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BUTTERFLIES PDF Print E-mail
Counting butterflies for health2011-04-17 Johannesburg - South Africa's third butterfly census will take place next week, as butterflies are a good indicator of the health of the ecosystem, the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (SABCA) said on Sunday."Butterflies are good indicators of ecosystem health and counting them can provide important information which can be related to land use practices and even climate change," project co-ordinator Dr Silvia Mecenero said in a statement."With about 800 butterfly taxa in our country, of which about 10% are threatened with extinction, monitoring our butterflies provides important insights into the conservation of our flying jewels."Butterfly Census Week (BCW3) would take place from April 23 to May 1.He said anyone could take part in BCW. There would be beginner and expert categories.All butterfly species observed by teams - which included school teams - over the week at any location would be noted and counted.The BCW was part of the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment project - a joint project of the Animal Demography Unit (University of Cape Town), the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa (LepSoc) and the SA National Biodiversity Institute.- SAPA 
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Little Black Dog Found PDF Print E-mail
Hi, could you assist me please, I’m not sure how to get the information out.

Last night at about 10pm we were driving back to Fourways from Hartebeespoort Dam.

We picked up a gorgeous little black dog on the side of the road near the “Home of the Chicken Pie” in danger of being hit by a car.

Since no-one at the SPCA answered, we took him to the Fourways vet.

He looked very well kept so I’m sure his owner is frantic, but I’m concerned the owner won’t think to try a vet so far away from where we found him.

If you could get the word out about this, I’d be very grateful.

Kind Regards,
Juliette Welham

Tel: +2711 294-2132
Fax: +2711 295-2132
Cell: +2782 789-8224
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MAYORAL POSITIONS IN QUESTION PDF Print E-mail
Advocacy group opposes secret nomination of Tau as ANC mayoral candidateNominating and appointing mayors without public participation is undemocratic contends JAG 

Johannesburg

16 April 2011

For immediate release 

The Joburg Advocacy Group (JAG), an independent civil society group working for best practice governance in the City of Johannesburg, has opposed the secret nomination of Finance MMC Parks Tau as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for the city

 

On Thursday, Business Day reported that Tau had been nominated as the party’s mayoral candidate behind closed doors, and that the media had been blocked from reporting on his nomination[1]. The newspaper was, however, able to obtain confirmation of the nomination from sources at the meeting of candidates held in Alberton, and subsequently published this information.

 As the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance, Tau is the political head of the portfolio for finance, strategy and economic development, which includes revenue collection. It is on his watch that the Joburg billing crisis has unfolded, as has the larger financial crisis reported in the latest edition of the Financial Mail[2].  “Our opposition to Tau’s nomination is two-fold,” says Lee Cahill, a founding member of JAG. “Firstly, the process of nominating and appointing mayoral candidates is controlled by the various political parties which, in itself, is essentially undemocratic. So to keep the name of a mayoral candidate secret only makes this process more problematic than it already is.” Based on the share of the country’s GDP that it generates, Joburg is the sixth largest economy on the African continent and, as such, could rightly be compared to a very large multi-national corporation, says Cahill. “Voters are essentially the city’s shareholders, as they finance its operations and administration directly through the payment of rates, taxes and service charges.  “The question then bears asking whether it is good governance practice for the city’s shareholders to have no direct say in the nomination and appointment of its chief executive officer, and no direct power to recall him or her for justifiable reasons such as non-performance, corruption or criminal activity.” JAG’s second objection to the nomination of Tau is specifically related to his record of managing the city’s billing system and finances. “The billing crisis has had an enormous impact on individual residents, businesses and the city itself,” says Cahill. “As reported in the Gauteng Provincial Gazette of 2 March, its revenue collection rate is only 56.5% at present, a figure that no business could survive. The city is also unable to determine what the real cost of the crisis to the city has been, which speaks for itself.” By its own account, the City of Joburg’s debtor’s book currently stands at R10.5bn, and it is servicing loans in the amount of R10bn, a figure which may be set to rise. It has also not released audited financial statements for the 2009/2010 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2010, and has not been posting quarterly financial statements during the current financial year, in direct violation of Treasury guidelines.  Further, if the city receives a qualified audit report from the Auditor General for its 2010 financials, this is likely to impact on its credit rating, making it even more expensive than it already is to service the its debt. “So JAG’s opposition to Tau’s nomination as the ANC’s mayoral candidate is related to political and governance issues, as well as to his financial management track record,” says Cahill. As part of its direct democracy campaign, which is being conducted in the run-up to the local government election on 18 May, JAG is actively advocating for skilled and experienced managers to be appointed to key management positions in the city rather than for these posts to be filled by political appointees. It is also advocating for the city’s managers to be directly accountable to voters rather than, as they are at present, to their party caucuses.  “A people-centred democracy is the only way forward for the City of Joburg,” concludes Cahill, “and JAG is committed to lobbying for a new form of direct and accountable democracy in the city that will put political power into in the hands of the people rather than leaving it in the hands of political parties that are not prepared to account directly to the voters.” For further information on the Joburg Advocacy Group, Google the group’s web site, visit its Facebook page or follow it on @JoburgAdvocacy on Twitter.  

[1] “ANC remains coy on mayoral candidates”: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=140151
[2] “SA’s financial hub in crisis”: http://www.fm.co.za/Article.aspx?id=140262
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JHB CITY FINANCIAL CRISIS PDF Print E-mail

CITY IN A CRISIS  ......................... ????????????????

 

The Financial mail’s lead story is entitled “Jo’burg SA”s financial hub in crisis. 

 

Following is a shortened version of the article  http://www.fm.co.za/Home.aspx

 
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METRO OPERATION STING THIS HOLIDAY PERIOD PDF Print E-mail

Metro police is launching Operation Sting to coincide with the Easter holidays, when they will stage roadblocks to test drivers for alcohol consumption and check vehicles for roadworthiness.

 

Please drive with EXTREME CAUTION and SAFELY on our roads this holiday season.

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