Category: News

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has called on law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough and swift investigation after the brutal murder of a pregnant woman in Ehlanzeni in Ubuhlebezwe Local Municipality.

Busisiwe Ngubo’s body was found just a kilometre away from her home on Monday morning.

It is alleged that the 35-year-old victim, who was pregnant with twins, was strangled and her lifeless body discarded on the roadside.

According to reports, Ngubo left her home after receiving a call from her police officer boyfriend. She had shared information with relatives and they were aware of her intentions to travel to hospital, as she was about to deliver.

“We demand nothing less than a rigorous pursuit of justice in this case. The individual responsible for this heinous act must be apprehended promptly and the full force of the law should be brought to bear on them,” Khoza said.

In this moment of tragedy, Khoza emphasised the importance of eradicating violence against women, especially within intimate relationships.

“Our society cannot and will not tolerate such atrocities any longer. We stand united against these acts of violence and collectively strive for an environment where everyone, irrespective of gender, can live without fear,” Khoza said.

The MEC said the loss of Ngubo is a stark reminder of the pressing need to address gender-based violence (GBV), and to foster a culture of respect, equality and safety.

She urged society to come together to demand an end to such brutality.

“Let us honour the memory of Busisiwe Ngubo by working towards a society free from such horrors.”

Khoza has sent her heartfelt condolences to the Ngubo family and the community of Ehlanzeni for their loss.

“Our thoughts are with the grieving family and friends during this trying period,” she said.

The MEC has since mobilised a team of social workers to provide psycho-social support to Ngubo’s family and help them navigate through this traumatic experience, and find some semblance of healing.

Condolences to Umhlathuzana accident victims’ families

Meanwhile, Khoza has extended her heartfelt condolences to the family members of the children who were killed in an accident while walking to school in Umhlathuzana, south of Durban.

According to the reports, the tragic incident occurred last week Friday when four boys were on their way to Umhlathuzana Primary School.

The tow truck lost control, resulting in a collision, claiming the lives of two boys and the driver. Another young life was also lost in the hospital, while one boy sustained moderate injuries and is currently receiving medical care.

“In this moment of profound sorrow, our hearts extend to the bereaved family and the entire Umhlathuzana community, as well as the affected school. We offer our sincerest condolences and stand united with the entire Umhlathuzana community as they navigate through this period of mourning.

“Our collective thoughts and prayers accompany the families, grappling with an unimaginable loss. It is paramount that decisive measures are undertaken to avert such heart-wrenching incidents and to ensure the safety of our children during their journeys to and from school,” Khoza said.

A dedicated team of social workers has been dispatched to provide essential psycho-social support to both the affected families and learners.

Former Deputy President, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is convinced that there’s a special place in hell for women who do not support other women.

“I can tell you without fear of contradiction, there is a special place in hell for women who don’t support women!”

The bold assertion was recently received with chuckles, hand claps and no doubt a silent “Amen” from the participants attending a National School of Government (NSG) masterclass event.

The NSG is mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that public servants comply with the provisions of established legislation, regulations and systems, and can exercise proper discretion and innovation in solving routine and complex delivery problems.

At a time when the country is commemorating Women’s Month, Mlambo-Ngcuka said sisterhood is an important ingredient in the empowerment of women.

She said that often women are the ones who leave other women behind in society.

“So we depend on you to make sure that you pay particular attention to  women in society…. Your empowerment is an empowerment of the rest of the women. Sisterhood has to be one of your biggest and most important priorities,” she declared.

Mlambo-Ngcuka called on women in the public service to support “other women that you see in the streets and everywhere in the country that need support from you.”

She also stressed the importance of paying attention to the country’s younger women.

“It has to kill us when we hear that children in Grade 4 who are 10 years old cannot read… finding a plan to rescue that rests on you. This is where you show that you care about other women if we hear that girls in schools are getting pregnant … how do I use my advantage of being in the leadership of the public service to intervene in order to make sure that we address this?”

The former Deputy President was referring to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which has shown that many Grade 4 pupils cannot read for meaning, something which government has committed to resolve.

Cabinet has called on South Africans to use Women’s Month which is commemorated annually in August, not only to honour women who fought for the country’s freedom, but also to play their part in building a society that supports women empowerment and guarantees the safety of women and children.

This year, Women’s Month is being commemorated under the theme: “Accelerating socio-economic opportunities for empowerment of women” to pay tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest against the oppressive pass laws of the apartheid government.

The former chair of Parliament’s Public Service Committee reflected on working with the then Public Service and Administration Minister, Zola Skweyiya. The committee worked with the Minister in reconfiguring the new public service after following the dawn of democracy in 1994.

Gender representation

Government at the time came up with the Batho Pele policy of which September 2022 marked 25 years since South Africa adopted the Batho Pele (putting people first) Principles and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery.

Batho Pele is an inclusive concept that refers to all government policies, strategies and programmes aimed at transforming public service delivery.

She recalled how Skweyiya was “very emphatic” that the policy must reflect “equity in the system so that the citizen that is least served … who always falls between the cracks must feel thatgovernment sees them.

“And obviously women were high on that agenda. We wanted Batho Pele to address the issue of gender representation in the civil service but also the civil servant sensitivity about the gender discrimination of women in the society they are employed to serve,” she explained.

While women have gone on to attain much over the years, Mlambo-Ngcuka said the achievements of women must be celebrated and to “never forget the work that still awaits us.”

“Our work is not yet done – there is still much more that we still need to do,” said the former Executive Director of United Nations Women.

Mlambo-Ngcuka referred to the strides made by the SPAR Proteas netball women’s team and Banyana Banyana who made the country proud at their respective World Cup tournaments recently.

Mentorship

Having served the public service in various roles including that of Minister of Minerals and Energy, she stressed the sector’s importance saying it is the “backbone of government”. She highlighted that while women were continuing to break barriers, they should also mentor others.

“Because there is no point if we are breaking the glass ceiling for yourselves when you’re not doing anything for the rest of society.  We have to do these things simultaneously.”

“… So lifting as you climb has to be your mantra and the nice thing about mentorship is that it’s not hard, it has to come from here,” she said as she pointed towards her heart.

In his Women’s Day address, President Cyril Ramaphosa encouraged all sectors of society to advance and improve the lives of the women and girls of South Africa.

“We must mobilise all of society to support the women of our country on their road to empowerment and the improvement of their lives. As government, we are irrevocably committed to continuing the process of advancing and improving the lives of the women and girls of South Africa,” he said.

While it is said that a woman’s work is never done, we all can lend a hand in ensuring that hell freezes over to advance the interests of all women.

Four people are expected to have their day in court in May next year in a case related to tender fraud amounting to some R400 million.

The tender was awarded to airline SA Express by the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) in 2014 and was subject to scrutiny at the State Capture Commission, which subsequently recommended a criminal probe into the matter.

In the dock in May 2024 will be former head of the provincial Department of Transport, Thabang Mohlokoleng; Tebogo Van Wyk, Nothando Dube and Sipho Phiri, together with companies, Batsamai Investment Holdings, Sevilex Investment Holdings and Lavao Estevao (PTY) Ltd.

The four face 34 charges including fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, with charges of racketeering also expected to be added to the docket.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame, the charges stem from the provincial government’s 2014 bid to reintroduce commercial airlines to airports in Mmabatho and Pilanesberg on a subsidy of some R400 million.

“An amount of R183 million was then paid to SA Express between 2015 and 2017, for the services rendered by the ground management companies, which Van Wyk, Dube and Phiri are linked to. The State alleges that of the amount… R51 million was channelled irregularly through the charged companies,” he said.

Mathomane said the tender awarded to the airline was done without “following the proper supply chain management processes”.

“The irregularly secured agreement is said to have been signed by the fourth accused. Mohlokoleng signed on behalf of the Department of Transport as the then Accounting Officer, in his capacity as the head of the department. The deal was allegedly riddled with procurement irregularities and monies were paid for services not rendered.

“The irregularities prejudiced the North West government of millions of Rands that could have been directed to service delivery,” Mamothame said.

Pre-trial conferencing is expected to commence in January 2024.

Police in Driekop, in the Sekhukhune District — in collaboration with Mecklenburg, Burgersfort, Tubatse SAPS, as well as Public Order Policing (POPS) in Limpopo — have apprehended three suspects, aged between 21 and 35, for alleged illegal mining.

The trio were nabbed on Tuesday morning at about 09:30am.

Police followed up on information about the suspects, who were conducting illegal mining activities on top of the mountain at Ga-Maroga village, under the Driekop policing precinct. They immediately rushed to the scene.

On their arrival, the police found a large number of people mining chrome. They then started to run in different directions, trying to evade being arrested.

Three males, consisting of two South Africans and one illegal immigrant, whose nationality will still going to be confirmed, were cornered and nabbed at the scene.

During the operation, the team managed to seize mining equipment. These include 12 wheelbarrows, 11 generators,  six jack hammers,  two grease pumps, a bundle of cables and a Bell TLB machine, with an estimated value of over R200 000.

The trio are expected to appear before the Mecklenburg Magistrate’s Court soon on charges of illegal mining and contravention of the Immigration Act.

The Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has vowed that the fight against illegal mining in the province will be strengthened to bring the perpetrators to book.

Police investigations are continuing.

Efforts against the proliferation of illegal and unlicensed firearms, are paying off with Gauteng police having recovered over 400 firearms and other ammunition in the past two weeks.

The recoveries said the South African Police Service (SAPS), are as a result of daily crime prevention actions conducted by police members and intelligence driven operations including the weekly Operation Shanela.

On Wednesday last week, members of the Ekurhuleni District Crime Intelligence, Ekurhuleni District Trio Task Team, Bad Boys Security and Blue Hawk Tactical, operationalised information regarding illegal miners who were allegedly in possession of an unlicensed firearm in the Primrose area.

The information led the team to four suspects who were found in possession of a rifle with ammunition and 13 bags of gold bearing soil.

All four suspects were arrested and charged with the possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of gold bearing material, including bribery as one of them tried to bribe the police for his freedom.

In another incident, still in the Ekurhuleni district, members of Putfontein recovered a firearm with a filed off serial number after they followed up on information. Two suspects were arrested and charged with the possession of an unlicensed firearm.

In the Johannesburg District, a team consisting of the Soweto Crime Intelligence and Soweto Flying Squad operationalised information about individuals planning a business robbery in the Diepkloof area.

The identified vehicle to be used by the suspects was spotted and stopped. Three occupants were inside and when searched, police discovered a revolver with a filed off serial number and ammunition.

The suspects were all arrested for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition and the police also seized the vehicle which is suspected to have been used in the commission of crime.

The SAPS said most of the firearms are recovered during routine patrols, vehicle check points and during crime prevention operations conducted throughout the province.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela applauded the law enforcement members and private security companies through the Eyes and Ears E(2) project for their prompt response to tip-offs and intelligence information given to them by community members.

“Recoveries of these firearms and ammunition is ascribed to partnership policing and these proves that together we can fight against crime and make our province a safe place to be,” said Mawela.

At least 150 000 more people were employed in South Africa during the second quarter of the year as compared to the first – resulting in a minor decrease in the unemployment rate by some 0.3%.

This is according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) today.

Furthermore, the number of unemployed people fell by at least 11 000.

“Additionally…the discouraged work seekers decreased by 94 000 in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2023 resulting in a net decrease of 1 000 in the not economically active population.

“The above changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate decreasing by 0.3 of a percentage point from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 32.6% in the second quarter of 2023.

“The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition decreased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 42.1% in Q2:2023 compared to Q1:2023,” the institution said.

Employment in the formal sector increased by some 143 000 during the same period with informal sector employment decreasing by 33 000.

“Construction [104 000], trade [92 000], and community and social services [63 000] recorded the largest employment gains. While employment losses were recorded in manufacturing [96 000], finance [68 000], transport [7 000] and utilities [6 000],” Stats SA said.

Despite an increase in the number of youth employed during that period, the institution said youth remain “vulnerable” to unemployment.

“The youth remain vulnerable in the labour market, with the second quarter of 2023 results showing that the total number of unemployed youth [between 15 and 34 years old] decreased by 131 000 to 4.7 million while there was an increase of 105 000 in the number of employed youth to 5.7 million during the same period.

“This resulted in a decrease in youth unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 45.3% in Q2:2023,” Stats SA said.

The institution highlighted the sectors where the most gains were made in the provinces.

“Limpopo [up by 80 000], Western Cape [up by 54 000] and KwaZulu-Natal [up by 48 000] recorded the largest employment increases in Q2:2023.

“Employment losses were recorded in Free State [down by 59 000] and Northern Cape [down by 17 000] during the same period,” Stats SA said.

The murderer of former First Lady Marike de Klerk has been granted parole by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and will be released from prison at the end of August.

De Klerk was the ex-wife of former President FW de Klerk.

Luyanda Mboniswa brutally murdered Marike de Klerk in 2001 in what is believed to be a botched robbery at her Cape Town home.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 and spent at least 20 years in jail for murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking.

DCS spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, explained the conditions that Mboniswa will have to comply with while on parole.

“Mboniswa will be admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby he is expected to comply with a specific set of parole conditions for the rest of his natural life. He will be assigned a monitoring official to render supervision duties.

“Normal parole conditions will apply, such as being restricted to his magisterial district. He is also not allowed to have contact with the family of the victim and shall not change his residential address without informing the monitoring official.

“To be emphasised, parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting the offending behaviour and may include continuation of programmes in the system of community corrections,” Nxumalo said.

He explained that the decision to grant parole was done in compliance with the law.

“In compliance with the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, Mboniswa was considered for parole placement having served the minimum required time. The parole placement process started from the preparation of the profile by the Case Management Committee (CMC) and consideration by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB).

“The National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) also dealt with the profile before its submission to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for a decision. The Minister is empowered by Section 78 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 to make a determination on those sentenced to life,” Nxumlalo said.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is expected to file an application for leave to appeal a High Court judgement which deemed its authorisation to investigate the affairs of Telkom as invalid.

The judgement was delivered last month after the unit was authorised through a proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of “serious maladministration, malpractice, and possible corruption” at the telecommunications company.

“The High Court found that Telkom is not a state institution and therefore, the SIU could not investigate allegations of serious maladministration, malpractice, and possible corruption in the affairs of Telkom.

“After consulting with our legal team, the SIU is of the opinion that there is reason for an appeal,” the SIU said.

The unit insists that the court must “give a fuller picture of what constitutes a state institution as this can set a legal precedent” on which institutions it can investigate.

Currently, government directly holds a 40.5% shareholding in Telkom with a further 15.3% shareholding through the Public Investment Corporation.

“It is important that the issue of the “state institution” must be decided and settled. If this is not clarified, it may create an unwelcome precedent that some public institutions may inadvertently be shielded from investigation by the SIU,” the unit concluded.