Author: The Bulrushes
A home affairs department female officer allegedly caught taking a R500 bribe from a refugee who wanted to extend his asylum permit is expected to appear in court today. The Refugee Status Determination Officer based at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Marabastad, Pretoria, was nabbed on Tuesday. She allegedly took the bribe to extend the validity of the asylum permit of a Bangladeshi national, whose application for international protection was being appealed at the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa. The official was allegedly seen by a security guard accepting the money from the Bangladeshi national. The guard…
Amid a failure to deal with corruption amongst its employees and getting the third disclaimer on its financial statement, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is in financial dire straits. Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said in the Annual Report of the PRASA released Tuesday reflects improvement in performance against predetermined objectives. “However, an improvement of 11% from 18% to 29% is a far cry from where we should be and remains unacceptably low,” Mbalula told Parliament’s financial watchdog SCOPA hearings. Mbalula further painted a bleak picture of the future of PRASA. He stated that PRASA was in a…
Most parts of the Johannesburg central business district were still without electricity Tuesday Morning as firefighters continued to battle an underground fire that cut off supply lines. The fire broke out Monday morning in a tunnel. More than a day later, the Joburg Emergency Services (EMS) have not yet declared it safe for City Power technicians to attend to the fault. Apart from the city centre, other areas without electricity include Selby, Wemmer, Village Deep, Park Central, and parts of Booysens. “The fire, which started around 7h30 of Monday, is suspected to have damaged multiple cables that had been running…
As many as 49 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been voluntarily repatriated from South Africa. Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday said he “welcomes the voluntary repatriation of 49 refugees from the DRC in collaboration with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency”. “This is the first group of approximately 400 refugees who have expressed a desire to return to the DRC.” The department of home affairs said individual reviews were carried out by UNHCR ensuring that returns were voluntary and that the refugees return home with safety and dignity. Together with the UNHCR, the…
A Zimbabwe-based Rimbi Travel and Tours Bus Service has been fined more than R400 000 by the South African Department of Home Affairs after some of its passengers were caught attempting to enter the country without passports. The department on Monday said it had, “given Zimbabwe-based Rimbi Travel and Tours Bus Service until end of business today, 29 March 2022, to pay an administrative fine of R420 000 for breach of the Immigration Act”. The law says any conveyor (transport business) that contravenes the provisions of section 35(9), will be liable for a fine of R15 000 for each person…
Sandton-based tech non-profit organisation Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) has joined forces with EPF Tech Fund to launch an R80 million tech investment purse to support startups across the country. The fund, backed by NMVE Capital, TDM Ventures, and Digication as its first investors, will invest in students and graduates, who are developing tech solutions that create a meaningful impact. The fund said, in its first phase, it invested in 20 data start-up firms in the last 18 months with a combined value of R150 million. Now the latest phase will benefit some 15 start-ups that have been through EPF Incubation…
Most parts of the Johannesburg central business district are without electricity after a fire on Monday morning in tunnels under Ntemi Pilusa Street tripped two main lines. City Power said it was attending to an outage from a Fordsburg substation affecting most of the Joburg CBD and Selby. “The outage happened around 8 am after a fire in our underground tunnels at Ntemi Pilusa street tripped two main lines,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena. “One line feeding Central Substation which affects the entire CBD, and the other line feeding Selby Substation affecting most of the industrial areas east of…
African entrepreneurs are being invited to enter Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) competition to stand a chance of winning a share of $1.5 million or R21.9 million grants on offer. The ABH prize competition, one of the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic programs spotlighting and celebrating Africa’s entrepreneurial talent, has opened applications for its fourth annual edition https://bit.ly/3Ngq1rT. Entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, across every sector, age group, and gender are now able to submit their applications, in either French or English, for a chance to become one of the Top 10 finalists. The official slogan of the competition, “It’s African…
Fresh from a court victory overturning a prohibition to march, Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia marched in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on Saturday and demanded the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi. Organisers of the anti-xenophobia march accused Dr. Motsoaledi and Gauteng Premier David Makhura of working alongside Operation Dudula to trample the rights of asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants. The initial Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia march had been planned for Human Rights Day but was stopped after Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department raised concerns that Operation Dudula was planning to march on the same day. Operation Dudula has publicly stated its intentions to…
The Information Regulator of South Africa on Friday said it was not satisfied with TransUnion’s response to the hacking incident in which data belonging to millions of individuals was unlawfully accessed by hackers. Hackers gained access to millions of South Africans’ ID numbers, banking details, and credit scores. Last week Brazilian hackers N4aughtysecTU claimed responsibility and demanded a ransom in bitcoin, which Transunion said it had refused to pay. The Information Regulator had given Transunion until Tuesday, this week, to report to it on: the date that the security compromise occurred, the cause of the security compromise, details of investigations…