The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for an urgent Commission of Inquiry into Eskom as the country moves into a second day of Stage 2 load-shedding.

DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia said on Thursday said that he will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to request an inquiry into Eskom and electricity generation and supply issues.

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has warned that Eskom’s operational recovery and sustainability will be protracted and difficult.

Cachalia says in view of these ongoing challenges serious action is needed.

“The time has come to rip the band aid off this festering sore and implement the recommendations of tried and trusted experts – not cadre deployees or political appointments. Any failure to act with urgency will continue to imperil the very lifeblood of the economy, “ he stressed.

Eskom hopes to end Stage 2 load-shedding on Monday as it tries to recover lost units.

Chief Justice nominee, Judge Dunstan Mlambo, says while the South African judiciary is "functional", there is a concerning loss of confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law.

Mlambo, one of four judges vying for the position of Chief Justice, said he had conducted "an environmental scan" of the context of the judiciary today.

He said it was worrying that the judiciary operated in a somewhat "toxic environment" as a result of polarised politics.

"Toxic in the sense that the judiciary is attacked on a number of fronts. Its independence and impartiality are always at stake," he said.

He also told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Thursday that there were unfounded claims of corruption against the members of the judiciary.

Mlambo is the first candidate to openly take on the unsubstantiated attacks faced by the judiciary.

Another worrying challenge, Mlambo said, was growing corruption involving court operations in South Africa.

"Corruption not by judicial officers, but corruption in terms of the usage and the circulation of fraudulent court orders which bear all the resemblance of a proper court order, but when you investigate it, you find out no such matter was heard on a particular date."

"That's an issue that I think requires serious attention because it can erode the legitimacy of the judiciary," he said.

Despite the challenges, Mlambo said he believed the judiciary had lived up to its promise of the Constitution in terms of delivering justice.

"I am proud to have been a member of the judiciary for just over 20 years," he said.

He said if he were to be appointed as the country's Chief Justice, his vision would be to have an efficient and effective judiciary that was independent and able to fulfil its mandate as set out in the Constitution.

He said he also wanted to see effective leadership.

"If appointed, I will expand efforts to ensure that together with colleagues, we will continue to fortify the strength and independence of the judiciary."

Mlambo said he wanted to inspire and motivate judges and magistrates to deliver on their mandate.

As head of the judiciary, he said, he would also ensure that it developed strategies aimed at protecting the legitimacy of the judiciary and "countering the threats to our legitimacy".

The State capture inquiry has recommended that police further investigate former Transnet executives Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama and Anoj Singh with a view to prosecuting them for offences that include graft and fraud.

The inquiry chaired by senior judge Raymond Zondo was established in 2018 to examine allegations of high-level graft during former President Jacob Zuma's nine years in power from 2009, after scandals and sleaze had overshadowed South Africa's politics for years.

The allegations levelled against Zuma include that he allowed businessmen close to him - brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta - to plunder state resources and influence policy, in what is referred to in South Africa as "state capture".

The Guptas and Zuma have denied wrongdoing.

Molefe, Singh and Gama also all denied wrongdoing when they testified before the commission.

The second instalment of the Zondo commission's report, seen by Reuters, focused on alleged corruption at state-owned freight logistics firm Transnet and the country's struggling defence company Denel.

Neither of the companies had any immediate comment.

Corruption at Transnet occurred between 2009 and 2018, accomplished primarily through the "Gupta racketeering enterprise" and those associated with it, the report said.

"State capture at Transnet involved a systematic scheme of securing illicit and corrupt influence or control over the decision-making," the report found.

"Corrupt actors" sought to gain control over staff appointments and governance bodies to influence large procurements and capital expenditure by changing procurement rules to alter the bid criteria to favour "corrupt" suppliers and pay inflated costs, it added.

These actors that include a small group of senior executives and directors "were strategically positioned to collude" in the awarding of contracts such as multi-billion rand locomotive tenders that were often unfairly given to certain suppliers linked to the Gupta enterprise.

The report identified Molefe, Singh and Gama as the "primary architects" and implementers of State capture at the freight company.

The allegations levelled against them and others include accepting cash bribes from the Guptas at their Johannesburg compound between 2010 and 2018, contravening the Public Finance Management Act to favour bidders associated with the Gupta enterprise, inflating contract prices and money laundering.

On Denel, the report found that the contracts Denel awarded a Gupta company were all "irregularly awarded" and in breach of the constitution.

The Guptas and their associate Salim Essa used a supplier VR Laser Services as a "vehicle" to capture state defence technology company Denel, the State Capture Commission has found.

The commission, led by acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, on Tuesday handed to the Presidency the second part of its report. It is split into two volumes and focuses on capture of Transnet and Denel.

"The entry into VR Laser by the Guptas and Mr Essa was effected with the intention of using it as a vehicle with which to capture Denel," the report read.

VR Laser provides armour plate and steel for the defence industry and was established in 2007. It was one of the largest, most important and reliable suppliers to Denel, the report noted. VR Laser's main shareholders were John van Reenen, Gary Bloxham and MJ Jiyane and his wife.

Eventually in 2013, Essa bought a 74.9% stake in VR Laser from Bloxham and Van Reenen, via his company Elgasolve. Jiyane and his wife eventually sold their remaining stake (25.1%) in VR Laser in 2014 to Craysure Investments.

"This evidence shows that the Guptas bought control of a significant supplier of armoured steel to Denel," the report read.

The commission had heard how awarding two Denel contracts to VR Laser in 2014 and 2015 ran into hundreds of millions of rands. The contracts were linked to the construction of armoured vehicles, Fin24 previously reported.

The report also flags three large contracts irregularly awarded by Denel to VR Laser. It recommends that law enforcement agencies investigate these contracts for breaches of the Public Finance Management Act. The contracts are one concluded in November 2014 between Denel Land Services (DLS) and VR Laser, another concluded in May 2015 between DLS and VR Laser and one concluded in December 2015 between Denel Vehicle Systems and VR Laser.

Meetings at Saxonwold The report notes how Essa had reached out to former Denel CEO Riaz Saloojee in 2012. Essa had invited Saloojee to meet "certain individuals" who could assist Denel with future business.

Initially Saloojee did not respond to these invitations, but Essa told him the requests came from the "very top". Saloojee eventually agreed to the meeting and found himself at the Gupta compound in Saxonwold, where he met Tony and Atul Gupta, along with former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba.

"According to Mr Saloojee, Minister Gigaba said to him that 'these people' were his friends and that he hoped that they and Mr Saloojee could work together."

At a separate meeting at Saxonwold, Saloojee met Duduzane Zuma, former President Jacob Zuma's son, and a man introduced as Ace Magashule's son. Essa had told Saloojee that the Guptas wanted to do business with Denel and get it into other markets such as the Middle East and Asia. According to the report, Saloojee told them that they have to go through "proper channels" to do business with Denel.

At another meeting in 2012, Tony Gupta had put pressure on Saloojee to co-operate with the family. According to Saloojee's testimony, the Gupta brother had said he should take money because "everyone does".

The commission also heard from Saloojee that it was apparent that Tony Gupta was becoming "frustrated" with him for "putting obstacles" in the Guptas' path with regards to their plans for Denel.

The commission noted that it was clear the Guptas had no intentions to compete for Denel's business. "From the outset, they put pressure on Mr Saloojee to privilege their chosen vehicle, VR Laser, above any other competitor suppliers," the report read.

"Then, when Mr Saloojee showed that he would not dance to the Guptas' tune, steps were taken to gain control and oust Mr Saloojee."

The commission singles out former public enterprise's minister Lynne Brown's appointment of a new board in 2015 without input from officials from the department. The move effectively removed control of Denel from a "competent and honest" board, which had been successful in their term between 2011 to 2015.

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The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) says it believes the African National Congress (ANC) has mistreated its workers, leaving the union with no choice but to approach the Labour Court to force the party to pay outstanding salaries.

The union filed papers on 31 January, asking the court to order the ANC to pay the outstanding salaries of its workers.

On Wednesday, Nehawu secretary-general Zola Saphetha said the union had no choice but to intervene on behalf of its members.

The ANC owes its workers three months' salaries. The party has been struggling for months to meet its salary obligations because of a shortage of funding.

ANC staffers are also owed unemployment fund contributions and provident fund contributions which have not been paid in years. Workers have decided to stay away from work.

'Sad and traumatising period' Last month, News24 reported that staffers had met with ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile, who had committed to resolving the salary issue by the end of January. He also committed to the party resolving the pension fund and UIF issues by April.

By 1 February, no payments had been made to employees.

Nehawu is a member of Cosatu, which is an alliance partner of the ANC. Nehawu said ANC workers were struggling to survive.

"These workers are going through a sad and traumatising period as a direct result of failures of the ANC to honour and fulfil its contractual obligations entered into."

"The late [payment of] salaries has resulted in our members and workers losing all that they have worked for over years, as they have faced the stark reality of banks/financial institutions repossessing their homes, cars, etc. as a result of defaulting payments brought about by the failure [of paying] salaries on time by the ANC," Saphetha said.

At the ANC's January 8 address, party president Cyril Ramaphosa said ANC officials would quickly resolve the payment issue by looking at funding options.

Referring to Ramaphosa's statement, Nehawu said the ANC had ignored workers who had sacrificed their lives to serve the party. The staffers also faced the likelihood of retrenchment, according to the union.

"This inhuman act by the ANC undermines the dignity of its workers who kept the same ANC going, through and through, by sacrificing their lives in favour of the ANC.

"The matter is at the Labour Court now, and as the union and staff, we have tried everything possible to find an amicable solution, but to no avail and at worst, these workers were not treated with the dignity they deserved," the union said.

The matter has not been filed as an urgent matter.

Nehawu says it is awaiting a court date for the matter to be heard.

Suspended public works director-general Sam Vukela has been "earning" a salary, totalling R3.3-million, while waiting for his disciplinary case to be concluded.

The several court bids Vukela has instituted against his suspension and disciplinary process are at the heart of why the matter has been dragging.

On Tuesday, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele and officials briefed the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Vukela's disciplinary case.

The Presidency's deputy director-general for corporate services, Matsietsi Mekoa, said that, to date, R3.3-million had been paid as remuneration to Vukela. He is, however, paying his own legal fees.

"We need to find a different way of dispute resolution. At this point in time, everyone seems to be taking care of what the law and processes allow. At face value, 19 months of not being at work is not a good story in terms of the resources of the state. We are tied in an established process, and everyone behaves to the extent that the processes allow them. What is at stake is the resources of the state," Gungubele said.

Vukela was placed on precautionary suspension by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille in July 2020, pending the finalisation of his disciplinary proceedings.

He was suspended after a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers implicated him in allegations of fraudulent contract management and irregular payments in the planning of state funerals for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Zola Skweyiya and Billy Modise.

Vukela believes the disciplinary inquiry, which is presently pending, is "unauthorised and cannot proceed".

A tit-for-tat battle saw Vukela and De Lille making sweeping allegations against one another, with Vukela claiming De Lille had given him unlawful instructions and that his refusal to execute instructions had caused the friction between them.

Soon after his suspension, Vukela filed a court application, in which he sought to interdict his pending disciplinary inquiry, claiming the process would not be fair if overseen by De Lille.

President Cyril Ramaphosa then removed De Lille as the delegated authority to oversee the disciplinary process - and appointed the late Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu.

This led to Vukela's application being struck off the court roll.

Ramaphosa is responsible for the career incidents of department heads in the national government.

In August 2021, Mekoa said Vukela had made written representations to Mthembu, to ask for his suspension to be lifted.

"Having considered the seriousness of the charges against Vukela, the [late] minister decided that the suspension must continue until the finalisation of the disciplinary processes. Vukela filed a dispute with the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC), challenging his suspension," she said.

The GPSSBC hearing took place in December and is expected to continue in February.

"In addition, there is also a review application pending in the Labour Court, pertaining to the jurisdiction of the GPSSBC to hear the disciplinary matter of Vukela. [He] contends that this matter should be heard by the GPSSBC and not by the disciplinary tribunal process. We await the court to set the matter down," Mekoa said.

Primary, secondary and special schools can now return to daily attendance and Covid-19 positive people with no symptoms no longer have to isolate.

These were the changes made by Cabinet during the adjusted Alert Level 1 of the national lockdown, with immediate effect.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said South Africa had exited the Covid-19 fourth wave.

“Based on the trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic and the levels of vaccination in the country, Cabinet has decided to make the following changes to adjusted Alert Level with immediate effect,” he said.

South Africa recorded 1 366 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Monday. To date, 16 477 074 adults are fully vaccinated. Among children aged 12 and older, 1 232 552 vaccine doses have been administered.

Last week Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen filed court papers in the Gauteng High Court to compel government to immediately open schools fully.

In line with the new regulations, learners no longer have to adhere to one metre social distancing in school.

Meanwhile, people who test positive for Covid-19 can now isolate for seven days, instead of the previously required 10 days. Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.

The Presidency explained that the amendments are based on the increasing levels of immunity to Covid-19, which according to several sero-surveys, is exceeding 60% to 80%.

Government is urging eligible unvaccinated South Africans to get the jab and to continue observing basic health protocols to prevent the transmission of the virus.

Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga says there is a perception that wealthy South Africans are not "comfortable" with having their cases heard or adjudicated by black judges.

Madlanga was the first candidate to be interviewed for the Chief Justice position on Tuesday.

"The perception is that they do not have confidence in them, which is why those matters are taken from the judicial system and brought before private arbitration," Madlanga said during his interview.

He said should he be appointed he would hit the ground running and get to the bottom of those perceptions.

"I would want to look at that very perception and look at what needs to be done from our perspective as the judiciary. Is there, or what shortcomings are there? Yes, I do know that there are delays (in rendering judgments). I do know it takes a long time for cases to come to the stage of hearing and so on, but I would want to have a look at addressing the problems within our system," he said.

Madlanga also told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), who was conducting the interviews, that a Chief Justice should lead from the front and not be a "super secretary-general".

During his interview, the judge, who appeared confident, told the JSC panel that while he was not familiar with the administrative functions of the Chief Justice, he would consult other heads of courts and the secretary of the departments responsible for court administration.

Should he be appointed, said Madlanga, he would also approach Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to ask for a constitutional amendment for the court to do away with its quorum of eight judges.

He questioned the fact that the minimum number of justices required to decide on a case was eight.

He said, "An even number just doesn't make sense to me."

Madlanga was asked to comment on the attacks levelled at the Constitutional Court over the long delays in rendering judgments and the quality of judgments.

According to the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal Xola Petse, who was chairing the interviews, the criticism included accusations that reasoning was "all over the place", rulings were incoherent, or judges used strong language.

Madlanga said he had prepared a long note on the delays. He said it would take him a long time to go through it but added that there had been a "sudden deluge of applications".

He said from 2013 there had been an increase in new cases. The following year, new cases increased by well over 200, and since 2015, new cases averaged well over 300 per year, he said.

"To somebody sitting here that may sound like a very small figure," he said, adding that based on the apex court's work, this was a very large number.

Last year, a decision was taken on what should be done to address the delays.

"In the second half of last year, a decision was taken by conference that we should revise our working procedure."

According to Madlanga, he and another judge were chosen to perform the task. He said they had produced a document and were in the process of finalising it.

Madlanga said one of the suggestions was that the court should do away with the "duty-week" system, and this meant they now distributed new applications evenly.

The interview continues.

In the wake of passing new legislation that promises to strengthen the criminal justice system and strengthen existing provisions around gender-based violence (GBV), President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that survivors of GBV must not be further traumatised by the legal system.

Last week Ramaphosa signed into law the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, the Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act says sexual offences against persons who are mentally disabled must be recorded in the National Register of Sex Offenders and those convicted of sex crimes against children or mentally disabled people and have been sentenced to terms longer than 18 months can only apply to have their names removed from the register after 20 years.

The Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Act will allow courts to provide an intermediary to examine minors, disabled people or the elderly in court proceedings and also allows for the extended use of evidence via an audio-visual link.

Bail for suspects charged with the rape and murder of women and children will be opposed by the State,

“A prosecutor who does not oppose bail in designated cases must have their reasons placed on record. The court must consider any threats of violence made against the complainant and the complainant’s view of their own safety. Unless the court is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist that warrant release on bail, bail must be denied,” Ramaphosa explained.

The Domestic Violence Amendment Act has expanded the criteria for protection order applications. Courts can also immediately issue protection order in situations of imminent danger against a complainant.

Further, courts must issue protection orders against those on bail and charged with domestic violence after holding an enquiry.

“When the court issues a protection order it must at the same time authorise the issuing of an arrest warrant, suspended, that must be provided to the South African Police Service (SAPS). If a SAPS member suspects a complainant is in danger due to breach of the order, they must arrest the respondent immediately,” Ramaphosa stated.

Elderly victims of domestic violence are also protected under the new law and complainants can now apply for protection orders online. Courts also have the power to issue Safety Monitoring Notices, which will require a SAPS member to be in constant contact with complainants without the knowledge of the abuser.

SAPS members who fail to help victims of domestic violence at police stations will be found guilty of misconduct.

Further, any adult with knowledge or suspicions of violence against women and children are required by law to report to the police.

“We must educate those suffering in silence about their rights and how to exercise them. Let us use these laws to empower and protect women and children and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. Leaving an abusive relationship is never easy. But as the government, we have promised to provide the legal protection and support an abused person needs for themselves, their children and those close to them,” Ramaphosa said.

He added that while the new laws were a step in the right direction, it did not prevent violence and abuse from happening. He urged all South Africans to help end the violence.

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed suspended African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule's appeal of a judgment that declared his suspension from the party was lawful.

In a one-page judgment, the court dismissed the appeal with costs.

"The application for leave to appeal is dismissed, with costs, on the grounds that there is no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard," the court ruled.

Magashule's SCA bid came after the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg dismissed his appeal application in September.

On 13 November, he filed papers spelling out why he believed the SCA should grant him access for leave to appeal the court ruling on his suspension.

The corruption-charged Magashule told the court Ramaphosa's Cabinet reshuffle was proof there was a selective application of the ANC's step-aside rule.

He argued the court had erred when it found nothing wrong with the ANC national executive committee's interpretation of the step-aside resolution.

If granted permission to appeal, Magashule said he planned to introduce new evidence to strengthen his argument.

In response, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said he had not met the grounds required to convince the SCA to hear his latest attempt to overturn his suspension.

She argued that Magashule should not be allowed to introduce new evidence.

Magashule was suspended from the ANC in May 2021 after he was criminally charged for corruption.

The ANC's step-aside policy forces party leaders charged with corruption to be temporarily removed from their positions.

Magashule has fought his suspension, saying the step-aside rule was an effort to deal with him politically.