By Rene Vollgraaff
(Bloomberg) – South Africa is finalising legislative changes that aim at narrowing the earnings gap between company executives and the lowest-paid workers, according to Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel.
“A further amendment to company law is required to tackle the gross injustice of excessive pay,” Patel told lawmakers in his department’s budget vote speech on Tuesday. “A new bill that will be finalised within 60 days will require disclosure of wage differentials in companies, stronger governance on excessive director pay and enhanced transparency on ownership and financial records.”
South Africa is one of the world’s most unequal nations, a legacy of the system of racial discrimination that disadvantaged the Black majority and ended in 1994. Chief executives and top lawyers can make in excess of R20m ($1.4m) a year, while the official minimum wage is just over R20 an hour.
Ace Magashule stubbornly refused to step down after a warrant for his arrest was issued in November last year. Magashule, who is accused of fraud in connection with an asbestos roofing project when he was the Premier of the Free State, is one of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s biggest rivals and has been linked to an ANC faction that remains loyal to former President Jacob Zuma. Mahashule’s refusal to step down from the ANC has consistently undermined Ramaphosa’s efforts to weed out corruption in the ruling party. In a
victory for South Africa, Magashule has officially been suspended – albeit temporarily – and is reportedly not allowed to make any public announcements. – Nadya Swart
Ace facing the axe? ANC moves to suspend officials facing criminal charges
The ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, has begun drafting letters to ANC members whose membership is being revoked, reports Bloomberg. This includes Bongani Bongo, a former cabinet minister, who – along with Ace Magashule – is facing prosecution for graft. Magashule has officially been suspended – albeit temporarily – and is reportedly not allowed to make any public announcements. According to Bloomberg, former President Jacob Zuma may also be on the receiving end. Fikile Mbalula – who serves as both transport minister, head of elections and as a member of the National Executive Committee – told reporters that the ANC is “serious about cleaning up its image by dealing with those accused of graft.” Corruption has been a thorn in the side of all South Africans, with taxpayer funds misdirected into the pockets of greedy officials. However, it isn’t endemic to South Africa. In t
India Covid-19 resurgence prompts SA govt to consider further measures
By Paul Vecchiatto
(Bloomberg) – The resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in India has prompted the South African government to consider introducing additional measures in order to stave off a third wave.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told an online conference that a close eye was being kept on India, which has now the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the world.
“The challenges we have seen in India are very serious,” Mkhize said. “We have received an advisory from the ministerial advisory council that we have to consider some restrictions and we are now going through that,” he said, without giving details.
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The government will order 10 million doses of each shot, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told lawmakers in Cape Town on Wednesday. “We are doing this now because we do expect the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to approve those vaccines,” he said.
South Africa, the nation that’s been hardest hit by the pandemic on the continent, resumed its administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccines to health-care workers on Wednesday, after putting their use on hold for two weeks due to concerns that they could be linked to blood clots. Almost 1.58 million Covid-19 cases have been detected in South Africa and more than 54,000 of those diagnosed with the disease have died.