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

Making headlines: DA lays corruption charges against Thembi Simelane; Ramaphosa decries poor governance, corruption during oversight visit to Eastern Cape; And Govt launches 90-day programme to intensify response to gender-based violence

DA lays corruption charges against Thembi Simelane

The Democratic Alliance today laid corruption charges against Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane, while accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa of protecting African National Congress ministers implicated in corruption.

Simelane is alleged to have stolen more than R700 000 by fraudulently billing State-owned Eskom when she worked for consulting firm Vitrovian.

Eskom is reported to have used Vitrovian to suppress protests at the Kusile Power Plant during its construction.

DA Spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development advocate Glynnis Breytenbach said Vitrovians’s charges to Eskom appeared ridiculously inflated, and Eskom was also allegedly invoiced by Vitrovian for work done by employees that did not exist.

She noted that Simelane’s signature appeared on the first of these invoices, directly implicating her in the scandal.

Ramaphosa decries poor governance, corruption during oversight visit to Eastern Cape

During his oversight visit to the Eastern Cape President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out that despite progress in many areas in the province, its growth and development is significantly hampered by poor governance, mismanagement of public resources, and corruption, particularly at a municipal level.

Since November last year, the Presidency has undertaken oversight engagements in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with Ramaphosa saying he hopes to conclude the first round of visits to all the provinces in the next few months.

During a meeting with the Eastern Cape Provincial Council, Ramaphosa cited the Auditor-General’s 2023-2024 Consolidated General report which noted improvements, as well as irregularities that impeded the province’s growth.

Since the end of the previous Provincial Administration’s term, the report notes stable leadership has strengthened oversight, increasing the number of departments with clean audits from five to nine.

At the same time, the report noted that the Eastern Cape had the highest number of material irregularities of all provinces, which resulted in an estimated financial loss of R197-million.

Out of the 30 material irregularities identified, 13 remained unresolved at the time of reporting.

And Govt launches 90-day programme to intensify response to gender-based violence

Owing to an alarming surge in gender-based violence and femicide incidents across the country, the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster has resolved to urgently reconstitute the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF and launch a 90-day acceleration programme to intensify the national response was adopted.

The JCPS Cluster has made a formal request to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the re-establishment of the IMC under government's Seventh Administration, which will serve as the central coordinating mechanism through which government interventions will be expedited and systemic bottlenecks will be resolved, and tracked with measurable progress.

The JCPS Cluster and senior officials convened a special sitting on Monday, with cluster co-chairs, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

The urgent meeting culminated in the adoption of the 90-day programme to fast-track the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF.

Implementation began immediately following the meeting, and the co-chairs emphasised that incremental change is no longer sufficient.

The Government Communication and Information System said the 90-day blitz marks not only a declaration of intent but the beginning of a coordinated, government-wide campaign to end GBVF.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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