From concert crime to recession: The five biggest stories of the week
Image: Masi Losi
1. Global Citizen crime chaos
The highly anticipated international event dominated headlines, as many stakeholders pledged billions of rands towards socio-economic issues on the continent, such as education, sanitation and hunger.
The event’s greatest catch was the star-studded line-up, which lured about 65,000 people to FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday, December 2. They included Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Usher, Pharrell, Chris Martin and Cassper Nyovest. The festival was hosted by international acts like Trevor Noah, Oprah Winfrey and Naomi Campbell.
The night was, however, overshadowed by chaos, as concert-goers were subjected to violent crimes in which people were mugged and harassed at gun and knifepoint.
Hundreds of attendees were involved in a stampede at the Sasol garage in Nasrec, as many were attacked and harassed, and phones and bags stolen.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele said 15 people had been arrested and admitted that police could have provided a better response on the night.
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2. Loadshedding
The country’s power utility has implemented power cuts in full force.
Eskom said the main reason for load-shedding was the lack of generating capacity, which left business owners concerned about supply during the festive season.
Power cuts hit the bail hearing of those implicated in the Vlakfontein murder, as well as parliament.
3. The NPA head
After a series of public interviews, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced the new National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Shamila Batohi was appointed as Shaun Abrahams’ successor, after he was axed.
Batohi was one of 11 interviewees for the job.
The new NPA boss previously headed the National Prosecuting Authoring in KwaZulu-Natal and also served as a legal adviser to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Billionaire Johann Rupert sat down with chairman of MSG Afrika Investment Holdings Given Mkhari for the second annual Chairman’s Conversation on Tuesday night.
The interview took a turn for the worse, as some members of the audience and viewers felt Rupert had made several racial remarks during the interview.
The billionaire received a backlash for making tribal jokes and criticising the spending patterns of black youth.
“I don’t see your age group going to jail for two, nearly three, decades. You’ll miss The Sands,” he said.
According to Sowetan, Rupert issued an apology on Twitter, saying: “No insult was intended.”
5. SA is out of recession
South Africa’s gross domestic product rose by 2.2% in the third quarter, after slipping into a recession in the second quarter of the year.
The growth in GDP was mainly driven by the manufacturing sector, by 7.5%, while the transport, storage and communication industry expanded by 5.7% .
According to the Reserve Bank, annual growth is expected to be 0.6%.