Category Archives: South African News

News24.com | PICS: Pharmacist nabbed, steroid tablets, guns and ammunition found at Pretoria drug lab

You Need Posted on by

A 55-year-old pharmacist and his partner have been arrested for allegedly operating a drug lab in Vasfontein, Hammanskraal, just outside Pretoria.

The man, his 52-year-old life partner and their 38-year-old employee were arrested after an array of steroid tablets and intravenous drugs were found at their farm house.

Tshwane North Crime Intelligence and the Soshanguve K9 Units swooped in on the lab on Wednesday confiscating large amounts of finished products, chemicals, machines including a tablet presser, a mixer and a tablet-coating machine for colouring of tablets.

Police also recovered two pistols, one of which was unlicensed, a loaded shotgun and several rounds of ammunition.

A health risk

“The conditions under which the steroids were being manufactured was uncontrolled, unconducive and could potentially, if not already, be a health risk to those in the area of the operation as well as those consuming the products,” police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said on Thursday.

Naidoo said that documents seized at the lab indicate that drugs were being supplied to a criminal.

Vasfontein

He said the person procuring the drugs was a known and had previously been arrested for drug related crimes.

READ: Cele vows to find, shut down more drug ‘factories’ following major bust

“Police are currently searching for this individual.”

Naidoo said all three suspects were in police custody for contravention of the Medicines Control Act.

Drug labs on farms

“They have allegedly been manufacturing and distributing a Schedule 6 drug in an uncontrolled manner.”

National Police Commissioner Khehla Sithole said drug labs on farms seemed to be a growing modus operandi.

He said that a few months ago, a similar multi-million rand mandrax laboratory was discovered in Harding. 

“I have tasked the investigation team to engage the Asset Forfieture Unit in an effort to seize all property to the State in terms of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).”

News24.com | Schoolboy accused in Themane case in court over separate attempted murder charge

You Need Posted on by

The schoolboy, 16, who described himself as an “untouchable” in the video showing the murder of Thoriso Themane will join six other minors in the Polokwane Children’s Court on Friday, March 22.

The schoolboy appeared briefly in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on a separate charge of attempted murder. He appeared in camera because he is a minor.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in Limpopo Mashudu Malabi confirmed that the teenager would face a murder charge relating to Themane’s death when he appears in court on Friday.

The attempted murder charge is related to an incident in which he allegedly attacked a fellow pupil in December last year. It was not pursued at the time.

The charge was reinstated after outcry from the #justiceforthoriso movement and members of the public. He was arrested a week ago.

In the video of the murder, the schoolboy boasted that he was “untouchable” because his father was a senior police officer. It later emerged that the father was a retired warrant officer in the South African Police Service.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

News24.com | Blood and a broken axe: What detectives found at Packham’s Constantia home

You Need Posted on by

Blood droplets matched to Gill Packham and her husband, Rob, who stands accused of murdering her, were found on the premises of their Constantia home, the Western Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

Investigating officer Sergeant Ivan Sonnenberg said the couple’s daughters granted access to the house in Riesling Road after their father’s arrest on March 1, 2018.

A police officer visited the home shortly after that to collect samples.

READ: ‘He said he loved his life but he didn’t love his wife’ – Packham’s ex-mistress tells court

He said blood was found in the garage, where the couple had parked their BMW and Audi Q5, and on the inside front door handle on the driver’s side of Rob’s Audi. Both blood specimens belonged to Gill.

Blood found in and around the basin of the en suite bathroom was found to belong to Rob. 

Sonnenberg said the accused never explained the presence of his or his wife’s blood in these locations.

He also claimed that police had struggled to obtain the Audi for testing and eventually secured the vehicle through a court order.

When officers visited the garage, they found it packed with items including washing machines and tumble dryers. They also found linen and bedding for Gill’s bed and breakfast.

Axe found hidden away

“In between [the linen and bedding] we found a broken axe: the head of the axe and the handle for the axe,” he said.

A test revealed no DNA. While police could not confirm whether it was the murder weapon, “we did find it strange that it was hidden away like that”.

Rob has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife and a charge of obstruction of justice.

Her charred remains were found on February 22 in the boot of her burnt-out car at the Diep River train station after the fire was extinguished.

Sonnenberg was on the scene that evening and found the body, a trail indicating how the fire was started and a burnt-out wallet with coins in it near the boot section on the driver’s side.

He called Rob to come to the scene but Rob apparently told him it had been a very long day. 

Sonnenberg said Rob missed an appointment to meet the next morning but they eventually ended up at the police station so he could explain what happened the day his wife went missing.

Rob indicated that he and his wife had breakfast and she left before him, at around 07:00.

Cellphone mapping places Packham at crime scenes

“He was very calm, no stresses. He was just sitting there, telling his story to me. There was no crying or anything,” he recalled.

Trying to establish Gill’s movements that morning, police obtained CCTV footage from a house in the same road, taken at 07:34 on February 22, 2018. They zoomed in and made stills.

He said the driver of a BMW in the footage appeared to have a baseball cap on, white shirt and black jacket. Only the side of their head could be seen.

“From the zoomed-in photograph, he looks like a white male,” the police officer noted.

They used cellphone mapping to establish Rob’s whereabouts in relation to his wife.

He said that while Rob claimed he left the house after his wife, cellphone mapping showed him to be at the house until a certain time and then placed him at key locations where the crimes unfolded.

When they obtained Rob’s work cellphone the day after his wife was found, they did not yet know he had a “burner phone” which he used for communicating with his mistress at the time.

At first, Rob supplied a pin number for his work iPhone but it didn’t work, said Sonnenberg. He said Rob later claimed he forgot his pin. 

No other suspect

To this day, police have not been able to access its contents.

Sonnenberg said it was this totality of evidence that led to Rob’s arrest.

Prosecutor Susan Galloway asked whether police had found any evidence that could point them away from Rob Packham as the murder suspect.

“No, My Lady,” he responded.

The trial continues.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

Secondary school assignments – Quarterly Bulletin – No 291 – March 201

You Need Posted on by
Publish Date: 2019-03-20
Category: Secondary School Assignments

​Statistical tables – secondary school assignments

The attachment contains the following tables/information:

KB501 – Balance of payments: Annual figures
KB602 – Gross value added by kind of economic activity
KB609 – Final consumption expenditure by households: At current prices
KB610 – Final consumption expenditure by households: At constant 2000 prices
KB810 – National accounts: Selected data

Attachments:

Full Quarterly Bulletin – No 291 – March 2019

You Need Posted on by
Publish Date: 2019-03-20
Category: Quarterly Bulletins

​The synchronised global economic growth momentum experienced since the fourth quarter of 2016 faded in the second half of 2018. Although real global output growth recovered somewhat to 2.9% in the fourth quarter of the year, this still represented the second-lowest quarterly growth rate in the past two years. The moderate acceleration in the fourth quarter of 2018 resulted mainly from improved output growth in India and Japan, while growth slowed further in the United States (US) and China along with a contraction in world trade volumes.

The international prices of most commodities declined in the fourth quarter of 2018. In particular, the price of Brent crude oil decreased sharply from around US$86 per barrel at the start of October 2018 to below US$50 at the end of December. This contributed to lower inflation rates in advanced economies and emerging markets. However, oil prices have since recovered to around US$65 per barrel, which should exert some upward pressure on inflation.

In South Africa, real economic growth slowed from a revised 2.6% in the third quarter of 2018 to 1.4% in the fourth quarter. The real gross value added (GVA) by the primary sector contracted for a fourth successive quarter, while output growth slowed in the secondary and tertiary sectors. For 2018 as a whole, growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) moderated to 0.8% from an upwardly revised 1.4% in 2017. South Africa’s GDP per capita has decreased since 2015, consistent with the current downward phase of the business cycle.

The contraction in the real GVA by the primary sector in the final quarter of 2018 resulted from a further decline in the real output of the mining sector, while real agricultural output increased at a slower pace. Mining output was impacted by renewed electricity load-shedding in the final two months of the year, while gold production in particular was adversely affected by strike action. Mining and agricultural output both contracted in 2018.

The slowdown in the real output growth of the secondary sector in the fourth quarter of 2018 resulted from slower growth in manufacturing output as well as in that of the electricity, gas and water sector, while the real GVA by the construction sector contracted further. The increase in manufacturing output was fairly broad-based and supported demand for electricity. The decrease in construction output resulted from reduced residential, non-residential and civil construction activity.

Real output growth in the tertiary sector was slowed by contractions in the real GVA by the commerce and general government services sectors in the fourth quarter of 2018. By contrast, the real output of the transport and finance sectors increased at a faster pace. The real GVA by the commerce sector was suppressed by declines in wholesale and motor trade as well as in catering and accommodation, while activity increased in the retail trade subsector.

Real gross domestic expenditure (GDE) switched from an expansion of 2.1% in the third quarter of 2018 to a contraction of 7.0% in the fourth quarter, largely due to a significant decline in real inventory holdings, particularly in the mining and manufacturing sectors. In addition, real gross fixed capital formation contracted further in the fourth quarter of 2018. This was partly offset by faster growth in the real final consumption expenditure by households and, to a much lesser extent, by general government. Real net exports also contributed significantly to real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The faster growth in real consumption expenditure by households in the fourth quarter of 2018 resulted from rebounds in spending on durable goods and services, while growth in non-durable goods spending accelerated somewhat. Growth in spending on semi-durable goods slowed marginally but remained fairly robust. Household consumption expenditure was supported by faster growth in household debt in the fourth quarter of 2018, with mortgage advances and general loans contributing the most. However, households’ net wealth declined in the fourth quarter of 2018, mainly due to the effect of lower share prices on equity holdings and the increase in household debt.

Real gross fixed capital formation contracted for a fourth successive quarter in the final quarter of 2018 as private business enterprises, public corporations and general government all reduced capital outlays. The contraction in gross fixed capital formation for 2018 as a whole resulted from a marked decline in fixed investment by public corporations and, to a lesser extent, by general government. This reflected funding and governance challenges at public corporations and delays in the commencement and completion of large government infrastructure projects. By contrast, fixed investment by private business enterprises increased further in 2018, albeit at a slower pace than in 2017.

Employment growth remained fairly lacklustre, with more informal sector jobs than formal sector jobs created in the year to the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition, the number of unemployed South Africans increased notably over this period, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rising to a record high of 27.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Nominal wage growth per worker in the formal non-agricultural sector of the economy accelerated in the third quarter of 2018 as public sector wage growth picked up notably following the implementation of the annual public sector wage increase, which included backpay.By contrast, growth in private sector remuneration per worker slowed further in the third quarter. The average wage settlement rate in collective bargaining agreements also moderated from 2017 to 2018. The acceleration in nominal wage growth resulted in an acceleration in formal non-agricultural nominal unit labour cost growth, to 4.8% in the third quarter of 2018.

The inflationary pressures induced by higher domestic fuel prices in the second half of 2018 have dissipated in recent months, with headline consumer price inflation moderating from 5.2% in November 2018 to 4.0% in January 2019. Most measures of producer price inflation were also fairly subdued at the start of 2019. Consumer food price inflation slowed markedly in 2018, to its lowest annual average rate since 2010. Food price inflation slowed further in January 2019 as the acceleration in bread and cereals price inflation was more than offset by a further decline in meat prices. Core inflation slowed to below the midpoint of the inflation target range in 2018, in an environment of muted import price inflation and weak domestic consumer demand.

South Africa’s trade surplus with the rest of the world increased significantly from the third to the fourth quarter of 2018, as the value of merchandise exports increased while that of imports declined. The value of merchandise exports was boosted by higher mining and manufactured export volumes. The decrease in the value of merchandise imports was broad-based as the import volumes of mining, manufactured and agricultural products declined, partly reflecting weak domestic demand. The larger trade surplus coincided with a further narrowing in the shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account, as the deficit on the income account narrowed further following a relatively strong increase in gross dividend receipts, which more than offset the increase in dividend payments. Consequently, the deficit on the current account of the balance of payments narrowed significantly to 2.2% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, on an annual basis, the deficit widened from 2.5% of GDP in 2017 to 3.5% of GDP in 2018.

The net inflow of capital on the financial account of the balance of payments decreased for a third successive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, on an annual basis, the net inflow of capital increased compared to 2017. In the fourth quarter of 2018, other investment liabilities recorded a marked inflow as non-residents extended loans to, and increased their deposits with, the domestic banking sector. By contrast, net direct and portfolio investment recorded outflows.

South Africa’s net international investment position (IIP) increased marginally from the end of June 2018 to the end of September, as the decrease in the value of foreign liabilities narrowly exceeded that in foreign assets. South Africa’s external debt in US dollars, decreased over the same period, mainly due to the revaluation of domestic rand-denominated bonds.

The further marginal decrease in the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) of the rand in the fourth quarter of 2018 masked continued significant month-to-month volatility. Global economic growth concerns, expected further US interest rate increases as well as concerns around the domestic government deficit and debt trajectory portrayed in the 2018 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (2018 MTBPS) all negatively affected the NEER in October. In November 2018, the NEER was supported by the US Federal Reserve’s much more dovish tone as well as the 25 basis points hike in the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) repurchase rate, before renewed global economic growth concerns and increased emerging market risk aversion led to a depreciation in the exchange value of the rand in December. The NEER then increased notably again in January 2019 as the US Federal Reserve’s tone became increasingly dovish and global trade tensions eased. However, the exchange value of the rand depreciated in February and early March following the resumption of electricity load-shedding and concerns around the financial position of Eskom. South African bond yields followed the movements in the exchange rate of the rand and trended generally lower from late October 2018. However, bond yields increased somewhat in February 2019 following the weakening in the exchange value of the rand.

Year-on-year growth in the broadly defined money supply (M3) remained subdued throughout 2018 and broadly at the same level as in 2017. Muted growth in the deposit holdings of the corporate sector during 2018 reflected subdued financial company deposits in the first half of the year and a moderation in non-financial company deposits towards the year-end amid weak economic growth. Slower wage growth contributed to a further deceleration in the deposit holdings of households, which became more noticeable towards the end of 2018. Growth in bank credit extended to the domestic private sector also remained subdued in 2018 but accelerated somewhat in the second half of the year as growth in loans and advances to households accelerated gradually. Although the acceleration was broad-based among the different credit categories, general loans to households increased notably in 2018, particularly in the fourth quarter. Credit extension to the corporate sector increased only marginally in the fourth quarter of 2018, as demand for loans from non-financial companies declined.

National government finances improved somewhat in the first nine months of fiscal 2018/19 as the cash book deficit was lower than in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Faster growth in revenue outpaced slower growth in expenditure. However, revenue growth was still below the monthly budgeted estimates in the 2018 Budget, partly due to a notable increase in tax refunds as the backlog was reduced. Consistent with the smaller cash book deficit of national government, the non-financial public sector borrowing requirement was much lower in the first nine months of fiscal 2018/19 than in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, as the borrowing requirement of consolidated general government decreased notably. By contrast, the cash deficit of the non-financial public enterprises and corporations increased due to lower cash receipts from operating activities and increased expenditure.

The budget for fiscal 2019/20 was delivered in February 2019 against a backdrop of a weaker domestic economic outlook and a challenging fiscal environment due to an expected further large revenue shortfall and increased funding requests from state-owned companies (SOCs). The budget proposed tax and expenditure measures to narrow the deficit and stabilise debt. The consolidated budget deficit is now expected to widen from 3.6% of GDP in fiscal 2016/17 to 4.2% of GDP in fiscal 2018/19 before narrowing to 4.0% of GDP in fiscal 2021/22. The larger deficit is expected to increase government’s net borrowing requirement, necessitating the gross loan debt of national government to rise to 55.6% of GDP at the end of fiscal 2018/19, which is now expected to stabilise at 60.2% of GDP at the end of 2023/24.

Attachments:

Interchange Determination Project: adjustment of interchange rates for transactions emanating from automated teller machines, from 1 March 2019

You Need Posted on by
Publish Date: 2019-03-20
Category: Media Releases

​….

Attachments:

Fin24.com | LIVE BLOG: Committee instructs Steinhoff to reveal names of people implicated in PwC report

You Need Posted on by

Executives from Steinhoff, together with the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority, the JSE and other regulatory bodies will on Tuesday morning appear before a joint sitting of three Parliamentary committees.

On Friday Steinhoff made public an 11-page overview of a 3 000-page forensic report into Steinhoff. The report, by PwC, found that a “small group” of former executives inflated the profit and asset values of the Steinhoff group for years.

Du Preez says no regulators have access to the PwC report (12:15)

The Steinhoff CEO says the group will engage with regulators.

“At the moment none of the regulators have access to the full report,” he said. He says he is the only person at Steinhoff to have a physical copy of the report. Other people have electronic copies that “cannot be printed”.  

He says Steinhoff will engage with regulators if they think they need access to the report. Carrim, meanwhile, tells regulators they should ask for the report. 

Steinhoff CEO Louis du Preez has now mentioned the names of the people implicated in the PwC report (12:05)

The “small group of executives” mentioned in the PwC report are:

Markus Jooste

Dirk Schreiber 

Ben la Grange

Stehan Grobler

Du Preez mentioned the names after being instructed to do so by the a resolution of the committee. 

The names of non Steinhoff executives are:

Ziegermar Schmidt

Alan Evans

Jean-Noel Pasquier

“Mr Ramano”

Committee debates why names mentioned in the report are not public yet (11:50)

MPs have been discussing why Steinhoff have not made the names of the people implicated in the PwC report public yet.

Steinhoff has been advised by its lawyers not to make the names public, as it might compromise legal processes taking place in other jurisdictions, in particular the Netherlands, where Steinhoff is domiciled. 

Carrim said whether Steinhoff reveals the names or not, they could potentially end up in the public domain through the media.

Advocate Frank Jenkins who has been investigating what steps SA Parliament can take without undermining processes in Holland, said that under the Powers, Privileges and Immunities (PPI) Act Parliament can request information to be revealed if it is in pursuit of Parliament’s mandate.

This means Parliament can force Steinhoff to reveal the names of those implicated in the report. In turn Steinhoff can rebut this on the grounds that it is not within Parliament’s mandate.

In that case, the committee can then summons Steinhoff to do so. 

Why aren’t you releasing the report? – Alfred Lees (11:40)

DA MP Alf Lees asks Steinhoff leadership why it has said it is not (yet) releasing the PwC report to the FSCA. He asks whether it has more to do with the fact that Steinhoff fears that companies suing it would use that information in court, and less do with with confidential legal information. 

He also asks Steinhoff chair Heather Sonn why she and other board members have not resigned as the fraud took place when she was part of Steinhoff’s board.   

Steinhoff remains in precarious position – Sonn (11:25)

Steinhoff chair Heather Sonn says the group was still in a voluntary arrangement with creditors: “We have to get that to completion”, Sonn said.

She said Steinhoff needs to get finalisation of the arrangement with creditors to ensure operating companies can continue to operate. 

Steinhoff is working on a remedial plan following the findings the PwC investigation, Sonn said. She added the board has resolved to pursue claims against implicated parties. Steinhoff will also pursue recovery of losses incurred and damages suffered.

Du Preez says no undertaking to give full access to report to FSCA (11:15)

While the FSCA earlier said it would be receiving the full PwC report from the Steinhoff, Du Preez said there was no undertaking yet to give the FSCA access to the report. 

Du Preez said the financial effect of the accounting irregularities, which, according to the PwC report, overstated Steinhoff’s income and assets via irregular transactions by €6bn, will only be known when the 2017/18 financial results are released. 

He said the report showed that “a small group of Steinhoff Group former executives and other non-Steinhoff executives, led by a senior management executive, structured and implemented various transactions over a number of years which had the result of substantially inflating the profit and asset values of the Steinhoff Group over an extended period.”

Steinhoff is working with Deloitte to finalise its 2017 and 2018 consolidated financial statements, while considering the findings from the forensic investigation. “The forensic findings may influence the nature of the audit opinion,” Du Preez said.

Sonn: We do not want to act in haste, jeopardise prosecutions (11:05)

Sonn says the global retailer has prioritised finalising its financial statements, completing a forensic report to uncover wrongdoing and is considering what legal processes to follow.

In response criticisms that Steinhoff did not act quickly enough against wrongdoers, she said it was important for legal processes to take their course. 

“If we did anything on short term demand, it would have long-term consequences [for legal processes].”

Heather Sonn, Steinhoff chair, to present overview of PwC report (10:55)

Sonn, the chair of Steinhoff’s board, says the group will now present an overview of the PwC report.  Steinhoff CEO Louis du Preez is also in attendance.  

Sonn says she will not share anything that could stand in the way of a successful prosecution. 

She says the 14-month PwC investigation was extremely complex. The complete report contains 14 000 pages, when annexes are included. She said 22 current and former directors were interviewed.  

‘No budgetary constraints’ – FSCA (10:40)

“I have no budgetary constraint whatsoever,” says Topham of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. He reiterated that Steinhoff was the FSCA’s number one priority but he could not give a timeframe for the completion of its investigation into the multinational. 

Topham said the authority was set to soon receive the full PwC report from Steinhoff which is 3000 pages long and includes some 4000 annexes. 

He said there was good international cooperation around investigations into the company. 

No legal basis to withhold names – CIPC (10:30)

Rory Voller of the CIPC responded to questions about the legal basis for withholding the names of those implicated for wrongdoing at Steinhoff. He told the committee he believed there are no legal grounds to withhold names anymore.

The request was initially made by Steinhoff, so as not to jeopardise investigations by the SAPS, but said this may no longer relevant. He said Steinhoff must answer why the names cannot be revealed.

We need more money for enforcement – Newton-King (10:25)

Newton-King says more money is needed to “capacitate enforcement” by bringing in investigative capacity. The JSE CEO, in response to a question from Yunus Carrim, said further or more stringent regulations would not necessarily help. 

“We have lots of good laws, people find a way around them. The ethical compass is off centre,” she said.  

In response to a question around why proactive monitoring processes could not detect wrongdoing, she said if things are deliberately withheld they can be difficult to pick them up.

‘Jooste probably shopping now’ – Carrim (10:18)

Yunus Carrim, the chair of the oversight committee on finance, has said that former Steinhoff chair Markus Jooste is probably “jogging” or “shopping”. 

“The public wants convictions,” he said. “We want people in those yellow outfits”. 

DA MP David Ross, during a short discussion period, asked why it took the JSE so long to pick up irregularities at Steinhoff. His party colleague Alf Lees asked why the CIPC will not name people who have been investigated, specifically on what “legal basis” this decision was made. 

Financial Sector Conduct Authority probing three Steinhoff offenses (10:00)

The head of investigations and enforcement at the FSCA, Brandon Topham, said the authority was investigating three offenses at Steinhoff: insider trading, market manipulation and false and misleading information. 

He said that, for the next three to six months, the Steinhoff matter will be its number one priority. 

Topham said the FSCA was awaiting the full PwC report, and had already received some of it. 

Potential penalties would be known once the investigation was complete. Topham also asked anyone who had been advised to sell Steinhoff shares by executives to come forward as part of its insider trading investigation. 

CIPC seeking to declare former directors delinquent (09:50)

The Companies and Intellectual Commission will be seeking applications to declare former Steinhoff directors as delinquent directors, the committee heard. 

The CIPC said it was also working with the Hawks and NPA in terms of pursuing criminal prosecutions.

JSE has taken some disciplinary action against Steinhoff – CEO Nicky Newton-King (09:40)

Newton-King was first to give evidence. She told the committee that disciplinary action had been taken against Steinhoff and its subsidiary Pepkor. The JSE fined Steinhoff R1m for failing to disclose a downgrade in the immediate aftermath of reports of its accounting irregularities. The JSE similarly fined Pepkor R5m.

Newton-King said the JSE issued a consultative document in September 2018, with the purpose of working on proposals for the JSE to strengthen its regulatory approach to new and existing listings.

The document also provided information to enhance investor confidence in the secondary market trading in JSE listed securities. The JSE received 74 responses to the document, which were generally supportive. 

She also said that the JSE could not freeze Steinhoff shares for not submitting its financials, as the company was dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The FSE said it would not freeze the group’s shares, meaning the JSE could not freeze them either.

Newton-King said the JSE would still consult and consider the full PwC report. 

Forensic probe

The PwC forensic probe found that an unnamed “senior management executive” instructed a small group of other executives to execute instructions, often with the assistance of a “small number of persons not employed by the Steinhoff Group”.Steinhoff said none of the executives identified in the PwC report are currently employed by the group.

The overview states that the small clique of executives used “fictitious and/or irregular transactions” to inflate the group’s profits and assets by about €6.5bn (roughly R105bn) between the 2009 and 2017 financial years.

* Follow this live blog throughout the day as further details unfold

News24.com | LIVE: Gordhan concludes Eskom briefing, appeals to South Africans to reduce electricity demand

You Need Posted on by

No end in sight to load shedding

–    Shortage of around 10 000 MW daily.

–    Will have clarity on exact interventions and timeframe in two weeks.

–    Eskom/task team/government hoped to have stabilised grid by end of January, but new challenges emerged.

–    Main issue is lack of maintenance at power stations, not done properly for last decade, now breaking down.

–    Between Feb 2017 and Feb 2018 system tripped  300 times, between Feb 2018 and Feb 2019 it tripped 495 times.

–    Four options: (1) import electricity (2) burn diesel (spent R4,5 bn the last four months to keep turbines going) (3) build new power stations and (4) load shedding.

–    Problems structural, financial, operational.

–    Internal resistance against reform and restructuring process, state capture elements still prevalent.

News24.com | Battleground Gauteng will push ANC above or below 60%

You Need Posted on by

2019-03-18 05:00

In 2014, almost 24% of all votes were cast in Gauteng. With almost a quarter of all voters living in this province, it makes sense that they will determine the final composition of Parliament, writes Adriaan Basson.

With seven full weeks to go to the May 8 national and provincial elections, Gauteng is emerging as the clear battleground for the top three parties to significantly influence their numbers.

The ANC, DA and EFF are all counting on the country’s economic heartland to increase their total votes from the last national election in 2014. In that election, the ANC obtained 62.15% of all votes, the DA 22.23% and the EFF 6.35%.

READ: System that allows Dlamini, Mokonyane, Zwane to become MPs flawed

With less than two months to go before we cast our votes, the ANC is in a spot of bother. Despite his best attempts to convince the country that he has invigorated the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa has not managed to bring the governing party’s support up to 60%, according to a range of polls.

This week’s release of candidate lists will do Ramaphosa no favours of turning the public sentiment in his favour.

All the polls by political parties and research institutions currently have the ANC around 55%, give or take a percentage point. The DA is polling at 22% and the EFF around 11%.

This is bad news for Ramaphosa, and he will have to turn on his best charm before May 8 if he wants to avoid being the first ANC leader on whose watch the party’s national support dipped below 60%.

Yes, under Jacob Zuma the ANC’s national support in the 2016 local government elections went down to 53.9%, but a municipal election is very different to a national election and traditionally has much lower voter turnout.

According to my information, Gauteng still has thousands of undecided voters who may swing to any of the three parties. Expect Ramaphosa, Mmusi Maimane and Julius Malema to spend a lot of time knocking on the doors of Gauteng residents in the next few weeks.

Let’s look at the numbers. In 2014, almost 24% of all votes (4.4 million) were cast in Gauteng. With almost a quarter of all voters living in this province, it makes sense that they will determine the final composition of Parliament.

I don’t expect any big surprises in any of the eight other provinces. The DA will win the Western Cape, while the ANC will govern the seven remaining provinces again, maybe with a slightly lower majority in the North West and Northern Cape.

But Gauteng is where it’s at.

In 2014, the ANC pulled 54% of votes in this province, the DA 31% and the EFF 10%. If one tabulates the 2016 local election results – imperfect as they may be for a national election – the ANC went down to 46%, losing over 700 000 votes in the process.

The DA managed to increase their percentage of the votes to 37% and the EFF went up to 11% of the Gauteng vote in 2016.

Who are these 700 000+ ANC voters who deserted the party in 2016 and can Ramaphosa get them back?

Popular sentiment after the 2016 local election was that they were middle-class ANC supporters who grew “gatvol” with Zuma’s reign of scandal and decided to rather stay away from the polls.

At the time, the Nkandla scandal and the Guptas were top of mind.

ALSO READ: Will the ANC dodge another bullet on election day?

Their votes didn’t go to the DA or EFF. In fact, both these parties also received less votes in 2016 than in 2014 in Gauteng, albeit not at the scale the ANC suffered.

If indeed their non-voting was an anti-Zuma vote, it follows that the “lost” 700 000+ ANC voters would return to their “home” this year under Ramaphosa. The president built his business fortune in Gauteng and is undoubtedly a much more appealing candidate to Gauteng’s middle-class than Zuma ever was.

But why isn’t this showing in the polls? The ANC struggles to settle on 50% support in the Gauteng polling.

One explanation could be that these former ANC voters now live in metros run by the DA and are quite content with their lives under a DA administration. Another explanation could be that some of them are taking their votes to the EFF, for championing expropriation without compensation.

Or the truth may be something much more obvious; that they are still trying to figure out if the ANC of Zuma has really changed to the ANC of Ramaphosa, or if it’s a case of same bus, different driver.

The inclusion of tainted, implicated, suspected and lying people high on the ANC’s candidate lists hasn’t done Ramaphosa’s cause in Gauteng any favours.

– Basson is editor-in-chief of News24.

News24.com | Gauteng ANC welcomes decision to terminate Bosasa contracts with provincial government

You Need Posted on by

The ANC in Gauteng has welcomed the termination of Bosasa, now known as African Global Operations, contracts with provincial government.

This intention was announced by Premier David Makhura after the company was implicated in alleged state capture revealed by former chief operations officer, Angelo Agrizzi at the Zondo commission.

The Mail & Guardian reported in February that the controversial company benefitted from several deals with national and local government departments, including the Limpopo department of social development, the Gauteng department of education, the Northern Cape department of arts and culture and the national Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

ALSO READ: Makhura guns for officials involved in Bosasa irregularities in Gauteng

“This decision is in keeping with the commitment to the people of Gauteng and South Africa as a whole made by the ANC in its election manifesto to ‘put an end to state capture, restore the integrity of public institutions and tackle corruption, while ensuring that government has the capacity, resources and people to serve citizens effectively’,” ANC Gauteng spokesperson Tasneem Motara said in a statement on Sunday.

The ANC in Gauteng says that it is “unequivocal” about running a clean government as resolved in its conferences which set up measures to prevent state looting.

“One such measure is the introduction of the Open Tender System.

“This process has enhanced transparency in government and created significant awareness about public procurement and accountability in decision making,” Motara explained.

The governing party in the province further notes the appointment of the civil society-led Ethics Advisory Council.

“There are no longer grey areas when it comes to practices that have the potential to undermine the ability of the state to run a corruption free government,” Motara added.

ANC Gauteng maintains that it remains committed to rid government of all forms of corruption and maladministration.

“If it is not addressed, it will result in the reversal of the democratic gains we have made in the past 25 years,” Motara concluded.