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The technical director of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Kashimawo Laloko, has expressed optimism that Nigeria’s representatives in the Africa Champions League, 3SC, will still make it to the last eight, despite recording a scrappy 2-0 victory over visiting Motema Pembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan yesterday.

Speaking after the gritty encounter in which the Congolese matched the Nigerian team skill for skill and brawn for brawn, Laloko admitted that the return leg will be quite daunting. He nevertheless believes that the Ibadan team will still sail through to the next round, which is the lucrative stage of the competition. “Football is becoming dicey and unpredictable these days, nobody can just make an outright guess of a match. We all saw what Kwara United did against Young Africans of Tanzania in the CAF Cup

With just five days to Saturday’s crucial Nations Cup 2000 group 7 qualifier against Liberia, Cranes coach Paul Hasule is unhappy with his players’ attitude.

Hasule was disappointed by The Cranes’ second loss as they tune up, 2-1 to Express F.C under Nakivubo Stadium’s floodlights on Saturday.

“I am totally disappointed, we did not play as a team because of the poor attitude of the players,” Hasule told The Monitor after Saturday’s loss to a second string Express side.

“After sometime together, I expected them to win today but there was really no difference, they don’t want to win,” he responded when asked whether the Cranes had showed any improvement from the game against Zambia.

Zambia’s Chipopolo handed Hasule a 1-0 defeat on his debut at Namboole a week ago, but the coach had remained hopeful of improving since his players had by then stayed together for only three days.

Hasule who took over the national job after his former boss Asuman Lubowa quit last month, again acknowledged the lack of punch up in the team’s attack but ruled out the possibility of ‘importing’ on-form youngster Andrew Mukasa.

“I am not in a hurry and Mukasa is technically out,” Hasule explained of the Kobs’ teenage striker.

In Saturday’s match, Hasule made several changes in the second half to lift his side which had limped through the first and trailed 1-0 from a Robert Ojok strike. The Cranes found the equaliser through the otherwise still off-colour Hassan Mubiru (penalty).

Edgar Watson replaced Willy Kyambadde, Patrick Mbaziira rested Fred Tamale, and Charles Kayemba ejected Joseph Mutyaba.

The Cranes, still struggling in midfield and striking, had a total of 14 shots at goal and 6 corners in the entire game.

The absence of key defenders Geoffrey Bukohore, Arthur Byasiima and Ibra Sekajja was felt as Express’ Congolese import Said Abed had a field day.

Abed capitalised on a piercing pass from Baker Senabulya to beat no-nonsense Aggrey Bigala and defence returnee Phillip Obwiny, but was brought down to earn a penalty which he converted for Express’ winner.

Hasule however said he has not yet ruled out Bukohore and Byasiima. The two are students are Makerere University and were reportedly doing their exams. Sekajja is out because of injury.

Hasule’s options could be boosted by the flying in of Turkish based striker Magid Musisi and ASEC Abidjan’s midfielder Livingstone Mbabazi.

National Football League Committee (NFLC) yesterday resolved that draws for this year’s Kakungulu Cup will be held on June 7, and the tournament is set to kick off on June 13.

NFLC Chairman Godfrey Kwizera told The Monitor the news immediately after yesterday’s meeting at Nakulabye offices. He said the preliminary rounds will be played on regional basis.

“We do not want clubs to travel long distances like before. Teams will first play on regional basis and those who qualify will join the premier sides in the first round,” said Kwizera.

He said 40 clubs have registered so far the country’s second major soccer tournament, and also confirmed that the tournament is being still sponsored by Peacock Paints.

“We welcome co-sponsors but they have to speak to Peacock and know how much they have to inject in, before the committee can accept them,” he said.

However, Kwizera said Peacock is still slow yet time is ticking away. “We are going to talk to Peacock, they are slow and time is against us,” he said.

He said several companies have approached the committee for the sponsorship deal. He singled out Protector Condoms who have even written to the committee.

The committee’s stand calmed down Peacock Paints, who had threatened to withdraw should the committee go ahead to negotiate with Protector as co-sponsors.

The committee maintained the Shs100,000 as registration fee, and appealed to Super Division Clubs Association (SDCA) to pay for all premier sides from the money they levy on the gates during NSSL matches.

Kwizera again dismissed worries from the football fraternity that the League and Cup might not end, saying they will be through in October.

Police and army intelligence have identified only two possible election flashpoints in Mpumalanga and have placed large reaction squads on standbye should violence erupt, African Eye News Service reports.

Provincial electoral officer, Steve Ngwenya, confirmed on Monday that joint police and army teams with a large number of army Oryx helicopters were stationed near the Mbuzini and Piet Retief areas in eastern Mpumalanga.

Both areas have witnessed recent violent tribal disputes which assumed political over-tones two months ago when the African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) began recruiting members of opposing factions.

“We can’t release too many details about our contingency plans other than to say that we have very large rapid response teams ready for any eventuality,” said Ngwenya.

“We’re relying on army helicopters because of the vast distances and terrain we’d have to deal with in rural areas.”

Tension in Mbuzini, near Nelspruit, was sparked when Mlambo tribal chief Mandlenkosi Mahlalela Mlambo was forced to flee into exile in neighbouring Swaziland earlier this year following the assassination of the ANC s local chairman during a land dispute.

Mahlalela denied involvement in the murder but was forced to flee when unidentified gunmen attacked his royal kraal.

He is still in hiding but his followers have joined the IFP and have accused Premier Mathews Phosa and the ANC of instigating violence in the region.

A similar territorial dispute in the Piet Retief area has been tribal factions align themselves with the ANC and IFP for political backing.

“We’re keeping a close eye on both areas but expect a smooth election. If fact, things have gone so well that we re having a pretty boring election process in Mpumalanga,” said Ngwenya.

All 889 polling stations in the province are online and all 15 400 election staff have been trained and tested.

“I’ve only had to fire two people after they complained about the amount of money they were getting for their work. There have been some very minor technical hitches but we’re ready for the big day,” he said.

New National Party Marthinus CJ van Schalkwyk New National Party leader Mr. Marthinus CJ van Schalkwyk was born on November 10 in 1959. He matriculated at Pietersburg High School in 1977.

He is married to Suzette. They have a son, Christiaan.

Van Schalkwyk went for military service for two years from 1978.

He obtained B Proc, BA (Hons) Political Science and MA (Political Science) degrees at the Rand Afrikaans University.

His other achievements at university include being given an award for academic achievement from the Transvaal Lawyers’ Association and the Abe Bailey Bursary, which allowed him to further his law studies in Great Britain and Europe.

Van Schalkwyk became a Member of Parliament for the then National Party (NP) for Randburg in November 1990.

He became the NP’s media director for the party’s 1994 election campaign and returned as member of the National Assembly after the elections.

Van Schalkwyk later became a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications.

In 1991 Van Schalkwyk was appointed to the NP’s Gauteng Executive Committee and Federal Council.

Van Schalkwyk became the NP’s executive director in 1997 and became the party’s national leader on September 9, 1997 after Mr. FW de Klerk stepped down.

Inkatha Freedom Party Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi is currently the Home Affairs Minister, chairman of the House of Traditional Leaders in KwaZulu-Natal and Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu people after he became a Member of Parliament in April 1994.

Buthelezi, who was born in Mahlabathini, of Inkosi Mathole, a tribal chief and Princess Constance Magogo Zulu on August 27, 1928, traces his ancestry back to King Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation.

Buthelezi was prime minister during the interregnum during the regency of his younger brother-in-law, Prince Mshiyeni Ka Dinizulu, who acted during the minority of the heir to the throne, Prince Cyprian Bhekuzulu.

He was senior adviser and prime minister during King Cyprian Bhekuzulu’s reign to the time of his death.

He is an Anglican. Buthelezi is married to Audrey Thandekile Mzila. They have three sons and four daughters.

He was educated at the Impumalanga Primary School in Mahashini, Nongoma from 1933 to 1943, matriculated at Adams College in Amanzimtoti in 1947 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Hare University in 1950.

He was a clerk in the Durban Bantu Administration in 1951, a clerk in the company Cowley and Cowley in 1952, became acting inkosi of the Buthelezi clan in Mahlabathini from 1953 to 1957, then a fully recognised Inkosi in 1957, Chief Executive Officer of the Zulu Territorial Authority in Nongoma from 1970 to 1972.

He was made the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly’s chief executive officer in 1972, became Kwazulu’s Chief Minister from 1976 to 1994, South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister in 1994 and has been appointed acting president by President Nelson Mandela on a number of occasions.

He was an African National Congress Youth League member in his young days.

United Democratic Movement General Bantubonke Holomisa and Roelf Petrus Meyer Bantu Holomisa, the former military leader of the homeland of Transkei, co-founded the United Democratic Movement in 1997 with Roelf Meyer, formerly a leading National Party member, in 1997.

Holomisa is the UDM’s president. He was the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism before his expulsion from the African National Congress.

He was the Commander of the Transkei Defence Force and head of the Transkei government until the inaugural democratic elections in 1994 when he was chosen by the ANC’s election committee to campaign nationally.

Holomisa, who is one of the first two black persons to be accepted by the South African Army College for a year-long senior staff officers’ course, is an able athlete who has played rugby, soccer and tennis.

He was the Parliamentary rugby squads vice-captain from 1994 to 1996.

Freedom Front General Constand Laubscher Viljoen General Viljoen, who was born on October 28, 1933 in Standerton, Mpumalanga, where he matriculated at the local high school in 1951. He joined the South African Defence Force after finishing school.

Viljoen obtained a B. Sc (B Mil) degree from Pretoria University in 1955 and he served as an officer in the SADF from 1956 - and from 1954 to 1980 rose through from second lieutenant, lieutenant, captain, major, commandant, colonel, brigadier, major-general, lieutenant-general to general.

He became South African army chief in 1977 and in 1980 the SADF chief. He retired in 1980, went on pension and became a cattle and paprika farmer in Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga, but returned to politics in 1993 to establish the Afrikaner Volksfront.

The Freedom Front was to be known later as the Freedom Front Party which contested the April 1994 elections, garnering some 640 000 votes, which gave it nine representatives in the National Parliament together with five senators in the Senate.

Democratic Party Anthony James Leon Democratic Party leader and Member of Parliament in the National Assembly Tony Leon was born in Durban on December 15 1956.

Leon obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law degrees from Wits University where he was the the president of the Law Students’ Council and the vice-president of the university’s Students Representative Council.

He was the co-chairman of the Constitutional Assembly Theme Committee on Fundamental Rights from 1994 to 1996, a delegate during the multiparty negotiations process at Kempton Park from 1993 to 1994, adviser during the Convention for a Democratic South Africa from 1989 to 1994.

He was a Member of Parliament for Houghton from 1989 to 1994, Johannesburg City Councillor and leader of the opposition from 1986 to 1989, was an attorney of the Supreme Court of South Africa and a lecturer at law at Wits University from 1986 to 1989.

Leon was a member of the governing council and executive of Wits University and a trustee of the Drive Alive Foundation from 1991 to 1998.

They came from all directions of KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, travelling in all forms of transport, heading for Durban’s Kings Park Stadium where president of the African National Congress, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, delivered his last speech in the province before the general election.

The Siyanqoba (”We are winning”) rally was called by the ANC as its last effort to ensure that KwaZulu-Natal, one of the provinces lost to the opposition in 1994, ends in its hands before the end of next week when the election results are made public.

“Only you people of KwaZulu-Natal can give Lionel Mtshali an early pension on Wednesday.

“Let him go and rest with his grandchildren at home by voting him out,” said Mbeki.

In his address to thousands of his supporters who filled the rugby stadium to capacity on Saturday, Mbeki touched on many issues, among which was the continuing political violence between the ANC and its old political foes -the Inkatha Freedom Party - and the United Democratic Movement, where the two parties are at war in some parts of the province.

“I call on all political parties in this province - including the ANC - to ensure that no further deaths take place before, during or after the election,” said Mbeki.

He said it would not be possible for KwaZulu-Natal to be properly ruled if its governance was still in the hands of opposition parties.

“We know there are some policemen who work in collaboration with criminals but our hands are tied; we cannot address this since this province is not ruled by the people’s party.

“We hope to change all that once we are in power,” said Mbeki.

Mbeki’s trusted man in KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. S’bu Ndebele, also told the crowd of more than 60 000 people that if the ANC came to power on Wednesday, peace would not be optional in KwaZulu-Natal.

“From Wednesday, this coming week, peace will be a compulsory practice in this province and the ANC will not tolerate anyone who wants to take this province back to what it was in 1994,” said Ndebele.

The United Democratic Movement has called on the Independent Electoral Commission to declare Esikhaweni in northern KwaZulu-Natal a non-voting area after one of its supporters was killed and six others injured at the weekend.

However, police have dismissed the allegations, saying the man was killed in a separate and non-political incident.

Police spokesman Vish Naidoo said that there was no confirmation of a political killing, despite an emergency meeting called by the IEC in response.

In what looks like a precursor to simmering tensions and political animosity ahead of Wednesday’s voting in KwaZulu-Natal, the UDM went on to slam rival party ANC for intimidating its supporters and tearing down UDM posters - both of which are punishable offences according to the new electoral code of conduct.

ANC spokesman Dumisani Makhaya denied the allegations, saying the UDM was making excuses for a potential poor showing at the polls on Wednesday.

According to UDM spokesman Sifiso Bhengu, a group of party supporters in H section, Esikhaweni, were confronted by armed men while waiting at a bus station on Saturday morning.

“As they left they opened fire on our members, injuring seven,” said Bhengu.

One of the injured later died in hospital while the other six were treated for injuries.

“We call on the police to act swiftly and arrest those perpetrators. They are well known in the community. All UDM members and supporters are also called on to remain calm and not to retaliate,” Bhengu told Sowetan.

However, police were unable to confirm the death of the UDM supporter, causing confusion. Meanwhile, Bhengu lashed out at the ANC and said it should exercise better control over its membership.

The attack in Esikhaweni followed repeated incidents of intimidation and tearing down of posters in the area, Bhengu claimed.

“We are seriously considering calling on the IEC to declare Esikhaweni a non-voting area as we do not believe we are being allowed to campaign freely.” IEC spokesman for KwaZulu-Natal, Rev Chris Mzoneli, said the IEC had held an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the Esikhaweni incident.

“We have been in contact with all political parties since the incident and I can confirm that security is being beefed up in Esikhaweni.”

Over a hundred business, religious, sport and community leaders in Mitchell’s Plain, Western Cape, pledged their allegiance to the African National Congress on Saturday morning during ANC president Thabo Mbeki’s final visit to the contested Cape Flats.

A prominent local leader and former New National Party member, Stan Fisher, explained why he had shifted his support to the ANC.

“Mitchell’s Plain is part of this country even if it is dominated by coloured people. The ANC can be trusted. The NNP had another motive. That’s why I defected,” he said.

“I ask you to put together your thoughts and vote correctly, so we become part of the whole of South Africa,” he told the meeting that needed no convincing.

ANC premier candidate Ebrahim Rasool said the coloured community in Western Cape was at a crossroads. “We voted with our fears in 1994. This time let us vote with our hopes,” he said.

Rasool said the NNP had “essentially used the coloured vote to support white privilege” and it was time for a clear-thinking leadership that was “firmly based on what’s best for all communities in our province”.

After walking around the Beaconvale Community Centre, greeting the assembled leaders, Mbeki thanked them for attending the meeting.

“When we say South Africa is a non-racial country, we must indeed be a non-racial society. When we say we want equality in our society, we must create a society of equals,” he said.

Mbeki assured the local leaders that after the elections “all of us should come back together to say what we must do with Mitchell’s Plain”.

The ANC president has told many communities during his campaign across the country that the party will follow up with them on how to work together for “a better life for all”.

Mbeki started his last day in Western Cape with a drive through Mannenberg in an armoured-glass vehicle accompanied by Justice Minister Dullah Omar and ANC organiser Terror Lekota.

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, Omar and Lekota also joined him on a walkabout in the Mitchell’s Plain town centre.

A rally opposite the centre and taxi rank was attended by about two thousand vocal ANC supporters, despite grey, cold conditions. Former Cape Town mayor and Mitchell’s Plain resident Theresa Solomons introduced local leaders who publicly voiced their support for the ANC.

The poverty of black people was not ordained by God. It was engineered by white settlers through the inhuman policy of forced removals, Azapo president Mosibudi Mangena said at the weekend.

Addressing a packed hall in Dzanani Mangena said Azapo was the only party to unapologetically cater for black needs. “Whites don’t need delivery.

They’ve been getting better service delivery for four hundred years. Blacks are the ones who stay in shacks, whose education is in a shambles and who have no access to water or electricity.”

“Blacks have no land and are forced to stay in overcrowded areas. Boers know the importance of land which is why they’ve grabbed land,” he said.

Launching a scathing attack on the Government, Mangena said despite promises of free medical care there were no medicines in hospitals. He said there was a critical shortage of nurses and those in the hospitals had no regard for patients.

“Jobs are being shed in thousands and less than 50 percent of matriculants are passing their exams because they have no books. The consequence of inferior education is unemployment.

“The Government has failed to instill discipline in teachers who don’t do their work,” said Mangena, adding that crime was also out of control.

He said if black people were satisfied with the current Government they should return it to power. “But if you are not satisfied and you want radical change, try Azapo.” He said Azapo would stop the privatisation of state assets leading to retrenchments. His party would eradicate corruption and channel money towards basic needs such as water in rural areas.

Last year the Pan Africanist Congress launched a novel recruitment campaign called Letsema - Operation Fieldwork. Party provincial leaders were made responsible for political fieldwork in their areas.

The party believes it is now ready to reap the benefits and turn the tables on election day on Wednesday.

In an interview last week, PAC president Dr Stanley Mogoba said that the launch of Letsema (a Sesotho word for communal tilling of the fields) marked the start of their election campaign.

The PAC polled a low one percent in the first democratic elections in 1994.

And opinion surveys just recently released suggest that the party’s popularity and support still stood at that mark.

Mogoba, on the other hand, is not fazed by the opinion surveys.

“Our people are not influenced by polls or the media, as we will prove.

“Our campaign has gone well so far and this is attributable to our drive throughout the provinces.

“Our plan went well despite limited resources.

“Actually, there is a war of resources and crowds out there, which is why we kept a low-key poster campaign, starting only recently with billboard advertisements.” Mogoba was critical of the well-oiled campaign of the African National Congress.

“They are in panic, using President Nelson Mandela and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, who head the Government, to garner support.” He suggested that the ANC leaders chose the electioneering period to launch overdue projects such as clinics and schools, while parties such as the PAC had to scrounge for funds.

These obstacles notwithstanding, Mogoba said, the PAC had managed to produce a manifesto without any razzmatazz, and “in which we are addressing the same issues like anybody else”.

He added: “We have maintained spheres of influence and support in Northern Province, North West and Eastern Cape, the home of the PAC and my predecessor, Clarence Makwetu.” Mogoba maintained that the PAC’s spirits was high in Eastern Cape, despite obvious concerns which still exist since Makwetu was stripped of his parliamentary seat by the PAC last year.

He said the PAC had also won the support of paramount chiefs in an area where he said there was a scramble for major royal areas by his party, the ANC and the United Democratic Movement.

While claiming good support in in Free State, Gauteng and Northern Cape, he said support in Mpumalanga was “marginal”.

He admitted that the PAC did not have any significant influence in KwaZulu-Natal, where the ANC and UDM were slugging it out.

“Our biggest organisational surprise is the Cape Peninsula, where Patricia de Lille (a PAC national executive committee member and PAC parliamentary chief whip) has worked hard to build a support base.” The PAC leader acknowledged that the party was split in 1994 over participation in the multiparty process and the subsequent elections.

Another major issue of concern then was ending the armed struggle, especially from the party’s youth.

As a result, said Mogoba, most members of the PAC stayed away from the polls in 1994 because “they were confused by the different signals, even from the party’s hierarchy”.

It is often speculated that a large number of PAC followers made their mark for the African National Congerss in 1994. The rationale was apparently to ensure that white minority rule would end for good.

“Today the giant is awake and there is an overall spirit of unity, with the youth on board,” said Mogoba.

“Our major message is change - about crime, unemployment and land.” Regarding the possibility of other black parties such as the Azanian People’s Organisation and Socialist Party of Azania entering Parliament, he said the PAC would welcome the “strengthening of the African voice” in government.

“Nonracialism is still our ideal and this should not be misconstrued as ganging up against whites, but at ensuring there is no repeat of the white colonial domination which lasted for three centuries,” said Mogoba.

l The PAC was formed on April 6 1959 by a breakaway group led by Robert Sobukwe after ideological disagreements with the ANC.

They felt the ANC was incapable of advancing the liberation struggle. They also argued that Africans must be in control of their own liberation and not be “prompted” by white liberals, including communists.

Today the PAC still believes that the land - which they claim was stolen by white settlers - should be returned to the people.