Tokyo's R72,000 a day on wining, dining and hotels

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Tokyo Sexwale's ministry of human settlements spent an average of R72000 a day over 103 days on wining, dining and hotels.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3wrd0GLEsryCe_E_PgDX4GCGgTQE8e7Q_harZcnZAU9Pjw0mzXVJkFTZBJT7y_Y0l_iOa_0Res8gAEdRyMWMb2D7TnIxvZP1gyL14HUarofc7_QWJ_YuSG-GTQE-4ut0C3Kn1j4e7a8/s1600-h/human-settlements-tokyo-sexwale.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402251922916229234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3wrd0GLEsryCe_E_PgDX4GCGgTQE8e7Q_harZcnZAU9Pjw0mzXVJkFTZBJT7y_Y0l_iOa_0Res8gAEdRyMWMb2D7TnIxvZP1gyL14HUarofc7_QWJ_YuSG-GTQE-4ut0C3Kn1j4e7a8/s400/human-settlements-tokyo-sexwale.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 198px" /></a>In the past seven months Sexwale, his deputy Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, the director-general, Itumeleng Kotsoane, and his deputy spent more than <strong>R7.4-million on hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel.</strong><br /><br />Between April 2008 and October 20 this year, <strong>R59-million</strong> was spent by the department.<br /><br />This emerged in a written parliamentary response to questions posed by the DA.<br /><br />In the past seven months, Kotsoane splurged close to R30000 in restaurants and more than R1-million on travel, while his deputy spent R800000 on travel.<br /><br />The department of public works spent <strong>R132-million</strong> in one financial year on travel, hotel accommodation and restaurants.<br /><br />Spokesman Lucky Mochalibane said the department had "remained within the budget under goods and services".<br /><br />Between April and October this year, more than <strong>R8-million</strong> was spent on hotel accommodation and restaurants, while <strong>R24-million</strong> was spent on travel.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p></p>

Tokyo's R72,000 a day on wining, dining and hotels

Tokyo Sexwale's ministry of human settlements spent an average of R72000 a day over 103 days on wining, dining and hotels. In the past s...

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Political intervention in Eskom saga under scrutiny

<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Zuma intervenes in the governance and running of Eskom</span></strong></span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIF_Qj8JJZU9yzKOQhkk0IHSrRp0iC6iTY-JkfudOnioHMF1WHmtuprh_-VmCYwC3eZeaeBxMvmiCTR-W-1xHD3xxllI98z0GIZDexo6SGkxCX5YLLoFNk7YfxIMaePM2rXBOyH5dWcI/s1600-h/ANC-ESKOM.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402210383989476114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIF_Qj8JJZU9yzKOQhkk0IHSrRp0iC6iTY-JkfudOnioHMF1WHmtuprh_-VmCYwC3eZeaeBxMvmiCTR-W-1xHD3xxllI98z0GIZDexo6SGkxCX5YLLoFNk7YfxIMaePM2rXBOyH5dWcI/s320/ANC-ESKOM.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 318px" /></a>The latest developments at Eskom are a "complete disaster", analyst Adam Habib said after Eskom chairperson Bobby Godsell resigned on Monday and CEO Jacob Maroga returned to work after his own apparent recent resignation.<br /><br />"Now we've clearly got a public crisis at the level of Eskom," said Habib, deputy vice-chancellor of research at the University of Johannesburg.<br /><br />"Now they are under the scrutiny of national and international media."<br /><br />He said that even if there was no political intervention, as speculated, Monday's developments created this perception after the African National Congress Youth League's insistence that Maroga had not resigned.<br /><br />"It's hard to figure out what's going on. Clearly there was a dispute between Godsell and Maroga, and the CEO seems to have taken precedence."<br /><br />He said that either the chairperson of the board made the announcement of Maroga's resignation without a mandate, or he had a mandate and then the board acted against him, or the board was overridden by a higher authority.<br /><br />"I don't know which scenario is accurate. We have got a disaster on our hands -- you cannot continue with crisis after crisis after crisis in public institutions."<br /><br />He cautioned against blaming the race question for the controversy, saying that Godsell was liked within the ANC and the labour movement.<br /><br />"I think it is quite a big blow that Godsell has resigned," said Investment Solutions economist Chris Hart.<br /><br />"It appears as though the authority of the board is being undermined. The corporate governance at Eskom seems to have been rocked very badly."<br /><br />Godsell announced to Eskom staffers on Thursday that Maroga had resigned but, shortly after that, Godsell called off a media briefing on the matter.<br /><br />Confusion reigned when the ANCYL said Maroga had not quit, until Eskom told the South African Press Association on Monday morning that Maroga was indeed still at the helm of the state utility. At about the same time, public enterprises spokesperson Ayanda Shezi confirmed Godsell had resigned.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Political pressure on Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell to resign</span></strong></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />Kruger International economist Ulrich Joubert said: "The implication is that there was some political intervention ... it will be a serious pity if this is the case.<br /><br />"It would raise a few eyebrows in the investment world. Normally, financial markets do not like political intervention."<br /><br />The Star reported on Monday that President Jacob Zuma had met with Godsell on Sunday afternoon, in an apparent departure from his stance not to interfere in state enterprises.<br /><br />Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan last week denied Zuma had interfered in the Maroga saga.<br /><br />Earlier this year, the Presidency distanced itself from a bid by Transnet executive Siyabonga Gama to get his job back.<br /><br />"The governance of state enterprises as a whole may well have been affected badly [by Godsell's resignation]. It appears as though the authority structures have been usurped," Hart said.<br /><br />"Where you have a board that reports to Cabinet, that is accountable to Parliament, that kind of authority structure seems to have been undermined.<br /><br />"We are not receiving credible explanations for this. It seems the board has been paralysed by the machinations of the past few weeks," said Hart.<br /><br />Shezi could not say by 3pm on Monday afternoon whether the rest of the Eskom board had also quit.<br /><br />Vytjie Mentor, the chairperson of Parliament's public enterprises committee, on Friday criticised the board's handling of the matter.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">CEO Maroga’s “hopeless management” cost the country R50 billion</span></strong><br /><br />Maroga has been head of Eskom in turbulent times marked by rolling blackouts, coal procurement shortages and record-high electricity tariff increases</span>. -- Sapa</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /></p>

Political intervention in Eskom saga under scrutiny

Zuma intervenes in the governance and running of Eskom The latest developments at Eskom are a "complete disaster", analyst Adam H...

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Two more S.African farmers killed: death toll now 3,106 and counting ...

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Two more South African farmers have been murdered - bringing the death rate for white commercial farmers to 3,106 since apartheid rule ended in 1994.</span></strong></span> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qeSNsHUwecMkhrn-P0b6qcYqnQ_lLxBNXkwsvdOKcI3XTygS8RbvEaaeyDiM4UKeBe-DcAk2d6dMJpp5uWnpatxWGovylRYhAEemvpMLbUuq7tfY_bTz1jlpW8HYfg4_HC8kmJTMmB8/s1600-h/FARM-GENOCIDE.jpg"></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwX9FPVd_aQy09pq_3mDFxJu85FqYvfyn7Iq7sfiX38IXjicDXqLxomDMQo6gaJl5OIyyY1aPjCadZvcNWv6CYtOrN5AxZndN1f4w6TgzotFkP1maBitHlxfzh5NoZPAp4tlQRMVQGeQE/s1600-h/FARM-GENOCIDE.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401767473689361362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwX9FPVd_aQy09pq_3mDFxJu85FqYvfyn7Iq7sfiX38IXjicDXqLxomDMQo6gaJl5OIyyY1aPjCadZvcNWv6CYtOrN5AxZndN1f4w6TgzotFkP1maBitHlxfzh5NoZPAp4tlQRMVQGeQE/s320/FARM-GENOCIDE.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 285px" /></a>Farmer shot for DStv</strong> -</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">2009-11-08</span> </em><br /><br /><strong>Durban</strong> - A former KwaZulu-Natal government official was shot dead on his farm near Pietermaritzburg for a DStv decoder, two cellphones and a video player, police said on Sunday.<br /><br />Two armed men confronted Warwick Antony Dorning, 55, and his wife on their farm Adamshurst around 20:00 on Saturday, Director Phindile Radebe said in a statement. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">One of them killed Dorning with a shot to the head, before they made off with the electronic equipment. He was found lying in a pool of blood with a gun shot wound and declared dead on scene. Dorning's wife was unhurt. No arrests had been made. A spent 9mm cartridge was found on the scene.<br /><br />Dorning, farmer and a doctor by profession, was a chief of staff in the KwaZulu-Natal premier's office and retired in July.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Robbers mow down farmer</strong> -</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>2009-10-05 </em><br /><br /><strong>Cullinan</strong> - A farmer was killed when three men robbed his house in Cullinan on Monday morning, police said.<br /><br />Constable Sally Skosana said three men entered the farm north of Pretoria during the early hours of Monday.<br /><br />"The farm owner's wife heard the dogs barking and went outside to investigate. The three men then pointed a firearm at her and entered the house."<br /><br />When the farm owner woke up to investigate, one of the men shot him in the chest and he died instantly.<br /><br />The robbers took off with two cellphones and a laptop.<br /><br />They were said to have earlier broken into another farm house in the area and stolen a rifle.<br /><br />"The owners of the house were away during the robbery."<br /><br />No one was arrested in connection with the incident and police were investigating a case of murder and house robbery, said Skosana.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>6-man gang attacks farmer 70</strong> -</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">2009-10-09</span> </em><br /><br /><strong>Bloemfontein</strong> - Six armed men attacked and assaulted a Free State farmer near Warden and stole an undisclosed amount of money on Friday, police said.<br /><br />Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said six men overpowered the farmer at the farm Skaapskraal at about 11:45.<br /><br />"Steve Minnaar, 70, his wife and some workers were tied up with cables and ties."<br /><br />Mophiring said the men assaulted the victims and stole a firearm.<br /><br />The robbers escaped in a vehicle belonging to a friend of the farmer.<br /><br />"They later stole a Corsa vehicle which was left in Warden," said Mophiring.<br /><br />Minnaar and his wife were taken to a private doctor for medical attention.<br /><br />Mophiring said police were investigating a case of armed robbery and anyone with information about the incident could contact their nearest police station.<br /></span></p></span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>

Two more S.African farmers killed: death toll now 3,106 and counting ...

Two more South African farmers have been murdered - bringing the death rate for white commercial farmers to 3,106 since apartheid rule ended...

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