Author: The Bulrushes

The Gauteng Department of Health on Sunday revealed that Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) has more than 2 600 people on its waiting list for surgeries. The department said the hospital was now using “various interventions to reduce long waiting times for surgical procedures”. The interventions include opening a second theatre on Tuesdays and Fridays for cardiothoracic (heart, lungs, chest organs) surgeries. “Patients who are due for smaller cases of plastic surgery, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic, paediatric and other general surgeries are referred to Bertha Gxowa District Hospital and those who are due for minor colorectal cases are referred to South…

KwaZulu-Natal Businessman Makhonzandile Lukhope and his daughter Naledi Lukhope were arrested by the Hawks and have appeared in court for PPE fraud of more than four million rand. “The Lukhopes were arrested on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering to the value of R4 365 868.88 related to a PPE tender awarded by the Eastern Cape Department of Education,” said the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on Thursday. “The pair was arrested on Wednesday 20 July 2022 and appeared before the Zwelitsha Magistrates Court. “They were both subsequently released on bail of R4 000 and R2 000 each.” The SIU said…

The opportunity to participate in the more than four-decade-long financial literacy programme is fast becoming a factor when learners rate their overall satisfaction with their school learning environment. There is a growing appreciation by South African learners for the need to gain exposure to a broader knowledge base beyond the school curriculum, says Ralph Speirs, JSE CSI officer. Learners from Acudeo College Crystal Park agree with Speirs. “One thing that I personally love about my experience in this school is all the wonderful opportunities that it has exposed me to, like the JSE Investment Challenge,” says Onyinye Kennedy, matric learner…

Five former Department of Community Safety help desk officials accused of taking bribes to unlawfully erase massive outstanding licence fees owed by trucking companies have been arrested. The scam allegedly involved R60 million. The accused, 43-year-old Thembi Millicent Motlohi, 35-year-old Allman Thabani Masuku, 52-year-old Xoliswa Celia Ngcekwane, 44-year-old Nompulelo Winnie Nxumalo, 54-year-old Agnes Nosipho Ndzinisa, and 37-year-old Mbombela Registry Authority official Nkosinathi Samuel Gumede, were arrested on Monday. The accused were taken down by a team of law enforcers that included Nelspruit-based Hawks, officials from the Road Traffic Management Corporation, and others from the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit as well…

Theletsi Roger Nkhumise – the former municipal manager of Moretele Municipality in the North West – was arrested on Friday over a dodgy multi-million-rand IT tender and appeared at the Moretele Regional Court the same day. Nkhumise is accused of unlawfully appointing Flame IT Strategy to render ICT services to the Moretele Municipality, which is largely rural, to the tune of approximately R215 million. The municipality inherited the contract for ICT services from Madibeng Local Municipality. The arrest of Nkhumise follows an investigation conducted by the  Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which revealed that the municipality increased the scope of work with two…

The Chinese national, Lu Ke, who used village children to make videos mocking Africans has been extradited from Zambia to Malawi, where he allegedly committed appalling racist offences. “Members of the public will recall that Mr. Lu Ke fled Malawi after the publication of a BBC report on the dehumanising videos he produced by tricking Malawian children in Lilongwe and Mchinji district for profit,” said the Malawi government at the weekend. The videos in which the children repeated Chinese words that mocked them went viral, allegedly earning the accused significant amounts of money. The BBC Africa Eye documentary expose revealed how Lu Ke took the children…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken umbrage with United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader General Bantu Holomisa’s suggestions that he must provide evidence about his CR17 campaign funding to the ongoing National Assembly Section 194 inquiry. The Section 194 inquiry was constituted by Parliament to investigate grounds of misconduct and incompetence against suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. General Holomisa suggested to the inquiry – probing Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office – that Ramaphosa should be called to testify because the Constitutional Court “may have” erred in its findings on the public protector’s CR17 report. Responding to the UDM leader’s comments, the Presidency on…

For SA businesses and institutions to remain competitive they have to adopt Artificial intelligence (AI) tech to match the global speed of innovation and efficiency, says Amritesh Anand, vice-president of tech multinational In2IT technologies. In that regard, AI has become such an important investment for businesses in SA. This, as larger AI budgets have become a sharp point of focus globally, as businesses across all industries are increasing their investment in artificial intelligence to create competitive advantage. The use of AI has been stepped up globally in recent months, driven by the United Nations tech agency International Telecommunication Union, which…

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Monday announced fuel price hikes amid fears that the cost of food and other goods will be affected. The minister said that based “on current local and international factors”, the fuel prices for July 2022 will be adjusted as follows: ❖ Petrol (both 93 ULP and LRP): two hundred and thirty seven cents per litre (R2.37 per/l) increase; ❖ Petrol (both 95 ULP and LRP): two hundred and fifty seven cents per litre (R2.57 per/l) increase; ❖ Diesel (0.05% sulphur): two hundred and thirty one cents per litre (R2.31 per/l) increase; ❖ Diesel (0.005% sulphur):…

A close-knit team comprising students from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) has won the May monthly prize in the University category of the JSE Investment Challenge.  Team “Dancing In The Dark” shows that bringing together a diverse set of skills, opinions, and ideas can be a source of strength. Members of this team are students pursuing fields of study in different faculties including actuarial science, health sciences, and accountancy. Roberto Coelho, in his fourth year studying towards a Chartered Accountancy qualification, says a person’s field of study has nothing to do with being successful in this competition. “It is your…