News snippets from around the world.

Ramaphosa terminates police boss Khehla Sitole’s contract ‘by mutual agreement’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has, by mutual agreement, terminated the employment contract of General Khehla Sitole, with effect from 31 March 2022. In a statement last Friday, the Presidency said Sitole, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), and Ramaphosa have agreed that the early termination of the Commissioner’s contract is ‘in the best interests of the country.’

www.news24.com

Why is Russia attacking Ukraine? Here are 5 reasons Putin and others have given for the invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Putin says he is concerned over NATO’s eastward expansion and has falsely said Ukraine is committing genocide. Russian forces attacked Ukraine early that Thursday morning, launching a large-scale and unprovoked invasion that was feared for weeks. The Russian military entered Ukraine from several directions, with troops headed towards its capital, Kyiv, and attacked with airstrikes and shelling. Ukrainian authorities said dozens of soldiers on both sides and some Ukrainian civilians were killed amid the fighting.

www.businessinsider.co.za

South Africa’s Budget Speech 2022: A deep dive

The Finance Minister was able to avoid tax rate increases, and even make a positive contribution to reducing the deficit, as a result of better-than-expected tax revenues. These were largely contributed by the mining sector due to the increase in commodity prices, strong consumer demand after the Covid-19 lockdowns contributing to VAT and corporate taxes, and better personal tax collections due to improved earnings. The Finance Minister referred to reducing the corporate tax rate in future, and the disbenefits of further rate increases generally. He also cautioned that unless GDP (gross domestic product) and tax revenue increased, there was no capacity for increased permanent state expenditure.

www.lexology.com

Rosettenville shootout: Tembisa suspect was out on parole for robbery when arrested, court hears

The latest arrested suspect linked to the deadly Rosettenville shootout on 21 February 2022 is a parolee. The Tembisa Magistrate’s Court has heard that Milton Sandile Gasa was out on parole when he was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the shooting that claimed the lives of eight suspects and left four police officers injured.

www.news24.com

Looking for a job? SAPS has posts for graduates, but you will be vetted

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has invited graduates in possession of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) 6 or higher to join the fight against crime by joining the organisation as entry level police trainees. SAPS spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said the crime combatting entity is heeding the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), to boost police boots by 12,000 recruits.

www.iol.co.za

Ukraine says radiation levels around Chernobyl are increasing after fighting there

Ukraine has reported that radiation levels around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site were increasing. Russian troops seized the site last Thursday following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s nuclear agency said military equipment disturbed radioactive dust on the ground.

www.businessinsider.co.za

Population-based survey reveals why SA is at a turning point in the pandemic

South Africans had extensive immunity against severe Covid-19 disease and death prior to Omicron, due to high infections in the first three waves and vaccination. A recent study in Gauteng, where a quarter of South Africans – some 15.5 million – live, showed that three in four people had been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes Covid-19) at least once since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and prior to the Omicron wave in SA in November 2021.

www.iol.co.za

SAPS: Why do National Commissioners never finish their terms?

General Khehla Sitole has joined the list of former National Commissioners who never finished their terms at the helm of the South African Police Services. Here are some of the National Commissioners who were suspended: Jackie Selebi: appointed national police commissioner in February 2000. In 2010 he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for taking bribes from drug dealer Glenn Agliotti. Bheki Cele: The current Minister of Police was appointed by then-President Jacob Zuma to serve as commissioner between 2009 and 2011 but was suspended following corruption allegations. Riah Phiyega: She was appointed in 2012 and suspended by then-President, Jacob Zuma in October 2015, following the findings of the commission of inquiry into the Marikana tragedy. Khomotso Phahlane: The former acting National Commissioner was fired in July 2020 after he was found guilty of elements of dishonesty.

www.thesouthafrican.com

New Joburg mayor says that insourcing is an option — but only if it makes financial sense

The city of Johannesburg does not have a problem insourcing staff, provided it makes financial sense. This is the view of newly elected mayor Jolidee Matongo, who warned that any move to insource services should be done after a study had been undertaken to ensure its viability. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Matongo said he did not have a problem with insourcing provided it achieved financial savings for the city. “I think the point the late mayor Geoffrey Makhubo made, and some of us in the ANC made, is that when insourcing was done for the security guards and cleaners in the city, it was a populist stance,” Matongo said, adding that people were told that the city was wasting money, spending R12,000 per month paying a security company while a security guard earned less.

www.sowetanlive.co.za

Zondo report, part 1 and 2: a short overview

The first Zondo commission report will be helpful to curious South Africans seeking to know and decipher some of the dubious decisions set into motion as part of a process of state capture on the instructions of former president Jacob Zuma. This entailed a self-serving agenda to loot the state, aided by people in public institutions and in the private sector. This report provided details, exposing corruption, but also listed Zondo’s 10 recommendations. The following subheadings make up the initial report: Volume I – Chapter 1: South African Airways and its associated companies; Volume II – Chapter 2: The New Age and its dealings with government departments and stateowned entities; Volume III – Chapter 3: South African Revenue Services (SARS) and public procurement in South Africa; Chapter 4: Public procurement in South Africa.

mg.co.za

Murders on the rise, sexual offences cases dropping in Gauteng: provincial Police Commissioner Elias Mawela

Gauteng Commissioner of Police Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela has revealed that the province had a high incidence of murder between October and December last year. Mawela made these revelations when he released the provincial crime statistics for the third quarter — October to December 2021. “During the period under review, 243 more people were killed in Gauteng, which reflects an increase of 18.3 percent.

www.iol.co.za

Gauteng crime: 3,033 sexual offences reported in three months

More than 3,000 sexual offences were recorded in Gauteng in the third quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year. Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela presented the Q3 provincial crime statistics to the legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety on 26 February 2022. Sexual offences include rape, sexual assault and sexual contact. The Q3 figure – 3,033 – was 243 fewer than the same period in 2020/2021.

www.timeslive.co.za

$2.9 million worth of meth disguised as onions seized at California border

Authorities have seized approximately 1,336 pounds of methamphetamine disguised as onions in Southern California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on 26 February 2022. The confiscated drugs are worth an estimated $2.9 million, authorities said. “This was not only a clever attempt to try and smuggle in narcotics, one I haven’t seen before, but also time consuming to wrap narcotics into these small packages, designed to look like onions,” Sidney Aki, director of field operations in San Diego, said in a statement.

www.cbsnews.com

Rising electricity tariffs: South Africans are now paying 307 percent more

Eskom initially requested an increase of 20.5 percent for the 2022/2023 financial year. In the current application for the next three financial years (MYPD5), Eskom based its calculations on a regulatory asset base (RAB) of R1.263 billion, following a revaluation. During NERSA’s (National Energy Regulator of South Africa) public hearing, SALGA (South African Local Government Association) said Eskom’s proposed increases ‘are unrealistic and unsustainable and go against economic and social issues currently affecting the South African economy’.

www.citizen.co.za

Two cops linked to Rosettenville shooting

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is probing allegations that two suspects involved in the Rosettenville, Johannesburg, shooting on 21 February 2022, are police officers. They are among nine suspects who escaped after the showdown between cops and alleged cash-in-transit (CIT) heist suspects on Monday afternoon. Eight alleged robbers were killed. The death of a ninth person – earlier recorded by IPID as a police officer – is under investigation.

www.sowetanlive.co.za

North Korea fired a ballistic missile

North Korea resumed a weapons-testing blitz after a month-long lull during the Beijing Winter Olympics, with the world’s attention now focused on Ukraine. The Sunday 28 February launch is Pyongyang’s eighth so far this year, including test-firing its most powerful missile since high-profile negotiations between leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2017.

www.citizen.co.za

Revamped SA Revenue Service reels in big fish, focuses on super-wealthy

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter and his team at SARS have been hard at work rebuilding, to improve revenue collection and widen the taxpayer net, bringing a surplus R189-billion to the budget at a time when South Africa has never needed it more. Over the past year alone, SARS recruited an additional 490 staff (also contributing to sorely-needed job creation) and invested R430-million in its information and communications technology infrastructure.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

Huge petrol price increase for South Africa in March

and Energy has published its adjustments to South African fuel prices for March 2022. These adjustments are bad news for South Africans, who will now pay R1.46 more per litre for unleaded 93 and 95 petrol, while diesel prices will rise by R1.44 and R1.48 for diesel, 500ppm and 50ppm, respectively.

mybroadband.co.za

Ukrainian govt offering rewards for Russian politicians’ crypto info

The Ukrainian government is soliciting any leads on information related to the cryptocurrency wallets of Russian and Belorussian politicians as the country continues to rely on crowdfunding efforts for its defence against Russia and its allies. Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted last Saturday that the Ukrainian crypto community will reward those who provide information. The government has already used Twitter to solicit crypto donations and posted in online hacker forums that it is looking for help in protecting against cyberattacks.

www.news24.com/fin24

Treasury boss halts all new state tenders amid confusion on ConCourt ruling

The director-general of the National Treasury has written to all organs of state, ordering them not to advertise new tenders. Dondo Mogajane’s memo on Friday says the instruction follows a Constitutional Court ruling on 16 February that the finance minister acted beyond the scope of his powers under the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act when he promulgated procurement regulations in 2017.

www.sowetanlive.co.za

Police dismantle world-wide drug network being operated from command post in Dubai

Police in Brazil, Spain, the US and Paraguay have dismantled a world-wide drug network being operated from a command post in Dubai. The extensive investigation involved the Brazilian Federal Police (Polícia Federal), Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), the US Drugs Enforcement Administration and the Paraguayan SENAD. The operation, coordinated by Europol, brought down a major criminal organisation involved in large-scale cocaine trafficking and money laundering.

www.sundayworld.com/

Ramaphosa: State’s litigation bill for five years adds up to R7-billion

The government’s litigation bill for the past five years totalled some R7-billion and was a measure both of the government’s failure to deliver services and to properly manage its defence in lawsuits, President Cyril Ramaphosa said last Friday. “Litigation against the state has risen by staggering levels,” the president said as he opened the inaugural meeting of the intergovernmental national litigation forum.

mg.co.za