CR Covid-19 crackdown on corrupt cops; Stella pays lockdown fine; Govt might rescue Land Bank; China backlash

By Jackie Cameron

• About 90 police officers have been arrested for breaching nationwide lockdown regulations. This was revealed on Wednesday by Police Minister Bheki Cele who said that more than 130 civil servants face prosecution in connection with contravening regulations. These include health workers, municipal councillors and correctional service officials. Fleshing out the details, Cele said about 90 police officers were among those arrested for offences ranging from demanding bribes from businesses to stealing and trading liquor on the black market. Cele, says the government news service, has promised that those charged with crimes during the lockdown would be removed from the security forces. "They don't deserve to be in this organisation, even if they win their criminal cases in court. They cannot be SAPS members, we'll make sure that they get out of it," Cele said.
• Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has paid a R1,000 admission of guilt fine for contravening lockdown regulations.
• The South African government is considering bailing out the Land Bank as it moves to inject liquidity into the troubled economy. The Land Bank's failure could cause borrowing costs for farmers to surge and, if not dealt with fast enough, threaten food security. That's according to Omri van Zyl, the executive director for AgriSA, the nation's largest farmers group. The Land Bank funds about 30% of the industry, says Bloomberg.
• The global race to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 has new entrants. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have secured approval for Germany's first human clinical trials of a possible coronavirus vaccine, reports Bloomberg. Shares of Mainz-based BioNTech rose as much as 63% in Frankfurt and Pfizer shares rose 3.6% in premarket trading, says the news agency. Dozens of potential candidates are being developed in nations from the US to China, with at least three in human testing, according to the World Health Organization. They are from CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology; Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Moderna Inc. along with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Human trials of a potential vaccine being developed by Oxford University researchers are set to begin Thursday. Bloomberg adds that BioNTech also expects to test its vaccine program in China, where it's collaborating with Fosun Pharma. The companies didn't say when a vaccine may be available.
• Europeans are warning of a damaging rift because of mounting anger over China's behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic, which includes claims of price gouging by Chinese suppliers and predatory M&A activity. "Over these months China has lost Europe," Reinhard Buetikofer, a German Green party lawmaker, reportedly said about South Africa's major Asian trading partner. European leaders have cited concerns about China's "truth management" in the early stages of the virus as has US President Donald Trump.