Sunday round-up: Ramaphosa testifies at Zondo Commission and unrest costs rise
This week, President Cyril Ramaphosa testified at the state capture inquiry, while former president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial was postponed to September. Also in this week’s round-up, we take a look at how the recent civil unrest impacted tourism and the banking sector.
Zondo hears reasons why Ramaphosa stayed in Zuma’s Cabinet amid state capture claims
President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, on Wednesday and Thursday (August 11 and 12). Among other things, the president revealed the reasons behind his decision to continue to serve in former president Jacob Zuma’s cabinet as his deputy, despite widespread allegations of state capture and corruption and said he saw nothing wrong with the ANC’s deployment committee discussing possible judiciary candidates.
Read the original story on The Citizen.
Zuma trial: Expectations vs reality
South Africans will have to collectively strike a plea bargain with former president Jacob Zuma, believes Dr Llewelyn Curlewis, a senior lecturer in the Department of Procedural Law at the University of Pretoria.
WATCH: Journalist Izak du Plessis chats to law expert Dr Llewelyn Curlewis about the latest developments in former president Jacob Zuma’s fraud and corruption trial.
Tourism industry takes R280m knock after KZN unrest
Following the recent civil unrest, the eThekwini Municipality has shed some light on the economic impact in Durban. In a statement, the municipality’s communications unit said there was a loss of 50 000 visitors, R110m in direct spending, R280m in tourism GDP and 600 jobs.
The banking sector also took a hit. The Banking Association South Africa revealed about 1 400 ATMs and 269 bank branches were vandalised or destroyed during the recent unrest. Read the full story on Zululand Observer.
Crowd funders raise money to reward SA’s Olympians
On Monday (August 9), it was reported that South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president Barry Hendricks had said bonuses would not be issued to South Africa’s medal-winning Olympians Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag. Although it was later confirmed that bonuses would indeed be paid, crowd-funders had already stepped up to the plate to raise money to reward the pair.
Read the original story on The Citizen.
WoF crew deployed to help fight wildfires in Canada
South Africa’s Working on Fire (WoF) programme deployed 109 firefighters to Canada on Tuesday (August 10) to help fight catastrophic wildfires in the North American country. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment released a statement saying this is the fourth deployment of firefighters to Canada. Read more on the Lowvelder.
Google Trends celebrates 15th anniversary, reveals SA’s top searches
A look at the list reveals that, among other things, South Africans use the internet to find the answer to pressing questions, stay informed on topical issues, connect to government services, keep up with their favourite public figures and look for work, food, entertainment and health-related information.
For a full list of trends, click here.
Read original story on rekord.co.za
