Category Archives: South African News

News24.com | ANC has been ‘grappling’ with corruption – Mkhize

You Need Posted on by

Cape Town – ANC treasurer-general and presidential hopeful Zweli Mkhize’s contribution to fighting corruption, as a current member of the ANC’s top six, was to support the establishment of a commission of inquiry into state capture.

This was Mkhize’s answer to the question on what he did to fight corruption as allegations of wrongdoing piled during his term as one of the party’s top officials, when he addressed the Cape Town Press Club on Wednesday.

He said he took part in the debate on whether such a commission should be established and supported it.

“This is something I think we all must support,” he said.

READ: Mkhize: Avoid the politics of money

He said the “questions” around President Jacob Zuma must be investigated and everything must be corroborated.

He said he hoped the commission would be established soon.

“The way to deal with corruption is to act firmly where corruption is found,” he said in answer to a previous question.

Corruption 

This required well-structured systems.

“There has been a lot of action on corruption,” he said, citing suspensions and parliamentary committees’ investigations.

“When each of these instances arises you should be able to act speedily so that people can see something is being done.”

“The ANC has been grappling with this issue.”

READ: ‘Mkhize to be backed as deputy president to Ramaphosa’

He said the party needed the leadership to be strengthened and it should be able to ask “somebody to step aside” when there were allegations.

Mkhize was also asked if he thought one of his rivals for the ANC presidency, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, was captured given recent allegations that she is supported financially by an alleged cigarette smuggler.

“Look, I don’t have any evidence to suggest that Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is captured,” Mkhize answered.

He said he did not want to make “wild statements”.

‘Capable leaders’ 

It emerged that Mkhize does not have a “dream team” or slate.

“We must always be ready to lead with those who have been elected to lead with us”.

He said he could work with anybody and the ANC had a “wide range of capable leaders”.

Unity was a common thread through his speech.

 

He said the ANC must take the country forward and he wanted to be part of that leadership. 

The country needed to get to a point where the playing field was level and the line drawn by apartheid was no longer visible.

He said radical economic transformation was not a cynical Bell-Pottinger construct, but a genuine attempt to correct what was wrong in South Africa.

“We must all agree that the structure of the economy needs to change,” he said.

READ: Why Mkhize might be the best candidate for those suffering from ‘Zuma fatigue’

He said land ownership was one of the issues that needed to be addressed, and this could be done in terms of the Constitution.

He said the party’s leadership must be efficient and not “drain the fiscus”. 

“We need leadership that is united to ensure there is no corruption.”

Economic emancipation would be the core focus of the newly elected leadership, come December, he said.

He said the ANC must resolve the problems the organisation faces.

“Some of the things that are happening today, should not be happening.”

“The ANC is a force for the good of the country,” he said, adding that “were it not for the ANC and its leaders, this country would have burned.”

eNCA | WATCH: The President’s Keepers launch abandoned

You Need Posted on by

JOHANNESBURG – Hyde Park shopping centre in Johannesburg was full to overflowing on Wednesday night as Jaques Pauw’s explosive book on President Jacob Zuma, The President’s Keepers, was launched. 

The book launch, however, had to be abandoned due to issues with electricity supply. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the controversial Black First Land First (BLF) group promised “a nice surprise” for the book launch. 

The book has recorded record sales, especially after the State Security Agency and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced it intends blocking the book’s publication through legal action. 

  • Editor’s note: this is a developing story and will be updated from time to time. 

eNCA

eNCA | Pauw tax allegations could land Zuma back in ConCourt: Experts

You Need Posted on by

JOHANNESBURG – President Jacob Zuma could land up back in the constitutional court if allegations that he’s a tax delinquent are true.

That’s according to tax experts and constitutional law analysts following claims that Zuma owes millions in outstanding taxes.

The explosive allegations are contained in Jacque Pauw’s book, The President’s Keepers.

WATCH: Pauw unpacks The President’s Keepers

Pauw exposes an alleged plot by the president to quash a massive R63 million tax bill.

Zuma is no stranger in the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) and it would seem if any of these damning allegations are true, he could eventually return here to answer questions about his tax affairs.

Section 1 of the Constitution subjects citizens of the Republic to equality before the law, meaning every single law should apply to every single South African, including the country’s tax laws.

According to Pauw,  the very reason Tom Moyane became SARS commissioner in 2015 was to shield the president from scrutiny by the Receiver of Revenue, something that worries tax experts and legal analysts, more so because SARS has said it will take legal action against Pauw and the Sunday Times.

Zweli Mabhoza of Priority Tax Solutions says: “I thought that SARS was going to celebrate. They have R51 billion shortfall they need to collect. It is also empowering them to say: ‘We can see this information’. And it’s up to the taxpayer to refute and say ‘In fact, I did pay tax on that’. It should not be up to SARS to protect the individual.”

Zuma is not the only president whose tax affairs are unclear.

US President Donald Trump’s resisted all calls to release his tax returns amid allegations of impropriety. 

eNCA

News24.com | AS IT HAPPENED: Fikile Mbalula: I’m not here to fight journalists, I’m here to fight crime

You Need Posted on by

Policing challenges in South Africa

South Africa is confronting a scourge of violent criminality, the Department of Police said in a statement.

Mbalula aims to instill an intelligence led policing approach to prevent and fight crime. “This entails strengthening of the Division of Crime Intelligence.”

Employment regulations of SAPS, said his department, are also an important matter for Mbalula.  

“The Minister will also touch on matters arising from his parliamentary interactions and expectations of Parliament and the general public, including other key policy direction matters.”

eNCA | Former MEC Qedani Mahlangu suspended from UK school

You Need Posted on by

JOHANNESBURG – Former Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, has been suspended from the Global Banking School in London.

The institution is citing serious allegations relating to the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

READ: ‘Hearing wont end until Mahlangu testifies’: Moseneke

A 141 psychiatric patients died after being transferred from Life Esidimeni facilities to unlicensed NGOs.

Arbitration hearings have been taking place, where families had to hear the gruesome details of how their loved ones died.

They also told of their grief, after some only found out months later that their relatives had died.

There have been widespread calls for Mahlangu to testify at the hearings.

eNCA

News24.com | PICS: Thick smoke from fire causing poor visibility on Cape Town highways

You Need Posted on by

Cape Town – A fire has spread across an extensive area of vegetation on mountain slopes along Sir Lowry’s Pass, the City of Cape Town said on Tuesday.

Twelve firefighting vehicles were currently on scene, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesperson Theo Layne said.

– Are you there, or are you affected? Send us your eyewitness accounts and photos.

City of Cape Town safety and security director Richard Bosman said the N2 was closed between Sir Lowry’s Pass Rd and Botrivier.

There was also no access to Gordon’s Bay Rd and Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and all outgoing traffic was required to make a U-turn at Sir Lowry’s Rd intersection.

Also read: #SirLowrysPassFire: 12 ways to be safe on our roads

“No heavy duty trucks or busses will be able to travel through the R44 Rooi Els due to the road works,” Bosman added.

A thick cloud of smoke was also seen hanging over the Cape Town CBD.


(Photos sent by Claudia Gevers from Gordon’s Bay)

eNCA | Motsoeneng refused leave to appeal SABC8 costs ruling: Solidarity

You Need Posted on by

JOHANNESBURG – Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the former head of news Simon Tebele have been refused leave to appeal a Labour Court ruling instructing them to personally pay for the legal costs involving the dismissal of the so-called SABC 8, union Solidarity said on Tuesday. 

“Solidarity has made it clear many a time that it would not rest until Motsoeneng and Tebele have paid the money in their personal capacity as ordered by the court,” head of Solidarity’s centre for fair labour practices Anton Van der Bijl said.

READ: Hlaudi ‘not known to be at one with rational world’ – media analyst

“Hlaudi is painting himself into a corner in an attempt to evade justice,” he said, adding that the pair’s attempt to appeal was dismissed with costs.

The SABC withdrew its attorneys from representing the duo after they were dragged to the Labour Court for wrongful dismissal of senior SABC journalists. The eight journalists, dubbed the “SABC 8”, were fired after they challenged the broadcaster’s controversial editorial policies and compared the ban of broadcasting violent protests to censorship.

Seven of the eight journalists were later reinstated after the labour court ruled that the dismissals were unlawful. Motsoeneng claimed he was acting in accordance with the SABC policy and was within his rights as the COO to support the banning of broadcasting protests.

Solidarity and the Broadcasting, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union (Bemawu), who assisted the journalists, were adamant that Motsoeneng and Tebele should be held responsible for their legal costs. The court agreed with Solidarity and Bemawu and ordered the defendants to pay the costs.

African News Agency

Information notice on the official gold and foreign exchange reserves of the South African Reserve Bank as at 31 October 2017

You Need Posted on by
Publish Date: 2017-11-07
Category: Information Notice
Author: Financial Markets

​This notice provides detail of the US dollar equivalent of the level of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) official gold and foreign exchange reserves, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and foreign currency deposits received from customers published today in the SARB’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 October 2017.

Attachments:

News24.com | Advocates who fleeced RAF get go-ahead to reapply for admission to Bar

You Need Posted on by

Johannesburg – The Pretoria Bar was split during a recent vote to readmit four attorneys who were disbarred in 2011 after being found guilty of fleecing millions from the Road Accident Fund.

The chairperson of the Bar had to cast the final vote at a resolution meeting in October, at which the Bar Council voted not to oppose the applications by Marthinus de Klerk, Makgotshe Leopeng, Daniel Poli Mogagabe, and Thillay Pillay.

The four were part of a group of 13 advocates that faced sanctions for accepting multiple cases on the same day (double briefing) and charging a full day’s fee for each case (overreaching).

De Klerk, Leopeng, Mogagabe, Pillay, French Bezuidenhout and Theunis Botha were struck from the roll of advocates in 2011.

The General Council of the Bar approached the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2012 to ensure that all 13 be disbarred. That appeal was dismissed.

The SCA also dismissed the appeal of the six to be re-instated.

The court, however, said in a damning judgment that the advocates had “mounted the steed of greed”.

“Over-reaching involves an abuse of the person’s status as an advocate, to take advantage for personal gain of the person who is paying them. Advocates enjoy a considerable advantage in setting a fee,” the SCA said. 

“They know what standards are applicable to the charging of fees; they know what work has been done on the brief and what time and effort has gone into that work; they know in broad terms the fees charged by advocates of comparable seniority and ability for similar work.”

‘A valuable, yet painful lesson’

In 2011, Leopeng pleaded guilty to 315 counts of double briefing and overreaching. He was fined R157 500 and ordered to repay R1.3m to the RAF.

Mogagabe pleaded guilty to 461 counts of double briefing and overreaching and was fined R230 000 and ordered to repay nearly R2m to the RAF.

Pillay pleaded guilty to 28 counts of double briefing and overreaching and was fined R28 000 and ordered to repay R268 800 to the RAF, while De Klerk was found guilty on 74 counts of overreaching and double briefing and was fined R74 000 and ordered to repay R310 800.

Minutes of the resolution in October’s meeting shows a vote was taken and it was evenly split, with the chairperson casting the final vote. This meant the Pretoria Bar voted not to oppose the application to readmit the advocates.

Further, it was recommended that the Judge President and Deputy Judge President of the North Gauteng High Court be informed about the outcome of the meeting and vote.

In Leopeng’s re-admission application, he wrote that the period of his removal felt like “a lifetime”.

“The removal of my name from the roll of advocates taught me a valuable, yet painful lesson to adhere to honesty and to always uphold the prestige of the Society to which I was a member,” Leopeng’s admission reads.

In De Klerk’s application, he argues he drastically changed his life, with the “only indulgence” in his life being a game of golf a week.

“Since my striking [off the roll], I have drastically changed my lifestyle and I live frugally. I, for example, do not go on holiday, do my own maintenance, seldom eat out,” he said.

“I humbly submit that I am a changed and reformed person who has insight into my wrongdoings and the effect and enormity thereof. I further humbly submit that I am a genuinely, totally and wholly reformed person,” he argues.

‘Court has the last say’

Advocate Moses Mphaga, chairperson of the Pretoria Bar, said the body did not have the power to allow or disallow them back.

“They are officers of the court. It is the court that has the last say whether they are fit and proper or not,” he said.

“They are no longer our members, because they are no longer advocates. They have made an application to court for re-admission, saying they are fit and proper to be re-admitted… The last say will be at the court,” Mphaga said.

He said whoever decided to object to their re-admission, the court would take that into consideration.

“There were members who felt we should oppose, and there were members who felt we shouldn’t oppose,” he said.

He said the court still had the discretion to call the Bar and ask what their views were, and that the advocates applying to be re-admitted still had to approach the court for a date.