By Tauhierah Salie Solomon The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape has distanced itself from calls for a national shutdown. It comes amid threats to bring the country’s roads to a halt, to get government to respond to industry concerns, particularly record fuel prices. The current coastal price of petrol is around R26 per litre and around R25 per litre of diesel. South Africans have been […]
by Tauhierah Salie The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has denied rumours that it is phasing maths and science out of schools in the province. It follows reports that thousands of students have dropped science subjects, as well as opted for Mathematics Literacy as opposed to ‘Pure’ Maths. Education experts are concerned that the country will lose valuable industry leaders, in the face of increasingly complex challenges. Speaking to VOC […]
LOCAL The South African government says it is yet to make a formal request to the United Arab Emirates for the extradition of the Gupta brothers Rajesh and Atul. This was revealed by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola in a written reply to a question from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Parliament. This is despite the fact that government announced more than a month ago that […]
LOCAL Law enforcement agencies have begun impounding several taxis that are operating illegally in George in the Southern Cape. This is in line with a court interdict obtained by the George municipality, that stipulates that any taxi driver without a valid operating licence, will be subject to immediate arrest and their vehicle will be impounded. Taxi association, CODETA, has been operating without valid permits in the town since 2019, inspite […]
INTERNATIONAL Rachid Ghannouchi, the speaker of the dissolved Tunisian parliament and leader of the Ennahda movement, appeared on Tuesday before a court in a money laundering probe, which critics have described as politically motivated. Surrounded by around 200 Ennahda activists, Ghannouchi arrived at the headquarters of the anti-terror centre smiling and gesturing a V-sign before entering the building. 'The malicious charges fall within the framework of passing a constitution that enshrines tyranny' - Rached Ghannouchi, Ennahda […]
INTERNATIONAL Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pushed against a possible Turkish military operation in northern Syria in a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, saying it would be detrimental for Turkey and the region, according to Iranian state media reports. The Turkish military has been sending reinforcements to northern Syria, especially areas near the town of Tal Rifaat, which is held by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed Kurdish militia that Turkey considers […]
INTERNATIONAL Public support for the normalisation of ties with Israel has declined sharply in three Gulf states, a survey conducted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (TWI) has found. The results of the survey, the TWI said, demonstrated that the percentage of those who view the Abraham Accords favourably in Saudi Arabia (KSA), Bahrain and the UAE has dropped. According to TWI, the new survey was compared to polling from […]
LOCAL Renowned poet and anti-apartheid activist, Don Mattera, has been laid to rest at the Heroes Acre in Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg. The journalist, writer, and activist died on Monday at the age of 87. Mattera was buried in accordance with Islamic rites. Don Mattera used art to speak to the hearts and minds of the oppressed while standing up to the oppressors. His sister Gaylina Mattera, says that Don […]
LOCAL The DA has rejected Eskom’s application to increase electricity tariffs by 32.7%, saying South Africans cannot pay more to be kept in the dark. The embattled state-owned power utility asked the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) for a tariff increase which will see households pay more for electricity during ongoing load-shedding. It said it needs “reasonable tariff increases” to address financial sustainability and liquidity challenges. “Liquidity and solvency risks […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
