that supply was merely "a bit tighter than we'd like".

Blaming the wrong man

Willy Spies, the genial Freedom Front MP, has asked Alec Irwin, Minister of Public Enterprises, to resign because of the electricity crisis.

He is blaming the wrong man. It was Alec Irwin, coming into this office in 2004, who ended the paralysis. He restored to Eskom, in effect if not in law, its old responsibility to ensure our electricity supply and to build power stations.

Eskom is now doing what it should have done ten years ago. It has built gas turbine power plants at Atlantis and Mossel Bay. These are quick and cheap to build but horribly expensive to run because they use diesel fuel and are thirsty.

They should only be used at peak times but such is the crisis that they are running more than this, and already there are problems with diesel supply.

Eskom has ordered the giant 4 500 MW Medupi coal station in Limpopo, whose first unit might be on line in 2012 if we are lucky.

It will cost about R78bn. (Power stations are very expensive but over their lives they produce such vast amounts of electricity that their unit costs are low.)

Need to face unpleasant truths

Eskom will next year order 3 000 MW of nuclear plants, whose first unit should be on line about 2015.

It has been suggested that Eskom should be partly funded by the tax payer to save raising the electricity price. This must be rejected out of hand.

Eskom must be funded entirely by electricity sales and by borrowing, for example in bonds. The electricity price is much too low and must go up sharply.

No IPP would come in unless it got prices at least double what they are now. Eskom's official return on assets is small (7%) but the actual return is much smaller, because Eskom hugely undervalues its generation plant. Again no IPP would accept such a small return.

We need to face unpleasant truths. Right now we do not really know what "maximum demand" is because we can never meet it. So we should speak of "maximum supply".

Eskom must stop pretending that 6% economic growth will only mean 4% electricity demand growth. This has never happened before and is not happening now.

And most unpleasant of all, we must realise that blackouts and power cuts will be with us until 2017 or beyond.

- Fin24

South Africa:

'Welcome to SA"" F*** You !!

2007-12-14 09:54

Johannesburg

International visitors to OR Tambo Airport were given a rude welcome after the words "Fuck You" were displayed on all welcome sign boards, the Son reported on Friday.

The tabloid ran pictures of the offending message on the electronic boards.

OR Tambo spokesperson Nothemba Noruwane said they did not know who was responsible for the "greeting".

Noruwane said: "We are still trying to find out what happened ... who put those words on. Many workers had access to the system and the matter is under investigation.

"Many workers' access to the system has been revoked and only a few Acsa members now have access to the system," she said.

According to the Airports Company of South Africa, the incident happened earlier this week.

Police 'shocked' by crime spree

2007-12-14 10:48

Pretoria

Police on Friday said they were shocked by the senseless violence during a three-hour crime spree in the quiet suburb of East Lynne, which left four people with gunshot wounds.

Two robbers hit three houses within three hours during the bloody rampage, stealing two cellphones, almost raping a woman and hijacking a car.

"I can't understand that," Inspector Klaas van der Kooi told News24 on Friday. "I was shocked."

The robbers hit shortly after 20:00, when they attacked an elderly man and his son-in-law in a house in Swan Street. They entered the house and left with only a cellphone.

'She screamed'

They then moved on to Stormvoël Drive, where one of the suspects attempted to rape a woman. Her screams alerted a friend, who was shot as he came to her rescue. He was wounded in the leg, but is in a stable condition, police told News24.

Police are following up leads after the car of a 22-year-old woman, who was hijacked in the last incident, was found without wheels in a maize field near Marble Hall in Limpopo.

"We got several leads from that," said Van der Kooi. Police will use the evidence gathered to trace the robbers, who are still at large.

The woman was rushed to Pretoria Academic Hospital in a serious condition after being shot. She was targeted while parking her car at her home in Hans Dons Drive.

"They didn't ask anything, they just started shooting," said Van der Kooi.

Gert Otto, a neighbour, noticed two men running down the street. "One of them had a firearm and fired three shots into the passenger side of the car."

Initially their shots missed the woman, but the robbers then pulled her from the vehicle and shot her several times before fleeing in the car.

Serious but stable

A hospital spokesperson told News24 on Friday morning that the woman was in a serious but stable condition.

Police are investigating three cases of armed robbery, a hijacking, and four cases of attempted murder.

"From time to time things happen, but people getting shot like this, it doesn't happen on a daily basis," said Van der Kooi.

Crisis at JHB hospital

Last updated: Friday, December 14, 2007

Only four lifts, out of 21, are operational at Johannesburg General Hospital, the hospital's chief executive said on Thursday.

Extra staff had been employed to carry patients up and down the stairs, said Sagie Pillay.

"If we have to carry the patients, then that is what we will do. We have signs posted that the lifts are not working and apologise for any inconvenience caused. The matter is receiving our highest attention," he said.

According to the Democratic Alliance's provincial health spokesman, Jack Bloom, the department of public works was to blame for the problem.

Contracts cancelled
"They (the department) cancelled all contracts with lift companies earlier this year.

"Since then there have been constant problems getting contractors mandated by the Public Works Department to service and repair lifts," said Bloom.

He said he had received reports from hospital staff saying that they were experiencing difficulty in getting patients from operating theatres to the intensive care unit.

A crisis
"With so many lifts out of order, what was an inconvenience has become a crisis. Action should be taken immediately," said Bloom.

The department of public works was not immediately available for comment. – (Sapa)

Zim elephants shot for food

2007-12-18 08:46

Harare

There is such an acute food shortage in Zimbabwe that people are resorting to shooting elephants to stave off the hunger.
Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said game poaching had increased in the past three months.

A recent report noted that 900 elephant carcasses had been seen from the air over Chisarira Park in the northwestern region of Zimbabwe.

The official who compiled the report said there were more carcasses than live animals in the park.

A tourist has reported seeing three elephant carcasses in Hwange National Park.

The carcasses had been stripped to the bone.

Elephant stoned

The official report noted: "The continuing food shortages in Zimbabwe are forcing residents to act like barbarians."

One Kariba elephant, which was being stoned by about 30 people, fled in panic and fell into a ditch, where the stoning continued.

While some people ran to help the elephant, the original attackers just stood there waiting for the animal to die so they could get at the meat.

Zimbabwe's severe food shortages have been felt worst in the rural areas.

Meat is a luxury in most households

'Investors are concerned'

2007-12-18 19:41

Polokwane

South Africa's ruling Africa National Congress is unlikely to change economic policy regardless of who wins the leadership, a senior official said on Tuesday.

A heated leadership battle at an ANC congress in this northern town is expected to end on Tuesday with the ousting of President Thabo Mbeki by party deputy leader Jacob Zuma.

If Zuma wins, he is likely to succeed Mbeki as head of state in 2009 and some investors fear he will tilt the booming economy to the left.

ANC Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe said economic policy was up to the decision-making body of the party, the National Executive Council (NEC), which did not have differences.

"At the moment, there are no ideological differences. The differences are based on personalities and will not impact on policy at all. The policy is in place and intact," he told reporters.

Motlanthe is the favourite to become the party's deputy president, enjoying support from both the Zuma and Mbeki camps.

Some investors have raised concerns that a Zuma win could see economic policy shift towards his staunch backers, the trade unions and Communist Party.

Motlanthe said the trade union federation Cosatu could not vote in the election.

"There is no room for payback...Cosatu has no voting rights so there is no way they can claim 'we put you there'" he said.

"Investors are concerned... (but) basic policy will not change. The NEC sub-committee on economics pays attention to these issues," Motlanthe said.

Earlier, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils also said economic policy would not change under Zuma.

"Whoever is elected is bound by policy of this conference," he said.

Mbeki is unpopular with the party rank and file for business-friendly policies they believe have delayed delivery of the fruits of majority rule to millions of poor blacks.

Zuma has stressed he will not deviate from ANC policy, and analysts say markets are prepared for his probable victory.

Cosatu has called on the government to loosen monetary policy and ramp up spending to help spread the benefits of an economic boom to millions of poor and unemployed people.

Senior officials including Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and central bank Governor Tito Mboweni have said in the past that South Africa will continue on its economic path regardless of who wins the ANC's top post.

- Reuters

SA heads into uncertainty

2007-12-19 09:03

Polokwane

Left-wing populist Jacob Zuma has won the leadership of the ruling ANC, lining him up for the presidency of the country but creating deep uncertainty about his policies.

The African National Congress dominates South African politics, so Zuma is almost certain to become head of state when his ousted ANC rival, Thabo Mbeki, has to step down as president in 2009.

Zuma's win on Tuesday raises the question of whether Mbeki will become a lame-duck president, paralysing decision-making because the country's two most powerful posts will be split between rivals once united in the fight against apartheid.

Corruption charges

Adding to the uncertainty, Zuma could face revived corruption charges in an arms scandal, raising the possibility that he could be jailed before he succeeds to the presidency.

"We can anticipate this conflict extending over the next two years. It is going to be particularly precarious when Jacob Zuma gets charged, if he does get charged over the corruption scandal," said political analyst Adam Habib.

Senior ANC officials said Zuma's election was unlikely to lead to a shift in economic policy. "At the moment, there are no ideological differences ... The policy is in place and intact," said ANC deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe.

Some analysts had raised concerns Zuma would tilt Africa's largest economy to the left, although he has tried to reassure investors. Mbeki took a pro-business stance and the economy has registered its longest period of growth in the past nine years.

Market reaction to Zuma's win was muted. The rand was about two cents firmer, trading at 6.8999 against the dollar two hours after the results were released.

Fears of a move to the left

"The focus now is going to be on learning about Zuma's vision for the country and his likely choices for close political and economic advisers," said Absa Capital's head of research, Jeff Gable.

Some investors were worried Zuma would tip policies towards those of his staunch supporters, the country's powerful trade unions and Communist Party, who have railed against Mbeki's pro-business stance.

Trade union federation Cosatu has called on the government to loosen monetary policy and increase spending to bring the benefits of an economic boom to millions of poor and unemployed.

But Motlanthe said the new ANC leadership would not be in debt to the unions. "There is no room for payback ... basic policy will not change," he said.

There are fears a leadership paralysis could delay action to deal with the country's Aids crisis, one of the world's worst crime rates and poverty that still blights the lives of millions of blacks more than a decade after the end of apartheid.