WeeklySA_AdminCOLOURFUL: Dozens of Zulu maidens on the way to attend the annual Reed Dance Celebration at the eNyokeni Royal Palace in KwaNongoma this weekend, in preparations for a vibrant and culturally enriching experience. The ceremony was hosted by The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government in collaboration with the Zulu Royal House under King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini. PHOTO: Lekkeslaap
MIRROR
Briefs
NXESI LAUNCHES JOBS FAIR
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, is to host a Jobs Fair in Malelane, Mpumalanga, on September 14 and 15. The Jobs Fair aims to identify opportunities and solutions that can enhance the capacity of the department and its partners to deliver on the mandate to create employment opportunities for the unemployed, especially the youth in Mpumalanga.
A statement from the department said the fair was designed to also create a platform where employers and jobseekers could interact, with the purpose of ensuring that the unemployed access both work and learning opportunities. The event was geared at drawing employers, institutions and government departments that provide various services to the youth.
Nxesi will address the local business sector before launching the Mobile Employment Centre of the Department of Employment and Labour.
At the event, the department will – among other things – register the unemployed on the ESSA database; facilitate access to opportunities and employment counselling services for them. The event will be held at Paradise Creek Lodge in Malelane, from 8am. – WSAM Reporter
DOCTORS’ BOARD EXAMS FAST-TRACKED
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has given South African doctors trained abroad a ray of hope that backlogs of foreign qualifications will be handled before the end of 2023. In recent weeks, doctors from South Africa who had acquired foreign qualifications complained of how they were unable to write their board exams as the council had failed to offer them, while they desperately needed work as a result of expired contracts.
“The training received by all foreign-qualified medical practitioners is subject to review to measure compliance and equivalence to the prescribed minimum South African requirements. This is to establish whether the qualifications meet the evaluation criteria and allow applicants to practice their profession in the country,” the HPCSA explained. The council said an external service provider manages the Medical Board Examinations on behalf of the Medical and Dental Board (MDB).
“Previously, this was conducted by Sefako Makgatho University (SMU) whose contract subsequently expired, following several extensions.
“The HPCSA had already started a supply chain management process to seek a replacement service provider, with initial bids advertised in March 2022. Unfortunately, only one bidder responded but did not meet the supply chain requirements.” To address the registration backlog of foreign-qualified medical doctors, the HPCSA said it was still preparing to conduct both theory and practical board examinations before the end of the year. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
ESKOM: 9 BUST FOR THEFT AND FRAUD
State-owned power utility Eskom says nine people were arrested at the Kusile power station on September 7 for theft of coal and fraud this week.Eight of the nine were weighbridge operators employed by Eskom Rotek Industries (ERI), with the ninth being a coal truck driver.
“A thorough investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and an internal Eskom investigation supported by the Bidvest Protea Coin Investigation Team led to the arrest of the individuals, after information was received that coal haulers would bypass Kusile power station without offloading the ordered coal,” Eskom explains.
It says investigations revealed that the weighbridge operators would process weighbridge transactions without the coal hauler having entered the power station to offload the coal. The Kusile power station would, however, be invoiced for the coal ordered but not received.
The suspects have been detained at the Phola police station. Eskom expects more arrests to follow as the investigations continue.
“The arrest of these unscrupulous individuals is a significant step in our fight against crime in Eskom and the country, and we shall continue in our pursuit to ensure that the perpetrators face the full might of the law,” says Eskom acting GM for security Botse Sikhwitshi. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
X (TWITTER) AXES BLOCK FEATURE
Elon Musk said today his social media company X would scrap a feature that allows users to block posts from specific accounts. “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” Musk posted, indicating the option would still be available for “direct messages” between users of the social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. The feature is used to restrict interaction with specific accounts on the platform. Musk has repeatedly cited a desire for free speech as motivating his changes, and lashed out at what he sees as the threat posed to free expression by changing cultural sensitivities.
Since the tycoon bought the social media platform for R841 billion last October, its advertising business has collapsed, in part because of its looser approach to blocking hate speech, and the return of previously banned far-right accounts.
According to nonprofit organisation the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), hate speech has flourished on the platform. X has disputed the findings and is suing the CCDH. In December, Musk reinstated former US president Donald Trump’s Twitter account, although Trump has yet to return to the platform.
The ex-president was banned from Twitter in early 2021 for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a group of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. X recently reinstated rapper and designer Kanye West around eight months after his account was suspended, according to media reports. – WSAM Correspondent
JULY UNREST CO-INSTIGATOR CONVICTED
The Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Friday convicted Mdumiseni Zuma of inciting public violence during the 2021 July unrest. Zuma appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Friday and was found guilty of contravening Sections 17 and 18 of the Riotous Assemblies Act, where he incited people to gather and commit public violence.
Provincial NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the charges relate to the incidents of looting and public violence that occurred in July 2021 in parts of the country, especially in KZN. During this time, the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg was looted and burnt to the ground.
She said Zuma made an inciteful video, pertaining to the mall and shared it on WhatsApp.
“During the judgment, the presiding officer found that Zuma’s WhatsApp video could have caused people to commit public violence. This was also based on Zuma’s own admission during his testimony that if he received a message similar to the one he released, he too, would have taken action to commit public violence,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
In his defence, Mdumiseni claimed he was intoxicated when he made the video and he had meant for it to be taken as a prank. He denied that he aimed to incite others to commit public violence.
The case has been remanded to October 9 for pre-sentencing reports prior to sentencing. Zuma remains in custody. The July 2021 civil unrest wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where at least 350 fatalities were recorded. – www.fullview.co.za
