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Ramaphosa condemns ‘mindless’ truck attacks

President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the recent arson attacks affecting the road freight industry.

A truck driver was shot and killed, another one injured, and a truck set alight in Leondale, east of Johannesburg, on Monday evening.

This is the latest incident of attacks that has engulfed the industry, which saw at least 30 trucks targeted last week.

“As South Africans, we cannot possibly tolerate the mindless and bloody lawlessness with which the road freight industry is being targeted,” said the President.

“We cannot tolerate this loss of life and destruction of property.”

The President has offered his sincere condolences to the families and colleagues of drivers who have lost their lives through the intimidation and violence perpetrated by criminals.

He has also wished drivers who have sustained physical injuries and psychological trauma during these incidents a speedy recovery.

President Ramaphosa also expressed his concern about the effect of this violence on owners and employees of the affected trucking companies and the economic disruption caused by these acts as the country focuses on rebuilding the economy.

He has since commended and welcomed the arrest of suspects in Gauteng in the past 24 hours following deadly assaults on truck drivers.

The President has since directed Ministers of Employment and Labour, Transport, Home Affairs and Police to submit a report on this matter.

The Presidency said the President is confident that perpetrators in all parts of the country will be brought to book.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mosebenzi Zwane, has expressed concern at the attacks on delivery trucks in the country.

According to reports, a number of trucks were recently torched between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Zwane said burning other people’s property and assets for no apparent reason was lawlessness and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

“The economic impact of these coordinated attacks is massive and has a potential to dent the image of the country’s road freight industry. The law enforcement agencies need to deal decisively with this phenomenon,” he said on Tuesday.

Zwane said the sentiment of hate towards foreign nationals, which seems as the motivating factor for the burnings, is even more worrying.

He called on people to be vigilant of those seeking to exploit the genuine concerns of South Africans, like unemployment and crime, for the illegitimate personal gains.

“Our dissatisfaction as South Africans should not result in others being unable to do business. Everyone in South Africa is allowed to participate in economic activity without being hindered by the other. Flourishing economies allow for free market operations and competition,” Zwane said.

He said South Africans should spare no effort in trying to get the economy to perform in line with government’s efforts.

“That work requires no fighting and requires no attacks on those we suspect of being foreign nationals,” Zwane said. – SAnews.gov.za

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Museum Africa: Art Collection

The museum’s collection is staggering, housing approximately 850,000 objects that range from the prehistoric to the contemporary. It is one of the few institutions that attempts to tell the story of Southern Africa from the Stone Age to the nuclear age. The “Johannesburg Transformations” exhibition is the museum’s centerpiece, dragging the visitor through the chaotic evolution of the city. It doesn’t shy away from the grime; it features detailed reconstructions of “shack life,” the illegal “shebeens” (speakeasies) of the 1950s, and the vibrant but overcrowded “backyard rooms” that defined the black urban experience during Apartheid. One of its most sobering permanent displays is the “Tried for Treason” exhibit, which meticulously documents the 1956 Treason Trial. Visitors can see the portraits of all 156 accused—including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Albertina Sisulu—and read the “little red books” placed beneath each photo, where the public is invited to write their own reflections and facts about these liberation icons.

Deep within the museum’s labyrinthine halls, you’ll find specialized branches that are world-class in their own right. The Bensusan Museum of Photography sits on the top floor, acting as a shrine to the visual history of the continent. It contains everything from rare 19th-century daguerreotypes to the legendary photojournalism of the Drum magazine era. Meanwhile, the Geology Museum houses over 17,000 specimens, including a definitive collection of the rocks and minerals that made Johannesburg possible. It is a place where you can see the actual gold-bearing conglomerate reefs of the Witwatersrand up close, stripped of their commercial value and presented as scientific wonders.