Daily news update: New Covid-19 variant, Hawks nab 13 officials and Sassa social grant payment dates

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New Covid-19 ‘variant of interest’ in SA mutates 1.7 times faster

The new Covid-19 variant discovered in South Africa, and assigned to the PANGO lineage C.1.2, was first detected in Mpumalanga and Gauteng back in May 2021.

By June 2021, it had spread to KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, as well as England and China. As of 13 August, the Pango variant was detected in six of the nine South African provinces.

Hawks nab 13 Mogalakwena municipality officials and company directors

On Monday morning, the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation members in Limpopo arrested 13 people, including senior Mogalakwena Local Municipality officials and company directors at the municipality’s offices.

The Hawks are also investigating 11 companies linked to the suspects. The arrests come as part of an ongoing investigation into the allegations of corruption at the municipality.

The officials allegedly received bribes from services providers and companies for services not rendered.

Whistleblower Babita Deokaran’s suspected assassins to apply for bail next month

Six men who were arrested last week in connection with whistleblower Babita Deokaran’s murder have made their first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.

Phakamani Radebe, Zitha Radebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Simphiwe Mazibuko and Sanele Mbele  are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

They made a brief appearance in the dock on Monday, when their case was adjourned to mid-September for a formal bail application.

NMB mayor Nqaba Bhanga recovering in hospital after surgery

Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) mayor Nqaba Bhanga is currently recovering  in hospital and is in a stable condition following car accident over the weekend.

Bhanga, who is a councillor of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the party’s Eastern Cape leader, was involved in a two-car collision around 11pm on Saturday.

The incident saw two people from the second vehicle die as a result of the crash, which occurred at the intersection of St Leonards Drive and Uitenhage Road in Gqeberha.

Sassa social grant payment dates confirmed for September 2021

The Department of Social Development on Thursday confirmed the payment dates for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grants for the month of September 2021.

Sassa social grant payments for September

• Friday 3 September 2021: Older persons’ Grants
• Monday 6 September 2021: Disability Grants
• Tuesday 7 September 2021: All other grants

Royal news: Harry and Meghan don’t regret departure, Queen’s savage comment

In this week’s royal update, it has been revealed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry do not regret their decision to leave the Palace as well as their royal duties.

The royal family has still not addressed the racism claims made against the Duke and Duchess’s first child, Archie, and Queen Elizabeth made a savage comment about William when he was born.