All news items
23 April 2014
Government officials are explaining the arms deal at the official inquiry, but much of the detail remains blocked by the commission itself.
Earlier this month, National Treasury deputy director-general Andrew Donaldson provided a detailed submission of the costs of the controversial 1999 arms deal to the Arms Procurement Commission.
The costs of the deal have been a key point of criticism...
22 April 2014
United Democratic Movement (UDM) spokesperson on Finance and Economic matters, Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, says those who were implicated in the alleged looting of state funds towards the end of the apartheid rule should be held accountable.
“Corruption and it should be dealt with the same way that we have been saying the South African government should deal with the arms deal. That's...
15 April 2014
Foreigners could face being excluded from South Africa for two and 10 years if they try to travel here without a valid visa due to the withdrawal of directive 43 of 2010.
Directive 43 allowed non-South African citizens to travel in and outside of South Africa on presentation of an original receipt for the application of a visa.
Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor removed directive 43 of 2010...
14 April 2014
The Seriti Commission of Inquiry says the resignation of the chief evidence leader Tayob Aboobaker will not affect its work or public hearings being held in Pretoria.
The commission was appointed by President Jacob Zuma to investigate the procurement of arms from French, British and Swedish countries by former President Thabo Mbeki's administration.
The arms deal cost South Africa billions of...
10 April 2014
The arms deal cost a total of R46.666 billion.
That is the official figure for the 1999 Strategic Defence Procurement Package (SDPP) from the Treasury.
“The total nominal expenditure (that is the total cash outlay) on the SDPP between 2000/01 and 2013/14 has been R46 666 million,” said Treasury deputy director-general Andrew Donaldson.
The deal was financed through loans from foreign...
10 April 2014
South Africa positions itself as a continental leader, but the domestic reality is very different with immigration policies becoming increasingly stringent. This not only sanctions xenophobia but also exacerbates the country’s skills shortage.
According to a recent report on xenophobia in South Africa by Heribert Adam and Kogila Moodley titled Imagined Liberation: Xenophobia, Citizenship...
3 April 2014
Tied to a chair, with a plastic bag over his head and a rope around his neck, a man is electrocuted, the shocks causing deep scorches on his skin.
A Klerksdorp man, accused of theft, claims this was how he was tortured by police officers.
His is one of many cases of brutal treatment of prisoners, suspects and young black men, allegedly committed by police officers and prison warders, according to...
27 March 2014
Media Statement and Transcript: Deputy Minister Fatima Chohan's address at the Home Affairs weekly media briefing, 26 March 2014.
Once more we take this opportunity to welcome you all to our media briefing. The media is an important element in ensuring the citizenry is well informed about efforts that government undertakes to constantly improve people’s lives. In...
27 March 2014
Dudley Lee, 59, walked out of Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa a free man in 2003. He is now a prisoner of the disease he acquired there. Awaiting trial on charges of fraud and money-laundering, Lee was incarcerated for four years and contracted tuberculosis (TB) in the prison’s unsanitary conditions. Although Lee was exonerated for a lack of evidence, he received no apology from...
24 March 2014
THREE years in the making, draft immigration regulations published for comment by home affairs minister Naledi Pandor on February 17 have been slammed by immigration specialists. One of their main concerns is what they believe to be the unconstitutionality of some sections.
"There are many elements in conflict with the constitution," says immigration lawyer Julian Pokroy. "They...