February 28, 2024.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines:

DA criticises Cele’s briefing on AKA murder while thousands of other murders remain unsolved

Justice committee shortlists 8 candidates for Deputy Public Protector position

And, Africa's debt to stay above pre-pandemic levels through 2025, UN official says

DA criticises Cele’s briefing on AKA murder while thousands of other murders remain unsolved

Following yesterday’s briefing on developments in South African entertainer Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes’s murder, the Democratic Alliance has hit back against Police Minister Bheki Cele for scoring “cheap political points” by trying to show that the South African Police Service is doing its job.

Seven people were arrested for the February 2023 murder of AKA and his friend Tebello 'Tibs' Motsoane.

The DA said it acknowledged the arrests but said it was an “embarrassment” that they had only occurred more than a year later after the murders.

He accused Cele of focusing on earning support through “publicity events” and said the justice system should treat everybody equally, regardless of status or “public prominence”.

Justice committee shortlists 8 candidates for Deputy Public Protector position

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services has shortlisted eight candidates to be interviewed for the position of Deputy Public Protector after the position became vacant late last year when the then DPP advocate Kholeka Gcaleka was appointed as Public Protector.

Committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe explained that the committee received 46 applications and nominations, and two of those withdrew shortly afterwards.

The eight remaining candidates will undergo a screening process. The committee agreed that at least 50% of the candidates to be interviewed must be female.

The interviews are expected to take place on March 12, in Parliament, and the annual salary for the position is over R1.9-million.

Africa's debt to stay above pre-pandemic levels through 2025, UN official says

Africa's public debt will stay above pre-pandemic levels in 2024 and 2025, with many countries still at risk of falling into debt distress as they continue to struggle to service international loans, a United Nations official said today.

Addressing a United Nations Commission for Africa conference in Victoria Falls, the agency's macroeconomics and governance director said eight countries were in debt distress, while 13 were "expected to be at risk of debt distress".

Africa has been hit by repeated economic shocks since 2020, from the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising US interest rates, putting cash-strapped, debt-laden governments in a political and fiscal bind.

Debt is expected to stay above the pre-pandemic level with the continent's debt-to-GDP ratio 62.5% at the end of 2022.

This ratio doubled to 57% in the decade to 2020 and could rise 10 percentage points in the next five years if Africa's fiscal trajectory does not change, according to a recent International Monetary Fund report.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA