JOHANNESBURG – The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD)has slammed the government’s decision to recall the ambassador to Israel.

On Monday, South Africa recalled ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect after the Israeli army shot dead at least 55 Palestinians and wounded thousands.

READ: Israel says open fire rules for Gaza remain unchanged

SAJBD vice-president Zev Krengel accused the government of double standards.

“The double standards of the South African government towards the Jewish state is totally unacceptable. In Syria 500,000 are dead, three chemical attacks and not a word of condemnation from our South African government.

“Burundi, Rwanda, Myanmar, Yemen and the list is endless. Fifty-two people are killed [in Gaza] … trying to cross an internationally recognised border and that’s what the South African government goes for … [Weare] extremely unhappy and extremely upset,” said Krengel.

The Muslim Judicial Council has welcomed the recall of the ambassador.

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A rural Eshowe community left a farmhouse burnt and allegedly stole a vehicle during protests on Sunday night.

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said protest action began in the area in the afternoon.

“The protest action began in the late afternoon community members from Umlalazi barricaded the R66 and P230 roads on the outskirts of Eshowe,” she said.

Gwala said protesters forced their way into a farm and burnt a building and stole an Isuzu double cab.

Gwala cautioned the public from visiting the area saying that while authorities were on scene, the situation was tense.

“The police are trying to keep the peace.”

She said no arrests have been made.

In March, a protest was sparked by the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man, allegedly by the farm’s security guard.

The man had been fishing at a river on the farm when he was shot.

His killing led to a group of around 300 people attacking a farm in the area. 

JOHANNESBURG –  The City of Joburg emergency services has dispatched Disaster Management Monitoring teams across the city to facilitate evacuations procedures whenever there is a need due to severe cold and wet weather conditions expected to hit Gauteng on Monday.

The city’s Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said they would be on high alert as the weather may result in flooding in some areas.

READ: Freezing weather conditions, rain expected next week

The South African Weather Service announced over the weekend that most parts of the province will receive a significant drop in temperatures with wet conditions due to the cold front that is expected to last until Wednesday.

“The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services will remain on high alert to make sure that we respond to any emergency which might occur, the main focus will be all our 189 informal settlements throughout the city since they are the most vulnerable to fire incidents when we have Cold and Wet Weather conditions like this.

“Disaster Management Monitoring teams have been dispatched to all Seven regions of the City to monitor any eventuality which might occur and also to facilitate any evacuations procedures whenever there is a need to do so since there is a possibility of localised flooding, especially in our low lying areas,” he said.

READ: A cold and wet weekend for South Africa

Mulaudzi urged the public not to leave heating devices unattended while in use to avoid fire incidents.

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The South African Federation of Trade Union (Saftu) has expressed shock and outrage at what is being called an assassination attempt on the life of deputy president of the National Teachers Union (Natu), Allen Thompson in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday afternoon.

In a statement, Natu president Siphosethu Ngcobo said Thompson, who was travelling from his offices in Empangeni to Durban, was in his vehicle at the off-ramp intersection from the N2 Freeway to the M41 to Umhlanga, when he was ambushed and shot at.

Ngcobo said the heavily armed men had fired at Thompson through the window, narrowly missing his head and injuring him in the shoulder.

“After being shot Mr Thompson never surrendered but continued to drive his car as assassins were still on his back chasing him with the intention to find and kill him,” Ngcobo said.

Ngcobo said Thompson had been able to manoeuvre his car, at times into oncoming traffic and through red traffic lights, to get to the Netcare Umhlanga hospital where he evaded the gunmen.

“The unknown assailants, who wore balaclavas, went into the hospital, heavily armed to search for him and when they couldn’t find him they went back to his car that was parked at the hospital entrance,” he said.

He added that the shooting was meant to be an assassination and that the perpetrators made away with Thompson’s documents, a bag with an undisclosed amount of money, two laptops and the bags that contained critical information which is regarded as the master key to the imminent investigations regarding the KZN department of education.

He said that it’s an open secret that Natu has been hard at work uncovering corruption at the KZN department of education.

In a statement, SAFTU has demanded that police and the Hawks must stop at nothing to catch the perpetrators, “and those who planned and organised the assassination”.

SAFTU agreed with Natu that it was a “well-planned and ruthlessly executed assassination attempt on a trade union leader”.

This attack follows other instances of attacks or robberies of trade union officials in which only laptops were stolen, and a series of politically connected murders in KZN said Saftu.

“On the very same day that Thompson was ambushed, a prominent ANC activist and a municipal councillor from the Inkatha Freedom Party were gunned down in separate incidents.”

“It proves that there must be no let-up in the fight against corruption.”

Police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed the incident, saying Thompson had been pursued by occupants in a white BMW.

“He was carrying a large sum of cash because he was apparently on his way to buy a car,” she said.

Gwala said Thompson’s assailants had been armed with pistols and rifles. She said police were investigating a case of robbery and attempted murder.

MAHIKENG – The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) said on Saturday it was concerned that marginalising alliance structures and undermining communities would cost the ANC dearly in the 2019 national and provincial elections.

North West province was hit with violent protests in the last few weeks calling for premier Supra Mahumapelo to resign.

Sanco North West chairperson Paul Sebegoe called on the African National Congress NEC to intervene in the ongoing impasse over Mahumapelo’s future.

He said the unilateral revision of the ANC North West provincial legislature candidates nomination list without consultation with alliance partners was a divisive act that undermines unity.

READ: Fraud-accused Wendy Nelson appointed acting North West Premier

“The latest development and rumoured intended purge of members of the provincial legislature who have been vocal against allegations of corruption have not only deepened the current leadership crisis in the province, but have also confirmed the extent to which organisational structures are being used to institutionalise factionalism, weaken oversight, including accountability structures, and advance the (premier Supra) Mahumapelo fight-back strategy,” said Sebegoe.

He said the ANC should not allow itself to be held to ransom by those who would stop at nothing to evade accountability.

WATCH: I await PEC to ask me to resign, says Supra Mahumapelo

“We call on the ANC NEC to intervene decisively in the current impasse in order to restore public confidence in governance and the ruling party. Organisational renewal and consolidation of elections structure must be prioritised while interventions at government level and investigations into alleged corruption which is robbing our communities of services unfold,” said Sebegoe.

African News Agency