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Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's latest report on former South African Revenue Service (SARS) official Ivan Pillay – who last week lambasted her investigations into SARS – has been invalidated "by agreement" with her office.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday ordered that the report, which centred on an 18-year-old IT contract, "is reviewed, declared unlawful and set aside" in each instance where it related to Pillay.

More damagingly for Mkhwebane, whose impeachment inquiry continues on Wednesday, the high court also found that the beleaguered Public Protector acted "in breach" of Pillay's constitutional rights by failing to provide him with:

"any notice whatsoever of the investigation;

"any of the rights to which he is entitled to in terms of section 7(9) of the Public Protector Act, 23 of 1994; and

"any right to be heard on the remedial action that the first respondent contemplated granting against him."

Given that Mkhwebane has routinely been lambasted by the courts for failing to afford the subjects of her most barbed investigations – including President Cyril Ramaphosa and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan - these same rights, the high court's ruling is very likely to be part of the arsenal of evidence that she needs to address when she testifies at her impeachment inquiry.

In her now partially invalidated report on the SARS' IT contract, Mkhwebane recommended that the Hawks consider investigating alleged criminal conduct by current and former SARS bosses, including Edward Kieswetter and Gordhan.

She released that report on SARS' 2006 contract with software firm Budge, Barone & Dominick (BBD) less than three hours after the State Capture Inquiry found in its latest report that Gordhan was instrumental in resisting the Guptas' takeover of Treasury.

The complaint of "maladministration, improper conduct and procurement irregularities" which prompted the probe, had been launched by former government spokesperson, and current Jacob Zuma Foundation frontman, Mzwanele Manyi, in 2016.

While SARS had used a specific Treasury regulation, which provides for deviation from normal procurement processes without the need to put it out to tender, Mkhwebane said she "could not find compelling reasons for them to do so".

The Public Protector Act also says that the Public Protector should not consider any complaint unless its reported within two years of the incident, barring special circumstances. Mkhwebane, in this case, said she was deviating from the two-year rule because of "special circumstances".

While the Office of the Public Protector has yet to comment on the high court’s ruling, Pillay's lawyers have released a statement, in which they noted that Mkhwebane's latest SARS report was the third in which she made adverse findings against Pillay.

Both of the other two Public Protector reports that made findings against Pillay – including the so-called SARS "Rogue Unit" report and the report on his early retirement – have been overturned by the courts.

"Testifying as a witness on Friday, in the proceedings of the Section 194 Parliamentary inquiry into the fitness of advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane to hold office, Mr. Pillay highlighted a litany of similar abuses of power in these investigations conducted by the Public Protector against him," his lawyers said.

In his weekly letter to the nation on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out that the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) remained one of the country’s biggest obstacles in achieving full and meaningful gender equality.

He said as South Africans worked together to tackle GBV, progress made by the country in building a non-sexist society must not be diminished.

On Tuesday South Africa will celebrate Women’s Day, which commemorates the day in 1956 when thousands of women marched on the Union Buildings to protest against apartheid pass laws.

Activists such as Rahima Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Sophie Williams de Bruyn marched up the steps of the Union Building amphitheatre on that historic day.

“We must celebrate the many achievements of women in our country and pay tribute to those who continue to lead the way. As we work to achieve gender equality in all areas of life, we must acknowledge that we have come a long way. And that we still have much further to go,” Ramaphosa said.

He compared the 1956 Women’s March to today’s efforts to end violence against women and children. He said equal rights for women was an important goal of national liberation and added that ending violence against women and children was vital to the country’s national progress.

“This is not a problem of women, but a problem of men. And it is men who are being called upon to be part of the solution, starting with their own attitudes and conduct,” Ramaphosa added.

ACHIEVEMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY

According to South Africa’s progress towards the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, the country is on an upward trend towards the achievement of gender equality, Ramaphosa said.

He stressed the importance of representation of women.

“Today, women can advance in any occupation, study in a place and field of their choice and own businesses. Thanks to employment equity legislation and other policies of the democratic government, women’s representation in the workplace, in government and all of society continues to grow,” he noted.

Specifically, he pointed to a growing number of women in Parliament, with 46% of National Assembly members being women.

He stated that 62% of the entire public service was female and 44% of senior management posts were filled by women.

He further pointed out government’s accelerated agenda for advancing women’s representation by appointing the first woman to head the National Prosecuting Authority and the first female Directors-General in the State Security Agency and the Presidency.

Last week the first female Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service was appointed and last month Justice Mandisa Maya was appointed as South Africa’s first female Deputy Chief Justice. Out of 256 judges on the Bench, 114 were female and nearly half of all magistrates were female.

Ramaphosa noted that South Africa came from a painful past where young black women and girls had limited prospects.

He said it was an inspiration to see black women occupy posts as ministers, judges, business leaders, engineers and fighter pilots.

As women in the US fight for their rights to contraception and safe abortions, Ramaphosa pointed out that South African women have access to contraception and safe termination of pregnancy in the public health system.

He added that the democratic State had worked to repeal all laws that discriminate against women, and over the years the courts had ruled against policies and practices that unfairly discriminated against women on the grounds of motherhood or sexual orientation.

“We have laws that protect women against harassment in the workplace and that address modern forms of victimisation of women. Women in traditional communities have rights to own land, to enter into contracts and to inherit,” Ramaphosa said.

The African National Congress has elected KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube as the person they want to take over from KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala following his resignation last week.

If appointed, Dube-Ncube would be the first female premier in KwaZulu-Natal.

Dube-Ncube was selected as the preferred candidate following an interview process undertaken by the ANC’s national executive committee.

Accepting her candidacy, Dube-Ncube said government must champion services to the people.

She promised to work with all structures to ensure that the policies outlined by the ANC unite South Africans.

“I am sure our leaders such as Victoria Mxenge and Dorothy Nyembe, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and many leaders where they are, are rejoicing during this [women’s] month. The ANC as the champion of non-racialism, non-sexism is indeed ensuring that our women who are capable are given the responsibility to lead. I humbly accept and wish to thank and commit that we will not disappoint the people of KwaZulu-Natal,” said Dube-Ncube.

Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell told Tembisa residents on Friday that an aggressive debt rehabilitation programme will allow them to write off 50% of historic service debt.

The mayor was addressing residents under heavy police presence following deadly protests over exorbitant electricity prices.

Campbell promised residents that their grievances were being addressed.

She said the issue of tariffs would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The services that qualify for the 50% debt relief are rates, service charges, interest and other costs.

The scheme is available to Tembisa residents until March 31, 2023.

The City has also promised to immediately rectify issues in the billing system.

“We want to assure you that the issue of incorrect billing is being resolved. We will also ensure that the bills of water, sanitation, rates and taxes are separated from the electricity bill,” said Campbell.

The City is also reviewing the indigent policy to ensure that all residents who qualify for a subsidy can be assisted.

She said the amended policy would be gazetted for public comment.

No disconnections will be processed while the City deals with the indigent applications for the next 90 days.

A two-week service delivery open day will be hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni – encompassing the Departments of Finance, Health and Social Development – to assist all residents with indigent applications.

Campbell promised residents that the City would also increase the property value threshold for qualifying indigents so that more residents could qualify.

Tembisa residents will no longer pay for the administration and delivery of cut-off notices as the City will introduce an SMS system for notifications.

Campbell urged all residents to register on the Siyakhokha online portal to start receiving the notices.

She went on to promise residents 27 wheely bins on August 8 to curb illegal dumping in Tembisa.

All illegal dumping sites will be cleaned up and the mayor appealed to residents to help stop illegal dumping.

A long-term commitment to the building of a recycling plant was mentioned by the mayor, which would create employment opportunities for the community.

The City of Ekurhuleni will continue to provide 50 kW of free basic units.

She explained that the free 100 free kW units fell outside of the City’s jurisdiction but the mayor promised engagement with National Treasury to increase the amount of free basic units allowed.

Addressing customer care issues, Campbell said there would be no more “lunch close-downs”. Municipal offices will operate from Monday to Saturdays.

“The issue of unprofessional staff behaviour is receiving my urgent attention. I have instructed the administration to investigate incidents of bribery, corruption and collusion with the so-called lawyers who are stealing your hard-earned money. We pay these officials to do their work, and we expect them to do their work to assist you, and they will be helping you going forward,” she assured residents.

The customer centre building was burnt down during the protests.

A new facility has been identified to ensure that the services continue.

The mayor appealed to residents to assist in protecting municipality infrastructure.

The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has proposed the names of Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and ANC MPLs Amanda Bani and Mbali Fraizer as possible replacements for outgoing premier Sihle Zikalala.

The ANC in the province on Friday afternoon announced his resignation as KZN premier following his defeat at the ANC KZN elective conference, where he had to relinquish the chairperson position.

Through a statement, the ANC said "Cde Zikalala offered the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) his resignation yesterday, which was accepted" and the PEC has since communicated with the ANC National Officials and were instructed to make recommendations of three names who will undergo an interview process.

The names of the three candidates have since been submitted and they according to the ANC in KZN will undergo interview process on Saturday.

The party said it was with great pain that it accepted Zikalala's resignation "as he was still doing a great job in the province since he took over".

"We are grateful to the job he has done for the people of this province and we appreciate that he made a conscious decision not to leave office hastily. Cde Zikalala's tenure has come with a lot of good in the province, including a number of provincial government departments receiving unqualified audit outcomes for the first time," read the statement.

According to sources, the newly elected provincial executive committee (PEC) was informed of Zikalala's request to be released from his position when it met for the first time on Thursday.

A PEC member told News24, "It was communicated to us [the PEC] that Zikalala believed the environment was no longer conducive for him to continue as KZN premier and as such asked to step down."

"It was made clear that he will remain in the ANC and has committed to working hand in hand with the newly elected leadership to ensure that there is a smooth transition, and the party wins the national elections," the PEC member added.

When approached for comment, Zikalala requested that questions be sent to him via text message as he was unable to answer his phone, but he had not responded by the time of publication.

The newly elected provincial ANC leadership was not available for comment.

Zikalala's decision came after he suffered an embarrassing defeat at the recent ANC KwaZulu-Natal elective conference that saw him relinquish the party chairpersonship to his rival, former ANC provincial youth league leader Sboniso Duma.

Adding salt to the wound, Zikalala, who had accepted the nomination as an additional PEC member, failed to make the cut as delegates again showed their resentment for him.

From the outcome of the votes, it was clear that there were anti-Zikalala sentiments, and delegates were ready to vote for anyone but him.

Speaking to News24 at the conference, newly elected provincial ANC secretary Bheki Mtolo promised that Zikalala would not be pushed out and would remain premier until the national and provincial elections in 2024.

A similar commitment was made by Duma, who vowed that there would be no purging of leaders in the provincial executive shortly after he was elected chairperson.

Zikalala himself dealt a similar blow to his predecessor, Senzo Mchunu, when he forced him out as premier after he had also lost the chairperson position at the 2015 provincial elections.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday that government, represented by the South African Police Service (Saps) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, will convene an Imbizo with the Kagiso community over the weekend to interrogate issues of illegal mining and crime in Krugersdorp.

Last week a group of men and women shooting a music video at a disused mine near Krugersdorp were attacked by armed assailants who gang raped eight of the women.

Ramaphosa was speaking during the second day of the Presidential Social Sector Summit, held in Johannesburg, where he said South Africa’s society is confronted by lawlessness, crime and corruption, gender-based violence (GBV), hunger and malnutrition.

Also attending the summit were Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu; Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi; Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza; United Nations Resident Coordinator Dr Ayodele Odusola; and representatives of civil society.

Ramaphosa said police were hard at work with investigations, however, while he commended them for apprehending suspected illegal miners and shutting down their operations, he said the police must double their efforts in catching those responsible for gang raping the women.

“This horrific crime is a reminder that as government and society we must do more to tackle gender-based violence. Over the last few years, as a result of cooperation between government and society, we have strengthened the response of the criminal justice system to such crimes,” he said.

As part of the National Strategic Plan against GBV and Femicide government has enacted new legislation focused on the capacity of the Saps, the National Prosecuting Authority and courts to better support GBV survivors and prosecute offenders.

“We know that the NPA continues to place special emphasis on prosecuting these crimes, obtaining a conviction rate of 74%. We want to encourage the NPA and the police to do more in their common efforts in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide,” said Ramaphosa.

In his message of support, Odusola said the United Nations was ready to work with the South African government and civil society in dealing with violence.

PROTESTS

Ramaphosa pointed out that over the past week the country had witnessed scenes of violent protest, damage to public infrastructure and, in some cases, loss of life in areas such as Kagiso in the West Rand and Tembisa in Ekurhuleni.

“As we address these incidents we need to distinguish between legitimate protest and criminality, addressing the concerns and grievances of communities, while acting to prevent loss of life and destruction of property. We can all understand the public outrage in Kagiso at the gang rape of eight young women last week and we all deeply and sincerely share in the pain of the victims, their families and the neighbouring communities,” said Ramaphosa.

He said government was also committed in its fight against corruption, while acknowledging that there is much more to be done. But the President believed the fight against corruption was gaining momentum.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

Ramaphosa said that to overcome the challenges facing the country, it required all sectors of society to bring their respective capabilities together and unite behind a common vision.

“Civil society organisations are where our people are, whether as NGOs, as community, professional and faith-based organisations, as academia or as worker representative organisations. One of the priorities of this administration is to drive people-centred, localised development through the District Development Model. It seeks to promote an approach to development that takes into account needs, circumstances and priorities on the ground,” he said.

Now more than ever government relies on civil society’s knowledge, experience and expertise to guide government on what interventions are needed, and to point out the best way to allocate scarce resourc...

South Africa's health regulator reported on Thursday a causal link between the death of an individual and Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine, the first time such a direct link has been made in the country.

The person presented with rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome soon after being given J&J's vaccine, after which the person was put on a ventilator and later died, senior scientists told a news conference.

"At the time of illness no other cause for the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) could be identified," Professor Hannelie Meyer said.

The person's age and other personal details were not disclosed for confidentiality reasons.

Last July, US authorities added a warning to a factsheet for J&J's vaccine saying data suggested there was an increased risk of GBS in the six weeks after vaccination. At the time it noted 100 preliminary reports of GBS in vaccine recipients, including 95 serious cases and one reported death.

J&J did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The company said at the time of the U.S. warning it was in discussions with regulators and the rate of reported cases of GBS in J&J vaccine recipients exceeded the background rate only slightly.

"The benefit of vaccination still far outweighs the risk," Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, chief executive of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), told reporters.

"In our context we have administered about 9-million (doses) of the Janssen (J&J) vaccine, and this is the first causally linked case of GBS."

Europe's medicines regulator last year added GBS as a possible side-effect of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine which, like J&J's, uses viral vector technology.

South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla told Thursday's news conference that as of mid-July there had been just over 6 200 "adverse events" reported to SAHPRA out of the more than 37-million Covid vaccine doses administered in the country, equivalent to 0.017%.

Semete-Makokotlela said the regulator had assessed around 160 deaths since the Covid vaccination rollout started but had not seen a causal link to vaccination until now.

South Africa has been using shots from J&J and Pfizer in its Covid vaccination campaign. The rollout got off to a slow start due to difficulties securing supplies and protracted negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, but more recently it has been slowed by hesitancy.

Around 46% of its adult population of 40-million is now fully vaccinated.

Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi said government, the social partners and communities must join hands and become more innovative in confronting the complex challenges the country is facing in taking South Africa to a higher growth path.

Nxesi was speaking during the Presidential Social Sector Summit, in Boksburg, on Thursday, which he said came at an opportune time for the National Economic Development and Labour Council’s (Nedlac’s) community constituency.

He said a new social compact to create jobs should outline the principles of a “new consensus”, beyond merely specific actions or interventions and it must enable action on interventions whose scale was large enough to place the country on a clear path of recovery.

“We must also endeavour not to leave anyone behind. We, therefore, need to broaden our consultation and participation wider and beyond government and the Nedlac social partners,” he said.

Nxesi said the social compact should also resolve the current impasse on long-standing areas of disagreement or stalemate, and should not only include issues where broad agreement already exists.

“The agreement should build on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan which was launched by the President, but extend beyond. It must be seen as the first approach that will shift the needle on [the right] economic path. The focus should be on fewer priorities, big-ticket items where consensus is required, not a laundry list of initiatives or a comprehensive plan,” he said.

He noted that the social compact must include commitments from each social partner and not only actions that government would take.

“Other people think that it must be government acting on that and that and theirs is to be beneficiaries. No, all stakeholders must come to the party and contribute,” he said.

Nxesi proposed that some departments that provided key services operate seven days a week, to improve services and create more employment.

He added that management in the State must also be dealt with.

“We are talking about the capacity of the State, have we employed the right people? Do they have the right qualifications and do they have the right culture of work? When employed, do they stay at work and are they up to task? We must be honest, we have to deal with this culture,” he said.

POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT AND INEQUALITY

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu also pointed out that the focus must be on the real challenges that were faced by people. Those included poverty, unemployment, inequality and the value chain of the country’s economy - an economy, she said, that was not opening up particularly to young and black people.

Zulu said her department was also looking at social entrepreneurship.

She said her department was responsible for the well-being of citizens across the board and for ensuring the potential of each and every citizen.

“In its multiple manifestations, this sector has been the primary source of cohesion, sense-making and cooperation in communities,” she said.

Former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general Arthur Fraser once called Public Protector security manager Baldwin Neshunzhi to tell him to "pull up his socks" in supporting Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the Section 194 Committee heard on Thursday.

Neshunzi testified before the committee, which is tasked with inquiring into Mkhwebane's fitness for office, on Thursday and lifted the veil on the SSA's influence at the office.

Before he started, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, on behalf of Mkhwebane, objected to him testifying, claiming his evidence would be irrelevant. Evidence leader advocate Nazreen Bawa SC, however, differed. After 30 minutes of mostly Mpofu complaining, Neshunzi was sworn in and started his explosive testimony.

Neshunzhi was tasked with investigating whether there was something wrong with the office's leave system in that it allowed some people to appear to be at work while they actually were not.

He could not find anything wrong. Mkhwebane was unhappy about this. According to his affidavit, he was told training had been arranged for him at the SSA.

Neshunzhi said he was given a sealed letter to take to Fraser. He was then told he had failed to investigate an alleged IT security breach properly.

Mkhwebane then instructed him to leave the office, and he had to hand in his laptop and office keys. Neshunzhi considered it a suspension. He asked whether he was suspended but did not receive an answer.

The letter to Fraser asked that the SSA "recall" Neshunzi for training.

Neshunzi was later asked to do another investigation. This time, he had to determine whether documents President Cyril Ramaphosa lodged with the office were leaked. He found there was no leak, as the Presidency issued a statement on the documents.

He said his relationship with Mkhwebane subsequently deteriorated.

"There was an expectation that I would be her ears and eyes in the office, and I was letting her down," read Neshunzhi's affidavit.

"I subsequently received a telephone call from Mr Arthur Fraser, and was informed that I was not providing the support to the [Public Protector] as I was hired to do. He advised that the [Public Protector] was complaining about my lack of support. This occurred during the end of 2019."

At the time, Fraser was employed as the national commissioner for correctional services.

Support

Neshunzhi said Fraser told him to "pull up your socks" and go beyond the call of duty to demonstrate his support for Mkhwebane.

At the time, he added, he did not know how he failed in his job as Mkhwebane did not directly relay it to him.

Later, Neshunzhi sought the SSA's assistance in developing a proper case management system for the office.

He said he thought it had the required expertise as it was the "custodians of information in the state".

"One of the persons from the SSA involved was Mahendra Moodley at the SSA offices, I understood him to be an expert in IT, and in fact, some whiz kid in that field."

Moodley is the SSA operative who allegedly gave Mkhwebane the wording of her controversial recommendation in the CIEX report that Parliament should amend the Constitution on the SA Reserve Bank's mandate.

During his cross-examination of former Public Protector investigator Tebogo Kekana, Mpofu suggested Moodley was an expert on economics.

Despite Neshunzhi directly contradicting this, Mkhwebane's team did not raise the matter during cross-examination. Mpofu again said Neshunzhi's testimony was irrelevant and complained News24 reported he tried to block the testimony.

Neshunzhi continued to be questioned by MPs into the afternoon.

In the months before her appointment as Public Protector, Mkhwebane worked at the SSA.

Scores of protesters from different political parties gathered outside the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court in Gauteng on Wednesday, for the expected court appearance of 80 people who were arrested for various offences in a police blitz.

The police operation followed after the rape of eight women on a mine dump. To date, no one among the arrested suspects has been directly linked to the incident.

The women were raped last week while filming a music video on the mine dump.

Some of the men have been charged with being in the country illegally. DNA samples have been taken to determine if they were linked to the rapes.

Members of the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA protested outside court.

The protesters sang songs and held placards reading "Hands off our Women", and "Stop Rape".

"We came here to join the picket line and communicate a clear message that we now need to go out and reclaim the streets of our communities. We can no longer allow criminals, illegal immigrants and rapists to roam around our streets without any action," said the ANC's Pule Mabe.

"What happened here in Krugersdorp over the past week should serve as a wake-up call. We need our government to act [and] work with speed to deal with this issue of zama zamas (illegal miners), illegal immigrants, and illegal mining," he added.

Mabe said the government should also compel mining companies to rehabilitate abandoned mines.

"There are also environmental issues that affect our communities out there, and the dumps have been captured by criminals.

"Also, there are people who want to turn South Africa into a playground. the things that they are not doing in their own countries. If you allow people to continue conducting illegal activities unattended, they then undermine your ability to function and govern," Mabe said.

The DA's Gail Mphafudi, Mogale City MMC for health and social development, said they came to support the eight victims who were raped last week.

"We are here to support the women to say 'No to gender-based violence', because we are seeing it is becoming a thing in SA, and it is unacceptable.

"We are here today to support them to say that we stand with them against children and women abuse and gender-based violence," Mphafudi said.

Mphafudi said illegal mining was a big problem on the Gauteng West Rand that was affecting infrastructure.

"You don't even feel safe in your home because there might be a tremor that might lead to your house breaking down, so it is a health risk on its own.

"It also poses a risk to people's lives because they are getting shot at and there is so much violence around zama zamas."

She said Mogale City Mayor Tyrone Gray was working closely with law enforcement to deal with the issue.

Most of the accused were from Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. During the men's first appearance on Monday, the court heard that they were only facing charges of being in the country illegally. Some of them had previously been arrested on the same charge. They were deported but had returned.

Twenty of the accused were juveniles, and their cases were transferred to the Children's Court.