- A substantial majority of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) voted to uphold a gross misconduct finding against Western Cape judge president John Hlophe, paving the way for an impeachment process by parliament. This will be the first time in SA’s post-1994 history the JSC has referred a judge to parliament for possible impeachment. The finding of gross misconduct earlier in 2021 by a judicial conduct tribunal related to a 2008 complaint by all the then justices of the Constitutional Court. The justices complained that the Western Cape judge president had sought to influence the outcome of a pending judgment relating to corruption charges against former president Jacob Zuma. Zuma is currently on trial for the same charges.
- State-owned airline company South African Airways (SAA) has announced it will resume flights on 23 September 2021. “The wait is finally over. In just under a month, the striking and familiar livery of SAA will once again be visible in the skies as the airline resumes operations,” the company said in a statement on Twitter. SAA will operate flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka, and Maputo in the initial phase of its relaunch. “More destinations will be added to the route network as it ramps up operations in response to market conditions,” the carrier stated. SAA Board chairman, John Lamola, said the airline was restarting with a “formidable business case”. The relaunching of a new “fit for purpose” national carrier comes almost a year after SAA suspended operations due to a lack of funding.
- SA’s greenhouse gas emissions increased 10% in the 17 years since 2000, according to the latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, which was published by the department of environment, forestry and fisheries this week. The report is part of SA’s obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and has been compiled on a regular basis since 2000. The latest report provides data for 2017. The lag in the data is not unusual, say experts, as it is a lengthy and difficult process to compile. However, under the Paris Agreement, SA must reduce the lag to three years by 2024.
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