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29 September 2020 - www.tametimes.co.za
SA drops to 10th globally but Covid threat remains
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He emphasised the need for even more tests and screening to be conduced to get an accurate picture of where South Africa was standing with regards to the virus. “As we’ve gone through this riskadjusted approach, more and more people
are
going
to
come
into
contact with each other with the greater movement and opening of our
economy,
schools,
universities,
workplaces, people being allowed in greater numbers in venues. I don’t think it will be a surprise in terms of an increase in spikes or clusters.”
South Africa dropped to the number 10 place for global Covid-19 infections overnight as Brazil and Spain took 8th and 9th place. In spite of this seemingly good news, the NICD has warned that a second wave of infections is becoming more likely. South
Africa
dropped
to
the
can only insist on masks being worn
number 10 place for global Covid-19
inside
infections
nationwide have been taking advantage
overnight
as
Brazil
the
buildings
and
residents
and Spain took 8th and 9th place.
of this.
In spite of this seemingly good news, the
A new word was even born to describe
NICD has warned that a second wave of
the relief of removing the mask once
infections is becoming more likely.
outside: ‘Airgasm’.
This
due
to
the
relaxed
state
of
On top of this serious swift in attitude
lockdown and citizens become more
towards the threat of the virus, the rules
and more complacent and careless with
and regulations with regards to social
social distancing and personal hygiene
gatherings have relaxed.
directives.
As a result public places are more
Although the wearing of masks is now
crowded again which increases the risk
compulsory, many South Africans are
of spreading the virus.
only wearing them inside a store, and
Professor Adrian Puren says that the
remove them immediately as soon as
country is not out of danger yet, and
they leave the store.
is still experiencing nearly 2,000 daily
Security staff at malls and retail stores
infections.
From Thursday, the country will be opening it’s borders for international tourism which could result in another spike in infections. The NICD and WHO continues to urge all people of the globe to remain vigilant and do their utmost to stop the virus from spreading.
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Gauteng parents who registered their children for grade 1 and 8 will start receiving placement offers via SMS from October 1. This was confirmed by Gauteng MEC of Education Panyaza Lesufi in Johannesburg on Sunday. Lesufi also revealed that the placement roll-out would end on November 30. “Because we are doing this thing programmatic and to avoid confusion, not everyone will receive the SMSs on the same day,” explained Lesufi. Parents will be given seven days to accept the school placement or risk losing the spot. “The reason why we are giving you seven days or forfeit is because last year we had to incur a lot of costs urging parents to accept [the offer]. It creates serious problems because it creates a log jam for those who are in waiting,” said Lesufi. “So, because we don’t need anything from you. We just need you to accept that we have given you this space. If you have decided to take your child to another school, another province or a private school just indicate so we can offer that space to another parent.” Lesufi warned parents that his department has space for close to 374 000 grade 1 and 8 pupils, but have already received nearly 410 000 applications.
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29 September 2020
Health Department officials to pay back R30m The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has ordered two officials in the Gauteng Department of Health to pay back the R30 million to the state Gauteng Health’s head of department Professor Mkhululi Lukhele and former chief financial officer Kabelo Lehloenya are both implicated in the province’s personal protective equipment tender scandal. SIU special tribunal spokesperson Selby Makgatho says inflated prices ended up costing the state and the taxpayer some R30 million. “The SIU has identified the former financial chief officer as one of the respondents and she has since resigned. An estimated R30 million is being claimed from the former chief financial officer and head of the department, as the two are alleged to have been actively involved where the state suffered irreparable financial
loss. “The former chief financial officer had misused her powers in terms of getting the service providers and it is alleged that she did not follow proper procedure. Service providers were appointed and allegations are that she called them telephonically where prices were inflated. Service providers were replaced without proper reasons being advanced.” The implicated two officials are expected to appear before the tribunal after they have responded to the allegations.
Former SA Rugby Player in Court for Kinnear Murder Former SA Rugby player Zane Killian, was the first person to appear in court in connection with the murder of top cop Charl Kinnear. Killian appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody until his next appearance. Killian, 39, appeared in the the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court just before 10:00 on Friday 25 September 2020. Killian played in the position of hooker for the Falcons and Griquas. The powerfully built Zane wore a dark hoody and was handcuffed when he arrived at court. Several police guards armed with automatic assault rifles surrounded the suspect. Killian is facing three charges – murder, conspiracy to murder and illegal interception of communications. The charge of illegal interception is believed to be linked to the tracking of Kinnear’s phone. Police outside the court transporting accused Zane Killian Advocates Blaine Lazarus and Greg Wolmarans represented the National Prosecuting Authority in court and negotiated with the defence team
regarding the next steps, which was formally endorsed by the court. Killian will be detained at the Belville police cells until 5 October 2020 when he will make his next appearance. Eric Bryer, the defence attorney, told News24 that he hoped a date could be set then for Killian’s bail application. Major General Andre Lincoln, Kinnear’s ranking officer in the AntiGang Unit was also present in court. A community memorial for Kinnear was held on Thursday. Provincial head of investigations, Major General Jeremy Vearey attended the memorial and said: “No retreat. No surrender. We will rage, till the last drop of blood.” Major General Vearey was one of late President Mandela’s bodyguards. He later posted his message on Facebook. It is believed that the accused’s father is a retired police officer who worked in Gauteng for many years. Killian’s mother, Heila, was killed in a farm attack in April 2018, when she was gunned down by five gunmen. Heila and her sister, Brenda Thomas, were having a braai with two friends.
Ramaphosa: Remove Racist Statues President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged his support to a campaign which aims to have all statues representing the apartheid era removed. During his virtual Heritage Day address he said that “monuments glorifying our divisive past should be repositioned and relocated”. “This has generated controversy, with some saying we are trying to erase our history. Building a truly non-racial society means being sensitive to the lived experiences of all this country’s people. We make no apologies for this because our objective is to build a united nation.” Ramaphosa acknowledged that South Africa has a history of prejudice and exclusion, and continued that since 1994, the country had worked to transform its heritage landscape. Renaming towns and cities was part of this transition, as well as the erection of new statues and monuments. The campaign to remove these statues is gaining momentum quickly. Ramaphosa urged South Africans to uphold the rights of all people and to protect indigenous languages and cultures. South Africa is among the world’s top 10 worst affected countries by the pandemic, and the president urged citizens to start working towards rebuilding the economy and recovering
from the global crisis. “We will recover from this crisis and rebuild our lives and our economy. We will continue to strive to eradicate poverty, inequality and underdevelopment. We will continue to uphold the rights of all our people to practice their cultures, to speak their languages and to practice their traditions.” Ramaphosa commended healers using traditional medicine in an attempt to find a cure for the virus. “In as much as we join the international community and search for diagnostics and therapeutics, we are also looking at the real and important contribution indigenous knowledge systems, particularly traditional medicine can play in improving the life outcomes of our people.”
Sex Slaves Rescue By Hawks Five Nigerian nationals were arrested and charged with human trafficking after the Hawks found 11 women working as prostitutes. The women were found in brothels masquerading as bed-and-breakfast accommodation. Two of the men were arrested in Rustenburg and the remaining three in Kuruman early on Sunday morning. The Hawks arrived at the property to find 6 South African women, three Lesotho nationals and another woman from Zambia. Some of the women were already ‘working’ while others were still asleep. The four foreign nationals had expire passports in their possession at the time of the raid. Nomthandaso Mnisi, spokesperson for the Northern Cape Hawks, said it was not yet known how the women ended up in the brothel. He said that some of the women claimed they were lured into the country with promises of employment. According to Mnisi the
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five suspects did not reside at the three properties. “Although the women have not confirmed if they work for the suspects, they stay in their property and pay them R500 rent a day.” Mnisi said. “An undisclosed amount of money was seized in all premises. Receipt books and three vehicles that were used in the commission if crime were also confiscated.” Mnisi said they were determining the status of the accused in the country: “We have charged the suspects with alleged trafficking in persons and we are working with the Department of Home Affairs to check their status in the country.” She said the youngest of the 10 women is 20 years old while the oldest is 39. According to Mnisi, they have been investigating the men for some time and are currently interviewing the women to get more information with regards to the circumstances and details of the illegal business to aid them in their investigations.
29 September 2020
03
29 September 2020
Rugby legends reach out
Weekend Sports Recap RUGBY The four South African Super Rugby teams played behind closed doors this past weekend in their warm-up matches. The Bulls defeated the sharks with a final score of 49-28 and the Stormers beat the Lions 34-21. In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Sharks team wore ‘We say no to racism’ t-shirts while several players from other teas took a knee.
South African rugby legends participated in a humanitarian course gesture on Sunday, donating food parcels to poor families affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. Players from the Vodacom Bulls, Emirates Lions, Cell C Sharks, and DHL Stormers gathered at Loftus Park where they shopped for groceries to the value of R330,000. They then packed food hampers which included several essential food items: potatoes, onions, rice, bread, cooking oil, peanut butter, macaroni, tomatoes, sugar and other items. The hampers were donated to Lizo Gqoboko Foundation and Ashraful Aid from where they will be distributed. The money for the groceries was raised during the return of the Vodacom Super Fan Saturday at Loftus. Vodacom donated R2,500 for every point scored. The initiative was started by #RugbyUnites in partnership with the South African Rugby Legends Association. Mi-
chelle van Eyden, the head of sponsorship at Vodacom, sad that the initiative had been part of #RugbyUnites under the sponsorship of Cell C before Vodacom came on board. “We decided to partner with Cell C because it is a good cause they are doing. Vodacom has always been a big supporter for a brand with a purpose,” she said. “Because of Vodacom Super Fan Saturday which was held on Saturday, for every point scored, Vodacom donated R2500 and that ended up being R330000.” The Lizo Gqoboko Foundation, one of the beneficiaries, was named after the Vodacom Bulls and Springboks prop, who initiated it in an attempt to make a difference in the lives of needy families. Rugby Players shopping for the hampers “We know that poverty is one of the giants that we are facing and fighting in our country. It is such an amazing thing to see massive companies like Voda-
com and the #RugbyUnites legends be involved in alleviating poverty. Hunger is not something that we can postpone and I know exactly how it feels. I have been there myself, not knowing where my next meal is going to come from,” he explained. Gqoboka started the foundation to give hope to rural folk in KwaBhaca, where he grew up. I grew up in a place where we only got electricity last year; basically where there are no opportunities. I thought that there is a lot of talent but there are no opportunities, so I started an organisation to empower the youth through sports and education,” Gqoboka said. “We give bursaries as well and last year we gave two. One of the ladies was sitting at home for five years and couldn’t study because of finances. She is now doing her second year in project management. The other one dropped out four years ago and now she is doing her second year in media”
SOCCER In the Premier League, Manchester City lost to Leicester, dealing an early blow to Manchester City’s dreams of wrestling back the Premier league title. Meanwhile, Manchester United beat Brighton 3-2 on Saturday, thanks to Fernandes’s 100th-minute penalty. Everton secured a third straight win, beating Crystal Palace 2-1. In the Bundesliga Bayern Munich lost to Hoffenheim ending with a shocking score of 4-1. FORMULA 1 Valtteri Bottas raced to victory on Sunday with Hamilton coming in 3rd. Valtteri Bottas took 1st place with a time of 1h34’00.364 with Max Verstappen coming in second. Lewis Hamilton, surprisingly, took 3rd place after a “horrible” qualifying session. TENNIS It was cold, wet and windy start to the French Open this weekend. Players complained about the quality of the balls “not fit for a dog to chew” and the “ridiculous conditions”. After a 45-minute break in the match due to conditions, Azarenka won her match against Kovinic 6-1 6-2. In the Men’s singles, Alexander Zverev beat Dennis Novak.
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