Johannesburg, South Africa – Rushing past rows of idling cars at an intersection on Jan Smuts Avenue in Rosebank, a newspaper vendor holds up Friday afternoon’s edition of The Star.
“ANC RUBICON,” the headline shouts. “Party in crisis meeting after Concourt issues a damning Nkandla ruling against President Jacob Zuma.”
The impassive vendor flashes the neatly folded newspaper this way and that, silently imploring drivers to show some interest in the president’s dilemma. But as space opens up ahead, the cars snake through the intersection, carefully dodging the offer.
The highest court in the country found that Zuma, and the ANC-led National Assembly, had acted illegally in the manner in which they disregarded the recommendations of the Public Protector’s report into state-funded upgrades, worth up to $16m, to Zuma’s personal home.
As well as some security features, the funds paid for an amphitheatre and swimming pool, among other modifications to the rural residence in Nkandla.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court gave the president 105 days to repay the cost of non-security-related upgrades.
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Minor eyes South Africa in expansion plans
Minor Hotel Group is hoping to acquire a presence in South Africa as part of its expansion plan to add 50 hotels in Africa to its portfolio within the next five years. Other areas earmarked for expansion include Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria and Ndola in Zambia.
The plans follow the R679.5 million (€40.68m) deal the group struck with Sun International in 2014, buying a stake in eight Sun International properties.
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South Africa nose dives into Jacob Zuma’s pool
Johannesburg, South Africa – Rushing past rows of idling cars at an intersection on Jan Smuts Avenue in Rosebank, a newspaper vendor holds up Friday afternoon’s edition of The Star.
“ANC RUBICON,” the headline shouts. “Party in crisis meeting after Concourt issues a damning Nkandla ruling against President Jacob Zuma.”
The impassive vendor flashes the neatly folded newspaper this way and that, silently imploring drivers to show some interest in the president’s dilemma. But as space opens up ahead, the cars snake through the intersection, carefully dodging the offer.
The highest court in the country found that Zuma, and the ANC-led National Assembly, had acted illegally in the manner in which they disregarded the recommendations of the Public Protector’s report into state-funded upgrades, worth up to $16m, to Zuma’s personal home.
As well as some security features, the funds paid for an amphitheatre and swimming pool, among other modifications to the rural residence in Nkandla.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court gave the president 105 days to repay the cost of non-security-related upgrades.
Source
South Africa: Home Affairs to Be Taken to Court
Immigration lawyers have accused the Department of Home Affairs of being in contempt of a High Court order after the department withdrew an instruction allowing asylum seekers and refugees to apply for permanent residence without giving up their asylum or refugee status, and to apply for temporary residence without a valid passport.
Temporary residence include relatives’ visas and work visas.
“The effect of this is huge, as asylum seekers are struggling to get married and register the birth of their children with South African spouses,” the Forum of Immigration Practitioners said.
Another effect was that asylum seekers who did not have temporary residence could not open a bank account, FIPSA said. This made them vulnerable to crooks who preyed on them because they carried cash.
The directive signed by Mkuseli Apleni on 3 February 2016 explains that the Department believes that asylum seekers (who are yet to be granted refugee status) should not have their status changed, for example given permanent or temporary residence, until they are certified as refugees. Following this logic, the Department has withdrawn a circular of 2008 which had allowed asylum seekers to apply for permanent residence.
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‘Foreign’ Corruption Measurement Indices Are Biased, African Leaders Say
Regional leaders want an ‘African’ tool that will be used to measure corruption objectively, and not the current ‘foreign’ measuring indices which they argue are subjective and are misguiding policymakers and investors.
African leaders have expressed their disapproval of the perception-based measures that have been used since the 1990s, to determine the level of corruption on the continent.
The leaders who were speaking at the just concluded African Development Week in Addis Ababa, agreed they need an ‘African’ means of measuring corruption that is representative of the region.
They argued that the current tools do not represent realities in Africa and are misguiding policymakers and investors.
In their fourth Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) African Governance Review report, the leaders argue that the corruption measurement indices are highly subjective and based on the opinions of elites. They are not suited for making country comparisons and ignore the international aspects of corruption.
“We are concerned that these existing perception-based and mixed indices measures of corruption are flawed,” said Namibian Minister of Finance, Calle Schlettwein, at the launch of the Report titled, Measuring corruption in Africa: The international dimension matters.
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