For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: President deploys 880 SANDF members to protect power stations; Ex-Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad defends successor; And, former Presidency DG to head intervention in embattled eThekwini metro

President deploys 880 SANDF members to protect power stations

The Presiding Officers of Parliament have received President Cyril Ramaphosa’s authorisation of 880 South African Defence Force members to assist the South African Police Service to prevent and combat crime and preserve law and order in the country under Operation Prosper.

On Saturday Ramaphosa announced the deployment of soldiers to safeguard Eskom power stations across the country.

Parliament noted that SANDF members will remain in service until October 17. The deployment is expected to cost more than R146-million.

Previously, Ramaphosa deployed 2 700 soldiers to protect Eskom power stations from crime and sabotage with their contracts ending on April 17.

Ex-Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad defends successor

Former Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad has come to the defence of his successor, Kabelo Gwamanda, asking for an ethics probe to determine whether there is any truth in allegations that he ran a fraudulent funeral insurance company. 

Amad has written to council speaker Colleen Makhubele, asking her to probe Democratic Alliance councillor Mpho Phalatse and her allegations that Gwamanda was central in running a scam which defrauded people. 

Phalatse made the allegations at the weekend, a day after Gwamanda was sworn in as mayor of Johannesburg.

The DA councillor lost to Gwamanda by a significant margin. 

It was recently reported Gwamanda was linked to three registered companies - Ithemba lama Afrika, Newtown Lifestyle Radio, and PMPO General Trading and Projects.

And, former Presidency DG to head intervention in embattled eThekwini metro

Former Presidency director-general Cassius Lubisi will spearhead a Section 154 intervention in the ailing eThekwini municipality, Cogta MEC Bongiwe Nomusa Sithole-Moloi has revealed.

The KwaZulu-Natal government and the troubled eThekwini municipality was tight-lipped about or unaware of the metro's governing status until Sithole-Moloi confirmed the intervention in the legislature. 

Section 154 of the Constitution allows the national government "to support and strengthen" municipalities' capacity to handle their own affairs and their ability to perform functions.

If the municipality fails to reverse course, one of the steps it could be subjected to involves the use of Section 139, which includes putting a municipality under administration.

The municipality has been marred by a myriad of administration failures, ranging from its failure to spend grants on time; fraud allegations against the incumbent municipal manager, Musa Mbhele; bogus qualifications surrounding human resources manager Kim Makhathini; a litany of questions around service delivery, corruption and fraud cases; and an exodus of R47 billion in disinvestment, among other issues. 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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