Government

More than 60 000 vehicle licences have been renewed on the online platform of the South African Post Office (Sapo) since its launch at the beginning of the year. Sapo attributed its success to the fact that vehicle licences can now be renewed 24/7 from any laptop or smartphone. “This is a huge bonus for car owners who live in remote areas. It also saves you money. There is no charge if you collect the new licence from a nearby post office, and only R75 for delivery to your address,” the …

Eskom has implemented Stage 3 load shedding this morning and is expected to further reduce it to Stage 2 from Tuesday morning until further notice. This brings mild relief to consumers after the state power utility implemented Stage 4 load shedding over the weekend due to several breakdowns at its power stations. Now, the electricity supplier explained that Stage 2 and 3 load shedding will be implemented in order to refill diminishing emergency generation reserves. “Load shedding is …

The writing of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations is set to conclude this week, with rewrite opportunities arising from disruptions in some parts of the country. The NSC examination will conclude on 8 December 2022 with the Economics Paper 1 written in Gauteng only by 53 learners from Phandimfundo Secondary. Today marks Day 28 of the 30-day examination, in which 215 of the 222 question papers have already been written. In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Basic …

The referral asks the NPA’s Investigating Directorate to investigate charges of organised crime in connection with a land restitution scam which, although it has been well publicised, has seen six criminal cases squashed and has cost the state hundreds of millions of rand and the economy at least R35 billion OUTA has referred a criminal complaint against Deputy President David Mabuza and others on 5 December 2022 to the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority …

Eskom says it has approached the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to mediate in the debt repayment matter between the power utility and the City of Tshwane municipality. “The Public Finance Management Act requires that institutes recover what is owed to them. It is for this reason that Eskom sought the intervention of Cogta in this matter. The overdue debt has contributed negatively to the liquidity, financial performance and sustainability of the …

Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says President Cyril Ramaphosa is still engaging stakeholders with regards to the way forward following findings by an Independent Section 89 panel that the President may have violated his oath of office. The panel was formed to look into the circumstances around a robbery at the President’s Phala Phala game farm and found that President Ramaphosa may have seriously violated sections 96(2)(a) of the Constitution and Section 34(1) of the Prevention …

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says Swiss engineering company, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), is expected to pay some R2.5 billion in “punitive reparations to South Africa” for its part in State Capture. The company was allegedly irregularly awarded a lucrative control and instrumentation contract at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station in 2015 after allegedly colluding with Eskom officials. “This settlement represents a bold and innovative step towards accountability and justice for alleged …

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he “categorically denies” allegations that he has violated his oath of office. This as the independent Section 89 panel – formed to look into the robbery at the Phala Phala game farm – found that the President may have seriously violated sections 96(2)(a) of the Constitution and Section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities (PRECCA) Act. “I have endeavoured, throughout my tenure as President, not only to abide by my oath but to set an …

My Fellow South Africans, In my address to the second Presidential Summit on Gender-based Violence and Femicide at the beginning of this month, I said that we are a nation at war with itself. This is borne out by the crime statistics for the last quarter, which were released last week, just ahead of the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. Between July and September this year, 989 women were murdered, 1,277 were victims of attempted murder …

By: Phumla Williams * South Africa’s COVID-19 journey began on Friday 27 March 2020, shortly after midnight, when President Cyril Ramaphosa called on us to remain at home and to observe the 21-day lockdown period. The initial lockdown was extended again on 09 April 2020, and a number of subsequent lockdowns followed, based on the need to save lives and livelihoods. What followed was the greatest test our nation had ever faced; cut off from family, friends and support networks we all …