The wife of a man who was killed in a fatal shooting following a violent road rage incident in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, could be charged for handing a gun to her husband during an argument.
Human rights lawyer and director of civil society Accountability Now, Advocate Paul Hoffman, said she could ...
Ngwathe Local Municipality has disconnected electricity supply to the under-construction Parys Prison over an unpaid municipal debt, in a move aimed at enforcing payment compliance by the correctional facility. According to the municipality, the construction site has been using municipal electricity in a questionable manner, with internal wiring in occupied buildings failing to comply with South African National Standards (SANS). Executive Mayor Cllr Victoria De Beer-Mthombeni said the municipality’s technical team uncovered unusually high electricity usage at the Parys Prison construction site during an ongoing audit of electricity consumption among large businesses, entities and institutions. She said the site had been using electricity without being billed, prompting the municipality to disconnect supply on Thursday in order to protect municipal revenue and ensure public safety for nearby residents and workers on the project. “Government departments collectively owe the municipality more than R250 million. Notices were issued in October last year, and only R8.8 million has been paid, which undermines our Credit Control Policy,” De Beer-Mthombeni said. “Correctional Services was disconnected after we had also disconnected large alcohol-selling outlets for similar cases of unauthorised electricity consumption that compromised our revenue collection and service delivery.” However, Department of Correctional Services (DCS) national spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo rejected the municipality’s claims, insisting that there was no blackout at the facility. Speaking to Journal News, Nxumalo said allegations of a total power outage were false and misleading. “The facility is currently under construction and is functioning as normal. The site was handed over to a contractor several years ago, therefore there is no outstanding bill as claimed,” he said. A complete power outage at a correctional facility would pose a serious national security and safety risk, potentially compromising perimeter security, disrupting communication systems and triggering unrest. “For now, the official word from Correctional Services is clear: despite the claimed debt, the lights are on, the fences are electrified, and the facility remains under secure control,” he said.
