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Transparency International anti-money laundering expert Maíra Martini said on Tuesday that the new global standard on beneficial ownership transparency will make public those who are hiding behind anonymous companies and help authorities, journalists and civil society to more effectively expose and fight corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes.

In 2019, global civil society organisation Transparency International asked the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to fix the global standard on beneficial ownership transparency.

The FATF is a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

Transparency International specifically called for public, central registers as a key measure to end the decades-long abuse of anonymous companies around the world.

FATF’s revised recommendation 24 will now require every country to set up a beneficial ownership register or sufficient alternative to allow authorities to see who ultimately owns or controls a company.

Previously, the standard did not specify how company ownership information should be collected and made accessible to authorities. As a consequence, many countries relied on information held by banks.

Martini explained that this often impedes investigations, as authorities first need to know where the company banks. They may also require a court order and information held by banks is often unverified.

Martini said the new standard now requires countries to have three different mechanisms in place – with beneficial owners available from a register, from companies themselves and from supplementary sources like financial institutions.

“What is good about the new global standard is that countries can no longer choose one single mechanism. They have to have three things in place; they have to require companies to maintain that information on their beneficiary owners; they have to set up a register or an alternative mechanism and they have to rely on supplementary sources if they wish,” she said.

She added that another good thing about the standard is that it requires varied data.

However, Transparency International says it would be useful to have clear guidance on how the data should be verified and the responsibility should lay with the public authority.

Former ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal representative Dr Makhosi Khoza said on Tuesday that she was hurt following her dismissal from the party, and has accused ActionSA of serving the interests of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Khoza’s ActionSA membership was terminated last week for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute and for alleged reputational damage to the party for apparent self-gain.

The party’s Ethics Committee unanimously agreed that she should be dismissed.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika she claimed that the party was being controlled by the DA and that it has become the “black version of the DA” because “all the black prominent frontline leaders are gone”.

She said ActionSA is a proxy of the DA in KZN.

ActionSA alleges that Khoza has been linked to the disgruntled ActionSA Soweto group.

She disputed this by saying the evidence presented via a WhatsApp group during the hearing did not hold water. She has denied any links to the Soweto group.

“I really feel sad that [ActionSA leader Herman] Mashaba will go to this extent to tarnish my name. I am not that type. I am not a power-hungry person,” said Khoza.

When asked what she thought the main reason behind her dismissal was, Khoza recalled a rally in KZN where the crowd in attendance cheered when she took to the stage.

“Obviously I have a much stronger voice than Mashaba. It was never my intention and I really feel sad that Mashaba would actually take a WhatsApp message and conclude that I was trying to topple him. I really do think that we may be dealing with some self-esteem issues,” she said.

The eThekwini metro council elected Khoza as chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) in December.

She said she received a hail of insults over the appointment from ActionSA Senate members who felt betrayed because she was elected by members of the African National Congress (ANC).

Khoza was chairperson of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee while she was an ANC member.

She said the backlash she received was due to political misunderstanding of the terrain especially in the KZN province.

Khoza said she had plans to grow ActionSA in the province because she had experience from when she was in the ANC.

She said she is being treated the same way as Lindiwe Mazibuko, Phumzile van Damme and recently Mbali Ntuli.

“I feel used and abused,” said Khoza.

She believes that South Africa has to be educated about women in the political space.

A Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) research paper has shown that almost 30 years after the end of apartheid, school segregation in South Africa remains very high along racial and socioeconomic lines.

Presenting the study – School Segregation in Post-Apartheid South Africa – during a seminar hosted by HSRC, University of Cambridge assistant professor Dr Rob Gruijters said the paper shows that while socioeconomic segregation is also exceptionally high, it only explains 16% of racial segregation.

The HSRC used a comprehensive overview of current patterns of school segregation by race and class in South Africa. The study is based on the 2021 Annual School Survey – an administrative dataset covering all South African schools – and the 2019 TIMSS school survey.

In South Africa, former white schools continue to be the most prestigious and desirable schools.

The study found that the average white child attends a school that is 70% white, and the average black child attends a school that is 96% black. White children are clustered in a small number of former white schools, and most elite public and private schools remain predominantly white.

Gruijters explained that many, but not all, former white schools are racially diverse to varying degrees, but they are not representative of the population.

He said black African children, in particular, remain highly underrepresented in the country’s best schools. Public and private “elite schools” remain predominantly white, with white students exposure to black classmates mostly from the socioeconomically advantaged segments.

Gruijters said it is almost impossible to understand racial segregation in education without analysing its intersection with socioeconomic segregation, explaining that previous research has suggested that the integration of former white schools is often limited to the wealthiest children from other racial groups.

Although many “white schools” now admit learners from other groups, there is a lot of variation among them. Some have become almost 100% black, while some are racially diverse to varying degrees. A few remain almost 100% white. The same goes for former coloured and Asian schools.

OPPORTUNITY HOARDING

The resource that is ‘hoarded’ in the case of school segregation is access to the most well-resourced and high-performing schools, and the economic opportunities they provide.

The study says it can be argued that the political settlement that emerged in post-apartheid South Africa was conducive to opportunity hoarding by the white minority and other socioeconomically advantaged groups.

The study notes that opportunity hoarding is a micro-level process that does not require political power or centralized coordination, although political institutions can facilitate or counteract hoarding behaviour.

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday the increase in domestic investment by black industrialists in South Africa’s economy, as he reflected on the success of the fourth South Africa Investment Conference, held last week.

The total value of new investment commitments for the next five years stands at R1.14-trillion.

Ramaphosa specifically noted domestic investment, pointing to more black industrialists entering the economy.

In the last five years, government has invested about R32-billion into nearly 800 black industrialists and entrepreneurs.

Ramaphosa pointed out that this year, those industrialists pledged investment into mining and steel production, automotive component manufacturing, consumer goods, bulk fuel storage, and ship-building and repair in the Saldanha Industrial Development Zone.

“As the commitments turn into projects, they will create jobs and improve livelihoods not only in the cities and metros, but also in small towns and rural areas. This will spur the growth of local economies, leading to more opportunities and to the improvement of people’s quality of life,” he said.

Currently in the United Arab Emirates, Ramaphosa is hoping to attract investors from the region, pointing to the diversity of South Africa’s economy.

He said government was encouraged by the commitments made at this year’s conference, adding that the investments would bolster employment and transformation.

Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso described the fourth conference as “the best so far”, noting that genuine reforms had been made.

She was also pleased with Ramaphosa’s candid evaluation of the challenges facing the country.

“He was pragmatic and did not trivialise our problems, from crime and corruption to high unemployment. That frankness gave him credibility that has been further helped by his clear recognition that the private sector is essential to resolving those problems. This is a government that acknowledges the need for pragmatism given the environment we are facing,” she said.

Ramaphosa’s call for public-private partnerships was also a highlight for Mavuso, but she said, particularly for infrastructure investment, that the policy environment and economic conditions must be ideal.

She said while high global commodity prices were of benefit currently, some making profit off the high prices were not expanding production, owing to low confidence in policy.

“They are uncertain that future regulatory changes may damage the returns they can earn on that investment. In that context, the rational decision is to rather just give the cash back to their shareholders. That is why you need good policy as well as good economic conditions for investment to happen. People need to be confident both that global economic conditions will be positive and that the local business environment will be positive. Otherwise they won’t take the risk,” Mavuso stressed.

She said while mining and logistics could improve the outlook, mining was still hampered by policy confusion. She also pointed out the weaknesses of the country’s ports and rail.

However, despite the challenges, she said her confidence was improved owing to the conference.

The African National Congress National Executive Committee (ANC NEC) has stressed the importance of renewal, as well as the rebuilding of the party’s congress, values, integrity and its ability to be an even more effective instrument of liberation.

Treasurer General Paul Mashatile updated the media on the party’s NEC meeting, held over the weekend.

The party’s newly formed Renewal Commission will make recommendations during the party’s 55th National Conference, in December, on the role and state of the party.

The ANC will also strengthen its National Disciplinary Committee and National Disciplinary Committee of Appeals, as recommended by the National Working Committee (NWC), to deal more fairly and quickly with ill-discipline within structures.

The NEC discussed and welcomed the plans for upcoming regional and provincial party conferences.

Mashatile said the relaxed Covid-19 restrictions had allowed ANC structures to rebuild mandates, particularly branches across the country.

To date, 2 300 ANC branches have held biennial branch general meetings.

While the party noted the relaxed Covid-19 regulations, it expressed concern about future waves of the pandemic, especially as government fell short of reaching its target of vaccinating 70% of the adult population.

“The NEC urges all South Africans to get vaccinated, especially young people between the ages of 18 and 35 of whom 6-million are not yet vaccinated. We call upon organisations, trade unions, business and professionals faith-based organisations and other sectoral organisations to work with government to encourage vaccination,” said Mashatile.

Meanwhile, the ANC NEC also welcomed the revitalisation of government Imbizo programmes, which kicked off in the North West this week, to strengthen the link between government and citizens, and to engage citizens on the social compact to tackle unemployment and poverty.

The NEC welcomed the update by the task team on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by Jeff Radebe. It made recommendations and referrals and a discussion paper by the task team on preventing corruption and State capture will be presented at the ANC NWC meeting in April.

The NEC has also noted violence within its structures and has directed all ANC structures to take disciplinary action against those who engage in violent and criminal behaviour.

It also urged law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute in such instances.

While many South Africans are celebrating the relaxation of lockdown regulations, those who are part of the inner circle of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) are on the lookout for a potential resurgence of Covid-19 cases involving the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two MAC insiders said South Africa's new regulations are in line with international standards but there are still serious concerns about an uptake in cases involving the Delta variant and a fifth wave of infections, which is expected at the end of May.

One senior MAC source warned that there was a sudden uptake in recent weeks and that they were monitoring the situation.

The variant still accounts for less than 2% of all infections, but the source said the rate of the increase in cases was concerning.

A rise in Delta variant cases could mean a new combined variant in the next wave.

"In the last seven days, the Delta variant had a 100% jump. A month ago the Delta variant accounted for 0.3%, three weeks ago it was 0.75% and 10 days ago it was almost 1% and now it is almost 2% which means it is a 100% jump.

"You may think 2% is low and 98% is still Omicron, but the fact that it doubled in a month and a half in the testing, is concerning. We cannot afford to get a Delta wave again. It could be nothing, but it is possible that we could end up with a new variant that combines Omicron and Delta."

"This is why we are a bit wary to tell people to pull out the champagne glasses just yet," the source added.

Another insider said they were monitoring the Delta variant cases.

"It's still quite a low yield, but I can confirm that we are checking on it and monitoring it closely."

The source explained that new variants often dominated older variants, but that did not mean they fully disappeared. The source used the example of the resurgence of the virus in Hong Kong.

"One variant suppresses old variants. But there could be pockets of the variant hanging around. This season, we probably had a low yield of the Delta variant, maybe 1% or lower. In Hong Kong, 3.5% was the Delta variant when they had a surge last month. It is, however, slowing down there now."

Fifth wave concerns

A senior MAC insider told News24 that a potential surge in infections was expected around mid-April and the fifth wave was expected by the end of May.

"This gives us one month because the state of disaster expires on April 15. This gives us time to see that if we need the state of disaster or if we must default to a much more intensive Department of Health regulation in terms of infection monitoring."

The source added that there were still major concerns about a lack of vaccinations.

"We did not reach our vaccination targets. So, we cannot be assured if we have enough antibodies in the public or for how long that will last. We still need everyone to vaccinate and take booster shots."

South Africa's elite crime-busting agency, the Hawks, functions with half of its required workforce, with only a fraction of staffers dedicated to investigating complex cases.

Despite the severe staff shortages, Hawks boss, advocate Godfrey Lebeya, said the agency soldiered on.

On Friday, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) briefed the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the corruption cases within the local government sphere.

Lebeya said against the fixed establishment of 5 332 staffers they were supposed to have, the Hawks currently functioned with a 49.55% workforce.

This equated to an actual headcount of 2 642, with a deficit of 50.45% (2 690).

"Of this 2 642, only 1 500 are investigating officers. It is worth noting that even though there has been marginal growth, the Hawks is nearly at the same capacity it was when established in 2009/10."

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the proper name for the Hawks, was established to fill the void after the closure of the Directorate for Special Operations, known as the Scorpions, which were accused by the ANC of having a political agenda against former president Jacob Zuma.

Lebeya said, "However, the complexity and sophistication of the cases investigated have, over the years, increased."

"Lastly, as at the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year, all the cases that the DPCI had on hand was approximately 22 200, and 1 500 investigators. This entails that there is a ratio of one investigator to 15 cases with an estimated average amount involved of R37.3-million; this further adds on to the complexity of a case," he said.

Lebeya also said 121 cases of municipal corruption were under investigation. So far, there were 69 cases in court, and 27 awaiting a decision from the NPA.

Meanwhile, SIU head advocate, Andy Mothibe, said poor management and leadership instability were just some of the issues plaguing South Africa's municipalities.

Other financial malpractices include:

Procurement irregularities

Poor record-keeping

Employment irregularities

Poor management and leadership instability

Poor governance

Poor project management

No appropriate segregation of duties

Poor business processes

Need to strengthen risk management

Need to improve financial management

Lack of consequence management

Mothibe also highlighted poor revenue management as a severe problem.

Furthermore, he said disciplinary action could not be recommended against officials because they resigned before the SIU investigation commenced, or during the course of the investigation.

Mothibe also said that the Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum (LGACF) was established to address corruption.

"The purpose of the LGACF is to support the anti-corruption initiatives in local government, including the local government corruption prevention framework. The forum coordinates efforts amongst all law enforcement agencies to ensure that investigative capacity is optimised and outcomes such as criminal prosecutions, civil recoveries, and any administrative actions are well-coordinated," he said.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has said he wants to ensure that by the time he leaves office, the judiciary of South Africa has strengthened its independence as it is critical to sustaining democracy.

He was addressing the media for the first time since his appointment as the country’s Chief Justice, where he commended former President Jacob Zuma for acceding to the establishment of the Office of the Chief Justice.

Zondo said he felt honoured and privileged to be appointed, adding that he had no doubts that he would work well with all members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The JSC was criticised for how it handled the interview process for Chief Justice candidates, sparking debates on whether politicians should be part of the formation in future.

Zondo shared that when he chaired the JSC in October last year he found cooperation and respect from all members of the JSC and added that Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, who is a member, was courteous and respectful.

He believed that Justice Mandisa Maya, who he was up against during the interview process, would play a critical role in his office.

When asked to comment on KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala’s call for a move away from a constitutional democracy and a review of the Constitution, Zondo said everyone was entitled to have their view about South Africa’s constitutional dispensation.

He added that all the judiciary’s power came from the Constitution, passed by Parliament.

“Our Constitution envisaged the judiciary performing certain functions in accordance with the Constitution and I do not think that it performs functions that it should not perform in a constitutional democracy such as ours. Obviously Premier Zikalala may be disgruntled about certain decisions but those decisions are taken according to the Constitution,” Zondo stated.

He said allegations that insinuated that the judiciary was captured were very serious and should not be made lightly by anybody.

Zondo said it was not in the interest of anybody who loved this country to portray the judiciary as captured.

“If anybody has evidence that any judge or the judiciary is captured, they must come forward with the evidence,” he stressed.

He said former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng had, in the past, invited those with evidence to come forward but no one has presented evidence.

Zondo that the Judicial Conduct Committee was there to investigate such matters without fear and prejudice.

When asked if the State capture work would, in any way, interfere with his new role, Zondo said it would not, explaining that parts of the reports released were detailed to show that the findings were based on a consideration and analysis of evidence.

He said his colleagues in the Constitutional Court had been extremely supportive and had been understanding.

Zondo shared that he had delegated some of his work to them with the belief that they would continue to support him during the remainder of his work at the State capture commission.

When asked about his view on the transformation of the judiciary, Zondo said he was satisfied that most people who care to read court judgments would know that the judiciary was making a good contribution towards transformation.

Zondo believes the judiciary enjoys a lot of confidence among South Africans including in defending and upholding the rule of law.

“This judiciary we have will continue to make sure that it does so without fear, favour or prejudice. It is important to us as judges and magistrates to remember that we are not in these positions to be popular but to administer justice,” he stressed.

Zondo urged judges to always strive to make decisions that were in accordance with the rule of law even if it made them unpopular.

He believes that he will achieve his goals and that he will be able to lay a foundation for long-term goals during his term.

Zondo assured South Africans that he was strongly independent in the case of political and judicial disagreement.

The "unity conference" of the African National Congress's (ANC's) uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) has been pushed back by a month and is expected to be held in April.

The disbanded MKMVA's preparatory committee has been told that the ANC national executive committee (NEC) will have to sign off on the conference before it takes place.

The conference was expected to take place from Thursday to Sunday.

The MKMVA was disbanded by the ANC and was divided mainly along factional lines. The conference was expected to unify the ANC's military veteran structure.

More than 700 delegates were expected at the conference. The MKMVA has been busy with an ongoing vetting process for all its military veterans.

The process has been conducted alongside the government's verification of military veterans across the country.

That verification would enable them to access state support.

Gregory Nthatisi, a member of the MKMVA preparatory committee, said verifying uMkhonto we Sizwe veterans was crucial for the conference and beyond.

Nthatisi told News24 on Thursday that the preparatory committee, appointed by the ANC, had concluded the vetting process in all nine provinces for attending delegations.

"We have done all the necessary preparations related to the conference. We have completed all the provinces, but we still need to refine the final credentials to ensure the right people attend the conference," he said.

He said the ANC was worried about the form that the conference would take. A report has been submitted to the ANC.

ANC conference uncertainty

There remains much uncertainty about whether the ANC will be able to successfully hold conferences for some of its crucial structures ahead of the national conference in December.

Several ANC structures have had to postpone conferences. The ANC NEC had said all regional and provincial conferences should be finalised by March.

However, crucial conferences have been delayed by weeks and months.

The ANC's dispute with its workers over salaries and delayed branch meetings have been blamed for the conference debacles faced by the party in a packed political year.

The Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga ANC were expected to hold conferences this month.

The Eastern Cape will hold its conference at the end of April, while Mpumalanga has yet to provide a precise date. Both provinces are run by interim provincial structures appointed by the ANC NEC.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has confirmed to News24 that his party was considering taking legal action against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema over his comments encouraging illegal immigration.

"ActionSA is not here to make friends with anyone other than the people of South Africa. So despite our professional relationship with the EFF, if what their members do negatively affect the citizens of our country, we will address it without hesitation," said Mashaba on Thursday.

The decision to consider legal recourse by ActionSA comes after the National Assembly's acting registrar of members' interests, communicated to it on Thursday that Malema had been acquitted of his remarks encouraging illegal immigration.

In its response, the National Assembly said Malema's utterances were "open to a different interpretation and for this reason, the committee found that the member did not breach the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members' Interests".

ActionSA laid a complaint last year with the Speaker of the National Assembly after Malema made remarks in a televised press conference held on 14 January 2021. In the press conference, he encouraged citizens from neighbouring countries to "find creative ways" of entering South Africa.

Mashaba said ActionSA's senate had "all expressed shock" over the verdict.

As such, Mashaba said he would be raising the matter during ActionSA's senate meeting on Friday and it was likely that the party would approach the high court and challenge the acquittal.

"Members of Parliament (MPs) swear when taking their oath of office to serve the country, to uphold our laws, and to protect our Constitution. They are not at liberty to take the public trust placed in them and use it to promote anarchy and lawlessness. We gave the National Assembly the video evidence and are shocked at how they came to this outcome," said Mashaba.

He reiterated that ActionSA had a working relationship with the EFF, but that did not prohibit his party from confronting concerns they had with the red berets.

Mashaba insisted that there was no friendship between ActionSA and the EFF.

"Friendship for me, is something that people develop when you do the right things. ActionSA is not here to make friends with anyone other than the people of South Africa, we represent the people of South Africa, so if there is any political party that we believe we differ with, we will openly express this," he said.

He added that he did not believe that his stance on Malema's sentiments would affect the working relationship in municipalities where the EFF's support had been pivotal.

"We have absolutely no problem. There are no cracks nor weakness; we have never had a formal relationship with the EFF, but have managed to work well together and believe this will be the case going forward. Where we as ActionSA also make mistakes, we expect those with a working relationship with us, either the DA or the EFF, to call us out and hold us accountable," said Mashaba.