Flash Briefing: SIU report on Digital Vibes/Mkhize scandal; Zondo inquiry granted final extension; SA climate deal

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the release of the Special Investigating Unit report into the Digital Vibes corruption scandal that erupted in May this year. The report focuses on the irregular awarding of R150m in contracts to Digital Vibes by the National Department of Health. The contracts were found to be fruitless and wasteful expenditure by the SIU, and that close associates of former minister Zweli Mkhize had engaged in fraudulent activity. Mkhize himself has also been implicated in the report as, at best, being ‘improper’ and, at worst, being engaged in unlawful activity. The report recommends that Deputy DG Anban Pillay be criminally prosecuted for ‘financial misconduct’.
• The state capture inquiry has been granted a fifth extension, giving the team three months to complete three years’ work. On Wednesday, the chair’s plea for yet another lifeline for the process, which has cost in excess of R1bn, was awarded in the North Gauteng High Court. Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela granted the extension and handed down an order moving the deadline by which it is “required to complete its work” from September 30 to December 31. Maumela’s order indicates that President Cyril Ramaphosa must take the necessary steps to gazette the new time frame. Ramaphosa was among six respondents in the case Zondo brought to extend the lifeline of a quasi-judicial process that was initially set to last only 180 days but which has run public hearings for more than three years.
• Envoys from some of the world’s richest nations met with South African cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss a climate deal that could see billions of dollars put toward ending the country’s dependence on coal. The delegation is trying to hammer out an agreement that can be announced at the COP26 climate talks, which start in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 31, two people familiar with the talks said. The discussions with South Africa – the world’s 12th-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases – include representatives from the US, UK, Germany, France and the European Union. While South Africa is under pressure to cut its dependence on coal – which accounts for more than 80% of its power generation – it needs finance to facilitate the transition to cleaner energy. 

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