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Daily news update: Chief justice on Zuma relationship claims | Malema denies leading a cult | R286m still missing
Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
Photo: iStock/The Citizen/Cheryl Kahla
In today’s news, newly-appointed Chief Justice Mandisa Maya’s office has denied that she has a close relationship with former president and current MK party leader Jacob Zuma. EFF leader Julius Malema has also hit back at claims he is running a cult.
Massive fraud and forgery have been uncovered at the Department of Higher Education’s National Skills Fund (NSF), and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment says SA sending firefighters to Canada won’t leave us stuck in an emergency.
Oh, and Hollywood star Tiffany Haddish is excited to have found a grocery store in Zimbabwe.
The Olympic Games are underway in Paris, France, and it could be Akani Simbine’s year. We also have some practical tips to avoid being caught up in a pyramid scheme.
News today: 29 July 2024
New chief justice’s office says claims of relationship between her and Zuma are ‘unfounded and false’
Days after Mandisa Maya was announced as South Africa’s next chief justice, her office has had to deny the details of a report that she has a close relationship with former president and current MK party leader Jacob Zuma.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Maya as South Africa’s new chief justice. She will take office on 1 September 2024.
Maya is also the first black woman to be appointed to the position.
Malema denies leading an EFF ‘cult’
EFF leader Julius Malema has hit back at critics who have long labelled him a dictator leading a political cult.
He told supporters at a Birthday celebration rally in Kimberley, Northern Cape, over the weekend that unlike newer parties the EFF had elected its leader.
R286m is still missing after being given to National Skills Fund projects – report
A report into financial mismanagement by the Department of Higher Education’s National Skills Fund (NSF) reveals massive fraud and forgery.
In five cases mentioned by Nexus Forensic Service’s audit of a select number of projects, the total amount of unaccounted funds is R286 million.
The money was intended to go towards NSF projects to help the poor. Most of the funds instead benefited a select few.
Now or never: Akani Simbine on track for elusive Olympic medal
There are few athletes who deserve an Olympic medal more than Akani Simbine, and though we’ve said it before, we can say it again: This could be his year.
Simbine is one of the most underrated sprinters in the world, and he is barely mentioned in international prediction lists when medal contenders are discussed in the men’s 100m dash at major global championships.
But stats and medals don’t lie, and the experienced 30-year-old speedster has been one of the top athletes in his specialist event on the global circuit for the last decade.
Rescue mission to Canada won’t leave SA without firefighters, says minister
More than 200 firefighters and management have been sent to Canada to help with devastating wildfires, but authorities have allayed fears it could leave SA short in an emergency.
According to the BBC, fires have ravaged parts of Alberta, including nearly half of the historic town of Jasper and its surrounding national park.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for global assistance, with SA sending firefighters to help get the blazes under control.
‘It shouldn’t get to that stage’: Police and Crime Intelligence failures blamed for shootouts in KZN
Over the last few days questions have been raised about whether police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have been heavy-handed.
It comes after nine suspects were killed in three separate shootouts with police in the province. The incidents all took place within four days.
How to spot a Ponzi or pyramid scheme
Do you know how to spot a Ponzi or pyramid scheme? Many other people thought they were sure that the scheme they were investing in was not one of these illegal ways of fleecing consumers of their hard-earned money, just to end up destitute, with not a cent to their name.
Just think of BHI Trust and Mirror Trading International and how it destroyed people’s lives when the schemes folded. Consumers have to be very careful when they invest their money to ensure that their funds are safe.
‘Did she think there’s no supermarkets in Africa?’ Tiffany Haddish’s Zim store visit raises eyebrows
American comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish had the internet in meltdown mode on Sunday after she posted a video of herself shopping at a store in Zimbabwe.
The star is in Harare, where she gave her fans a tour of a shop she had walked into.
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