Latest news with #R14
The South African
4 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
'Crying!': Pollards pack up, ready to return home
It's the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for Marise and Handre Pollard as they pack up their life in the UK, where the rugby star has played for Leicester Tigers for the past three years. The Springbok fly-half will return to South Africa, where he will return to his home club of the Bulls, next month. On her Instagram account, Marise Pollard – who is pregnant with her second child – revealed that she had attended her final Leicester Tigers game. 'My heart is heavy. Leicester Tigers is such a special club, and it's been a massive privilege to be part of this family. Grateful is an understatement.' In an Instagram Story, the rugby WAG revealed that she had been 'crying' over the big move' In another post, Marise – a qualified teacher – appeared more upbeat. 'All packed and ready to move!' she captioned a happy snap. It's not goodbye just yet for Leicester Tigers as Handre Pollard is expected to play in their Gallagher Premiership semi-final match against Sale Sharks on Saturday, 7 June. Handre will rejoin his old club of the Bulls on 1 July. In 2022, Handre signed a R14 million-a-year contract with the English club Leicester Tigers. This secured his spot as one of SA's highest-paid rugby players. But will he take a pay cut or earn the same at the Bulls? According to Planet Rugby, the veteran player is likely to earn 'two or three times more' than the average Springbok [around R7million a year]. He is expected to receive the same salary bracket as his club abroad and in the league of big-name Boks like Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe, and Siya Kolisi. Handre's earnings will not come from the club but from the Player of National Interest (PONI) contracts that SA Rugby pays. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Pastor Omotoso continues legal battle over cancelled crusade venue, mayor's statements in East London
The Jesus Dominion International Church in East London and Pastor Timothy Omotoso are continuing legal action against the Buffalo City metro after mayor Princess Faku ordered the cancellation of their booking at the Orient Theatre, where Omotoso was scheduled to lead a 'New Dawn' crusade. Although Pastor Timothy Omotoso has since left South Africa, Stuart Laubscher, the Nelson Mandela Bay metro based lawyer representing The Jesus Dominion International Church in East London said he was still taking instructions from his client and intended to proceed with legal action against the metro and mayor Princess Faku over the cancellation and events leading up to Omotoso's departure from the country. In April, Omotoso was released from prison after Judge Irma Schoeman acquitted him on several charges of human trafficking and sexual assault. The charges stemmed from allegations by several young female congregants, who claimed Omotoso had sexually assaulted them in a church residence in Durban. Judge Schoeman ruled that the State had failed to prove its case, citing, among other issues, its failure to properly cross-examine Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, and to lead corroborating evidence to strengthen the case of each witness. The National Prosecuting Authority has now taken the first steps to attempt to appeal this ruling and has asked for 'clarifications' on the ruling. Following his release from prison Omotoso relocated to East London where his church, Jesus Dominion International, was still active. At the beginning of May the church planned a 'New Dawn' crusade in the city led by Omotoso. For this purpose they rented the Orient Theatre in East London for R14,575. Faku, however, ordered that the booking be cancelled and said publicly that Omotoso wasn't welcome in the city. On 10 May, the second-last day of the crusade, Omotoso was arrested in a joint operation by immigration officials and the police pending his deportation. He was declared a prohibited person in South Africa. He was released from custody though to provide him with a chance to appeal this ruling, but then left the country of his own accord on 18 May. He has been banned from South Africa for five years and should he wish to return after that he must apply for his prohibition to be lifted, according to a statement by the Department of Home Affairs. Laubscher, however, said last week that Omotoso 'didn't have to leave South Africa' but did so of his own accord. He confirmed that he was awaiting instructions on how to proceed in taking legal action against the Buffalo City metro, for cancelling the church's booking and against Faku personally. He said in a letter that their case is that the municipality – including the mayor – acted outside the scope of its power by cancelling Jesus Dominion International's booking at the Orient Theatre and the church now wanted its deposit back. 'Pastor Omotoso was acquitted of all charges in the High Court in Gqeberha. The reason for his acquittal is at this stage of no importance or relevance. Under South African law he is innocent of all charges,' he said. 'The reason they advanced infringes upon our client's rights under the South African Constitution in various ways, which does not need any further explanation as it is glaringly obvious, including but not limited to their rights to religious freedom,' he added. He added that Omotoso's reputation was damaged by Faku's statements and the municipality's actions, and their contention was that the mayor and municipal officials have abused their power. 'There is a substantial claim against the municipality (and other parties) and we are just awaiting instructions to issue summons,' Laubscher said. In a letter addressed to the metro and Faku, Laubscher said the church's booking was cancelled without justification and this constituted a 'misuse of public office and authority'. 'The booking was paid for in full and received by the municipal officials in East London and was summarily cancelled by yourself and this constitutes a breach of contract,' the letter addressed to Faku reads. He added that his client wanted the reasons for the cancellation of the booking 'in writing and not via social media'.
IOL News
28-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Mayor defends water tariff increase while providing free water to vulnerable families
Left: Ilembe District Municipal Manager Sazi Mbhele, Mayor Thobani Shandu, and Director of Technical Services Ncingisa Mbole at the media briefing on Wednesday to clarify budget decisions. Image: Supplied As part of a response to the Democratic Alliance's demands for the 0% water tariff increase, the water-stricken Ilembe District Municipality has decided to supply 10,000 litres to poor households every month. In a R1.6 billion budget tabled by the district mayor, Thobani Shandu, on Tuesday, the municipality approved a revised 13% increase from 13.5%, which was initially proposed, dismissing the DA's demand as highly unreasonable. The mayor said it was not feasible not to increase the water tariff while Umngeni-Uthukela Water, which sells water to municipalities, has raised tariffs by 13%. Shandu said the municipality believes that more than 30% of the approximately 700,000 people living in the district will receive free water under the 10,000 litres cushion. The mayor said there would be a drive to encourage the poor households to register under indigent programmes so that their financial status would be assessed and be placed under the programme. 'It was impossible for us not to increase water tariffs while the water utility where we buy water from has increased. We were reasonable enough to at least increase our tariffs by the same amount. 'The DA must understand that we are a rural municipality with no less revenue collection, so we are like cities like eThekwini, which collect more residential and business rates, and those cities can easily reduce water tariffs and take money from other sources to cover water costs,' said Shandu. Out of this budget, the municipality set aside R357 million for capital projects, leaving the rest for operational costs. The municipality has a surplus of R14,6 million. Shandu said he believes the budget reflects a strong commitment to pro-poor service delivery, infrastructure development, and financial sustainability. Clarifying the qualifying criteria for free water, Shandu said all homes with a value of less than R130,000 of families with a combined monthly income of less than R50,000 will qualify for the free water programme. He added that the charges will also be capped at homes worth R5 million, meaning that even those families living in homes worth more than R5 million will not pay more than 13%. The district covers the three rural local municipalities of Ndwedwe, Mandeni, and Maphumulo as well as the semi-urban Greater KwaDukuza Municipality. In its response, the DA rejected the mayor's explanation, saying the party would force the municipality to reverse the increase through other mechanisms, including legal action. The DA's district constituency head, Sakhile Mngadi, who led the water march earlier, said the municipality's problem was irregular expenditure, which was picked up in the Auditor-General's report. Mngadi said that 15% of the budget went to fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the municipality shifts its poor financial management to the poor people by burdening them with avoidable tariff increases. [email protected]
The Citizen
27-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
R14 million in jackpots are up for grabs! Here are your PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results for 27 May 2025. Get the PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results as soon as they are drawn on The Citizen, so you can rest easy and check your tickets with confidence. Estimated jackpots for Tuesday, 27 May 2025: PowerBall jackpot: R5 million guaranteed. PowerBall Plus jackpot: R9 million estimated. PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results for Tuesday, 27 May 2025: PowerBall: 00, 00, 00, 00, 00. Powerball: 00. PowerBall Plus: 00, 00, 00, 00, 00. Powerball: 00. The winning PowerBall numbers will appear after the draw. Usually within 10 minutes of the draw. You might need to refresh the page to see the updated results. While great care has been taken to ensure accuracy, The Citizen cannot take responsibility for any error in the PowerBall or PowerBall Plus results. We suggest verifying the numbers on the National Lottery website. How much does it cost to play PowerBall? Lottery outlets close at 8.30pm on the day of a draw, which happens at 9pm. The terms and conditions may differ from other service outlets. Visit for more information. You can find the historical winning numbers for PowerBall and Lotto draws here. How much does it cost to play PowerBall? PowerBall entries cost R5 per board including VAT. PowerBall Plus costs an additional R2.50 per board. You can also play PowerBall on selected banking apps (T's & C's apply). Visit and go to the How to Play section to find out more.
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Climate
- The Citizen
Tshwane mayor blames rain for municipality not fixing potholes
Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the municipality has no excuse for delays in filling potholes because it produces its own asphalt. Tshwane Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya said rainy weather is the reason the municipality could not attend to its pothole crisis. She announced a comprehensive road resurfacing initiative targeting the city's notorious pothole problem. Speaking during the city's progress briefing at Tshwane House in Pretoria West on Thursday, Moya outlined efforts taking place in four regions – Soshanguve, Mabopane, Hammanskraal and Olievenhoutbosch. 'Every day our teams are on site dealing with the issue of potholes. And remember, as the city, we produce our own hot asphalt. So we don't have an excuse not to attend to the potholes,' Moya said. 'No excuses' for Tshwane's potholes Despite this, the mayor said the city was unable to fix potholes because of the bad weather. 'We always say to residents, the reason we couldn't catch up [to fixing potholes] was [because of] the rains. The rains have subsided, we can now go back to [repairing] the roads.' Moya said the municipality has no excuse for delays given its capacity to produce hot asphalt in-house. However, Moya claimed that despite the unfavourable weather, municipal teams have made progress in their infrastructure repair efforts since the beginning of the year. She said maintenance crews have repaired 3 698 potholes across the metropolitan area. According to the mayor, 5 711 streetlights have been fixed and 231 high-mast lights were repaired. Additionally, workers have addressed sanitation infrastructure by unblocking 4 144 sewer blockages. ALSO READ: Millions needed to fix Tshwane sinkholes Massive funding gap threatens long-term solutions The Centurion region is a particular area of concern, facing unique geological challenges that compound typical road maintenance issues. The Citizen previously reported that DA ward 65 councillor Gert Visser noted that Centurion experiences the highest concentration of sinkholes due to its location in a dolomitic area, with new formations occurring regularly. Visser explained that exceptional weather conditions have exacerbated the problem this year. The councillor criticised delays in repair work, stating that 'these potholes could have been repaired in a shorter time period, but that did not happen as hot asphalt and bitumen were not in supply due to operational and procurement issues, which are unacceptable'. Visser outlined the stark financial reality facing the city, revealing that major sinkholes in key locations remain unaddressed due to budget limitations. 'To rehabilitate all the sinkholes, in the City of Tshwane, being 60 to 70, will cost at least R720 million while the current budget is R14 million,' Visser explained. ALSO READ: Tshwane mayor under fire for downplaying pothole crisis
