Nelson Mandela's former private secretary Zelda la Grange's book Good Morning, Mr Mandela is the best selling book of 2014, according to a Sunday news report.
Netwer24 reported that since June the book had sold about 11 000 copies per month. In South Africa the book sold more than 50 700 copies.
According to the report, this meant a gross income of about R15m before tax and discounts to shops.
The Afrikaans version of the book has sold 20 000 copies.
Professor Tim Noakes's book about banting diet recipes has sold a total of 116 000 English copies and 13 300 Afrikaans copies since November 2013.
Netwerk24 said this was according to figures published by Nielsen and was based on sales at various bookshops.
In her book Le Grange writes of former president Mandela's meetings with various celebrities.
She also wrote about how Mandela was treated by state doctors before his death on 5 December last year.
Julius Malema is finally a married man. The Economic Freedom Fighters leader married his high school sweetheart, Mantwa Matlala in a lavish ceremony in his hometown of Seshego.
The ceremony was quite an exclusive affair that was strictly invite only, f0r the private couple. Pictures on social media told the love story that many had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the whole day.
Striking a rather stylish pair, the bride and groom wore modern Pedi outfits made in Pedi colours, which were designed by Matome Seshoka of Antherline Designs. The bride’s dress was made of crystal tulle fabric, raw silk and duchess satin in royal blue, while Malema cut quite a dapper figure in a navy blue casual suit believed to be a David Tlale original.
No expense was seemingly spared for the wedding extravaganza judging by the elaborate decor that adorned the marquees that were erected at the bride’s home. The main table, with throne-like chairs was decorated in white and pink flowers enough to make any florist blush.
Guests sat on Tiffany chairs and tables covered with silver tablecloths also decorated in pink and white flowers.
Neighbours feel left out of Malema wedding
By Ayanda Sitole & Nomzamo Ngcobo
Stylish guests in luxury vehicles pull up to the double storey house at the corner of Bolero Street in Seshego, Zone 1 in Polokwane.
Today is the wedding of well-known political leader Julius Malema and his long-time friend Mantwa Matlala.
Condo Malete (30) is Mantwa’s neighbour. He didn’t get an invitation to the wedding so he sits under a tree and watches the glamorous guests pass by.
“Mantwa is a beautiful girl; I’ve known her since we were children,” he says, “she’s very shy and only opens up to people she knows.”
He says Malema is well known in the neighbourhood and has been seen paying a visit to the Matlala family for many years.
“I would see his car come in and out of Mantwa’s house since he was the president of the youth league. I admired him but I didn’t know he was dating her,” He says.
Today he is surprised to see guests dressed in their finest clothing to attend their wedding.
“I saw the tent being put up a few days ago. I knew there would be an occasion but I didn’t expect this,” he adds.
Matale says although he is not a supporter of the EFF. He likes Malema’s personality and considers him to be an all-round great guy.
“Malema’s home is a few blocks from here, he used to be a regular guy like the rest of us who grew up here. Now he’s a very powerful leader, many people in our neighbourhood revere him,” he says.
While guests make their way through the gates that lead to the Matlala home, Condo watches on wishing he could take part in the celebrations.
But, six butch security guards wearing red ties, which is the colour for the EFF, scan every outsider who tries to make their way through.
One security guard told the DRUM team that taking pictures is not allowed and ordered us to stop doing so.
Neighbours have also been ordered by security guards not to climb on top of their walls to try and see activities inside the venue where the wedding is taking place.
One neighbour who wants to remain anonymous tells DRUM, “Mantwa is a nice person and she is young. We are happy for them but we wish they invited us, we would have loved to see what is happening inside.”
Another neighbour adds, “They said they couldn’t invite the whole township.”
The message is clear: Those who are not invited will have to brave the cold weather watching in anticipation and hoping to get in.
Familiar faces grace Julius Malema’s wedding
Additional reporting by Drum's Sharon Seretlo
By 6pm on Saturday night in Seshego, Polokwane, the buzz and excitement around the wedding of Julius Malema and his new wife Mantwa Matlala had died down.
Community members stood outside the entrance gate throughout the day in hopes of catching a glimpse of the newly weds.
But security guards who barred spectators from entering the bride’s home, securely held the fort.
Dark clouds and rainy weather ended the excitement abruptly. Residents walked away holding their umbrellas and clinging to their dashed hopes.
While fans of the EFF president were disappointed not to see their favourite politician and his wife, those who stood firmly at the entrance got a glimpse of some of the high profile guests and celebrities that graced the occasion.
The first recognisable face to arrive was Skeem Sam actor Eric Macheru who neighbours proudly announced that he too grew up in the township of Seshego.
Neighbours hoping to catch a glimpse of the wedding ceremony.
Dali Mpofu
Former Muvhango actress Lerato Moloi.
The marquee outside the bride’s house.
Scandal! actress Jo-Anne Reyneke pulled up in a white convertible Mercedes Benz and dramatically swerved away from photographers while waving frantically at security guards to let her in.
World War Z actor and one of EFF ‘ S first celebrity supporter Fana Mokoena made a quiet entrance, some were disappointed that the successful actor, who has made a name for himself in Hollywood was driving a less than glamorous white Audi A4.
EFF chairperson Dali Mpofu received a cheer from the crowd when he rolled down his window for photographers to take a picture of him.
Former Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale waved excitedly as the crowed cheered him on but sadly some neighbours who came in their brightest traditional attire were turned down from entering because they were not invited guests.
The highlight of the day was when spectators ran frantically at the sight of a landing helicopter speculating that Malema had arrived to a grand entrance.
Sadly DRUM spotted unfamiliar faces stepping out of the aircraft but soon rumours that Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe had arrived started circulating.
While guests were disappointed that they did not get toy see Malema and his bride, many believe tomorrow will present a new opportunity.
As with customary South African wedding practices. A welcoming ceremony for the bride will be held at the grooms home the following day after the main event.
Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 161 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway. An AirAsia Indonesia flight carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore went missing Sunday, after the pilot asked for permission to change course due to weather, the airline said. "AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning," the airline said in a statement.
The flight was scheduled to land at 8:30 a.m. local time, a spokesman for Singapore's Changi Airport said. AirAsia announced the flight's disappearance on its Facebook page about three hours after the plane was scheduled to arrive.
The plane had 155 passengers on board, including 16 children and one infant, and two pilots and five crew members, the airline said. Most on board were Indonesian. There were three South Koreans on the plane and one each from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia.
The airline said in a statement that the pilot had asked to change course because of weather. The plane had undergone its last maintenance on Nov. 16, AirAsia Indonesia said.
"The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost," the airline said.
TRISNADI / AP
An airport official checks a map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authority for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it was notified 7:54 a.m., about half an hour after the jet was lost, it said in a statement.
"Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities," the agency said, adding that it has placed two C-130 planes on stand-by to help in the search. "We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort."
Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, expressed his grave concerns on Twitter. "My thoughts are with the passengers and their families," he said.
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the disappearance of the flight and is monitoring developments, a spokesman for the White House said. The National Transportation Safety Board is also monitoring developments, but would need an invitation to assist in any investigation.
The captain of the plane had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours, the airline said.
Changi Airport set up an area to provide assistance to family of passengers on the flight.
The loss of contact with the AirAsia flight comes nine months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard on March 8. It has never been found.
Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 161 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway. An AirAsia Indonesia flight carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore went missing Sunday, after the pilot asked for permission to change course due to weather, the airline said. "AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning," the airline said in a statement.
The flight was scheduled to land at 8:30 a.m. local time, a spokesman for Singapore's Changi Airport said. AirAsia announced the flight's disappearance on its Facebook page about three hours after the plane was scheduled to arrive.
The plane had 155 passengers on board, including 16 children and one infant, and two pilots and five crew members, the airline said. Most on board were Indonesian. There were three South Koreans on the plane and one each from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia.
The airline said in a statement that the pilot had asked to change course because of weather. The plane had undergone its last maintenance on Nov. 16, AirAsia Indonesia said.
"The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost," the airline said.
TRISNADI / AP
An airport official checks a map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authority for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it was notified 7:54 a.m., about half an hour after the jet was lost, it said in a statement.
"Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities," the agency said, adding that it has placed two C-130 planes on stand-by to help in the search. "We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort."
Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, expressed his grave concerns on Twitter. "My thoughts are with the passengers and their families," he said.
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the disappearance of the flight and is monitoring developments, a spokesman for the White House said. The National Transportation Safety Board is also monitoring developments, but would need an invitation to assist in any investigation.
The captain of the plane had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours, the airline said.
Changi Airport set up an area to provide assistance to family of passengers on the flight.
The loss of contact with the AirAsia flight comes nine months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard on March 8. It has never been found.
24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York in this June 5, 2013 file photo. Bargain prices and the need to replace reserves will tempt gold miners back into the takeover game, but not to the flashy mega-projects that soured too often in the last round of deals. Image by: SHANNON STAPLETON / Reuters
The Hawks say they have intercepted an illicit, gold-smuggling ring next to the Pumulani Toll Plaza on the N1 in Pretoria.
The six-man syndicate was driving in three vehicles from Limpopo on the N1 towards Pretoria, the Hawks said in a statement. It has not yet been established to where the heavily armed men were transporting the heavily guarded gold.
The Hawks investigators pulled them off the N1 in the early hours of yesterday morning, just after they had paid at the toll gate.
"On searching their vehicles, of which one belonged to the cash-in-transit company, 50 kg of gold worth R23 million, five firearms and three vehicles were seized.
"The men, of whom four are employed at the cash-in-transit company, are now in custody and being questioned."
They are due to appear in the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court tomorrow, on charges of dealing and smuggling precious metal.
The Acting National Head of the Organised Crime Unit of the Hawks, Brigadier Ebrahim Kadwa, said: "If this syndicate thought we sleep on Sunday evening, we do not".
INDEPENDENT MEDIAMinister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe addressed the media on the outcomes of the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday in Pretoria. File photo: Thobile Mathonsi
The cabinet has announced sweeping changes to the state-owned entities by transferring SAA from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury.
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe also told journalists in Pretoria, via a video-link to Cape Town yesterday, that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa would oversee the financial performance of SAA, the SA Post Office and Eskom.
In a post-cabinet briefing, Radebe said the transfer of SAA was an attempt to help it get its house in order.
It is not the first time that a state-owned entity has been transferred from one department to another.
Eight years ago, when Thabo Mbeki was in charge, the financially troubled Land Bank was transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs to the National Treasury.
At the time Trevor Manuel was the minister of finance.
Then senior official in the Treasury, Phakamani Hadebe, was seconded from the Treasury to head the Land Bank and turn it around.
Radebe said there was nothing peculiar about the transfer of SAA from Public Enterprises to the Treasury.
Close watch
In fact, this decision would allow the Treasury to keep a close watch on the airline.
The airline has been asking for another bailout from the government, but Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has refused and has said the airline needs an equity partner to turn its situation around.
It has been reported that Gulf giant airline Etihad is coming on board as SAA’s new equity partner.
Two years ago the Treasury gave SAA a bailout of R5 billion, much to the unhappiness of rival airlines.
Radebe said the transfer of SAA to the Treasury would give the latter an opportunity to closely monitor what was going on at the airline.
The minister would not be drawn on whether this was a permanent move or not.
In another development Ramaphosa has been given the task of overseeing the turnaround of SAA, Eskom and the SA Post Office.
“Cabinet is concerned about the performance of some of the state-owned enterprises, in particular SAA, the SA Post Office and Eskom. These state-owned entities play a critical developmental role within the South African economy,” Radebe said.
“The president has assigned the deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to oversee the turnaround of the three state-owned companies, namely SAA, Eskom and SA Post Office,” he said.
“Working with the relevant ministries, SAA will be transferred from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury,” he said.
“The Presidency will closely monitor the implementation of the turnaround plans of these three critical state-owned companies that are drivers of the economy,” Radebe added.
Cash crisis
Brown would not be drawn deeply into questions about SAA running out of cash in January.
“SAA issues are financial issues. That is what has to take place within the Treasury,” Brown said.
Radebe also announced that Eskom would present a detailed finance plan on Wednesday on dealing with its cash flow crisis beyond 2015. The plan would outline proposed measures to maintain a stable business without power outages.
Radebe said the government would finance the funding model of Eskom.
However, he did not indicate how much the government would throw into Eskom’s finance plan.
Leope proclaimed that his personal brand was worth a billion rand recently, he walked the talk after showing off his extravagant house on Top Billing last night. The repeat of Top Billing will air on Sunday, 14 December at 12.30.
The gorgeous double storey Ruimsig house included modern decor, white and blue touches, a stunning koi pond with a patio, with all round views of Johannesburg and a spacious tennis court. Outside the home was one of Leope's cars - a white Porsche. He also drives a Range Rover. Viewers also got to meet Leope's daughter whom he shares with fiance, Disebo Makatsa. Makatsa is a geoscientist by profession and holds an MBA from Wits University.
Leope shares his journey to success with the show, detailing his latest ventures which include the release of his book, 20/20 Leadership, an entrepreneurship academy and his new energy drink, Mofaya.
Soon after the Top Billing insert, Leope trended on Twitter.
@ThatXhosaGirl tweeted: Dj Sbu is winning at this life thing hey...wow wiith @simplyboity adding: DJ Sbu is such an inspiration.
The Tembisa born DJ, started off his career at YFM. He once spoke of how he had to sell sweets on trains to make a living. Leope's business acumen didn't end there as he co-founded TS records which has spawned artists such as Zahara, the late Brown Dash, Ntando and others.
About his success, Leope told a monthly magazine: “I believe following your passion allows you to never have to work a day in your life. Then your passion eventually leads you to your purpose. Purposeful living is what I’m doing now – making a living out of serving others. I have experienced even more success by dedicating my career to serving others."
Economic Freedom Fighters' Floyd Shivambu is officially a Wits Masters graduate.
Shivambu attained his Masters degree from University of Witwatersrand in Political Studies.
His thesis paper was titled "South Africa's negotiated transition from apartheid to an inclusive political system. What capitalist interest reigned supreme?".
The visibly excited Shivambu and his leader Julius Malema stole the show after walking out of the graduation hall after most of the post-graduates and their families lined up for pictures with the EFF leaders.
One of the post-graduates said, while taking a picture with Shivambu, "This is the new South Africa".
