A 16-year-old celebrating Diwali will undergo surgery after a firework exploded in his hand, splitting his thumb and finger.

Durban - Teenager Theolan Joseph Anthony screamed blue murder when he saw his right hand covered in blood, seconds after he let off fireworks.

He wailed even louder when his dad applied antiseptic to the burns he sustained after a cracker exploded in his hand on Monday afternoon.

The 16-year-old’s thumb and middle finger split open and a trail of blood followed him as he ran from the roadside where he had been lighting fireworks with friends in Unit 7, Chatsworth.

Theolan will head for surgery this week at RK Khan Hospital for debridement – where the wound will be opened and cleaned. He spent Diwali - a religious occassion celebrated by Hindus - listening to music in his hospital bed.

The right-handed grade 11 pupil at Montarena Secondary will not be able to complete his final-year examination papers. He was to write mathematics paper 2 on Wednesday.

His father, Sebastian, said he could not contact the principal on Tuesday due to it being a school holiday.

Speaking about the incident, the teenager, said: “My friends and I purchased fireworks and were bursting them. I lit the one called Colour Thunder and before I could throw it it exploded in my hand.

“When I looked at my hand I saw it covered in blood. I was in pain as I ran to my house.

“My dad put on an antiseptic and it burned. He bandaged it to stop the bleeding but was forced to take me to the hospital when he realised the injury was worst than he expected.”

It is unknown when Theolan will be discharged.

Sihle Mlotshwa, of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, said Theolan would not be disadvantaged by the incident. He said the parent would need to provide evidence of the accident and arrangements would be made with the principal for the pupil to complete the year. - POST

The sole surviving member of a family who were involved in a horrific accident, has passed away in hospital.

Durban - Teenager Asheen Maharaj, whose parents and sister perished in a horrific car crash last week Saturday, has succumbed to his injuries and died.

He was the sole survivor of a horrific crash, which claimed the lives of his dad Ashwin, 41, mum Ashnie, 39, and sister Ashina, 19, on the N3 near Pinetown.

According to family members, Maharaj’s condition took a turn for the worst on Monday, with the teen being declared brain-dead and hooked onto life support. Doctors had given him a week to improve, before suggesting that his life support be switched off.

The once vibrant teenager, of Newholmes in Pietermaritzburg, suffered severe head and spinal injuries as well as lung damage.

The Grade 10 pupil at Raisethorpe Secondary had been on life support for for 11 days, before he died during the early hours of Tuesday, at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban.

His extendend family have told POST that while they are struggling to come to terms with the death of his parents and sister in the same accident, they are comforted knowing Asheen is reunited with them.

Asheen’s paternal aunt, Anusha Maharaj, said: “We knew our time with him was limited but this did not stop us from praying for a miracle. We often sat by his bedside and reminded him how much we loved and needed him in our lives. But it seems he was wanted more elsewhere.”

She said on Monday night the family stayed at his bedside, once again, where they prayed and recited mantras (devotional hymns).

“We left him at around 8pm assuring him we would be back to visit for Diwali (a religious event on the Hindu calender). We were instead called in the early hours of the morning and told he had passed away. Although these are trying times for us, we will pull together as we know all four of them are reunited.”

“It is going to be difficult to get over all their deaths. The period of Diwali will never be the same for us again.”

Asheen’s cousin Roshnie Ramsamjuh, said: “A week ago we cremated his parents and sister and we are now making arrangements for his funeral.”

Ramsamjuh said they were receiving counselling from Swami Sri MK Anjagan of the Vedanta Institute of South Africa and from their pundit Nishaan Sewpersadh.

She added although they were hurting, Asheen and his family would always be remembered as the light of their lives.

The extended family conducted a prayer on Tuesday)to ensure Asheen’s soul travelled safely into the after-life.

Asheen’s school principal Indran Pillay said he contacted staff members with the news on Tuesday morning.

“We are all in shock. We were certain he would pull through.”

Pillay said since the accident, fellow teachers and pupils held vigils for Asheen.

Dr Jay Matthew, head of the emergency department at Medi-Clinic in Pietermarizburg, said there was no strict criteria in determining whether a patient should be taken off life support.

Matthew, who was not part of Asheen’s medical team, said doctors assessed each case individually and a mutual decision was made with the family.

Asheen will be cremated later this week at the Clare Estate Crematorium. - POST

Three men were arrested for assaulting a shopkeeper and robbing him of airtime and an undisclosed amount of money, KZN police said.

Durban - Three men were arrested for assaulting a shopkeeper and robbing him of airtime and an undisclosed amount of money in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday.

The men, aged between 18 and 25, were arrested for robbing a supermarket on Murchison Road on October 12.

Four men forced entry through the store's security gate and robbed a shopkeeper of airtime and cash. They stabbed and beat him.

The two would be charged with business robbery and were expected to appear in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court soon.

The shopkeeper sustained serious injuries.

Sapa

A 63-year-old partially blind woman has told how she bit a young man who was raping her to make him stop.

KwaZulu-Natal - A 63-year-old partially blind woman has told how she had bitten a young man who was raping her to make him stop.

“I bit him until he stopped raping me,” said the woman, who is from Bhamshela, near KwaDukuza, on Tuesday.

She was raped in her house on Sunday. The 22-year-old suspect, who lived in the same area, was arrested on Monday, and knelt before her to apologise, she said.

Police spokesman Colonel Vincent Mdunge said the suspect had been charged and was expected to make his first appearance in court this week.

In the past three months, six elderly women have been raped in the province. The latest victim said she had got into bed at about 8pm on Sunday when she heard a noise by the window.

“The next thing I knew was that there was this boy on top of me,” she said. “He asked me for money and I told him that I did not have any. He told me if I did not give him anything, he would hurt me.”

Fearing for her life, the woman said she pulled her last R50 from her head scarf that she was wearing, and gave it to him.

“I thought he would leave, but he then told me to open my legs, but I refused. He then forced them open and that is when he raped me,” she said. “I did not want to let him win, so I kept on biting him until he stopped raping me and left through the window.”

After her ordeal, the woman said she went to her neighbour’s house for help and the police were called. Because she was partially blind, she said she did not see the assailant’s face, but saw his shorts and the shape of his head and gave the description to the police. On Monday morning the police arrested a suspect.

“He came to me with the police, knelt down and said he was sorry,” she said. “He violated me in a very bad way.”

The woman, who lives alone, said she was trying to find a companion to live with her, for safety reasons. “I love my home and will not let him [the assailant] chase me out of it,” she said.

A local community leader, Jabulani Mbanjwa, said:

“I don’t know what is happening to our people. We are doing all we can to get her all the help that she needs, and counselling after the rape.”

Daily News

Dozens of ANC members packed the Durban Playhouse to pray for an end to the political violence that has plagued the party.

Durban - When all else fails, turn to prayer.

This is what dozens of ANC members did when they packed the Durban Playhouse to pray for an end to the political violence that has plagued the party and the province.

They also prayed for an end to other crimes, such as the rape of elderly people.

Addressing the meeting, Premier Zweli Mkhize, who is also the provincial chairman of the ANC, said the party was in need of prayer following the assassination of its members – many of them perpetrated by fellow comrades.

“It is bad enough that our members are getting killed, but more painful when the perpetrators are coming from [within] our ranks,” he said.

He implored religious leaders and churches to pray for an end to violence and infighting in the ANC.

“This should not end at this level, but we want it to cascade down to the branches. Please pray for our branches because we want the ANC to survive for another hundred years,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by religious leaders from various faiths.

Mkhize said it was worrying that ANC leaders and members were being killed by their own comrades.

He said greed was one of the reasons why the assassinations were becoming prevalent.

“There is this demon that has infiltrated the ANC, that wants positions and wealth at all costs. Some among us have become more obsessed about our stomachs,” Mkhize said.

“Even at the voters rolls at branches you don’t know who is a member and who is not,” he said.

Mkhize also warned that if the infighting was left to continue, it would weaken the ANC.

“That is why now you see people trying to pass a vote of no-confidence on President Zuma. But we don’t know how they will achieve that when we are the ones who voted him into power,” he said. - Daily News

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has conceded that it may have been premature to protest recently.

Durban - THE African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has conceded that it may have been premature to protest against what it initially believed were attempts to scrap Christian holidays from the national calendar.

“It does seem like we might have jumped the gun on this issue. Our experience has shown that the time to jump up and down is during the early stages of these processes, because if you wait until it goes to Parliament, then it becomes a fait accompli,” said Jo Ann Downs, the party’s national chairman.

This comes after the Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) reacted angrily to the party after its protest march on Saturday.

It said it never wanted to do away with these holidays because that would go against its mandate of protecting all religious groups. - Daily News

A new organisation that aims to stem crime in rural areas has been launched in KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-natal - A new organisation that aims to stem crime in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal was launched on Tuesday.

It is part of a new initiative to take on criminals and curb the rise of vigilantism.

The KZN Community Crime Prevention Association was hailed as a “historic step” in getting communities to work with the police.

MEC for Safety and Security Willies Mchunu said people often took the law into their own hands when dealing with suspected criminals and this initiative aimed to get them to work within the law.

“I admit that some of these [community] structures have become vigilantes who during their operations commit unlawful acts,” Mchunu said.

The association is made up 14 organisations from across KZN. Some of them have been labelled as vigilante groups because of their approach in dealing with crime suspects.

Now they have undertaken to change their tactics and have developed a constitution guiding their operations.

A memorandum of agreement guiding their commitment to a legal approach was signed yesterday by the provincial government and the 14 organisations.

Premier Zweli Mkhize called on communities to work with the police, telling the new association: “I believe that you have an important role to play, not only in terms of fighting crime but to promote the culture of… human rights in the community where we live.”

Mkhize also spoke out against drug abuse and said communities needed to teach values and morals.

The chairman of the new association, Tallman Zuma, said its members needed to “work as one” to fight crime.

Mchunu said the association would be instrumental in building an anti-crime society and strengthening community intelligence in the fight against crime.

“I believe that [such] crime-fighting structures are essential in the fight against crime.

“Crime results in the deprivation of the rights and dignity of citizens and poses a threat to their rightful participation in the reconstruction and redevelopment of this province,” he said.

“The rights and freedoms which the constitution entrenches are threatened every time a citizen becomes a victim of crime.” - Daily News

Thousands of management teams from schools will undergo training to sharpen their leadership and management skills.

Durban - Thousands of management teams from KwaZulu-Natal schools will undergo training to sharpen their leadership and management skills to improve academic performance.

On Tuesday, 566 principals graduated from the provincial Department of Education’s eight-month compulsory principals management development programme.

The programme began with principals from underperforming schools and new appointments, and aims to equip the province’s 5 658 principals, 2 697 deputies and 11 000 heads of department with skills in financial and curriculum management as well as school governance.

The province has about 500 underperforming schools that had a pass rate below 60 percent last year.

The programme, costing R6 million, was run in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Performance Solutions Africa and the Department of Public Service and Administration.

Since the beginning of the year the programme has been run at UKZN during school holidays and weekends.

Department head, Nkosinathi Sishi, said the programme was an investment in deputy principals and heads of department because when a principal retired, they would be able to continue running schools effectively.

“In the last five years, the department has employed many principals,” he said.

“The department is moving away from Saturday workshops and we are setting higher standards. The tendency of sending people to workshops has been criticised.”

The training would take place in phases, with a certain number every year.

Sishi said the province’s top principals would also have to attend the training.

“We don’t want these principals to be stale. From time to time, they need to be given new challenges and we still want them to attend a programme of this nature,” he said.

The management development programme was piloted in 2009, but Sishi suspended it last year because its focus had shifted.

Next year’s intake is estimated at 1 500 members of school management teams.

“If a principal undergoes this training, we demand higher performance,” Sishi said.

Those who failed to complete the training would have to pay the money back to the department.

One of the graduates, Delani Shabalala, principal of Sbambanezulu High School in Umlazi, said the training had made the burden of running the school lighter and it was relevant to the school’s daily operations. - Daily News

Durban actor and playwright Rajesh Gopie’s return to South Africa after a three-year work stint abroad has left him shaken.

KwaZulu-Natal -

Durban actor and playwright Rajesh Gopie’s return to South Africa after a three-year work stint abroad has been soured by criminals – twice – in the past week.

A cellphone snatch and a burglary in which several items, including his portable hard drive containing a decade of work, were stolen, has led the actor to say he realised why South Africans wanted to emigrate.

Gopie, 40, the award-winning former Generations, Scandal, and Zero Tolerance actor, said while people had been telling him to be grateful that he was not harmed, he wanted to know what lesson he could take from his recent experiences.

“I’ve always told people not to have a negative view of South Africa, and then this happens,” he said. “I’m not going to pack up and move to Australia, but I can understand why people run.”

Gopie returned to his Sydenham, Durban, home two months ago after living and working as a stage actor in California.

The house, which he shares with his mother and sister, was burgled on Saturday. He said he lost about R50 000 worth of valuables.

Gopie, away from home at the time, said he received a call from his tenant on Saturday, telling him that his security gate was open.

When he arrived at the house, he saw that the TV, his mother’s wedding jewellery, clothing, blankets, and even pillowcases and towels, had been taken.

“They also took my laptop and my portable hard drive, which had about a decade of work on it, including unpublished poems and new plays,” he said.

“I was in the process of publishing an anthology of poems.”

Gopie also lost a lifetime’s worth of photographs.

“The TV is replaceable, but the work on the drive is my livelihood,” he said.

Gopie said his tenant said he saw a grey Toyota Cressida backing up next to his gate.

His tenant said he also saw five men getting out of the car, and later saw them putting things into the boot.

“We’ve been having a tough time since the break-in. We are constantly on edge.”

On Tuesday, Gopie was robbed of his cellphone while he was driving in Bellair Road, near Cato Manor. “A woman came up to my car and it seemed like she needed help,” he said.

“I got out of the car to help her, and suddenly three men jumped into the car and took my cellphone. Luckily, I had taken the keys out, so they couldn’t drive away.”

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane, confirmed a case of house breaking and theft was being investigated by the Sydenham SAPS. - Daily news

The SPCA reports that more pet owners are becoming responsible with regards to the noise created when Fireworks are used.

Durban - Far fewer pets were lost or injured compared to previous years, said SPCA spokeswoman Caroline Smith.

However, it had not been due to a drop in the use of fireworks – she attributed it to pet owners being more responsible this time around.

“This year, we have sold approximately 14 000 calming tablets and local vets have also been dispensing them,” she said.

The SPCA had four strays brought in, and one had already been collected by its owners by Wednesday morning.

“Two of these strays have microchips and their owners will be collecting them from our shelter in Durban North and Asherville,” Smith said.

She said the final stray, a Jack Russell puppy found in Chatsworth on Tuesday night, had not yet been collected.

“The puppy had critical pelvis and spinal injuries and had to be humanely put down. The injuries are possibly from being hit by a vehicle.”

She said they were still receiving “lost” reports from the public and the trend usually carried on for a week or so.

“One of our Facebook friends posted that she had found her dog dead on the M7 freeway this morning,” she said.

Smit appealed to pet owners who had lost their pets to file a lost report with their local SPCA and vets. – Daily News

More than 5 000 KZN Grade R teachers have threatened to strike over salary adjustments not being put into effect, their union said.

KwaZulu-Natal - More than 5 000 KwaZulu-Natal Grade R teachers have threatened to strike over salary adjustments not being put into effect, their union said on Wednesday.

“When public servants received 2012/2013 salary increments of 7percent with effect from May 1 this year, about 5200 Grade R teachers in the KwaZulu-Natal did not receive increases,” said the National Teachers Union (Natu).

Deputy president Allen Thompson said Grade R teachers were paid R4000 a month, and this was unfair as they did the same amount of work that other teachers in other Grades did.

“This is exploitation at its best and is bad when it is done by the democratically elected government who claim to represent the best interest of the poor and the middle class,” Thompson said.

Natu has a membership of about 90 percent Grade R teachers employed by the KwaZulu-Natal education department, he said.

Thompson said the union had asked Premier Zweli Mkhize to intervene. The union would embark on a strike if Mkhize did not respond by the end of next week.

“This implies that at the start of the 2013 academic year, there will be no Grade R educators in class until such time that they have clear conditions of employment, with well-stipulated benefits,” he said.

The department of education does not contribute to Grade R teachers' pension pay out, medical benefits or bonuses, Thompson said.

The provincial department of education could not be immediately reached for comment. - Sapa

A man drowned when trying to cross the Illovo River near Amanzimtoti in KwaZulu-Natal, paramedics said.

KwaZulu-Natal - A man drowned when trying to cross the Illovo River near Amanzimtoti in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, paramedics said.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said the man, 32, was on his way to work when this happened.

“He landed in a current and was swept downstream for about 200m before disappearing under the water,” said Botha.

Divers discovered his body around noon. - Sapa

A trial date was set in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court for one of the men accused of killing two ANC branch leaders, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

KwaZulu-Natal - A trial date was set in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for one of the men accused of killing two ANC branch leaders, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

Samuel Cele, 34, would appear for trial in the Scottburgh High Court next year from June 24 to 28, Captain Thulani Zwane said,

In an appearance in September, Cele chose to not apply for bail.

His appearance came a day after the Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced his co-accused Sifiso Khumalo, 31, to 22 years for the murder of the African National Congress' Oshabeni branch chairman, Dumisani Malunga.

Khumalo and Cele were also charged with the murders of ANC branch secretary Bheki Chiliza.

Malunga, 42, and Chiliza, 39, were shot dead while driving in Oshabeni in September.

Khumalo pleaded guilty.

In a statement of plea, he claimed Cele had arranged a hitman to kill Malunga, but that unknown to them, the hitman found Malunga and Chiliza together and decided to kill them both.

A third man, suspected to be the hitman, was later arrested. - Sapa

Six KwaZulu-Natal men were sentenced to three life sentences each for robbing a pensioner paypoint.

KwaZulu-Natal - Six KwaZulu-Natal men were sentenced to three life sentences each by the Ramsgate High Court on Wednesday for robbing a pensioner paypoint.

Colonel Vincent Mdunge said they shot dead two Fidelity guards and a pensioner in Hibberdene.

“(They) stole a Nissan Sani double cab in Berea, Durban, before proceeding to Hibberdene, where they robbed a cash vehicle of an amount of R499 570 and assaulted pensioners and security guards with pistols,” he said.

The robbers stole two firearms from the guards before fleeing, and opened fire on a police vehicle which gave chase.

Several police officers and a dog were wounded in the shoot-out.

“They tried to flee from the police and they attempted to hijack a Mercedes-Benz, but failed. They ran on foot and hid in the bushes where they were arrested by the police,” said Mdunge.

Several rifles and the stolen money were found in their possession.

The court found them guilty of two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three counts of murder, nine counts of attempted murder, malicious damage to property and eight counts of contravening the Firearms Control Act.

Judge Ploos van Amstel sentenced each of them to three life terms for murder, and 12 years' each for the attempted murder of each police officer.

He imposed an additional two years' each for wounding the police dog and a further 103 years each for the possession of high calibre firearms and ammunition. The sentences would run concurrently.

The men intend appealing their sentences in the same court on Thursday. - Sapa

One person was killed and three were injured in two pile-ups on Van Reenen's Pass in KwaZulu-Natal, said emergency workers.

KwaZulu-Natal - One person was killed and three were injured in two pile-ups on Van Reenen's Pass, between Harrismith and the Tugela toll plaza in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, said emergency workers.

“Paramedics found that the initial accident was between four trucks and two cars,” Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said.

One person was killed and another was critically injured.

“Another crash occurred as other vehicles approaching the accident scene tried to slow down.”

Four trucks and two vehicles crashed into each other a short distance from the first crash.

“Two people were found to have sustained serious injuries,” he said.

The injured were stabilised on the scene and were taken to hospital. - Sapa

A Road Traffic Inspectorate officer arrested after allegedly taking a bribe from a taxi owner is out on R1 500 bail.

Durban - A Road Traffic Inspectorate officer arrested this week after allegedly taking a bribe from a taxi owner was granted bail of R1 500 by the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Zamangwe Ndimande, 42, who has been charged with corruption, made a brief appearance and the matter was postponed until December 11.

According to police, Ndimande was “caught red-handed” on Monday taking a bribe from a taxi owner in the Pinetown area.

Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said the Durban Organised Crime Anti-Corruption Unit arrested the traffic cop after she finished her shift.

She had stopped a taxi on October 31 in Pinetown during a routine check. Zwane said the taxi was found to be faulty.

“The driver was issued with a traffic summons of R600. His taxi was impounded but the arresting officer allegedly demanded R1 000 from the driver for his taxi to be released.”

The taxi driver did not have the R1 000, but paid Ndimande R300, Zwane said.

“An arrangement was made that the taxi owner would pay the balance of R700 later.” - The Mercury

A major economic artery, the N3, was closed for more than 10 hours following three pile-ups involving 20 vehicles.

KwaZulu-Natal - A major economic artery, the N3, was closed for more than 10 hours following three pile-ups involving 20 vehicles on Van Reenen’s Pass on Wednesday.

Con Roux, spokesman for the N3 toll concession, said that the long delay was caused by the clean-up of spilt cargo.

A long line of truckers and motorists was stopped on either side of the pass where they waited all day to be given the go-ahead to continue their journeys.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said one person died and three others were seriously injured.

Roux said the morning mist made visibility very poor.

Motorists were advised to use other routes or postpone travel plans.

Trucker Clinton Harry, driving from Joburg to Durban, was stranded in Harrismith.

“The load I am carrying is very sensitive. It does not allow me to turn around and take alternative routes, as instructed by the rescue personnel. We are monitored and my stops are limited,” said Harry.

“Unfortunately there was nothing I could do but sit and wait until the road was reopened.”

The N3 concession toll apologised to Harry by Twitter, saying: “Hang in there! Guys are working flat-out to clear three different accident scenes. Will keep you posted!”

A motorist tweeted: “Standing dead-still in the middle of it.” The concession replied: “Sorry to hear you’re stuck in the middle of it, Manie.”

The Road Freight Association said that the delays were causing a headache for trucking companies.

Spokesman Gavin Kelly said: “We received reports of trucks being stacked from midnight on Wednesday. Any time trucks are delayed and stacked, it affects deliveries.”

He said it was difficult for truckers to take alternative routes. These roads were narrow and truckers were advised to avoid them.

Department of Transport spokesman Kwanele Ncalane said the closure of the road had a serious impact on the province’s economy. “The road links KZN to other provinces and people rely on it to transport goods,” he said. - The Mercury

The emergency helicopter used by the KZN health MEC when it was needed for a dying boy was not the only one available.

Durban - The emergency helicopter used by the KwaZulu-Natal health MEC when it was needed for a dying boy was not the only one available, the head of the province’s Health Department Sibongile Zungu, has said.

Zungu said that another helicopter had been sent from Richards Bay to the accident near Pinetown on November 3, that wiped out a family of four. He said aircraft had been turned back when the pilot was told that Asheen Maharaj, 15, the only survivor, had been taken to hospital by ambulance.

The teenager subsequently died from head injuries on Tuesday.

The MEC, S’bongiseni Dhlomo, has been criticised because the helicopter he was using might have been able to get the boy to hospital more quickly.

On Wednesday, Zungu said that the MEC had been using the helicopter to get to a place in Umkhanyakude, the northernmost district of KZN, where the community was threatening to attack doctors. She said the department had started to use the aircraft for administrative flights in 1999. This also involved flying doctors to certain areas. “We are all allowed to use the aircraft provided it is booked beforehand. If an emergency arises it can be diverted,” she said.

Ntateko Sithole, general manager for emergency rescue services, said that factors limiting the helicopter’s use bad weather and an unsuitable place to land. “The MEC has encouraged all of us to register with the Health Professions Council of SA, so that when we are rerouted we can render treatment,” he said

. - The Mercury

A row erupted in the eThekwini Municipality's executive committee meeting over a call for an official embargo on agendas.

Durban - A row erupted in the eThekwini municipality’s executive committee meeting on Wednesday after deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala urged the committee to make an official ruling that all agendas be embargoed.

Her statement came after DA councillor Ronnie Veeran asked why, for the first time, agendas were being released to the media on the day of meetings rather than days before.

“When did putting an embargo on agendas start?” he asked. “I do not remember the executive committee taking a decision on this.”

ANC councillor Nigel Gumede said that the executive committee was not there to “favour” the media but to do its work. He said he had already raised the concern about the media reporting on issues before the council had discussed reports. This was after an issue involving businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane was published before being debated by the council.

“I said [at the time] it would be better if such issues are embargoed,” he said.

Veeran raised a point of order to challenge Gumede’s statement, but Shabalala, who was chairing the meeting, would not let him speak.

“You have had your chance [to speak]. Can we all agree that our agendas be embargoed? I am putting that as a motion,” she said.

Veeran interjected, saying: “What threatens the ruling party so much that they want to embargo agendas?”

In response, Shabalala said the executive committee was the decision-maker. “Decisions must be taken, then the media has all the right to report. Not to pre-empt things before decisions are made. Veeran is undermining me and I will take him out,” she said.

Minority Front councillor Patrick Pillay said his party would oppose any recommendation to gag the media.

“We will take the matter further with the Human Rights Commission,” he said.

“Gumede is very misleading. He only raised a concern about why the Mpisane issue was published before it came to exco. No recommendation was made to embargo agendas.” - The Mercury

A two-day-old girl was dumped at the gate of a community health care centre, allegedly by her mother.

Durban - A 32-year-old woman from KwaMashu was arrested after allegedly abandoning her two-day-old daughter at the gate of the KwaMashu community health care centre.

The woman had given birth to the baby at the centre on Tuesday.

She is alleged to have left the infant in a box at the guardhouse when she was discharged. But she was seen, chased and brought back, and the police and social workers were called.

Centre spokesman Hlanganani Bhengu said it was not known why the woman had left the baby behind.

Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said that a case of child abandonment had been opened. The baby is at a place of safety while the mother is to appear in court. – The Mercury