Author: Larson Thebe
Eight out of ten South Africans in Grade 4 struggle to understand what they are reading, regardless of the language, according to results of an international literacy study that were made public this week. The 2021 survey, which included reading comprehension tests of around 400,000 students, found that South Africa had the lowest score of all the participating countries. Particularly concerning is South Africa’s decreasing ranking in comparison to our ranking in the 2016 report. The number of Grade 4 students in South Africa who are currently unable to read proficiently has climbed from 78% to 81%. Since the study’s…
At a high school in rural northern South Africa, more than 300 students and their teachers share three toilets, and that woefully lopsided figure is not the worst problem. The three toilets are pit latrines, effectively 10-foot-deep (3-metre) holes in the ground, that students line up during a lunch break to use. The pit toilets at Seipone Secondary School in the village of Ga-Mashashane at least are covered by white toilet seats and enclosed by brick structures. Some of the pit toilets still used at more than 3,300 schools in poor, mostly rural areas across South Africa are not. It…
The Department of Health has urged the public to take extra cautionary measures and maintain proper hand-hygiene as the country experiences an outbreak of Stomach Flu or gastrointestinal infection, and the rising number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Cholera. In a statement, the department said it has been informed of cases of people presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria in the past few days. This has resulted in over 50 people receiving medical care at Jubilee Hospital. “Gastrointestinal illness is a common and often highly infectious condition that affects the stomach and intestines. The disease typically spreads by contact…
Stage 8 load shedding, according to business interest organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), is virtually guaranteed to occur in the upcoming months. The group also warns that businesses that depend on diesel to continue operating during outages will be struck considerably harder because the lights could be out for up to half the day. According to BLSA Chief Executive Busi Mavuso, unprecedented load shedding will not only have a negative financial impact on businesses. “It is clear how this would affect the already low business confidence. This is hardly the kind of environment where corporations will make fresh investments. With growth experiencing yet another setback, that will contribute to lower overall economic performance,” she said. While South Africa has been able to amend the Electricity Regulation Act to allow the private sector to build new generating plants at scale, other initiatives have stalled or completely gone off the rails. A request for proposals for battery storage…
Another exciting domestic season is coming to an end this weekend with Mamelodi Sundowns officially crowned League Champions on Tuesday, securing their sixth title in a row with seven games to spare. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has announced nominees for the 2022/23 PSL Awards, with North-West born star Monnapule Saleng nominated in four categories. With just one round of league football and the Nedbank Cup final still to be played, the league has announced the nominees for this year’s PSL awards, including the MTN8 Last Man Standing, the Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament and all DStv Premiership awards.…
A fuel oil syndicate, which operated at Eskom’s power plants and cost the utility and South Africa R1.2 billion and more over a number of years, was described in detail by former Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter in his new book titled, Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom. De Ruyter recounted his realisation that Eskom was hampered by corruption on a scale never before seen in addition to neglected equipment, aging power plants, and a deteriorating talent base. When a plant trip or outage occurs, fuel oil is required to restart the coal fires in the boilers, a…
Media outlets reported earlier in the week that a man in his early 20s was discovered with an illegal firearm over the weekend in Umlazi, south of Durban. According to other media reports, the gun was then subjected to ballistic testing and positively identified as the 9mm pistol that killed Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes on February 10, 2023. When contacted for comment, Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda pleaded with the media to refrain from placing undue pressure on investigations. All media reports stating that a firearm was recovered have since been dismissed. “Police are making another appeal to…
The commander of South Africa’s ground forces has visited Moscow for talks with Russian counterparts just days after Washington accused South Africa of secretly providing arms to Russia. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said on Monday that the meeting was “planned well in advance” as part of “a long-standing arrangement” and was a “goodwill visit” at the invitation of the Russian army. In a statement, SANDF said it “confirms that the Chief of the SA Army, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha, is in Moscow for a bilateral between the two military establishments”. “It must be noted that South Africa has Military…
A crucial showdown between DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns and relegation-threatened Maritzburg United will take place on Tuesday in Pretoria. Before the penultimate round of games in the Premier League on Saturday. Besides winning against Mamelodi Sundowns, they also rely on loses or draws for Marumo Gallants and Chippa United in order to avoid relegation. Coach Fadlu Davids stated they are going for maximum points since they have nothing to lose at a media meeting on Monday. “We must act quickly and deliberately. When handling the ball, we must be aggressive. Goals must be scored for us. Additionally, we are…
Reuben Brigety, the US ambassador to South Africa, has apologised to Pretoria after accusing the nation of providing arms to Russia. Naledi Pandor, the minister of international relations and cooperation, called Brigety to a meeting on Friday afternoon. According to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Brigety acknowledged that he overstepped the mark by bypassing established diplomatic channels to express his nation’s concerns. Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said the government expressed its “displeasure” at the ambassador’s statements. The US ambassador to South Africa’s actions, according to Dirco, “are perplexing and at odds with the friendly and mutually beneficial…