Daily news update: KZN beaches closed, Zandile Mafe case and Pan Africa Mall fire

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Daily news update 13 May

KZN still waiting for Treasury to cough up R1 billion flood relief funds

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is still waiting on government to disburse the disaster relief funds a month after floods hit the province.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, now former KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka said the province was still in talks with Treasury on the R1 billion that has been allocated as relief.

“We are told that R1 billion has been allocated to KZN, we have not yet received that money, but we are working with National Treasury and provincial treasury on the processes that need to be followed so that the money is allocated to relevant sector departments to municipalities,” Hlomuka said.

KZN Floods: eThekwini Municipality closes KZN beaches until further notice

The eThekwinii Municipality has closed all beaches in KwaZulu-Natal until further notice.

This comes after high levels of E-Coli were detected in the water as a result of the recent deadly floods that ravaged the province.

The eThekwini Municipality said all water activities are prohibited.

“Beachgoers are urged to heed this warning unwaveringly, because disregarding it, could result to outbreaks of waterborne diseases, that may be fatal. Residents can still enjoy other activities along the beach, that do not need any contact with sea water.”

The eThekwini Municipality said they working to resolve the crisis. 

Sassa tells grant recipients not to collect payments from offices, due to cashflow problems

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has urged customers to use alternative payment methods from 11 May 2022 due to challenges with post office payments.

The agency said post offices and normal pay points will not be serviced due to challenges “beyond sassa’s control”.

Clients are advised not to go to any post office branch to try to access the funds, according to a statement from Sassa.

More than 11% of South Africans with higher education considering emigration – study

South Africa is at risk of losing its working-age population, with at least 10% of educated and high-income earners considering emigration, a study by Inclusive Society has revealed.

The study revealed that 11.13% of South Africans with higher education indicated that they were considering emigrating to another country in the next year or two, with 10.35% of the top earners indicating that they were seriously considering emigrating in the next year or two.

Parliament fire: Zandile Mafe’s case postponed as defence awaits bail appeal ruling

The case against suspected Parliament arsonist Zandile Christmas Mafe has been postponed until next month for further investigations.

The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday granted the state a four-week postponement after prosecutor Mervyn Menigo indicated that some forensic reports were still outstanding.

Mafe’s case was previously postponed in March, as the state’s investigators needed more time to assess the crime scene.

WATCH: Fire guts stalls at Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra after Operation Dudula altercation

Several stalls were set alight at the Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg on Wednesday night.

It is believed that stalls belonging to South Africans were set on fire after an altercation between members of Operation Dudula and illegal foreigners.

Johannesburg Emergency Services Robert Mulaudzi said no injuries were reported.

“This evening at around 8:30pm we responded to a fire incident at the Pan African Mall where a number of stalls were affected by the fire incident. Between 6 and 8 stalls were affected by the fire and there were no injuries reported during this fire incident.”

Baxter reveals reasons for Chiefs exit

Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has revealed the reasons behind his sudden departure from the Naturena club. While he didn’t give the specifics, Baxter revealed that an irreparable working relationship was the main reason for him to leave. 

ALSO READ: Nomvethe urges associations to follow Cameroon’s lead

In an interview with SABC Sport, the British mentor said he had come back to Amakhosi because he truly believed he could help the team back to the top. Amakhosi had last won any trophy during his first stint at the club which ended in 2015. 

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