The DA has charged that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s alleged refusal to participate in the much-anticipated Presidential Debates ahead of the May elections is a sign that he is “running scared”.
This comes after the Presidential Debates Coordinator, Dr Bheki Shongwe, wrote to all participants that the live debate would be cancelled after the ruling party did not accept the invitation to participate in the debate, the DA said on Sunday.
“We therefore challenge President Ramaphosa and the ANC to not shy away from the upcoming Presidential Debates and accept the invitation to participate. This would allow the debates to be rescheduled and go ahead.
Eskom crisis, the economy and corruption
“Cyril Ramaphosa is running for re-election as President of the Republic. The least we can expect is for him to debate fellow party leaders on their respective plans to deal with our country’s most pressing challenges – to be moderated by an independent body,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.
Maimane said the debate was necessary for solutions to be found on the Eskom crisis, the economy and corruption as well as the differences in what the ANC and DA have to offer to citizens in terms of policy.
“President Ramaphosa has promised to create a culture of transparency and accountability, and this provides him with a perfect opportunity to break with the past and show South Africans he is different to his predecessor.
“We trust Ramaphosa will come to his senses and reverse his decision not to participate, unless he has something serious to hide from the people of South Africa,” he concluded.
ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete could not immediately be reached for comment.
When the lights go out on Saturday at 20:30, don’t panic – it’s Earth Hour.
City Power on Saturday said it would, alongside the City of Johannesburg, join the rest of the country and the world for an hour by switching off lights and non-essential equipment to “highlight the urgency of climate change”.
City Power CEO Lerato Setshedi in a statement urged residents to use the annual event for awareness to always preserve electricity usage.
“Tonight it’s not just about switching off for an hour. As the theme says, it’s a call for all of us to change the way we live, the way we consume energy, to get into a saving mode. By saving electricity as a consumer you help in saving carbon emissions which cause climate change,” Setshedi said.
“We urge residents to make #EarthHour a habit by ensuring that they always unplug all unused and non-essential appliances on a daily basis to save electricity.”
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena reiterated that Saturday’s initiative is not loadshedding, explaining that it was not embarking on a total switch off of the network, but only non-essential items and lights at most municipal buildings.
“We urge residents to also switch off for an hour as part of the global efforts to save the Earth.”
EFF leader Julius Malema has dared former finance minister Trevor Manuel to take him or his party to court over remarks he has made on the appointment of news SARS commissioner, Edward Kieswetter.
The EFF insinuated that Manuel had chose Kieswetter in a flawed process, going further to label him a “bully”.
Kieswetter was appointed as the new commissioner of SARS this week and will take over from acting SARS head Mark Kingon on May 1.
The EFF had earlier said the selection process‚ led by former finance minister Manuel in search of a new commissioner, lacked “transparency and openness”.
The EFF has threatened legal action to have the decision to appoint Kieswetter set aside.
Speaking to thousands of his party’s supporters at the Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape, Malema stated again that the new SARS boss was friends with Manuel, and that Manuel wanted to take legal action because he [Malema] was telling the truth.
“We are not scared of you, you have met your match this time,” Malema said.
During an interview with Bruce Whitfield on Radio 702 on Thursday, Kieswetter said he had no time for distractions and that he had a huge task ahead as a commissioner, seemingly dismissing claims made by the EFF.
But Manuel did not respond as kindly, and accused the EFF of issuing a false, racist and libelous statements about himself and the new taxman. He said the party’s spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, was simply racist for assuming that Kieswetter has a relationship with him on the basis that they were both coloured.
Manuel subsequently demanded a retraction and warned of legal action if there wasn’t any.
“I want to tell Trevor Manuel, we are not scared of you,” Malema said to his supporters.
“You call us bullies, but you are the biggest bully… bring it on.”
On his campaign trail which has now hit the Eastern Cape, Malema asked of his supporters “elect us back to parliament to finish what we have started, and finalise an inclusive free education and deal with the land expropriation without compensation matter”.
The EFF leader asked young people “to be focused and not make children because they want social grant money”.
“You will be a fool to do that”.
He also reiterated that the elderly would receive a doubled grant should his party be voted into power, and urged supporters and members to canvass enormously for the EFF ahead of the May 8 elections.
He also promised a “clear primary health care” in his presidency, saying he will prioritize the opening of 24-hour clinics.
“Our grandmothers do not choose when to fall sick. Those clinics must be open, always,” said Malema.
And quietly, for years, Bosasa’s chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi, who was at times responsible for organising the cash bribe system, was taking coded notes in his leather-bound A3 notebooks.
Little black book
For followers of his testimony before the commission of inquiry into state capture in January, Agrizzi’s little black books are now infamous.
On Thursday, as he started his second stint in the witness stand.
Agrizzi, in his characteristic blasé manner, admitted he lied to protect the company during a massive tax fraud. He admitted to being present when bribes were paid to politicians, in itself an offence in South African law because he did not report it.
And he has revealed the names of those who were paid – decoded and in excruciating detail before the commission.
For the casual observer, this testimony is difficult to follow. It’s tedious at times as the granular detail of a man’s handwritten notes from years ago are discussed, down to the minutiae of smudged thumb prints.
But this is the crux of Agrizzi’s testimony – the detail that seeks to confirm the overarching narrative that has dominated the Bosasa story since 2009 – Bosasa paid bribes for tenders.
It is this detail that has many people worried, and should have people lining up outside the commission to apply to cross examine.
Strangely, this has not happened. Only one – Nomvula Mokonyane – has publicly denied the allegations against her.
Bosasa managed, through spokesperson and director Papa Leshabane at one point said the company would wait for Agrizzi to complete his testimony before stating its version.
This is yet to happen.
List
Agrizzi will have a tough time proving some of his allegations under cross-examination or otherwise. His ride is set get rough.
But one fact is undeniable – Bosasa and its corruption is inseparable from the ruling party and its deployed officials.
The list of more than 30 people Agrizzi alleged to have accepted bribes over the years have a lot to answer for. He has named them before, and repeated many names again on Thursday.
The question now is whether or not the evidence will present itself to prove his allegations.
Agrizzi is continuing his testimony on Friday and the revelations are sure to keep coming.
Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who chairs the commission, asked a crucial question on Thursday.
For years, Bosasa has been in the media over allegations of corruption. But it seems, Zondo noted, a blind eye was turned.
Why, he asked.
The answer to that question may be simple.
One day, the ANC will have to answer about Bosasa’s intricate involvement with the party, and how the nexus of politics, money and corruption led to years of malfeasance.
The devil is in the detail. And the details will be crucial in proving just how far the Bosasa net was cast.
ANC applies to cross-examine Agrizzi at state capture commission
The ANC has applied to cross-examine former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi at the commission of inquiry into state capture.
“The leadership of the ANC has publicly stated that it will, at an appropriate time, present itself to the commission where the ANC will make a full submission that will answer all allegations tabled against it,” said ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete in a statement released on Friday morning.
“Mr Agrizzi’s testimony cannot be left unchallenged. We, therefore, cannot wait for a comprehensive submission to the Commission,” Legoete added.
Knife Capital has joined forces with the SA SME Fund and Deloitte to launch the next iteration of their Grindstone Accelerator programme in Johannesburg. Aimed at entrepreneurs who are ready to take their businesses to the next level, the programme promises to spotlight the contribution that high-growth entrepreneurs make in enabling Gauteng to be the economic powerhouse of South Africa.
Grindstone is a structured entrepreneurship development programme, jointly owned by Knife Capital and Thinkroom Consulting, that assists high-growth innovation-driven SMEs to become sustainable and fundable. Grindstone supplies ten companies in a year-long programme with knowledge, networks and funding readiness through growth measurement, gap analysis and deep interventions designed to build a foundation for growth, transfer skills, create relevant business networks and enable these companies to take advantage of market access opportunities.
“With this being the first time that the programme is offered in Johannesburg after successfully running it in Cape Town for four cohorts, we really want to tap into the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and highlight success stories,” says Andrea Bӧhmert, co-managing partner at Knife Capital.
“Entrepreneurship doesn’t flourish in a vacuum. We are working with the current leading Johannesburg-based incubators, entrepreneurial support organisations and individuals committed to building the ecosystem”.
She adds that while up to 35% of South Africa’s GDP is generated in Johannesburg, the contribution of high-growth entrepreneurs is not that visible, contrary to what is happening in the Western Cape. “We are very excited to support Gauteng’s rising stars”.
The programme helps entrepreneurs who are navigating their way through the treacherous business scale-up phase by identifying the pitfalls and success metrics of their businesses strategies while closing growth gaps to execute those strategies. A big differentiator is our approach to measurement – the companies need to be able to experience and measure the positive impact the programme has on their businesses. Across the previous programmes, the Grindstone Accelerator participants on average experienced a consistent growth in revenue of 56% year-on-year off a descent base, while creating jobs and addressing business fundamentals to set up a platform for further accelerated growth
Developing world-class entrepreneurs
Ketso Gordhan, CEO of the SA SME Fund elaborates on the partnership synergies, “The SA SME Fund is committed to developing world-class local entrepreneurs and has partnered with Grindstone as they have consistently supported and grown South African Scale-Ups.” The SA SME Fund is providing favourable funding support to the ten Grindstone Companies to enable them to close the initial growth gaps identified. Further growth funding is also available on commercial terms to scale the companies through Knife Capital’s Section 12J VCC KNF Ventures as well as other funding vehicles backed by the SA SME Fund.
Valter Adão, chief digital and innovation officer at Deloitte Africa says that the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs is access to business insights, mentorship and access to customer networks at the right levels of seniority. To this end, Deloitte contributes significant value to the programme’s pillars of Knowledge and Networks.
Getting to the route cause
“Deloitte has deep and intimate industry insights. We understand the challenges our clients face and more importantly, we know how to get to the root cause, not being distracted by the symptoms. For us to thrive in this highly competitive environment, we invest heavily in our people. Developing critical business leadership and operational competencies is critical, as is the dissemination and augmentation of industry insights. As an entrepreneur, getting access to this fast-paced, and high-performance learning environment, and the respective knowledge that comes with it is highly valuable,” says Adão.
He adds that through the programme, Deloitte is able to introduce entrepreneurs and businesses to the valuable and credible networks that Deloitte has access to.
Long-time strategic partners in Grindstone: FNB Business, Webber Wentzel and the BillyBo Group have once again committed their support to the entrepreneurs alongside some new collaborators. Knife Capital Co-founder Keet Van Zyl said the accelerator programme was created by compressing the VC firm’s venture capital engagement model of aggressively growing a company for three to five years into an intense year-long programme. “But this is only possible because of the thought leadership our strategic partners provide” he adds.
Successful businesses that have completed the Grindstone Programme in the Western Cape include iKubu (subsequently acquired by Garmin), Payfast, SeaMonster Animation, Electrum Payments, Iono fm, Quicket, PICSA Finance, Custos Technologies and WhereIsMyTransport, amongst others.
Applications are now open and will close on 22 April 2019.
Prominent Polokwane lawyer Tumi Mokwena, who has represented EFF leader Julius Malema, has to make available for inspection all trust accounts and books relating to his practice to the Law Society of the Northern Provinces.
This is part of an order granted in the Limpopo High Court.
The order also compels Mokwena and his partner, Floyd Legodi, to hand over complete files relating to instructions they handled on behalf of clients.
Mokwena confirmed the existence of the court order, which News24 has seen.
But he said it hasn’t been implemented yet because he has taken the matter further to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein.
“The matter is sub judice. I won’t comment much on it,” Mokwena said.
Zebediela Citrus Estate
The matter dates back to 2015 when the Law Society received a complaint about Mokwena over his involvement in the Zebediela Citrus Estate in Limpopo.
The estate – once the largest producer of oranges and lemons in the southern hemisphere – was returned to the Bjatladi communal property association (CPA) under the land restitution programme.
The CPA hired Mokwena’s services to assist them to terminate the contract with the strategic partner at the estate.
According to the allegations against him, Mokwena initially charged the CPA R200 000 legal fees but later asked them to deposit R2.5m plus another R1.8m into his trust account.
When the civil case was under way, two senior executives of the strategic partner had criminal charges laid against them and they were arrested for exporting the produce when it had citrus black spot.
However, a settlement agreement was reached, which was endorsed by the Limpopo High Court. It entailed that the civil and criminal cases would be dropped and the strategic partner would pay R10m to the CPA via Mokwena’s trust account.
Mokwena allegedly failed to transfer the money to the CPA.
On March 23, 2016, Mokwena introduced himself to the workers of the estate as the managing director and his partner, Legodi, as the company secretary.
Mokwena then went to Cape Town and entered into a sale crop agreement with a company known as Exotic Fruit to the value of R67m without the full knowledge of land beneficiaries. In terms of the agreement, the money had to be paid into Mokwena’s trust account.
Complaint
The complaint to the Law Society read in part: “It is with all these in mind that we approach your good office for a thorough investigation on Tumi Mokwena and Floyd Legodi so that you can help us to remove them from the farm.
“But if possible, can you help us with a thorough forensic audit to establish as to how much money due to Zebediela Citrus Estate was paid to Tumi Mokwena and Floyd Legodi and how that money can be recuperated.”
The complaint laid the basis for the Law Society decision to approach the compel Mokwena to make available all the accounting records.
Mokwena was recently acquitted of attempted murder in the same court.
This was after he opened fire on a group of disillusioned workers at the estate. The court found that he had acted in self-defence.
Scary WhatsApp “warnings” and other viral content shared on that platform have contributed to the fear and paranoia of many a user.
Does an empty cool drink can on my pavement mean my house has been “marked” to be burgled? Are people posing as home affairs officials going to rob me? And is my Jack Russel going to end up in a dog-fighting ring?
South African WhatsApp users often get bombarded by viral messages making a variety of claims, be it from a neurotic neighbour or a loony relative. It’s often very difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. On open platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, fake news or alerts are usually spotted by someone and reported. But on WhatsApp, fake messages are hard to spot and are often taken at face value.
This is why fact-checking NGO Africa Check has decided to launch a service that can either authenticate or disprove content shared on WhatsApp.
Kate Wilkinson, acting deputy chief editor at Africa Check, told News24 that the organisation will be launching a new fact-checking mechanism aimed specifically at WhatsApp users. “It is a ‘show’ of sorts that is going to be produced and shared as a voice note on WhatsApp,” says Wilkinson.
This is how it works: if you receive a dodgy WhatsApp or in any way doubt the authenticity of information that you received in a WhatsApp message, you can send it to Africa Check’s dedicated WhatsApp number or tweet a screenshot to its Twitter page.
“If they receive a viral video or something they think might be a hoax, they can forward that to us on WhatsApp. Over the course of a month, we will have a look at what we get and then put together a two- to three-minute breakdown of what is true and what not.”
The name of the ‘show’ is going to be What’s Crap on WhatsApp, says Wilkinson, and will be produced by Africa Check and Volume Investigations, an NPO dedicated to the production of investigative audio shows and improving the state of radio journalism in Africa.
“We have weekly broadcast lists where we send out a roundup of everything we have fact-checked – that’s how we usually engage with people. So at this stage we will send it out as a broadcast to people who have added us and people can respond to us and we engage with our followers on WhatsApp and respond to follow-up questions.”
Dark social media
Wilkinson says it’s extremely hard to determine the extent of fake news and bogus messages shared on WhatsApp. “We don’t actually know. WhatsApp is often described as ‘dark social media’ because we don’t know what is being shared on WhatsApp groups and people like the platform because they know that they can communicate without anyone [other than the intended recipients] seeing what is being shared.
Help us fight #fakenews & misinformation on WhatsApp! Tweet us a screenshot of a dodgy warning, hoax or viral video you’ve seen on WhatsApp recently. We’ll debunk the dodgiest fakes & send it back to you in a voice note. pic.twitter.com/S5LCqhVL8L
“We know that fake news is being shared on WhatsApp but we can’t fact-check it if we don’t know what is being shared.
“If you look at the work we do with traditional media, such as Twitter and Facebook, we are able to see if something is amiss, but when it comes to WhatsApp we rely on users to send that information to us and we hope with the new voice note show that more people will learn about our work. We hope people will simply click ‘forward’ to our WhatsApp number so that we can check it out.”
Though the service has not been launched officially as yet, people are encouraged to start sending suspicious content to Africa Check’s dedicated WhatsApp line, 073 749 7875 (South Africa only), or to tweet screenshots to its Twitter handle, @AfricaCheck.
“Once we have a range of fact-checks to make we’ll hopefully send out the first show within a month or so,” Wilkinson says.
“So far we’ve received viral videos of quite graphic violence that people have asked us to verify; we’ve also received what appear to be fake police warnings about criminals putting stickers on the back of cars and we’ve also received an interesting voice note about some sinister plot of criminals poisoning people before robbing them.
“So we’ve been getting some really interesting stuff which, alarmingly, gets shared widely in WhatsApp groups. It’s mostly about preying on people’s fear, so we hope that our voice note show can help bring some reasonable thought into what people share on WhatsApp in South Africa.
“That is why this is so important. We can’t expect to keep doing our normal fact-checking and publishing it on our website, going on radio and TV and just hope that our fact-checks are going to end up in a WhatsApp group.
“We need to produce content that can be easily shared on WhatsApp groups and voice notes and potentially images or short videos have a much better chance of countering false information shared on that platform.”
Africa Check is a non-profit, non-partisan fact-checking group established in June 2012 with the stated aim of improving news gathering in Africa. Its website is partnered with the School of Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa to support the training of journalists on how to check the factual accuracy of statements by politicians and media outlets. – Wikipedia
