Cape Town —
Arrests, But No Positive Links to Rape of Krugersdorp Women – Yet
The rape of eight women in Krugersdorp during the filming of a music video on July 28, 2022 has sent shockwaves through the country. There are conflicting reports of the number of arrests made in the case and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has said that none of those arrested can be positively linked to the crime until DNA tests are done, Eye Witness News reports. The women, along with the film crew, were accosted, allegedly by a gang of armed illegal miners. There are also reports that minor children and women were also among those arrested during the crime swoop. So far all the arrested persons can only face charges of being in the country illegally. All those arrested remain in custody and the minor children’s case has been handed to the children’s court.
Increase In Life Expectancy for South African Women and Men
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the life expectancy of men dropped by 3 years and women by four years. According to StatsSA, the life expectancy at birth for males declined from 62.3 in 2020 to 59.2 in 2021 and from 68.4 in 2020 to 64.2 for females. By 2022 there has been a rise in life expectancy at birth, estimated at 60.0 years for males and 65.6 years for females.
Eskom Not Out of the Woods With Rising Debt
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has said that Eskom’s debt needs to be dealt with as it poses a risk to the state. The minister was part of a cluster of ministers who addressed the media on combating rolling power cuts. The minister said that Eskom had not asked for money yet but the utility’s debt was unsustainable. “If it is unsustainable, it poses a risk to the sovereign. To avoid that sovereign risk, the sovereign has to step in. That principle is kind of agreed. We’ll be going to the Cabinet lekgotla on September 1 with a proposal to deal with that issue,” Godongwana said. Assistance for Eskom to the tune of R2 billion was discussed, however Eskom indicated that R8 billion had already been given to its maintenance division, the minister said.