News 11:00

BULLETIN 24 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Five suspects have been arrested in a foiled kidnapping in Johannesburg
# Minister Nkabane conditionally reinstates the registration of the Educor Group
# And, rugby: Kolisi’s return to the Sharks hits a snag

# Five suspects, including two South Africans, and two Ugandan and one Malawian national, were arrested yesterday for an alleged conspiracy to kidnap a woman for extortion in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says officers and members of the Hawks worked on information about a South African woman who was allegedly planning for her employer to be kidnapped and forced to withdraw large sums of money from her business bank account:

# The minister of Higher Education and Training, Nobuhle Nkabane, has reinstated the registration of the Educor Group on condition it fully complies with the Council on Higher Education accreditation requirements before any teaching and learning activities can resume. Educor’s Lyceum College, Damelin, CityVarsity and Icesa City Campus, were deregistered by the council after the education provider failed to submit its 2020 and 2021 financial certificates and annual reports, among a host of other concerns. The department’s spokesperson, Lucky Masuku, says Educor has to submit comprehensive monthly reports to the department.

# Tshwane mayor, Cilliers Brink says underperforming waste collection contractors whose services were terminated contributed to illegal dumping in the metro. Brink was inspecting waste collection trucks at the Pretoria West Waste Deport, ensuring they comply with new regulations. The mayor says approximately 60-percent of the previous waste contractors have not made it back onto the new tender owing to the stringent specifications aimed at improving efficiency:

# Rugby: Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s expected return to the Sharks has hit a snag. It was recently announced the flanker wants to get out of his contract with French giants Racing 92, less than a year into his three-year-agreement, after Racing owner Jacky Lorenzetti publicly criticised his lack of form. Lorenzetti reportedly insists the Sharks pay back the transfer fee of around 17-million-rand upfront, and rejected the Durban franchise’s offer of paying it in installments. SA Rugby is also not prepared to contribute.

# And, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the metro has secured a further 2.8-billion-rand in financing towards its plans for a South African record infrastructure investment over three years. He says Cape Town plans to spend 39.5-billion-rand on infrastructure from July this year to June 2027, as approved in its Building For Jobs budget. Hill-Lewis says this is South Africa’s largest ever three-year infrastructure investment by a metropolitan municipality:

Stay tuned for more news………….