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News24
4 days ago
- Business
- News24
‘Ithala Bank will not be liquidated': ANC takes credit for Godongwana's intervention
Mbali Dlungwana/Daily Sun The SA Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority has applied for the liquidation of the troubled state-owned entity, Ithala Bank. However, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has agreed to intervene in an effort to save Ithala. ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial task team convener Jeff Radebe said the minister agreed to step in after party representatives met with him. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been roped in to prevent the liquidation of state-owned Ithala Bank. ANC provincial task team (PTT) convener in KwaZulu-Natal, Jeff Radebe, announced this at a media briefing on Wednesday where he said the decision was made after the party 'engaged in decisive and strategic interventions', including meeting with the minister. 'Our intervention was firmly aligned with the ANC's developmental agenda and our responsibility to protect institutions that uplift the people,' Radebe said. Earlier this year, the SA Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority (PA) lodged an application in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg for Ithala Bank's liquidation on the basis that it considered the entity technically and legally insolvent. READ | Godongwana's R2bn plan to repay Ithala clients ropes in Kganyago, alienates KZN finance MEC But Radebe said on Wednesday: 'We are pleased to report that, following these engagements, a breakthrough was reached: Ithala Bank will not be liquidated.' He credited the party for the result: 'This outcome is a result of the ANC's leadership, proactive governance, and deep commitment to safeguarding the institutions that serve the economic needs of our people.' What now? 'While this is a significant and welcome development, we recognise that much work lies ahead. To ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of Ithala, the ANC proposes practical and actionable steps,' Radebe said. According to him, these are: Strengthening governance and internal controls within Ithala; Enhancing compliance with national banking and regulatory frameworks; Exploring strategic partnerships that preserve its developmental mandate; Launching a turnaround strategy focused on transparency, accountability, and performance; and Ensuring continuous engagement between the provincial and national government structures to reposition Ithala as a development finance institution. Radebe added that the party was committed to 'preserving' institutions aligned with its vision of social justice, equity, and inclusive development. News24 reached out to KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli for comment. His spokesperson, Lindelani Mbatha, said the premier would address the media at a briefing on Thursday.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
ANC KZN leaders criticise councillors over municipal failures
KwaZulu Natal ANC task team convener Jeff Radebe speaking at the ANC KZN Alliance Local Government and Service Delivery Summit held in Coastlands Hotel on Durban's South Beach on Sunday. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers The ANC leadership in KwaZulu-Natal has read the riot act to councillors regarding the state of municipalities in the province, warning that elected officials must take their oversight responsibilities seriously. Going forward, they will be held accountable for governance failures in councils, the leadership warned. ANC convener Jeff Radebe called on councillors to be well-informed about council matters. He stated that active participation is vital for transparency, efficient service delivery, and curbing corruption and mismanagement at the local level. Radebe made these remarks while delivering his address at the Alliance Local Government and Service Delivery Summit this weekend. 'The ANC must take stock of the state of governance in our municipal councils. The 2026 municipal elections are upon us. We have so little time and so much work to do,' Radebe said. 'We gather at a time when our municipalities are at a crossroads. Progress is evident, yes, but so too are the challenges that will test our collective resolve. As leadership, we share the responsibility of turning this situation around,' he continued. He detailed some of the challenges, noting that capital expenditure stood at R4.8 billion (31.9%) lower than the 50% target. Conditional grants to municipalities totalled R8.2 billion, with only R3.6 billion (36.7%) spent. The critical Municipal Infrastructure Grant of R3.6 billion had only been spent by 39.7%, while the Water Services Infrastructure Grant of R1.1 billion had only been spent by 44.1%. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'These inordinate delays have robbed our people of essential services. This province is crying out for much-needed municipal infrastructure and water provision. These statistics are shocking. This is a sorry tale,' he continued. 'Urgent intervention is required in debt management, budget accuracy, and compliance with financial reporting requirements. Let us raise the critical oversight and monitoring responsibilities of Exco members and councils. Exco councillors are part of the political executive and are responsible for policy implementation and oversight of specific portfolios, similar to Ministers and MECs. 'Each Exco councillor oversees a specific department and is individually responsible for monitoring departmental performance and ensuring alignment with the Integrated Development Plan and Budget,' said Radebe. He emphasised that councillors are responsible for monitoring service delivery, ensuring that services are delivered efficiently and effectively in line with municipal policies. Mayors and councils must report regularly on departmental performance and intervene when targets are not met, he said. Councillors must take immediate action on remedial measures once they identify problems in service delivery or maladministration, Radebe stated emphasising that they represented the broader public and act as a bridge between communities and the municipality. 'Every ANC cadre who serves as a councillor must engage with residents to report service delivery issues. You must facilitate community meetings, report back, and channel community concerns into council processes through your ANC Caucus. You must ensure that these concerns are addressed by the municipality in which you serve,' he added.
Russia Today
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Prosecutors to present final arguments in first African Nobel Peace Prize winner's murder case
South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) advocates have been given four months to give Judge Nompumelelo Radebe a convincing argument that Inkosi Albert Luthuli was killed by apartheid operatives, not a goods train as was officially found soon after he died in 1967. Advocates Ncedile Dunywa, Annah Chuene, Siyabonga Ngcobo, and Xolani Msimango concluded, leading several people with evidence on June 11. Since the beginning of the inquest at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on April 14, the advocates have led an array of witnesses with evidence. Those who testified included South African Police (SAPS) members, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) officials, scene reconstruction and simulation experts, forensic analysts, medical evidence, family members of Chief Luthuli, anti-apartheid activists, and friends of Luthuli. Former justice minister Jeff Radebe also testified. The matter was postponed from June 11 to October 13, where the advocates would be given until October 16 to give closing arguments. The same court also postponed on June 17 the inquest on the death of another struggle stalwart, Griffiths Mxenge, who was killed by stabbing in Umlazi on November 19, 1981, to October 9. The Mxenge matter was first postponed on 14 April to give those who felt they might be implicated in his death, who were apartheid police officers at the time, a chance to apply for the government to provide them with legal representatives, as they were employed by the state when Mxenge was killed. The court first postponed Mxenge's matter to June 17, which was the holding date to establish if the officers had succeeded in finding lawyers. On their return on June 17, the court heard that their applications to have the state-provided lawyers were still pending. Since the beginning of Luthuli's inquiry, scores of Luthuli's family members, ANC leaders and supporters have been frequenting the court to hear what caused the death of the president-general of Africa's biggest liberation movement and the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Luthuli died at the age of 69 at the Stanger Hospital on July 21, 1967, hours after he was found with multiple head and upper-body injuries at the railway line Mvoti River bridge. The inquest heard that even his death at the hospital was questionable because he was not afforded proper medical attention that could have saved his life. The NPA instituted an inquiry as there were beliefs that the initial inquest conducted in September 1969 misled the public about the cause of his death. Magistrate C.I. Boswell, who presided over the inquest at the Stanger Magistrate's Court, had concluded that Luthuli had been hit by the goods steam train that was traveling to Durban as he was crossing the bridge to his sugarcane farm. The report indicated that Luthuli might not have heard the train hooting or seen it coming, despite that it was approaching him from the front. Another theory was that Luthuli deliberately ignored the train to kill himself. However, experts who testified before Judge Radebe indicated that Luthuli was likely attacked. The experts were backed by the National Archives Advisory Council chairperson, Sibongile Mnyandu-Nzimande, who testified that her family member witnessed white men assaulting Luthuli with a shovel near the bridge where the train was stationed. Mnyandu-Nzimande told the judge that her relative, who was a messenger transporting documents between Luthuli and her grandfather, was few days later taken away by police to state what he witnessed, but was never found again. At the beginning of the inquest, Dunywa said the outcome of the inquest, held the same year Luthuli died, was not based on fact and evidence, 'but rather on the suppression of justice aimed at ensuring that the perpetrators remained hidden and protected'. He said Boswell wrote correspondence on August 4, 1967, preempting the outcome even before the evidence was presented before him. Dunywa stated that Boswell communicated his written opinion to the Secretary of Justice that 'I had to report that an inquest in connection with the death of Albert John Luthuli will be held at Stanger by me on 19 September 1967 at 10 am. 'From the report available at present, I do not expect the finding to be anything other than accidental. The cause of death furnished by the district sergeant might be questioned by the relatives, but I can not anticipate on what grounds the dispute is raised.'First published by IOL
IOL News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
ANC leadership shake-up: Disbandment of regional committees in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal ANC coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu and convener Jeff Radebe are under pressure from Luthuli to revive the party in the province. Image: Supplied After reconfiguring the provincial executive committee four months ago to rebuild structures following last year's humiliating defeat, the KwaZulu-Natal ANC has disbanded regional executive committees, which will be replaced with task teams. The decision was made recently, and the process was expected to kick off in KwaDukuza, where the party's national leadership was expected to announce that members would form the regional task team on Monday. The ANC provincial spokesperson Fanle Sibisi confirmed that the party has decided to disband the regions, adding that most of them, if not all, have had their terms lapsed. 'Yes, the process will affect all the regions, and we hope by the end of the month, we will have finished the process,' said Sibisi. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He said the party has not decided whether it will allow the regions to go to their elective conferences before next year's local government elections or hold conferences after. Sources within the party said the decision was prompted by branch audit outcomes, which the reconfigured provincial task team undertook after it was established. The sources said the audit outcomes revealed that many branch executive committee members were sympathetic to the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, and the ANC felt it should disband regional executive committees as they appeared to have lost control of the branches. According to the sources, the party's focus will be in eThekwini and KwaDukuza. Although the ANC did not perform badly in KwaDukuza, the municipality with a budget of R3.2 billion rand is seen as one of the strategic municipalities that the party wanted to keep at all costs. The eThekwini, which is the only metro and one of the largest regions in the country, with a voting population of close to two million, is the party's main strategic point. The region, which has been the party's stronghold for decades, fell to former president Jacob Zuma's MKP in last year's elections, which relegated the ANC to third place. The region is expected to be a battleground between the ANC and the MKP. The eThekwini regional executive committee's term expired in April. It has been under former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who has been a 'ceremonial' chairperson after she was forced to step aside soon after she was elected in 2022 because of corruption charges she was facing. Gumede is still on trial for the R320 million Durban Solid Waste tender scandal.
Daily Maverick
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
SA clams up on its hunt for oil in world's largest animal migration corridor
The South African government petroleum agency has refused to provide details of its controversial oil and gas exploration project slap-bang in the middle of the world's largest animal migration path. Millions of antelope migrate through the wetlands and grasslands of South Sudan every year in a global wildlife spectacle that outshines the more famous wildebeest and zebra migration of East Africa. Whereas the Serengeti-Mara migration in Tanzania and Kenya involves around 1.3 million wildebeest and several hundred thousand zebra and gazelles, the annual Great Nile migration in South Sudan boasts between five and seven million antelope species, including kob, tiang, gazelle and reedbuck. It is the 'largest known land mammal migration on Earth' according to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), a United Nations conservation treaty to safeguard the world's fast diminishing migratory species. And yet it is here — in the very heartland of this spectacular animal migration route and Africa's largest wetland (the Sudd) — that the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) is hoping to strike oil and to also support the development of new petroleum refineries and export pipelines at a potential cost of up to $1-billion (more than R18-billion). Project maps depict a three-phase exploration process that could lead to production wells, pipelines, refineries and other infrastructure located within the Badingilo National Park and large areas of riverine and grassland habitat used by animals circuiting between the Boma, Shambe and Gambella national parks. Last year, contractors were also invited to bid on redrilling an old oil exploration well in the Jonglei region. It was abandoned in 2007 after the drilling equipment got stuck 2,200m underground at Kedelai, in the environmentally-sensitive floodplain of the White Nile River. The more recent exploration project is part of an agreement between the South Sudan government's Nile Petroleum company and South Africa's Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) — now part of the newly established SANPC. Various feasibility studies and exploration projects have been rumbling on behind the scenes since former energy minister Jeff Radebe announced in 2019 that South Africa and South Sudan had signed an exploration and production sharing agreement and were engaged in talks to set up a 60,000 barrel per day refinery to supply oil products to the local market in South Sudan, as well as to secure exports to Ethiopia and other neighbouring countries. A government media release at the time stated that the SA Department of Energy had ' pledged to invest $1-billion into South Sudan's petroleum industry, with the aim of securing affordable energy supplies for South Africa'. That announcement came shortly before High Court Judge Owen Rogers found that attorney and former acting SSF chief executive Sibusiso Gamede had been paid more than R2,6-million in bribes by companies in Dubai and elsewhere for his role in facilitating the sell-off of South Africa's strategic stock of 10 million barrels of crude oil early in 2016. Radebe attempted to backpedal swiftly on the potentially massive costs of the South Sudan venture after the Sunday Times published a news article in March 2019 under the headline: 'Jeff Radebe's dodgy $1bn oil deal'. In response, Radebe issued a detailed statement in which he said: 'The stated $1-billion is the estimated cost of the full project including the oil block, pipeline and refinery, which will be spread over a period of 10 years. A project of this magnitude passes through various phases of approval and execution.' Recalling the ANC's historic relationship with the Sudanese People's Liberation Army in fighting for their respective political liberations, Radebe said that the $1-billion was just 'an indicative figure at this stage. 'As with similar projects of this nature, upon completing the feasibility study, the project has a potential to attract other strategic partners and/or investors, which may include South Sudanese and South African companies.' Read Radebe's full response to that article here. Daily Maverick has requested details of the state entity's total expenditure in the South Sudan exploration venture over the last six years, but SANPC spokesperson Jacky Mashapu did not provide any figures. Daily Maverick also requested copies of any environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) reports on the exploration project, at least one of which was commissioned by the SFF, but Mashapu asserted that these reports were 'confidential'. And the SFF declined to provide any details of a recent agreement it signed with the British-based Wildcat Petroleum group (which published a statement though the London Stock Exchange on 20 March confirming that it had signed a collaboration agreement with the SFF to 'evaluate' the South Sudan petroleum assets recently relinquished by the Malaysian multinational oil and gas company Petronas). In a brief statement in August 2024, Petronas attributed its decision to bail out of South Sudan to long-term investment strategies 'amid the changing industry environment and accelerated energy transition'. But Wildcat chairperson Mandhir Singh hailed the new deal with South Africa as 'excellent news for Wildcat in its endeavours to secure a deal in South Sudan. 'A tie-up with the SFF can only enhance Wildcat opportunities as the SFF is one of only a handful of companies that has successfully signed a petroleum deal in South Sudan since the country gained independence. They have a well-established technical team in Juba which can assist Wildcat in any technical work it needs to conduct.' However, Mashapu said the Wildcat deal was subject to a non-disclosure agreement and 'as a result, we cannot disclosure [sic] anything for now.' Regarding our request for a copy of the environmental and social impact report, Mashapu stated: 'The report is confidential and as it is yet not published by the Ministry of Petroleum (MOP), South Sudan, on their website, hence the content cannot be provided for any publication and use. 'The study and analysis of samples (for the first phase of the exploration project) is completed and results were presented and approved by our partner, Nilepet. The communication is being sent to MOP South Sudan to provide us a time slot suitable so the team can present and submit the report to MOP for public consultation and approval.' (South Sudan's petroleum minister, Puot Kang Chol, was arrested two months ago, while Vice-President Riek Machar was also placed under house arrest after being accused of plotting rebellion against long-time political rival President Salva Kiir.) No details are available on who conducted the impact assessment study or how much it cost, though the South African taxpayer-funded SFF advertised the contract in October 2023, stating that tender documents could be downloaded from the National Treasury's e-Tender publication portal. The Secretariat of the Bonn-based Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) confirmed that it had been unable to obtain a copy of the environmental impact study, while the South Sudan Wildlife Service head, General Khamis Adieng Ding, did not respond to requests for comment. 'We are aware that the ESIA study was conducted in May-July 2024, but unfortunately we have not seen it because the report has not been made public,' said a spokesperson for the CMS Secretariat. The CMS Secretariat has raised several concerns about the South African/South Sudan exploration project, which covers a massive 47,000km2 area known as Block B2, north of the capital, Juba. According to the CMS Secretariat, the Block B2 oil extraction plan 'poses a pressing concern' because it covers living spaces critical for both the kob and tiang migrations. 'Without careful and informed planning, the oil exploration set to begin in 2025 could seriously disrupt wildlife migration, increase human encroachment, and escalate illegal hunting. The rising incidence of illegal tiang harvesting along roads already shows how essential it is to plan infrastructure with wildlife protection in mind. 'Approximately five million kob and 400,000 tiang, alongside other hooved mammals also known as 'ungulates', undertake complex, long-distance journeys to access essential wet and dry-season habitats annually,' said the CMS, citing newly released migration maps developed by the Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration. Their routes take them between Badingilo and Boma National Parks in South Sudan. Some also migrate further north to Gambella National Park in Ethiopia, an important dry-season refuge, particularly for kob, from February to May. In response to these concerns, the SANPC said: 'We, as a responsible operator, will take due care for any interference in migration of fauna and flora regarding its magnitude, timing, and preventative measures which are required to be taken to make minimum impact on their movement. The issue was well dealt [with] in the ESIA report, and mitigation plans are being proposed, which will be adhered to while operating in the area.' According to a Unesco World Heritage Site nomination fact sheet, the Sudd has a very high carrying capacity for wild herbivores that depends on unconstrained foraging movement across an intact and functioning landscape. As a result, the Sudd and adjoining wetlands and grasslands are still able to support two of the largest ungulate migrations in the world, covering an area seven times larger than Serengeti National Park. But if South Africa strikes oil, that picture is almost certain to change. DM
