PUMA and Arsenal Football Club have today announced a long-term partnership. Effective 1st July 2014, PUMA will become the official kit partner of Arsenal. In addition to producing the playing and training kit for all Arsenal teams, PUMA has acquired wide-ranging licensing rights to develop other Arsenal branded merchandise on a global basis. This new [...]Puma And Arsenal Partnership is a post from: Time-4-Sport


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Teaching and learning at Keledi Middle School in Phokeng, outside Rustenburg, will become more exciting with the donation of 26 laptops to the school. The donation from Telkom forms part of the School Connectivity programme, which aims to contribute to the improvement of education outcomes through...

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The City of Johannesburg says it is working hard to put in place strategies that will help the city adapt to climate change. As the city gears up to host the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Mayors’ Summit from 4 – 6 February, Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau on Tuesday said action taken today could have [...]Strategies to mitigate impact of climate change is a post from: EconSpire


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Keeping track of homework tasks for Grade 11 and 12 students at Alexandra High School, north of Johannesburg, will no longer be a logistical hassle.

This after the Nelson Mandela Homework Diary Project handed over the much needed educational resource to 244 Grade 11 and 300 more to matric learners at the school.

Speaking to SAnews before the handing over, school principal Zoleka Lebelo said: “The homework diaries will help us in terms of enhancing our communication with parents with regard to the learner’s performance throughout the year.

“This educational resource will also empowering learners with life skills and inspire them with the beautiful quotes of our late former President Nelson Mandela.

“I believe this is going to enhance their self-esteem too, but we are also appealing to get more for our Grade 8 and 10 learners to make learning more exciting at our school.”

The school has 1 800 learners and 62 teachers this academic year:

Zann Hoad of the Mandela Homework Diary Project said: “We spent the whole of last year developing a school homework diary with Madiba’s quotes, original Madiba artwork and fabulous content on how kids can get their school work organised.

“One of the biggest problems for South African learners is that they are not organised. They don’t know how to properly plan for their studies, set deadlines and prioritise their school work.”

Hoad said the educational tool will help learners get their work under control.

She said diaries would take learners through a step-by-step guide on how to record their projects and homework deadlines. It also has study tips and a quiz on how to become a better leader.

On the diary, there is also space for a personal test, which links the learner with career opportunities. It also has Madiba’s inspirational words of wisdom.

“We decided to launch this project at this school, which is one of the oldest high schools in this province. When Madiba came to Gauteng from the Eastern Cape, he first arrived in this township,” said Hoad.

Learner Yolelwa Mbobo said he will use his diary to record his daily homework. He liked that it came with quotes from Madiba.

Grade 11 learner Grace Letsoalo said: “With Madiba’s quotes in the diary, there is no way that I can fail to plan and organise properly my school work.”

Floyd Ngwenya, a Grade 12 learner, said: “This is a great move to prepare us to plan our school work just before we go to tertiary and I’m really excited to be one of the learners who received this diary.”

Most learners in South Africa have never had a homework diary, a tool that many take for granted in getting organised, remembering tasks and meeting deadlines.

Organisation skills are an essential tool for effective learning. Case studies have shown that acquiring a simple set of organisational tools can strongly alter a child’s ability to absorb information, manage projects, meet deadlines, plan and manage time – all essential tools for success in learning, work and life. - SAnews.gov.za

Government has reiterated its commitment to deal with water related issues, with interventions already in place to address this.

In a statement on Tuesday, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting CEO Phumla Williams said government has noted media coverage of the issue.

The deployment of technical teams, including engineers, technicians and other artisans to assess the systems in the problem areas, are some of the interventions undertaken to urgently restore water supplies.

“To date, government has announced a capital injection in excess of R500 million to deal with issues of infrastructure refurbishment, operation and maintenance to ensure that such interruptions in the water supply do not recur,” said Williams.

In areas like Madibeng in Brits, the national Water Department has installed new pumps in the treatment plan and has fully restored the functionality of the system.

In partnership with Eskom, a leak detection exercise is being conducted to check if there are leaks, which can be fixed to maximize the yield of water in the system.

There were various causes of the water issue, some of which can be remedied over the long term.

“The facts must be separated from alleged statements, so that we have a well-informed citizenry. Yes, there are challenges, some of which are historical and others pure negligence. However, government has put in place the Municipal Systems Amendment Act ,which aims to fix non-functioning municipalities and eradicate corrupt and errant managers in local government,” Williams said.

The Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant that has been running for over 10 years in building infrastructure for bulk water distribution also adds to interventions by government. Another is the Municipal Water Infrastructure Grant, whose main aim is to serve outlying areas that either experience erratic supplies.

“These programs have to be seen in an integrated way as a system that works together to provide the water infrastructure and services for all South Africans. There are areas that are still not served that experience water shortages.

“Others experience these interruptions because of inadequate old infrastructure problems. It is these areas that need our attention the most and with our long term plans implemented, the country should be able to deal a final blow this problem,” said Williams.

The National Water Resource Strategy, which aims to ensure that national water resources, is another intervention of government.

“Government calls on all communities to use water sparingly, as South Africa is a water scarce country. Communities play an integral part in curbing water pollution and starting the fight against human negligence,” said Williams. - SAnews.gov.za

The CEO of the Local Organising Committee of the CHAN 2014, Mvuzo Mbebe, has expressed his full satisfaction with the high quality football that has been on show from the onset of the tournament.

“We said it at the beginning that when CHAN leaves these shores, it will be viewed as a totally different tournament.

“We confidently dubbed it Africa’s Home Champions, with the aim of elevating it to a level that is befitting to the rich football talent that Africa possesses.

“Not only have we witnessed great football but once again, Africa has stood up and united at various stadiums to show their love and support for the beautiful game.

“We are at the final stages of the tournament and we now challenge Africans to come out in their numbers as we witness another African giant arise in the form of CHAN,” he said.

Mbebe’s sentiments were echoed by CAF Secretary General Hicham El Amrani, who said: “We are quite satisfied with what has been displayed so far on and off the pitch.

“As we enter the semi-finals, we are confident that the best is yet to come. We hope that fans will come in their numbers to Mangaung to be part of the history, enjoy the games and see how Africa is gifted with talented young players.”

Standing at a record total of 72 goals being scored after 28 matches, the Orange CHAN 2014 is currently averaging at 2.6 goals per match, an impressive record compared to the recently held AFCON 2013 with its 2.16 goals scored for the whole tournament.

The quality and commitment from the players eager to lift their nations’ flags high up into the African skies is testimony to outstanding display of pure African football talent.

CHAN has affirmed CAF’s vision of celebrating Africa’s Home Champions where locally based players are given the opportunity to showcase to their world their talent.

Equally the outstanding leadership of the three coaches, who are nationals of the teams proceeding to the semi-final Stephen Keshi for Nigeria, Ian Gorowa of Zimbabwe and Maxwell Konadu from Ghana are true testimonies that when national duty calls and nations pride is at stake, they have lived up to the occasion.

Football lovers have also witnessed some exciting talent emerging during the tournament with the likes of Nigerian sensation Christantus Uzoenyi, who has been a livewire for the West Africans, scoring three vital goals.

Young Zimbabwean shot-stopper George Chigova has been outstanding, with him only conceding a solitary goal for the Warriors.

Abdelsalam Omar has also been in fine form for Libya, hitting the back of the net three times while Richard Mpong’s consistent performance has been instrumental in the Ghanaian team.

Tomorrow, Nigeria will face Ghana, while the Warriors of Zimbabwe (amaZim-zim) will take on Libya in the highly anticipated semi-finals at the Free State Stadium at 5pm and 8:30pm respectively. - SAnews.gov.za

President Jacob Zuma has congratulated Ladysmith Black Mambazo on their fourth Grammy Award win.

“We speak on behalf of government and the entire South African population when we say that Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents some of the best that has ever come out of South Africa. Their music has sustained the country over the years and it is made much more pleasant by the fact that they started out of nothing and made something out of it,” said President Zuma on Tuesday.

The acapella group won its fourth Grammy Award in the music industry’s most important night of reward and recognition in Los Angeles, the 56th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, in the US on Sunday evening.

Zuma said the group’s music was not only enjoyed by South Africans but that it’s also known by the entire world.

“We are also more than heartened that they dedicated both the winning album and the Grammy Award to the memory of former President Nelson Mandela. We would like to congratulate Ladysmith Black Mambazo on behalf of the South African nation. They have made us truly proud to be South African,” President Zuma said. - SAnews.gov.za

The North West Provincial Disability Rights Conference is expected to develop a clear plan that will enable the province to accelerate the revised Job-Access Plan targeting employment for people with disabilities.

The two-day conference, hosted by the North West Provincial Government through the Office on the Status of Persons with Disabilities (OSPD), will start on 30 January.

During the conference people with disabilities will be offered a platform to share their experiences with all sectors and map the way forward on how their challenges could be addressed.

Speaking ahead of the conference, North West Premier Thandi Modise said: “We are confident that delegates at this conference will emerge with a clear plan that will enable the province to accelerate implementation of the revised Job-Access Plan, which is targeting employment of over 1 200 additional people with disabilities by the provincial administration within the next seven months.”

She said the conference will also endeavour to create alignment between Disability Plans and the National Development Plan (NDP) and generate a Five-Year Disability Rights Plan for the province.

The NDP acknowledges that many persons with disabilities are not able to develop to their full potential due to various barriers, resulting in them often being viewed as being unproductive and a burden.

The NDP also highlights physical, educational, communication and attitudinal barriers as challenges that need to be addressed.

The conference, which will be attended by all major provincial role players, is scheduled to be held at Mmabatho Convention Centre, Mahikeng. – SAnews.gov.za

The State of the Nation Address, Budget Speech and a conference in support of the people of Cuba, Palestine and Western Sahara are some of the highlights on Parliament’s first term programme for 2014, as it races against time to finalise its work before the end of this administration.

While some committees have already been at work since the start of the year, mainly attending to public hearings, the first term programme starts today.

Preparations for the State of the Nation Address, which will be held on 13 February in a joint sitting of the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), are at an advanced stage, Parliament spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs says.

It will be President Jacob Zuma’s last State of the Nation Address to the fourth democratic Parliament, before the fifth democratic Parliament is established after the general elections this year.

The occasion – a highlight on the Parliamentary and political calendar - will again take place in the evening.

This is to afford people an opportunity to follow the proceedings, which will be broadcast live on radio and television and a number of big screens countrywide.

“Members of the public, seated in the public galleries of the NA Chamber when President Jacob Zuma delivers the address on 13 February, will be able to have the address interpreted in any of our 11 official languages. This is one of the features of the major audio and information technology upgrade, completed in the NA Chamber over the past three months,” said Jacobs.

The week preceding the State of the Nation Address is quite full, with, among others, the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development scheduled to receive a briefing by the Department of Police on the nomination of Robert McBride to head the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

Also in that week, the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation has scheduled a conference in support of the people of Cuba, Palestine and Western Sahara.

In the run-up to the election and the dissolution of the National Assembly, a number of outstanding Bills remain to be processed. The National Assembly has 24 Bills and the National Council of Provinces has 18 to wrap up.

The programme for Parliament, agreed to in December by the multiparty Programme Committees of the National Assembly and the NCOP, also provides for questions to be put to the Executive during this term.

In 2013, there were 10 question days with 3 207 written questions and 366 oral questions put to the Executive.

According to Jacobs, of the oral questions, 18 were to the President (all replied to), 12 to the Deputy President (all replied to) and 336 to ministers.

Parliament’s records showed there was one oral and 29 written questions, to which ministers did not reply.

Parliamentary debates in 2013 included the safety and security of women and children; a statement from the Minister of Health on HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis; the use of the South African Air Force Waterkloof Base; the centenary of the 1913 Natives Land Act and the relevance of the National Key Points Act in a democratic South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za

Xi’an – China will wage a war against poverty with a stronger resolve and prevent it from afflicting future generations, Premier Li Keqiang has said. High economic growth since China adopted reforms and opened up more than 30 years ago has helped lift almost half the nation’s population out of poverty. This is due to [...]China to wage war against poverty is a post from: All4Data


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