NEWS: The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will be handing over copies of the Zuma spy tapes on a flash drive to the Democratic Alliance at noon today, says EyeWitness News. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille says the contents will not be made public. In a tweet posted this morning Zille said: “Don’t expect to hear the contents of spy tapes today. A previous judgment in another case may mean we can only reveal contents in court.” The Supreme Court of Appeal last week gave the NPA five working days to give copies of the recordings to the DA. The tapes were previously used as evidence to justify the withdrawal of President Jacob Zuma’s corruption charges in 2009.
BUSINESS: The beach house belonging to Leon Kirkinis, the former CEO of the collapsed African Bank Limited (Abil) is on sale for R60 million, reports BDLive. According to municipal documents, Kirkinis owns the house, which looks across Cape Town’s False Bay. The home has four en-suite bedrooms, a pool, jacuzzi, wine cellar, gym area, underfloor heating and automated timber shutters that hydraulically open to create verandas. On their website, Acquire Africa, the real estate company selling the house, describes the coastal property as a “combination of luxury living in the heart of nature”. Abil collapsed last month after announcing it needed R8,5 billion to survive. The Reserve Bank came to its rescue, placing African Bank under curatorship.
BUSINESS: The SA Post Office (Sapo) has blown R2,1 billion in irregular expenditure in the past financial year, The Star reported on Thursday. The financial losses were as a result of the irregular awarding of tenders, according to a draft audit report for the financial year ending 31 May 2014, by auditing firms Deloitte & Touche and Nkonki. The audit outcome is contained in Sapo’s 2013/14 annual report, according to The Star. The report appears to show that Sapo did not follow mandatory tender procedures and that pricing and quotations were not done when procuring goods and services. It also shows that the Post Office spent R184 million on external consultants, R39,6 million on legal costs, R114 million on travel expenses, including overseas trips, recorded a net loss of more than R361 million in the year under review, and recorded a net loss of R361,2 million after tax. The newspaper reported that Sapo was currently operating on an overdraft of R250 million, but its sources disputed the figure and put it at closer to R365 million. The unnamed sources allege that employees’ funds were used to redress the overdraft.
INTERNATIONAL: US President Barack Obama yesterday called for an international front against jihadists in Iraq and Syria after they beheaded a second American journalist Steven Sotloff, as Britain and France weighed military action. “We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISIL’s (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s) sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities,” said Obama. “And the question is going to be making sure we’ve got the right strategy, but also making sure that we’ve got the international will to do it,” he said in Estonia’s capital Tallinn. Britain, with one of its nationals also under threat of beheading, said it would not rule out taking part in air strikes if necessary. “I can assure you that we will look at every possible option to protect this person,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said. French President Francois Hollande likewise raised the prospect of a military response to the threat posed by IS. “The head of state underlined the importance of a political, humanitarian and if necessary military response in accordance with international law” to fight against IS, the presidency said
ENTERTAINMENT: The Press Ombudsman on Wednesday ordered DRUM Magazine to publish front page apologies to convicted murderer Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and Zenith Mia. This comes after the magazine published an article in June, claiming that the pair were caught having sex at the Johannesburg Prison where Maarohanye is serving a 25-year jail term for murder, attempted murder, driving under the influence of drugs and racing on a public road. The magazine reported that the musician had special privileges in prison including having a private cell, a laptop and cellphone. Mia laid a complaint with the ombudsman and Maarohanye’s family laid a separate complaint on his behalf. Both of them complained that the report was unfair, inaccurate and untruthful. They claimed it was based on rumours and allegations and that the information used was not corroborated.
SOURCES: BDLive; EyeWitnessNews; Sapa