Ghost Employee Scam Lands Mpumalanga Trio in Court

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed a series of arrests, convictions and asset preservation orders linked to fraud in the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS), with more than R27 million in stolen public funds now either recovered or safeguarded.

The developments come as authorities intensify efforts to crack down on widespread corruption linked to COVID-19 relief funding that was meant to support struggling workers and businesses during the pandemic.

In the largest case, three suspects appearedREAD MORE

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has defended South Africa’s continued investment in oil, gas and mining development, warning Parliament that global instability and energy insecurity posed a direct threat to the country’s economic recovery.

Tabling Budget Vote 34 for the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) in Parliament on Tuesday, Mantashe announced that the department had been allocated R2.86 billion for the 2026/27 financial year to support mining regulation, exploration, rehabilitation projects and petroleum development initiatives.

AddressingREAD MORE

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has welcomed the swift suspension of a prosecutor accused of contempt of court after his dramatic failure to appear in the high-profile extortion and money laundering case involving Mpumalanga taxi boss Madoda Johannes Sibanyoni and three co-accused.

The prosecutor was convicted of contempt of court at the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday after failing to arrive for the continuation of the accused’s bail application. The magistrate subsequently issued a warrant of arrest against the prosecutor, triggeringREAD MORE

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) — The Temple of Heaven in the heart of Beijing has long stood as a symbol of the ancient Chinese belief in harmony between heaven and earth.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday visited the more than 600-year-old architectural complex. Trump concluded his state visit to China and departed for Washington on Friday.

During their visit to the Temple of Heaven, Xi explained to Trump that in ancient times, state ritualsREAD MORE

A Facebook post in April 2026 by a Limpopo singing star to celebrate a professorship conferred by a church body reportedly without legal authority to do so has been met with uncomplimentary responses, with an author and academic decrying the incident as an ‘easy way to glory’.

Caught in the centre of the doctorate conferment storm is Bennet Skheto Baloyi, also known as Benny Mayengani. Mayengani stirred a storm on Facebook on Saturday, April 18, 2026.

The post uploadedREAD MORE

Businessman and political fixer Brown Mogotsi will spend more days behind bars after the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court postponed his case to next week for further investigations linked to his bail application.

Mogotsi appeared in court on Monday, facing a string of charges arising from what investigators now allege was a staged assassination attempt in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, last year.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Mogotsi is facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging aREAD MORE

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze says the club’s goalkeeper, Brandon Petersen, deserves to go to the FIFA World Cup.

South Africa will be participating in the global showpiece and will face co-host Mexico in the opening match of the tournament on 11 June.

Bafana Bafana mentor Hugo Broos will announce the squad on 27 May, and Kaze believes Petersen has done enough to get the nod.

“I just wish to seeREAD MORE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has intensified pressure on the City of Ekurhuleni to suspend embattled City Manager Kagiso Lerutla, warning that it will pursue legal action should the municipality fail to act.

A small group of DA supporters gathered outside municipal offices on Monday morning, wearing blue party T-shirts and carrying placards reading “Ekurhuleni is a crime scene” and “Justice for Ekurhuleni” as Lerutla prepared to return to work following a period of special leave.

The DA arguesREAD MORE

As the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, China-U.S. ties impact not only bilateral trade and economic exchanges, but also global market confidence and the stability of industrial and supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region, said Bruce McLaughlin, CEO of Sinogie Consulting Group, Australia.

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) — The high-profile meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in China’s capital has been lauded by global institutions, experts and media practitioners as a powerful boostREAD MORE

Botswana’s Tariq Babitseng has been elected unopposed as the new president of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), alongside a new Executive Committee to drive football development in the coming years.

COSAFA concluded its 2026 Elective General Assembly (EGA) in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Sunday, 17 May, with Babitseng taking over the reins.

Babitseng assumes leadership of the regional football body from outgoing President Said Ali Said Athouman following the EGA, where Member Associations (MAs) gathered to participate inREAD MORE