In the media
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10 October 2014
Mining Weekly
Ivanhoe Mines on Wednesday hit back at a media report by Bloomberg that, among other accusations, alleged the company had rigged representative elections to a community trust that was set up as part of a broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) deal that gave 20 local communities a 26% interest in the $1.7-billion Platreef platinum group elements project, in South Africa.
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6 October 2014
GroundUp
Somali and Ethiopian asylum seekers and refugees have scored a longed-for victory against official xenophobia – the Supreme Court of Appeal has thrown out key elements of ‘Operation Hardstick’.
This is a police programme in terms of which, among other strategies, Somali and Ethiopian businesses in Limpopo were shut down regardless of whether or not they had valid licences.
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10 October 2014
Bloomberg
Billionaire Robert Friedland’s South African platinum project may be held up by a split in the local community, with residents accusing his Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. of subverting a process to give them a fair share in the mine.
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6 October 2014
Al Jazeera
Children of undocumented migrants in South Africa are being deprived of access to public schooling.
The country's constitution says all children have the right to an education, but a government policy says refugees must have the appropriate documents allowing them to stay in the country first.
There's no exact figure on how many undocumented migrants are in the country, as many fear deportation
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2 October 2014
South African Press Association
The Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the 1999 arms deal hit back at its detractors on Thursday, warning that insults against it were “criminal”.
Commission spokesman William Baloyi said in a statement: “The Commission wishes to caution members of the public and interested parties that it is a criminal offence to, inter alia, disparage or insult the Commission or its members”.
This was after over 30 organisations signed a petition in support of the Right2Know Campaign's call to dissolve the commission.
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30 September 2014
Business Day
There is no law to prevent refugees and asylum seekers from getting licences to operate spaza shops in SA, the Supreme Court of Appeal said on Friday.
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30 September 2014
Times LIVE
More than 30 pressure groups want the Seriti Commission inquiring into the 1999 arms deal to be scrapped.
Instead the organisations want those accused of corruption to be investigated and prosecuted.
Right2Know spokesman Murray Hunter said: "The arms deal represents up to R70-billion that should have been spent on housing, education, health and South Africa's other pressing social needs.
"But, despite mounting evidence of corruption, there has never been a full and transparent investigation," he said.
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29 September 2014
Mail & Guardian Online
Former ANC parliamentarian turned arms activist Andrew Feinstein understands now why President Jacob Zuma kept encouraging him to investigate the arms deal during his time on Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in 2000.
It was the oddest part of the situation for Feinstein, an idealistic MP at the time, who was put in a tough spot with the allegations. While senior ANC figures begged or screamed at him to scrap the investigation, the party’s then deputy president, who was implicated, kept telling him to continue.
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23 September 2014
South African Press Association
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba must ensure his staff knows the law applying to immigrants and deportations, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on Tuesday.
Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann referred Gigaba to a previous Constitutional Court ruling involving the deportations of two Botswana nationals.
The court had found it was unlawful for the department to deport or surrender a foreign national facing the death penalty if deported without the requisite assurance being obtained.
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16 September 2014
Mail & Guardian Online
Arms deal critics Hennie Van Vuuren, Andrew Feinstein and Paul Holden, who withdrew in protest from appearing as witnesses are being subpoenaed to appear before the Arms Procurement Commission.
The three activists announced they were withdrawing their participation in August, as they said the commission was failing to fully investigate the arms deal “without fear and favour.”
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