Author: Larson Thebe
Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said plans to end load shedding that his office implemented since taking over, are starting to bear fruit. Eskom recently announced that it had suspended load shedding for the weekend due to improved performance in its generator fleet, which has led to a decrease in load shedding across the country. Ramokgopa was briefing the media in Pretoria, regarding progress in the execution of the Energy Action Plan. “Our lights are on for most of the hours of the day. We have seen that we’ve come out of the period of sustained no load shedding. We’re beginning to…
Hundreds of residents of the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in the North West, have raised service delivery concerns, during the Presidential Imbizo in Ikageng, Potchefstroom. This is the President’s second visit to the province to assess progress made on commitments the government undertook during the previous District Development Model Presidential Imbizo. According to the Presidency, the public participation engagement provides the opportunity for the community to address various service delivery challenges and for the national, provincial, and local leadership to respond. Most of the concerns raised by the residents include lack of water, electricity, housing, and unemployment among others.…
South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi has been accused of using a racial slur towards England flanker Tom Curry during his side’s Rugby World Cup semi-final win. Curry approached referee Ben O’Keeffe about half an hour into the match, reported the alleged comment and asked what he should do in response. “Nothing please,” replied O’Keeffe. England have 36 hours after the final whistle to refer such incidents to the citing commissioner, who could then call a disciplinary hearing. Curry was asked after the match whether something untoward had been said to him by Mbonambi. “Yeah,” he replied, before adding that “it does not…
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned Israel that the Middle East could spiral out of control if it does not stop strikes on Gaza. He said the US was also “to blame” for providing military support to Israel. Hours later, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned troops his people were in a battle for their lives and said the war against Hamas was “do or die”. Iran supports both Hamas, which attacked Israel two weeks ago killing 1,400 people, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. More than 4,600 Palestinians have been killed in the last two weeks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run…
Banyana Banyana legend and former skipper Janine van Wyk, has announced she’ll call time on her illustrious career as a defender of the senior national women’s side. The 36-year-old will retire after playing in the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifiers this month against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a send-off matches to cap her historic playing career. Should Van Wyk feature in the two matches, she will sit on 185 international caps, making her the most capped footballer on the African continent, male or female. The stalwart penned an emotional farewell to the beautiful game on her Instagram…
The National Assembly has voted for Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, to be the next Public Protector. This after she was recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee to head the Chapter 9 institution, following interviews of eight candidates that were held in August. Gcaleka has been acting in the position since 2022, after the suspension of then incumbent, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who has since been dismissed. She needed 60% of votes for her appointment to go through, and 244 voted in her favour, 12 voted against the nomination, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members of parliament earlier…
A parliament internal investigation has recommended that five officials be held liable for the 1 January 2022 fire that gutted some parts of the National Assembly building. The report was commissioned last year by Secretary to Parliament Xolile George after the fire incident that engulfed the National Assembly building, hundreds of offices and caused extensive damage to the Old Assembly wing of Parliament. “The report recommends consideration for consequence management procedures against five parliament officials for various failures, including the failure to implement security policies, ensure compliance with occupational health and safety standards, and establish a security committee as required.…
The Springbok women’s sevens team have booked their spot for their first-ever Olympics Games after winning the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens regional qualifiers in Tunisia. The Renfred Dazel lead side sealed their place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, after beating Kenya 12-7 in the final. Judging by the results, the Springboks cruised to lifting the title, recording comfortable wins against Zimbabwe (26-0), Uganda (19-0), Tunisia (27-7) and Zambia 31-0 in the semi-final to set up a date with Kenya. Dazel revealed that he was delighted for the players and that they were able to finally record their name in…
Following an emergency meeting with the Premier Soccer League’s Board of Governors, Mamelodi Sundowns has been given the green light to participate in the African Football League (AFL). Sundowns will represent South Africa at the lucrative AFL, with the tournament set to kick-off on Friday 20 October until 11 November 2023 and will feature teams from the top-ranked leagues on the continent. The winner set to walk away with an astonishing $4 million (R75m) in prize money. Participating in this tournament, however, will come at a cost for Masandawana who must juggle competing in the DSTV Premiership, Carling Black Label…
Minister of Police and African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Bheki Cele, said integrated efforts to fight crime in the country are succeeding. Cele said some of the crimes include illegal mining, cash-in-transit heists, and gender-based violence among others. He was addressing a media briefing in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, during the ANC NEC meeting as part of the party’s Peace and Stability sub-committee. Cele said President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster to work as a cluster to end illegal mining in the country. “We have finalised a structure that will be…