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Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters has been suspended for one month, without pay, by President Cyril Ramaphosa, following a sanction from Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interest.

In a statement on Friday, the Presidency said the suspension would take place between February 28 and March 28.

"The Committee found that Ms Peters had breached the Code of Ethical Conduct in her former portfolio as Minister of Transport," it said.

Change Starts Now (CSN) announced on Friday that it will not be contesting the elections in May.

Former government official and leader of the new political party Roger Jardine noted that a recent Constitutional Court decision posed barriers to newly established political parties as they faced a prejudicial logistical timetable to qualify for the ballot.

The Independent Electoral Commission's rules for new parties, relating to the amount of signatures required for them to contest the elections, was recently under scrutiny in the Constitutional Court, however, the court chose not to hear the issue citing a disruption in preparations for the May elections.

Jardine said the party had taken a decision that, while it believed that it was essential to give voters as much encouragement to exercise their democratic right, by providing them with a range of options, in the interests of increasing the chances of political change, CSN would for now support political parties who shared its values and aspirations.

CSN came on the scene in December 2023, with Jardine saying the party was launched recognising a desperate national crisis.

"We understood then what our research has since shown us: South Africans are demanding political change, and their expectations and demands for a political alternative are not being met," he said.

He explained that in a short time, CSN had established a significant national following and recently launched its manifesto.

"With this vision for a better future, CSN was gearing up to build a political compact of millions of like-minded South Africans and political formations who share our mission of offering citizens a vision for the change they are demanding: a new government, made up of honest, competent people who want to rebuild the country, deliver on our constitutional values and rights and expand opportunities for everyone so that millions of people can escape poverty and prosper," said Jardine.

He pointed out that the party's research and engagements with South Africans showed that while people were abandoning the African National Congress, much political work was needed to unite South Africans behind a shared vision for the future of the country.

"Therefore, CSN will continue to work on, champion and advocate for the ideas in our Change Charter [manifesto]. We call on all South Africans to participate in the democratic process and to vote in these pivotal elections," he said.

Jardine said he continued to believe in the importance and obligation of an intergenerational group of dedicated citizens with experience in politics, business and society, who would work collaboratively to change the country.

Former President Thabo Mbeki, through his foundation, on Friday denied that his administration had interfered with the work of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in investigating Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases.

This comes after court affidavits by former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Vusi Pikoli and NPA officials stated that interference from Mbeki's government had resulted in the NPA ending TRC investigations into apartheid crimes that denied offenders amnesty.

Mbeki, who was President between 1999 and 2008, denied the allegations and said his executive had not stopped prosecutors from pursuing the TRC cases. Instead, he countered, if investigations were stopped, it was done so by decision of the NPA.

"There is no record of a single instance when the NPA stopped investigating and prosecuting any case on account of so-called 'executive interference' - at least not during the period 1999 - 2008. There are some questions which the NPA must answer honestly. Who in the executive instructed the NPA not to do its work? Will the NPA publish this 'instruction' which, presumably, will be in its archives? Why did the NPA accept and respect what would have patently been an illegal instruction?" Mbeki asked.

He further called on the NPA to stop "propagating falsehoods" and to apologise for not investigating the TRC cases.

Mbeki also hit back at Pikoli saying the former NDPP has never approached him to discuss any interference in the NPA.

Mbeki said Pikolo portrayed himself as an "independent and principled NDPP who defied an 'all too powerful' President Mbeki, who was supposedly hell-bent on stopping him from investigating and arresting the late former National Commissioner of Police, Jackie Selebi".

'BACK DOOR' AMNESTIES

Mbeki also denied that his government was involved in "back door amnesties", which sought to give political prisoners the opportunity to apply for amnesty after they were not able to do so with the TRC Amnesty Committee.

"What happened in this regard is that years after the dissolution of the TRC, some prisoners approached the Government arguing that they had been imprisoned for political activities - and were therefore political prisoners - but had not had the opportunity to apply for amnesty with the TRC. The Government thought that rather than ignore these approaches, it should institute a process akin to what was pursued by the TRC Amnesty Committee to allow these prisoners to make presentations," Mbeki said.

He explained that the President would then have used his Constitutional powers to decide whether or not to grant amnesty. However, he added that the process did not go ahead because the courts had ruled that such a process would violate the TRC Act.

Mbeki said people "conveniently" forget that the African National Congress was one of the architects of South Africa's Constitution.

"During the years when I served as Deputy President and President of the Republic, I, together with my colleagues in Government, always bore this in mind and acted knowing that the Constitutional prescripts we helped to negotiate were binding on us," he stated.

The African National Congress (ANC) reiterated its position that cadre deployment is a globally accepted practice and said it will not offer further comment on the "theatrics" of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and its Multi-Part Charter partners.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party noted the "cynical and hypocritical distortion" of the cadre deployment narrative by the DA and opposition parties who, Bhengu-Motsiri said, were "bristling with their characteristic political opportunism and adventurism".

On Tuesday, the DA announced that it would be submitting a fresh Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to obtain the ANC's outstanding cadre deployment meeting minutes, a list of decisions, WhatsApp conversations, email threads, CVs, and all other documents relevant to the work of all regional and provincial cadre deployment committees dating back to January 2013.

This was the period when President Cyril Ramaphosa was the chairperson of the ANC national deployment committee.

The DA gave the ANC 30 days to comply with its PAIA application, which the opposition party said was based on the same rationale that led to its Constitutional Court victory.

DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration Dr Leon Schreiber said that should the ANC fail to comply with the PAIA application by the 30-day deadline, the DA would take the matter to court.

"The ANC notes that some media organisations have chosen to overlook the public statements made by prominent members of the DA, both past and present, where they admit their involvement in the DA's own form of cadre deployment," said Bhengu-Motsiri

ActionSA Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni urged Gauteng residents to give the party the mandate to govern and execute its policies its own way, saying ActionSA's objective is to strengthen consequence mechanism processes to create zero tolerance for corruption.

"This is not to say that we would not accept the outcomes of a coalition government, as we are part of a Multi-Party Charter, but our main intention is to govern on our own and lead the province out of the depressing trenches it has found itself in," he said.

Ngobeni was officially declared the party's Gauteng Premier candidate ahead of the upcoming elections in May, by ActionSA president Herman Mashaba, in Johannesburg.

Ngobeni said ActionSA was unapologetic about the need for the removal of the African National Congress (ANC) from government on May 29.

"As the economic pulse of South Africa and a gateway to the broader African economy, we, as the people of this vibrant and resourceful province, should act as one to arrest the [economic] decline before it swallows us whole," he said.

Ngobeni announced the party's strategy for reigniting the economy, introducing its infrastructure roadmap - a carefully thought-out strategy to ignite economic growth.

This programme touches on crucial areas: economic development and spatial planning; transport; roads and logistics; human settlements; and water and sanitation.

Ngobeni explained that to arrest the economic decline, an ActionSA-led provincial government would take back control of the province's "deserted" economic infrastructure.

He noted that regions in Johannesburg were riddled with old, dilapidated and hijacked properties, and promised that in his first 100 days in office, he would commission a province-wide audit of all abandoned properties, including old factories and dilapidated residential buildings.

He said these properties carry enormous economic potential.

Ngobeni explained that a second 100-day priority was to fix provincially controlled traffic lights, road markings and signs, ensuring they work while enhancing the monitoring and evaluation system to track those that malfunction.

Furthermore, he highlighted that the Infrastructure Roadmap also placed emphasis on the need for upgrading the water and sanitation infrastructure of municipalities across the province.

He said his administration would prioritise the strengthening of the cooperative governance model to ensure that the provincial government effectively plays its oversight role over municipalities, impartially, while also assisting in sourcing investment into the new and resilient water and sanitation infrastructure of the future.

"An ActionSA government in Gauteng will ensure that infrastructure programmes are completed on time, there is value for money spent, and there is maximum transparency in contracts awarded. It is our objective to strengthen consequence mechanism processes as we shall entrench zero tolerance for corruption. It is important that we inculcate and cultivate this culture, which will assist us in installing a professionalised provincial civil service," said Ngobeni.

MAN OF CHARACTER

Meanwhile, Mashaba described Ngobeni as someone who was able to hit the ground running, with a track record as Development Planning MMC, Finance MMC and Transport MMC in the City of Johannesburg.

He said there was no better person he could think of to lead the party's charge in Gauteng.

"He has proven himself able and ethical and, therefore, represents the qualities ActionSA looks for in a leader. After having served on my mayoral committee in the City of Johannesburg, Ngobeni became the third employee of the People's Dialogue soon after we launched," said Mashaba.

He said Ngobeni helped carry the party to success as the National Director of Operations, adding that he has always shown himself incredibly able to activate ground operations.

As ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Ngobeni ensured that the party was active in all nine regions of the prov...

In the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC's) latest party funding disclosure report, RISE Mzansi declared the highest amount of donations, totaling just over R16.7-million.

In the third quarter, seven political parties declared their donations for the period between October 1 and December 31, 2023.

The total value of donations for the quarter was R59 052 065.82. The IEC said there had been a steady increase in the value of donations disclosed for the quarter, which it attributed to an increase in party fundraising ahead of the May elections.

RISE Mzansi, which registered with the IEC in September last year, received a donation of R15-million from Rebecca Oppenheimer, who the IEC said had also previously donated to the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA. RISE Mzansi also declared R1-million from Main Street 1564, and two in-kind donations from InJozi Design (R184 228) and Kairos Communication (R559 958) in the form of website design and party poster printing and flighting, respectively.

Meanwhile, ActionSA snagged the second highest in donations, with just over R13.9-million.

Regular donors Victoria Freudenheim and Martin Moshal gave the party R7 486 200 and R5 000 000, respectively. The party also received donations from African Equity Corporation (R1 000 000), SHIYAN 80422 (R150 000), Solomon David Group (R127 750) and Alan Beesley (R148 000).

The African National Congress declared R10-million in donations, all from the Chancellor House Trust.

Build One South Africa (BOSA) declared R8.5-million, with R6-million of that coming from Jessica Bridget Slack Jell and R2-million from Moshal, who also donated to ActionSA. RTH Investments made a donation of R500 000.

"Over and above these donations, BOSA previously received and declared a donation of R5 000 000 made by Mary Slack, the mother of Jessica Bridget Slack Jell, during the second quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. This was a manual donation declaration submitted through an email as opposed to the Online Party Funding System that is purposefully created for declaration of donations," the IEC said.

The Patriotic Alliance had over R7-million in donations. A total of R2 759 130 came from the party's leader Gayton McKenzie while deputy leader Kenny Kunene made a donation of R1 007 250. RED C2 donated R2-million and Downtown Spares gave the party R380 000. XMOOR Transport made a donation of R190 000, Metrowired donated R380 000, XTX Trade donated R190 000 and Rapula Mogaki donated R190 000.

"The accompanying documents to the donation submitted to the Commission demonstrated that the multiple donations amounting to R190 000 were towards the political party's gala dinner which was held sometime in November of 2023. Ordinarily, these amounts should not have been declared as donations but rather kept on record for disclosure as "other income" in the audited annual financial statements in terms of section 12(3)(d) of the Act. However, the Commission is publishing these as voluntarily declared by the political party," the IEC said.

Meanwhile, opposition party, the DA, declared over R2.6-million in donations, with the largest monetary donation of R1-million from Artemis Properties. Beacon Rock donated R999 711.81, Joof Alberts Trust donated R250 000, Indawo (Cape) donated R150 000 and A Dymond donated R136 500. The DA's usual donor, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, made an in-kind and monetary donation of R71 797.24, some of which was the cost of communication training for members.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) received an in-kind donation of R191 040.77 for the quarter, from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung NPC, relating to a training workshop for members.

"Foreign donations for the third quarter were R71 797.24 and R191 040.77 declared by DA and IFP, respectively. For each of these parties, the donations were compliant with the legislation in that they did not exceed the set limit of R5-million per party per financial year and were utilised for purposes sancti...

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Wednesday shortlisted eight candidates to be interviewed for the position of Deputy Public Protector (DPP) after the position became vacant late last year when the then DPP advocate Kholeka Gcaleka was appointed as Public Protector (PP).

Committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe explained that the committee received 46 applications and nominations, and two of those withdrew shortly afterwards.

The eight remaining candidates will undergo a screening process.

The committee agreed that at least 50% of the candidates to be interviewed must be female.

The interviews are expected to take place on March 12, in Parliament, and the annual salary for the position is R1 924 542.

Magwanishe explained that the DPP is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Assembly for a term period determined at the President's discretion, but not exceeding seven years.

The DPP can be reappointed for one additional term.

The person appointed as DPP must be a South African citizen who is admitted as an advocate or an attorney and have at least 10 years of varying legal experience, as set out by the committee.

"The committee was reminded that if the PP is, for any reason, unable to perform the functions of his or her office, or while the appointment of a person to the office of PP is pending, the DPP shall perform the functions of the PP. The DPP shall also assist the PP (subject to his or her directions and control), in the performance of the PP's functions under the Act and the Constitution," he said.

A list of all the received nominations and applications was made available on Parliament's website for public comment on candidates' suitability.

Opposition parties in the Drakenstein municipality, in the Western Cape, on Wednesday removed Conrad Poole as mayor through a motion of no confidence, amid serious allegations of corruption.

The GOOD party joined forces with other opposition parties after losing trust in the Democratic Alliance (DA) mayor and in his ability to lead the municipality, said GOOD Drakenstein Councillor and Caucus Whip Keagen Gerste.

The vote, through a secret ballot, was passed in Council on Wednesday. The motion was carried with 34 votes in favour of removal and 26 against his removal, with 2 abstaining from the process.

"Moreover, the motion to remove Poole was necessary because the DA's leadership failed to act. Their claims to always act in the interests of good governance were exposed for the hypocrisy it is," said Gerste.

He said while faced with serious allegations of corrupt and unethical conduct the DA chose to keep Poole on as mayor.

In August last year, GOOD wrote to the Speaker of Council about allegations that Poole was running a pay-for-jobs scheme with councillors paying a kickback for lucrative Mayoral Committee positions.

The complaint activated two consecutive investigations, in terms of the Councillors Code of Conduct, and prima facie evidence was found of a potential breach of the Code and of Poole violating certain rules.

"In addition to facing a disciplinary hearing, parties held that stronger measurements of accountability should be implemented against Poole. It was then agreed that his removal would best serve the people of Drakenstein," Gerste recalled.

Meanwhile, DA provincial leader in the Western Cape Tertuis Simmers assured residents that service delivery would continue unaffected, and since the party had a majority in council, a new DA mayor will be elected in due course.

Simmers said Drakenstein was one of the "best-run municipalities" in the country as confirmed by their back-to-back clean audit reports and many service delivery accolades.

He added that in the interim, Deputy Mayor Gert Combrink would take over the responsibilities of the Mayor.

Following Tuesday's briefing on developments in South African entertainer Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes's murder, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has hit back against Police Minister Bheki Cele for scoring "cheap political points" by trying to show that the South African Police Service (Saps) is doing its job.

Seven people were arrested for the February 2023 murder of AKA and his friend Tebello 'Tibs' Motsoane.

The DA said it acknowledged the arrests but said it was an "embarrassment" that they had only occurred more than a year later after the murders.

"Whilst the arrests are welcomed, these professional hitmen have been out on the streets for over a year, with how many other hits having potentially taken place. While Cele takes the opportunity to parade in front of the cameras for a case over a year old, he neglects to tell us of the 27 494 murders that occurred last year, the 25 181 murders the year before, or the 19 972 murders before that, and how these criminals have not been brought to book," said DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Police Okkie Terblanche.

He accused Cele of focusing on earning support through "publicity events" and said the justice system should treat everybody equally, regardless of status or "public prominence".

"The loss of life due to violence is always a profound tragedy, and every victim deserves equal treatment under the law; however, it should never be that mediocrity is celebrated or accepted," Terblanche said.

The Integrated Task Force, set up by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks, is coordinating the implementation of 205 'recommendations' that came out of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

Of these, 36 recommendations have resulted in three convictions and 11 cases before the courts. The remaining 169 recommendations are still being investigated.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile was providing an update in his keynote address at the National Conference on the Integrated Criminal Justice System and Review of Criminal Procedure Act, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.

The conference took place under the theme 'Strengthening the criminal justice system to keep our people safe and secure' and aimed to take stock of, and critically reflect on, the progress in the implementation of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) 7-Point Plan, targeted at promoting an integrated and modernised criminal justice system.

Addressing attendees, Mashatile acknowledged that confidence in South Africa's criminal justice system was declining.

He said the system and democracy had been put to the test owing to corruption, criminality and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

He noted that despite government's strategies to combat crime, the scourge remained persistent. He also pointed to overburdened prosecution and judicial systems, overcrowded prisons and a beleaguered police system.

"Looking at these challenges, it is easy to grow despondent, but we must never be discouraged. Instead, we must double our efforts to reach our desired goal. The legal system in South Africa has undergone significant changes since the apartheid era, aiming to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for all citizens. Post-1994, changes include a National Crime Prevention Strategy, victim empowerment programmes, and a diversion programme for low-impact offenses under Pillar 1, to ensure a human rights culture. Recently, we replaced the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy with the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy, approved in March 2022 by the Cabinet. This strategy focuses on preventing crime and violence through a 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach," Mashatile said.

Over the next few months, the JCPS will focus efforts on GBVF, corruption, creating an independent unit called the 'Investigating Directorate against Corruption' within the NPA, strengthening the Whistleblowers Act and revising the Criminal Procedure Act.

CONSTRUCTION MAFIAS AND UNLAWFUL ARRESTS

Mashtaile stressed the need to deal with crime in the construction sector, as it directly impacted the country's economy.

He said the Economic Infrastructure Task Teams were dealing with non-ferrous metal theft, infrastructure crimes, and illegal mining activities.

He stressed the need to strengthen existing interventions to protect infrastructure relating to State-owned companies Eskom, Transnet, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

"A concerted effort from all is necessary to unravel the complex web of construction site disruptions, which endangers lives and impedes the government's objective of transforming the nation into a massive construction site that generates employment and expands the economy," he said.

Crime and corruption, he said, undermined not only the rule of law, but also human rights.

Further, unlawful arrests also impacted the fundamental rights of individuals and should be reduced, the Deputy President stated.

"…it is imperative to reduce the instances of unnecessary arrests that may lead to unlawful arrests and detention. Promoting alternative methods of ensuring a suspect's court attendance, such as summons and written notices, is crucial to reduce costly civil claims against the State and address pressing needs. Ensuring these methods are more accessible to police officials, and considering greater judicial oversight over arrest is also necessary to reduce unnecessary arrests. This will indee...