Post Wednesday, March 31, 2021

‘My house was stolen’ … and nobody will help CHANELLE LUTCHMAN chanelle.lutchman@inl.co.za SIBONELO NGCOBO African News Agency (ANA) Supplied DURING the time of the Group Areas Act, Goolam Mahomed fought for the right to stay on his father’s property in Cato Manor even though it was designated an area for whites. Mahomed’s father bought the land after he arrived in South Africa from India in 1915. The property in Wiggins passed to Mahomed when his father died. When the apartheid government told him to move, Mahomed stood in front of his home with his wife and three young children. He told the then Community Development Board in 1980 that he would rather die than leave. The property was expropriated by the city without any compensation and even though the…

MOZAMBIQUE: ’WHY SHOULD WE LIVE IN FEAR?’ Families pray to God for protection CHARLENE SOMDUTH charlene.somduth@inl.co.za FAMILIES living in the vicinity of Palma in Mozambique will not be scared off by attacks in the town. Militants, believed to be linked to Islamic State (IS), began attacking Palma, in the province of Cabo Delgado, last Wednesday. The area is a gas manufacturing hub. During the attack, more than 200 workers, including foreign employees, had to evacuate the Amarula Lodge Hotel where they had taken refuge. Adrian Nel, 40, of Pietermaritzburg, was shot while trying to flee in a car with his brother Wesley and stepfather Greg Knox. They were stuck at the hotel. According to reports by Reuters, the shooting began hours after Total, a French Energy Group, said on Wednesday…

ANC NEC DECISION ON THOSE FACING CORRUPTION CHARGES ‘Step aside or face disciplinary action’ JANINE MOODLEY janine.moodley@inl.co.za CIVIL rights groups have welcomed the decision by the ANC national executive committee to give Ace Magashule, the party's secretary-general, 30 days to step aside pending his trial in which he is facing 74 counts of fraud and corruption. Following the ANC NEC meeting on Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his closing address, said Magashule and others facing corruption charges had a month to vacate their offices. If they did not, they faced suspension or disciplinary action from the party. "All members who have been charged with corruption or other serious crimes must step aside within 30 days, failing which, they should be suspended in terms of Rule 25.70 of the ANC…

CIVIC ORGANISATIONS: LEAVE JUDICIARY ALONE Zuma calls justice system oppressive, unjust JANINE MOODLEY janine.moodley@inl.co.za JACOB Zuma criticised the country’s justice system last week, calling the judiciary oppressive and beyond reproach. Last week, the former president issued an eight-page statement moments after the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, known as the Zondo Commission, approached the Constitutional Court to have him jailed for two years for contempt of court. Zuma recently refused to appear before the commission to respond to allegations of fraud, corruption and state capture. Written arguments were submitted on behalf of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo at the Constitutional Court last Thursday but judgment was reserved. Zuma called the submissions made to the Concourt as untruthful and selective. He questioned the inclusion of Justice Dhaya Pillay, claiming that she…

INVESTIGATIONS FOUND COMPANIES WERE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CONSUMERS Funeral parlours did increase prices during second wave CHANELLE LUTCHMAN chanelle.lutchman@inl.co.za AN INVESTIGATION into price gouging in the funeral industry in KwaZulu-Natal has found that businesses inflated the amounts for services during the Covid-19 pandemic. On Sunday, Ravi Pillay, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) in KZN, said his department's investigation into price gouging during the second wave of Covid-19 was completed. In January, the POST spoke to two families, who claimed they were asked to pay more than what they were quoted for funerals. A woman said she was quoted R10 500 for the funeral of her mom, but she was later asked to pay an additional R3 000. A man claimed he paid R4 000 more…

NEW KZN LEADER FOR DA ‘I have always had a passion for politics’ CHARLENE SOMDUTH charlene.somduth@inl.co.za FRANCOIS Rodgers will lead the DA in KZN. Rodgers, 59, of Kokstad, a member of the provincial legislature, was elected leader during the party’s provincial congress at the Durban ICC on Saturday. He previously held the position of provincial legislature chief whip. Rodgers succeeded Zwakele Mncwango, who declined to run for a third term as provincial leader. The grandfather of one competed against Nicole Graham, the eThekwini caucus leader, and Emmanuel Mhlongo, eThekwini deputy caucus leader. He will lead the party with MPL Chris Pappas, who is now the deputy leader in KZN, and MP Dean Macpherson, the party’s chairperson. Shehana Kajee, Elma Rabe and Sithembiso Ngema were elected deputy chairpersons. Rodgers grew up…