Sihle Mavuso presents the latest news from KwaZulu-Natal.
Nongoma – MEC for social development Mbali Shinga is due in Nongoma tomorrow to meet with a family (surname withheld to protect victims) of which three young girls were allegedly raped by a relative, leaving them with deep emotional scars. The girls are aged four, five and seven and the relative allegedly raped them early this year. Shinga will lead a team of social workers.
Ladysmith – The Klipriver Taxi Association has indefinitely halted its strike, which was due to begin today by pulling taxis off the road. The taxi drivers wanted to voice their anger regarding the recent murder of Martin Ndlovu – a driver who was killed on Saturday morning on his way to work. His death is believed to be linked to the ongoing taxi violence in the area that has claimed the lives of drivers, taxi owners and their relatives.
Umkhomazi – Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpershon will tomorrow visit the Lower Umkhomazi Bulk Water Scheme to assess its progress. The project, intended to supply water in major urban areas like Durban, Port Shepstone and Pietermaritzburg, has been disrupted several times by construction mafias extorting money from service providers. Some officials from Umngeni-uThukela Water have been threatened with death for refusing to bow to the pressure of the mafias.
Colenso – The Uthukela district municipality says fresh tests in the Bergville and Colenso water treatment plants have shown that there is no e-coli infection as previously assumed. The municipality says the death of fish in a canal in Bergville was due to extreme heat, not contamination. As a result, the notice to residents of the two areas to boil water before use has been withdrawn.
Durban – The SAPS says last month alone 313 illegal guns were confiscated during raids. During those raids 5,000 bullets were seized and 11,003 suspects were nabbed. Out of these suspects, 191 were wanted for murder cases while 204 were wanted for rape; 45 of those suspects were wanted for business robberies while 55 of them were wanted for house robberies.
