Daily news update: Vavi faces suspension, Comair suspension lifted and Misuzulu recognised as king of AmaZulu

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Daily news update 17 March 

Zwelinzima Vavi faces suspension as Saftu general secretary

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has reportedly served its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi with a letter of intent to place him on precautionary suspension.

This follows a meeting of Saftu’s national office bearers on Monday, in which the union federation took note of a number of serious transgressions against Vavi that are said to be “tantamount to acts of misconduct and misbehaviour”.

Saftu’s president Mac Chavalala said in the letter, making the rounds of social media, the allegations against the general secretary warranted investigations and possible disciplinary action.

Kulula, British Airways start operating on Thursday as SACAA lifts suspension

Kulula and British Airways will start operating again on Thursday after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) lifted the Comair suspension on Wednesday.

The SACAA suspended Comair’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on Saturday over safety-related issues, in a suspension that was initially meant to last for 24 hours.

But on Sunday, Kulula and British Airways flights were indefinitely suspended.

Ramaphosa officially recognises Misuzulu as king of AmaZulu

President Cyril Ramaphosa has on Wednesday officially recognised king-elect Prince Misuzulu Sinqobile Zulu as king of AmaZulu.

This in terms of Section 8(3)(a) and (b) of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 2019.

The official recognition follows the passing of King Goodwill Zwelithini Zulu in March last year and the passing of the regent queen Mantfombi Dlamini a month later.

SA farmers in Ukraine struggle to make ends meet as tanks flatten crops

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has seen hundreds of deaths, millions forced to flee, and threatened to push fuel and food prices up.

But one group of people who are usually the last to leave any warzone are farmers, among which there are a substantial amount of South Africans, both in Ukraine and Russia.  

Springs Advertiser spoke to World Farmers Organisation president Theo de Jager, who said South African farmers are “at each other’s throats”, each group standing steadfast in the cause of their respective countries.

Taxi driver flees the scene after running over five children

A driver of a mini bus taxi ran over five children around 17:52 on Tuesday, 15 March before fleeing the scene on foot.

The incident took place between Isihlangu and Pricklepear road in Waterloo, KwaZulu-Natal.

The minors were playing on the road when the white Toyota Siyaya ran them over before it collided into a wire fence.

The children were rushed to a medical facility. 

The residents told security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), that only one of the children was seriously injured but this could not be confirmed.

30% Saps firearms stolen in the past 10 years not recovered 

Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that only 5 170 stolen state-issued firearms out of 7 331 have been recovered in the past 10 years. 

Even more shocking is that 75% of the 10 808 555 stolen ammunition rounds in the past decade have also not been recovered – only 2 672 578 rounds were recovered.

The calibre of weapons stolen and recovered is also concerning, with 238 rifles and 89 shotguns over the past 10 years. 

Cele revealed this information when he was responding to a question by the DA shadow police minister Andrew Whitfield.

Fired employees to take City of Joburg to court over contract saga

It looks the City of Joburg’s 130 employees will proceed to take legal action against the metropolitan municipality following the termination of their permanent contracts.

Last month, the City of Joburg‘s council took a decision to reverse the permanent employment of the 130 employees.

According to the new Democratic Alliance (DA) led multi-party coalition government, the conversion of the fixed-term contracts to permanent was irregular and illegal because the decision – taken in October last year – was never approved by the council.

The ANC governed the metro at the time when a mayoral committee took the decision.

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