South Africa today, 21 Feb: Gauteng Sopa, Magashule in court

From Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s State of the Province Address Address (Sopa) to Magashule’s return to court, here’s what’s happening in South Africa today.

South Africa: 21 February 2022

Local news

Gauteng Sopa 

Makhura will deliver his State of the Province Address (Sopa) today, under the theme: Following up on our commitment to the people of Gauteng.

He will deliver the address at the Brixton Multipurpose Centre in Johannesburg, and Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), Ntombi Mekgwe will preside over the official opening of the legislature.

Makhura is expected to highlight achievements made over the past year, and present a programme of action for the remainder of the current administration.

Magashule in court

Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s trial will continue at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s court. Magashule faces charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering.

He intends to force the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reveal its witness list by getting declaratory orders against the state. 

Back in January, Magashule’s lost the bid to have his suspension overturned and the appeal court dismissed the application with costs. 

Magashule also wanted the court to uphold his attempt to suspend Cyril Ramaphosa as party president.

Fuel syndicate in court

Two Eskom employees at the Tutuka power station and a supplier are due in the Standerton Magistrate’s court for the theft of about R100 million worth of fuel oil a month.

In November 2021, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the trio and others were responsible for paying a supplier for goods and services “when such have not been delivered or rendered”.

Eskom had been investigating corruption at the Tutuka power station for some time.

ALSO READ: Fuel syndicate: Eskom employees arrested for theft ‘worth hundreds of millions’

World news

Reporting by AFP.

Beijing Olympics closes after golden moments

The Beijing Winter Olympics have closed, with IOC chief Thomas Bach hailing a smoothly run event and a “safe Games” in the midst of the Covid pandemic, but the gold medals were overshadowed by a doping controversy. 

The Games ended on Sunday in the “Bird’s Nest” stadium, just as they had when the Chinese capital hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, in a snowflake-themed closing ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping and a socially-distanced crowd.

Brazil storm death toll rises to 165

The death toll from torrential rains that triggered flash floods and landslides in the scenic Brazilian city of Petropolis has risen to 165, authorities said Sunday, as more violent storms killed two people in another region nearby.

Rescue workers and residents searching for their missing relatives continued digging through mountains of mud and rubble in Petropolis, which President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday looked like it had been through a “war.”

France’s struggle with its Algerian past

The ghosts of Algeria’s war of independence from France still haunt both countries, six decades on.

France has made tentative attempts to heal the wounds but refuses to “apologise or repent” for its 132 years of often brutal colonial rule.