TIG Post

Tag: South Africa

  • South Africa: Protests imminent, Ghanaians urged to be vigilant

    Ghanaians resident in South Africa have been advised to be vigilant and restrict their movements to safe areas as a result of potential danger arising from imminent protests against foreigners in the country.

    The Ghana High Commission in a Travel Advisory to the Ghanaian community said “In the last month, individuals claiming to represent various groups against the presence of foreigners have announced or broadcast plans to attack, rusticate or remove foreigners from their jobs or workplaces and even out of the country from the beginning of September 2022”.

    The advisory noted that whilst the move was not a government or state policy of South Africa, “such activities by individuals or groups could degenerate into violence aimed at foreigners or threaten their lives, safety and livelihood”.

    “The Mission would thus, like to advise members of the Ghanaian community to be vigilant to any such incidents, restrict their movements to safe areas, avoid mass gatherings and refrain from engaging in activities that could result in conflict, brawls or deterioration in their safety,” the advisory reads.

    “Members of the Ghanaian community may contact the Mission in case of emergency or any attacks on telephone numbers: 012-342-5847 or 0768-764-838 and via the following email address: headconsular@ghanahighcommission.co.za , headofmission@ghanahighcommission.co.za

    Last month, people across South Africa took part in a nationwide strike in protest against the rising cost of living.

    Singing songs from the country’s liberation struggle, thousands marched towards the president’s office, demanding reductions in prices.

    Inflation has hit nearly 8% – the highest in 13 years – and around a third of South Africans are unemployed.

    South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank.

    Source: Graohiconline

  • Ghanaians in South Africa cautioned over imminent protests against foreigners

    The Ghanaian High Commission in South Africa has alerted Ghanaians of the potential danger of upcoming protests against foreigners in the country.

    In a statement, it mentioned that some anti-foreigner groups had made preparations to oust foreigners from their workplaces or occupations starting in September.

    “Whilst recognising that this is not a government or state policy, such activities by individuals or groups could degenerate into violence aimed at foreigners or threaten their lives, safety and livelihood,” the statement said.

    The violent xenophobia against Africans in South Africa has a recent history.

    Foreign Africans have been used as a scapegoat and blamed for crimes, economic instability, and poor governance.

    They have been targets of nationwide protests and shutdowns characterised by mob violence, looting, and torching of their businesses.

    The Ghana mission urged members of the Ghanaian community to “be vigilant to any such incidents, restrict their movements to safe areas, avoid mass gatherings and refrain from engaging in activities that could result in conflict, brawls or deterioration in their safety.”

  • Graeme Smith wants SA20 to be world’s second-best T20 league

    Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith hopes the new SA20 competition will become “the second-best Twenty20 league” in the world.

    The 41-year-old is the new commissioner of a tournament which will have six franchise teams and get under way on 23 January next year.

    “I think It’s very difficult to knock the IPL off their perch, but our goal is to be right behind them,” Smith told the BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast.

    “The IPL has extracted serious value and done wonders for Indian cricket.

    “South African cricket really needed to build a product that it owned and could develop itself. We’ve seen all the other nations do that successfully.

    “I think we finally got the model right. This opportunity here is to really lift and elevate the standard of the game.”

    England internationals Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone have already been signed for the SA20, along with West Indians Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers and Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.

    A player auction to finalise the squads will be held on 19 September.

    Source; BBCsports

  • South Africa’s cabinet approves new coins

    A new design for coins that will feature inscriptions in all official languages in South Africa has been approved by the cabinet.

    The cabinet in a statement revealed how the new design will look like for each denomination.

    “The word ‘South Africa’ will be inserted on the one side of the coins and printed in all the official languages. Three languages will be used in the R5 coin; two languages R2; 50c, 20c and 10c coins and the R1 will be in one language,” the cabinet statement read in part.

    Zulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Siswati, Tshivenda and Ndebele are South Africa’s official languages.

    The official languages will be rotated annually over the next 10 years.

    The new coins will begin circulating from next year and no sample design has been generated yet.

    This is the fourth time South Africa will be changing the design of its coins – the last one being in 1989.

  • Migrants targeted in South Africa after gang rape outrage

    Residents of a South African township near Johannesburg have set ablaze the homes of migrants they believe are illegally working in disused local mines.

    There has been widespread anger after a large group of miners were accused of the gang rape of eight women last week.

    Dozens of people are being held by police in connection with the assault but none have been charged with rape.

    In recent years, poverty has been one of the drivers of xenophobic attacks.

    Some believe – whether rightly or wrongly – that foreigners are the cause of many of their difficulties.

    People in Kagiso say the foreign miners – known locally as Zama Zamas – are responsible for crime in the area. The sexual assaults last week in nearby Krugersdorp enflamed tensions and residents called for a demonstration.

    Explaining the motivation behind the protest, one resident told the BBC: “I’m scared to go to the shops. Our police are not doing anything.”

    “Let them stop doing what they are doing,” another woman said, blaming the migrants for violent attacks.

    On Thursday morning, police, both on the ground and in helicopters, fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse angry mobs who were chasing the miners.

    People armed with garden tools forced them to seek safety in old underground mine ventilation shafts.

    A journalist from national TV station eNCA described seeing naked men being marched through the area and then beaten.

    The police detained 22 men who had been targets of the violence in a move that may have been to prevent them being lynched.

    There are reports that one person has been found dead, but it is unclear if the death is related to the protest.

    Rocks, rubble and burning tyres have been used to blockade major roads in the township.

    People in Kagiso are now saying they fear reprisal attacks at night time.

    Smoke form a burning tyre
    IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, Barricades were set up on some of the roads in Kagiso

    Last week, women aged between 19 and 35, who were part of a group reportedly filming a music video near a disused mine, were attacked and raped by dozens of people.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa described the attack on the women as the “ugly and dark side of society”.

    The high levels of sexual violence in the country have led to frequent calls for more to be done to prosecute the perpetrators.

    At least 130 men have been detained following the assault but many are facing charges relating to their immigration status as well as the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

    The police say they are waiting for DNA tests to be concluded before charging people with rape.

    The miners – most of whom come from neighbouring countries – work in unsafe and unregulated conditions in the abandoned mineshafts that surround Johannesburg.

    Source: BBC

  • Bain consultancy banned from government work over ‘misconduct’

    Management consultancy Bain has been banned from government contracts for three years over its involvement in a South African corruption scandal.

    The government cited “grave professional misconduct” for the move.

    The firm said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the decision but acknowledged it had made “mistakes”.

    The move follows a probe into allegations of widespread corruption during South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma nine years in power.

    The former president has been accused of placing the interests of corrupt associates ahead of those of his country, in a type of corruption known as “state capture”.

    In the South African government’s investigation, Bain was found to have had links with corruption in the country as part of its work for the national tax agency.

    The 2018-2022 South African Government Commission, called the Zondo commission, after Raymond Zondo, who currently serves as Chief Justice of South Africa, concluded Bain acted “unlawfully” and, along with other private sector companies, colluded in “the clearest example of state capture”.

    Bain was accused of undermining the South African Revenue Service (Sars) through consultancy work that allegedly benefited Mr. Zuma’s allies.

    A spokesperson from the Cabinet Office said that after reviewing Bain’s role and taking account of the “evidence and conclusions of the South African Government Commission”, the Minister for Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, considered Bain to be “guilty of grave professional misconduct”.

    “This decision has been taken in light of Bain’s responsibility as a global brand for its South Africa division and the company’s failure to clarify the facts and circumstances of its involvement,” the spokesperson added.

    Bain said it had “apologized for the mistakes” it’s South African office made in its work with Sars and that it had repaid all fees from the work, with interest, in 2018.

    But the management consultancy said it had not acted illegally at Sars or elsewhere “and no evidence to the contrary has been put forward.”

    Labour peer and veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain said he believed that the alleged role Bain played in assisting the damaging of Sars, was “sufficient for precluding Bain from engaging in work at public institutions”.

    The US-based firm has been awarded UK government contracts worth up to £63m since 2018 and London is its second-largest office.

    Lord Hain said he was pleased by the decision.

    Global corporates like Bain, he said, had to “feel the pain for the consequences” of their behavior in South Africa’s “state capture and corruption scandal” under former President Zuma.

    “Otherwise other corporates will be tempted to do the same,” Lord Hain told the BBC.

    ‘Brazenly assisted’ corruption

    In a speech to the House of Lords last month, Lord Hain, under parliamentary privilege, said Bain had “brazenly assisted” Mr. Zuma to organize his decade of “shameless looting and corruption”. Lord Hain said the firm had earned fees estimated at £100m from state institutions during this period.

    “Bain used its expertise, not to enhance the functioning of a world-renowned tax authority as Sars was acknowledged, but to disable its ability to collect tax and pursue tax evaders, all in the service of their corrupt paymasters.”

    “The very company who possessed the expertise to bolster South Africa’s defenses against the ravages of state capture, in fact, weakened these defenses and profited from it,” Lord Hain added.

    After raising the issue with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Lord Hain received a letter from his office in January affirming that the Cabinet Office had been asked to “look into this matter with urgency”.

    In another letter also seen by the BBC, the American Ambassador in London promised to share Lord Hain’s concerns with relevant parties in Washington.

    Whistleblower formerly employed by Bain welcomes news

    Athol Williams, a South African whistleblower formerly employed by Bain, testified at the Zondo Commission’s state inquiry into corruption allegations and left the country saying he feared for his life.

    Athol WilliamsATHOL WILLIAMS

    Athol Williams says the killing of another whistle-blower in SA had left him in fear of his life

    In response to the decision, Mr. Williams, a former ethics lecturer at the University of Cape Town, said that this external confirmation of Bain’s misconduct “raises the urgency of the Zondo Commission’s recommendation that all Bain’s public sector contracts be investigated with a view to prosecution”.

    “SA has taken a big step forward today in our fight against corruption, state capture, and predatory companies, a fight that I consider our new liberation struggle.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa’s clean President Ramaphosa faces his own scandal

    A subdued response to a speech at a major policy conference on Friday indicated that all was not well. He admitted that his party, the governing African National Congress (ANC), was “at its weakest”, but the president himself is in the firing line.

    Four years ago, he replaced corruption-tainted Jacob Zuma as president on the promise of being clean.

    But now he has his own potentially explosive corruption scandal. Dubbed “farmgate”, the controversy surrounds an alleged cover-up of a robbery that took place at his private farm, Phala Phala, back in February 2020.

    This is happening in a year when the ANC is set to pick its presidential candidate for the 2024 election and Mr Ramaphosa is under increasing scrutiny.

    After dragging his feet, he finally responded to questions about the incident from the country’s top anti-corruption official, known as the Public Protector.

    Kholeka Gcaleka had threatened to subpoena the president after he failed to meet an initial deadline for the answers to be delivered.

    The robbery and the alleged aftermath was first brought to light in June by Arthur Fraser, the country’s former head of the State Security Agency.

    The ex-spy chief, who is a close ally of Zuma, accused the president of kidnapping, bribery and acting unlawfully by allegedly authorising the pursuit of suspects who stole an estimated $4m (£3.2m) from his farm.

    Mr Fraser further alleged that such a large amount of money, which was reportedly stuffed in cushions, could have been the proceeds from money laundering and corruption.

    The theft was allegedly committed by Namibian nationals who conspired with a domestic worker on the farm.

    ‘No criminal conduct’

     

    As the stolen cash was reportedly in foreign currency, it means that exchange control laws could also have been contravened.

    In an initial response, the president said that there was “no basis for the claims of criminal conduct”.

    Mr Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that there was a robbery at his farm in Limpopo province “in which proceeds from the sale of game were stolen”, but disputed the figure given by Mr Fraser.

    Former South African Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe and current President Cyril Ramaphosa look on during the African National Congress (ANC) national policy conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 29, 2022Reuters
    Former South African Presidents Thabo Mbkei (L) and Kgalema Motlanthe (R) shared a platform with Mr Ramaphosa at the ANC policy conference

    Some of the questions posed by the Public Protector concerned whether the president violated the code of ethics and the constitution by concealing the break-in at his farm. She also wanted to know what steps the president took to ensure that the theft was thoroughly investigated.

    The president has dismissed Mr Fraser’s allegations as a political smear campaign against him by those opposed to his anti-corruption agenda. He also believes that his political opponents inside the ANC do not want him to have a second term in office.

    In a speech two weeks ago, Mr Ramaphosa said he had “pledged his full co-operation to the investigation” and he was happy to be held accountable.

    In a veiled declaration of an internal war within the ANC, the president also said he “would not allow the [corruption] allegations to deter me from what needs to be done to rebuild our economy, and to deter me and discourage me from the work I have to do”. Mr Ramaphosa was cheered on by his supporters.

    According to ANC rules, anyone charged with corruption or other crimes must step down while investigations take place.

    Even though the president has not been formally charged with any crimes, supporters of Zuma want him to resign.

    Last month, hundreds of them protested at the ANC’s headquarters, demanding his arrest and resignation.

    Zuma, whose corruption trial is set to restart this month, enjoys the support of a left-wing ANC faction and his supporters are still smarting from his jailing last year for contempt of court for failing to attend a separate inquiry into corruption during his presidency. He served nearly two months of a 15-month sentence before being released on medical parole.

    Their resignation demand was further driven home when some delegates later booed Mr Ramaphosa at a conference in KwaZulu-Natal province – a Zuma stronghold.

    ‘Damaging country’s image’

     

    The opposition is also turning up the heat on the president.

    Bantu Holomisa, the leader of the United Democratic Movement, wrote to the speaker of parliament demanding that the president be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation against him.

    “The allegations have been greatly destructive of the country’s image and likely to affect investor confidence negatively, given that President Ramaphosa has acted as a champion of good governance,” Mr Holomisa said.

    Even though President Ramaphosa does have questions to answer about the dollars stolen from his farm, Mr Fraser’s timing is widely seen as suspicious in light of the ANC’s leadership contest.

    South Africans have grown accustomed to explosive scandals, conspiracies and mudslinging ahead of the brutal race for the ANC’s top position.

    Source: BBC

  • Four accused of theft from dead SA tavern teens

    Four suspects accused of stealing personal belongings from the bodies of the young people who died in mysterious circumstances at a tavern in East London, South Africa, have made an initial appearance in a Magistrate’s Court.

    The male suspects, aged between 16 and 21, were arrested last week.

    None of them have yet entered a plea, as police are still investigating.

    The stolen items were recovered from their homes according to an official statement from the police.

    The four allegedly stole hair weaves, shoes, clothing and a watch in the wake of the deaths of the 21 youngsters.

    Cases of theft, possession of stolen property, and defeating the ends of justice have been opened against them for further investigation.

    Last month, the 21 young people from Scenery Park, a township outside East London, died in the Enyobeni tavern – the youngest was aged 13.

    A recent toxicology report was inconclusive, but initial findings show traces of methanol, which is a common ingredient in cleaning chemicals, were found in the bloodstream of all the victims.

    They were celebrating the end of the school term when, according to eye witnesses, the pupils started collapsing.

    The tavern owner and two employees appeared last week in court, charged with illegal alcohol sales to underaged people. The legal drinking age in South Africa is 18.

    Source: BBC

  • Africa’s week in pictures: 8-14 July 2022

    A selection of the week’s best photos from across the continent and beyond:

    A participant at the Corona Open J-Bay at Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa - Monday 11 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Corona Open J-Bay is an annual competition held at Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape province.
    A woman on a motorbike in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - Tuesday 12 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The next day a woman is pictured in traffic in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso – a country where reportedly nearly all adults own a motorcycle.
    Ivorian army officer Colonel Armand Guzoa Mahi addresses the press at the army headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Wednesday 13 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, An army officer in Ivory Coast addresses the media on Wednesday – about a row over the arrest of Ivorian soldiers at the main airport in neighbouring Mali.
    Someone opening a goat's mouth in Mogadishu, Somalia - Friday 8 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid, a goat’s teeth are checked at a livestock market in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Friday…
    A livestock market in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Friday 8 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, On the same day in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, a similar market is busy with those preparing for the festival…
    A man holds a cockerel at a market in Abuja, Nigeria - Friday 8 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Eid al-Adha means Festival of the Sacrifice – and often involves sacrificing an animal. Here a cockerel is seen at a market on Friday in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja…
    Muslims attend a prayer marking the celebration of Eid al-Adha at an open praying ground in Lagos, Nigeria - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, In Nigeria, Eid was marked on Saturday – and in Lagos the heavens open during the morning prayer in the city…
    Boys in sunglasses at Eid prayers in Djiakaking, Segou, Mali - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Mali too celebrated Eid on Saturday – with these children dressed up at prayers held in the village of Djiakaking in the central region of Segou…
    Children on swings at an amusement park in Kano, Nigeria - Monday 11 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Eid festivities in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano continued into Monday, with children seen here at an amusement park.
    Men on stilts from Togo from a troupe called Afuma performing in Kraków, Poland - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Performers from Togo – a troupe called Afuma – tower over an audience in Poland on Saturday…
    Men on stilts from Togo from a troupe called Afuma performing in Kraków, Poland - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The men on stilts are taking part in the Ulica Festival – three days of street theatre in the southern Polish city of Kraków.
    Ugandan mixed-martial arts fighter David Onama, Las Vegas, the US - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, On the same day, Ugandan mixed-martial-arts fighter David Onama soaks up the atmosphere at a UFC Fight Night in the US city of Las Vegas, where he defeated Garrett Armfield.
    Schoolchildren in a boat on Lake Turkana, Kenya - Wednesday 13 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, Children in northern Kenya take a boat to school on Wednesday as the rising water of Lake Turkana has made it impossible for them to go by land…
    Villagers, mostly women and children, gather under a tree in Purapul village, Loiyangalani area, during World Vision-supported health interventions that help communities tackle malnutrition and other health problems caused by drought, in northern Kenya - Tuesday 12 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, However the area is also affected by drought and on Tuesday, people gather under a tree to attend an outreach clinic to help tackle health issues related to the lack of rain.
    People at a scrap metal outlet in Harare, Zimbabwe - Friday 8 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, On Friday, a scale is monitored at a scrap-metal dealer in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, where high levels of unemployment have left many looking for alternatives sources of income.
    Sun setting in Khartoum, Sudan - Sunday 10 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, On Sunday, the sun is seen setting over the River Nile in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
    South Africa's Donald Ramphadi playing at Wimbledon in the quad wheelchair men's doubles semi-final, London, the UK - Friday 8 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, South Africa’s Donald Ramphadi plays at Wimbledon during the quad wheelchair men’s doubles semi-final on Friday – but a mechanical issue with his wheelchair forced him to retire…
    Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur hugging the runners-up trophy at Wimbledon, London, the UK - Saturday 9 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, There is also heartbreak for Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who was runner-up on Saturday at Wimbledon’s women’s singles final…
    Ons Jabeur with fans in Tunis, Tunisia - Wednesday 13 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Nonetheless the tennis star is greeted as a hero on her return to Tunisia, posing with fans in Tunis on Wednesday.
    Minarets seen against supermoon in Tunis, Tunisia - Wednesday 13 July 2022
    IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, And that evening the supermoon is seen rising over the Tunisian capital.

    Source: BBC

  • South Africa: Fifteen shot dead in Soweto township bar

    At least 15 people have been shot dead in a bar in the South African township of Soweto, police say.

    Police said gunmen entered the Orlando East tavern in the early hours of Sunday morning and started firing randomly at a group of young people.

    They then fled the scene in a white minibus. No motive for the attack has been established, police said.

    Several more people are in a critical condition in hospital, the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko reports.

    The victims are believed to be between 19 and 35 years old.

    “Bodies were on top of each other with blood all over. We were looking for our loved ones, we had to jump over bodies looking for our brothers,” said local resident Ntombikayise Meji.

    Gauteng province’s head of police, Lt-Gen Elias Mawela, told the BBC the shooting appears to have been “a cold-blooded attack on innocent tavern patrons”.

    A press statement released by his office said the gunmen had been armed with rifles and 9mm pistols when they entered the bar.

    Police are searching for the suspects, whose identities remain unknown, it said.

    Thaban Moloi, a community leader in Soweto, was angered by the amount of time it took police to arrive at the scene.

    “It’s terrible, I’m telling you. People don’t know what to do. If you were there you could see women and children crying,” he said.

    Mr Moloi said the attack happened at 23:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Saturday but police didn’t arrive until 04:00 on Sunday.

    “It took five hours for them to come, honestly,” he said.

    A relative of one of the victims shot dead in a tavern in Soweto reacts next to the crime scene in SowetoRelatives of victims have been mourning outside the tavern

    Four other people were killed in a separate tavern shooting in the south-eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, police said on Sunday.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to the relatives of victims of both shootings.

    “As a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorise us in this way, regardless of where such incidents may occur,” he added.

    Shootings are not uncommon in South Africa. They are often linked to gangs or alcohol.

    But this is an exceptionally high death toll and comes soon after the death of 21 teenagers thought to have been either gassed or poisoned at another bar in the city of East London.

    Source:bbc.com

  • Youngest South Africa tavern victim was 13 – Police Minister

    The youngest victim among the at least 21 people who died at a drinking place at the weekend was 13, police minister Bheki Cele has said.

    The cause of the deaths was not immediately clear and the authorities are investigating.

    The victims were found strewn across floors and tables at the Enyobeni Tavern in the town of East London.

    The bodies were taken to mortuaries, where post-mortem examinations will be carried out.

    Mr Cele, who had visited the scene and was briefed by the local police, said those who had died were between the ages of 13 and 17 – but a detailed list of the victims has not yet been produced. The legal minimum drinking age in South Africa is 18.

    There are reports that people who had gone to the tavern were celebrating the end of school exams.

    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his “deepest condolences” to families of the victims.

    “This tragedy is made even more grave by its occurrence during Youth Month – a time during which we… advocate and advance opportunities for improved socio-economic conditions for the youth of our nation,” he said in a tweet.

    Oscar Mabuyane, premier of East Cape Province where the tragedy happened, did not give possible reasons for the deaths, but condemned the “unlimited consumption of liquor”.

    Speaking at the scene, he said: “You can’t just trade in the middle of society like this and think that young people are not going to experiment.”

    The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday.

    A provincial safety official told AFP news agency that a stampede had been ruled out as the cause of death as there were “no visible wounds”.

    “Forensic [investigators] will take samples and test to see if there was any poisoning of any sort,” Unathi Binqose said.

    Map
    Source: BBC

  • South Africa reports first case of monkeypox

    South Africa on Thursday (June 23) announced its first confirmed case of monkeypox.

    “The patient is a 30-year-old man from Johannesburg who has no travel history, which means it cannot be attributed to infection outside South Africa,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference.

    The health authorities have begun contact tracing on the case.

    The first symptoms of monkeypox are usually a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a chickenpox-like rash. The virus usually disappears after two to three weeks.

    The WHO said last week that Europe remains the epicentre of the monkeypox epidemic.

    The UN health body is due to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss classifying the global epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern.

    Source: Africanews

  • Mammoth report delivered on SA’s Zuma-era corruption

    The final part of a mammoth report into alleged corruption in South Africa under former President Jacob Zuma has been handed to his successor Cyril Ramaphosa.

    The report by Judge Raymond Zondo is more than 5,000 pages long.

    It paints a picture of a country whose coffers were looted by its former president and his associates – the prominent Gupta brothers.

    It also accuses him of halting an investigation into alleged financial misdeeds by the Guptas. They and Mr Zuma deny wrongdoing.

    The Guptas’ influence on the hiring and firing of government ministers has also been laid bare by the report.

    It found that Mr Zuma enabled, indirectly, Gupta family members to occupy a place of prominence to the detriment of the country.

    The South African authorities are currently working on having the Gupta brothers extradited from the United Arab Emirates to answer for their alleged crimes.

    The commission’s chairman has also recommended that election rules be amended to allow for South Africans to directly elect a president instead of using the party system.

    This, he says, will prevent the country having another leader such as Mr Zuma.

    Mr Ramaphosa must now decide whether further legal action should be taken against his predecessor.

    Source: BBC

  • The scandal engulfing South Africa’s president

    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa facing calls to step down over claims that he tried to cover up the theft of millions of dollars in U.S. currency that was hidden inside furniture at his game farm.

    The allegations made by the former head of South Africa’s intelligence agency also include that the suspects in the robbery two years ago were tracked down and kidnapped by Ramaphosa’s presidential protection unit, interrogated on his property, and bribed to keep quiet about the existence of the cash, and nothing was reported to the police.

    The accusations badly undermine Ramaphosa’s reputation as a leader dedicated to fighting corruption.

    The scandal, dubbed “farmgate” by the South African press, threatens to end Ramaphosa’s presidency and destabilize Africa’s most developed economy.

    -the cash-

    Former State Security Agency director Arthur Fraser walked into a Johannesburg police station on June 1 and laid a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa over the theft of what Fraser says was more than $4 million in cash that was concealed on the ranch.

    Fraser also claimed that the suspects in the robbery were kidnapped and bribed to stay silent, and Ramaphosa hid the incident from the police and tax authorities.

    Fraser said he submitted “supporting evidence” to the police that included photographs, video footage and bank account details. He said the robbery happened in February 2020.

    -the spy boss-

    The fact that it was Fraser who made the allegations against Ramaphosa suggests they are politically motivated. Fraser is a well-known loyalist to former President Jacob Zuma and a faction of the ANC that wants Ramaphosa out. Zuma, Ramaphosa’s predecessor, was forced to resign as president in 2018 and is now on trial for corruption.

    That trial is seen as an indicator of Ramaphosa’s commitment to confront corruption at the highest level.

    Fraser was also in the news headlines last year when, as head of the department of corrections, he granted Zuma medical parole from prison against the recommendation of a parole board which advised that Zuma should not be released early after he was convicted of contempt of court. Fraser was South Africa’s spy boss under Zuma from 2016 to 2018.

    -the president-

    The allegations have forced the 69-year-old Ramaphosa to fight for his political life. He has admitted the robbery did happen at his Phala Phala ranch in the northern province of Limpopo but said it was reported to the head of his protection unit, which falls under the South African Police Services. He said the money came from the sale of game animals at the farm and he was “not involved in any criminal conduct.”

    Those answers have been seen as woefully inadequate, though. Ramaphosa has refused to say how much money was involved, why it was stashed at his ranch, and if the foreign currency was declared to authorities. He sidestepped a plethora of questions over the scandal at a 90-minute press conference at Parliament last week, where he cut an exhausted, under-pressure figure. He said he wouldn’t comment before a police investigation.

    “I’d like the due process to unfold in this matter,” Ramaphosa said.

    -the fallout-

    Ramaphosa was shouted down in Parliament on two consecutive days last week by lawmakers from the Economic Freedom Fighters, the second biggest opposition party. The EFF has since upped its criticism by demanding Ramaphosa resign over the scandal.

    Two other opposition parties applied this week for Parliament to put Ramaphosa on “sabbatical leave” and start a parliamentary investigation. That was rejected by the speaker of Parliament.

    No criminal charges against Ramaphosa have been announced by the police, although a unit that deals with serious and high-profile crimes is investigating Fraser’s allegations.

    Source: Africanews

     

     

  • South Africa and UAE in talks over Gupta brothers’ future

    High-level talks have begun between the governments of South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to bring two brothers from the wealthy Gupta family to justice.

    Atul and Rajesh Gupta were recently arrested in the Gulf state.

    They are accused in South Africa of profiting from their close links with former President Jacob Zuma and exerting unfair influence.

    All three deny any wrongdoing.

    The wealthy Indian-born brothers, who are accused of fraud and money laundering, are expected to apply for bail in the next few days.

    Rajesh and Atul, along with their brother Ajay Gupta – who has not been arrested – fled South Africa in 2018, around the same time former President Jacob Zuma was forced to resign following a string of corruption allegations against him.

    The Guptas have been accused of using their association with Mr Zuma to cash in on huge government contracts by paying bribes.

    The United States placed the Guptas on a sanctions list in 2019, after they were accused of being members of a significant corruption network.

    South Africa successfully negotiated an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates last year, but it could take years before the accused are successfully extradited to face justice in South Africa.

    Source: BBC

  • ‘We are friends to African nations’ – French ambassador to South African protesters

    The French ambassador to South Africa, Aurelien Lechevallier, has stressed that his country has friendly relations with African countries.

    He made the comments during a brief appearance on Wednesday, May 25, to receive a petition demanding that France leaves Africa.

    “We are friends to African nations,” he told protesters from South Africa’s leftist Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF, party.

    The EFF picketed at the French Embassy on the day the African Union marked the AU Day.

    Some placards the protesters bore had inscriptions like “West Africa is not a colony of the French” and “France must pay reparations for its colonial crimes”.

    “You killed a lot of people in Africa. Why are you so scared today?” EFF leader Julius Malema said stressing that he was speaking to “French white supremacists.”

    A tweet announcing the protest read: “The EFF will picket at the French Embassy on Africa Day, to demand the withdrawal of France from the continent.”

    The EFF has periodically slammed France for its stranglehold over former colonies in West and Central Africa.

    French President Emmanuel Macron has made a number of visits to countries across the continent during his first term in office.

    Anti-France sentiment has been growing across parts of West Africa with the most recent being in Mali.

    Over in Central Africa, protesters were arrested in Chad and an opposition protest in Gabon was banned by government.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • SA pupils die in suspected energy drink poisoning

    South African police have opened a murder case against a father for the death of three of his sons aged six, 13 and 16 after they consumed an energy drink that he allegedly gave them.

    Two of the siblings died at school and the third died on the way to hospital.

    A fourth child who consumed the drink is said to be in a critical condition at a local hospital. A fifth brother did not consume the energy drink and is fine.

    “We have a case of murder that has been opened with three counts and a case of attempted murder,” police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili said.

    The father is reportedly under guard in hospital after allegedly trying to poison himself.

    In a statement, the education department in Gauteng province expressed sadness over the deaths of the three siblings at Ratanda Primary and Khanya Lesedi Secondary Schools.

    County education official Panyaza Lesufi termed it “a deliberate act” when asked whether the deaths were as a result of contamination or poisoning.

    “It looks like it was a deliberate act because the information at our disposal is that the father also attempted to commit suicide. It’s an indication that indeed this thing was planned,” he told local TV station eNCA.

    “We also got unconfirmed reports that the mother is also hospitalised, but this is information that we need to verify.”

    The official said they would be visiting the schools and family on Friday.

    A psycho-social support unit has been sent to offer counselling to the bereaved family and the school community.

    Source: BBC

  • Hundreds evacuated in SA amid renewed flooding

    Hundreds of residents have been evacuated in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province amid a high alert over renewed flooding.

    The province experienced deadly floods last month.

    Heavy rains have been pounding this weekend and the local administration is on high alert to prevent any loss of life.

    Local mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says no comprehensive report has been shared on the impact of the latest heavy rains but residents have reported destruction of infrastructure, News24 website reports.

    A level 10 warning – the highest and most severe level – issued by the weather service remains in place.

    Most of those affected by the April flooding have never recovered, according to local media.

    Houses were swept and roads destroyed during the April floods.

    KwaZulu-Natal floods: The South African family who lost nine children

    South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province is still reeling from the country’s worst floods in 60 years, which killed about 435 people last month. Mass funerals are taking place, although many families are still unable to bury their loved ones because their bodies were swept away by the raging torrents, as the BBC Pumza Fihlani reports.

    Inside a white tent on a hillside just outside Pietermaritzburg, hundreds of people sit with their heads bowed before six coffins. A sombre church hymn pierces through the heavy silence.

    The unimaginable happened to the Mdlalose family. Slindile Mdalose, 43, and nine children aged between two and 10 years were killed in the floods that devastated KwaZulu-Natal in the most deadly natural disaster in the country’s history.

    They were sleeping when the violent water washed through, flattening their home. It has been three weeks and some of the bodies are yet to be recovered

    “To tell you the truth we are mad, we are numb. We can’t use our heads. This is too much to even comprehend,” the children’s uncle, Thokozani Mdlalose tells the BBC.

    He is wearing tinted glasses to conceal his pain but his cracking voice and quivering lip betray his struggle to keep his composure.

    “When you have to split your grief, you think of this one, you think of that [one]. It’s too much. It’s hard losing one person. It’s worse losing two. Ten is something else,” he says.

    Mourners at funeral
    Family and friends have been mourning the death of 435 people in the floods

    The mass funeral of Slindile Mdalose and her five children – Uyanda, Lubanzi, Ziyanda, Asanele, Lulama – took place on a cool morning. She was also the aunt of four more children, who are still missing.

    “Knowing that we haven’t found them, that they might be decomposing somewhere out there – words can’t describe what is inside me right now. I can’t even gather my thoughts,” Mr Mdlalose says.

    He adds that the nine children were playful and full of laughter, and brought joy to the whole family.

    Their aunt, Nonkululeko Mdlalose, says when she last spoke to her sister on the phone just hours before they died, she could tell that her sister was afraid.

    It was raining heavily, unlike anything either of them had ever seen before. Still, they did not expect that it would lead to disaster, Nonkululeko Mdlalose says.

    “I’ve never felt this kind of pain. I thought I was a strong person but I realise that I’m not, that we will need help, I realise we will need counselling. This is too much for anyone to bear,” she adds.

    They are not the only ones grieving. The floods killed 435 people, and dozens of victims are still missing, leaving their families in unbearable limbo.

    Less than 200 have been buried so far, and at least 59 bodies remain unclaimed in mortuaries.

    A member South African Police Services (SAPS) Search and Rescue Unit guide their sniffer dog during search efforts to locate ten people who are unaccounted for from area of KwaNdengezi township outside Durban on April 15, 2022 after their homes were swept away following the devastating rains and floodingGETTY IMAGES
    Sniffer dogs have been used to find bodies buried under rubble

    Icebolethu Funeral Services, one of the biggest funeral homes in KwaZulu-Natal, has so far buried more than 70 victims.

    One of its managing executives, Mthokozisi Bhengu, says corpses are not in a good state because they had been submerged in water, and they need to be buried quickly to avoid their condition worsening.

    “Families have cultural practices they would like to follow, like burying everyone in a family at the same time but we’ve had to persuade those whose loved ones are still missing that whilst they’re still searching for the others, let us continue and bury the ones in the morgues and preserve their dignity,” he adds.

    In the case of unclaimed bodies, funeral parlours say, there is no consensus yet on what to do with them.

    One option being considered by officials is to extract their DNA and store the information, so that family members, if they ever come looking for their loved ones, can be taken to their graves – something that will hopefully give them some closure.

    Part of Caversham road in Pinetown has been washed away on April 12, 2022 in Durban, South AfricaGETTY IMAGES
    The government declared the floods a national disaster

    The government and private donors have offered help to cover funeral costs but the claims process is said to be bureaucratic and slow, leading to further delays with burials.

    The head of the South African Funeral Parlour Association, Nomfudo Mcoyi, says the delays could have been avoided.

    “In future, the government should bring in industry experts from the beginning in a crisis. Let us tell you how best to do this,” she says.

    Ms Mcoyi adds that the delays are causing more trauma and stress for families.

    “We could have done it [the burials] easily without bodies decaying,” she says.

    Back at the funeral on a hill, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said the government was working to help all those in need.

    On rebuilding homes for families such as the Mdlaloses, he said the government was working on identifying suitable land to house new settlements for the displaced. Thousands of people have been left homeless and are living in shelters across the province.

    “The task of rebuilding KwaZulu-Natal cannot be achieved by our caring government alone. It requires that we entrench the new spirit of solidarity and patriotism that we have seen in our province,” he told the crowd.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that more funds are needed than the initial $68m (£55m) set aside to rebuild KwaZulu-Natal and all that’s been lost.

    It’s a long road ahead for many people here – from those who’ve lost family to those who lost their homes or livelihoods. As the true picture of the devastation caused by the floods emerges, many will need all the help they can get.

    Source: BBC

  • Durban floods: South Africa floods kill more than 300

    The death toll in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal has reached more than 300, after devastating floods wreaked havoc in the area.

    A state of disaster has been declared in the area, after some areas saw months worth of rain fall in one day.

    Officials have called it “one of the worst weather storms in the history of our country”.

    Mudslides have trapped people under buildings, with more floods expected.

    There are reports that the rescue effort is being hampered by poor visibility as a helicopter continues to bring people back to safety.

    On Tuesday the BBC witnessed one such search operation for a 10-year-old girl who was part of a family of four swept away on a flooded bridge.

    Community volunteers waded into the muddy river, taking turns to hack away at the branches using machetes and removing debris and rubbish that had washed downstream.

    Jomba Phiri, who lives in the region’s main city, Durban, said his house had been swept away in the floods.

    “I don’t know where we’re going to sleep now,” he told Reuters news agency.

    Parts of the crucial N3 highway which connects Durban to South Africa’s economic heartland of Gauteng province have been blocked.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited the area and pledged to help.

    “Even though your hearts are in pain, we’re here for you,” the Reuters news agency quotes him as saying.

    He also described the disaster as a “force of nature”, which some have disagreed with. They blame poor drainage and badly built houses in low-lying areas for the high death toll.

    The KwaZulu-Natal province says it needs more funds to fix the extensive damage
    There are still several people missing, trapped under debris and rubble

    Durban Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda denied that poor drainage was to blame, saying the scale of the flood was unexpected.

    Scenes of destruction are still evident throughout the area. Some of the roads to the port of Durban, one of the busiest in Africa, are impassable after the swollen river washed mud and debris onto the roads.

    Operations at the port have now been suspended. A shipping container warehouse near a busy highway was severely flooded, and hundreds of containers were washed away.

    In an industrial area called the Bluff, which forms part of the port, the BBC witnessed cars overturned on the road, or crushed by debris. Companies are using water pumps to drain the water from their premises.

    There is also a hunt for crocodiles that were washed away during the floods, although most have since been found.

    Crocodile Creek Farm, about 40km (25 miles) north of Durban in Tongaat, says 12 crocodiles were swept away after torrential rain hit the area.

    Ron Naidoo, a community pastor in the town of Tongaat, told the BBC he had been kept awake through the night by the rising floodwaters and had seen police drag a car out of the river with a body inside.

    “It was traumatic because it is the first time that we have seen the river rise so high here,” he continued.

    There are mounds of debris strewn across affected areas

    The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government estimates that billions of rand worth of damage has been caused to properties and infrastructure, describing the heavy rains as unleashing “untold havoc” in a statement on Facebook.

    Electricity and water treatment plants have been “flooded out”, the Durban mayor told the BBC.

    Communications have also been disrupted with two major networks reporting that more than 900 of their cell phone towers are down.

    Declaring the flood-stricken area a disaster zone will “enable the province to apply for emergency funding” from the National Treasury and assist with necessary reconstruction work, authorities say.

    There are also reports of looting in Durban, which the local government has condemned: “We will not allow what is a tragic development in our province to be taken advantage of,” it said.

    The government is calling on people to stay safe by avoiding flooded roads and bridges and to evacuate to higher ground if they live in low-lying areas.

    The stormy weather comes as scientists warned that climate change is fuelling heavier rainfall than usual in southern Africa.

    At the start of the year, the region was hit by three cyclones and two tropical storms in six weeks, which primarily affected Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi and inflicted widescale damage with 230 reported deaths according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA).

    There have been incidents of looting in Durban

    Source: bbc.com 

  • South Africa President reportedly tests positive for COVID-19 days after Ghana visit

    South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa was in Ghana from 3rd to 5th December 2021, for a State Visit.

    His two-day stay in the West African nation was at the invitation of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    The State Visit to Ghana was directed towards enhancing bilateral relations premised on mutual respect, commitment to democracy, good governance, rules-based multilateralism underpinned by the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

    However, barely one week after leaving Ghana, it has emerged that Mr. Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19.

    He is currently receiving treatment for mild symptoms after testing positive on Sunday, December 12, 2021, the office of the Presidency said in a statement.

    He is self-isolation in Cape Town, the statement disclosed.

    Mr. Ramaphosa has immediately delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President, David Mabuza for the next week.

    The presidency statement said he “started feeling unwell after leaving the State Memorial Service in honour of former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town earlier today,”

    He is, however “in good spirits” and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service of the South African National Defence Force.

    The statement added, “President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure. Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization.”

    Source: ghanaguardian.com

  • Video replays show South Africa defender dragging Ghana’s Amartey with both hands

    Close video replays have shown that South African defender Rushine de Reuck dragged Ghana’s Daniel Amartey with BOTH HANDS which resulted in the referee awarding a penalty kick to the Black Stars in their decisive 2022 World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

    The evidence which has now been closely watched suggests that the Bafana Bafana player clearly fouled the Leicester City defender leading to the Senegalese match official pointing to the spot kick which sealed the victory for the Black Stars.

    The video from several replay angles show that referee Maguette Ndiaye had, just before the penalty decision, warned Reuck of his earlier infringement before the corner kick. The Senegalese referee was closely watching the two players from just two metres just before the corner kick and clearly saw the South African pulling Amartey down.

    Initial video of the incident was inconclusive which led to the South African Football Association (SAFA) claiming that hey had been robbed during the game at the Cape Coast Stadium which ended 1-0 after Andre Ayew expertly converted the kick.

    SAFA raised concerns over the legitimacy of both the decision and the display of the officiating team from Senegal, headed up by referee Maguette Ndiaye.

    But it is now clear that the penalty was awarded after Ghana’s Leicester City midfielder Daniel Amartey went down following the heavy pulling down from defender Rushine de Reuck, who was booked for his challenge.

    Bafana Bafana needed a draw to reach the third and final round of African qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, but Ghana won with a controversial penalty.

    The Black Stars’ narrow win enabled them to reach the African World Cup play-offs by the narrowest of margins, ousting South Africa at the top of the group on goals scored.

    South Africa is well aware that the capacity for matches to be replayed does exist before have been shouting ‘foul play’ but with video evidence now showing that the player pulled Amartey down he could not coil back into their shells.

    Source: ghanasoccernet.com

  • 2022 World Cup qualifiers: How every Ghanaian player performed against South Africa

    Ghana captain Andre Ayew scored on his 100th cap for the Black Stars to send Ghana through to the final phase of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

    The South Africans arrived in Cape Coast leading the Black Stars three points and needing a draw to seal progressing but a resolute performance from the Stars saw the team grind out a 1-0 victory to steal the only slot available in group G.

    With several players stepping up and playing above themselves, below is how GHANAsoccernet.com rated every Ghanaian player.

    Wollacott Joseph – 7

    The Swindon keeper was very composed in post today. He commanded the defence well and did well to handle few aerial balls into his box.

    Andy Yiadom – 6

    The Reading Right back had his best game in Ghana shirts. He contributed little offensively, he was great in defence especially in the dying minute when his timely block stopped a South African player from having a shot at goal.

    Baba Rahman – 7

    The experienced left-back did put in a good shift at the back. Even when he looked exhausted he played above him to win crucial tackles.

    Daniel Amartey – 8

    The central defender won the all-important penalty which was converted by Andre Ayew. He was a monster at the back.

    Alexander Djiku – 7

    The giant defender answered all questions thrown at him. He was brave, effective and timely.

    Baba Iddrisu – 6

    He was the quietest of the two defensive midfielders but did his job well on the night

    Wakaso Mubarak – 7

    As expected, Wakaso is made for this kind of game and he did what was expected of him. He played his heart out like his life depended on the 3 points.

    Kudus Mohammed n/a He was subbed off injured after 12 minutes.

    Andre Ayew – 7

    The Captain led by example and scored the all-important penalty in a tension-packed game.

    Jordan Ayew – 7

    Jordan did everything right tonight except scoring. His runs and hold-on play helped the team when the South Africans poured more men forward,

    Kamaldeen Sulemana – 7

    He had a quiet first half but was in full force in the 2nd half taking on opposition players for fun. He needs to be more efficient though.

    Kofi Kyereh – 6

    His well-taken corner kick led to the penalty which fetched the Blackstars the all-important win. He missed a sitter when the game was 0-0.

    Source: ghanasoccernet.com

  • Oscar Pistorius parole process to start in South Africa

    South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, may soon meet her parents as part of the process leading to parole being considered, officials say.

    He is eligible for possible release after having served half his sentence.

    But he first has to take part in what is called “restorative justice”.

    Pistorius shot Steenkamp dead in 2013 saying he mistook her for a burglar at his home in the capital, Pretoria.

    The 34-year-old fired four times through a locked toilet door.

    In 2014, at the conclusion of a trial that was followed around the world, he was given a five-year term for manslaughter. But Pistorius was found guilty of murder on appeal in 2015 and the sentence was later increased to 13 years and five months.

    In a statement, South Africa’s department of correctional services said it was talking to the Steenkamp family about a possible meeting.

    Outlining what needs to happen before parole is considered, the statement says that offenders must “acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions”.

    As part of the restorative justice process, there has to be “an opportunity for parties to reconcile or an apology”.

    The Steenkamps’ lawyer, Tania Koen, told national broadcaster SABC that they “would like to participate in the victim-offender dialogue”.

    “June [Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother] has always said that she has forgiven Oscar, however that doesn’t mean that he mustn’t pay for what he has done… Barry [Steenkamp, Reeva’s father] battles with that a bit, but that is something he will have to voice at the appropriate time,” Ms Koen added.

    “The wound, even though so much time has passed, is still very raw.”

    Being eligible for parole is not the same as being entitled to it and so it is not a forgone conclusion that he will be released, the lawyer said. The authorities will also have to consider a number of reports written by prison officials as well as other professionals.

    There had also been some confusion over when the parole process could begin.

    It was widely believed that it would not be until March 2023, but the Steenkamps were “very shocked and quite taken aback” that he was already eligible, Ms Koen said.

    The BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says that if granted parole, Pistorius would serve the remainder of his sentence at home and need to report to prison officials regularly.

    Prior to the murder, Pistorius had become well known as a Paralympic gold medallist. In 2012, he made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics running on prosthetic “blades”.

    His legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because he was born without fibula bones.

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    Rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius

    • August 2012: Competes in London Olympics and Paralympics, where he won a gold medal
    • February 2013: Shoots dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
    • March 2014: Trial begins
    • September 2014: Judge finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide
    • October 2014: Begins five-year sentence
    • October 2015: Transferred to house arrest
    • December 2015: Appeal court changes verdict to murder
    • July 2016: Sentenced to six years in jail for murder
    • November 2017: Sentence more than doubled to 13 years, five months

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa delighted over absence of England-based players in Ghana squad for AFCON qualifier

    South Africa are thanking their stars over the unavailability of the England-based players in the Ghana squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

    The Black Stars will be without Andre Ayew and his brother Jordan Ayew and Arsenal star Thomas Partey.

    Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, the trio can only play for Ghana against Sao Tome and Principe on Sunday.

    The Ayew brothers and Partey will require a mandatory 10-day quarantine on their return to UK if they travelled to South Africa for the match.

    The Bafana Bafana will host the Black Stars at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday in a matchday five fixture.

    Ghana are topping the standings in Group C with goals difference advantage over South Africa who are also on 9 points.

    Sudan are lying 3rd on the log with 6 points whilst Sao Tome and Principe languish bottom with no single victory from four matches.

    Source: Ghana Soccernet

  • Black Stars depart Ghana for South Africa

    The Black Stars will depart Accra for Johannesburg today March 23, 2021, for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.

    Twenty players are currently in camp in Accra while six others are expected to arrive from Europe this evening.

    Baba Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Kudus, Osman Bukari, Nicholas Opoku, Emmanuel Lomotey, and Kwasi Okyere Wriedt will join the rest of the squad in Ghana before they leave the country.

    Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Richard Ofori will also join his colleagues in Johannesburg when they land in South Africa.

    Captain Andre Ayew, forward Jordan Ayew, and midfielder Thomas Teye Partey who will not be part of the contingent to South Africa will join the squad later for the final game against Sao Tome and Principe.

    Ghana will play South Africa on Thursday, March 25 in Johannesburg, before hosting Sao Tome and Principe in Accra on March 29.

    The Black Stars sit at the top of Group C with 9 points after four games and a win in their remaining two games will see them in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

    Below is the full squad:

    Goalkeepers: Richard Ofori (Orlando Pirates South Africa), Razak Abalora (Asante Kotoko – Ghana), Eric Ofori Antwi (Medeama SC – Ghana), Danlad Ibrahim (Asante Kotoko- Ghana).

    Full Backs: Baba Abdul Rahman (PAOK Greece), Benson Annan (MLK Zilina Slovakia), Philemon Baffuor (Dreams FC Ghana), Imoro Ibrahim (Asante Kotoko).

    Central Defenders: Nicholas Opoku (Amiens SC France), Ganiyu Ismael (Asante Kotoko Ghana), Joseph Adjei (Legon Cities), Yussif Mubarik (Asante Kotoko).

    Central Midfield: Kudus Mohammed (Ajax Amsterdam Holland), Mubarak Wakaso (Jiangsu Suning F.C – China), Afriyie Acquah (Yeni Malatyaspor – Turkey), Emmanuel Lomotey (Amiens SC – France), Gladson Awako (Great Olympics -Ghana), Justice Blay (Medeama SC – Ghana), Kwame Afriyie Poku (Colchester United England).

    Left Attacking Midfield: Osman Bukari (Gent Belgium), Joseph Esso (Dreams FC- Ghana).

    Attackers: Emmanuel Boateng (Dalian Professional- China), Emmanuel Gyasi (Spezia Italy), Kwame Opoku (Asante Kotoko Ghana), John Antwi (Pyramids FC Egypt), Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (Willem II Holland), Caleb Ekuban (Trabzonspor Turkey).

    Source: Ghana Guardian

  • South Africa’s powerful Zulu nation appoints Queen as interim leader

    South Africa’s powerful Zulu nation has a new ruler — for now, according to local media outlets.

    eNCA quoted palace sources as confirming that Queen Mantfombi MaDlamini Zulu has been named as interim successor in the late King Goodwill Zwelithini’s will.

    This is until the queen decides who will take over as Zulu monarch, the report added.

    The sister of King Mswati the third, Queen MaDlamini married King Zwelithini in 1973.

    The King was buried – in Zulu tradition ‘planted’ – on Thursday, March 18 after a colourful ceremony. The burial was a nighttime and men-only event according to Zulu tradition.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Scientists see new evidence South African variant binds more readily to human cells

    Scientists have new biological evidence that the so-called South African coronavirus variant binds more readily and strongly to human cells, making it more infectious, top local epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim said on Monday.

    He was speaking at a presentation of research into the variant, known as 501Y.V2, by a team of scientists. The variant was identified by South African genomics experts late last year.

    It drove local COVID-19 infections to a new daily peak above 21,000 cases earlier this month.

    British scientists and politicians have expressed concern that vaccines currently being deployed or in development could be less effective against the South African variant. It has more than 20 mutations including several in the spike protein the virus uses to infect human cells.

    But Abdool Karim said there was as yet no answer to that question, although scientists around the world were working on it.

    South African experts have said that since vaccines induce a broad immune response it is unlikely that the mutations in the spike protein would completely negate the effect.

    Source: reuters.com

  • Maxwell Konadu on radar of South African PSL side – Report

    Asante Kotoko Head Coach Maxwell Konadu has appeared on the radar of ambitious South African PSL side TS Galaxy FC, FMIG can exclusively reveal.

    The Rockets are on the lookout for recruitments that bolster their technical department as they make their debut in the South African Premier Soccer League.

    TS Galaxy FC have identified the astute gaffer as the main man to drive forward their ambitions from the dugout and are keen to engage his services.

    FMIG sources reveal that a formal approach is expected to be made during the next few days with talks expected to travel into the festive period.

    Should an agreement be reached, Maxwell Konadu is expected to cut short his stay at Asante Kotoko and make the move to South Africa.

    Konadu, a former Black Stars assistant Coach has a running contract with Asante Kotoko and is currently steering their CAF Champions League and Ghana Premier League dream steadily on the pitch.

    However, his deal with the Porcupine Warriors per FMIG checks runs out at the end of the current campaign.

    TS Galaxy FC who are keen on securing his services are willing to offer him a long term deal.

    TS Galaxy FC, established in 2015 is owned by Tim Sukazi and is based in Kameelrivier near Siyabuswa (Mpumalanga), South Africa.

    Until 2018, the club had been playing in the third tier level of the South Africa Football pyramid.

    In 2019, they made history by qualifying to the CAF Confederation Cup after they giant-killed Kaizer Chiefs to win the Nedbank Cup (their inaugural trophy).

    Source: footballmadeinghana.com

  • Huge jump in South Africa’s economy

    South Africa’s grew by 13.5% between July and September this year, the country’s statistics agency has just reported.

    This growth comes after a 17% contraction in the second quarter of the year, which has been put down to measures imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.

    That was the fourth quarterly contraction in a row.

    Today’s figures show that the economy is bouncing back and if this rate was repeated through the year it would amount to a 66.1% increase.

    But South Africa’s economy was still 6% smaller in September 2020 than it was 12 months earlier.

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa school cleared of racism allegations

    The education department of South Africa’s Western Cape province has cleared Brackenfell High School of racism allegations made against its administration.

    The row centred on a graduation party to which it was alleged that only white people were invited.

    A provincial official, Debbie Schäfer, said the party had not been organised by the school but was a private event which had a 100-guest limit because of Covid-19 regulations.

    The allegation caused an uproar online and the Economic Freedom Fighters party, held demonstrations outside the school in Cape Town.

    But Brackenfell High distanced itself from the party and rejected accusations that it discriminated against black students.

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa fears a resurgence of coronavirus as localised outbreaks drive infections

    The emergence of new outbreaks in several parts of South Africa has raised fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus, which could be encouraged by the expected gatherings during the festive season.

    Authorities in the African country officially most affected by Covid-19 have been struggling to control the number of outbreaks since an increase was reported in November in the neighboring Eastern and Western (Southern) Cape provinces.

    Nationally, the daily number of new cases has surpassed 3,000, a 50% jump from an average of 2,000 earlier in November.

    More than half of this increase came from infections in the Eastern Cape and about 25% from the Western Cape Province.

    “The small outbreaks we are seeing right now are temporary. Something must be done,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said last week.

    The rate of coronavirus transmission in South Africa had dropped sharply after peaking in July, with fewer than three cases detected daily per 100,000 people between late August and early November.

    But the lull was short-lived, and authorities are now trying to combat a possible resurgence of the epidemic.

    “We are not in the second wave but in these two provinces (…) we are in full resurgence,” commented the government adviser in charge of the fight against the coronavirus, Salim Abdool Karim.

    If these new epidemic outbreaks are not contained, it is “only a matter of time” for the whole country to be affected, he warned.

    In the Eastern Cape’s largest city, Port Elizabeth, hospitals are already struggling with the rebound of the epidemic, although local authorities say the situation is under control.

    ‘Chronic shortages’

    Still reeling from the shock of the first wave, the health services requested assistance from the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in three public facilities.

    “The hospitals are really overwhelmed with a large number of patients, some even say more than in July,” said an MSF official for the province, Dr. Colin Pfaff.

    “The facilities are understaffed,” he added, criticizing “chronic shortages” and citing contamination among medical staff.

    Private facilities are also affected.

    “Our hospitals in the Eastern Cape are incredibly full at the moment,” Richard Friedland, head of South Africa’s largest private medical network, Netcare, told AFP last week.

    “We still have the capacity to treat new cases” with the installation of additional beds, he assured nevertheless.

    While the provincial government assures that hospitals are neither “full” nor “overwhelmed”, the South African Physicians Association accused the Department of Health this week of not providing adequate support to “overwhelmed” staff.

    South Africa has recorded 792,000 cases, including more than 21,600 deaths, for a population of nearly 58 million people.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has ruled out a new lockdown at this stage.

    The stringent infections which came into effect at the end of March have seriously affected the economy of the most industrialized country on the continent, causing 2.2 million people to lose their jobs.

    The pressure to prevent a second wave is heightened by the prospect of the festive season when millions of people will travel to all the provinces to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.

    Hopes also rest on the prospect of a vaccine.

    “The evidence that an effective coronavirus vaccine is possible brings hope,” President Ramaphosa commented recently.

    South Africa is currently conducting three clinical trials, and experts are hoping for first vaccinations in mid-2021.

    “Ideally, we would like to vaccinate 70-80% of the population, but this is not going to happen quickly,” warned Shabir Madhi, who is leading two of the three vaccine candidate trials, citing logistical and cultural challenges.

    But even 30-40% of the adult population “would help us a lot,” he added.

    Source: africanews.com

  • Ex-South Africa midfielder Anele Ngcongca killed in car crash

    Former South Africa midfielder Anele Ngongca has been killed in a crash.

    The 33-year-old, who played for Bafana Bafana at the 2010 World Cup, died at the scene of the accident as he was driving between Johannesburg and Durban in South Africa.

    Ngcongca was travelling to Durban to meet up with his new AmaZulu team-mates, who he was joining on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns.

    He had helped Sundowns win a third straight Premier Soccer League title last season.

    The two clubs released a joint statement confirming the death and paying tribute to Ngcongca.

    “AmaZulu and Mamelodi Sundowns FC extend their deepest condolences to the Ngcongca family, former clubs, teammates, supporters and the broader football fraternity as well as everyone who was touched by the life of this exceptional football ambassador,” the announcement read.

    His career included nine years with Belgian club Genk for whom he made more than 200 appearances, his final season was spent on loan in France with Troyes.

    At international level as well as playing at the World Cup he was part of the Bafana Bafana squad for both the 2013 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

    Source: BBC

  • Zuma before commission probing corruption claims

    Former South African president Jacob Zuma on Monday appeared before a state commission investigating serious allegations of corruption during his tenure as head of state between 2009 and 2018.

    It was the first time Zuma had appeared before the judicial inquiry since he abandoned his testimony at the hearing more than a year ago.

    The commission has no powers to prosecute, however other law enforcement agencies may follow up on information revealed at the commission and pursue criminal cases against those implicated.

    Zuma was forced to step down from his position as president in 2018 by his African National Congress party amid allegations of fraud and corruption.

    On Monday he launched an application for the chairman of the commission, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, to recuse himself from the inquiry, claiming Zondo was biased against him because they used to be close friends.

    Responding during Monday’s proceedings, Zonda admitted to having a “cordial relationship” with Zuma, but said the claim they were friends was “not accurate”.

    Source: africanews.com

  • Meet the Ghanaian innovator helping South Africa to apply for the fourth industrial revolution technology

    The Famous Fiber Optics inventor Dr Thomas Owusu Mensah is helping South Africa apply the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology to enhance all areas of its Economy. These include Power Generation and Distribution, Agriculture and Food Security, Water Management, Mining and Minerals, Aerospace and Defense, Transportation, Tourism, Culture and Music, Finance and Banking, National Security, Advanced Manufacturing, and Government Administration.

    Dr Thomas Mensah, a World Icon in Technology was appointed to the 4 IR Board by the Premier of Gauten, HE. David Makhura, who met him in New York and invited him to tour all the Innovation Centers in South Africa, which he has successfully done and added value.

    Dr Mensah Participated in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Board Deliberation virtually from Ghana, on Tuesday, 28 October, 2020, where he promoted Advanced Drone Technology in Agriculture, and to support COVID-19 Testing. He also suggested the use of 4 IR in Transportation across South Africa to support the Intercontinental Free Trade Agenda.

    The President of South Africa, His Excellency Cyrill Ramaphosa, who is Chairman of the Africa Union has made as his key objective -the creation of two million jobs in South Africa through this Fourth Industrial Revolution effort and is on his way to realizing this objective.

    South Africa has become a Global Leader in the 4 IR being the first country on the African Continent to totally embrace it and apply it to all sectors of its Economy.

    Dr Thomas Mensah is the author of 5 Books on Innovation including the International Textbook- Nanotechnology Commercialization and Fiber Optics Engineering. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, USA and has served on the MIT Visiting Committee, Advisory Board in the United States.

    Source: Charles Ntiamoah-Mensah, Contributor

  • Infrastructure development set to help turn around economy – South African President

    Infrastructure development projects were set to play an important role in turning around South Africa’s stagnant economy, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday at the opening of a hotel and conference centre in Johannesburg east.

    He said the government planned to focus on new infrastructure developments, a move which would be critical in job creation.

    “Our economy has been plunged into turmoil, people have lost their jobs and many promising investments have been put on hold or shelved,” he said. “Fast-tracking infrastructure projects-both public and private-is critical if we are to get the wheels of economic activity turning again.”

    He said while the economy had suffered due to the pandemic, he was optimistic of growth. “It is vital that we do so to recover the jobs that have been lost during the pandemic and create new ones,” he said, adding that as much as the country needed foreign investment, local investors should take a lead.

    President Ramaphosa earlier unveiled a nine-meter statue of OR Tambo in Kempton Park, where he mentioned that both events would attract tourists to the country.

    “I do not doubt that having now opened your doors, you will soon be attracting business travellers, domestic travellers and residents of the city,” he said.

    Source: GNA

  • 444 candidates to contest in South African by-elections

    A total of 444 candidates from 40 political parties will contest the by-elections in 95 wards on November 11, said the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on Tuesday when giving an update about the local government by-elections.

    “A total of 444 candidates, including 19 independent candidates, were certified as contestants for the by-elections by the Electoral Commission yesterday. Of the candidates, 305 (69 percent) are male and 139 (31 percent) are female,” said IEC spokesperson, Kate Bapela.

    She said that voters, election staff, and all those entering the voting station will be required to wear a mask at all times. Bapela, therefore, encouraged voters to bring their own pens to mark their ballot papers, although pens will be provided and sanitized after each use.

    “The by-elections will be held under strict new COVID-19 protocols aimed at ensuring the safety of voters, election staff, party agents, observers and other stakeholders. These include implementing strict social distancing practices outside and inside voting stations along with the use of hand sanitisers as voters enter and exit the voting station,” she said.

    The by-elections are held about a year before the local government elections to fill vacant posts resulting from death, resignation, expulsion and other reasons. They were postponed from March because of the COVID-19.

    Source: GNA

  • Mozambique ‘unaware of South Africa border wall plan’

    The Mozambican authorities say they have not yet received official information from South Africa on a reported plan to construct a wall on their common border.

    Foreign Affairs Minister Verónica Macamo said over the weekend that she had only seen the reports on media.

    The land border between the two countries measures approximately 490 kilometres (304 miles) long.

    Ms Macamo said the Mozambican authorities would discuss the matter with their South African counterparts once an official communication was made.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Former SA president to testify in court over corruption allegations

    Former South African president, Jacob Zuma, was ordered on Friday by a judicial panel to testify next month over allegations of state corruption during his nine years in office.

    The badgered politician is obligated to appear in court before a commission — chaired by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo and set up in 2018 to hear testimony from ministers, ex-ministers, government officials and business executives on alleged corruption under Zuma’s rule and despite his plea that the judge was biased against him.

    Zuma, who came into power in 2009, was forced to resign in February 2018 over graft scandals linked to a prominent Indian business family, the Guptas, who won lucrative contracts with state companies and were allegedly even able to choose cabinet ministers.

    According to the commission’s advocate Paul Pretorius, Zuma has been directly and indirectly implicated Zuma by at least 34 witnesses thus far.

    “It is important for Mr Zuma to appear before the commission as most of the corruption alleged took place when he was the country’s president,” Pretorius said.

    Zuma has repeatedly refused to testify to the commission, most recently last month when he claimed he was too ill.

    The subpoena came just weeks after the scandal-tainted former president hit out at the commission chairman, requesting that he recuse himself as he was partisan.

    Source: africanews.com

  • White South African farmers stage angry protest over rural violence

    The Union Building lawns in Pretoria, South Africa were covered by several hundred mainly white farmers — some carrying flags and crosses, in angry protest on Saturday of the perceived lack of government response to the assaults and murders on farms in the rural parts of the country.

    The event organiser, Kallie Roux, shared a few words, “President Ramaphosa must stand up and firstly acknowledge that there are farm murders in South Africa, and he mustn’t say to the world that this doesn’t happen, because it happens. And after he admits this I want him to condemn it. He must strongly condemn it because then we will get somewhere because if the government doesn’t stand up we must stand up ourselves.”

    A 21-year-old white farmer, Brendin Horner, was found hanging from a pole on October 2 near Paul Roux, South Africa — his corpse showing visible evidence of torture. Consequently, around 3,000 angry white farmers stage demonstrations all over the country on the same the two murder suspects appeared in court in Senekal, on October 6.

    Barend Pienaar, a white farmer present at the October 10 protest is furious, “They (murderers) take pangas, they take spades, they take bottles, they take anything they can get their hands on and then they kill us like that. Just like that. We are not animals. We are a proud people. Don’t push us too far.”

    Post-apartheid racial tensions originating from agricultural land distribution disparities between white and black farmers have been a longstanding national issue in South Africa.

    There was a farmland distribution objective in 1994 i.e. 30% of white-owned farmland to the disenfranchised black farmers as a way to equilibrate the deep racial inequality lingering from the Apartheid regime. However, national statistics show that in 2017 the white minority — which makes up 9% of the country, still held 72% of the agricultural land.

    Hence in 2018, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa communicated his intention to amend the constitution to accelerate the uncompensated expropriation of arable land and its redistribution to the country’s black and disadvantaged population.

    An unpopular decision amongst white farmers that saw already-existing tensions rise.

    https://twitter.com/twatterbaas/status/1313387047995015169

    Source: africanews.com

  • South Africa opens borders to African countries, limits others

    South Africa will reopen its borders to all African countries from Thursday while barring tourists from around 50 nations with high coronavirus infection rates, the government said on Wednesday.

    The continent’s most industrialised economy shuttered its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 to limit the spread of the virus.

    Restrictions on movement and business have been gradually eased since June, but borders stayed sealed to avoid importing the virus from abroad.

    Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the country would “gradually” open borders, but that restrictions were in place for around 50 countries categorised as high risk include Britain, the US, India, Russia and France.

    “Only business travellers with scarce and critical skills, diplomats, investors and professional sports people coming for events from the high-risk countries will be permitted into the country,” she said.

    Meanwhile, “travellers from all African countries are allowed,” Pandor added.

    The country will reopen some land borders and its three main airports in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

    All travellers will be required to present a negative coronavirus test taken less than 72 hours prior to departure.

    They will be screened upon arrival and asked to install a coronavirus tracing app on their mobile phone.

    The travel restrictions will be reviewed every two weeks.

    South Africa has been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with 672,572 infections and 16,667 deaths recorded to date, around half the total number of cases detected on the continent.

    The countries with restrictions have a greater number of infections and deaths compared with South Africa, Pandor said.

    Source: africanews.com

  • About 500 pupils quarantined in South Africa

    About 500 pupils have been put into quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak at a school in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

    A total of 98 pupils tested positive at the secondary school in the town of Burgersdorp, and officials say they fear the virus may have spread more widely into the community.

    The authorities say the outbreak started when two students who had tested positive failed to inform the school, and blame a lack of mask wearing and social distancing.

    Source: bbc.com

  • SA lawyer suspended for calling judge stupid

    A lawyer in South Africa has been suspended for calling a judge “stupid”, according to the Times Live new site.

    Rembuluwani Gadabeni is said to have made the comment earlier this month and later refused to back down, IOL reports, saying he told his legal peers “I am not repentant or regretful”.

    Times Live says the Legal Practice Council (LPC) investigated Mr Gadabeni, leading to a high court in Polokwane temporarily revoking his licence while a disciplinary inquiry takes place.

    “It seems that such conduct is becoming endemic,” LPC chairwoman Kathleen Matolo-Dlepu is quoted as saying, in reference to another lawyer in Johannesburg who was filmed swearing in court.

    “The unbecoming behaviour by both legal practitioners shows a total disregard of our judicial system and complete lack of respect for the presiding officer and the judiciary.”

    Source: BBC

  • Mozambique seizes chicken imports from South Africa

    The customs authorities in Mozambique have seized just more than 300 boxes of smuggled chicken on the Ressano Garcia border with neighbouring South Africa.

    The boxes were hidden in a container. They had entered the country without paying the custom duties, according to an official.

    Maputo provincial director of customs Leonel Vasco said the importers had violated other rules apart from not paying taxes.

    Mozambique was to lose $4,173(£3,200) in tax charges.

    The country imports food from South Africa and importers have often tried to escape paying customs duties.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Trump vows response on any ‘plot to kill diplomat in SA’

    The US President Donald Trump has vowed a response that will be “1,000 times greater in magnitude,” to any attack by Iran.

    This is after reports that Iran was plotting to kill the US ambassador to South Africa, Lana Marks.

    “Any attack by Iran, in any form, against the United States will be met with an attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!” Mr Trump tweeted on Monday.

    Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has dismissed the report on the planned assassination that was first reported by Politico.

    It reported that Iran was planning to assassinate the US ambassador, a long-time friend of President Trump, in retaliation for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in January.

    Gen Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike on an airport in Baghdad in January.

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa halts deal with world’s biggest train maker

    South Africa’s rail freight company Transnet has suspended business dealings with the Chinese train manufacturer CRRC, over contract disputes, but it may have to reverse that ban to get its locomotives repaired.

    Transnet is taking legal action against the Chinese company to enforce payment on penalties levied against the company for cost overruns in a contract to supply hundreds of locomotives.

    CRRC, which is the world’s biggest train manufacturer, owes at least $3bn (£2.3bn), because of problems over a contract shared by four companies, to supply 1,064 locomotives to Transnet.

    The South African Treasury discovered the tender was mired in irregularities and spiralling costs, so it enforced penalties in the contract.

    Transnet suspended business with the company, but as the majority of its fleet, which is built by the Chinese firm, requires maintenance, the ban will have to be lifted.

    Transnet’s locomotives will need to be reliable, as the company expects to increase rail freight operations, especially transporting commodities produced by the mining industry for export, as South Africa recovers from recession.

    The American manufacturer GE has paid its fines and delivered 233 locomotives to Transnet, while Bombardier of Canada has cooperated with South Africa’s investigation into allegations of corruption.

    Source: bbc.com

  • SA COVID-19 funds audit ‘frightening’

    A scathing report into the use of South Africa’s Covid-19 relief fund has revealed overpricing and potential fraud, the auditor general says.

    Kimi Makwetu says the audit uncovered “frightening findings”.

    In some cases personal protective equipment (PPE) was bought for five times more than the price the national treasury had advised.

    The report also has flagged up 30,000 relief grants which “require further investigation”.

    Mr Makwetu has been tracking the spending of 500 billion rand ($26bn; £19bn) which is equivalent to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product.

    “A lot of the effort that we put into this on the detection side of things has revealed a number of frightening findings that require to be followed up very quickly so that there is no significant passage of time before the required actions are implemented,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

    The allocated funds were meant to assist vulnerable households with food parcels, unemployment grants, support small business, farmers and to also procure personal protective equipment.

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa leader to face probe over campaign funding

    South Africa’s governing party officials have said President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear before an integrity commission to answer questions about a controversial campaign donation.

    But Jessie Duarte, a senior member of the African National Congress, did not specify when Mr Ramaphosa would present himself before the party panel.

    In a report, South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog alleged that Mr Ramaphosa had misled parliament about money he received in 2017, worth more than $36,000 (£27,000).

    Mr Ramaphosa maintains it was a donation towards his campaign for the ANC leadership.

    As President, Mr Ramaphosa has staked his reputation on cleaning up South African politics since he replaced Jacob Zuma.

    Source: bbc.com

  • South Africa police arrested for killing teen

    Two South African police officers have been arrested over the deadly shooting of a 16-year-old boy, which had sparked violent street protests.

    The family of Nathaniel Julius, who had Down’s syndrome, said he had gone out to buy biscuits when he was shot dead in Johannesburg’s Eldorado Park suburb.

    The officers will be charged with murder and “possibly defeating the ends of justice”, said the police watchdog.

    The family said Julius was shot after not answering officers’ questions.

    However, they added, this was because of his disability.

    The police initially said Julius had been caught up in a shootout between officers and local gangsters.

    The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said it had decided to arrest the officers after “careful consideration of the evidence at hand”.

    After Julius’ death on Wednesday night, hundreds of local residents took to the streets to protest on Thursday, leading to violent clashes with police.

    Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the stone-throwing protesters who had blockaded streets with burning barricades.

    The clashes led President Cyril Ramaphosa to appeal for calm.

    South Africa’s police are often accused of using excessive force – security forces have been accused of killing at least 10 people this year while enforcing a lockdown imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus.

    “There is no evidence of any provocation and it’s difficult to understand why live ammunition could be used in a community such as this,” Archbishop Malusi Mpumlwana, head of the South African Council of Churches, told local media outside the Julius household.

    “We can’t say Black Lives Matter in the United States if we don’t say it in South Africa,” he said.

    Source: bbc.com

  • ‘World’s oldest man’ dies aged 116 in South Africa

    A South African who was thought to be the oldest man in the world has died at the age of 116.

    Fredie Blom’s identity documents showed he was born in Eastern Cape province in May 1904, although that was never verified by Guinness World Records.

    When he was teenager, his entire family was wiped out by the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. He went on to survive two world wars and apartheid.

    Mr Blom told the BBC in 2018 that there was no special secret to his longevity.

    “There’s only one thing – it’s the man above [God]. He’s got all the power. I have nothing. I can drop over any time but He holds me,” he said.

    Mr Blom spent most of his life as a labourer – first on a farm and then in the construction industry – and only retired when he was in his 80s.

    Although he gave up drinking many years ago, he was a regular smoker.

    However, a coronavirus-related lockdown imposed by the South African government reportedly meant he was unable to buy tobacco to roll his own cigarettes on his 116th birthday.

    Mr Blom’s family said he died of natural causes in Cape Town on Saturday.

    “Two weeks ago oupa [grandfather] was still chopping wood,” family spokesman Andre Naidoo told AFP news agency. “He was a strong man, full of pride.”

    But within days Mr Blom shrank “from a big man to a small person”, he added.

    Mr Naidoo said the family did not believe his death was related to Covid-19.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Long queues at liquor stores in South Africa as coronavirus restrictions are eased

    South Africa eased its Covid-19 restrictions to level two on Tuesday, allowing the resumption of sale of alcohol and cigarettes.

    Under the new regulations, sale of alcohol is permitted from Monday to Thursday between 09:00 to 17:00 local time.

    Queues have been witnessed outside liquor stores in major cities.

    People are also allowed to travel between provinces. Visits to family and friends are permitted but in small groups.

    Parks and beaches have reopened for outdoor activity and sporting events allowed to resume but without spectators.

    Wearing of face masks in public remains mandatory,

    The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party has opposed easing of restrictions, warning it could lead to further loss of life, according to media reports.

    South Africa is the hardest hit country on continent by the coronavirus pandemic and has so far confirmed more than 580,000 cases.

    The Eye Witness News website has tweeted a video clip of residents in the commercial hub of Johannesburg queuing outside liquor stores:

    Source: bbc.com