2019-03-04 10:30

The judicial commission of inquiry into state capture continues with testimony from Eskom treasury official Sincedile Shweni.

WATCH LIVE | State Capture Inquiry 

(Courtesy of SABC) 

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10:00

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ICYMI: 

Calls for ‘corrupt’ Ngconde Balfour to testify before Zondo Commission 

The widow of former prisons boss Vernie Petersen has called on her late husband’s political head, Ngconde Balfour, to give evidence before the Zondo Commission into state capture.

June Petersen was one of several speakers at the launch of the Justice4Vernie Foundation at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Saturday.

The foundation will support initiatives to build an ethical public service and nominate Vernie Petersen to receive the Order of the Baobab posthumously. 

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09:59

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EXCLUSIVE: McBride ‘begged’ ex-NPA boss to prosecute IPID cases for months, Abrahams denies ‘baseless’ claims 

One of the last acts Robert McBride attended to as head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has been laid bare in a recent letter to newly-appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi, urging her to fast track high-profile cases which he says were “singled out” by the police watchdog.

In the letter – which News24 has seen – McBride notes that he repeatedly appealed to former prosecutions boss Shaun Abrahams over two years to intervene in IPID cases that were not being prosecuted.

And now, the former IPID boss has officially questioned if Abrahams was “biased in dealing with IPID cases”. 

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09:59

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Presidency to wait for Zondo report before acting against Cabinet members 

A parliamentary reply from the Office of the President has indicated President Cyril Ramaphosa’s intention to wait for the report from the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture before he takes action against any Cabinet ministers.

IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa asked Ramaphosa whether he would take action against Minister of Environmental Affairs Nomvula Mokonyane, Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe and Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla after they were named in testimony before the inquiry.

He also asked, “if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the action he intends to take?” 

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09:59

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#StateCapture: Eskom executive details signing of R25bn Chinese loan 

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Friday heard how former Eskom financial officer Anoj Singh drove the process for a R25bn loan facility from China’s Huarong Energy Africa.

Eskom head of treasury, Andre Pillay, said the company had approached the power utility with the unsolicited offer in 2015. 

An Eskom delegation had travelled to China with an intention to further explore the offer. The terms of the loan would include a $30m cancellation fee and a R400m “signature fee”, according to earlier reports.

It was previously reported that the terms of the controversial loan, which Eskom was to use to refurbish power stations, also allowed Huarong to select and approve contractors. No agreement was reached from the first China visit. 

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09:59

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ANALYSIS: 

Manuel on Zuma’s abdication of duty – and how the Guptas took power 

Trevor Manuel on Thursday used rhetoric that became extinct in the executive of former president Jacob Zuma and used language that has largely disappeared from public service since.

In his testimony to the judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo, the former minister of finance spoke about being faithful to the Constitution, about the oath of office sworn to by the president and public representatives, about “necessary care and attention to detail” when managing public finances and about confidentiality when appointing a minister. 

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09:59

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State capture: Nyanda fired after refusing repeated invitations to meet Guptas 

Former communications minister Sipiwhe Nyanda told the commission of inquiry into state capture that he was fired after refusing to honour invitations to meet with the Gupta family. 

Nyanda, who was chief of staff of the ANC’s liberation army uMkhonto weSizwe, was the second witness to testify about the appointment and removal of ministers on Thursday.

He told commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that he once met with the Gupta brothers at his office and they were accompanied by former president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane. 

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09:59

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Our MPs need training, Trevor Manuel tells Zondo commission 

ANC veteran and former finance minister Trevor Manuel has expressed frustration at the governing party’s failure to use its own stalwarts and former leaders to better service the country.

Manuel, who testified earlier at the state capture commission of inquiry, said there were many former leaders, including two former presidents, who were never consulted about how to successfully run South Africa over the past decade.

Commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, invited Manuel to testify after he claimed that the ANC’s head of elections and former minister Fikile Mbalula wept at a national executive committee (NEC) meeting in 2011 after members of the Gupta family told him he would become a minister. 

The Freedom Front Plus proposed privatising state entities, reducing Cabinet to 16 ministers, not letting the government go over budget, and opening affirmative action-free economic zones in its election manifesto which was launched in Pretoria on Saturday. 

The party also reiterated its opposition to expropriation of land without compensation in favour of redistributing unused state-owned land and failed land reform projects, and speeding up land claims. 

Led by MP Pieter Groenwald, the party’s manifesto said it would protect heritage, conservation and social care under community councils, and schools and other institutions can choose if they want to be part of a community council system, or fall directly under the government. 

It wants to do away with race-based affirmative action, in favour of a merit-based system.

The party also wants to reduce salary increases and bonuses to public office bearers and increase VAT if government spending reaches a pre-set cap then reduce it once spending is under control again.

It wants municipalities to comprise of a single town, instead of the current mega-municipalities which are struggling, and believes local government and provincial governments should have more power.

It also submits that self-determination to recognise diversity is becoming accepted world-wide and should be introduced in South Africa.

READ: Peter Marais says he is back to fight for Afrikaans, self-determination and for Christian values 

It wants personal and company tax lowered to stimulate investment in the economy and create jobs, and to decrease the fuel levy significantly.

The Road Accident Fund must be done away with and every motor vehicle owner must be compelled by legislation to take out third-party insurance. It is also calling for aboloshing  e-tolls in Gauteng.

The party wants the policing and prosecution of violence against women and children to be prioritised and an increase in state funding of non-profit organisations, like children’s homes and homes for the elderly and disabled people. 

It will abolish transformation targets and black economic empowerment to encourage the private sector to appoint the best person for the job, to promote economic growth. 

Strikes and particularly illegal strikes that lead to job losses must be prohibited, there should be no protests near schools, and trade unions’ power must be restricted.

The party also proposes that teachers who are willing to work at less affluent schools must receive higher remuneration and higher bonuses, and proposes a system of parent- and community-driven mother-tongue education, expressing concern about the anglicising of education in South Africa. 

The FF Plus supports greater state expenditure on agricultural research and protection against international dumping. It says it is in support of private property rights and food security, and believes that if there is expropriation, it must be market-related and should go through a court.

The provincial and national elections have been set for May 8. 

The woman who uttered the phrase “My fok, Marelize” says she thought she had stopped recording before she said the now-famous words.

She also never expected such an overwhelming reaction to a video she took of her daughter riding a bicycle into a rugby post.

Heidi Horn, mother of Marelize Horn, 19, was filming her daughter on Saturday while she rode a bicycle on the rugby field at Affies Park in Windhoek. Marelize rides in a circular motion and then heads straight for the rugby posts, before crashing straight into them.

Heidi then exclaims in Afrikaans: “My fok, Marelize…,” before starting to walk toward her daughter.

Marelize told News24 on Friday: “My mum Heidi says: ‘My fok, Marelize’ to me almost every day! I fall off things, walk into things – it’s insane how clumsy I am.”

But mom Heidi told News24 she didn’t even realise that it was considered her catchphrase.

“I can’t imagine that I say that so often, but then, you don’t always realise when you say something often.”

READ: ‘My f*k, Marelize…’ – reaction to girl riding bike into rugby posts has people in stitches

So, what went through Heidi’s mind when she saw her daughter crashing the bike?

“My fok, Marelize!” Heidi says, laughing heartily.

‘Sometimes I just have no filter at all’

“Sometimes I just have no filter at all! I just blurt out what’s on my mind…”

According to Marelize, she is still learning to ride the bicycle. “I know this sounds strange, but I am finally learning to ride the bicycle at the age of 19,” she told News24.

She says she and Heidi chose to ride on the sports grounds because, if she fell, she would not hurt herself too badly on the lush lawn.

“My mom made a video of me riding so that we could watch it afterward to pick up on any mistakes that I made.” 

She was riding along nicely, until she started to approach the rugby poles.

“I wanted to turn right, but the bike just kept going to the left. I had no control over the thing. I then crashed into the pole.”

Heidi says she was filming the whole thing on her cellphone, thinking: “She’s got this.”

“But the next thing I see is, boom! There she goes!

“I remember thinking, ‘What the hell? You were riding so well just then?'”

ALSO READ: ‘My f*k, Marelize’ talks to us: ‘I fall down every day’

Heidi said she was not one of those mothers who made a fuss when her children got hurt.

“I was more concerned about the bicycle!” Heidi joked.

‘She can be quite clumsy’ 

Heidi told News24 that Marelize was indeed clumsy, as she claimed.

“One would tell her to turn left, for example, and then she would get confused about what direction left is. Then she’d turn right and we would have to turn back again. Or she would drop things for no apparent reason. She can be quite clumsy,” Heidi says, laughing.

“So it didn’t surprise me when Marelize rode her bike into the rugby posts.”

Like Marelize, Heidi was completely taken by surprise by the video going viral.

“I thought, okay, maybe because [the crash] is funny. But I never thought it would be because of my reaction. In fact, I thought I had already stopped recording before I said what I said.”

Heidi says the family has been inundated with messages from across the globe.

“I never thought something could blow up like this has.”

Police officers cried tears of relief on Wednesday night when they scooped up two exhausted little boys 7km from home, a day after another boy had been found after going missing in Motherwell.

“One of the police officers, Lieutenant Colonel Jesvin Arends, said when he found the boys, he teared up with extreme relief and emotion,” said police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu on Thursday, speaking about the rescue of the Eastern Cape boys who had been missing.

“He just grabbed the boys in his arms. They were so small.”

Othandwayo Zenzile, 4, Linandle Zenzile and Nande Nombewu, both 3 years old, disappeared on Tuesday afternoon after they were last seen playing in an open field near the home of one of the children.

Their parents spent hours searching for them, and eventually turned to the police for help at 22:00. 

Police on Wednesday appealed to the public to assist with finding the three named boys.

A massive search party consisting of local residents and at least five police units, including the dog unit, searched through bushes, open fields, from door-to-door – everywhere they could think of, a statement by Naidu said.

A whimper behind a sand dune

A helicopter also buzzed over the area hoping for a sighting of the boys.

The first child, Linandle, was found at about 14:25 on Wednesday by workers at the Amanzi quarry. He was simply sitting on a weighbridge at the quarry between Uitenhage and Motherwell. 

The quarry workers called Uitenhage police and the little boy was fetched and taken to the Motherwell police station.

The search party then shifted its focus to the quarry and surrounding area, and even more police officers, metro police, rescue dogs and residents joined in, fanning out in the hopes of finding his little friends there too.

The whimper of a child behind a sand dune led Arends and colleague Warrant Officer Francois Marais to the discovery of Othandwayo and Nande.

To their relief the two missing boys were lying on the rocks on the ground – almost 7km from home – and alive.

Police investigating

Naidu said that Arends saw Othandwayo and Nande first and was so overwhelmed with relief that he started crying. 

The boys were scooped up and taken to hospital for medical examinations. 

Naidu said that it was still too early to say how the boys got there and police are investigating the circumstances of their mystery journey.

In one of the pictures taken at the scene, one of the children was wearing only one sandal.

The Herald newspaper reported that the other sandal was picked up near where they had last been seen playing. 

Major General Dawie Rabie said it was overwhelming to see how people from all over the metro helped in whichever way they could to find the children. 

“People came straight from work and joined the search,” said Rabie. 

“We are just glad that these children are now safe and reunited with their parents. We urge parents to be extra cautious and to know where their children are at all times. Children as young as these should never be left out of sight,” Rabie said.