President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday said that South Africa is ready to work with China ahead of the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping on his fourth State visit to South Africa to attend the fifteenth yearly Brics Summit being hosted in Johannesburg.

The international community is monitoring the upcoming Brics Summit, which, after much controversy, will not see Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.

In his weekly letter to the nation Ramaphosa said relations between the China and South Africa were underpinned by a 10-year strategic programme of cooperation - between 2020 and 2029 - and the summit provided an opportunity to assess progress in the areas of cooperation and identify ways of deepening collaboration.

This year marks 25 years of diplomatic ties between South Africa and China.

In addition to a number of structured bilateral mechanisms, South Africa and China collaborate on international strategic platforms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Brics, the G20, the G77 plus China alliance, and others.

Ramaphosa also views energy cooperation between South Africa and China as a focus area that holds great promise following the New Energy Investment and Cooperation Conference held in June this year.

It looked at opportunities for collaboration in the green economy, the just energy transition and in science and technology.

There are already about 200 Chinese companies operating in this area in South Africa.

"South Africa has a great deal to learn from China's development path. Among other achievements, China has lifted nearly 800-million people out of poverty over a 40-year period. According to World Bank data, through this, China has contributed close to three-quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty. As partners in development, China and South Africa have long shared a common understanding that trade and investment are the foremost catalysts for improving the living standards of our respective peoples," said Ramaphosa.

Further, he said South Africa is eager to deepen its collaboration within the frameworks of China's common prosperity doctrine and strategy and within South Africa's own National Development Plan and Economic Reconstruction and Development Plan.

"We are actively collaborating on the design and implementation of poverty alleviation strategies aligned with our respective developmental visions, as well as on women and youth empowerment. As South Africa we want to address the trade deficit between South Africa and China," Ramaphos said.

Bilateral trade with China has grown exponentially, from less than R1-billion in 1998 to over R614-billion in 2022.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has found that President Cyril Ramaphosa's Ntaba Nyoni Estate, that owns the Phala Phala game farm, was not "legally entitled" to the $580 000 it received from Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa for 20 buffalo.

But because the transaction was not "perfected" - Mustafa never received delivery of the buffalo - there was no legal obligation on Ramaphosa or Ntaba Nyoni to have declared the foreign currency under exchange control regulations.

In a terse media statement released by the SARB on Monday morning, the central bank said it would not release the full "private internal" Phala Phala report, but because the matter had "significant public importance" it would release the findings.

The SARB took almost a year to complete its investigation, consisting of 15 affidavits, dozens of documents running into hundreds of pages and interviewing relevant individuals.

SARB made it clear it was only entitled to investigate potential exchange control violations "in respect of the foreign currency allegedly stolen from the Phala Phala farm on 9 February 2020".

"Other matters and where they may relate to the breach (if any) of any other law or otherwise, are matters which are to be addressed by the relevant authorities," the bank stated.

The Hawks are still finalising their criminal probe into the Phala Phala matter.

"On the facts available to it, the SARB finds that there was no perfected transaction and thus the SARB cannot conclude that there was any contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations. by Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC (the entity involved) or for that matter by the President.

"That is because the SARB has concluded that the transaction in question was subject to conditions precedent which were not fulfilled [the delivery of the animals], and therefore there was no legal entitlement, within the meaning of Regulation (6)(1), on the part of Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC, to the foreign currency."

The Gupta-linked company Regiments Capital will now be liquidated after the SA Revenue Service (Sars) triumphed in the Constitutional Court.

Regiments Capital featured prominently in questionable tenders awarded to Gupta-linked companies. A Regiments subsidiary was also an advisor to the Transnet pension fund and is accused of abusing this position to the detriment of fund members. This included suspect trades in bonds meant to boost commissions, and questionable payments related to financial instruments that were linked to the corrupt deal in 2012 to supply Transnet with 1 064 locomotives.

Several parties with links to Regiments and directors of the company brought an application to set aside the company's liquidation. Sars - which is owed R690-million by Regiments - intervened and opposed the application, but the high court set aside the liquidation.

Sars and the liquidators then took this decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which ruled in May that the high court decision be set aside.

The directors then approached the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

But on Thursday, the court the Constitutional Court refused leave to appeal, finding that the matter did not fall within the jurisdiction of the court.

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the decision of the Constitutional Court confirms that liquidation proceedings can now continue.

"Sars has taken the decision to pursue this matter to its logical conclusion because it believed that the company was acting to the disadvantage of its creditors. Non-compliant taxpayers need to take heed of SARS's determination to make it hard and costly for those who wilfully and intentionally seek to use creative ways remain to abdicate their responsibility," he said in a statement.

African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called for the advancement of multilateralism at the China-SA Relations Seminar, which took place on Friday.

January 1 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa.

Mbalula lauded the trade surplus that has resulted from these relations, highlighting that trade between the two countries generated less than R1-billion in 1998 and stood at over R54-billion in 2021. He also applauded the arrival of Chinese Trading Malls, and their significant contribution towards creating employment, with consumers being able to buy and use affordable electronic household goods.

Moving forward, the ANC has urged China to make a significant investment in its mineral exploration initiatives.

"We aim to capture at least 5% of global exploration funds in the immediate term. Linked to that, as expressed by our President Cyril Ramaphosa recently, we no longer want to export just raw minerals. Instead we want to have our minerals beneficiated here in South Africa as part of our industrialisation drive," said Mbalula.

He stressed the party's "non-aligned" stance ahead of the upcoming yearly Brics Summit, set to take place in Johannesburg next week.

"The ANC remains firm in its view that all conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. We totally reject gunboat diplomacy. Again, on this occasion, we amplify what [Chinese] President Xi Jinping said on the profound meaning of international solidarity, that we must help others to succeed while seeking our own success and ensure that all can enjoy the outcomes of modernisation," he added.

Mbalula noted the geopolitical tensions that were currently gripping the world and alluded that lessons on diplomacy could be learned from China-SA relations. He also highlighted the importance of Brics as a way of promoting a multipolar world.

"Certainly in South Africa we share in this profound value and thereby cherish our continued membership of Brics, working together to usher in a new world underpinned by justice and equality. In this regard, we reiterate our message that Brics is not an enemy to any country or any constellation of countries but rather an example of how the entire world could relate in solidarity underpinned by progressive social, economic and political principles. Brics will certainly advance the cause of multilateralism as opposed to unilateralism. It is precisely why we welcome the geopolitical shifts from a unipolar world to a multipolar world," Mbalula said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele noted on Friday that while there are still unacceptably high crime levels, the South African Police Service (Saps) is pushing back, especially on violent crime, which he said has started to decrease.

Cele was presenting the quarterly crime statistics, reflecting on crimes reported and detected by Saps from April 1 to June 30, and adding that the 3.1% decline in the murder rate was no cause for celebration.

He noted that it could not be normal that 31 police officers were killed in three months, calling on Saps National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola to double-up Saps' efforts in ensuring officer wellness.

Cele said that for the first time since Covid-19 began in 2020, South Africa's murder rate declined in a single quarter. Between April and June, police recorded 6 228 counts of murders, with Cele saying this was 196 fewer people killed compared to the same time last year.

He explained that out of the 6 228 people killed during April to June, 1 188 were women and children. He said apart from Mpumalanga and Northern Cape, all provinces recorded decreases for murder in this quarter.

"While the Northern Cape recorded a 11.1% increase in murders, much welcomed double-digit percentage declines were noted in the Limpopo and North West provinces. The murders for April to June 2023 in those two provinces dropped by 10.0% and 11.5% respectively," he said.

Cele highlighted that case docket analysis showed that firearms, knives and sharp instruments remained the three top weapons of choice for murder.

He added that the majority of murder victims during this period were killed either during an argument, an act of vigilantism or their lives were cut short while being robbed.

"The 3.1% reduction in the country's murder rate must, however, further bolster all policing interventions that have led to fewer people being killed in our country," he said.

Cele explained that decreases had also been reported in sexual offences, by 1.9%, TRIO crimes (house and business robberies and carjackings), declining by 5.2%, property-related crimes, which decreased by 4.5% and contact-related crimes, down 1.6%

Declines have also been noted in rape and sexual assaults reported to the police. In the three months of reporting, both crime categories recorded 2.8% and 3.8% decreases respectively, he said.

Cele said these decreases in many of the crime categories would not have been achieved without the dedication, determination and hard work of the men and women in blue, noting that keeping the country safe and going toe-to-toe with criminals was also coming at a high cost for the police service.

Meanwhile, Police Portfolio Committee acting chairperson Nocks Seabi said that the committee called on the Saps in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape to strengthen efforts to curb murders in the provinces, also raising concerns at the continued proliferation of illegal firearms.

The committee emphasised the need for strategies to reduce the number of firearms on the streets.

Seabi noted that the committee was also concerned about the increase in the murder of police officials, highlighting the need for strategies to prevent the killing of officers.

Solicitor General Fhedzisani Pandelani revealed on Thursday that the State has used over R330-million in taxpayer money to deal with claims lodged against government departments relating to the Marikana massacre.

On Wednesday the country marked eleven years since the incident in which members of the South African Police Services (Saps) shot and killed 34 striking Lonmin miners.

Pandelani said the Marikana massacre is painful and remains a significant and solemn chapter in South Africa's history.

"It is something we cannot downplay because people are still impacted emotionally and it casts a sombre shadow over the tragic clash between the striking miners and law enforcement, resulting in multiple fatalities, as a result of which we as government lawyers ceased having to meet the lawful demands that have been lodged with us," said Phandelani.

He explained that the government is dealing with the death of the 34 miners plus another 10 miners that were never accounted for. No claims have been lodged against government for the 10 miners.

"On the other ten he said there was no causation on the death itself that was attributable to the government or the State. Their settlements might have been settled by other individuals," Pandelani explained.

Claims were lodged by the Wits Law Clinic; the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI); Maluleke, Msimang & Associates; Tlhatlha Attorneys; and Nkome Attorneys.

Breaking down the claims, Pandelani said the Wits Law Clinic matter was finalised in 2021 and was paid out R3 995 121 plus costs.

SERI, on behalf of the miners' families, secured settlements for loss of support amounting to R71 230 491.

Notably, SERI has introduced the novel concept of constitutional damages which Pandelani said was a new concept which raises issues such as emotional damages.

Maluleke, Msimang & Associates which represented 15 claimants, was paid out R77 034 643,70 in total.

Pandelani said the progress of payments to Tlhatlha Attorneys, which handled matters relating to assault and gunshots, was underway with certain claims still undergoing verification.

Nkome Attorneys, which claimed for plaintiffs that were arrested and detained, received an amount of R102 305 000, which Pandelani said was an amount for the ten of the twelve cases lodged with the State.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) claims the City of Cape Town has added another condition that allows authorities to impound minibus taxis - being off an agreed route - and alleges that the move and recent impoundments are in breach of an agreement the council had reached with the City and Western Cape government.

It made the claim in papers filed in the Western Cape High Court in an urgent application for an interdict against the City.

In the application, which is scheduled to be heard later on Thursday, Santaco is seeking the return of impounded minibus taxis.

It argues that the taxis were impounded outside of the terms of the 10 August agreement, which ended the taxi stayaway and the violence associated with it.

Santaco wants the court to find that the City of Cape Town breached the terms of the truce agreement, which limited impoundments to three particular transgressions:

where a minibus taxi is operating without an operating licence;

where the driver of a minibus taxi drives the vehicle without a professional driver's permit or driver's licence; and

where the minibus taxi is unroadworthy.

According to the papers, Santaco also wants the court to direct the City and the Mobility MEC Robert Mackenzie to immediately release all minibus taxis impounded after the conclusion of the settlement agreement on 10 August, which the council says have been impounded on grounds other than those three transgressions.

On 11 August, the day after the agreement, eight taxis were impounded, and on 12 August, another six, according to Santaco.

The City will argue its case when the matter starts, but Santaco's Nceba Enge said that mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said only one impoundment - for overloading - was made by mistake.

Santaco did not have time to present the reasons for the first eight impoundments to the court, but of the six, it stated that one impoundment was on the basis that the minibus taxi operated on a charter permit.

They understand this to be in line with the provisions of the settlement agreement.

Two impoundments were on the basis that the minibus taxis operated off-route - a term of settlement that, they argue, Smith added in after the agreement.

Two impoundments were because the drivers did not have their valid driver's licence or professional drivers' permits with them.

One driver said he left his licence and permit at home, so Santaco feels it's not the same as not being licensed or not being permitted to operate.

"We were unable to get the relevant driver's licence and permit in the short period of time available to us, but shall have same ready at the return date," Enge's affidavit continues.

Santaco also denies that the terms of the agreement reached on 10 August contained the same proposals as before.

He said the initial proposals to Santaco included these other terms:

Driving while intoxicated;

a failure to comply with an instruction of a traffic/peace officer;

driving in yellow/red lines;

driving in an oncoming traffic lane;

driving on the shoulder of road;

driving on the pavement;

inconsiderate driving;

ignoring traffic signals or stop streets; and

causing an obstruction to road traffic.

These were meant to be discussed over two weeks with the task team to determine whether they too are impoundable offences, or whether a fine is more appropriate.

Enge said the claim that they arrived heavily armed for a task team meeting was not true. It was their bodyguards who were armed, not them.

Santaco contends that the minibus taxi industry plays an important role in the economy, but the City promotes the idea that it is lawless.

They only intended to start a stayaway on 7 August to give commuters time to make alternative arrangements, he continued.

However, a large law enforcement operation at the station deck, which was accompanied by stun grenades and officers smashing a taxi window, enraged them so much that they had an urgent meeting and brought the stayaway forward.

Sin...

The Multi Party Charter for South Africa has agreed on power-sharing principles, such as sharing power proportionally to the election results.

Multi Party National Convention independent chairperson Professor William Gumede updated the media on day two of the ongoing coalition talks, where he noted that many coalitions at a local government level have failed because of the challenge of power sharing challenge.

However, he said the Multi Party Charter has reached an agreement.

"It is important to emphasise that in this kind of coalition that every party will still have individual identity and they will compete in the elections based on the individual identities but part of a coalition. it is very new in a South African circumstance," Gumede said.

He added that once the election results are out, parties will then deal with representation among themselves according to how many votes each party would have received in the election.

The parties agreed to the principle of merit base appointments in government and not politically based appointments.

"This is quite an important principle," said Gumede.

Parties have also agreed that the same party cannot lead both in the executive and legislature. Gumede emphasised that the group is determined to ensure that there is diversity in representation in the executive and legislative.

Gumede added that if one party is dominant in the legislature, it cannot be dominant in the executive.

The parties have also agreed to lifestyle audits of all members of the executives and have also agreed that the leader of the biggest party in the bloc will become leader of government business.

Gumede said the parties have agreed to look at the redesign of the national cabinet to be more streamlined.

He said while negotiations have been progressing well, he pointed out that parties cannot agree on each and every policy in just two days.

"But you can agree on the key policy. So they've done that, so they commit to work on a fully-fledged policy platform in the months to come based on the pillars of the agreement that they have reached today. They have reached the core and pillars agreement, now they have to substantiate that much more fully in a fully-fledged manifesto in the coming months," he said.

There are also ongoing negotiations to bring more parties into the coalition and also to give other parties an opportunity to make some inputs.

"It is a very significant move for a group of parties that fought each other in the past to actually agree on the fundamentals of a policy platform," Gumede added.

Parties have adopted a social media identity, #Charter24, for the 2024 elections.

Gumede said parties have reached common ground on key challenges facing the country.

Gumede reiterated that the convention was not the first time that parties have been talking to each other. He said he has been chairing the negotiations prior to the convention which is being used to iron out last minutes issues between the parties for a formal agreement.

"And now have to agree to partner in a coalition ahead of the elections. It is obviously not easy to do that," he said.

While the African National Congress (ANC) celebrates the R170-million paid to victims of the 2012 Marikana Massacre, calls to bring those responsible to justice continue to ring out.

On Wednesday, the party - while commemorating the 11th anniversary of the massacre when 44 people were killed during an unprotected strike by mineworkers at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, the North West - dismissed as "opportunistic" the use of the massacre as "a political tool".

Wednesday's statement by the ANC comes amid calls for the arrest of officers, including those who gave the orders to shoot, for the killing of the mineworkers.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, through a statement published on the party's social media sites, said the workers were "executed live on television as a result of a toxic coalition between the state and Lonmin mine".

The ANC, in trumpeting what it said was its "progressive laws" that sought to "change [the] face of the mining industry and to guarantee miners' rights", said the government had done well to pay "reparations to the value of R170 million to the widows and families of the tragedy".

"The ANC condemns the usage of the Marikana tragedy as a political tool," the party stated.

"Insensitive and opportunistic populism and deliberate peddling of misinformation about the tragedy and its aftermath is highly regrettable. It is done at the expense of healing and national unity in a desperate attempt to gain political mileage."

The party, in mentioning the millions of rand in reparations, was alluding to the August 2021 announcement made by Fhedzisani Pandelani, an official in the justice and constitutional development's Solicitor-General's office, who said the government paid victims' families a combined R170-million.

On Wednesday, the NPA said it was working with IPID to "fast-track the finalisation of reaching a [prosecution] decision", adding the delays were due to its North West office being "challenged with unfilled vacancies, with limited prosecutors to study the voluminous docket".

"The necessary resources were made available, and vacancies were filled," it added.

The NPA said General William Mpembe, Colonel Salmon Vermaak, Constable Nkosana Mguye, Warrant Officer Katlego Sekgweleya, Warrant Officer Masilo Mogale, and Warrant Officer Khazamola Makhubela were facing murder charges for the death of "three police officers and two miners who died during the confrontation between the police and miners, preceding the incident of 16 August 2012".

"The matter is before the [North West High Court], and the trial sat from 1 to 4 August 2023.

"It was postponed from 13 to 15 November 202 for further trial, and the State is expected to call on more witnesses to prove its case."

Multi Party National Convention independent chairperson Professor William Gumede announced that the political parties currently holding talks on a potential coalition government ahead of the 2024 elections have decided to rename the Moonshot Pact the 'Multi Party Charter for South Africa'.

Gumede provided an update on the closed session talks currently underway, where he added that the negotiations among the parties were robust and going very well.

The term Moonshot Pact was coined by the Democratic Alliance.

"The big issue is the name - Moon[shot] Pact was the bone of contention. Many of the parties wanted a name because a name is key and is the identity and without an agreement on the name, the name was a big obstacle to agree on," Gumede said.

He also highlighted that political parties agreed on a joint vision in working together. He did not elaborate on the agreed upon vision.

"I think it is a very big victory for the parties," he said.

Noting that there were many other political parties not part of the pact, Gumede said that with the new agreement, it would be easier for the multi-party group to engage with those parties out of the Pact.

"So now that this pact has a vision, it will be easier to have conversations with some of the parties. The vision they managed to agree on together gives them the space to begin engagements with other parties outside the pact," Gumede explained.

He said discussions were still ongoing and that political parties were making progress.

As an independent chairperson of the process, Gumede is not affiliated to any of the participating parties.

He said the convention was an historic event, one of the few processes in the world, where a negotiated agreement came before the elections.

He said the most important measure of the quality of democracy was the quality of the opposition.

Gumede noted that the pact received an outpouring of support from civil society, individuals and business organisations.

"I myself personally received over hundred messages of support, not only support but ideas," he said.