Author: Staff Writer

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held 18-25 January, will draw t

The State Capture Inquiry report has recommended that government introduce or amend existing legislation to strengthen the protection of any person disclosing information to reveal corruption, fraud or undue influence in public procurement activity.

According to the recommendation, this should be in line with article 32(2) of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

On Tuesday, Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed over Part 1 of the three-volume report to President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, almost four years since the establishment of the Commission.

The first part of the State Capture Inquiry report deals with South African Airways, The New Age newspaper’s breakfasts and advertising, and the South African Revenue Service.

Click here to read more.

Photo: GCIS

South Africa logged 139 new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, the most recorded in one day since the widespread Omicron variant outbreak.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this means there are now 91 451 official deaths since the start of the pandemic.

#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 40 105 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 8 078 new cases, representing a 20.1% positivity rate. A further 139 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 91 451 to date. Read more here: https://t.co/mhI53dxCp2 pic.twitter.com/APgrft4byb

— NICD (@nicd_sa) January 4, 2022

Photo: Unsplash

A 49-year-old suspect has appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning in connection with the fire that engulfed Parliament on Sunday until late last night.

The suspect, Zandile Christmas Mafe from Khayelitsha, is facing five charges including housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, two counts of arson, possession of an explosive device and destruction of essential infrastructure.

“The case since been postponed to 11 January for the investigators to confirm certain information which includes the residential address of the accused and whether he’s got assets,” the National Prosecuting Authority’s Eric Ntabazalila told journalists outside court.

In addition, Ntabazalila said the investigators have not been able to go to Parliament to assess the extent since the crime scene was still “active”.

However, Mafe’s lawyer Luvuyo Godla believes that his client is being used as a “scapegoat” and denies that his client did not have his explosive when he was arrested.

Click here to read more.

Photo: GCIS

President Cyril Ramaphosa received the first part of the State Capture Report on Tuesday.

Download it below:

Motorists will breathe a sigh of relief as the price of petrol is set to come down by between 68 and 71 cents a litre.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced that the price of petrol (both 93 ULP & LRP) will come down by 71 cents a litre while the price of petrol (both 95 ULP & LRP) will come down by 68 cents a litre.

A litre of 95 ULP – which currently costs R20.29 in Gauteng – will cost R19.61 a litre as of Wednesday.

The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will decrease by 67.80 cents a litre while the price of diesel (0.005% sulphur) will come down by 69.80 cents a litre.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will decrease by 71 cents per litre.

The price of illuminating paraffin (SMNRP) will come down by 95 cents, while the Maximum Retail Price for LPGAS will decrease by 70 cents per kilogram.

Photo: Unsplash

“I am deeply saddened by the scenes all of us are witnessing today as flames engulf the home of our democracy in the precinct of Parliament,” president Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.

This is a disastrous event that should sadden all of us.

This is devastating, coming as it does a day after our send-off for Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Waking up to the destruction of Parliament is a terrible setback from what we were basking in yesterday.

The Archbishop would have been devastated as well, as this is a place he prayed for, supported and wanted to see as a repository of our democracy.

Notwithstanding the damage that has been done to this precinct, the work of Parliament will carry on.

My thoughts are with the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the Acting Secretary to Parliament, the management and staff of Parliament; as well as Members of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, and their support staff.

I am being briefed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, the Minister of Police and the Deputy Minister in the Presidency with responsibility for State Security.

We appreciate the speedy response of the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town in mobilising the response to this emergency.

The real praise and applause belongs to the fire officials and crews of the City of Cape Town who have done a great job.

While they have worked to stop Parliament from being razed to ashes, it is very clear that this fire has devastated the parliamentary precinct and its contents and assets, including Parliament’s historical treasures of heritage.


Parliament and the security agencies of government are looking into the cause of this incident and we must allow these investigation to continue.

While these investigations continue, I believe we are united as a nation in our sadness at this destruction of the home of our democracy.

I have recently requested the Speaker to convene a Joint Sitting of Parliament for the State of the Nation Address on Thursday, 10 February 2022.

In the wake of this devastating occurrence we will continue to consult on what we can do to ensure continuity in the functioning of Parliament as the critical institution in our democratic infrastructure.

Photo: WCC

Eskom has connected Unit 4 of Kusile Power Station project to the national grid.

The unit was connected to the grid for the first time on 23 December.

“This synchronisation milestone means four generating units of the power station are now connected to the grid, and will contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s power system once the unit is fully optimised, following a series of tests and other commissioning activities,” said the power utility on Thursday.

Situated near eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, Kusile is South Africa’s largest construction project and will be the world’s fourth largest coal plant.

#Eskom #MediaStatement

Kusile Unit 4 synchronised to the national grid for the first time, helping to ease the capacity constraints pic.twitter.com/HXKunDyNvq

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 30, 2021

Photo: WCC