Day: March 5, 2024

Three suspects, aged 33, 42 and 64, were arrested during an early morning raid in Limpopo by the Serious Corruption Investigation of the Hawks.

The 64-year-old suspect, who was previously the Chief Financial Officer and Acting Municipal Manager for the Greater Giyani Local Municipality, was arrested in Lulekani.

He was arrested on charges of contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), corruption and money laundering.

The 42-year-old suspect was arrested in Giyani. She was a Budget Manager and Acting Chief Financial Officer, and currently the Chief Financial Officer, of Giyani. She is facing charges of flouting the MFMA.

The third suspect, aged 33, is a businessman. He was arrested in Muhuya village, Thohoyandou, on allegations of money laundering.

During 2017, two of the suspects invested a total of R148 656 282.00 into VBS Mutual Bank. Large amounts were paid to VBS affiliated companies as so-called “commissions”.

Some of this money was laundered through several bank accounts, includi
ng that of the third suspect.

From the suspect’s company, a total amount of R87 600.00 was paid to the first suspect over a period of time as gratification, which was a great loss to the Giyani Municipality.

The trio will make their first appearance on 6 March 2024 in the Giyani Magistrates’ Court for formal bail application.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has welcomed the finalisation of key Bills by the National Assembly during the first three months of this year.

These include the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill, the Public Service Amendment Bill, the Statistics Amendment Bill, the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill and the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill.

According to a statement by the Presidency, the public service Bills have now been referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for consideration.

‘As Section 75 of the Constitution Bills, the other Bills have been referred to specific parliamentary portfolio committees for processing.’

The Constitution distinguishes between four categories of Bills involving those amending the Constitution; ordinary Bills not affecting the provinces; ordinary Bills affecting the provinces; and money Bills including those that deal with appropriations, taxes, levies or duties.’

Meanwhile, 16 Bills have been sent to the President for assent by the end of Fe
bruary.

Deputy President Mashatile, in his capacity as leader of Government Business in Parliament, described the development as significant progress, which takes the nation closer to the fulfilment of the mandate of the sixth democratic administration.

‘The significance of the legislative programme is that it is a linear and revolving responsibility to both enact legislation and fine-tune existing laws.

‘We are confident that at the end of this term, all priority legislation will have gone through the rigorous parliamentary process, passed the constitutional master and become laws of the Republic after the President has assented to the Bills,’ he said.

As the leader of Government Business, the Deputy President promotes accountability by the Executive.

Among other things, he tracks the submission of responses to Parliamentary questions for oral and written replies and commitments made.

He also monitors the programming and attendance of Members of the Executive before Parliament and portfolio committees,
the implementation of the legislative programme and the processing of priority Bills by Parliament.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Omusati Region are in pursuit of a pastor who allegedly raped two women and a minor on different occasions at Okandi village in the Etayi Constituency.

NamPol’s Omusati Regional Commander, Commissioner Ismael Basson, confirmed this on Monday, saying the incidents allegedly occurred between 09 and 24 February.

According to Basson, the victims are aged 17, 19 and 24, while the age of the suspect, who remains on the run, is unknown.

‘The suspect, who is the pastor and owner of the church where the victims attend, allegedly had sexual intercourse with them without their consent,’ he said.

Police investigations into the matter continue.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

South Africa’s Special Economic Zones operators and businesses are to be exposed to the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) during a workshop by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic).

The department will host the workshop in collaboration with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) at the IDC Auditorium in Sandton on Wednesday from 09:00 in the morning.

The workshop aims to provide an overview of the AfCFTA and the status of negotiations and implementation, communicate the benefits and export opportunities offered under the AfCFTA to the SEZ managers, investors and tenants and share information on incentives, customs requirements, quality standards and export finance insurance solutions.

The Special Economic Zones Programme has over the 10 years since its inception offered a conducive environment for businesses to enhance their operations. The South African government uses the SEZs as a way to attract investments in sectors with no obvious comparative
advantage, or as a way of increasing value added in export activities.

According to the Deputy Director-General of Trade at the dtic, Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, the AfCFTA workshop will offer an opportunity to collaborate with the SEZs and present the master plan and AfCFTA SEZ Ministerial Regulations.

The six sector master plans targeted are steel and fabrication, agriculture and agro-processing, retail-clothing textile leather and footwear, automotive industry, sugar value chain and forestry.

‘The aim is to share export opportunities for the SEZs arising from the AfCFTA and to sensitise them on the benefits of exporting under the AfCFTA,’ Mlumbi-Peter said.

For South Africa, the AfCFTA provides an opportunity for the private sector, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs), including youth and women owned companies to expand to new markets in East, Central, West and North Africa.

‘We wish to encourage companies to produce and export value added manufactured products to support sustainable jobs to new
preferential markets in the African continent,’ she said.

Participants will also receive presentations from the dtic’s Export Desk, Proudly South African, Brand SA and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

Source: South African Government News Agency