VEHICLE SUSPECTED OF ROBBERIES SIGHTED IN VOSLOORUS AND CHASED INTO NGUNI HOSTEL
On Saturday, 15 June around 9am, the EMPD SWAT and Community Liaison (CLU) units acted upon information received about a white Nissan bakkie allegedly responsible for a spate of robberies in the area that resulted in the arrests of three suspects and the recovery of an unlicensed firearm. The arrests were effected following a high speed chase in the streets of Vosloorus that ended at the Nguni hostel.
The EMPD SWAT and CLU members in two vehicles sighted the vehicle and the three occupants of the Nissan bakkie disregarded the metro police instructions to stop and a high speed ensued. The suspects were eventually cornered within the premises of Nguni hostel where the driver jumped out of the vehicle with firearm in hand taking cover behind his vehicle and pointing the firearm at the metro police. The metro police reacted swiftly by wounding the suspect in the knee before he could fire his gun.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the Nissan bakkie was hijacked in Mpumalanga Province in January this year. The wounded suspect was transported to Tembisa hospital for medical attention while the other two suspects were detained at Vosloorus police station.
Duduza unfinished taxi rank turned into a bush
The taxi rank that is not yet finished is now stuck and bushy, it was forcefully built after the taxi drivers indicated that they did not want it. The place is now dirty and full of bush which may soon be Nyaope smoking zone like the rank in Nala (it has been years since they had that rank but it’s not been occupied ever since it was built.) This place needs to be attended to because there is a school near it and it will put children in danger if it us not used for its rightful purpose. One can’t even tell what is happening inside that bush as nobody can see through it. People feel like the money that wad used to build another rank that is not operational should have done something more beneficial for a community, such as a shopping centre or education centre. Residents feel that money is wasted on things that are unnecessary to the community, instead of things that are more important. The rank has been there for some time and there is no sign of it being completed. The big question is, “When will duduza improve like other places?” The community members fear for their lives now that it’s winter and it’s too dark, it is difficult for one to see criminals hiding in there waiting for a victim to show up.
The residents requested that the place be cleaned up because they feel that it is pointless to have it while it is dirty and not being utilised for its rightful purpose. There are no security guards employed to watch the place and ensure that it is safe if it’s going to be occupied anytime soon. Duduza is one of the areas that are struck by high crime, therefore with increasing kidnappings and killings, the unfinished rank could be used as a hideout for thieves as well as kidnappers. “We as the community urge the municipality and ward Mayor to do something with that place as soon as possible, our lives are in danger, we have people who go to work early while it’s dark, and others work till late and they have to pass there near that rank; we want to have a safe environment, and the rank near the main road is not safe. How long will it take for this suburb to improve like others? we lacking a lot of useful things, they should have used the money to built a proper sports ground as it was before they turned it into a forest” said an unhappy resident in anonymity. The community members are not happy at all with how this taxi rank has turned out. The community indicated that it is time that they fight and say “enough is enough”, as they want to see Duduza making a difference. They believe that if they don’t stand up for themselves no one will know of their worries and respect their rights.
The Cell-c Inspired Take a Gil Child to Work Day Benefits Ekurhuleni Beneficiaries
This year’s version of “Take a Girl Child To Work Day” took place on the 30th May 2019 and it proved an opportunity for a lifelong learning exposure for some 200 girl-children across three Ekurhuleni townships, Tembisa, Daveyton and Etwatwa. There were two organisations that the girls were destined to visit namely the South African Air Force and Hensoldt Optronics.
The rationale for having the day is to assist the girls to believe in themselves and look beyond the issues of the patriarchal society. Some of the most vulnerable groups in our country and the world are women and girls. For this reason, girls have to change the manner in which the society is socialised on the issues of raising girl and boy children. Girls can be anything
Careers in the aviation industry and in particular in the South African Air Force were deliberated on and aspects of the process of career making decision were discussed about various careers. Most of the officers and professionals that were presenting were women for the sole objective of depicting the meaningful influence that women should and can occupy in the corporate and economic front in the country. A tour of the South African Museum was conducted and the history background of the air forces was also narrated.
Hensoldt Optronics is a multinational company, 30% owned by the State Owned Enterprise Denel, and one of only three companies in the whole world to manufacture the optronic products they do. This tell you that it has technology and the know-how that is rare and scare the wold over, as such it trains and owns intellectual Property that is sought after. Unity and Dinoto secondary schools were but two of the schools that benefited by having their pupils there. The local NGO, RGM School of Excellence, facilitated these excursions and the transportation was sponsored by the Kempton Park based company Trollope Mining Services.
Two Trucks burst into flames after a crash on N3 freeway
Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) crews from Zonkizizwe, Hlahatsi and Wadeville fire stations, battled the flames of two articulate trucks after the crash on the N3 freeway south bound before Petroport just outside Vosloorus in Ekurhuleni.
In the early evening around 19:10, Tuesday the 04th June 2019, a fleet of four fire engines responded simultaneously from different fire stations to the incident of a truck tanker and a container truck which were reported to be engulfed by flames. A Rescue pumper, Major industrial pumper and two Water Tankers, all responded to the scene.
On arrival, the two truck horses were already crumbling because of the extent heat from the fire. Both drivers, escaped without any harm. Active firefighting was initiated, and blaze was contained and extinguished without further damage.
On preliminary investigations, one driver who was found on scene stated that, thick smoke emitted from the grass fire burning along the freeway was blown across the road, obscuring their vision and subsequently, that led to the crash.
As per information on scene, the trucks burst into flames because of the ruptured fuel tanks from both trucks that led the diesel fuel to flow downstream to the burning grass. Backburn took place and led both trucks to be engulfed by flames.
Traffic had to be diverted onto the opposite side of the freeway, allowing one lane south and one lane north. The road was closed for the duration of the rehabilitation processes.
City of Ekurhuleni traffic officials are investigating the actual cause of the crash.
MERGENCY NUMBERS:
10177 : National Toll-Free Number
112 : Cell Phone Emergency Line
(011) 458- 0911 : Life Threatening Ekurhuleni Emergency Line
Bloody weekend in Ekurhuleni roads
Only until Saturday evening, seven lives were lost due road crashes and two others due to gun shot wounds in different incidents around the City of Ekurhuleni.
It all started on Friday morning the 31st May 2019 on the N17 freeway east bound, Osborn road on ramp when two light motor vehicles crashed resulting with two passengers being killed on scene. An alleged stationary pick-up truck “Bakkie” with nine occupants was apparently packed on an emergency lane when another one came from behind and crashed on it hurting seven passengers and instantly killing two others.
The freeway had to be closed for the duration of the operation. One of the four critically injured patients had to be flown to Sunshine hospital in Benoni by medical Helicopter. The others were road transported by ambulances to the same hospital.
Saturday afternoon the 1st June 2019 at around 16:49, a multiple shooting case was reported at Vegieland shopping centre, Klippoortjie park in Germiston. When paramedics and law enforcement units arrived on scene, two adults, a male and a female were found lying motionless on the floor inside SPAR supermarket.
Information on site states that there was a robbery that took place and the suspects short randomly and instantly killing the two adults alleged to be the shoppers.
The two were declared dead on scene and the scene was handed over to the police for further investigations.
At around 18:10, a fatal crash happened on R103 road northbound Mapleton Boksburg near Flanagan road turn off. Four vehicles were involved in crash, instantly killing three adult males.
Three light motor vehicles and apparently a minibus as well which wasn’t found on scene, were all part of the crash.
Apparently, VW GOLF had mechanical breakdown and was manually pushed by two of its passengers. Ford fiesta came from behind and crashed onto it, instantly killing the two and their driver. JAWS OF Life had to be used to recover the deceased driver behind the steering wheel.
The driver of the ford fiesta was with the two years old toddler in the vehicle and both were transported to Clinix private hospital in Vosloorus with serious injuries. The third vehicle, Toyota conquest with four occupants, had minor damages and all its four occupants escaped with minor injuries. A minibus wasn`t found on scene though information states that it was involved with minor damages and with no casualties.
Just couple of minutes thereafter, about four hundred meters away from the initial crash, another two light motor vehicles “a sedan VW Polo and VW GOLF” crash took place. It was on the same road where R103 meets with Luvuyo street in Mapleton Boksburg.
One adult female passenger was declared dead on scene, two others, an adult female driver and a male passenger, both sustained serious injuries. In the Golf, there were two occupants who as well sustain serious injuries. All the four injured from both vehicles were medically treated on scene before transportation to Sunshine hospital in Benoni.
Rescue teams from both incidents had to use Jaws of Life equipment to recover the deceased stuck from ruined vehicles in both crashes.
Another crash took place in Primrose Oak street where a biker lost control of his bike and crashed to death. Primrose rescue crews responded promptly to the scene and on arrival, they found a male biker aged around 20 years of age lying lifelessly on the road. Unfortunately, on assessment and treatment, the patient was declared dead on scene by paramedics.
The three fatal crashes are under City of Ekurhuleni`s traffic officers` investigations.
Around 20:26 the same Saturday evening, an articulate truck was torched on R554 east bound near Rondebult bird sanctuary in Klippoortjie Park. Fire fighters from Alberton, Tokoza including Wadeville fire stations, responded out with four fire engines for intervention. Two industrial pumpers and two water tankers to extinguish the well alight vehicle.
Police had to be called as members of Buhle Park community came in numbers to help themselves with the groceries from the huge trailer. That hampered the smooth operations of the fire fighters hence police had to be called to enforcement the law.
As per information received on scene, the truck was hijacked and torched after the driver was assaulted and left at the point of hijacking which is alleged to have been around Roodekop industrial area Germiston.
The road had to be closed for the duration of the operation.
MERGENCY NUMBERS:
10177 : National Toll-Free Number
112 : Cell Phone Emergency Line
(011) 458- 0911 : Life Threatening Ekurhuleni Emergency Line
SCAM ALERT! DO NOT GET ROBBED
The City of Ekurhuleni warns the public to be aware of multiple types of scams that have been carrying on in the name of the City for the past few months. The City has been inundated with complaints from unsuspecting victims who have been defrauded of their hard-earned cash. To date, more than 20 people have been defrauded of over R2 million through these scams.
The most popular scam by the scammers is one that is formulated around a fake tender for waste wheelie bins.
The perpetrators of this criminal act send possible service providers an appointment letter bearing the City’s logo together with the fraudulently generated order number purported to come from the City. Service providers are thereafter requested to deposit a certain amount of money and they are told to deliver the 260L wheelie bins at 47 Van Buuren Road in Bedfordview.
In other scams, targeted victims are requested to participate in a tender for supply and delivery of electrical mobile metering devices for technicians. Ratepayers are also targeted by being issued with fake letters of water supply termination due to alleged meter tampering and subsequently requested to pay a “spot fine” for reconnection or retention of services.
Grand-in-Aid applicants are requested to pay R2 500 to fast-track processing of their applications.
Job applicants have also been targeted to pay money for their applications to be processed.
The City informs all Grand-in-Aid and job applicants that applications for Grand-in-Aid are handled and processed free of charge and all job vacancies and applications are done online through the City’s website – www.ekurhuleni.gov.za.
The following pointers provided below may assist to differentiate scammers from legit communication by the City:
* The name of the City is City of Ekurhuleni, not Ekurhuleni Municipality;
* Landlines in the City have the 999 prefix;
* The email address for staff is: persons’name.surname@ekurhuleni.gov.za and not XXX@ekurhuleni-gov.org or any other variation; and
* The tender office of the City is NOT situated at 47 Van Buuren Road, Bedfordview.
The City urges companies and individuals to be very vigilant and to verify information on the website (www.ekurhuleni.gov.za).
To confirm the authenticity of quotations or tenders, contact details are available on the City’s website. Bidders can contact Hannes.vSchalkwyk@ekurhuleni.gov.za or Siphokazi.Xokozela@ekurhuleni.gov.za.
Report fraud and corruption on 0800 102 201.
SAMWU Statement on 6th Administration Cabinet Announcement
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) notes and welcomes the Cabinet as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the 29th May. Weparticularly welcome the decision by the President to heed calls from all corners of South Africa by reducing the Cabinet size from 36 to 28.
We also welcome the incisiveness of the Cabinet in terms of gender and generational mix. As the President correctly said, this is the first time that women make up 50% Cabinet of composition. This is a clear indication of the faith that the President has in women leadership and that of young people.
We further welcome the commitment by the President that he will be signing performance agreements with all Ministers. We believe that Ministers should be held accountable for failure to deliver on priorities of government and as such, this performance agreements should be used as a tool in quantifying their performance or failure thereof.
SAMWU in particular congratulates and welcome the appointment of Minister Nkosazana-Dlamini Zuma and her deputies, Parks Tau and Obed Bapela in theCooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Department. We believe that the inclusion of Parks Tau who is a former City of Johannesburg Mayor will add value to the department as municipalities are collapsing without being provided with the necessary attention and supportthey so much need from the national government.
First on the agenda of COGTA should be to ensure that the department intervenes in Amahlathi Municipality in the Eastern Cape which has written to workers informing them that they will not be paid their salaries for May and June, indicating that the next time municipal workers receive their salaries will be the end of July 2019. Essentially the municipality is requesting workers to render their labour for two months without pay.
The non-payment of salaries in full and on time is one of the challenges faced by municipal workers on the 25th of every month. We want the department to ensure that people are held liable for not paying municipalworkers on time, while third parties such as medical aid, pension funds and funeral policies are months in arrears.
We are interested in seeing municipalities which are functional and fulfilling their constitutional mandate of delivering services to South Africans. We will, therefore, be writing to the new Minister seeking a meeting on the state of the country’s municipalities and providing solutions on how they can be salvaged in the interest of service deliveryfor all South Africans.
We will also be seeking a meeting with both COGTA and the new Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni before he begins to draft the budget to ensure that municipalities are prioritized in terms of equitable share. Municipalitiesare expected to deliver services to almost 60 million South Africans on less than 10% of government expenditure. This has resulted in the challenges which we see in municipalities, challenges which are financial in nature.
We will further be urging the department to ensure that municipalities no longer deliver services using programmes such as Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) and tenders for functions which are competencies of municipalities. We want municipalities to employ people permanently are direct without using such programmes as they are exploitative in nature and do not fundamentally change the lives of EPWP participants who areperforming the same functions as those permanently employed by municipalities.
We wish all Ministers and their deputies well in their newly found responsibilities. The expectations from South Africans are huge, we, however, believe that the men and women appointed by the President are equal to the task. South Africans want to see fundamental changes in theirlives, they want to see a government that works and delivers services.
*Issued by SAMWU Secretariat *
STATEMENT ON APPOINTMENT OF CABINET
The Presidency has noted media reports that President Ramaphosa is expected to announce the members of the new executive tomorrow, Monday 27 May 2019.
The Presidency wishes to advise that the announcement will be made later in the week.
The Constitution of the Republic stipulates that the President must assume office within five days of being elected by the National Assembly – and thereafter appoint a Cabinet and assign its powers and functions.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is emphatic that the new executive must possess requisite skills, experience, representivity and a commitment to the public services that will take the work of the 6th administration forward.
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
25 MAY 2019
TSHWANE
Your Majesties, Kings and Queens,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Chairperson of SADC and President of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob,
Former President Thabo Mbeki and Mrs Mbeki,
Former President Kgalema Motlanthe and Mrs Motlanthe,
Former President FW de Klerk and Mrs De Klerk,
All former Heads of State and Government,
Chairpersons of the African Union and African Union Commission,
Distinguished representatives of respective countries and of international organisations,
Speaker of the National Assembly,
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces,
The Chief Justice of the Republic,
Premiers, MECs and Mayors,
Members of Parliament,
Leaders of political parties,
Religious and traditional leaders,
Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Veterans of our struggle,
Distinguished Guests,
Fellow South Africans,
I stand before you having just taken the oath to be President of our beautiful country South Africa.
I am humbled by the trust you have bestowed upon me, aware of the challenges our country faces, but also alive to the fact that our people are filled with hope for a better tomorrow.
We gather here on the day that the people of our continent celebrate the unity of Africa.
It is a day of friendship, solidarity and cooperation.
It is a day on which we reaffirm our common commitment to an Africa that is at peace, that is prosperous and that promises a better existence for its people.
As South Africa, we are honoured and deeply humbled by the presence here of leaders from across the African continent.
Your Excellencies,
We are profoundly grateful to you for choosing to celebrate Africa Day among us, giving further poignancy to South Africa’s transformation from a pariah state to a full and valued member of the family of African nations.
We also recognise with appreciation those countries from other continents who have joined us today.
We remain eternally grateful to all nations represented here for the sacrifices and tireless contributions by your people and governments to the liberation of our land.
Today, we reaffirm our determination to work with our sisters and brothers across the continent to realise the African Union’s vision of Agenda 2063.
To build the Africa that we all Africans want.
To forge a free trade area that stretches from Cape Town to Cairo, bringing growth and opportunity all African countries.
To silence the guns and let peace and harmony reign.
Today, we declare that our progress as South Africa depends on – and cannot be separated from – the onward march of our beloved continent Africa.
Esteemed Guests,
Fellow South Africans,
Twenty-five years have passed since that glorious morning on which Nelson Rolihahla Mandela was sworn in as the first President of a democratic South Africa.
In the passage of that time, our land has known both seasons of plenty and times of scarcity.
Our people have felt the warm embrace of liberty.
They have rejoiced at the affirmation of their essential and equal humanity.
They have found shelter and sustenance.
They have found opportunity and purpose.
As the shackles of oppression have fallen away, they have felt their horizons widen and their lives improve in a myriad ways.
But they have also known moments of doubt.
They have felt the cold shadow of a past so cruel and iniquitous that it has at times threatened to eclipse the very achievement of their hard-won freedom.
Despite our most earnest efforts, many South Africans still go to bed hungry, many succumb to diseases that can be treated, many live lives of intolerable deprivation. Too many of our people do not work especially the youth.
In recent times, our people have watched as some of those in whom they had invested their trust have surrendered to the temptation of power and riches.
They have seen some of the very institutions of our democracy eroded and resources squandered.
The challenges that we face are real.
But they are not insurmountable.
They can be solved. And we are going to solve them.
In the face of all these challenges our people have remained resolute, resilient, unwavering in their desire for a better South Africa.
Through the irrefutable power of the ballot on 8 May, South Africans declared the dawn of a new era.
They have chosen hope over hopelessness, they have opted for unity over conflict and divisions.
As we give effect to their mandate, we draw comfort from the knowledge that that which unites us is far, far more powerful and enduring than that which divides us.
Despite our differences, despite a past of conflict and division and bitterness, despite the fierce political contestation among 48 political parties in recent months, we share the same hopes and fears, the same anxieties and aspirations.
We all want our children to have lives that are better than our own, to have work that is dignified and rewarding.
We are bound together by our determination that never again shall the adversities of our past be visited on the people of this land.
This is a defining moment for our young nation.
Today is the choice of history.
It is a time for us to make the future we yearn for.
It is through our actions now that we will determine our destiny.
South Africans want action and not just words and promises.
And there will be action.
It is through our actions now that we will give form to the society for which so many have fought and sacrificed and for which all of us yearn.
All South Africans yearn for a society defined by equality, by solidarity, by a shared humanity.
They yearn for a society in which our worth is determined by how we value others.
It is a society guided by the fundamental human principle that says: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. Motho ke motho ka batho.
Muthu ndi muthu nga vhangwe vhathu.
Munhu yi munhu yi vanhu.
Our Constitution – the basic law of our land – continues to guide our way even at the darkest hour.
As a nation we therefore can no longer abide the grave disparities of wealth and opportunity that have defined our past and which threaten to imperil our future.
It is our shared will – and our shared responsibility – to build a society that knows neither privilege nor disadvantage.
It is a society where those who have much are willing to share with those who have little.
It is a society where every person, regardless of race or sex or circumstance, may experience the fundamental necessities of a decent, dignified life.
Today, let us declare before the esteemed witnesses gathered here that such a South Africa is possible.
Let us declare our shared determination that we shall end poverty in South Africa within a generation.
Let us declare that when we gather to celebrate the 50th year of our freedom there shall no longer be any person in this land who is unable to meet their basic needs.
That there should be no child who goes hungry.
Every school child will be able to read, and every person who wants to work will have a reasonable opportunity to find employment.
As we make this bold declaration, we are aware of the depth of the challenges we must confront.
We are aware of the debilitating legacy of our past, nor the many difficulties of the present.
To achieve the South Africa we want will demand an extraordinary feat of human endeavour.
The road ahead will be difficult.
We will have to use our courage, wisdom and perseverance to achieve the South Africa we want.
It will require an ambition that is rare.
Like our forebears who gathered so many years ago on a piece of veld in Kliptown to declare that the people shall govern, let us aspire to a future beyond the probable.
Let our reach extend beyond our grasp.
Let our gaze stretch beyond the horizon.
Let us – as we embark on this new era – mobilise our every resource and summon our every capability to realise the vision of our founding mothers and fathers.
Let us forge a compact – not merely as business and labour, not as those who govern and those who are governed – but as citizens and patriots of this great nation, free and equal and resolute.
Let us forge a compact for growth and economic opportunity, for productive lands and viable communities, for knowledge, for innovation, and for services that are affordable, accessible and sustainable.
Let us forge a compact for an efficient, capable and ethical state, a state that is free from corruption, for companies that generate social value and propel human development, for elected officials and public servants who faithfully serve no other cause than that of the public.
We must be a society that values excellence, rewards effort and hard work and rejects mediocrity.
We must be a society that values its young people by creating a conducive environment for them to gain skills and be productively employed to develop our country.
Let us celebrate the great strides we have made – demonstrated so clearly in the incoming Parliament – to raise the prominence and contribution of women in public life.
Let us work together to fundamentally, and forever, change the relations of power between men and women.
Let us end the dominion that men claim over women, the denial of opportunity, the abuse and the violence, the neglect, and the disregard of each person’s equal rights.
Let us build a truly non-racial society, one that belongs to all South Africans, and in which all South Africans belong.
Let us build a society that protects and values those who are vulnerable and who for too long have been rendered marginal.
A society where disability is no impediment, where there is tolerance, and where no person is judged on their sexual orientation, where no person suffers prejudice because of the colour of their skin, the language of their birth or their country of origin.
Let us preserve our natural resources for future generations, as we work with greater purpose to end the human destruction of our world.
On this Africa Day, on the day that our nation enters a new era of hope and renewal, we recall and celebrate that Africa is the birthplace of humanity.
We recall that it was around 100,000 years ago that a small group of some of the first humans set foot beyond the continent.
With them they took a sense of perseverance and a talent for innovation which enabled them to progressively occupy every corner of the world.
Humanity has achieved a great deal over the intervening millennia and all by virtue of talents which evolved in Africa.
Africa is poised once again to rise, to assume its place among the free and equal nations of the world. We must use that innovative talent that originated in Africa to embrace and use the fourth Industrial Revolution to develop Africa and create jobs for the youth and empower the women of our continent.
Africa is poised to realise the vision of Pixley ka Isaka Seme more than a century ago, when he said:
“The brighter day is rising upon Africa.
“Already I seem to see her chains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest, her Abyssinia and her Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities.
“Her Congo and her Gambia whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth the hum of business, and all her sons [and daughters] employed in advancing the victories of peace – greater and more abiding than the spoils of war.”
It is to this brighter day that we now turn our eyes, to a vista rich with the hues of hope and promise.
It is you, the people of South Africa, who have spoken.
With your votes you have placed your confidence and your trust in the men and women who now sit in our sixth democratic Parliament.
These 490 men and women whom you have sent to Parliament seem to have heard the same call that the Lord made to Isaiah when He said: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
They have now said, send us. They have said Thuma Thina.
You have chosen them to safeguard your rights, to improve your lives and to build a country that is united, strong and truly free.
You, the people of South Africa, have sent them, and you have sent me, as your President.
Having taken the oath of office I am saying yes, South Africa Thuma Mina.
And I pledge here today that I will serve you, I will work with you, side by side, to build the South Africa that we all want and deserve.
A new era has dawned in our country.
A brighter day is rising upon South Africa and upon our beloved continent, Africa.
Nkosi Sikelel’ Afrika.
I thank you
Three vehicle crash, two killed on scene.
Two passengers were declared dead on scene and fifteen others hospitalised this morning after three vehicles were involved in crash at N12 freeway, Snake road off Benoni, Ekurhuleni.
City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) rescue team from Rynfield fire station, responded swiftly to the scene after receiving the call around 07:30 this morning.
On arrival, a water tanker truck with a driver only, Hatchback light motor vehicle with two occupants and a minibus taxi with seventeen occupants, driver inclusive, were involved in a crash.
A taxi was found lying on its side with multiple patients still trapped inside. Specialised rescue tools had to be used to free the trapped patients from the wreckage prior transportation to medical facilities.
Two patients from the taxi were declared dead on scene by paramedics, seventeen others from all three vehicles were transported to nearby medical facilities by various ambulance services for further medical care.
Snake road in both directions had to be closed for traffic for the duration of the operation till 12:15 when it was reopened again.
The cause of the crash is undetermined and still under investigations by City of Ekurhuleni Traffic Officers.
2019 Elections’ results travelled 46 000km through Telkom data network
Mr. Mooketsi Mocumi – Telkom head of group communication
Photo: Refilwe Mabote
By Refilwe Mabote
The Telkom and IEC technical had a partnership around 2019 Elections, which saw the results from voting stations around South Africa travelling almost 46 000 kilometres to IEC Results Operation Centre (ROC) in Tshwane, using the network of fibre cables and satellite solutions. Telkom Head of Group Communications, Mooketsi Mocumi, confirmed that the company had installed high level security and verification processes to ensure that the data is secure. The network includes a mixture of fibre and satellite-to-fibre systems. The IEC spokesperson, Kate Bapela, indicated the first results from some of the 23 000 polling stations, were expected to arrive at the ROC by 11pm on Wednesday night.
Telkom made it possible for local journalists to report live at IEC ROC, as they invited over 15 local media houses to be part of the event. Ekurhuleni News was amongst those who had an opportunity to experience the treat, represented by Refilwe Mabote (Last at the back) – who is one of our journalists. She said that the experience was indescribable as it allowed the young journalists to grow and motivated them to stay persistent in journalism. She believes that everyone who attended was at the right place at the right time, and further highlighted that they worked together with other big names in the media industry, given equal opportunities to interview well-known politicians, such as The Honourable Gwede Mantashe and Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. The politicians indicated that they were pleased to see that local media houses were present, as it meant that all communities most had access to important information in relation to the 2019 Elections.
Telkom group Executive, Noma Faku, said, “Our main goal is to give local media houses an opportunity to get first hand quality stories live from the IEC ROC, and get access to interview the politicians that attended.” She further indicated that this year, they decided that local media should be part of the media press conferences and broadcast live, because Telkom believes that media plays a huge role in interacting with the community as well as sending the message to the people. She explained that the equal opportunity being given to local media houses allows for growth in media industry as the media houses do not have to be depended on the mainstream.
We are thankful to Telkom and IEC for granting us such a great opportunity.
RESIDENTS CAME OUT IN NUMBERS TO PUT AN X.
BY:REFILWE MABOTE
In Olievenhoutbosch ,Centurion (Pta) residents came out in numbers on election day to cast their votes at Seshego Secondary school.The queue was too long and residents waited to vote for changes.IEC Presiding Officer Charity Tau said,they expected over 20 000 people to vote on election day and the voting station was to be closed at 21:00 when everyone is done. An elderly voter Mr Elton Phiri said” I am reminded of first votes in 1994,when we were all out to cast for better life.He is happy to vote for the right party though it is full of empty promises.I am hoping for a better life,that is the reason I woke up and came to vote “he said”.The old man mentioned that he won’t stop voting as long he is alive,they suffered a lot when whites were leading the country. A new voter Sphiwe Mahlangu from Olievenhoutbosch said “i dont see any reason of not voting since i am a south African citizen,it is my right to vote for a better future.Though queue is moving too slow I will only leave when it’s all done “he said”.Sphiwe is expecting job opportunities and blame people who are chosen to lead for being greedy.People are sabotaging other people that’s why service deliveries are not progressing most of the time “he said”. Outside the voting station people were excited to vote though they lost hope,but don’t trust the opposition parties. A youth who refused to mention her name also said “I decide to vote because I’m thirsty for changes,I noticed it won’t help to complain without casting my vote.all I want is a better life as I’m staying in a shack and not working, I can’t even look for a job transport and rent is expensive “she said”.Now that political parties have been campaigning and promising us changes, I am here to do the right thing “unknown youth said”.She is confident that all we delivered after the election.it was reported that,DA Gauteng premier candidate voted in Tshwane and said “if a political party fails you,you must choose a new leader..UDM leader Bantu Holomisa voted at Arcadia Primary School in Tshwane.Thank you Telkom for being the sponsor of local community journalist 2019 elections.