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From State Capture to Trevor Manuel lawsuit, these were top stories this week

In a week that saw South Africa lose its shine to Ghana as the continent’s top gold producer, a series of evidence from the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture detailed poor governance and malfeasance in state-owned entities.

Here are the top 7 stories that dominated headlines:

1. Evidence delivered by Shiwa Mazibuko, the head of financial surveillance at the SA Reserve Bank, told the Zondo commission that a Gupta-linked company, Homix, in 2015 channeled R51.8m out of the country. Mazibuko testified that there was suddenly a “flurry of activity”  between March 28, 2014 and June 20, 2015.

  • “Up to 28 March 2014, the account was largely inactive. After that there was a flurry of activity. The account started receiving large sums of money,” said Mazibuko.
Ajay Gupta, Atul Gupta

2. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Cabin Crew Association called for the removal of Thandeka Mgoduso, Martin Kingston, Peter Tshisevhe and Geoff Rothschild from the SAA board - alleging that corruption festered under their watch.

  • "During their tenure, they have allowed massive corruption to take place and ignored the damning recommendations made in various forensic reports such as the Ernst and Young and Open Water Report, which Mr Vuyani Jarana was gaining momentum in dealing with," the memorandum read.
SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana. (Photo: Elizabeth Sejake, R

3. Naspers' full-year earnings rose by as much as a third ahead of the technology group’s planned asset spinoff in Amsterdam, a move designed to reduce its dominance of Johannesburg’s stock exchange.

Naspers logo

4. The number of South Africans enquiring about Australian visas has more than doubled in the past two years, Fin24 reported.

  • "If you're working in an occupation which is considered to be high in demand and if you're under the age of 45, then you might qualify for a skilled visa," said Sable International's Australian immigration expert, Sam Hopwood.
Former South African president Jacob Zuma sits in

5. As focus on state-owned enterprises continued at the Zondo Commission, former SAA Group Treasurer Cynthia Stimpel testified that a colleague informed her that  "Number One" - or former president Jacob Zuma - wanted a company linked to Jayendra Naidoo, First South, to be considered for a R15bn consolidation loan sought by the state-owned airline in 2015.

  • "He said he was told that they must ensure that SAA gives this client [First South] a deal because Number One wants this deal to happen," said Stimpel.
Julius Malema, Leader of the EFF

6. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) presented argument in its application for leave to appeal judgment in a defamation case against former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel where it described the R500 000 damages awarded to Manuel in an earlier ruling as being “disproportionately high”.

  • "There was no evidence led as to how the quantum of damages was ascertained," the partsy said in its submission to the court.

7. Tsogo Sun Hotels made its JSE debut, with stocks traded on the opening day valuing the company at about R4.2bn

The company has 110 hotels, with a combined total of almost 19 000 rooms, ranging from budget to deluxe offerings.

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