Daily news update: Stage 4 load shedding, SA’s General Household Survey and Vusi Khekhe found guilty

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Daily news update 25 June

Eskom ramps up load shedding to stage 4

Brace yourself for more rolling blackouts as Eskom announced on Friday morning that load shedding will be escalated from stage 2 to stage 4 power cuts.

The power utility said stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 11 am until midnight on Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, stage 4 load shedding will then be implemented from 5 am until midnight.

Eskom said the escalation in the load shedding stages was due to unprotected strike action by some of its employees.

“It is necessary to bolster emergency generation reserves to react to unforeseen circumstances, as well as to replenish emergency reserves to prepare for the week ahead.”

Number of children not attending school tripled in 2020 due to Covid-19 – Stats SA

The number of children not attending school tripled during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey (GHS).

Stats SA on Thursday released the GHS which tracks the progress of development in the country and identifies persistent service delivery gaps.

According to the survey, the pandemic negatively affected school attendance as the percentage of children aged five, who did not attend an educational institution, increased from 10.9% in 2019 to 37.7% in 2020, before dropping off to 19.4% in 2021.

Mamelodi taxi boss and co-accused found guilty of Wandile Bozwana’s murder

Mamelodi taxi boss Vusi Mathibela, popularly known as Vusi Khekhe, has been found guilty of being the mastermind behind the murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana.  

The Pretoria High Court on Thursday convicted Mathibela – dubbed Mamelodi’s “Number 1 Tsotsi [criminal]” – and three co-accused on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition. 

The 36-year-old’s co-accused are Sipho Patrick Hudla, 40, Matamela Robert Mutapa, 46, and Bonginkosi Paul Khumalo, 42.

Comair asked to return their licence, might never fly again

Comair may never fly again, after the South African Civil Aviation Authority asked the Kulula and BA franchise parent to return the copy of its Airline Operating Certificate.

An Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) allows an airline to conduct commercial aviation business under the regulations of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

CAA spokesperson Sisa Majola confirmed that Comair’s AOC was initially suspended following the grounding. This is normal practice.

US Supreme Court strikes down constitutional right to abortion

The US Supreme Court on Friday ended the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shreds half a century of constitutional protections on one of the most divisive and bitterly fought issues in American political life.

The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 “Roe v Wade” decision that enshrined a woman’s right to an abortion, saying that individual states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves.

‘Assault over salt’: Limpopo man to apply for bail after beating, kicking teen

A Limpopo man accused of severely assaulting a 16-year-old boy in Groblersdal is expected to apply for bail on Friday.

Corrie Pretorius, 52, is set to appear in the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court following his arrest last week on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and pointing of a firearm.

Pretorius assaulted the minor during an argument, allegedly over seasoning salt, at Groblersdal Game Shopping Centre on 15 June.

During his first court appearance last Friday, Pretorius’ bail hearing was postponed for a week and he was remanded in custody.

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