McBride will continue to testify at state capture inquiry
The commission of inquiry into state capture continues this week, while political parties look to shore up support ahead of the May 8 election.
The state capture inquiry, which is looking into allegations of corruption and fraud in the public sector, will on Monday continue to hear the testimony of former Independent Police Investigative Directorate boss Robert McBride.
The commission said on Friday its legal team is in the process of identifying and/or consulting with witnesses who will be called to appear before the inquiry in coming weeks.
Controversial prosecutions heavyweights Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi have until Tuesday to respond to the findings of an inquiry into their fitness to hold office.
In a statement last week, the presidency said that President Cyril Ramaphosa had met retired Constitutional Court judge Yvonne Mokgoro, who chaired the inquiry, to discuss the report.
“Having provided the
president with the report on April 1, judge Mokgoro used the opportunity ... to present bound copies of the report and the evidence compiled and to answer any questions of clarity the president may have had on the report,” the presidency said.
It said Ramaphosa shared the report with Jiba and Mrwebi and requested that they submit any representations in response to the findings by Tuesday.
Ramaphosa established the Mokgoro inquiry in October 2018 and placed Jiba and Mrwebi on suspension with full pay pending finalisation of the inquiry. “The report of the inquiry will only be publicly released once advocates Jiba and Mrwebi have had an opportunity to consider it, make their representations and the president has considered such representations,” the presidency said.
Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba is scheduled to meet the residents of Alexandra on Monday, following recent protests in the area over poor service delivery and high levels of crime.
Addressing residents of the township last week, Ramaphosa took a swipe at Mashaba, saying the DA-led municipality had not made the people’s concerns a priority.
Mashaba hit back, saying Ramaphosa “revealed his intention to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors”.
“Rather than accepting a request for him to be part of an intergovernmental engagement with the community of Alexandra, he opted for an ANC rally,” said Mashaba.
“Ramaphosa has shown he is in fact no different to violent ANC thugs [who] have hijacked concerns of Alexandra residents. As with his predecessors, President Ramaphosa did nothing to address the real issues faced by the residents of Alexandra.”
On Monday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane will take his “Kasi-to-Kasi” tour to Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal, where he will meet residents. Maimane will be joined at various stops by the party’s premier candidate for the province, Zwakele Mncwango, as well as DA activists.
Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as chair of the interministerial committee on land reform, will on Tuesday preside over the presidential handover of the Gamopedi and Seoding land claims in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district of the Northern Cape.
Under the government’s land reform programme, the Gamopedi and Seoding communities have received about 9,000ha of land.