South Africa

The Portfolio Committee on Police has commended the revamp done at the North End Forensic Science Laboratory in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.

The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration is in the Free State on a weeklong oversight visit, where it has received reports on the 30-day payment window to service providers.

The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has welcomed the progress achieved by the new management of the Phokwane Local Municipality, which has improved the municipality’s fortunes.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile reflected on some of the challenges, including load shedding, that many communities face during the breaking of the fast in Ramadan, also known as Iftaar, at the Gatesville Mosque in Cape Town.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his deep condolences to the family and friends of the late United States human rights activist and lawyer, Randall Robinson.

Robinson was 81.

His wife Hazel Ross-Robinson told CNN that her husband died of aspiration pneumonia last week.

According to the Presidency’s Office, Robinson was an esteemed member of South Africa’s National Order of the Companions of OR Tambo, with which he was honoured in 2012.
 
He received this honour for being an integral part of the anti-apartheid movement.

Oscar Pistorius will remain behind bars after he was denied parole for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday. 

This comes after his application was brought before the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) on Friday.

“The CSPB granted inmate Pistorius a further profile for August 2024,” the department’s statement read.

National Treasury says it has noted the outcome of wage negotiations at the 2023 Public Sector Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).

Eskom has announced that Stage 3 and 4 load shedding will alternate throughout the weekend and on Monday.

Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says from 1 April 2023, the department will take over the implementation of the emergency housing programme.

South Africa has recorded 40 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases in the past week, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Friday.