Daily news update: Mayor fires ‘unqualified’ managers, State capture report, Eskom wants 20% more

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ANC furious at Zululand mayor for firing ‘unqualified’ senior managers

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is spitting fire after Zululand District Municipality mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi gave seven municipal employees their marching orders.

“The mayor is going around sniffing people because of their political affiliation and firing them without due process,” said ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela.

Buthelezi reportedly ordered 34 senior managers to submit their qualifications for verification.

That led to the discovery of five senior managers who did not have the relevant qualifications for their roles and another two who do not have post-matric qualifications.

Eskom says it wants 20% more, Nersa says it’s more like 54%

The tension between Eskom and its regulator Nersa escalated on Wednesday after the regulator published a discussion paper on Eskom’s revenue application.

In a statement issued barely two hours later, Eskom accused Nersa of “misrepresenting” its application “to include various matters that are still under consideration by both the courts and by Nersa itself.”

Eskom CFO Calib Cassim has confirmed that Eskom has applied for an average tariff increase of 20.5% for the next financial year. The new tariffs will apply from April 1 next year for Eskom’s direct customers and from July 1 for municipalities.

‘Watch this space’: Zondo to deliver state capture report to Ramaphosa in January

Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will submit the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture to President Cyril Ramaphosa in January next year.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele confirmed this on Thursday during a media briefing on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held the day before.

The minister said the president would receive the much-anticipated report on 1 January 2022.

“Watch this space,” Gungubele said.

WATCH: Shocking footage shows armed men kill victim in Sandton traffic

The Sandton CBD was the scene of a fatal shooting on Thursday, with speculation that the victim was a metro police officer.

The crime occurred in broad daylight, at an intersection in central Sandton.

A video of the crime was widely shared on social media. It shows one armed man smashing the driver’s side window of a white VW Polo. Another armed man opens the passenger door and seems to take some items before running to a getaway vehicle.

Ramaphosa to address SA after NCCC meeting, says Gungubele as State of Disaster extended

President Cyril Ramaphosa will only address the South Africans on developments in the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic after the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) concludes its meeting.

That’s according to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, who briefed the media on Thursday morning in Tshwane on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held the day before.

Gungubele said it was difficult to say when would the president address the nation as the NCCC was yet to meet to discuss lockdown measures as South Africa battles the fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.

White adults leading the line against workplace vaccine mandates – survey

A recent survey shows that white adults are most opposed to vaccine mandates andpassports at work.

That’s according to a survey conducted by the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Centre for Social Change and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

The survey was aimed at gauging the public’s support for compulsory workplace Covid-19 vaccinations and having to provide proof of vaccination to enter public places.

6,633 participants from diverse backgrounds, ages and education levels were surveyed and can be regarded as broadly indicative of the views of the local adult population at large.