The African National Congress (ANC)-led government has failed the nation by not providing free education in all public schools, the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) said on Wednesday. ”Cosas demands that all private schools be nationalised and further demands the provision of free education in all public schools,” Cosas president Kenny Motshegoa said in a statement.
Victims in the Republic of South Africa (Virsa) will lead a march on Saturday to government offices around the country to demand a crime-free and corruption-free country. ”We are giving ordinary people an opportunity to voice out their opinions about the government’s negative attitude towards crime,” Virsa spokesperson Steph Hartung said on Wednesday.
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South Africa’s cricket team was ”safe and calm” after a gas blast in their hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday, Cricket South Africa spokesperson Gordon Templeton said. ”Shortly after the blast, which occurred on the eighth floor of the hotel at about 8am [local time], all guests were evacuated,” Templeton said in a statement.
Shocked workers at a furniture factory desperately battled a fire in a four-storey building in central Johannesburg on Wednesday before they were forced to flee the building. Emergency services rushed to the scene and firefighters spent about 45 minutes getting the fire under control. Nobody was reported injured.
A proposed fuel levy in the Western Cape of 10 cents a litre will not have the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) support, unless there is clarity on where the money will go, party spokesperson Eric Lucas said on Wednesday. ”For the IFP there are a lot of questions surrounding this proposed fuel increase,” he said.
A Potchefstroom councillor has opened a case of harassment after receiving a barrage of insulting and derogatory text messages following a radio interview on renaming the city. Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Piet Du Plessis on Wednesday confirmed that a case of harassment had been opened by African National Congress councillor Ina Stoltz.
At least two people will share a -million (R2,7-billion) lottery jackpot in the United States, officials said on Wednesday after the record prize drew in millions of players across the country. ”Right now we know there are two winning tickets: one in the state of New Jersey, one in the state of Georgia,” an Ohio Lottery Commission spokesperson said.
The government’s proposed elephant-management regulations could hobble South Africa’s ”notorious” elephant-back tourism industry, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said on Wednesday. The draft rules propose stopping the capture from the wild of anything other than genuine orphan elephant calves.
Investment management firm Allan Gray has sold off just under 19% of its shareholding in a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal, the company announced on Wednesday. It also said the firm’s founder, Allan Gray, had donated R1,1-billion from the sale to support initiatives that include comprehensive funding for university students wanting to become entrepreneurs.
Fifty out of 85 construction employers were found to be violating workplace safety regulations during an on-site crackdown by labour inspectors in the Eastern Cape, the Labour Department said on Wednesday. Department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said seven construction sites had been shut down and an additional 48 contravention notices were served.