Author: Gomolemo Mothomogolo
On Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thabang Makwetla urged military veterans to apply for the newly-introduced monthly pension grant that he said has been introduced by the government to improve the lives of the military veterans. Makwetla said initially the pension fund was R4 900 but it is now R5100 because of the increase granted by the Treasury effective from April 1. Makwetla said despite having over 80 000 military veterans on their database not all of them will qualify for the pension benefit. “On the database of the military veterans we have just upwards of 80…
A group of about 100 security guards marched in Tshwane yesterday calling on the City of Tshwane Municipality to hire them permanently, saying they want job security and “stability”. The guards say the city must stop outsourcing security contracts and hire them as employees not as contract workers from other companies who tend to put guards on month-to-month contracts creating instability in their lives. Group leader Joshua Modau said ‘insourcing’ will solve most of their problems. “First of all, we are working under dangerous sites e.g there are ladies who are working in sub stations because all these private companies…
A representative from the Black Lawyers Association (BLA), Palesa Ledwaba says more still needs to done to protect women in the legal fraternity as it battles ‘rife sexual harassment’ pushing young women to exit the profession. Ledwaba made the remarks at a ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the Women Legal Practice Act of 1923 where she said there is an alarming occurrence of sexual harassment within the profession at large and at the BLA. “This has contributed largely to the exit of many female practitioners, especially young candidates. And it has been called on the BLA to develop policies…
Archbishop Odysseus Harvey from the Jesus of Holy Cross Apostle Church in Soweto is calling on the government to bring back the death penalty saying the system as it stands, favours criminals and perpetrators more than the victims of crime. This comes after the gruesome murder of 6-year-old Tshiamo Ramanye and his 5-year-old friend Nqobile Zulu who went missing and their mutilated bodies were found last week in a Veld in Rockville, Soweto. The two children were last seen playing together late in the evening and it is alleged they were kidnapped while a third child managed to escape. Harvey…
The African Diaspora Forum (ADF) has expressed its disappointment with the eviction of the refugees who were camping outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The group of about 100 women, children and men had been camping outside the UNHCR office since 2019 demanding to be relocated to other countries. They said they don’t want to live in South Africa because they fear xynophobic attacks. The chairperson of the ADF, Vusumuzi Sibanda said they are disappointed with the eviction of the group of refugees but this doesn’t come as a surprise because this is not the first time…
Human rights lawyer, Louise du Plessis says they will talk to church groups to see if they can accommodate the refugees evicted outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office In Brooklyn, Tshwane. On Friday, law enforcement officials carried out an eviction order against about 100 refugees who had been camping outside the UNHCR since 2019 demanding to be relocated to other countries due their “fears of xenophobia attacks” in South Africa. The evictions followed last week’s North Gauteng High’s eviction order granted to the Department of Home Affairs. A group of refugees vacated the campsite moving the…
A group of refugees and asylum seekers camping outside the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2019 are adamant that they want to relocate to another country rather than be placed in South Africa’s repatriation centre. The refugees are expected to be evicted today following a court order that stipulated that they will be relocated to the Lindela Repatriation Centre. In terms of the court order the Department of Home Affairs will be on site to assist and to direct them to vehicles that will transport them and their belongings to Lindela. “Please ensure to…
A newly formed political party, Arise South Africa (SA) will be contesting across all the nine provinces and plans woo young voters in next year’s general elections. Arise SA leader, 29-year-old Mpho Dagada launched the political party on Wednesday in Tshwane and is selling his party as an option for young voters who want to use technological advancement to build South Africa’s economy. “We have registered with the IEC and we have registered to contest the national election and also all nine provinces of South Africa. We will be contesting national and provincial elections as the Arise SA party. “Our…
The Tshwane Municipal Council’s failure to pass its adjustment budget for the third time, will affect residents the most and impact negatively on service delivery Last week, the Council needed 108 votes (50% + plus 1) to pass the adjustment budget but got only 107 and failed to meet its third deadline. The ANC-led provincial government raised concerns and expressed disappointment that the city was unable to pass the budget “despite an extension to the 14 of April”. The failure to pass the adjustment budget is an indication of lack of cohesion and City of Tshwane residents will bear the…
The City of Tshwane Executive Mayor, Cilliers Brink says the city plans on disposing more than R100 million worth of its assets including the Wonderboom Airport as it battles to keep its finances afloat. Brink and MMC for finance Peter Sutton briefed the media on the municipality’s finances at its headquarters in Tshwane on Monday. Brink said in their discussion on the assets that can be sold as part of their plans to beef up the City’s coffers, the administration has taken a very conservative approach and that estimate came to just over R100 million. “But I am convinced that…