Easter Road Accidents Lower Than Last Year - Traffic Authorities

Motorists seem to be behaving better on the roads this Easter because fewer people have died in accidents on the eve of the long weekend compared with the same period last year.

“A total of 40 people had died on March 31 and April 1, according to information processed by the Road Traffic Information Corporation,” said Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesperson Simon Zwane today.

“This is 10% less when compared with the 44 people who died during the same period last year.”

Despite the drop, there was a 100% increase in fatal crashes in Gauteng: from four last year to eight this year.

KwaZulu-Natal had the most fatal accidents – 10 so far, Zwane said.

There was a drop in the number of accidents in Limpopo, from seven in 2014 to two this year.

In Mpumalanga, 302 vehicles were impounded for operating without valid licences.

Two motorists had been arrested for excessive speeding on the N1 highway in the Free State, Zwane said.

On the highway near Winburg a motorist was arrested for driving 186km/h in a 120km zone and another caught near Kroonstad doing 181km/h.

“The Road Traffic Management Corporation reiterates that motorists should reduce their speed and obey all the rules of road.

“The roads are still busy and travellers are urged to plan their journeys carefully and avoid travelling at night,” Zwane said.

Enjoy Easter With These Fabulous Meals

So today is Good Friday… why not start the day off with a warm, light and fluffy croissant with a sweet jelly or jam of your choice. I prefer strawberry…

Getting together with friends? Grab a breadboard; layout a few snack biscuits and pile on the toppings. Don’t be shy with the salmon now!

Come Easter… We STILL braai boet! Yip, gooi a few garlic rolls on the grill with a foiled parcel of your favourite selection of seafood. And before you know it, you’ve got a lekker hearty seafood dish.

Not in the mood for heavy and hearty? OK, suit yourself. But don’t worry, it’s not considered settling if the salad is sexy… spice things up! Oh, and did we mention the word salmon already? It’s a pretty sexy ingredient don’t you think?

Hey fella, have you tried my auntie’s Paella?!
No seriously guys, you just can’t beat it. If you don’t have a family member who has mastered this dish then make your way to your favourite eatery that serves this tasty, Spanish meal. Don’t forget to top it with a side of hot salsa! *Random. But I like my paella with mayo. #don’tjudgeme

Over all the pickled fish. Thought that might be the situation. Keep calm and eat sushi!

Dessert

Yip. That’s right lazy, just cover the whole d*mn table in candy and the biggest brag of an Easter egg you can find.



or these guys…

Now these are easy to make… OK no. Who are we kidding! These you’ll probably have made or buy at the corner bakery.

If you’re not completely useless in the kitchen you could grab a few biscuits and drizzle and dip them in delicious icing, chocolate sauce, toffee syrup and sprinkle generously in colourful toppings that will have everyone’s attention. Then you smash it. Smash it all up into chunks and voila! Fun right?!

You can’t go wrong with these…

And who could possibly say no to cheesecake? Decorate with a bunny… at least you made an effort.

Hosting a picnic this Easter? Hide your dessert as part of the Easter egg hunt.

Even the adults will enjoy a trail of jelly beans that leads them to it!

Happy Easter Everyone.

- The South African

Unilever Grabs 8 Kasi Star Brands Awards

Unilever South Africa has received eight Kasi Star Brand Awards. Kasi Star Brands, a Daily Sun and Ask Afrika partnership initiative, are brands that have been determined to be used most loyally by South Africa’s township consumers, irrespective of their background or living standards.

According to Kasi Star Brands, South African township consumers voted with their wallets and their hearts, putting their money where their mouths are to demonstrate this commitment. This has led to four of the FMCG giant’s brands being voted as Kasi Star Brands, cementing them as true star township brands.

Unilever SA’s winning brands are: Sunlight Hand Dishwashing Soap (winner of the Dishwashing Detergents Category), Robertsons (winner of the Herbs and Spices Category), Knorrox (winner of the Stock Cubes Category) and Rama (winner of the Margarine/Butter Category).

Four additional Unilever brands were honoured as Category Winners, for having the highest overall scores per industry. These brands are: Shield (winner of the Deodorants for Men Category), Shield (winner of the Deodorants for Women Category), Dawn (winner of the Male Personal Care Category), and Knorrox (winner of the Soya Mince Category).

“Brand loyalty can only be achieved through the provision of excellent quality at affordable prices. These Awards are evidence of Unilever’s dedication to supplying its consumers with quality products that not only enhance their lives but foster a Brighter Future for all,” said Peter Cowan, Unilever South Africa’s Chairman.

In order to evaluate which brands deserved the Kasi Star Brand status, an in-depth survey was held, conducted through 6 763 interviews in South African townships. According to Kasi Star Brand, this survey by Ask Afrika was the largest of its kind in South Africa with 19 sectors, hundreds of product categories and thousands of brands being included in the measurement.

Kasi Star Brands are weaved into the fabric of South Africa’s vibrant township communities. This ethos is echoed by Unilever’s Sustainability Plan goals to create a Brighter Future for all South Africans. “Our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace. We work to create a brighter future every day, with brands and services that help people feel good, look good and live life to the full,” confirms Cowan.

The Kasi Star Awards ceremony was held on the 19th of March 2015 in order to recognise South Africa’s number one township brands. The winning brands were lauded as township symbols, contributing to the way township consumers define their status and their personalities.

“Unilever is committed to supporting sustainability and providing consumers around the world with brands with purpose that truly meet their needs. As such, we are proud of these achievements, driven to improve the lives of our consumers and look forward to many more years of creating brands that people love, can identify with and would choose over any other,” concludes Cowan.

- Press Release

How To Avoid Losing A New Job Because Of Social Networks

Employers are increasingly using Internet reputation research to make hiring decisions. Below are some suggestions for monitoring your online reputation, creating a positive personal brand, and removing negative or misleading information.

With the rise of Web 2.0 sites like Facebook and Twitter, the Internet has become a valuable character reference: What you post online gives HR personnel insights into how you will fit into their business environments. Recent surveys show that approximately 80 percent of recruiting professionals incorporate online reputation research into their hiring process, and 70 percent have rejected a candidate due to something they found online. Therefore, online reputation management should be a top priority for all job seekers in today’s highly competitive job market.  In this article we will discuss how your online social network could cost you a new job.


Locate personal data online


The first places you think to look are also some of the first places an employer will look. Popular social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr are common employer destinations. Start with these sites, using the built-in privacy controls to manage what other people can find out about you.

Next, conduct online research. You can safely assume that a potential employer will search for your name on Google. You should do this too, taking note of any negative content on the first one or two pages of results.

Also pay attention to Google’s suggested search results. For example, if you begin to type “online reputation,” Google will suggest a variety of related searches such as “online reputation management” and “online reputation repair.” If the search suggestions for your name contain negative information, the employer may toss out your resume on the spot.

 Eradicate negative information

There are a number of red flags that HR professionals look for online.

If your blog posts and forum comments are poorly written, inappropriate, or defamatory, an employer is likely to pass you over.

Additionally, any criticism of past employers is frowned upon, as are photos, videos, or other media that suggest you make destructive lifestyle choices.

Think about how your online social network could cost you a new job, before you make that next post.

In some cases, this information is easily eliminated.

If you have posted questionable content on your blog or on YouTube, remove it.

If someone has tagged you doing something embarrassing in a Facebook or Flickr album, delete the tag.

In other cases, it is much harder to eliminate negative information about yourself, especially if others have engaged in defamatory activities. You can request that information be removed, but this can be time consuming and is not always effective. In situations like these, you may need to engage in more proactive personal branding activities or hire a professional reputation management firm like Reputation.com.

Address misleading information

Sometimes information can be erroneously connected to your online reputation. For example, someone with the same name may be posting questionable material that is then attributed to you by a potential employer. If this is the case, explain the situation up front. If appropriate, address this issue in your cover letter or on the phone.

Another solution to this problem is to build a personal brand that draws attention away from the misleading content.

Providing relevant, well-written information is a good way to insure that employers find you and not somebody else.

An up-to-date blog containing posts on your professional interests and achievements can often outweigh the negative impression caused by other postings.

Writing an ongoing series of Twitter postings on topics of professional interest can also be useful.



Source: www.reputation.com

DJ Sbu Back On Radio As He Joins Cliff Central

Axed Metro FM DJ, Sbu Leope found a new home on Cliff Central starting 2 April. According to the online radio stations website Leope is set to have a weekly slot sponsored by his energy drink, MoFaya.

“He’s unscripted, uncensored and brings the fire – join us every Thursday from 09:00 to 10:00 as we usher in a new chapter by bringing on musician and media personality, DJ Sbu, onto our line-up.”

Leope was fired last week after he promoted his energy drink at the radio station’s awards show, against company policy.

@garrethcliff @cliffcentralcom looking forward to our partnership. Hope they start to realise internet is the future pic.twitter.com/Qv4hHAsF12

— MoFaya (@djsbu) April 1, 2015

Operation Paseka Will Keep You Safe This Easter

The police will height their crime fighting efforts this Easter weekend with the launch of Operation Paseka, a high visibility operation to safeguard road users and communities.

“We will be pulling out all the stops to ensure that criminals have nowhere to hide. We have identified an increase in certain categories of crime and our men and women in blue will be out in full force to ensure that this Easter holiday is as safe and crime free as it can be,” said National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega.

Traffic is at a maximum on all national routes during the festive weekend, and road fatalities peak during this time due to a range of factors including reckless and negligent driving, speeding, fatigue, unroadworthy vehicles and driving under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicants.

Operation Paseka is aimed at reducing serious and violent crimes such as house robberies, vehicle hijackings, business robberies, theft of or out of motor vehicles and stock theft.

As part of the operation, the police will mount road blocks on all major routes, conduct stop-and-search exercises, patrol the roads and conduct surprise visits at second hand goods dealers in search of stolen property.

Other criminal activities that will receive attention will be the possession of illegal firearms and alcohol and drug-related crimes.

Phiyega has appealed to members of the public and business owners to cooperate with police by sharing information that can assist them to combat crime.

Motorists are urged to observe the rules of the road and to exercise patience and courtesy to fellow road users.

“Our success is largely dependent on the close cooperation we have with members of the public. Reporting crime is a civic duty that each South African must take seriously,” said Phiyega

“We are grateful for the support we have received thus far and we urge members of the public to continue to be our eyes and ears so that we can rid our society of the cancer of crime.”

Chris Brown Is In South Africa!

Singer Chris Brown arrived to absolute chaos at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. The singer’s arrival caused a frenzy at the airport as fans, media and passers-by joined in the pandemonium while Breezy walked through international arrivals.

Many tried to snap pictures of the 25-year-old but failed as security at the airport whisked the singer away.

The Chris Brown X Tour Live in SA concerts are part of a world tour to celebrate the release of his sixth studio album entitled X.  The album, which sees Chris Brown teaming up with some of today’s hottest artists in R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop, such as Usher, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Tyga was released on 16 September via RCA Records.

With over one million in sales of Loyal featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga, Brown continues to prove his staying power as the single claimed the No 1 spot on Mainstream R&B/Hip chart for nine weeks, eight weeks at the top of the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and two weeks at No 1 on the Rhythmic chart.

According to a press release from Brown’s team X is the follow-up to Brown’s 2012 chart-topping album Fortune, which debuted at No 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and earned Brown a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Chris performs in Johannesburg this evening and will be in Durban on Saturday 4 April.

Source: News24wire

How The Media Pranked South Africa Today

It’s April Fools and we are unashamedly media geeks so let’s get to some of the stories spooking sleepy news junkies this morning.

Last year Helen Zille would be forgoing her normal lifestyle as Western Cape premier and be moving into the township of Khayelitsha for the last two weeks before the 7 May elections. The SABC, Independent News & Media and Gupta-owned The New Age/ANN7 were also set to announce that they are merging into one giant entity whose goal would be to, once and for all, tell the definitive truth about South Africa; day in, day out, on all media channels, until Jesus comes.

This year sacked Cosatu Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi is replacing Julius Malema at the head of the Economic Freedom Fighters, DStv finally gets some competition and Eskom announces “loadshedding stage 3G.”

Some April Fool’s highlights from around the South African web

Daily Maverick: Vavi joins EFF as interim head


In a stunning move that took almost every political analyst in the country by surprise, sacked Cosatu Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi will replace Julius Malema at the head of the Economic Freedom Fighters until the Commander in Chief has warded off corruption charges. And along with him comes another out-of-left-field appointment.

Our favourite bits: “We are a Marxist-Leninist Fanonian party,” Malema stated. “And Vavi has read almost all of those books.” and “He is a peerless locator of buildings,” said deputy president Floyd Shivambu. “We should have a nice new home shortly.”

Business Day: Turkish company floats power ship idea to buoy Eskom’s capacity


THE Department of Energy is poring over plans to source electricity from energy ships and power barges that could save Eskom millions.

IOL: A new kind of loadshedding for SA?


Eskom plans to disconnect mobile Facebook and WhatsApp users from the internet. In what is termed “loadshedding stage 3G”, the power utility thinks it has a new way to save electricity.

MyBroadband: MyBroadband launches DStv competitor


MyBroadband has partnered with international content providers to launch MyBroadband TV – a DStv competitor offering over 100 channels for only R99 per month.

Memeburn: Memeburn goes back to the future with Y2K – Cyber rebrand


The new name, Y2K — Cyber, take its cue from the halcyon days of the dotcom boom as does the retro feel of the branding. Fun fonts, a space-inspired background and an assertive tagline all come together to reflect an online publisher that knows where its future lies.

Local brand pranking

Shoprite Group: Shoprite announces GPS Smart Trolley


The Shoprite Group has announced the launch of a shopping trolley with GPS to direct consumers fast and effectively, also alerting them to discounted products and promotions while instore.

Safarinow: Nkandla – the Ultimate Getaway



Nestled between the picturesque towns of Kwanskop and Eshowe in rural KwaZulu-Natal, close to the rolling hills of Magengela and just two hours from the tranquil lagoon resort of Richards Bay, this simple homestead – recently renovated to the tune of R250 million – offers everything the discerning family demands in luxurious holiday extravagance.

Some April Fool’s highlights from around the global web

The Guardian: Jeremy Clarkson joins Guardian drive for fossil fuel divestment


The disgraced former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has become the latest celebrity to support the Guardian’s campaign for fossil fuel divestment.

Following what he described as a “dark night of the soul”, Clarkson said he hoped to “regain the trust of the British public” by dedicating his time and financial resources to sustainable energy, road safety and forging mutual understanding and tolerance between people of different cultures and religions.

Diepsloot's Tech Hub Ignites New Hope

On the outskirts of Johannesburg North, close to the leafy suburb of Fourways lies the poverty stricken township of Diepsloot. This township mostly houses migrant workers and job seekers from neighbouring countries.

Diepsloot has constantly suffered from the perils of negative media publicity with developmental projects often going unnoticed.

One such amazing story is that of Britehouse Group, who in partnership with social entrepreneur enterprise Got-Game, have transformed Sunrise Secondary School into a digital hub.

The R1.5 million Britehouse Got-Game digital hub boasts of a state of the art seating and tablets for 14 people, along with a supervisor station, servers and a smartboard. On the roof lies a satellite broadband dish.

The hub itself is also immune to the woes of loadshedding, thanks to a solar generator donated by Samsung housed next door. The electronics giant also supplied the tablets being used by the learners, while educational material has been provided by local non-governmental organisation, the Mentec Foundation .

“For me training these kids to be project managers was just something I felt we had to do to help them grow micro-businesses inside the hub,” said Arthur Anderson, CEO of Got-Game.

Anderson sees the hubs his organisation gives to communities like Diepsloot as seeds for something bigger, and something which should be self-sustaining in a short time.

“These youngsters can derive value from running this themselves. They grow the hub and move on to train other youths to run the next hub. It becomes like a franchise for all of them,” he professed.

The exquisite facility that can make any 'A' school drool with jealousy, prides itself in more ways than one.The hub has also doubled up as an employment creation conveyor belt.

According to Anderson, having learned a few online skills in the hub, learners can create and upload profiles via the Got-Game jobs platform and start doing small online jobs such as capturing data, creating documents, and other projects for various companies.

“We want to try connect people to digital work spaces. You shouldn’t leave school, have nowhere to go, nothing to do and find that all you have learnt and done was for nothing,” Anderson eluded.

A total of four managers have been trained to help local entrepreneurs use the facilities to expand their businesses – and by charging a fee for the use of the space and internet access time it will provide a revenue stream for the school too.

With a large number of Spaza shops and taverns sprouted throughout Diepsloot, it will be interesting to see them enhancing technological advancements for their businesses through the use of Britehouse Got-Game digital hub.

Habana Hopes To Sting Wasps In European Champions Cup

You just have to love rugby!

Flamboyant French outfit, Toulon will enter Sunday's European Rugby Championship quater final crunch encounter against Wasps with their eyes firmly fixed on one asset: To become the first team in history to win a hat-trick of European Cups.

For someone who once famously raced a cheetah, Bryan Habana has made an impressive fist of ensuring his career has been a marathon rather than a sprint. It is more than 10 years since a 21-year-old Habana made a try-scoring debut for South Africa at Twickenham, and in that time he has won two Super Rugby titles, the 2007 World Cup, last year’s Heineken Cup and Top 14 double as well as scoring international try No57 last November.

All this when international wings are getting bigger, faster, stronger and younger – George North has more than 50 caps, aged 22, but his career could already be in danger, according to some commentators, should he take another blow to the head.

The evergreen wing, Habana has his eyes set on dominating for club and country, starting with providing the fatal sting for Wasps on Sunday.

“It does get harder to keep doing it, without a doubt. It’s probably like that for all players that want to be seen as the best. I think the pressure you put on yourself is to constantly succeed and that pressure only becomes more once you are a world champion and once you are a title holder. If you want to stay at No1 then you gotta train like you’re No2," Habana said during the launch of ‘We Deal In Real’, Land Rover’s Rugby World Cup 2015 campaign.

“The drive is still there and for me it is about playing a level of rugby that is good enough to be selected for the World Cup and being in an environment where you are constantly driven by the players around you,” he added.

Toulon have won 10 of their 11 Champions Cup games against English opposition including all five home games.