Pretoria - Over 700 000 people are receiving antiretroviral (ARVs) treatment as the Gauteng Department of Health continues its fight against the scourge of HIV and Aids.

Since the inception of the programme in 2004, over 700 000 people in the economic hub of the country are on ARVs.

The department said the stigma and discrimination still remains a major challenge in communities and it contributes to denial and non-acceptance on one’s HIV positive status.

“Some of the HIV positive patients do not disclose their status for fear of rejection and discrimination. They provide incorrect residential addresses when seeking treatment which makes it very difficult to trace them when they do not come for follow up treatment,” MEC Hope Papo said on Wednesday.

To intensify adherence to treatment, the department is implementing a ward based outreach programme to assist with the tracing of patients who do not return for follow up treatment.

Earlier this month, the department awarded certificates to 270 professional nurses who had successfully completed training on Nurse Initiated and Management of ARV Treatment. These nurses are now qualified to initiate ARV treatment and they will be placed at various ARV sites in the province to improve services.

“Our efforts are beginning to bear the result, during the 2010/11 financial year, the province had 77 ARV sites and today this number has increased to 378. The rate of mother to child transmission of HIV has also dropped from 9% in 2009 to 2.9% in 2012,” said Papo. - SAnews.gov.za

The fifth Wildcoast Wildrun, organised by Wildrunner, came to an end on Saturday, 21 September when 69 exhausted but ecstatic runners arrived at Hole-in-the-wall after running 112km over three days. The event started at the Great Kei River Mouth on Thursday, 19 September with runners from all over the country converging on the small town [...]Records at Wildcoast Wildrun is a post from: Trail Running South Africa


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Entries are now open for the New Balance Trail Run presented by ISUZU.Â* Taking place at Buffelspoort Dam (North West Province) on Sunday, 26 January 2014 and Grabouw Country Club on Saturday, 22 February 2014, participants can choose between two exciting routes. The New Balance Trail Run presented by ISUZU incorporates the trail run routes [...]Entries open for Buffelspoort Dam and Grabouw is a post from: Trail Running South Africa


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Pretoria - As the media speculation continues over the identity of a man resembling the 1976 uprising hero, Mbuyisa Makhubu, Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile, says the nation should wait for official DNA test results.

Makhubu is the one seen carrying Hector Pieterson in the famous photograph taken by Sam Nzima during the Soweto uprising in 1976. After the photograph appeared in the newspapers, Makhubu, who was aged 18 at the time, was harassed by the apartheid security services, forcing him to flee the country.

Recently, a newspaper reported that a man resembling Makhubu is being detained in a Canadian jail on immigration offences. A high-level initiative is being fast-tracked by both Canadian authorities and senior officials from the Department of Arts and Culture to have the man’s DNA cross-checked against Makhubu’s surviving relatives in South Africa.

Speaking to SANews, Mashatile said: “The role of a government Minister is not to speculate, but to tell the nation the truth. Yes I want to confirm that a few weeks ago, we managed to get information that there is someone in Canada who maybe Mbuyisa Makhubu.

“… once we were alerted about this, we needed to check this properly. We’ve been working on this close to a month now,” he said.

Mashatile also confirmed that a team has been dispatched to work with the Canadian authorities to try and determine whether the man in the Canadian prison is the 1976 icon.

“As things stand now, we don’t have an official confirmation whether it is him (Makhubu). We requested the authorities to conduct the DNA test.

“When somebody disappears and if the person is still alive or dead, to confirm the identity of that person, you conduct the DNA test and that is what we are doing as government because we don’t want to speculate,” he said.

Mashatile, who also confirmed that they are in the process of finalising the DNA test results, further said: “as government, we are concerned there are many of our people who have disappeared during the liberation struggle, some are buried in unknown graves, while some we don’t even know their graves, so as government we continue to try to find the whereabouts of all our people ....”

The Minister said once he received the official confirmed DNA test results, he will brief President Jacob Zuma before making an official announcement.

“Once we get the correct and official information to say it is him, I will first brief President Zuma and then we will start the process of repatriation back to Soweto, so wait patiently for … (the) truth,” he said.

Makhubu’s late mother Nombulelo Makhubu told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that the last time she received a letter from him was in 1978 while he was in Nigeria.

“I have heard from so many papers and television overseas and many people have been coming to my house every time around June 16…”

She said all she wanted was to find her son and thought the newspapers would help her.

“My reason for talking to all the newspapers locally and from overseas (was that I) hoped somebody somewhere will say I know (Mbuyisa).

She said she wanted to know if her child was dead or alive and if he died how it happened.

“… I've come here because this is my last hope, that maybe the Commission could help me find out what happened to my child,” she said. - SAnews.gov.za

Pretoria - Education remains a critical tool to equip humanity with the intellectual wherewithal to change human condition for the better, says Deputy President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Venda (Univen), Kgalema Motlanthe.

Motlanthe was speaking at a graduation ceremony of 515 students from the Schools of Agriculture, Education, Environmental Sciences, Health sciences, Human and Social Sciences, Law, Management Sciences, Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Univen on Friday.

“I am confident that this achievement you are celebrating today will go a long way towards eradicating the challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment that still plague our society,” he said.

He said over the years the work of Univen has contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of not only the Vhembe region, but the entire nation, by producing alumni that today occupy significant positions in both the public and private sector.

Congratulating the graduates, the Deputy President said: “We hope too that today is only the beginning of things to come, because collectively education and academic advancement is the greatest gift one can give to a nation.

“Indeed education is a lifelong commitment and as long as someone is willing to teach, someone else ought also to be willing to learn. We wish you the best for the future. Make the University proud by being hard working, innovative, committed, and ethical in your future roles in the workplace and leadership," he said.

The Deputy President said through hard work, commitment and innovation in whatever institutions the graduates will be attached to, they will be enhancing the prestige of the Univen.

Motlanthe also expressed his confident that the graduates will go into the real world to make the nation proud and to fashion South Africa as a winning nation. - SAnews.gov.za

Unique craftsmanship and contemporary sophistication meet in Malo’s new women’s collection, enhanced by the fine crafting and precious details that give new meaning to the timeless charm of cashmere and fine cotton yarns. In a chromatic rhythm touched by natural nuances and light hues, coral, pink and sage lend a fresh feel next to vibrant... [Continue Reading]Malo women’s collection is a post from: FashnSpire


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As the penultimate race of the 2013 World Triathlon Series it’s not surprising that the stars will turn out in Stockholm this weekend. Both the men’s… Time-to-Run – TRI Pre-event Triathlon Series continues in Stockholm is a post from: Time-to-TriTriathlon Series continues in Stockholm is a post from: Time-to-Tri


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A week on from a breathtaking World Triathlon Series finale in London, the development of triathlon across Europe continues at pace in Kladovo,… Time-to-Run – TRI Pre-event Balkan Championships head to Serbia is a post from: Time-to-TriBalkan Championships head to Serbia is a post from: Time-to-Tri


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Pretoria - The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will from Friday, 20 September, suspend new applications for its Manufacturing Investment Programme (MIP).

“The MIP has met with overwhelming interest from industry, with the result that the six-year budget that was set aside for the programme has been oversubscribed.

“This oversubscription has necessitated the suspension of the programme earlier than originally intended,” Deputy Director-General of the Industrial Development and Incentive Administration Division (IDIAD), Tumelo Chipfupa, said on Thursday.

While no new applications will be considered as a result of the suspension, all applications that have been registered on the MIP online system before midday, 20 September, may still be completed by the respective applicants. These applications will be evaluated and considered for support in line with the guidelines of the programme.

The programme’s objective is to support investment in new and expansion projects by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs) in the manufacturing sector.

It was introduced in 2008 and was intended to be implemented until July 2014.

By the end of June 2013, about 2 000 new and expansion projects in the manufacturing sector had been approved, and over R2 billion disbursed to enterprises.

Over 200 (10%) of the approved projects were foreign direct investments (FDI) by either new or already established entities in South Africa.

The expected investment by FDI enterprises supported by the programme is more than R13 billion and over 20 000 jobs are expected to be created and/or sustained by these enterprises.

Among the other highlights of the programme is that more than 1 000 (50%) of all approved projects were by small enterprises with investments of less than R5 million per project. The small enterprises supported are expected to create and or sustain more than 30 000 jobs.

“The dti is in the process of considering amendments to the existing Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) that will enable the continuation of support for newly established manufacturing projects by small and medium sized enterprises. Announcements in this regard will be made before the end of this fiscal year,” said Chipfupa. –SAnews.gov.za

Pretoria – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa says South Africa's overall crime rate continues to decline against the country’s growing population.

Releasing the National Crime Statistics on Thursday, Mthethwa said there were 896 298 serious crime arrests in 2012/13 compared to 777 140 during the 2011/12 reporting period.

Police convicted 352 513 people for serious crimes, while there were 307 580 convictions in 2011/12.

Contact crime has decreased by 38.2% over nine years, 16% during the past four years and 4.2% during the past financial year of 2012/13, said Mthethwa.

While the murder rate reduced by 27.2% over nine years, with a further reduction of 16.6% during the past four years, Mthethwa said there was a slight increase of 0.6% during the past financial year (2012/13). Mthethwa further announced an increase in attempted murder of 6.5% during the past financial year.

He said the police would double their efforts to fight this crime.

“We will work harder to ensure this slight increase is re-routed to the downward trends that we experienced over the past 9 years.”

He said the period had been characterised by growing unity in action against crime, a period focused on improving life conditions for all, especially the poor.

Crimes committed against women also decreased by 11.1 % to 175 880 when compared to the 2009/10 period, when there were 197 877 cases.

Mthethwa says rape has decreased by 3.3% in past four years and 0.4% this year. This number, he said, was still unacceptably high.

There was a 34.6% decrease in ATM bombings, from 399 cases to a reduction of 261 cases.

Mthethwa said the stats were proof that police interventions were yielding the desired effects. However, there was still a long way to go to rid South Africa of crime.

"Our journey since apartheid gives us confidence that we will reach a crime-free society." - SAnews.gov.za