Global Citizen
Flash Briefing: SARS, SAPS, Gautrain’s power cut by Tshwane for non-payment; post-SONA no-confidence; Mkhize tied to more corruption
The City of Tshwane on Tuesday cut the power supply to SARS, the SA Police Service (SAPS) headquarters, and the Gautrain station in Hatfield.
- The City of Tshwane on Tuesday cut the power supply to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the SA Police Service (SAPS) headquarters, and the Gautrain station in Hatfield. The City said Gautrain owed R10 million and had last paid its account in 2020. The City said Mendo Properties, which is the landlord at the SAPS headquarters, owed R5.1 million. It was, however, still unclear how much SARS owed the City. "SARS is the tenant, we are owed by the landlord," the City clarified. The MMC for Finance, Peter Sutton, said that in the last month, 420 disconnections of businesses had taken place. He added that: "It is not true that all those cases are being challenged in court. We do take a lot of care in the evenings to go through those accounts to deal with them, but I think it is very important to know that, when you have a dispute on a service item on the account, it is for that item only and not the entire account."
- Opposition parties grilled president Cyril Ramaphosa in the post-SONA debate this week. The Democratic Alliance proposed a no-confidence vote against the president and his entire cabinet. The DA slammed Ramaphosa for failing to hold his executive accountable for rampant corruption and widespread economic decline. The EFF, meanwhile, said that the president's reliance on the private sector and extra-governmental organizations to do things was already a vote of no confidence in the ministers and deputies he appointed. Several other smaller parties also indicated support for such a motion.
- Former health minister Zweli Mkhize has reportedly been implicated in more corrupt activities. Mkhize has been linked to alleged corruption involving the Public Investment Corp and the Unemployment Insurance Fund. It is alleged that when Mkhize served as ANC treasurer-general, he scored kickbacks of R6 million from an advisory firm handling a R1.4 billion contract with the PIC. Mkhize resigned last year after being linked to the R150-million Digital Vibes communications tender – a communications contract with the Department of Health awarded to his close associates. The scandal also led to the suspension of several senior managers in the health department.