Author: Silver Sibiya
Members of the Westbury, Joburg community are living in fear following clashes between rival gangs that have claimed the lives of 2 people and left 13 others injured. The community fears venturing out in the streets when it is dark and barricades themselves behind closed doors as sounds of gunfire echo on the streets especially over the weekends. The gang-related killings in the Coloured community has been triggered by the murder of an alleged Fast Guns leader Keenan Sheldon Ebrahim who was shot in a suspected hit while travelling in a car in Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort last Thursday. Rumour has…
The victims of the recent torrential downpours in Vanderbijlpark near the Vaal River, Lochvaal, Rietvlei, and the neighbouring districts are still picking up the pieces after water from the sluice gates inundated their houses and belongings like cars and trailers. The roads and bridges in some parts of the area have been completely destroyed leading to several road closures. The R42 bridge in Rietvlei which joins N1 road from Vanderbijlpark is one of the impassable roads. The Vaal Dam was flooded on Saturday as a result of the heavy rains, forcing authorities to open sluice gates at Bloemhof Dam. By…
Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development, Lebogang Maile said the housing backlog continues to be a massive challenge in Gauteng with more than a million in need of homes because of the influx of people coming to the big city looking for job opportunities. Maile was yesterday speaking in Randfontein in Mogale City, at a place named after the late freedom fighter, Dan Tloome. He officially opened a community hall and handed over 370 units known as RDP houses for low-income beneficiaries. “We started this project because there is a big housing problem in our country, especially in…
Gauteng Premier Panyaza outlined his ambitious plan to reclaim township economies by using 60% of the Provincial’s R34 billion budget allocation to fund enterprises for the procurement of goods and services, he said during his maiden State of the Province Address (Sopa) on Monday at the Legislature. Lesufi spoke about providing basic services at hostels to transforming taxi ranks at the Sopa which comes less than 18 months before the National General Elections. The ANC won the country’s richest province by a nail-biting 50.2% in the last general elections in 2019 and the party is under pressure to deliver tangible…
Family, friends and fans of Hip Hop superstar Kiernan “AKA” Forbes paid a moving tribute in a memorial service held in Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Friday evening. AKA was murdered a week ago outside a popular restaurant in Durban alongside his close friend and former manager Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane The ceremony was a celebratory event with many of his colleagues taking to the stage to perform many of his tracks where they were featured. But the big moment came when his mother Lynn Forbes narrated about the kind of a person her son was. “Today, a week ago…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has turned down the request from the Gauteng Provincial Government to grant the slain hip-hop artist Kiernan Forbes commonly known as AKA a Special Provincial Official Funeral. AKA was killed last Friday along with his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane outside a restaurant in Durban. The Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi broke the news in a statement that he visited the Forbes family and informed them of the decision by Ramaphosa. However, Lesufi committed that the provincial government would honour the late musician by providing law enforcement, a gravesite at Heroes Acre Cemetery and a South African flag to…
The City of Joburg Speaker Colleen Makhubele, has confirmed that more than 500 families from the Springbok informal settlement, south of Johannesburg, are in need of urgent aid after all their homes and belongings were destroyed during recent heavy rains. Some of the urgent supplies needed include food and clothing, she said. “We have seen children who are not able to go to school because their uniforms are wet. They can’t sleep in their houses because their homes are flooded,” she said. Makhubele together with her office descended on the area to get first hand experience of the dire situation…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent condolences to families of the 21 people who died tragically in a collision between a bus and a cash van in Limpopo on Monday night. The accident, one of the worst to happen on our roads in terms of the number of fatalities, occurred at Mashovhela towards Musina on the N1 highway, near the HF Verwoerd Tunnel. The President said in a statement, he was saddened by the horrific crash and wished all 68 survivors well on their way to recovery. “As compatriots, we are deeply saddened when we experience such a loss of life…
The community of Eldorado Park in the south of Johannesburg is calling for the removal of the local Station Commander Brigadier Mkhacani Maluleke whom it is accusing of incompetence and failing in his duties to stop violence in the area from spiralling out of control. Maluleke was appointed in March last year to replace former Station Commander Peter Henry Van Dyk who died in 2021, August. An anti-drug activist, Dereleen James, accused Maluleke of failing to listen to the community’s concerns regarding the crime and drug activities in Eldorado Park. “We tried so many times to talk to him to…
Several labour union federations and civil society organisations have come together to pressure the government into introducing measures aimed at protecting the poor and to introduce a Basic Income Grant of R1 500 a month. Leaders of the organisation including AMCU, SAFTU, United Front under a banner Cry of the Xcluded held a press briefing in Auckland Park, Joburg on Tuesday demanding among others, the introduction of a basic income grant. Saftu Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi said they will continue with their demonstrations during the Sona and budget speech set to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of…