Day: August 18, 2022

DURBAN – On 04 March 2021, at about 13:56, a 33-year-complainant was at his residence, in Yellowwood Park, when he was approached by an unknown male who robbed him at gunpoint of his laptop.

A few days later, on 07 March 2021, he spotted the suspect and called the police and community patrollers. The suspect, Siphamandla Mthimkhulu, aged 33, was arrested.

The case was allocated to Sergeant B.G. Dlamini of Montclair Trio Crimes for investigation.

On 11 August 2022 the accused was found guilty in Durban Regional Court and sentenced to 16 years direct imprisonment for armed robbery. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Acting Ethekwini District Commissioner, Brigadier V.J Cele welcomed the sentencing and further praised the excellent investigation skills of Sgt Dlamini, which ensured the accused will be placed behind bars for a long time and will not be committing anymore crime in our communities.

Source: South African Police Service

HOOPSTAD – Intelligence driven operation led to a man being arrested for possession of suspected stolen property and possession of drugs at Tikwana in Hoopstad on Wednesday, 17 August 2022.

Welkom K9 Unit received intelligence driven information about drug dealing activity at residential premises. Members proceeded to the house and discovered drugs such as Chrystal Meth and Mandrax worth an estimated R5000 in street value. Upon a further search, members also found a Ryobi grinder suspected of being stolen.

The suspect was arrested for dealing in drugs and possession of suspected stolen goods. He will appear before the Hoopstad Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 19 August 2022.

Source: South African Police Service

President Cyril Ramaphosa is pleased with progress made by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on a number of issues of regional importance.

The issues include the reform process in the Kingdom of Lesotho, the conflict in Mozambique, the setting up of the SADC Logistics Centre and the anti-terrorism centre.

The President was speaking at the conclusion of his working visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he was leading a South African delegation to the 42nd Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 16 – 17 August 2022.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, and Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thabang Makwetla, accompanied the President on the visit.

On the reform process in the Kingdom of Lesotho, President Ramaphosa said he was pleased with the positive report tabled by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro that serves as a real milestone in the lives of the Basotho.

SADC and South Africa played an important role in bringing about peace and normalcy in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

In a statement, the President said that SADC was also pleased with progress made in pushing back the insurgents in the Cabo Delgado area of the Republic of Mozambique and that SADC reaffirmed its “total commitment to supporting the people of Mozambique”.

“The pleasing thing was that the people who had fled the various areas in Cabo Delgado are now returning to their homes, with increased confidence that SADC has been helping them to bring about peace.”

President Ramaphosa said he was also pleased with progress brought about by SADC in the setting up of its Logistics Centre in the Republic of Botswana that will assist the countries in the region to deal with emergency situations.

He said he was also pleased with progress made in the already operational anti-terrorism centre that is situated in the Republic of Tanzania.

“We will be able to bring around the various assistance measures when there are either situations where our armed forces needs to intervene, so there should be a good logistics depot or where there are other forms of emergency,” President Ramaphosa said regarding the logistics centre.

The President is also pleased with SADC’s recorded progress on issues in the Kingdom of Eswatini and on challenges in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He said that he was happy that SADC is setting up a fact-finding mission on Eswatini and on its decision to send a panel of elders “to go and find effective ways to deal with the situation”.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy President David Mabuza says government is determined to assist families who were severely affected by the deadly floods that swept KwaZulu-Natal.

“We are recommitting to remedying the situation that was caused by the floods by ensuring that we urgently put an end to the misery currently faced by communities, families and individuals affected by the disaster in eThekwini,” he said.

The Deputy President was answering questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.

The so-called “April floods” killed more than 400 people, and destroyed thousands of homes and infrastructure, while dozens of victims are still missing.

According to Deputy President Mabuza, the critical infrastructure that was damaged including power lines and pipelines, affected the delivery of basic services by government in the eThekwini Municipality.

Meanwhile, he said National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) have worked with the KwaZulu-Natal government to identify and reprioritise resources to respond to the crisis and cover any shortfalls.

In addition, various programmes, which are in various stages of being implemented, are being rolled out to affected communities.

“We want to confirm that the process hasn’t been as smooth as anticipated to be even though we have a multidisciplinary system. There were still problems with planning, execution and keeping track of projects,” he admitted.

According to the Deputy President, these issues including poor project management and policy red tape, caused the delays.

“We want to take this opportunity to apologise to all affected communities, families and individuals who have been subjected to this situation for a long time.”

Meanwhile, he said government would strengthen intergovernmental coordination between the three spheres of government and commit to taking action on a set timeline.

“We have located land for sustainable human settlement near the places of work.”

The Deputy President has since called on all stakeholders to hold hands with government and commit to sustainable and disaster-proof environments.

In addition, he acknowledged that the release of funds in disaster areas should be “quick” while allowing no room for corruption.

“Again, we want to say, apologies for these delays and we hope to see improvements,” said the Deputy President.

Source: South African Government News Agency