Table of contents for 2022-02-25 in DFA News

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za NORTHERN Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul said 28 000 jobs had been lost during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while 70 percent of industries experienced a decline at the start of the pandemic in 2020. During his State of the Province address in Upington yesterday, Saul stated that the official youth unemployment rate was just above 37 percent in the Province. “We must use job opportunities in provincial government to affirm young people. As at August 2021, provincial government employed 24 026 staff of which 6 000 are between the ages of 18 to 35 years.” Saul committed to rooting out corruption and ensuring that senior public service managers fulfilled all criteria before they…

Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly, probably the favourites to qualify in their group, go head to head tomorrow at the Cairo International Stadium in a 9pm kick off. The Brazilians however have a slight edge heading into this encounter as the only team to have registered a win in the group so far and their opponents, usually a force to be reckoned with, are struggling for form since the turn of the year. Al Ahly have had to endure a tough schedule so far in 2022, competing in four different competitions, amongst those a gruelling trip to the United Arab Emirates to compete in the Club World Cup. Pitso Mosimane’s men have managed to win just three of their 10 games in all competitions this year, their last victory coming…

Neville Motlhabakwe THE NEWLY-elected permanent executive board of Athletics Griqualand West (AGW) have pledged to bring resources to bear on development, host prestige events and ramp up technical capacity in the organisation. AGW president Lorato Banda and deputy president Ockie Vermeulen enthused about the election of the new board. The new AGW executive ends the five-month long tenure of the interim board had presided over the association’s affairs. “Five months ago there were resignations on the board which lead us to have a very dysfunctional board. The members of the federation, the clubs, decided that we should have an interim board which will take us to the election of the permanent board,” said Banda. “As the new board there are at least a few things that we'd like to focus…

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za NATIONAL Treasury has instructed Sol Plaatje Municipality to investigate the R500 million investment that was allocated to improve service delivery in the city. Premier Zamani Saul in April last year announced that half a billion rand would go towards restoring the sparkle of the city, where he promised that potholes and leaking sewage and water pipes would be a thing of the past by December 2021. According to a report on the final budget and benchmark assessment report for the 2020/21 budget that was submitted by National Treasury, Sol Plaatje Municipality has R500 million worth of projects that will be funded by provincial government, where the details of this fund “are not yet clear as the Northern Cape provincial government has not yet gazetted the amounts”.…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za THE world woke up to news yesterday of Russia's full-scale invasion of the Ukraine. This comes after a series of threats issued by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Interfax Ukraine reported rocket attacks on military facilities throughout Ukraine and that Russian troops had landed in the southern port cities of Odessa and Mariupol. It also reported staff and passengers evacuating Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport. According to The Guardian, Russia is targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure as it has struck Ukrainian airfields, military headquarters and military warehouses. The BBC reported that around 200 000 troops were deployed near Ukraine's borders. Putin is targeting Ukraine because he claims the country is a puppet of the West. He wants Ukraine to guarantee that it will not join Nato, to demilitarise and become…

Paris – UEFA are to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to “evaluate the situation” concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the former set to host the Champions League final in Saint Petersburg in May. “Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the UEFA president has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for Friday 25 February at 10:00 CET (0900 GMT), in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions,” UEFA said in a statement. The final of European club football’s premier competition is scheduled to be played on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, which already hosted several matches at last year’s European Championship and at the 2018 World Cup held in…

Benida Phillips benida.phillips@inl.co.za RESIDENTS of Maroela Street in Greenpoint are at their wits’ end over Sol Plaatje Municipality’s “incompetence” in solving the sewage problems they have been experiencing for over a decade. During Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s recent visit to the area, she noted large pools of sewage and piles of rubbish floating in the water. Pigs, which are apparently owned by local farmers, are freely roaming the street and swimming in the sewage. The residents said that the local municipality has failed them for the past 10 years. They said that the only intervention they received from the municipality was when municipal workers arrived to scatter some chlorine in the street following Mkhwebane’s visit. “We are living in the stench and filth on a daily basis. We are forced…

Boipelo Mere boipelo.mere@inl.co.za DR EP Lekhela High School was the third school in Kimberley to be affected by what is believed to be an “evil spirit attack”. The incident happened on Wednesday morning when girls apparently started acting hysterical after the first period. About 18 girls, mostly in Grades 8 to 10, started crying, screaming, and rolling on the floor after apparently seeing a “scary creature that was making them weak”. The girls, from different classes, reportedly started acting up after the first period. None of them could identify something that they could have eaten or drank after reports that the learners might have eaten “space cookies”. The incident was similar to one at St Boniface High School two weeks ago where the school had to be dismissed due to…

Neville Motlhabakwe neville.motlhabakwe@inl.co.za PROVINCIAL cricket team, the NC Heat will be cautious not to make the same bowling mistakes they made in their last match when they host the Mpumalanga Rhinos at the Diamond Oval in a CSA 4-Day Domestic Series match next weekend. Mark Charlton NC Heat head coach and assistant coach Deon Carolus were hard at work with the team at the nets yesterday helping the players fine-tune their bowling and batting technique. Looking back at the last game against SWD, Charlton said that game was not their best. “Unfortunately we didn’t play great cricket. We batted pretty well (but) unfortunately our bowling let us down,” he told the DFA. “On top of that SWD had a very good innings anchored by a solid performance from Leus Du…