Daily news update: Ramaphosa praises Buthelezi, Zuma and Mbeki, load shedding and freak wave

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update – 17 September

Ramaphosa praises Buthelezi, Zuma and Mbeki at Zulu princes funeral

President Cyril Ramaphosa said he has always admired the late Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader and Zulu Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s commitment to finding common ground amongst political leaders.

Ramaphosa praised Buthelezi for helping to “avoid disaster” by bringing the IFP to the polls in 1994.

The president delivered the eulogy in honour of the 95-year-old Buthelezi who was sent off in a special official category 1 funeral on Saturday in Ulundi.

Ramaphosa  was among thousands of Amabutho regiments, IFP members politicians and dignitaries who descended on Prince Mangosuthu Stadium to honor the Zulu prime minister who died last week.

Eskom suspends load shedding from tonight until Sunday afternoon

Embattled power utility Eskom has suspended load shedding from 10pm on Saturday night until 4pm on Sunday afternoon.

Crisis Communication Manager Menzi Mngomezulu said this was due to the anticipated lower demand.

“Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday. Eskom will issue an update for the week ahead on Sunday afternoon.”

The reduced power cuts will certainly be welcomed by many South Africans wanting to catch a glimpse and cheer on the Springboks as they take on Romania in the 2023 Rugby World Cup match on Sunday.

Watch: Spring high tide hits Bikini Beach in Gordons Bay

There were no reports of any injuries after a freak wave hit a beach in the Cape Peninsula.

The spring high tide threatened a number of vehicles at the Bikini Beach on Saturday according to Cape Traffic And Safety And Security.

“NSRI Saps, GB  Med Sec Ambulance, law enforcement, fire and rescue services, Gordons Bay neighbourhood watch and Western Cape Government and health EMS  attended where a number of vehicles were threatened by Spring high tide at around 15h30.

LISTEN: All-electric GTI and Golf R show the future is upon us

It was no secret Volkswagen is pursuing an all-electric future. But the emergence of the first all-electric GTI and talk of an all-electric Golf R in the space of a week mean that the future is upon us.

In this week’s edition of The Citizen Motoring’s Pitstop podcast, Jaco van der Merwe and Mark Jones discuss the latest developments in Wolfsburg. And they come to the conclusion that there is no turning back in VW’s all-electric future.

Earlier this month. VW showcased the ID.GTI Concept at the AAI Mobility show in Munich. It is the first ever all-electric VW to get the iconic nameplate. But with a twist.

The all-electric GTI stands for Grand Touring Intelligence and not Grand Touring Injection. The ID.GTI is built on the ID.2all platform and will be front-wheel in typical Golf and Polo GTI fashion.
The ID.GTI pays homage to the original Mk I Golf GTI.

‘All good things come to an end’ Guenther Steiner on Max Verstappen’

As Formula One teams prepare for the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, Guenther Steiner, team principal of the Haas F1 team said World Champion Max Verstappen cannot win forever.

Steiner was chatting to Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery ahead of this weekend’s F1 clash.

Verstappen has been dominant during the 2023 having won a record-breaking 10th straight Formula One race at the Italian Grand Prix in a show of force from Red Bull at Monza.

‘Watch out World Cup, there’s more to come from Bok backs’

The Springboks could be keeping some of their attacking cards close to their chest for the knockout stages, according to rugby analyst Robbi Kempson, who believes that the Bok backline is holding back some of its firepower.

Jacques Nienaber’s side have demonstrated their strength and dominance up front with a suffocating display in their World Cup opener against Scotland last weekend and even though we’ve seen glimpses of excellence from the backs, Kempson feels Nienaber and his backline lieutenant Mzwandile Stick are yet to unleash their attacking tactics.

“From an attacking perspective, there’s still more to come. And, given that, it’ll make the Boks even more dangerous,” said Kempson when speaking to The Citizen.