All news items
10 October 2014
The M&G went undercover at the Lindela Repatriation Centre for illegal immigrants to see if some of the detainees would share their grievances.
On the wall at the entrance bold letters proclaim: “Lindela Repatriation Centre” and “Bosasa Operation”. I walk through the gate into the sheltered open space.
Inside, there is a canteen, which doubles as a spaza shop...
10 October 2014
After nearly two decades of criticism, flouted laws and disturbing reports, there seems to be a promise of change at the infamous Lindela Repatriation Centre.
In September the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stepped in and said it required a long list of specific actions by the department of home affairs – the department responsible for the deportation of illegal immigrants...
10 October 2014
A group of 25 Nigerians ended their two-week hunger strike at the Lindela Repatriation Centre after a brutal attack on them allegedly by security guards who were apparently trying to force them to eat. The guards work for Bosasa Operations, the company charged with running the centre.
Five members of the group claimed that 10 guards shot at them with rubber bullets and beat them with batons.
As...
8 October 2014
The explosive information in last week's Sunday Times - that French arms company Thales allegedly bribed President Jacob Zuma with money, gifts and travel and also made a €1-million donation to the ANC (about R14-million at today's rate) - confirms what many South Africans have believed for years. It raises further serious questions about the Seriti commission of inquiry into the...
8 October 2014
Ivanhoe Mines on Wednesday hit back at a media report by Bloomberg that, among other accusations, alleged the company had rigged representative elections to a community trust that was set up as part of a broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) deal that gave 20 local communities a 26% interest in the $1.7-billion Platreef platinum group elements project, in South Africa.
The Africa-focused...
7 October 2014
Somali and Ethiopian asylum seekers and refugees have scored a longed-for victory against official xenophobia – the Supreme Court of Appeal has thrown out key elements of ‘Operation Hardstick’.
This is a police programme in terms of which, among other strategies, Somali and Ethiopian businesses in Limpopo were shut down regardless of whether or not they had valid licences...
7 October 2014
The controversial 1999 multi-billion rand arms deal was "initiated with criminal intent", the Seriti Commission of Inquiry heard on Monday.
"I submit that the rationale for the arms acquisition was illegal, unconstitutional, and fraudulent right from the inception," arms deal critic Terry Crawford-Browne testified at the inquiry in Pretoria.
"Contrary to assertions...
7 October 2014
Billionaire Robert Friedland’s South African platinum project may be held up by a split in the local community, with residents accusing his Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. of subverting a process to give them a fair share in the mine.
People living in the Mokopane area in the northern Limpopo province, one of the country’s poorest regions, are lobbying the government to delay the mining...
6 October 2014
Children of undocumented migrants in South Africa are being deprived of access to public schooling.
The country's constitution says all children have the right to an education, but a government policy says refugees must have the appropriate documents allowing them to stay in the country first.
There's no exact figure on how many undocumented migrants are in the country, as many fear...
2 October 2014
The Arms Procurement Commission says it will try to obtain transcripts of arms deal fixer Ajay Sooklal’s arbitration in which he gave details of President Jacob Zuma’s alleged involvement and will assess whether to call him in as a witness.
This follows weekend reports on how the Thales representative lavished fancy clothes on Zuma, and paid for legal fees and hotel stays in Europe....