Patricia de Lille South African news today

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 10, 2018: Executive Mayor Patricia de Lillie during an interview in her office at the Civic Centre on January 10, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. De Lille claims she will fight to the death in the highest court to keep her name clean. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Adrian de Kock)

South African news today: Your headlines in five minutes for Monday 8 October

Embattled Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille is back on the warpath and all the other news you need to know about.

Patricia de Lille South African news today

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 10, 2018: Executive Mayor Patricia de Lillie during an interview in her office at the Civic Centre on January 10, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. De Lille claims she will fight to the death in the highest court to keep her name clean. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Adrian de Kock)

Here’s a list of stories that are sure to dominate South African news today. Skeletons keep falling out of the political closet, as the state capture inquiry heats up and Patricia de Lille, nearing the end of her recently embattled tenure as Mayor of Cape Town, enters the spotlight again.

South African news today: Monday 8 October

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene under pressure to resign

Following an explosive testimony on state capture, including contradictory statements regarding meetings with the infamous Gupta family back in 2015, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene is under pressure to resign from his position of power.

The biggest stain on Nene’s integrity results to his inconsistent and dubious recollection of events relating directly to state capture. The Finance Minister issued a public apology to all South Africans on Friday, asking for forgiveness. The African National Congress (ANC) is expected to release a statement regarding Nene’s testimony and current cabinet standing. [Bloomberg]

Prasa trains will run, despite safety permit scandal

Luckily for commuters, all trains operating under the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), including MetroRail, will continue to operate as normal, despite the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) refusing to issue the organisation a safety permit last week.

Recent train crashes and general safety concerns among commuters forced the RSR to revoke Prasa’s safety permit. Prasa was then forced to proceed with an urgent court application which would allow it to continue operating while its safety permit comes under serious review. This issue will surely heat up this week, as the RSR refuses to back down from its position. Prasa is tasked with servicing almost 2 million commuters nationwide. [The Citizen]

Patricia de Lille wants to clear her name, sues detractors

Embattled outgoing Cape Town Mayor, Patricia de Lille, is on a crusade to clear her name, following a vicious public spat with her political party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Now, de Lille is suing entrepreneur Anthony Faul for R1 million for defamation. Faul has claimed that de Lille attempted to solicit him for a R5 million bribe, more than five years ago, for the supply of fire extinguishers to Imizamo Yethu.

De Lille has consistently denied that this ever took place. She also maintained that legal action would be taken against any and all entities which have sought to sully her character, during her tenure as Mayor. De Lille hands over her mayoral chains to Dan Plato at the end of October. [News24]

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) wins the support of students

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has managed to secure a number of Student Representative Councils (SRC) wins at universities across the country.

These include UCT (from DASO), CPUT and UKZN Durban Westville campus, Mangosuthu University of technology and the University of Zululand from SASCO among others. The South African Students Congress (SASCO), who previously dominated elections, has been dealt a huge blow by the swell in support for the EFF’s student command.

The EFF’s popularity amongst students points to a definite growth in support for the party, as a whole, ahead of next year’s much anticipated General Elections. [IOL]

Springboks come second in Rugby Championship

The Springboks ended their mighty Rugby Championship campaign at number two, following the narrowest of defeats to staunch New Zealand rival, the All Blacks, at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Boks lost the game in the last ten minutes, after dominating a clearly flustered All Blacks team for most of the match. The final score was 32-30.

New Zealand finished on top of the log, securing their title as the best rugby team in the world. The Springboks finished second, after a shaky start to the campaign and a redemptive world class victory against the All Blacks, in New Zealand.

Australia narrowly pipped Argentina in the final point’s standings to finish third. The Argentinians, although valiant in their efforts, finished in last place after losing to the Wallabies at home. [sport24]

Dollar to Rand value and exchange rate

The rand is still hovering uncomfortably close to the R15 to the dollar mark. Although it both strengthened and weakened marginally over the weekend, the rand currently stands at R 14.76 to the greenback, just 0.86% weaker than it was at the end of last week.

Trouble brewing the ANC camp threatens to push the currency over the R15 mark later in the week.