Daily news update: ‘Zondo wastes money’, young farmers exodus and Armouche wants Chiefs job

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Daily news update 3 May:

‘Let the NPA bring it on’: Koko says Zondo is setting up NPA for failure

Former Eskom group executive Matshela Koko says Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is setting up the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for failure, by recommending that it investigates him for possible prosecution on corruption charges.

Koko insists that the commission’s work on the capture of Eskom by the Guptas and their acolytes was a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Justice Zondo last week handed over to the Presidency the fourth instalment of the state capture commission’s report. The report was a scathing indictment of Koko’s tenure at the power utility.

Zondo found Koko was an integral part of the Gupta family’s capture of Eskom and recommended that Eskom’s former CEOs Koko and Brian Molefe, including the parastatal’s former chief financial officer, Anoj Singh, be criminally charged.

One in five young farmers plan to leave the field within the next decade – report

Farming plays a vital role in the food supply chain and the profession is regarded as one of the most solemn forms of employment.

But in South Africa, the once peaceful and tranquil lure of farm life has been marred by increasingly brutal attacks on isolated, rural farming communities, policy uncertainty and financial precariousness.

A Stellenbosch University study has found that one-out-of-five farmers intend to leave the profession within the next decade.

PhD candidate Dr Kandas Cloete recently explored the reasons behind the farming exodus in South Africa in her dissertation, Investigating farm-level exit decisions and exit rates in commercial agriculture in South Africa: An agent-based approach.

Cloete’s research was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and she recently received her doctorate degree from Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences.

No more load shedding – This suburb is ready to give Eskom the boot

Linbro Park, situated near Sandton, Johannesburg is tired of load shedding and is in the process of ditching Eskom to produce electricity from a private power producer instead.

Residents in a section of Linbro Park through Greenstone Energy have asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to supply the area with electricity using gas-powered plants, Mybroadband reported.

Greenstone offers private power solutions using various sources, including solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind, biomass, and gas-solar hybrid solutions.

If approved, the gas-powered plants would serve 1,781 households, three offices, two schools, two churches, a hotel, and a conference centre.

Former EFF secretary-general’s daughter, Hillary Gardee, reported missing

Police in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Monday were appealing for help in locating the daughter of former EFF secretary-general and attorney, Godrich Gardee, who was reported missing.

Hillary Gardee, who resides at Kamagugu outside Nelspruit, was last seen on Friday at a local Spar Supermarket in Nelspruit.

Police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said the 28-year-old student was with a three-year-old girl when she disappeared.

Surprisingly, Mdhluli said the child was found but Gardee was nowhere to be found.

“She was reported missing by her family on Saturday, 30 April 2022. Gardee has never returned home since then.’

Amrouche throws his name in the hat for Chiefs job – again

With Kaizer Chiefs on a mission to find a quality coach to help rescue the side from the lengthy trophy drought, an old name has resurfaced as one of the candidates. 

A source has told the Mgosi squad that former Bostwana national team coach Adel Amrouche is keen on the job. The Algerian was one of the coaches Chiefs were considering before hiring Gavin Hunt two years ago. 

“At the time I think what disqualified him was that he went public about the talks he had with Chiefs while they were supposed to be kept secret until the club makes an announcement. 

“He is currently in Dubai but will be in South Africa later this week or earlier next week. He hasn’t said what he will be here for but it is definitely to talk to one of the clubs.