Daily news update: Municipality defends R15m stadium, SA figureheads named in Pandora Papers and R5m business breakfast

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Enoch Mgijima municipality says R15m stadium pictures ‘provided minimal detail’

Following the backlash on social media, the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality said in a statement on Tuesday that the manner in which the initial post of the stadium was shared provided minimal detail about it.

“The construction of the sports facility commenced at the beginning of March 2020 following an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approved by DEDEAT authorising the project within the limits stated in the NEMA Act. Further investigations were also conducted to determine the suitability of the site to be developed into a sports field with associated structures – which include survey, geotechnical and geohydrological tests,” it explained.

Pandora Papers: SA figureheads will be named soon, says top journo

South African figureheads named in the Pandora Papers investigation will have to face the music in the coming weeks, according to a top South African investigative journalist.

Latashia Naidoo, one of the leads on the investigative project – which has been described as the “Panama Papers on steroids” – says the secrecy aspect is the biggest concern.

The Pandora Papers investigation — involving some 600 journalists — is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.

UK red list revised and South Africa remains an ‘infectious’ destination

The United Kingdom has once again revised its travel red list and South Africa remains on it. 

Travel restrictions and provisions were revisited on Monday, with the changes published on the UK government’s website. 

At the moment, countries on the approved list of countries able to enter and exit the UK are mostly situated in Europe, with a few exceptions, including the British Virgin Islands, the US and Malaysia. 

The list states that prospective travellers from the approved list either have to provide a vaccine certificate, proof they have been fully vaccinated under the UK overseas vaccine programme or a European Union digital Covid certificate. 

KZN municipality’s egg-spensive R5 million business breakfast under spotlight

KwaZulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, wants his department to investigate why the Zululand District Municipality allegedly blew R5 million on a business breakfast.

The breakfast meeting took place at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban last week.

The event was attended by business heavyweights, including AmaZulu FC owner Sandile Zungu, Ithala Bank chief executive Pearl Bengu, the Public Investment Corporation and Boxer Stores.

The breakfast was to organised to celebrate the newly built Babanango Game Reserve and put Zululand on the map.

205 Steve Biko hospital patients awaiting surgeries since 2010

Gauteng health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi says at least 205 Steve Biko Academic Hospital patients have been waiting for surgeries since 2010.

She was responding to questions by the DA’s Jack Bloem at the province’s legislature.

Mokgethi said the orthopaedics department had the most number of patients waiting for surgery.

The 205 patients are on the waiting list at the Tshwane-based hospital for maxillo-facial surgeries, such as the repair of cleft palates.

At least 638 patients waiting for hip, knee, spinal or feet operations may only go under the knife in about two years. Even worse, some 385 children are on the surgery waiting list.

‘R15 million for this nonsense?’ Eastern Cape municipality’s scant stadium baffles SA

To the untrained eye, the Lesseyton Sports Facility in the Eastern Cape’s Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality might look like just an empty field, with some patchy grass, a couple of cheap pavilions, some freestanding goal posts, toilets, a couple of Jojo tanks and a tiny guardhouse.The stadium was opened recently, with much fanfare from the municipality.

According to the municipality, the centre is a R15 million sports facility with “state-of-the-art rugby and soccer fields with an athletics track”, “grandstands”, ablution facilities and change rooms, and a “rainwater catchment tank and high-rise water tank”.