Someone out there has won the R53m lottery jackpot, says Ithuba.
Image: 123RF/Andriy Popov
National Lottery operator Ithuba has announced that SA has another millionaire.

It announced on Sunday that someone had bagged the R53m jackpot in the Lotto game from Saturday, March 14.

The winning numbers were 15, 16, 17, 29, 37, 39 and the bonus number 47.

Ithuba said there was also a winner in the Lotto Plus game, with that person walking away with R1.2m. The winning numbers there were 2, 5, 13, 24, 35, 44 and the bonus number 43.

It was not immediately clear where the tickets had been purchased.

Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa chair Popo Molefe made his third appearance at the Zondo commission of inquiry into State Capture on Friday, testifying about contracts worth billions that were awarded to contractors without the relevant skills or experience.

Judge Raymond Zondo, presiding over proceedings, heard that former CEO Lucky Montana was awarded lucrative locomotive procurement contracts to companies without the requisite qualifications in processes that were “fraudulent” and “corrupt”, according to Molefe.

One contract worth R3.5 billion was awarded to Swifambo Rail Leasing, while another company, Siyaya Consulting Engineers, received some R900 million from Prasa between 2010 and 2011.also previously reported that less than a week after Prasa made its first payment of nearly R500 million to Swifambo, the latter’s managing director paid R14.3 million into the account of a lawyer who had introduced himself as an ANC fundraiser. The total would come to nearly R80 million.

According to Molefe, Swifambo was initially meant to carry out the leasing of locomotives to be used for passenger services and for routes in various metro areas. The board later found that the company did not meet Prasa’s requirements and that its procurement was questionable.

“The investigation that we conducted demonstrated conclusively that that procurement process was fraudulent, corrupted, and that Swifambo itself, notwithstanding the fact that it did not meet the requirements set out in the RFP – they needed to demonstrate that they had skills necessary to carry out a program of the size and prominence that it was.

“Suddenly, Swifambo was allowed to offer a proposal on the manufacturing of locomotives, which was not part of the RFP right at the beginning. There were specifications around what would be needed by Prasa… what was to be leased or procured. [They] needed to comply with the rail safety regulators but they also needed to comply with the rail network of Transnet,” said Molefe.

‘In all matters, they did not qualify’

Molefe told the commission that the company also needed to have qualified people to carry out the job, but this was not the case with the Swifambo contract.

“They needed to have sufficient qualified people to carry out the programme. It was a requirement that a bond deposit of 10% the value of the contract be paid up front. They needed to demonstrate that they would be able to implement the local content required… in respect of all of these matters, Sifwambo did not qualify,” said the former chairperson.

Hidden subcontractor

In addition to finding that Swifambo was not qualified to carry out the project, the board also discovered that the contract was concluded and signed without disclosing the subcontractor.

According to Molefe, when Swifambo revealed its subcontractor, “the evidence that emerged shows that in fact the company that became the subcontractor of Swifambo… had nothing in its capacity to provide locomotives,” said Molefe.

Going to the top illegally

Molefe also told the commission that certain key employees received top positions without being qualified – some claiming they had qualifications that did not exist. Molefe made particular reference to former executive Daniel Mthimkhulu

Three locations in three provinces were shortlisted as potential quarantine venues for the South Africans being repatriated from Wuhan, China, where the Covid-19 outbreak began in December 2019.

But Protea Hotel’s The Ranch Resort in Polokwane was the ultimate pick, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Thursday night, because of it being fairly remote and being close to an airport.

The group is due to land this weekend.

Mkhize said various factors were taken into consideration before a venue was chosen by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which was tasked with steering the repatriation and quarantine mission.

On Thursday night, the inter-ministerial committee dealing with the coronavirus briefed the media on the latest developments ahead of the arrival of the 122 people being repatriated from Wuhan. The committee consists of among others Mkhize, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Police Minister Bheki Cele.

Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha was also present at the briefing.

Among the factors looked at before a venue was chosen, was the fact that the evacuees were not sick and would therefore did not need to be kept in a hospital or health facility. The venue also needed to be comfortable so they could relax while under observation.

Mkhize said SANDF generals were given guidelines. This included that the quarantine area should be far from communities so that no one not permitted to be in the area could wander around.

South Africa’s confirmed positive cases now stand at 24; but this so far is limited to four provinces only; and all the local cases involve people who have been overseas and travelled to SA.

Another eight positive cases have been confirmed, bringing the total number in South Africa to 24.

The cases are spread across four provinces only – Gauteng with 10, KwaZulu-Natal with 10, the Western Cape with three, and Mpumalanga with one.

There are still no local transmissions in the country, all cases so far involve people who have travelled to South Africa from overseas.The eight Jewish community schools that closed across Cape Town on Thursday will remain closed, after a parent at one of the schools tested positive for the coronavirus.

Lessons were suspended on Thursday, pending the outcome of the man’s Covid-19 test.

The school confirmed the parent’s positive result on Friday, saying United Herzlia high school, middle school, three primary schools and three pre-primary schools will now remain closed until after the holidays.The KwaZulu-Natal government is deploying water tankers to areas which are water scarce to stamp out the possible spread of the coronavirus.

Provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sipho Hlomuka, said the department was teaching rural communities about the coronavirus pandemic, and was particularly concerned about those areas with no running water.

“Water tankers will go to areas, especially rural, to distribute water,” he said, adding that the province was also scheduled to create over 400 boreholes that would assist in supplying water.

“We developed a water master plan to deal with areas that do not have water. We have been in a drought, like most of the country. However, we are working on short-term solutions.”

Even the most casual follower of the PSL would have noticed that the league boasts a very strong contingent of foreign goalkeepers who’ve made the No.1 jersey their own.

At a number of clubs like Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Maritzburg United, local shot-stoppers are playing second fiddle to talented foreign keepers such as Daniel Akpeyi, Denis Onyango and Richard Ofori, respectively.

At Amakhosi, Akpeyi toppled fan-favourite Itumeleng Khune, and the Nigerian has proven beyond doubt that he’s a quality keeper, while Ugandan Onyango has also done the same at the Brazilians, playing ahead of local boy Reyaad Pieterse, who’s third in the pecking order behind second choice Kennedy Mweene of Zambia.

Hailing from Ghana, where he’s also the Black Stars’ first choice, Ofori has been a colossal figure for Maritzburg since joining from his native Wa All Stars in 2017. Out of 22 league outings he’s featured in, Ofori boasts 10 league clean sheets, one behind SuperSport’s Ronwen Williams who has kept one better, but having played two games more, thus far.

It’s a local keeper in Bongani Mpandle who’s pushing Ofori at the Team of Choice.

The Zimbabwean duo of Elvis Chipezeze (Baroka) and George Chigova (Polokwane City), alongside Dutch pair of Peter Leeuwenburgh and Boy de Jong on the books of Cape Town City and Stellenbosch respectively, are other keepers from outside the country who’ve taken the Premiership by storm.