Author: The Bulrushes

The number of arrested suspects in the passport scam has risen to 29 with the arrest of more people as additional details of the elaborate scam emerge. Spokesperson for the minister of home affairs recounted how on Thursday night authorities pounced on the unsuspecting perpetrators at the Home Affairs office in Krugersdorp. The swoop was carried out by a multi-disciplinary operation involving the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Cash In-Transit Task Team, Department of Home Affairs’ Anti-Corruption, and the Johannesburg Central Tactical Response Team. They found the suspects processing information and photos using the Home Affairs system to fraudulently create…

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Entrepreneur couple Dwight and Angelique Morrison have created a new social media app “PS Remember” connecting students all across Africa. Its unique database and search engine allows students to connect and socialise like never before with students in other countries. PS Remember (www.PSRemember.com) is a new and exciting social media platform that connects students’ past, present, and future in over 2.5 million schools in more than 147 countries worldwide. Its unique database and search engine allows students to connect and socialise like never before with students in other countries. For example, a student currently attending the University of Ghana can…

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Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi has revealed how his department caught a kingpin and arrested several people including Pakistanis involved in a scam to unlawfully acquire South African passports. On Thursday night home affairs officials and law enforcement agency members swooped on the syndicate’s illegal operation in Krugersdorp, where 13 foreign nationals and 13 South Africans were arrested. Recounting events that led to the arrests, Dr. Motsoaledi said law enforcement officers took down the kingpin of a syndicate that had been fraudulently issuing South African passports, and other documents reserved exclusively for citizens to other nationals. “They were doing…

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Mortuaries in Gauteng recorded nearly 900 unclaimed bodies last year, the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) revealed on Thursday. “There was a slight decrease in the number of unclaimed and unidentified bodies in the 2020/2021 financial year, which can be attributed to Covid-19 lockdown,” said GDoH. “In the 2020/2021 financial year, there were 898 unclaimed and unidentified bodies recorded, which was lower than 1 173 recorded in the 2019/2020 financial year, and 1 117 recorded in the 2018/2019 financial year.” The GDoH said it plans to finalise – by the end of the year – the development of an online…

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Following the opening of registrations for this year’s annual Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Investment Challenge, the bourse is calling for catalyst teachers to volunteer to mentor participating high school teams. The JSE Investment Challenge, which runs from March to September, is an educational programme designed to introduce pupils and students to the fundamentals of investing in the JSE. Teams that participate in this competition are given R1 million in virtual funds to invest in various portfolios, to outperform the portfolios of other participating teams. The challenge is open to all South African high schools and higher learning institutions. High schools…

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You don’t have to wear a mask if you are outdoors in South Africa from today following the relaxation of COVID-19 regulations announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, the wearing of masks indoors in public places is still mandatory, but “after tears” funeral gatherings remain banned, Ramaphosa said on Tuesday night. The president, however, encouraged people who have not yet vaccinated to do so saying it was the surest way to avoid severe illness and possibly death. Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has gazetted the amended Covid-19 Alert Level 1 Regulations making them…

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President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation at 8 pm tonight, Tuesday 22 March 2022, on developments in South Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The president’s address will be broadcast and streamed on a range of government communication platforms and news channels. SA records 566 new COVID-19 cases South Africa on Monday recorded 566 new COVID-19 cases, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported. The figure brought the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 704 784 since March 2020. This increase represented a 3.9% positivity rate. “Due to the ongoing audit exercise by the National Department of Health, there may be a…

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The Information Regulator of South Africa has given TransUnion credit bureau until Tuesday to submit details regarding the hacking incident that may have compromised the security of personal information of an undisclosed number of people. TransUnion has confirmed that a criminal third-party unlawfully gained access to its South African server through “misuse of an authorised client’s credentials”. Hackers are thought to have gained access to millions of South Africans’ ID numbers, banking details, and credit scores. Reports suggest that N4aughtysecTU claimed responsibility and demanded a ransom in bitcoin.  The notorious Brazilian hacker group has reportedly given TransUnion seven day to pay the ransom. “We have…

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The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on Wednesday night lifted the suspension of Comair Limited and its subsidiary, Kulula.com. SACAA suspended the operator certificate five days ago which resulted in Comair, Kulula, and British Airways flights being grounded. On Wednesday SACAA said it had concluded the assessment and evaluation of Comair’s evidence to close the Level 1 findings raised during the audit which started on 07 March 2022. The evaluation of the evidence was concluded on the evening of 16 March 2022. “The impact of this outcome paves the way for the Director of Civil Aviation to uplift the…

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