It is expected that smart ID cards will be in use by the next general elections, the home affairs department said on Thursday (17/05/2012).

COSATU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi warned the ANC yesterday it was sitting on “a ticking time bomb that is starting to explode” and needed to get its house in order or face a revolt similar to the 1976 riots against Bantu education.

POLITICIANS and prosecutors are scrambling to fix a parliamentary bungle that could see thousands of sex offenders walk free.

PORT Elizabeth is proving to be the party destination of choice for 5FM deejays who voted six parties in Nelson Mandela Bay as among the top 15 they attended in their whirlwind 42-party marathon.

NELSON Mandela Bay master knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo is going from strength to strength with his range of Xhosa-inspired men’s knitwear.

NELSON Mandela Bay property magnate Ken Denton has been ordered by the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (Phra) to cease renovations of the historic Donkin Row houses because he does not have permission to do so.

LABOUR federation Cosatu has cut ties with the ANC leadership in Nelson Mandela Bay until an appeal lodged with provincial party bosses regarding the legitimacy of the newly elected ANC executive is dealt with.

TWO pupils from the Eastern Cape shone at the recent International Sustainable World Energy Engineering Environment Project Olympiad (I-Sweeep) held in Houston, Texas.

THE fight to save Eastern Cape rhinos from poachers stepped up a gear at Rhodes University this week when students and staff rallied to highlight their plight

PANDEMONIUM broke out in Timothy Valley in Port Elizabeth yesterday when hundreds of residents embarked on a massive housing protest.

SOUTH Africa’s democracy is at a crossroads and language, which is at the heart of real transition and liberation, is not on the national agenda, warns political analyst and social commentator Professor Somadoda Fikeni.

THE deepening teacher-shortage crisis at Eastern Cape schools has resulted in many struggling to play catch- up while Bhisho remains mum about the future of temporary teachers.

DA national spokesman Mmusi Maimane laid charges against Cosatu on Wednesday (16/05/2012) after a protest by the party turned violent in Johannesburg.

SOUTH African music legend Johnny Clegg, the face of government’s new cultural heritage strategy, says “finding the hidden story behind” is the key to unwrapping the Eastern Cape’s tapestry of riches. Clegg was responding to a question during his presentation to media at Tourism Indaba 2012 in Durban, yesterday.

SOUTH Africa is turning the tide in the fight against HIV/Aids, with the rate of mother-to- child transmission dropping an average 20% for the first time in 10 years – meaning that the infection of about 60000 babies a year is being prevented.

TEACHERS’ improved understanding and delivery of the curriculum may be behind the massive increase in the number of Eastern Cape pupils who went on to pass matric last year.

WHILE most other dogs of his kind are busy chasing sheep, a Port Elizabeth pooch has struck up an unlikely friendship – with tiger cubs.

YOUNG and old waited patiently at the train station in Swartkops, Port Elizabeth, yesterday but none of them were going on a trip.

THE majority of South African professionals want to stay in the country and make it work, despite rising concerns about healthcare, crime and education.

A YOUNG couple have spurned convention, bright lights and big salaries to settle on the Wild Coast, where they are helping a village community forge a sustainable future.

STUDYING at all the Port Elizabeth College campuses came to a standstill yesterday as students continued their protest against the non-payment of National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary money.

THE message has been sent loud and clear by business in South Africa – inefficient electricity supply and billing, poor roads and traffic lights, red tape and the volatile political climate are adding undue pressure to the ability to make money and compete.

Twelve police officers appeared on murder and other charges in the Bellville Regional Court on Tuesday (15/05/2012).

At least two DA supporters were injured when rocks were thrown when they marched down Jorissen Street in Braamfontein in Johannesburg on Tuesday (15/05/2012).

People are divided on whether it is time to change the Constitution, according to survey results released on Tuesday (15/02/2012).

THE Uitenhage couple who disappeared without a trace more than a month ago were told to “leave and not come back” and so they did – leaving family and friends fearing for their safety.

JULIUS Malema, speaking publicly for the first time since his expulsion as ANC Youth League president, boasted proudly yesterday of the widespread support he still commanded.

RELATIONSHIPS between superintendents-general in the Eastern Cape departments of Health and Finance have reached “boiling point”, says Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana.

A KEY police witness suffered a suspected heart attack and collapsed yesterday while testifying in the Knysna Circuit Court trial of six men accused in South Africa’s biggest drug bust.

ANGRY college students in Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday disrupted campuses in protest against the short payment of bursary funds from the National Students Financial Aid Scheme.

THE Sanctor Primary School in Port Elizabeth may soon have a permanent principal after a court order was granted in its favour for the district education department to hand over candidates’ application forms for interviewing and short-listing to take place.

MANY provincial doctors in the Eastern Cape have not been paid – some for a month, some for three months.

DEVELOPERS of the unprecedented multibillion-rand “city within a city” development planned for Nelson Mandela Bay’s western suburbs, Bay West City, hope to start construction on the project as soon as August.

THE blame for rising food prices not only rests with increasing petrol and electricity costs but also with consumers, the DA said yesterday

PUBLIC health officials have been linked in a confidential report to a new web of fraud and corruption amounting to R200-million in the embattled Eastern Cape Health Department.

FORGET hymnbooks and bibles, some worshippers arrived at a Port Elizabeth church yesterday morning with knobkerries and guns

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is on a soccer spending spree, with a pending R20-million deal to bring Maritzburg United to the city permanently adding to the recent pledge of R30-million to co-host next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).