Author: Larson Thebe
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to visit both Russia and the Ukraine to promote a peaceful end to the conflict when delivering the budget vote of the Presidency in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Ramaphosa criticised the UN for not providing Africa a permanent seat at the security council table. According to President Ramaphosa, multilateralism and respect for international law serve as the foundation for South Africa’s foreign policy posture. He continued by saying that “South Africa’s non-aligned stance on Russia’s conflict in Ukraine was distinct from adopting a neutral approach.” “We have stated clearly, even now, that disputes of this…
Chelsea has announced Mauricio Pochettino as head coach of the men’s team from the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Pochettino agreed to a two-year contract with an option for an additional year and will return to the Premier League four years after being sacked by Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The 51-year-old had been out of work since he was dismissed by Paris Saint-Germain in July 2022. “The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of,” Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali on the club’s website. “We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining…
The best footballers, coaches and officials in South Africa were honoured after another incredible Premier Soccer League season, on Sunday, 28 May 2023. The winners of the 2022/23 PSL awards were announced virtually during Sunday night’s awards, with Monnapule Saleng and Teboho Mokoena winning big. The Bloemhof-born, Orlando Pirates midfielder Saleng bagged two accolades on the night, following his impressive performances throughout the campaign. Saleng scored four nominations ahead of the ceremony, eventually walking off with two, the MTN Last Man Standing accolade and the coveted DStv Premiership Players Player of the Season award – which is voted on by other players.…
Tina Turner, one of rock’s most famous voices who had hits including Proud Mary and The Best, has died at the age of 83 after a long illness, her publicist has said. Turner had suffered ill health in recent years, being diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and having a kidney transplant in 2017. “With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” her representatives said in a statement. “There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time.” The White House mourned…
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…