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Western Cape municipal officials attending a housing development training session at the University of Cape Town on Tuesday said the programme would benefit them.

Seventy employees from more than 20 municipalities across the province were taking part in the week-long programme.

The Human Settlements Department has spent nearly R500,000 to help improve the skills of officials responsible for housing development.

It insisted it could not spend billions of rands on projects that could fall apart even before completion.

Prince Albert Municipality official Ashley America believed the council would benefit from the programme.

“This would give me a broader perspective taking the human factor into consideration and I’m capacitating myself because I don’t have all the experience in the world. I think what the department is doing here is excellent,” he added.

(Edited by Lisa Bartlett)

Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti and Gabriel Milito will make their Argentina comebacks against world champions Spain in a friendly at the River Plate stadium Tuesday (9 p.m. British time).

The trio were overlooked by Diego Maradona for the recent World Cup finals in South Africa, where Argentina crashed out in a 4-0 quarter-final defeat by Germany.

"Gabriel has shown me can bring the ball out well from defence, he has good left foot with good touch," Sergio Batista, Maradona’s successor, said of Barcelona centre back Milito.

"Javier is a player of great experience who moves into attack with conviction," Batista told a news conference on Monday speaking of the return at right back of Zanetti, who has an Argentine record 136 caps.

"Cambiasso is a coach on the pitch," he added of the midfielder, a key player in the Inter Milan side that won the European Champions League in May.

Batista took over on a temporary basis after Maradona was not retained as coach and will be hoping to be confirmed in the job when the Argentine Football Association make their decision on who should steer the team towards the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"The idea is to maintain a playing identity. We have players capable of that," said Batista, a commanding central midfielder in the Argentine side led to the world title by Maradona in 1986.

Batista has, however, retained Maradona’s attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez.

He has given the midfield greater substance, however, after captain Javier Mascherano found himself almost alone against a packed German midfield in the June debacle in Cape Town.

"Mache will have to be beyond the halfway line to play more," Batista said.

Mascherano will be flanked by Cambiasso to his left and on the right by Ever Banega, who was also overlooked for the World Cup but returned for Batista’s first match in charge, a 1-0 friendly win over Ireland in Dublin last month.

Batista said he would like his Argentina side to emulate the Spanish possession and passing game but it would take time.

"It’s six years of work against six days," he said.

Team - Sergio Romero; Javier Zanetti, Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Milito, Gabriel Heinze; Ever Banega, Javier Mascherano, Esteban Cambiasso; Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez.

Two Cape Town residents were arrested on Monday and charged with the illegal possession of 250 parcels of dagga.

The 27-year-old woman and 18-year-old boy were taken into custody after police found drugs worth R10,000 in three shacks in Freedom Farm, Belhar.

Police spokesperson Joe Wilson said officers were led to the drugs after a routine stop and search operation.

“Members of the Maitland Flying Squad were embarking on a stop and search operation when they interrogated several suspicious persons. After the interrogation, they obtained information and searched several shacks in the area,” he added.

(Edited by Lisa Bartlett)

Authorities on Tuesday said public servants who were not at their posts would be back at work on Wendesday at the latest.

The civil servants strike has been suspended for 21 days, to give government and unions more time to negotiate.

The industrial has, however, left its mark. Matric preliminary exams have been suspended in Gauteng and other provinces, while many children have not been at school for nearly four weeks. Patients have also been turned away from public hospitals.

Employees at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital returned to their posts on Tuesday.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said she was expecting most teachers and pupils to go back to school on Tuesday but said there would still be some who stayed away because they had not received news of the suspension as yet.

“We only sent the communiqué today, so we do expect teachers to go back to school and that parents manage to get the information to send children back to school but tomorrow we expect [everyone back],” said the minister.

Meanwhile, public service unions said the nationwide strike was successful with their members able to push government to revise its offer several times.

But the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) President Thobile Ntola said the three-week strike was more than successful in gaining ground with government.

“From the onset the state was not prepared to move from 5.2 percent but we have managed to move the employer from 5.2 percent to 7.5 percent and given that the inflation is 3.7, I think it is a quantum leap compared to the real increment on which we have moved the employer,” said Ntola.

Labour analysts said the suspension of the nationwide strike may be an indication that unions are willing to accept government’s offer.

“It is very unusual for a union to resume a strike after a suspension like this. It is very difficult to get their members mobilised again and the pressure they are under is also too great,” said independent analyst Gavin Brown.

CATCHING UP IN THE W.CAPE

The Western Cape Education Department on Tuesday said it was time for teachers and pupils to catch up on the work they had missed.

Teaching is expected to return to normal at schools affected by the three-week strike.

Education MEC Donald Grant said, “Our preliminary exams can now go ahead full steam as scheduled. Despite the so-called suspension of the strike, we are going to continue our plans for our spring camp especially for our Grade 12 learners”.

Tshwane’s Head of Community Safety Dikeledi Lehobye on Monday said she was relieved a metro police officer was not found with Blue Bulls prop Bees Roux’s credit cards.

Roux allegedly beat to death sergeant Ntshimane Mogale, apparently in an act of self-defence because he was being robbed.

A week ago at his bail application Roux’s attorney suggested the metro police were responsible for the missing credit cards.

Vusi Ntloki faces one count of theft and 12 of fraud relating to transactions made on Roux’s credit cards.

 

It is alleged the 29-year-old Mamelodi man picked up the rugby players wallet at the scene of the crime. Between 10am and 5pm that day he allegedly spent more than R9 000 - half of it on alcohol.

 

Lehobye said this was a clear reason why people should not speculate on the crime.

Bafana Bafana defender Siyabonga Sangweni has returned to training with Golden Arrows.

Sangweni says he is looking forward to continuing his career after his expected transfer to Kaizer Chiefs fell through.

 

Arrows host Vasco da Gama on Wednesday having lost their first league match 2-0 to Chiefs.

Cricket will make way for archery at the historic Lord’s ground in two years’ time after London 2012 organisers got the go-ahead for their plans on Monday.

Lord’s, the spiritual home of world cricket, will be temporarily transformed into an Olympic archery venue with 5,000 seats installed on the lush green outfield.

"I’m delighted that we have obtained permission to stage the Olympic archery at Lord’s in 2012," London organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe said after Westminster City council approved the 2012 makeover for the north London ground.

"Lord’s will be a spectacular venue for hosting the Games in 2010 and the Olympic archery will be an exciting competition for both spectators and athletes."

The archery is provisionally scheduled to run from July 27 to August 3, in the middle of the English cricket season, but Lord’s executives believe disruption to the calendar will be minimal.

Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) who are based at Lord’s, said this year that he hoped two cricket tests would be staged on the ground in 2012.

South Africa are due to tour and currently there is one test match and three one-day internationals planned for Lord’s.

Archers will fire their arrows from in front of the Lord’s pavilion towards the space-age media centre that is one of London’s most recognisable structures.

Lords’s is one of several iconic venues that will stage 2012 events. The All England Club will host tennis, Greenwich Park the equestrian events and beach volleyball will take place on Horse Guard’s Parade.

Investigations are underway into why two brothers died under mysterious circumstances at a Johannesburg hospital.

It was initially feared the men may have died of hemorrhagic fever, but Netcare Olivedale Hospital and health officials said the causes of the deaths had not yet been determined.

There have been several cases of people dying of hemorrhagic fever in South Africa in the past two years but authorities said it was too early to determine if these latest deaths should be added to that list.

It is understood authorities do not know what the two brothers died of on Saturday and Monday, respectively. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Monday told Eyewitness News said the men could even have died because of food poisoning.

In a statement, the hospital said the pair had not travelled out of the country recently, though the siblings were in contact with wildlife.

No other cases were reported and precautionary measures were taken.

To read the hospital’s statement click here.

The Democratic Alliance on Tuesday said it hoped a rape case against one of its parliamentarians would be finalised soon.

The party’s deputy shadow minister of home affairs, Masizole Mnqasela, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday and the matter was postponed to 16 September.

He was arrested in June this year for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl after a braai at his home.

DA spokesperson James Selfe said they trust the court would not drag the matter out.

“Cases like this very often get postponed again and again…but I think he is, as much as we are, very keen to get this matter to resolution and clear this matter up,” he said.

(Edited by Lisa Bartlett)

A taxi driver arrested for the death of ten children would not face murder charges, a criminal law expert said on Tuesday.

Jacob Humphreys faces 10 counts of culpable homicide after a taxi and train collided in Blackheath two weeks ago.

Humphreys allegedly jumped the queue and drove around the booms at the Buttskop level crossing and his vehicle was subsequently hit by an oncoming train.

Professor Steve Tuson of Wits University said Humphreys’ actions were never premeditated so he cannot be charged with murder.

“The difference between murder and culpable homicide, the difference between the two charges, is the criminal intent involved. Murder requires your intention to kill and culpable homicide is negligence. Your negligence killed the person,” he added.

Meanwhile, Humphreys is set to return to the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday when a decision surrounding his bail application could be made.

His lawyer William Fisher said preliminary talks have been held with the prosecutor but it was not clear whether the State would oppose bail.

“I’ve been told there are options. I have heard what these options are and like everyone else, I will wait and see. Either they will oppose or there will be some agreement to [grant] bail and bail conditions. But it is up in the air,” he said.

Advocate Yvette Isaacs, who is representingr some of the parents of the 10 victims, said the families’ wishes with regard to bail would be relayed to the court on Tuesday.

“I will definitely get instruction with regard to that and by the time we go to court I will have clear instruction with regard to their feeling toward the charges and bail as well,” she added.

(Edited by Lisa Bartlett)

China has told the United States it wants to narrow differences that have developed over a range of issues, state media said on Tuesday, aiming to lay the ground for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan made the conciliatory public comments in a meeting with the U.S. National Economic Council Director, Larry Summers, and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon, who are in Beijing for two days of talks.

Washington and Beijing are drawn together by economic and diplomatic interests, but this year has brought bouts of contention over Internet policies, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Tibet, and Chinese territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.

U.S. officials have said President Hu is likely to visit the United States early next year -- an important but tricky political trophy for a Chinese leader -- and Vice Premier Wang stressed his government’s hopes for an amicable atmosphere.

"There is strong inter-dependence and complementarity between the Chinese and U.S. economies," he told Summers and Donilon on Monday evening, Chinese state newspapers reported.

"China and the United States must use dialogue and exchanges to enhance understanding and mutual confidence, narrow their differences and avoid politicizing economic issues," said Wang.

"China-U.S. relations are developing in a generally healthy way," he said.

Neither side has said what issues are being discussed during the two days of talks in Beijing. Summers’s discussions with China’s top central banker, Zhou Xiaochuan, and other policy-makers are likely to include currency and trade issues.

The United States complains that China keeps its yuan currency undervalued, giving its manufacturers an unfair advantage against imports and making Chinese exports cheaper.

China unofficially pegged the yuan to the dollar from mid-2008 to mid-2010, so the currency weakened against other trade partners as the value of the dollar slid.

China ended that de facto peg on June 19, but since then the yuan has weakened by about 0.33 percent against the dollar, after appreciating as much as 0.91 percent on August 9.

Summers and Donilon also took an upbeat public tone.

In comments made before reporters, Summers told Wang that President Barack Obama "has emphasized for us the importance he attaches to a very strong relationship between the United States and China, and to President Hu’s upcoming visit to the United States."

"I think we all benefit from candid conversation that enables us both to understand each other’s thinking," said Summers. He and Donilon are due to meet Premier Wen Jiabao later on Tuesday.

The 30th SAB Sports Journalist of the Year Awards took place in Sandton on Monday night where Lucky Sindane from the Mail & Guardian was named the overall winner.

Sindane walked away with the overall title for his hard hitting expose on Caster Semenya.

Other big victors saw SuperSport’s Thomas Mlambo named the overall winner in the television category, Michael Abrahamson scooped the Radio award, while Kwaito star Kabelo Mabalane was named Best Newcomer.

Eyewitness News reporter Lelo Mzaca was named Radio News Reporter of the Year for his coverage of the Semenya controversy, as well as his work on the South African Football Association’s (Safa) elections and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The evening also saw veterans Thomas Kwenaite, Martin Locke, Trevor Quirk, Sy Lerman and Alf Khumalo inducted into the Hall of Fame for their lifetime achievements in sports coverage.

Over a million public servants returned to work on Tuesday morning after their 20-day industrial action was suspended on Monday.

The strike is now on hold for 21 days, while negotiations with government continue. The parties will discuss government’s latest offer of a 7.5 percent wage increase and R800 housing allowance.

 

Public schools and hospitals were affected the worst by the strike action. There has been no teaching at many school, while principals and teachers who have chosen to stay in the classroom were intimidated. Hospitals were also forced to call on volunteers to continue treating patients.

 

When the industrial action started, patients and babies who had not eaten for a day were transported to private institutions.

 

CHARLOTTE MAXEKE HOSPITAL

 

There seemed to be confusion on Tuesday morning at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, which was one of the facilities affected the worst by the strike.

 

A handful of nurses some wearing red National Education, Health, and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) t-shirts sang and danced outside the hospital’s main entrance.

 

When asked if they were on strike one of them replied, "No, we are going to work."

Police later arrived to speak to the nurses. One of the officers explained to them that what they were doing was illegal but the group began shouting loudly. They said they were simply waiting for their shop stewards to address them.

Meanwhile, unions said they were prepared to be "convinced" by government to accept the latest wage offer.

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union’s (Sadtu) President Thobile Ntola said they were hoping to reach a settlement in three weeks.

“We are asserting the fact that we have pushed the employer to come to the table and we are prepared to be convinced by what is on the table and that is why we are suspending the strike. We are not calling off the strike we are suspending it. If the employer is not faithful in these current negotiations, there will come a time when we will deal with the employer and consider anything,” said Ntola.

At the same time, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said it was glad the strike was suspended but said something needed to be done to reach a wage increase agreement.

The chamber’s CEO Neren Rau said prolonged mass actions like the one just experienced were destructive to the country as a whole.

“We want to see action, decision, steps and behaviour that support the ethic of putting the country first,” said Rau.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Monday said it would investigate Jackie Selebi’s new evidence, which involves complaints against some of its officials.

 

Last week, the former national police commissioner made a surprise announcement saying he had received fresh information and handed it over the police, the NPA and the South African Revenue Services (Sars).

 

On Monday, his defence team said once the information was investigated it could be introduced in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

 

Selebi was granted leave to appeal one of seven of his complaints about his corruption trial.

After making the announcement about receiving new evidence Selebi refused to reveal any details. But the NPA’s Mthunzi Mhaga provided the strongest clues yet.

“The national director received the complaints which relate to allegations of irregularities against certain NPA officials. This is alleged to have happened during an investigation by Sars against Mr. Glenn Agliotti,” said Mhaga.

The NPA would not reveal the names of the officials and said it would conduct its own investigation and cooperate with other authorities.

Agliotti was the state’s star witness against Selebi, who Is due to petition the chief justice to continue his bid to have his trial declared unfair.

A judge in the Bahamas on Monday dismissed the charges against two people accused of trying to extort $25 million from John Travolta over his son’s death after the Hollywood actor requested the case be dropped.

Senior Justice Jon Isaacs made the ruling after Prosecutor Neil Braithwaite said he had been informed by Travolta that he and his family felt it was best to drop the highly-publicized case as it had caused them "unbelievable stress and pain".

Former member of the Bahamian Senate Pleasant Bridgewater and ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne had been accused of attempting to extort $25 million from Travolta following the death of his son, Jett, 16, from a seizure disorder in early January 2009 during a family vacation in the Bahamas.

The two accused were alleged to have threatened to pass to the media a document, signed by Travolta, which released Lightbourne and his colleagues from any liability for Jett’s death after the actor decided to attempt to fly his son to Florida, rather than have him taken to hospital in Freeport.

In October last year, another Bahamian judge had ordered a retrial in the case after a local politician and party colleague of Bridgewater announced on local television and radio the accused had been cleared. He made the announcement before the jury in the trial had formally issued any verdict.

Last year’s trial in the beach-fringed Atlantic tourism destination attracted intense media interest.

Travolta testified how he had tried frantically to save his son by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Attorneys for the accused raised no objection to the judge’s dismissal of the charges, although Lightbourne himself told the court he would have preferred a not guilty verdict.

Novak Djokovic stormed into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open Monday to remind Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal exactly why he is regarded as a serious contender to win the men’s championship before Caroline Wozniacki cleared one of the major hurdles in her bid to win the women’s title.

Djokovic, getting better with each match after a shaky start to the tournament, laid down the challenge to his main rivals with a comprehensive 6-3 6-4 6-1 over American crowd favourite Mardy Fish, the 19th seed.

"It’s very encouraging at this stage of the tournament that I’m raising my game and feeling more comfortable on the court," Djokovic said. "I played a great match today."

Wozniacki kept her cool to defeat an error-prone Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-4 in one of the most eagerly awaited matches at the Arthur Ashe Stadium centre court.

A surprise finalist 12 months ago but the top seed this year after the withdrawal of injured world number one Serena Williams, Wozniacki showed how far she has come by beating the former champion in straight sets.

"I definitely think I’ve improved a lot, not only physically, but also I believe in myself more. I believe I can do it," Wozniacki said.

Sharapova contributed to her own defeat with 36 unforced errors and nine double faults, including three on successive points.

"I had my fair share of chances and didn’t take them throughout this whole year in the big events," the Russian said. "That’s just the way it’s gone."

Wozniacki’s next opponent is Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, who is the only unseeded player left in the women’s draw and also the smallest at just 1.61 metres (5-foot-3).

"Okay, I’m short, but, you know, I’m really quick," the 45th-ranked Cibulkova said.

"I can be fast on the court and I have no problem with the low balls."

Cibulkova advanced with a 7-5 7-6 win over another former Russian champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who attributed her defeat on the schedule.

"It was very hard for me to play one night the second night match and then in one day to play at 11 o’clock," Kuznetsova said.

"I just didn’t feel good today. I was very flat. I was just fighting with myself and was not doing all the time the things I was supposed to do."

Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi recovered from a horrendous start to wear down Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer 0-6 7-6 6-1 and reach the last eight against the only surviving Russian woman, Vera Zvonareva, after the Wimbledon finalist outgunned Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-2.

Gael Monfils overpowered his countryman Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-5 7-5 to become the first Frenchman in a decade to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals. The next opponent for the world number 19 is Djokovic.

Sweden’s two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling eased into the quarter-finals with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3 victory over Albert Montanes, one of six Spaniards who made the last 16 of the men’s draw.

Soderling will play the winner of Monday’s final match between number two seed Roger Federer and Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

Tropical Storm Hermine strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday as it approached landfall near the U.S.-Mexico border, but oil and gas operations in the Gulf were unaffected.

Hermine, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, may reach hurricane strength before it makes landfall on Monday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.

The storm’s forecast path kept it away from major oil and natural gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico, and energy companies said there had been no affect on their operations.

The Miami-based hurricane centre warned the storm could dump heavy rain on the coastal region and would pack a 2-to-4-foot (0.75-to-1.25-metre) storm surge that could cause deadly flash flooding and mudslides.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from La Cruz, Mexico, to Port O’Connor, Texas, while a hurricane watch was in effect from Rio San Fernando Mexico, to Baffin Bay, Texas.

At 4 p.m. CDT (2100 GMT), Hermine was about 100 miles (165 km) south-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and moving north-northwest at 15 mph (24 kph) and the storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph).

Hurricane Alex hit northeastern Mexico in July, killing 12 people and causing heavy flooding in the business capital of Monterrey. Damage from the storm was estimated at $700 million.

Hermine was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches (10 cm to 20 cm) of rain over northeastern Mexico and south Texas, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches (30 cm) possible, the hurricane centre said.

GASTON LIKELY TO RECOVER

In the Mexican coastal city of Matamoros, residents braced for flooding as authorities remained on high alert. The drainage system is often clogged with garbage and prone to overflow during heavy rains.

"Every time there is a hurricane or a storm, we have problems," said Rene Polanco, 48, who works in a supermarket in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville. "It’s because of poor drainage in the city."

At least 30 residential areas could be in danger from floods, although no evacuations had started yet, an official for the city’s civil protection said.

In the Atlantic, the remnant of Tropical Storm Gaston continued to move westward and had a high chance of reforming as a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.

Storm models predicted Gaston would travel almost due west, which would take it very close to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Energy traders keep a close eye on potentially violent storms approaching the Gulf because it is home to about 30 percent of U.S. oil production, 11 percent of natural gas production and more than 43 percent of U.S. refinery capacity.

The hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 and is currently in its peak period.

Swazi authorities were bracing themselves for protests against human rights violations in the kingdom on Tuesday.

At least 50 pro-democracy activists were arrested on Monday and two journalists from South Africa were turned away at the border.

A Swazi police spokesperson said the authorities believed foreigners had no right to interfere in domestic matters and that the detentions were designed to determine who non-Swazis were.

Sisonke Msimang, of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, said two of their members were among those who were held.

The organisation is funded by financier George Soros.

Msimang said the last absolute monarchy in sub-Sahara Africa was becoming increasingly repressive.

The detentions were also condemned by South African trade union federation Cosatu. The journalists turned back at the border work for the American wire service Associated Press.

Charley Hoffman charged to a commanding five-stroke victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday but it remains to be seen whether it was enough to earn a spot on the American Ryder Cup team.

Hoffman was a class apart as he compiled 11 birdies in a spectacular nine-under-par 62 at the Boston TPC, the day’s best score by three strokes.

He finished at 22-under 262, matching the tournament record low score, while Jason Day (71) bogeyed the last to fall back into a tie for second with compatriot Geoff Ogilvy (66) and Briton Luke Donald (69) at 17-under.

American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin on Tuesday will announce his four wild card picks to complete the 12-man team that will take on Europe next month.

But whether Pavin puts much stock in one great performance by a guy who arrived here ranked 132nd in the world is the big question.

Hoffman, 33, arrived here with some solid form - three top-10s in his past five starts - but was not considered one of the favourites.

He started the final round four strokes behind overnight leader Day and demolished the star-studded field to claim just his second victory on the PGA Tour.

He jumps to second on the tour’s FedEx Cup points list with two of four playoff events completed.

"This is a very special day for me and if Mr. Pavin thinks I’m a good enough pick, I’d love to join the team," the laid-back Californian, who didn’t know he was leading until he looked at a leaderboard at the 15th hole, told reporters.

"I went out and won and hopefully I’m on the real short list. I think I’d help the team but I would not be disappointed (not to be picked)."

Asked whether this was the highlight of his career, Hoffman said: "It’s a no-brainer, best ever. To shoot 62 on a pretty tough course, it’s fun."

BEST SEAT

Ogilvy, who played with Hoffman, was impressed.

"I had the best seat in the house," Ogilvy said. "He hit great shots all day, putted really well, and as soon as he got himself in trouble he’d hole a bunker shot or something like that.

"It a pretty class act and he never looked like doing anything but winning after about three holes."

Adam Scott, who finished tied for fifth, played in the pairing ahead of Hoffman, and waited to congratulate his former team mate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"As much as I joke about all the bad stuff he made me do at college, he made me feel very comfortable, a 17-year-old kid from Australia moving to Vegas," Scott said.

"It’s good to see him playing up to the potential he has. He’s always been, in my mind, a great player. He can go low and I like that in a player."

National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele on Monday denied lying to Parliament about the rental of two buildings that amounted to R700 million.

His office released a statement on Monday night following weekend reports claiming that several of his deputies were let go because they questioned alleged dodgy property deals.

Cele told members of Parliament last week that generals Stephanus Terblanche, Mathews Siwundla and Hamilton Hlela surprisingly resigned after he asked the Special Investigations Unit to probe suspect deals approved by their Supply Chains Unit since 2006.

In the statement, Cele described the Sunday Times report as "misleading." He said the generals quoted in the article were free to assist Parliament to investigate the allegations.

Cele said in May, the retired generals failed to provide responses to Parliament on gross violations, inefficiency and mismanagement in building services, property management and other supply chain management.

He insisted their sudden exit came soon after the Special Investigations Unit probe was announced. He said their division was in shambles and said the generals were not offered golden handshakes.

Cele warned that one should not give too much weight to comments made by people whose division was being investigated.