Month: May 2018

 

• Suspended SARS head Tom Moyane actively tried to block investigations into possible corruption involving his second in command, Jonas Makwakwa, the disciplinary charge sheet against him has revealed. The presidency is taking disciplinary action against Moyane in a bid to clamp down on mismanagement at the revenue service. [BusinessLive]

• Embattled auditor KPMG has welcomed a decision by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors to review the group’s turnaround strategy, saying that the move will hopefully help to undo much of the negativity around auditors in general, which it contributed to through the recent scandals. [Reuters]

• There appears to be no end to the national bus strike, even as a new offer has been put on the table. The strike has been going on for over two weeks, and has crippled South Africa’s transport systems. The new offer is for a 8.75% increase in wages – unions demand at 12% increase. [EWN]

• Gupta nephew, Varun, who was arrested as part of the February Hawks raid is reportedly trying to skip the country, despite court orders that say he can’t. He was release on R250,000 bail, and has now applied to try and get his pail conditions relaxed. [eNCA]

• South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar on Friday, failing to build on gains in the previous session, while stocks rose as bourse heavyweight Naspers  recovered ground. On Monday the rand was trading at R12.53 to the dollar, R16.98 to the pound and R14.99 to the euro.

The alleged killer of a Mangosuthu University of Technology student is “a high-flying” activist with political links and a penchant for the finer things in life.

Thabani Mzolo, 23, allegedly shot dead Zolile Khumalo, a first year quantity surveying student from Eshowe, northern KwaZulu-Natal, on Tuesday.

Mzolo used a Facebok profile under the name “Simkahle Kwandy Mnisi”, where he posted pictures of luxury vehicles such as Range Rovers, Jaguars and Mercedes Benz and a double storey house.

However, Sowetan has established that the cars and the property belonged to his benefactor. The pictures have since been removed from his Facebook profile.

According to a source who asked not to be named, Mzolo was the recipient of a bursary from a well-off KZN businesswoman. The source said Mzolo used the luxuries in order to draw attention to himself.

Rustenburg – The African National Congress in the North West says it is shocked at reports of an alleged plot to assassinate premier Supra Mahumapelo.

Acting provincial secretary Sussana Dantjie said they were “shocked and disturbed” by the alleged plot to “permanently silence” Mahumapelo.

“It has come to our attention that this plot involves hiring hit men who have already been paid a large sum of money and were apparently promised the balance once they have assassinated cde Supra. We commend the provincial chairperson for opening a conspiracy to commit murder case at Mahikeng police station. This is but one of several attempts at killing our provincial chairperson,” she said.

killing Mahumapelo, with the last one involving a councillor in Mahikeng,” North West government spokesman Brian Setswambung said in a statement.

Mahumapelo told the ANC provincial general council in Rustenburg in October last year that he knew of nine people who wanted him dead. In December last year his office said there was a threat to kill Mahumapelo and his family, and the mastermind behind the alleged plan was a former employee in his office and was allegedly working with a syndicate.

Dantjie urged law enforcement agencies to speed up their investigations and apprehend all conspirators of the alleged plot. The Hawks in the North West said they were investigating the alleged plot.

A wave of violent protests has swept through the North West, calling for Mahumapelo to resign. The ANC is expected to pronounce on his future soon