Bafana Bafana failed to open their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign in commanding fashion in group C as they were battered 3-1 by Africa’s number-one ranked, Algeria, in Mongomo stadium, on Monday night.

Despite a bright start by Bafana Bafana, a series of poor defensive errors, a missed penalty and poor goalkeeping cost South Africa three points.

The Desert Foxes goal-stopper, Rais Mbolhi, made a superb save with a slight touch from a powerful shot taken out of the box by Bafana skipper, Dean Furman.


Just before half-time, Mbolhi made two more brilliant saves to deny Bafana Bafana a goal. He snatched the ball from Sibusiso Vilakazi in the box before he blocked Andile Jali’s shot with his leg.

However, in the second half, he was unable to stop Thuso Phala from putting Bafana on the lead in the 50th minute after receiving a back-heel pass from Tokelo Rantie.

Two minutes later, as Vilakazi continued to create more problems for the Algerians, Aissa Mandi brought him down in the box and the referee did not hesitate to award South Africa a penalty.

However, Rantie wasted a great opportunity to double Bafana’s lead when he bloated a penalty over the crossbar.

In the 66th minute, Bafana’s defender Thulani Hlatshwayo brought back the North African confidence when he headed a cross into his own net.

Faouzi Ghoulam received a pass in the box, but Oupa Manyisa failed to stop him from pulling a powerful shot from a close range which proved very difficult for Bafana goalkeeper Daren Keet to stop it.

With only seven minutes from time, a poor goalkeeping error by Keet saw Islam Slimani shooting under his body and into the net.

Following their come-back 3-1 victory, the Desert Foxes are now on top of group C with one goal difference as Senegal beat Ghana 2-1 in an earlier match played at the same venue.

However, all is not lost for South Africa. If they want to proceed to the next stage of the tournament they are expected to beat their toughest opponents Senegal and Ghana on Friday, 23 January and on Tuesday, 27 January.

Winning an opening match has not always guaranteed automatic passage into the next stage as proven in the 2004 Tunisia Afcon, when they beat Benin 2-nil, but still failed to progress to knock-out stages. - SAnews.gov.za

Cuba will this weekend see the 2015 CAMTRI American Cup and Iberoamerican Championships contested in Habana, offering sprint, middle and long distances races for both elite and age group athletes from January 24-25. While Cuba organized an international triathlon that was sanctioned by ITU in 2006, this race marks the first time American triathletes will [...]CAMTRI American Cup in Cuba 2015 is a post from: Time-to-Tri


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The Department of Water and Sanitation says steady progress is being made in providing water to the residents of Mashonamini village, in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality.

The department on Monday said phase one of projects to deliver water to the area has been completed. A total of R601 million has been allocated for phase two of providing water.

“A service provider/main contractor has been appointed on the projects by Rand Water and is expected to be on site by 26 January 2015.

“This work that will start [next] Monday is expected to reach completion in line with the commitment of Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza by December 2015,” the department said.

Minister Mokonyane has also directed that work must be done block by block to make sure that no one misses out on getting clean drinking water.

“The thinking around this process is aimed at reducing the chances of illegal connections by those that ordinarily could have been bypassed.

“Part of this process will include educating the community through water conservation and water demand management efforts, which will seek to support the municipality in addressing such illegal connections,” the department said.

A task team headed by the Director-General of the department, Margaret-Ann Diedricks, has been set up to make sure the project is delivered.

The task team is made up of members from the department, the province, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality and Rand Water.

“The task team will work closely with the relevant local councillors to ensure that the community is kept abreast of all the developments as they unfold. This will include timelines as well as the scheduling and placement of water tankers in the short-term,” the department said.

The department said it remained committed to ensuring universal access to safe water for all communities.

“The community of Mashonamini village is no different and will receive the requisite services as per the directive of Minister Mokonyane and Premier Mabuza.” - SAnews.gov.za

South Africa, the most open country for Foreign Direct Investment in the world South Africa is committed to improving its global competitiveness and reputation with a view to delivering on its growth and developmental imperatives. South Africa continues to compare well with other emerging markets. According to the OECD’s Restrictiveness Index, South Africa ranks among [...] Open country for Foreign Direct Investment is a post from: South Africa Business
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South Africa has deployed its first batch of trained healthcare professionals to work in Sierra Leone, in an effort to help contain the spread of Ebola Disease Virus in the country and other parts of West Africa.

A team of healthcare professionals comprising one medical doctor and about 10 professional nurses were recruited and trained by the Right to Care organisation, and will leave for Sierra Leone on Friday.

Right to Care Chief Medical Officer Dr Pappie Majuba on Monday said there was a lot of response from many South African healthcare professionals who wanted to assist in Sierra Leone, but they could not make part of the first team because of paper work.

Majuba briefed media in Johannesburg about the deployment of the health professionals, which the organisation facilitates in collaboration with the national Department of Health.

“The team will be in Sierra Leone for eight weeks and will be working with professionals who are already on sight in the country. When they return to South Africa, another team will be sent to replace them… it is an on-going process, and the number of professionals will be determined by the response and need,” said Majuba.

He said this was part of South Africa’s effort to respond to a call by the African Union to help Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia contain the disease.

Majuba said healthcare professionals were also briefed about the background of the country to further prepare them with regard to the atmosphere in the country.

The latest World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics show there have been more than 21 000 reported cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and more than 8 300 deaths. According to the statistics, 678 healthcare workers are known to have contracted Ebola and 382 of them died.

The statistics also show that Sierra Leone is the epicentre of Ebola with more than 10 000 known cases.

Majuba said the healthcare workers received intense training in South Africa, and will continue to receive further training in Sierra Leone before they start treating patients.

He added that measures have been put in place to ensure that the chances of healthcare workers contracting the disease are almost 0%.

Procedures at Ebola centres

Majuba told SAnews that in any Ebola hit country, only one Medical Doctor and a maximum of 10 nurses are allowed to work in the centre at a time. He said professionals are allowed on sight with their protective clothes for a maximum of one hour per session.

The professionals take intervals of two hours in between working hours, as the protective clothes are said to be too warm and leave them sweating.

Majuba said there will also be a professional responsible for regularly checking all healthcare workers who work at the Ebola treatment facilities, every day when they knock off duty. He said should there be any suspected cases of a worker contracting the disease, he or she will be isolated and attended to.

Team SA

Amongst those leaving for West Africa on Friday is Ishmael Mbulawa, 27, who works as a professional nurse.

Mbulawa said he is looking forward to the journey to save lives and that he had no fears or thoughts of contracting the disease, as he will be taking all precautionary measures.

He said he prepared his family and friends emotionally, prior to receiving training.

“At the end of the day, I am doing this to save people’s lives and contain the disease. They (his family) should be proud that they have a representative in the team,” said the father of a three-year-old son.

He added that he is looking forward to the experience as it will be his first time working in a life threatening environment.

His female colleague, Neo Mokone, said when she first heard about the Ebola outbreak last year in Liberia, she felt a need to go help in the country.

“I felt a need to go and help as an African and a nurse. I believe that nursing is my calling… we need to contain the disease before it breaks out even further to other countries,” said the 28-year-old Mokone.

She said if people where not so fearful of the disease when it broke out, it would have been contained quickly.

Resource mobilisation drive

Last week, the African Union also launched a resource mobilisation drive through its telecommunications sector, which enables anyone in participating countries to contribute US$1 by sending STOP EBOLA to a specified country code.

The codes in operation are: 7979 for Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, 40797 in South Africa, 6969 in Chad and 1919 in Senegal.

Donations may also be made via the website http://www.africaagainstebola.org. The AU said by donating, each person will be helping to win the fight against Ebola. The continental body aims to send 1 000 health workers to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. - SAnews.gov.za

Pretoria – Admissions and the registration process at higher learning institutions are going well, the Department of Higher Education and Training said on Monday.

“Generally things at all our universities are fine, except in Durban University of Technology (DUT), where there are problems relating to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for returning students. The fund did not pay the last quarter of 2014 and therefore the university is withholding results, thus can’t register students now,” said department spokesperson, Khaye Nkwanyana.

Nkwanyana said the department has directed NSFAS CEO Msulwa Daca to fly to Durban today and sort the matter out as a strike is looming.

Minister Nzimande has also called on student leaders to provide leadership during strikes and not resort to violence and vandalizing of property.

Minister Nzimande made the call during a meeting with Education Alliance at the University of Johannesburg, on Friday, where he presented the 2015 academic opportunities and plans for the year.

Education Alliance is made up of the South African student congress, National Education Health and Allied Workers Union, Congress of South African Students, Higher education transformation network, Higher Education South Africa, Congress of South African Trade Unions, African National Congress, South African Communist Party and Young Communist League.

The Minister insisted that strikes must be the last resort, but negotiation must be a tool used, adding that in an event where this fails, they must escalate issues to the department before striking.

NSFAS budget

The NSFAS budget from the department for 2015/16 amounts to R6.299 billion and comprises R4.094 billion for university study loans and R2.205 billion for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College bursaries.

NSFAS has been allocated over R562.9 million for bursaries for scarce and critical skills for the current year.

Minister Nzimande advised students wishing to make use of the bursaries and enrol for critical skills which include science, commerce, health science and engineering among others.

Other notable donor allocations include funds from the Department of Basic Education (Funza Lushaka), the Department of Social Development and the National Skills Fund.

NSFAS will be funding 205 000 first time entering and continuing eligible students at 26 public universities and 200 000 students at 50 TVET Colleges in 2015 by providing student loans and bursaries totalling over R9.5 billion.

In 2014, NSFAS provided student loans and bursaries totalling over R8.3 billion, which excluded the once off allocation of R1 billion for the servicing of the 2013 shortfall of R700 million and 2014 shortfall of R300 million.

NSFAS has also earmarked R69.3 million in the 2015 academic year to provide financial aid to disabled students in universities. – SAnews.gov.za

Winter arrived for the first time at Croft Circuit just in time for Darlington and District Motor Club’s annual Autogas 2000 Jack Frost Stages Rally with the unexpected snow but it didn’t stop Carnforth driver Arron Newby along with co driver John Cope taking their Subaru to an impressive win, eventually edging out three times [...]Arron Newby Wins Jack Frost Stages is a post from: AutonSpire
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The Spur Cape Summer Trail Seriesâ„¢ kicked off Wednesday evening as more than 900 trail runners descended on the Tygerberg Nature Reserve. This race is already known as the toughest one of the Series but the soaring temperatures made it an exceptionally difficult day out for most. However, the winners made it look easy as [...]Cape Summer Trail Series 2015 kicks off is a post from: Trail Running South Africa
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Madrid, Spain (16 January 2015) – The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today opened bidding for the 2017 ITU Multisport World Championship Festival. The inaugural championship event will see Duathlon, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Long Distance Triathlon World Championship races contested over a ten-day celebration starting in 2017. Â* “Combining all of these World Championship events [...]ITU Multisport World Championship Festival bidding opens is a post from: Time-to-Tri


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XTERRA legend Conrad Stoltz will kick-start the 2015 season in Buffelspoort (North West Province) when he toes the line at the much anticipated TOTALSPORTS XTERRA Full presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT on Saturday, 24 January 2015. Stoltz started his XTERRA career in Richmond in 2001 when searching for a way to get motivated after the 2000 [...]Caveman ready for Xterra 2015 is a post from: Trail Running South Africa
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