Programme News
5 May 2014
(News)
The government would bring a new law to give statutory effect to the Border Management Agency, a body being set up to co-ordinate government departments’ efforts to control South Africa’s points of entry, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday.
She was opening the new port of entry control centre at Cape Town harbour.
Ms Pandor said the centre was the first of its kind and...
29 April 2014
(News)
The Arms Procurement Commission has confirmed former president Thabo Mbeki and other senior decision makers in the multi-billion rand arms deal will now appear before Judge Willie Seriti’s inquiry in the first week of June.
Mbeki is expected to testify on 5 June and will be preceded by other senior politicians who served in his cabinet at the time, including Trevor Manuel, Mosiuoa Lekota...
23 April 2014
(News)
Think of it like buying a car. A very expensive car.
The price was signed at R29.992 billion in 1999, but turned into R46.666bn with inflation and the fluctuations in exchange rates (the contracts were signed in dollars, euros and Swedish krone).
The state paid about R8.5bn in cash, which ran through the Department of Defence (DoD) budgets. (Think of that as a deposit on your very expensive car...
23 April 2014
(News)
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
(News)
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
(News)
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
(News)
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
(News)
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
(News)
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
(News)
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...