Day: January 8, 2024

Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have seized 23kg of narcotics disguised as moulded artwork with an estimated street value of R37 million at the cargo sheds of the OR Tambo International Airport.

The customs officers were doing their inspection rounds last week when they came across a box headed for New Zealand.

The box contained items of moulded artwork, which looked suspicious. The officers used a narcotics test kit and some of the items tested positive for crystal meth, which weighed 10kg.

A test by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on other items tested positive for fentanyl, which weighed 13kg. The narcotics were handed over the SAPS for further investigation.

In a statement on Saturday, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter praised the vigilance of the customs officers who detected the narcotics.

‘SARS Customs will spare no effort in stopping the export or import of narcotics and any illegal substance which cause so much pain and hardship for families, particularly
their youth.

‘Drug smugglers must know that our Customs Division is fully committed to this objective, and will act without fear or favour against those criminals involved in the drugs trade. They must know that they will face the full might of the law,’ Kieswetter said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Police have arrested a 27-year-old woman for allegedly murdering her 11-month-old baby girl in the Eastern Cape.

‘It is alleged that on Friday, 5 January 2024, a man went into the bushes at the Nonyevu locality in Port St Johns to urinate when he found the baby in a refuse bag. He alerted the members of the community, and the mother was traced,’ the South African Police Service (SAPS) said on Sunday.

According to police information, on 29 December 2023 the infant got sick and passed away at about 5am on 1 January 2024.

It is believed that the mother wrapped the child with a towel, put her in a plastic bag and threw her in the bushes at Nonyevu locality where she was living at the time.

‘The mother was assaulted by the community and is hospitalised. She faces a charge for murder and will appear in the Port St Johns Magistrate Court. A post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,’ SAPS said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The City of Ekurhuleni has warned the public to be aware of job scam messages that are being sent through social media purporting to be from the city.

The city said its job application process is not conducted through social media platforms or social media messaging.

‘Our positions are strictly advertised on our website: www.ekurhuleni.gov.za/vacancies where permanent, temporal and fixed-term vacancies are advertised.

‘The city strongly advises the public not to respond to unsolicited offers of employment or those who seek information claiming to work for or to be associated with the City of Ekurhuleni,’ the city said in a statement.

The public is urged to note the following to avoid being scammed:

All positions are advertised on the city’s website https://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za/residents/careers.html

The city would never ask you for money in exchange for a job interview.

The city’s email addresses are formatted as [email protected]

The city has official office telephone numbers which sta
rt with 011 999 xxxx.

Any communication and adverts of jobs will carry the City of Ekurhuleni logo and not Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.

The city does not request any payment to apply for a position.

The city only uses approved email and telephonic communications, including face-to-face interviews.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) has cautioned members of the public and stakeholders of a fake TikTok account impersonating Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana.

The TikTok account ‘Pinky_Kekana3’ has been fraudulently using the Deputy Minister’s name and photos while disseminating untrue promises of teaching clients to trade and quickly make amounts ranging from R56 000 to R67 000.

The department said this is false and ‘intended to swindle and scam innocent citizens’.

‘For the record, Deputy Minister Kekana does not have a TikTok account and the Ministry and DPME do not offer any educational trading programmes about making money.

‘Therefore, the public and stakeholders are urged to desist from following or communicating with the TikTok account ‘Pinky_Kekana3′ to avoid falling victim to unscrupulous fraudsters,’ the department said on Sunday.

The official social media accounts of the Deputy Minister are as follows:

X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/Pinky_Kekana1

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PinkyKekana2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinky_kekana1

Source: South African Government News Agency

Four more suspects have been arrested for the killing in Soshanguve that claimed the lives of four people, including a teenager on New Year’s Day.

They were arrested during an intelligence-driven operation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team based in Pretoria and the Hawks’ Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS).

‘The suspects, three males and one female, were arrested on the night of 06 January 2024 in various areas around Pretoria, which brings the total number of arrested suspects to six. Three firearms, an AK 47 and two pistols were confiscated.

‘The suspects will appear in the Soshanguve Magistrate’s court on Tuesday 9 January 2024 on charges of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm,’ the South African Police Service (SAPS) said on Monday.

The two previously arrested suspects, Sipho Kgomo and Tshepo Mosemeni, will appear in court again on 12 January 2024.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Government has reminded media practitioners to submit their entries for the 2024 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Media Awards.

The SADC Media Awards are open to journalists from the SADC member states for four categories: photo, print, television and radio journalism.

‘To promote regional integration and cooperation (cross-border issues), the awards aim to recognise excellence in journalism in the area of print, photo, television, radio as well as to encourage media practitioners in member states to cover issues pertaining to the region,’ the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said on Monday.

The SADC Media Awards were established in 1996 to recognise best media work in disseminating information on SADC to support the process of regional co-operation and integration in the region.

The awards were established following a decision by the SADC Council of Ministers to establish a sector that deals with matters relating to, amongst others, information, culture and sport.

The
se awards are one of the mechanisms to ensure a link, coordination and synchronisation between formal structures of SADC governments, civil society, academia, labour and the media.

Journalists who wish to enter the competition can access more information about the competition from the www.sadc.int and www.gcis.gov.za websites.

The entry form and the 2024 competition rules can be found on the links below:

Entry Form: Entry form-English.docx_0.pdf (gcis.gov.za).

Rules of the Competition: https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/2024%20Rules%20of%20Competition%20-ENGLISH.pdf

Entries need to be posted or delivered to Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) or any GCIS office nationwide marked:

MDDA Offices GCIS Offices

SADC Media Awards Entry or SADC Media Awards Entry

GSM Building Government Communications

SABC Auckland Park Campus 1035 Francis Baard Street

Johannesburg Hatfield, Pretoria

2006 0028

No entries must be submitted later than 29 February 2024.

Source: South African Government N
ews Agency