The streets of Durban were teaming with activity on Sunday, 20 July 2014 when over 4000 runners and walkers gathered at the Berea Rovers Sports Club to participate in the annual Totalsports Ladies Race.Â* Irvette Van Zyl (Nedbank Running Club) was the lady to beat, completing the 10km race in an impressive time of 33 [...]Irvette van Zyl takes Durban Ladies Race is a post from: Time-to-Run South Africa


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A little mud has never scared trail runners and the more than 800 runners who showed up for the second race of the Spur Cape Winter Trail Series™ certainly proved their mettle. Those brave souls who weren’t put of by the conditions were treated to a cold, wet and windy run and got to enjoy [...]800 take on Winter Trail is a post from: Trail Running South Africa


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Works by some of the greatest names of Modern British and Irish art will be sold as Bonhams offer works from The Barbara & Arnold Burton Collection in the evening sale on November 17 at 101 New Bond Street. The objects being sold are some of the finest examples of the genre. A sculpture titled... Read MoreGauguin Punch Up at Bonhams is a post from: ArtnSpire


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Davi Kopenawa, shaman and internationally renowned spokesman for the Yanomami tribe in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, has demanded urgent police protection following a series of death threats by armed thugs reportedly hired by goldminers operating illegally on Yanomami land. In June 2014, armed men on motorbikes raided the Boa Vista office of Brazilian organization ISA, which [...]Davi Kopenawa receives death threats is a post from: EconSpire
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Scheduled flights from Skukuza Airport are improving travelling time to the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, one of the country’s most treasured gems in tourism.

The South African National Parks (SANParks), in partnership with the Skukuza Airport Management Company and Airlink, officially launched the scheduled flights at Skukuza Airport on Monday.

Speaking at the launch, Managing Executive of Tourism and Marketing at SANParks, Glenn Philips, said the scheduled flights significantly cut the travelling time from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMI) in Nelspruit.

“Before tourists would land in Nelspruit and drive here, which is about two hours from the Kruger National Park and most of the foreign tourists would complain.

“With this scheduling, people can fly directly here and it will also cut on travelling long distances.”

The construction of the airport started in January 2014 and was open for operation at the beginning of June. The airport currently employs 30 permanent staffers, with the majority of the people coming from surrounding areas. The construction of the runway created 87 jobs.

The construction of the entire airport took six months to complete.

“We started in January but we then had those floods and heavy rains, and that caused bit of delay. We were open for operation by the 2nd of June,” said Philips.

The airport operates two daily flights from OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airport, with scheduled flights carrying between 37 and 85 passengers a day. The airport has one runway that is 1 550 meters long and 30 meters wide.

Philips said the opening of scheduled flights will also increase the number of tourists and help address the problem of unemployment.

“Because most of our airports are in remote areas, it gives us a perfect opportunity to get into those communities and create employment… We are about to build a new lodge in Skukuza with 200 beds,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas have officially opened Transnet’s wagon refurbishment facility.

The two officially launched the Transnet Wagons Refurbishing Facility in De Aar on Monday, which will maintain various types of wagons for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) operations.

This investment of more than R30 million is aimed at increasing TFR’s capacity on the main corridor between Sentrarand and Cape Town, known as Capecor.

This facility has already created jobs and improved rail engineering skills in the area. It has employed 47 people, with 22 of them being from De Aar. It is estimated that about 300 direct and indirect jobs will be created through this facility.

The De Aar wagons depot will be run as a satellite workshop for the Transnet Rail Engineering Beaconsfield Depot in Kimberley and will have a production capacity of 250 wagons per annum.

Additionally, the minister and the premier handed over two houses to families that had to make way for Transnet’s plans to establish a Youth Multi-Purpose Precinct at their dilapidated houses next to the De Aar Rail Station.

Transnet relocated the two families to new houses.

The youth precinct comprises a youth shelter for 20 homeless boys. It aims to take homeless boys off the streets and place them in a healthy environment, from which they can be reintegrated into their families, society or be equipped with self-sustaining life skills.

The precinct also has a youth educational centre offering access to a library, career information, higher education information, health care and more.

The precinct also boasts a recreational park as well as a social club of youth volunteers, who do monthly volunteer activities.

The Transnet Foundation will fully fund the De Aar Youth Precinct NGO for the first three years (2014, 2015 and 2016). During this time, the Transnet Foundation and the board will engage with other potential donors and partners to invest in the precinct.

“Government is committed to revitalising the economy of rural towns such as De Aar, so that we create sustainable livelihoods for the local people. A wagon refurbishment facility will have a long-term impact not only on De Aar but surrounding areas, as it will be a springboard for development within the broader Northern Cape province.

“The establishment of such a facility brings hope to the youth of De Aar to become engineers and better their lives,” said Minister Brown.

The Northern Cape is proud to be host to this facility that will have a positive impact on the people of De Aar, said Premier Lucas.

“We are happy that state-owned companies such as Transnet’s business philosophy are clearly defined in the saying that for the companies to prosper, they need the communities they operate in to also prosper,” said Lucas. – SAnews.gov.za

Building relationships and tapping into new markets are key to exploring investment opportunities in Thailand, as well as the rest of the South-East Asian region, says South African Ambassador to Thailand, Robina Marks.

Marks was speaking at the South Africa-Thailand Trade and Investment opportunities seminar hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

This as a South African business delegation arrived in Thailand for the Outward Selling and Investment Mission (OSIM), where they will profile the country as an investment destination of choice.

Monday’s seminar, which was attended by over a hundred businesspeople, focused on how trade and investment opportunities that exist in both countries could be explored by businesspeople from South Africa and Thailand.

The building of relationships, said Marks, can assist South African businesses in getting a clear view on how their products and services would be received in the South-East Asia markets.

“The presence of local chambers in this investment seminar indicates a willingness from the Thai to support such initiatives and also encourages South African exporters in believing trade and investment opportunities are available in the country,” she said.

South Africa was looking at doubling the trade that is currently skewed in favour of Thailand by 2015.

“South Africa has been a net importer from Thailand for the past decade, and this would not balance the ratio unless we emphasise beneficiation on all products that we export as South Africa,” added Marks.

The Deputy Secretary-General of the Thailand Board of Investment, Chokedee Kaewsang, said investment and export promotion had been placed on top of the Thailand government agenda.

Kaewsang said the Thai government was now looking at South Africa and the rest of Africa for trade opportunities that have growth potential.

“Thai investment policy now includes sectors such as agro-processing, which the country is looking at exports partners in order to service Thailand citizens better,” Kaewsang added.

The delegation will on Tuesday visit different sites covering the various sectors in and around Bangkok that the South African delegation represents. These include agro-processing, jewellery and the automotive sector.

The objective of the OSIM, according to the department, is to create market access for South African value-added products, and services to enter Asian markets- especially for agro-processing, jewellery and automotive components sectors. – SAnews.gov.za

The Gauteng provincial government will over the next five years develop a new Community Policing Model aimed at combating crime.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura said in his Budget Vote Speech on Friday that the model is aimed at improving relations between the community and the police.

Premier Makhura said President Jacob Zuma will ask his office to intervene in the fight against crime in Gauteng.

“I have been in direct contact with President Zuma, who has thrown the weight of his office [behind our fight against] crime,” he said.

Premier Makhura said residents hid criminals in their communities and called for communities to work with the police to root out criminals, and create crime free societies.

“… These criminals are at large and are terrorising our communities. I will be meeting the MEC of Community of Safety, Provincial Commissioner of Police, the senior management and law enforcement agencies to strengthen the fight against crime and build a safe and secure province,” Premier Makhura said.

Community Policing Forums (CPF), the premier said, will be refocused towards conducting oversight of stations and becoming a proper link between stations and communities.

“We shall also strengthen civilian oversight,” said the premier.

Recent hijackings

The premier’s sentiments were triggered by two hijacking incidences that claimed a life of a child, and another being kidnapped over a week ago.

In one instance, four-year-old Taegrin Morris died from being dragged from his mother's car in Reiger Park to Boksburg during a hijacking.

Taegrin was laid to rest on Saturday.

A few days before Taegrin’s death, Mongezi Phike was kidnapped during a hijacking. He was with his father in a car at an intersection in Masada, Bronkhorstspruit, when they were approached by four men.

Mongezi was reunited with his family after four days. - SAnews.gov.za

Sedibeng - Learners in Sedibeng, south of Gauteng, were given a taste of the world of careers and what awaits them after matric.

The Nelson Mandela Career Festival, held at Sebokeng Further Education and Training (FET) college, gave learners from different schools in and around Sedibeng a chance to explore the different career choices available in South Africa.

Joyce Makofane, campus manager at the college, said the career festival was hosted in honor of tata Nelson Mandela.

“The aim of the festival is to make available ample opportunities and knowledge to learners to enable them to make informed career choices.

“The Minister of Higher Education decided to celebrate Mandela Career Week simply because [he understands] education is the building block of civilisation.

“Education … illuminates the world around us. It is the mother of our nation and utata Mandela is the father,” Makofane said.

She encouraged learners to celebrate Madiba’s life by building themselves through education so they can lead the nation into the future and continue on Mandela’s legacy.

“Here at this career festival you are taking the first step towards a better you and a better life for yourself. Take that journey, peruse it with conviction and you surely will be rewarded.”

Mojabeng Lehoko, 18, said the lessons learned at the career festival armed her with the knowledge she needs to achieve her goals and dreams.

“I’ve always been interested in studying Bio-technology so the information I got here has only sparked my interest even more. Having the opportunity to practically explore some of the things I can do with technology and knowing which institutions can help me realise my dream makes me realize how important it is to attend such events,” said Mojabeng.

Students from Boitumelo Secondary School said they were happy to learn of the opportunities available to them in South Africa.

The late Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.”

Mandela Day

Every year on 18 July, South Africans, together with the international community, celebrate Nelson Mandela Day in honour of South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela. This year marks the first time that the day is celebrated without the international icon.

Nelson Mandela International Day (also known as Mandela Day) is an annual international day, aimed at honouring the legacy and values of utata Nelson Mandela through volunteer work.

The Mandela Day campaign message is: “Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes.”

Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact. – SAnews.gov.za

We are often taught that doing something good in someone’s life will make a difference to them. For example, if you help someone paint their home – they will have a home that looks beautiful and you would have contributed to that beauty and the joy it brings them. What we don’t really bank on though is the impact that a single selfless action can have on us.

When I set off to do my 67 minutes for Madiba on 18 July, I knew I would be cleaning an old age home to make a difference in the lives of the elderly there, but what I didn’t bank on was the healing this day would bring me and the peace it would help me make with the loss of my own grandmother.

When I was four years old, my mother abandoned us. It was tragic for my sister and me. My dad took us with him to live with his mother, my loving grandmother, Seinelo Matshediso.

I called her Mme (mother), and all her grandchildren called her that. She was our mom.

We lived in a two-roomed shack owned by my uncle in Thaba Nchu. We later moved to a two-roomed brick house in the same village. My dad stayed in the backroom.

During those days, my grandmother did all the house chores. I loved her cooking. The smell of food from her kitchen made our evenings memorable despite the difficulties we faced as a family. She would bathe me every day until I was old enough to take care of myself.

She later taught me how to slaughter a chicken when I was a teenager.

Every night before we went to bed, we would listen to Mme sing church hymns, before we all prayed as a family.

Like many families in our neighbourhood, on Sundays we all went to church, except for my dad. He played soccer on Sundays.

My grandmother insisted on good principles, discipline, love, respect, confidence and humility.

Even though sometimes I feel she left us too soon, at the age of 83, I will forever cherish the love she gave us as her grandchildren.

I have not been to her grave since then. I feared that I would get flashbacks; and memories of her would come back to me, making me feel ill, depressed and morbid.

Whenever I miss her, I sing her songs to feel her closer and whenever I achieve something I know she is looking over me with pride. You may wonder why I am writing all of this.

I was not prepared really for the flood of memories that washed over me on 18 July. But it was not the morbid type that I had come to dread. When the world set out to do their 67 minutes for Madiba, I found myself with Mme Ellen Masango, a resident at Tender Loving Care Old Age Home in Hammanskraal. The place, I believe, had chosen me; I had not chosen it.

As is synonymous with most elderly folk, the 80-year-old Mme Masango ranted on, hardly stopping for a breath. Or long enough for me to put in my two cents worth. How glad I was that I could be the listening ear that she obviously was lonely for. A smile was permanently etched on her face as she couldn’t contain her delight at the number of visitors she was so blessed to have around the home, all on one day.

“If I could, I would dance… I feel so much happiness inside. We appreciate the visit from all these people and government,” said Masango, who has only been living at the centre for two months.

It reminded me of the joy my grandmother had when I came back home from holidays. She loved having me around. And yes, she also could not stop talking!

So, as I got on with the task of painting the dining hall at the old age home, and washing windows, I did so to the melody of Mme Masango’s lyrical voice. She didn’t care about whether the conversation was boring, or the number of topics she was exhausting, or not completing, before she happily moved on to the next – all she cared about was me as a committed audience. At that moment, I was the centre of her world. And she basked in her own importance. No number of windows I could have washed or walls I could have painted would compare to the importance that showed on her face. Priceless.

When the sun set and it was time for us to pack up – the sun had set too on the restlessness I had felt in my spirit since my grandmother’s passing. I felt a deep peace overcome me. I realised that the spirit, joy, fortitude, beauty and timelessness of the rock I had called Mme was still alive in people like Mme Masango. And if I longed to be touched by that again, all I had to do was take a drive to a place like the Tender Loving Care Old Age Home.

As we drove away from the home, I knew that I could at last visit the grave of my grandmother with a smile, peace and joy in my heart. I am ready. – SAnews.gov.za