Daily news update: Sars is done with ‘rogue unit’ report, Cyril chats to Biden, taxi march spells transport chaos

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Sars dismisses ‘rogue unit’ report

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter. Image: Moneyweb

The South African Revenue Services (Sars) is washing its hands of advocate Muzi Sikhakhane’s now infamous 2014 “rogue unit” report.

Sars on Tuesday confirmed it had written to Sikhakhane – as well to the chief executive officer of auditing firm KPMG, Ignatius Sehoole – to “clarify” its position in respect of the reports the two produced for it in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

This after the e-mail to Sikhakhane was leaked on social media.

In the e-mail, Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the time had come for Sars to express a “definite opinion” on the status of Sikhakhane’s report.

He said while it was not for Sars to withdraw the report – something which only Sikhakhane could do – the revenue services could take a position regarding the “standing” of the report and that they planned to. That position, Kieswetter said, was that Sars would not “place reliance on nor utilise the report for any purpose”.

Madonsela joins Outa’s view on parly’s state capture inaction

Professor Thuli Madonsela says the amount of security provided to cabinet members is quite excessive for a country like ours. Picture: Henk Kruger / African News Agency

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) is considering mounting a challenge over rules which allow parliament to not take action on matters such as state capture, alleging MPs failed to use their powers to act on state capture and maladministration.

This was the premise of two documents forming an affidavit submitted by the lobby group to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

According to the affidavit’s author, Outa parliamentary engagement officer Matt Johnston, the abuse lobby group wanted to use the documents to possibly take legal action against parliament.

He said parliamentarians had failed to use the rules of parliament to act timeously on allegations of corruption and state capture.

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela agreed there was this double-edged sword in parliament.

For this, she blamed the limitations of South Africa’s proportional representation system.

“People who are elected to parliament don’t have to fear the people of their constituency because they answer to the political party above everything else,” she said.

The problem extended to all elected individuals who had to forgo acting on their constitutional mandate in favour of a political one, lest they be removed from the seats they were elected to.

Of course we’re friends, Zondo – Zuma

23 Jun 2020 – Former President Jacob Zuma in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the pre-trial hearing in the arms deal case | Image: Twitter: @HlaleleKelello

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s bruising statement at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Monday – in which he stated categorically that he and former president Jacob Zuma were not “friends” – appears to have struck a nerve.

Zuma’s advocate, Muzi Sikhakhane, on Tuesday said his client planned on putting on record a statement potentially disputing Zondo’s.

“We will try and give the chair the version of the relationship the two of you had from his perspective … Because there may be things he may have thought are not relevant and you’ve placed them on record and he needs to put his own version,” Sikhakhane told the commission.

Zondo’s statement came at the start of Monday’s proceedings, during which Zuma brought an application for Zondo to recuse himself as the commission chair.

Ramaphosa chats to Biden, hopes for strong partnership

File picture. Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden gestures prior to delivering remarks at a Drive-in event in Coconut Creek, Florida, on October 29, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP)

President Cyril Ramaphosa is hopeful of a strong partnership between the United States and the African continent in promoting peace and stability in international relations and advancing multilateralism, the Presidency has announced.

“President Ramaphosa had a call with US President-Elect Joe Biden on Tuesday evening, 17 November 2020, during which the leaders discussed ways to strengthen US-Africa relations and overcome the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Presidency said in a statement.

“President-Elect Biden and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris have identified Africa as a major player in international affairs and in the advancement of multilateralism.

“The leaders recalled a visit to South Africa by President-Elect Biden during the dark days of apartheid, where Mr Biden demonstrated his commitment to human rights and dignity for all South Africans,” the statement said.

SABC withdraws redundancy notices after day of high drama

SABC senior news journalist Chriselda Lewis, right, berating Phathiswa Magopeni – group executive for news and current affairs – after retrenchment notices were handed out to news employees, 17 November 2020. Picture: Screengrab

The management of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have on Tuesday withdrawn the redundancy notices handed out to news staff earlier in the day, after the employees allegedly refused to go on air and demanded an urgent meeting with management.

During the hastily convened meeting with Phathiswa Magopeni – group executive for news and current affairs – the disgruntled employees aired their grievances in no uncertain terms.

Senior news journalist and Prime Time anchor Chriselda Lewis then took the floor, telling Magopeni in an impassioned speech to go back (to her office) and do what she was supposed to do, instead of retrenching people.

Watch the explosive clip in our article.

Semenya heads to European Human Rights Court over ban

Caster Semenya in happier times when she was racing all over the world. Picture: AFP

South Africa’s Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya is taking her battle with World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights, her lawyers said Tuesday, in a bid to overturn the hormone-drug rule.

The legal action comes two years since the World Athletics governing body in 2018 banned Semenya and others with differences of sexual development (DSD) from races between 400 metres and a mile unless they take testosterone-reducing drugs.

“We will be taking World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights,” her lawyer Gregory Nott said in a statement, without specifying on the timeframe.

“We remain hopeful that World Athletics will see the error it has made and reverse the prohibitive rules which restrict Ms Semenya from competing.”

The defiant two-time Olympic gold medallist, who has vowed to fight the ban, has previously unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT).

Transport chaos looms as taxi body plans march in Tshwane

Picture for illustration. Taxis parked outside Bree taxi rank in Johannesburg, 22 June 2020, during a strike over government’s R1.135 billion relief fund. Picture: Nigel Sibanda

Taxi services in Tshwane are set to come to a standstill on Wednesday as the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) embarks on a march over outstanding Covid-19 relief fund payments.

Pupils writing exams might be the biggest losers, although the NTA earlier said that every effort would be made to assist pupils reaching their destinations without interference.

However, the Bara City Taxi Owners Association has sent out a message to commuters that none of its taxis will be running on Wednesday due to the march, and they should make other transport arrangements.

The aim of the march is to hand over a memorandum of grievances to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and President Cyril Ramaphosa, in light of the taxi association not having received any of the more than R1 billion in Covid-19 relief funds which where promised by Mbalula during lockdown in June.

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