President Jacob Zuma says he is happy with the progress made in the multi-million rand infrastructure upgrades in the Eastern Cape.

Speaking at the launch of several infrastructure projects that cut across water, electricity, roads and transport, Zuma said while there have been constraints that have caused delays in the delivery of services, government was committed to roll out services to priority areas.

Zuma said this when he launched several infrastructure upgrades in Mthatha in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality on Friday.

“Today, we came to inspect and officially launch infrastructure projects related to water, electricity, roads and transport. As you are aware, work is continuing to improve the infrastructure and the living conditions in Mthatha.

“We are also looking at improving housing but are constrained by the land issue, which has not been resolved yet. Today’s programme demonstrates government’s seriousness in extending services that improve lives.

"A lot has been achieved already in 19 years (of democracy) and much more is still being done,” he said.

This comes after Zuma was not impressed with the progress made in 2010 when he went to the area to evaluate several infrastructure projects.

He unveiled several projects, including the completion of the Thornhill substation, which was upgraded at a cost of R40 million.

Zuma also officially re-opened Mthatha Bridge, which was expanded at a cost of R108 million, to ease traffic congestion and travelling time to town.

He also said government had put out a R200-million tender to upgrade the Mthatha airport, and the improvements to be done will include building a new car hire facility with a separate parking area and wash bay; a new security fence around the whole airport, with a parallel security road with lighting; heightening the control tower; landscaping around the new terminal building and the renovation of the existing cargo building.

Zuma also said he was happy with progress that was made in the construction of two reservoirs at the Mthatha water treatment plant.

He said several other electricity grid upgrades and electricity connections to households had created hundreds of jobs in the area.

“Government has prioritised electricity provision in the least electrified provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, focusing specifically on the building of network capacity in these provinces to support additional connections.

“Work is continuing to improve infrastructure and the living conditions in Mthatha. We are also looking at improving housing but are constrained by the land issue, which has not been resolved yet.

“A lot has been achieved already in 19 years and much more is still being done,” said the President. – SAnews.gov.za

Tickets for the 3rd Orange African Nations Championship (CHAN 2014) go on sale on 29 November and will cost as little as R40 - up to a maximum of R200.

Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Mvuzo Mbebe told a media briefing on Friday that the tickets will be available at Shoprite, Checkers and all Computicket outlets countrywide.

The tournament kicks off on 11 January 2014, with the final to be played on 1 February. Matches will be played in Cape Town, Mangaung and Polokwane.

“We have applied the principle of a multi-phased discount system for those early birds who are eager to secure themselves the front seat to what we believe will be a spectacular tournament where we celebrate Africa’s Home Champions.

“We hope you will grab this opportunity and get those tickets as they go on sale on 29 November,” Mbebe said in Pretoria.

Today marks the 50-day countdown to the kick-off of the tournament, which will see 16 countries vying for the trophy.

They are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the host nation South Africa.

The CHAN 2014 is an official Confederation of African Football tournament. The playing format is similar to the Afcon 2013 structure with a 16-team format and a total of 32 matches to be played.

Presenting the ticketing structure, Mbebe explained that the tickets will be sold in three discount phases, varying from up 20% discount for the 1st Phase, and up 15% and 10% for 2nd and 3rd phases, respectively.

Category three tickets will not be discounted, except for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The ticket price, Mbebe said, will revert to the standard ticketing structure after the end of the 3rd phase of the discount period on 22 January 2014.

Phase two will kick off on 6 January to 18 January – which will be for those looking for quarter finals, semi-final and final tickets, without knowing which teams finish 1st and 2nd in each group and who is likely to proceed to the next round.

Phase three will run from 19 January to 22 January – which will be for those looking for tickets after knowing which team is in the top eight for the semi-final and final match, including the 3rd and 4th play-off.

Tournament preparations on track

Mbebe stressed the need for soccer fans to make use of the discounted ticket phases, especially because the tournament starts right after the festive season and at a time when learners go back to school. This will impact on the disposable income of those eager to be part of Africa’s soccer spectacular.

He said the LOC had decided to lower the ticketing structure to make it more affordable to a larger number of soccer-loving fans, especially since the tournament is after the festive season and at start of the academic year.

They had partnered with Computicket as it provides a wider reach in the host cities and can be accessed by football fans from neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia where there are outlets. Security features at Computicket have been beefed up to minimise fraud.

The LOC hoped that football-loving fans will buy tickets and fill the stadiums, said Mbebe.

With regards to preparations, he said they were on track. In July, they launched the volunteer programme and in September, they drew the 16 teams who will participate. In October, they raised the flags of the participating member associations.

This month they are focusing their efforts on marketing, raising awareness and generating excitement about the tournament.

Group A and B matches are set to be contested at the Cape Town and Athlone Stadiums respectively, while Group C and D will battle it out at the Free State Stadium and New Peter Mokaba Stadium respectively.

South Africa were drawn to face Mozambique in the opening match of the tournament, with Nigeria and Mali completing a tough group A. – SAnews.gov.za

Government will on Sunday launch the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign in Mafikeng.

The launch will be led by the Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, along with North West Premier Thandi Modise.

This year’s opening ceremony will take the form of an interactive session with community members. Civil society organisations that are expected to attend include People Opposing Women Abuse, Sonke Gender Justice, Childline, Disabled People South Africa (DPSA), Men’s Sector, Survivor and ex-offenders’ organisations.

The launch will be held at Mmabatho Stadium at 9.30am.

16 Days is an annual awareness raising campaign observed globally. It seeks to address policy and legal issues; as well as campaign for the prevention of violence against women and children and to call for the elimination of all forms of gender based violence.

The campaign runs from 25 November, which was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1999 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. South Africa has added children in the campaign, as there is a growing concern caused by the increasing violence against children.

The campaign ends on 10 December - International Human Rights Day. Other important days commemorated annually during this 16-day period include World Aids Day on 1December and the International Day for Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. – SAnews.gov.za

With matric exams concluding next week, no major incidents have been reported and marking has started in some provinces, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday.

“The matric examinations are currently on-going and we are happy to report that thus far, this year’s National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations have seen no major incidents. The exams will be finalised by the end of the month and we continue to wish our matriculants well,” said the minister.

In an update of the basic education sector, Motshekga said some of the reports of incidents received by her office over the course of the matric exams included pupils falling sick, the tremor that hit Johannesburg on Monday, as well as a pupil going into the exams with a cell phone.

Marking has already begun in Limpopo and Gauteng will follow, while all other provinces will begin marking exam papers by 1 December 2013.

Mpumalanga, which in the past has been beset with the issue of exam papers being leaked, has now resolved the problem.

“It did help that at some stage we took the powers from Mpumalanga … they are now in a state of perfection. They have the best run system. Before the exams, I visited the province and their security features are extremely impressive. We are using them as a benchmark when assessing other provinces,” said the minister.

Following protest action in Bekkersdal in October, matriculants in the area were moved to a special residential camp outside the community so as to ensure that they write their exams without disruption.

Even though the learners were writing at an unregistered centre, the minister was receiving updates from the centre. “I’ve been getting reports that it’s going well,” she said.

Furthermore, a task team has been appointed to look at aspects of the NSC, including the publishing of results in newspapers. The team will report back to the minister in April 2014.

In the meantime, the minister will hold meetings with the Young Communist League and Congress of South African Students (Cosas), who have raised concerns about processes.

Matric results will be released on 6 January 2014.

On what she anticipates will be the pass rate for the class of 2013, Motshekga said: “I don’t want to predict [that].”

The class of 2012 achieved a 73.9% pass rate.

Turning to the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), she said the programme continued to make progress in eradicating schools built from inappropriate structures.

Deputy Minister Enver Surty was today handing over the 18th school in the One School a Week programme. – SAnews.gov.za

President Jacob Zuma has extended his condolences to the families who lost loved ones in a bus crash in Makhado, Limpopo, in the early hours of this morning.

Eleven people were killed and several others injured when a bus crashed into a passenger car on the N1 near Makhado.

The Limpopo Roads and Transport Department said the accident occurred just before the Capricorn toll plaza when the bus, which was reportedly overtaking on the barrier line, crashed into the motor vehicle at about 2am.

The department said five of the deceased were in the car, while six were in the bus.

Reports say six people were taken to hospital in a critical condition. Eleven were seriously injured and 30 people were slightly injured.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, relatives and friends of those who lost their lives during the accident. We wish all 47 passengers who were injured during the crash a speedy recovery,” said Zuma in a statement on Friday.

“We urge law enforcement authorities to play their role in promoting road safety through visible enforcement, but more importantly, we urge road users, especially drivers, to take extra care and exercise utmost vigilance on the road,” he said.

The President said motorists must obey the rules of the road at all times as they were the custodians of the lives of the people on the roads.

“We cannot continue losing people in this manner,'' Zuma said. – SAnews.gov.za

All learners will have textbooks by the start of 2014, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday. “We are confident that at the start of the school year, all learners will have a textbook in their hands,” said the minister, who was briefing reporters on developments at the department. The Department of Education (DBE) [...]Pupils to have textbooks is a post from: All4Data


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Leaders meeting at COP19, currently underway in Warsaw, Poland, must ensure that progress is made with the implementation of decisions already taken under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.

This is according to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, who on Monday departs for the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP19). COP19 will conclude on 22 November 2013.

Under South Africa’s COP Presidency, COP17 achieved a historic agreement, initiating negotiations on a new global legal instrument, applicable to all countries, to be adopted by 2015 and to be fully operational in 2020.

Molewa, who said she expects COP19 to be a difficult meeting, called for talks to ensure that progress is made with the implementation of decisions already taken under the convention and the Kyoto Protocol.

She said South Africa believed that work must advance under the Durban Platform so that negotiations on a new legal agreement can be concluded by 2015.

“This means that Warsaw must achieve agreement on a clear plan for negotiations towards COP20 in Lima, at the end of 2014 and COP21 in Paris at the end of 2015,” she said.

At the COP17 in Durban, negotiations were underway on the next steps to be taken to ensure an effective global response to the global challenge of climate change. COP19 is critical for setting the stage for achieving a global agreement in Paris at the end of 2015.

Molewa said at COP19, South Africa would aim to continue to secure the Durban legacy by showing leadership and seeking creative solutions that build the necessary bridges between what often seems to be contradictory positions.

South Africa will also put forward its candidature to co-chair the Durban Platform negotiations in 2015. - SAnews.gov.za

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