The suspension of Buffalo City Metro Development Agency (BCMDA) CEO Bulumko Nelana was on Tuesday declared unlawful, null and void, and set aside by the high court in Makhanda, with Nelana’s legal team promising he would be back in his office on Wednesday morning. Nelana was placed on precautionary suspension, with full pay, in late October by the agency’s new interim board pending a probe into circumstances surrounding his contract extension.
Widespread complaints by BCM sport enthusiasts who were either barred from using East London’s Absa and Jan Smuts Stadiums, or were charged exorbitant fees to do so, should soon be a thing of the past. The metro has finally signed a 20-year lease agreement with Chippa Training Academy just over two years after the council approved the long-term leasing of the two stadiums, which are adjacent to each other, to Chippa United football club boss Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi.
While Buffalo City Metro authorities and some businesses this week said the city had enjoyed one of the most successful and well-attended summers post the Covid-19 pandemic, signifying recovery in the tourism industry, some event organisers had contrasting views, expressing concerns over a drastic dip in the number of revellers this festive season.
An Eastern Cape police officer is fighting for his life after he was shot by the suspected car hijacker he was pursuing in a village in Ngqushwa this week. The suspected hijacker in turn was shot dead by police during an exchange of gunfire at Kalana village around midday on Monday. His alleged accomplice managed to evade arrest.
After a lengthy legal battle over the awarding of a controversial air ambulance tender, a court battle which saw the Eastern Cape operating without its vital air service for almost two years, the provincial department of health’s life-saving aeromedical helicopter service is back. The service officially resumed late last week.