April 10, 2024.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.

Making headlines:

E-tolls scrapped but gantries will remain, accounts to be paid until April 11

Calls for electoral court to release reasons for Zuma judgment

And, Parly Committee will no longer investigate Mapisa-Nqakula for corruption

E-tolls scrapped but gantries will remain, accounts to be paid until April 11

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga noted today that while Gauteng roads are no longer going to be tolled, the e-toll gantry lights and cameras will remain for road safety purposes, adding that the obligation to pay e-toll accounts remains until midnight on Thursday.

E-toll invoices will be rolled out until the last day and issued up until this period.

She said due to potential delays in the postal system, invoices will still be received sometime after April 12. However, no transactions post-midnight on Thursday will appear on the invoice or statement, she promised.

Addressing the media on the end of e-tolling in Gauteng, Chikunga admitted that the system had caused public aggravation and was of great concern to Cabinet.

Following the announcement by national government that e-tolls in Gauteng had been officially cancelled, Sanral resolved its long-outstanding application for increased borrowing limits from National Treasury.

Calls for electoral court to release reasons for Zuma judgment

Non-profit Freedom Under Law wants the Electoral Court to release the reasons for its decision to uphold former President Jacob Zuma’s appeal again the Independent Electoral Commission.

Yesterday, Zuma won his appeal in the Electoral Court against the IEC's decision to exclude him from being able to stand as an uMkhonto weSizwe Party parliamentary candidate ahead of the May 29 elections.

The IEC argued against Zuma’s eligibility to stand as a candidate owing to his 15-month prison sentence for being in contempt of court, in 2021.

The Electoral Court issued the order without reasons, which FUL argues is critical for the credibility of the electoral process.

Meanwhile, African National Congress alliance partner the South African Communist Party also wants the Electoral Court to release the full judgment of the order it handed down, which it says has “plunged the entire country into speculation”.

It wants the court to release to full judgment to allow public scrutiny of its rationale and allow the public and the IEC to determine whether there are any grounds for an appeal.

Parly Committee will no longer investigate Mapisa-Nqakula for corruption

Parliament’s Powers and Privileges Committee said today that as former Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has resigned as a Member of Parliament, the committee has no jurisdiction to investigate the complaint of corruption brought by Democratic Alliance Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube.

Last month, the DA approached Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests to ask for an investigation into Mapisa-Nqakula, following allegations that she accepted bribes during her tenure as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.

News reports claimed Mapisa-Nqakula took bribes totalling R2.3-million from a South African National Defence Force contractor, and that she approved a 70% salary hike for the Secretary to Parliament Xolile George, raising his annual package from R2.6-million to R4.4-million.

The committee said it received a legal opinion from the Parliamentary Legal Services that states that the mandate of the committee extends only to Members of Parliament.

Meanwhile, the DA is considering its options in terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, and the Assembly Rules to take the investigation involving the former Speaker and George forward.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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