Daily news update: Joburg tariff increases, Moeletsi Mbeki roasts Ramaphosa and Zuma medical parole

Here is your daily news update. Click on the links below for the full story or visit our home page for the latest news.      

Daily news update 26 May

City of Joburg tables R77 billion budget

MMC for Finance Julie Suddaby has tabled a R77.1 billion budget for the City of Johannesburg, with some painful tariff increases for residents.

Suddaby delivered the city’s budget speech for the 2022/2023 financial year at a special sitting of the municipal council on Wednesday.

Suddaby said the budget aims to take what is broken and repair it.

“What is broken will be redeemed as we work together, our communities and the City, to heal the cracks that are a part of our story. In the end, our city will be even more vibrant due to this Golden Repair.”

SCA to hear Zuma medical parole appeal in August

The Supreme Court of Appeal will hear an appeal on former president Jacob Zuma’s release from prison on medical parole on 15 August, the court announced on Wednesday.

According to the SCA, the appellants’ heads of argument must be filed on or before 1 June 2022, while the respondent’s heads of argument must be filed on or before 1 July 2022.

This follows the department of correctional services’ decision to appeal the judgment handed down by the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria, last year, on the medical parole placement of Zuma.

Moeletsi Mbeki roasts Ramaphosa: He has ‘totally failed as a president’

Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki has painted a scathing picture of Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership, saying the president is not a leader but a party agent.  

Mbeki was speaking to Power FM on Monday.

He said Ramaphosa has one of the best public relations machines he could think of, “even better than Bell Pottinger”, but failed as South Africa’s president.

“The man has totally failed as a president, he can’t decide on anything, but many people believe he can save South Africa.”  

De Ruyter hits back at critics ‘who style themselves as energy experts’

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter hit back at his critics who have been calling for his resignation after continuous rounds of load shedding.

Speaking to eNCA on Tuesday, De Ruyter said the current challenges at Eskom were a direct result of issues such as corruption.

“I think to expect me to turn this ship around that’s been mismanaged over the past 15 years, longer than that even, when we’ve had load shedding for the past 15 years, when we have seen an organisation that’s been hollowed out by corruption.

“To fight against corruption with one hand tied behind my back because we don’t get the support from both law enforcement and prosecuting authorities,” he said.

Gupta associates arrested over looting of Optimum, Koornfontein funds released on bail

Two associates of the Gupta family, arrested on Wednesday in connection with the looting of rehabilitation funds of the Optimum and Koornfontein coal mines, have been granted bail of R20 000 each.

Former Tegeta Exploration and Resources director, Ronica Ragavan, the former trustee of Optimum Coal Mine, Pushpaveni Govender, and the former deputy director-general (DDG) of the Department of Mineral Resources, Joel Raphela, appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court after they were arrested.

The trio face charges of fraud, forgery, uttering, perjury and money laundering of R107.5 million for mine rehabilitation funds for the Optimum Coal Mine trust account and Koornfontein Mine trust account in 2016.

Convicted killer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu appears in court for fresh charges

Convicted serial killer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu on Wednesday morning returned to the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court facing fresh charges on two separate cases.

Ndlovu, a former police officer who worked at the Tembisa south police station, made a brief appearance in court on two counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The attempted murder charges were in connection with an alleged murder plot in 2018 to kill two police officers, Seargeant Benneth Mabunda and Colonel Nthipe Boloka.

NICD working with healthcare workers on surveillance measures to detect Monkeypox

Although no cases of Monkeypox have been detected in South Africa to date, the National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD) says it remains on high alert for any cases of the virus.

The NICD on Wednesday briefed the media virtually on the multinational outbreak of Monkeypox.

Dr Jacqueline Weyer, from the Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, said the institute had already taken steps as the international outbreak developed.  

ALSO READ: Daily news update: Zandile Mafe bail, Flabba’s killer granted parole and Home Affairs budget