Author: The Bulrushes
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…
Cryptocurrency dealers 57-year-old Zain Muhammed Valle and 25-year-old Michelle Bianca Bezuidenhout appeared in the Lenasia Regional Court Wednesday on fraud and money laundering charges involving R34 million. The pair were arrested yesterday by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Johannesburg. Valle and Bezuidenhout were arrested at their respective residences in Lenasia and Alberton, in Johannesburg. “Their arrest emanated from the alleged cryptocurrency establishment scam where the complainant was lured to invest in Siyakhula Logistics Pty (LTD) in February 2020, with potential lucrative dividends,” said Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu. “The complainant allegedly transferred approximately R34 million into the establishment and…
The Congress of the People (COPE) on Monday said it has reported former director general of State Security Agency (SSA), Arthur Fraser, to the police in Pretoria for alleged crimes – including graft. Dennis Bloem, COPE national spokesperson, said the party’s action was prompted by allegations contained in the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (Zondo Commission). He said the allegations were “very serious” and COPE can not wait for four months – the period President Cyril Ramaphosa will need to make his recommendatios to Parliament. Speaking to reporters outside the Broklyn Police Station…
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on Monday said it has obtained a preservation order to freeze a luxury property owned by Vhuthanda Investment, whose sole director is Prof. Alfred Nevhutanda. “The property was allegedly bought for approximately R27 million with money from National Lotteries Commission,” said the SIU. The SIU said its probe revealed that the property was funded by NPOs with the money they have received, under the auspices of grant funding, from National Lotteries Commission. At the time of the purchase, Prof. Nevhuthanda was chairperson of the NLC board. Five NPOs applied for grant funding at NLC and…
There aren’t a lot of companies that would risk letting their staff speak to the media about their work and how things can be made better to attract bright young people. The Bulrushes was pleasantly surprised this week when special risks insurance provider – iTOO Special Risk – did just that. The online publication was allowed to speak to a diverse group of iTOO staffers about “making insurance attractive to the youth”. It seemed an apt topic to discuss considering it was the month of the youth, besides the staffers were mostly young. They were quick to mention that iTOO was…
South Africa on Thursday said medical experts had confirmed the country’s first case of Monkeypox. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the patient is a 30-year-old man from Johannesburg “with no travel history “ The outbreak was confirmed after laboratory tests. He said contact tracing had begun. Monkeypox spreads from one person to another through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, lesions or scabs on the skin. On Friday, 17 June 2022, WHO said since the begining of the year, cases of monkeypox have been reported from 42 Member States across five regions of the Americas, Africa, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and…