Posts tagged with 'Africa'

 

Livestock actions banned in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo following outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease – consumers can prepare themselves for some hefty price increases for meat products

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TAU SA is shocked after the announcement that livestock auctions in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West have been suspended until further notification by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. This announcement follows after the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Molemole district of Limpopo.

“This is a big blow to the livestock and game farmers in the country, who are already being forced to their knees by the drought,” says Mr. Henk van de Graaf, the regional chairman of TAU SA Norht. “The sale of herds was the only remaining solution for farmers who no longer have food for their animals and now this way of escape is also removed.”

TAU SA realizes that serious action must now be taken to prevent the highly contagious disease but they do not believe that suspending auctions will solve the problem. Rather, the government must ensure that the measures originally put in place must be strictly adhered to and implemented to prevent foot-and-m
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NBF chief executive earns more than the president – Taxpayers finance public servants’ lavish lifestyles

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According to the DA, Philisiwe Mthethwa, CEO of the National Empowerment Fund (NBF) is probably the highest paid civil servant in South Africa.

Mthethwa receives a combined salary package of more than R6 million during the previous financial year. “That’s R2 million more than Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa earns “said Dean Macpherson, DA MP and shadow minister of trade and industry.

She has been the “highest paid civil servant” for several years and her package includes a R2 million bonus. “Her massive salary is shocking, given that the NBF has very little money to do its job and that the entity cannot explain the CEO’s excessive salary.

“The NBF was established in 1998 to provide capital financing to black entrepreneurs and while their initial work has shown success after receiving government funding, repeated budget cuts have left the organization without money, except for their overpaid executives. They all receive a combined total salary of more than R17 millio
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Malema says AgriSA’s ‘ugly white males’ show who owns SA’s land

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Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema had harsh words for the panel who delivered a media briefing on AgriSA’s latest drought report.

“Just look at this ugly picture of white males, a clear indication of who owns the land in our country,” he said of the panel, which appeared to feature only one person who wasn’t white.

Regardless of the racial make-up of those who shared news on SA’s water situation at the briefing, the news certainly wasn’t good.

According to the body, who held the briefing on Tuesday, both rural economies and the country’s agriculture industry as a whole are threatened by prevailing drought conditions.

Farmers are facing losses, potential foreclosure by banks, and the attachment of farms due to ongoing drought.

“As a country, we are not managing climatic disasters very well. We have a lot of work to do. Drought can change our status as a food-secure country,” said head of AgriSA disaster management Will
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Capitec director gets rid of all his shares

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Capitec director, Jean Pierre starred, sold all his shares on Tuesday. That was 5,000 shares at a total of R7.2m. He said it was a personal decision to sell now.

Pierre, one of the best-known short sellers in South Africa, became an independent non-executive director of Capitec at the beginning of 2015. Before long, he was outspoken in his criticism of African Bank, which collapsed in 2014.

The money generated from the sale is believed to be used by Pierre for the new hedge fund company he recently started, Protea Capital Management.

He does not intend to resign as Capitec’s director. Well-known fund manager Piet Viljoen noted on Twitter that Verster sold his shares.

Acoording to Iress Capitec’s share price was trading at its highest level of R1 455.29 on Tuesday.

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Court deals Soweto residents who wants to pay a flat tarrif of R150 a month for electricity a blow by striking case off the roll

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Soweto owes R20bn to power provider Eskom, but residents of the township only want to pay R150 a month for their power. Mpho Sesedinyane, ANC councilor and chair of the South African National Civic Organization (Sanco) in Soweto, feels that R150 is a fair amount and that, given the state of the economy, the residents can only afford to pay this much a month for power.

However, Eskom rejected the proposal of a fixed power tariff of R150 per month for electricity. Eskom spokesperson Reneilwe Semenya said this proposal by community leaders in Soweto was unrealistic and residents had to pay for what they consumed. He also referred to the Johannesburg High Court which on Tuesday rejected an application to restore power supply to Soweto and allow residents to pay a flat rate for power.

Soweto owes R20 billion of the R420 billion owed to the Johannesburg metro power supplier. Semenya believes that if a fixed power tariff is set, it will certainly give rise to a culture
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Junk Status looms – Implementation of NHI will have disastrous consequences for SA economy

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AfriForum today sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize warning the civil rights organization that the implementation of national health insurance (NHI) could eventually lead to the downgrading of the country’s credit rating to junk status .

This comes after the credit rating agency Moody’s recently downgraded South Africa’s credit rating from a stable to a negative outlook. The reason for this downgrade according to Mood is the bleak growth prospects and growing public debt. In its letter, AfriForum argues that unaffordable, ideological policies such as the NHI will lead to South Africa being downgraded to junk status, as the country simply cannot fund it.

“To continue with the implementation of the NHI will not only be disastrous for the South African economy; it will also inflate government debt to levels that will make it impossible to escape the downgrade to junk status in the foreseeabl
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Elderly couple violently brutalized by 7 armed barbarics during farm attack

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A violent farm attack took place on 11 November 2019, at 09:30, in Welbekend, Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng province. A couple, Ben (73) and Ansie Dreyer (70) were attacked by seven armed attackers pretending to be clients wanting to buy milk. Ben along with a worker was forced into the home and into the bedroom where his hands and feet were tied and he forced to lay on the floor. The attackers who wanted firearms and money then forced Ansie to open the safe.

Ansie then pushed the panic alarm and was struck in the head by one of the attackers with his firearm. She collapsed on the bed pretending to be unconscious.

As a result of the alarm being activated, people started phoning the farm, this caused the attackers to flee. The neighbors and emergency services reacted and treated the elderly couple who were severely traumatized. The attackers robbed two firearms, jewelry and cash.

There is no other information available at this stage.

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Limpopo school that failed to reach a 50% matric pass rate has allegedly fabricated marks even though the pupils have not written for exams

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Whistle-blower says school fabricated the English examination marks of grades 8, 9 and 11. He says pupils did not even sit for the exams

A Limpopo school that has failed to reach a 50% matric pass for the past three years allegedly fabricated English marks for grades 8, 9 and 11 in March.

The allegation about the fabricated marks was made by Michael Mosomane to the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) as part of his submission, which City Press has seen, challenging the termination of his contract by the education department in May.

Mosomane was employed in January as a temporary accounting teacher at Nakedi Secondary in De Vrede village about 130km outside of Polokwane.

He told City Press that he had initially reported the matter to the education department’s offices in Polokwane on May 6 to raise the alarm, but he received no feedback.

Instead, his contract was terminated by the department on May 27, despite it being scheduled to end in December
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Tornado ripped through areas of New Hanover, Pietermaritzburg, causing major destruction, fears of possibility of missing, dead people

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The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal has activated councillors and volunteers to assist affected communities after a tornado hit New Hanover, Pietermaritzburg, on Tuesday afternoon.

The tornado, according to the department, “ripped through the area, injuring scores of people and damaging homes and public infrastructure”.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka said preliminary reports received by the department indicated a number of people, who had sustained injuries, were currently receiving medical treatment at surrounding hospitals.

“A number of homes have collapsed, countless trees have been uprooted and the electricity supply in the area has been interrupted. Our teams are working hard to provide support to the affected communities.”There are fears of possible missing people and deaths.

Earlier, News24 reported the South African Weather Service was hesitant to confirm it was a tornado, as vi
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Is ‘snoobab’ the new k-word?

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The word spells baboons backwards and existed before it was allegedly used to refer to black pupils at Kingswood College.

A social media post shared by pupils of Kingswood College in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) has highlighted racial tensions at the exclusive private school, as well as introduced South Africans to a new racial slur.

“Snoobab”, which spells baboons backwards, was a term reportedly used by white pupils to refer to their black counterparts at the school, according to City Press.

An outcry on social media erupted after the two white girls at the school who accused each other of racism and xenophobia were found not guilty following a disciplinary process.

The process was conducted by a “highly qualified black woman”, who found that there “mutually destructive versions” of what happened “by both sides”, college head Colleen Vassiliou told City Press.

“This verdict, by someone of her expertise, cannot be ignored or overtur
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