The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South Africa

  • Xenophobia: Early Warning Unit yet to take off, says envoy

    Xenophobia: Early Warning Unit yet to take off, says envoy

    The Nigerian High Commissioner in South Africa, Amb. Martin Cobham, says the Early Warning Unit (EWU) aimed at checking xenophobia in that country has not taken off.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffery Onyeama,  and his South African counterpart had agreed to set up the unit in the wake of  the xenophobic attacks in February.

    Cobham  told NAN in Pretoria, South Africa,  on Sunday that the mission had written letters to the government on the need to convene the inaugural meeting of the unit.

    He said that  EWU was a mechanism to ensure communication between Nigerians ,other foreigners and the  host authority

    “We have the Nigerian community leadership, staff of the mission, officials of  the host country  and local communities who have face-off with our people,” he said.

    He said that the South African government’s  response to the letter was that it needed political guidance.

    “The Minister of Foreign Affairs came here, worked spiritedly with his South African counterpart to ensure the establishment of this Early Warning Unit.

    “In fact, the minister left here in high spirits with the Minister of  Interior, retired Gen. Danbanzzau.

    “But  regrettably, and till  date, the host country is yet to call for the first meeting.

    “I have written reminders but the excuse they adduce is that they need  certain political guidance to bring about their officials who  will cut across the relevant disciplines to be able to meet with ours,” he said.

    Cobham said instituting this mechanism in time will  go a long way to stem skirmishes in the volatile communities and also prevent  large scale nation-wide violence by  mobs.

    “I want to reiterate the need, at the earliest time, to establish this Early Warning Unit.

    “The mission will continue to crave the indulgence of  the host authority to actualise this unit,” he said.

    Cobham also  said that the mission was on top of the situation and would work hard to ensure that the unit was established.

  • Tunisia, Senegal to co-host 2017 AfroBasket for Men

    Tunisia, Senegal to co-host 2017 AfroBasket for Men

    FIBA Africa, basketball’s governing board on the continent, has confirmed that Tunisia and Senegal will jointly host this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from Sept. 8 to Sept. 16.

    According to a statement by the sports body, the 16 participating teams will be divided into four groups of four teams in the Group Phase of the competition.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Group Phase will hold from Sept. 8 to Sept. 10.

    Senegal’s capital city of Dakar will host two groups, while Tunisia’s capital city of Tunis will host the other two.

    The top two teams from each group will advance to Tunis, which will also host the Final Phase which consists of the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals.

    NAN reports that the Final Phase is billed for Sept. 14 to Sept. 16.

    The bottom two teams from each group in the Group Phase will be knocked out of the competition.

    The participating teams include Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt and Guinea.

    The rest are Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, defending champions Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda.

    Angola was earlier proposed by FIBA Africa to host the tournament, but it later turned out that the country would hold its general elections around the same period.

  • Nigerian firm forms football club in South Africa

    Nigerian firm forms football club in South Africa

    A Nigerian firm based in South Africa, Soldee Group, has formed an amateur football club in that country.

    Doris Solarin, a Director in the firm, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Pretoria, South Africa on Friday, that the club, Soldee FC, was formed in 2016.
    The director, however, said that the club had not been registered with the South African Football Association (SAFA).

    “The Soldee FC is an amateur aside that gives room for youths who have skills to play football.

    “The aim is to prepare such players who want to advance their careers in football. Soldee FC is the stepping stone for such talents and we can comfortably say that the team is doing well,” she said.

    Solarin said the players are from different African countries, including South Africans, who want to earn a living through the game.

    “We have players from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and other African countries in the team.

    “We also have a coach who is in charge of the team. They train regularly and are based in Pretoria,” she said.

    The director said that the players would be groomed to get the opportunity of playing for any South African team.

    “For such players who migrated from different African countries, it will be difficult to make it to top flight football in South Africa.
    “We intend to use Soldee FC to groom them and create that opportunity to get good clubs,” she said.

    Solarin also said the club was in the process of being registered with SAFA.

    “We are in the process of registering the club. We want to be sure that we have the right set of people with the necessary qualities and skills and we want to groom them to certain level,” she added.

  • South Africa culls 260,000 birds to contain bird flu

    South Africa culls 260,000 birds to contain bird flu

    South Africa has culled 260,000 birds so far to contain an H5N8 bird flu outbreak, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana told a news briefing on Thursday.

    South Africa has confirmed outbreaks of avian flu, which is often transmitted by wild birds, on at least two farms.

    Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana on Tuesday suspended poultry imports from South Africa this week after the outbreak.

    NAN reports that South Africa and Mozambique banned poultry imports from Zimbabwe on June 8 after a bird flu outbreak there.

    Botswana, which only imports five per cent of its poultry needs, said it would no longer buy poultry meat, processed products and feeds from South Africa.

    “The restriction is a precautionary measure to avoid equal infection here as well as protect our people,” agriculture minister Patrick Ralotsia told Reuters.

    Zimbabwe imposed a similar ban while Namibia also halted imports from Belgium which has experience an outbreak of bird flu earlier this year.

    South Africa on Monday ended the sale of live hens throughout the country in a bid to control the outbreak that was detected on the farm of a commercial broiler breeder.

    Poultry producer Astral, which had previously confirmed that H5N8 had been detected at its breeding facilities on the outskirts of the Free State, said on Tuesday it had quarantined the affected site and culled 150,000 birds, around six per cent of its breeding stock.

     

  • Bafana legend’s son set for Newcastle United

    Bafana legend’s son set for Newcastle United

     

    Tyrique Bartlett, the teenage son of former South Africa international Shaun Bartlett, is hoping to make an impact in England after being cleared to play for Newcastle United’s academy in the 2017/18 season.

    The 17-year-old signed a three-year contract with the newly-promoted Premier League club earlier this year, but has been waiting for his international clearance before being able to start his new career in England.

    Father Shaun spent six seasons at Charlton Athletic and is the second highest goalscorer in Bafana Bafana history, behind only Benni McCarthy with 29 in 74 caps.

    Tyrique was born in Switzerland while Shaun turned out for FC Zurich, but is also reportedly also a naturalised English citizen after the time the family spent in South London.

    “He’s also a striker, quite explosive and can shoot with either the left or right foot,” Shaun told KweseESPN. “He taller than me, a little over 1.90 metres, so in a way is a different type of player than I was.

    “He’s got a lot of skill and I am sure this is the next step for him to what will be a great professional career.”

    Tyrique was at the University of Pretoria’s academy, where Shaun is head coach of the professional team, when a trial was arranged at him at Newcastle by agent Rob Moore, who also looks after McCarthy and Steven Pienaar.

    “Through Rob and [former Bafana Bafana international] Lance Davids, they arranged the trial and Newcastle liked what they saw immediately. They have given him an academy contract and we are all very excited for him.”

    Tyrique has already turned out for the Newcastle Under-23 side last season, which is coached by former England international Peter Beardsley.

  • World Cup Qualifiers: Cameroon should not be written off, Owolabi cautions

    World Cup Qualifiers: Cameroon should not be written off, Owolabi cautions

    Former Green Eagles wing forward Felix Owolabi on Wednesday in Lagos warned that the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon should not be written off.

    Owolabi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) there should be no room for complacency in spite of Cameroon’s poor outing at the ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup competition in Russia.

    He warned that the Super Eagles would likely meet a more determined opponent in Cameroon during the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo in August.

    “The competition has served as a kind of training for the African champions, even though they didn’t go far in the tournament, but they were resilient.

    “In all of their matches, you can see they weren’t going to back down. It was always a do-or-die situation. They played like it was going to be their last match.

    “Not going far wasn’t good for their reputation, but they still have that never-say-die spirit. That’s the number one thing any good team needs.

    “Their current form shouldn’t be a threat to us if truly we have gone back to the drawing board like the team’s technical crew promised after the last outing against Bafana Bafana of South Africa,’’ Owolabi said.

    NAN reports that the Central African side played a 1-1 draw with Australia, and lost to Chile and Germany to crash out of the tournament.

    Owolabi, whose Green Eagles squad won the 1980 edition of the African Cup of Nations, said the Super Eagles must be thoroughly prepared for the Indomitable Lions.

    “I’m sure the handlers of Super Eagles are paying attention, and I hope they learnt from our last match against South Africa.

    “Experience can never be bought. A good team that will stand the test of time is a blend of young and old. Experience is everything, we shouldn’t ignore that.

    “As for the method of elimination by substitution, it should be a gradual thing. You just don’t change the composition of the team overnight,’’ he said.

  • South African court bars one religion promotion in schools

    A South African court on Wednesday ruled that public education institutions cannot promote any one religion to the exclusion of others, saying to do so was a violation of the Schools Act.

    The Organisation for Religious Education and Democracy (OGOD) had argued that it was in the interest of South Africa’s democracy that public schools not be allowed to favour a specific religion.

    OGOD asked the court to declare unconstitutional the religion policy of six public schools, accusing them of favouring Christianity over other religions.

    The six schools, the ministers of basic education and justice, and the National Society for School Governing Bodies were respondents, local media reported.

    Judge Willem van der Linde said in his ruling that religious observances may be conducted at state or state-aided institutions, as long as they are held on an equitable basis and attendance was voluntary.

    Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga had supported the application, saying schools were not permitted to focus on just one religion.

  • South Africa bans sale of live hens to contain bird flu

    South Africa bans sale of live hens to contain bird flu

    South Africa has banned the sale of live hens throughout the country in a bid to control an outbreak of highly contagious H5N8 bird flu, the government said on Monday.

    The country’s department of agriculture said in a statement that no humans had been affected.

    “Exports of processed poultry products, live chickens and fresh produce will continue depending on the requirements of importing countries.

    “To date, no human cases of infection with avian influenza H5N8 have been reported.

    “However, people handling wild birds, sick or dying poultry must wear protective clothing and wash their hands with disinfectants,” the department said.

    The government said meat from healthy poultry was safe to eat due to strict inspections at abattoirs,

    though people were urged to avoid eating any birds found dead, dying or sick.

    South Africa reported an outbreak this month of H5N8 bird flu on a commercial broiler breeder farm in Mpumalanga province, where about 5,000 birds died and the rest were culled.

    The H5N8 strain has been detected in several countries in Europe, Africa and Asia over the past two years, its spread aided by wild bird migrations.

    Highly pathogenic among fowl, the risk of human infection is low.

    South Africa suspended all trade in birds and chicken products from neighboring Zimbabwe earlier this month after it reported an outbreak of the H5N8 bird flu at a poultry farm.

  • Ford recalls 15,600 cars in South Africa over fire risk

    Ford recalls 15,600 cars in South Africa over fire risk

    Ford Motor company is recalling nearly 16,000 Ikon and Figo models in South Africa due to a potential fire risk, the firm said on Friday.

    The models were built between 2004 and 2012 in India, Ford said in a statement.

    “A power steering fluid leak could result in fumes being emitted from the engine compartment.

    “It may also be possible for power steering fluid to come into contact with the vehicle’s exhaust system components, creating the potential for smoke and in extreme cases, fire.”

    Earlier this year in South Africa, Ford recalled 4,500 Kuga SUVs following dozens of reports of the vehicles catching fire.

  • Zuma: Court rules on secret ballot possiblity

    Zuma: Court rules on secret ballot possiblity

    South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the speaker of parliament can order a secret ballot in an upcoming no-confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma, a move that would open the way for members of his own party to vote against him.

    The ruling might also make it possible to eventually oust the president, who has come under mounting pressure to resign over a string of corruption scandals.

    “Without any fear of reprisals, the secret ballot has been identified as the best voting mechanism” by opposition parties, Chief Justice Mogoeng. Mogoeng said during the court session broadcast live by the television channel eNCA.

    Zuma has already survived several no-confidence motions, but he is now facing increasing criticism within his own African National Congress (ANC).

    The small opposition party United Democratic Movement (UDM), which asked the Constitutional Court to authorise a secret ballot, said ANC members were being threatened with losing their jobs if they voted against the president.

    Analysts say a faction of the ANC could turn against Zuma if the ballot is secret.

    Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete, a member of the ANC, had earlier said she had no powers to order a secret ballot.

    Mbete’s argument had no legal foundation, Mogoeng said, leaving the decision about the ballot in the hands of the speaker.

    The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) proposed the no-confidence vote after Zuma sacked popular finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March, prompting two rating agencies to downgrade South Africa.

    The date of the vote has not yet been set.

    The DA on Thursday called on it to be held as soon as possible and urged all legislators to “vote to fire Zuma.”

    The president’s reputation has been tarnished by a string of scandals, including the use of taxpayers’ money to upgrade his country home and his friendship with the Gupta business family, which has been accused of securing lucrative state contracts in corrupt deals.