By Jackie Cameron
- An arrest warrant has been issued for Ace Magashule, one of the ANC’s top-ranking officials. The warrant has yet to be served on Magashule, but he has agreed to appear in court. Mashule is ANC secretary general The secretary general of the ANC is one of the most powerful positions in the party, with former presidents – including Ramaphosa – holding that role prior to taking up the highest office. Magashule is described as one of Ramaphosa’s biggest political rivals. While the legal processes against Magashule could take years to be concluded, he may be politically sidelined in the interim. That’s because the party has instructed all its members facing charges to step aside from their posts until their cases are concluded — although not all of them have complied. The ANC has urged its members to remain calm.
- Magashule’s arrest comes as evidence at the Zondo commission of inquiry continues to highlight industrial scale corruption at state entities, with the son of Jacob Zuma, Duduzane, and the Gupta family in the spotlight as well as individuals who had their snouts in the feeding trough before Zuma became president. For more on those stories, do go to BizNews.com.
- In other news about corruption crackdowns in Africa, Mozambique ex-Finance Minister Manuel Chang has been charged for his involvement in the country’s $2 billion hidden-debts scandal that has already seen three former Credit Suisse Group AG bankers plead guilty to crimes in the U.S.Mozambique was rocked by the financial saga, which emerged in 2016 when the government reported previously undisclosed debts that led to a default on Eurobond payments. Known informally as the tuna-bond scandal, as one loan was raised to finance fishing boats, the three Credit Suisse bankers were accused of working with Chang to arrange kickbacks and other payments. Chang, who has been in detention in neighbouring South Africa for almost two years pending a U.S. extradition request, is accused of crimes including corruption and abuse of office,South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola is yet to decide where to send Chang. “Processes which involve the extradition of Chang are still currently underway,” Chrispin Phiri, his spokesman, said by text message. “Once those processes have been concluded the decision will be communicated.” Mozambique also filed charges related to the case against three former central-bank workers who it didn’t name, accusing them of abuse of office. The son of former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has also been charged and detained in Mozambique along with 19 others, including the former head of state security. They have denied wrongdoing and are yet to be tried.
- Much of the northern hemisphere is living under strict lockdown rules to curb the spread of Covid-19 – a possibility that looms for South Africa as the number of coronavirus cases picks up and vaccine delivery is still some way off in the country. Business leaders are urging against lockdown, pointing to the devastating consequences of earlier lockdowns to the economy and also the health of many who went without medical care to make way for Covid-19 patients. B4SA paints a grim picture of what’s likely to happen to businesses and jobs if there is a return to rules imposed earlier this year. It warns that at least another 200,000 jobs will be lost as the economy contracts in double-digit figures. For more on that, see BizNews.com
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