Category: Africa

Source: South Africa News Agency

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is working with other law enforcement agencies to combat illicit fuel trade, which costs the fiscus approximately R3.6 billion per year.

In the past four months, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has carried out several interventions.

A joint intelligence team, comprising SARS and South African Police Service (SAPS) officials, has identified 23 targets across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

In addition, 13 criminal cases were registered with SAPS, supported by SARS trade investigators, for customs and excise contraventions, and fraud. 

“The intelligence-driven joint enforcement interventions included search-and-seizure operations targeting certain fuel storage facilities and depots, as well as random sampling of tanker transport to test the fuel viscosity and composition. In some cases, adulterated diesel – analysed in these investigations – had up to 68% paraffin content,” SARS said.

Over the past decade, countries along the Maputo Corridor (South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique) have become primary targets of the illicit fuel trade, which is driven by organised criminal networks that smuggle and illegally adulterate fuel. 

SARS has established that some importers declare fuel amounting to 40 000 litres or less, whereas investigations reveal that up to 60 000 litres of fuel are actually imported. 

“This is called under-declaration and documents are falsified to perpetuate this fraudulent activity. SARS has also detected a national trend, where many of the fuel-storage and distribution depots are involved in the adulteration of all fuel products, especially through illegal mixing of diesel with paraffin.

“Fuel adulteration costs the fiscus approximately R3.6 billion per year, according to statistics by the International Trade Administration Commission,” SARS said.

Faced with such carefully planned criminality, government agencies are working together more closely to detect, prevent and combat fuel adulteration, and enforce the Customs and Excise Act. 

SARS noted that the illicit economy is a global phenomenon that threatens South Africa’s society, economy, and national security.

“Tax evasion, smuggling, illegal transactions, illicit manufacturing and fraud undermine the rule of law, erode public trust, distort markets, deprive governments of revenue, and enable corruption and organised crime. 

“The pervasiveness of these illicit activities in our country demands that all enforcement agencies work jointly to curb their harmful practices. The illicit economy is complex and requires a whole-of-government response among public entities, the private sector, civil society, and international partners,” SARS said.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter expressed his appreciation to the SARS and SAPS teams and other government departments for their untiring efforts to detect, combat and prevent the scourge of the illicit economy. 

“The criminal syndicates engaged in these brazen acts have become emboldened to act callously, with no restraint, in pursuit of their rapacious and criminal gains.

“These syndicates can only underestimate our resolve to eradicate this criminality at their peril. These acts threaten the very foundation of our society. Our message is clear: we will spare no efforts to crush them,” the Commissioner said.

Kieswetter said State agencies will collaborate and work within the law to confront illicit trade. 

The joint intelligence team also found the following:

• 953 515 litres of contaminated diesel fuel.
• Six fuel depots that were in contravention of Sec. 37 of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, as amended.
• Assets and contaminated fuel to the value of R367 274 330, leading to further investigation, and criminal and civil liabilities.
• Two so-called fuel “washrooms”, one of which is a rare mobile “washroom” fitted on a transport truck, used to remove paraffin markers.
• Twelve fuel transport trucks, which were identified after suspected false declaration on importation of an average of 15 000 litres of fuel per tanker. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on businesses and other public sector entities to use SAYouth.mobi to provide more pathways for young people to earning and learning.

In his weekly newsletter, the President reflected that the country observed Youth Day on 16 June in tribute to the generations of young people who continue to inspire the ongoing pursuit for social justice, equality and opportunity for all.

“The private sector needs to use all available mechanisms, including the Employee Tax Incentive, to hire young people.

“South Africa’s young people deserve to lead lives of dignity. Unemployment is robbing far too many youths of this right. As government and business, let us continue to work together and do all within our means to empower young people to find jobs and create their own opportunities,” the President said. 

WATCH | Youth Day commemoration 

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President Ramaphosa said that if the country is to live up to the democratic promise for which so many sacrificed their lives, it is essential to invest in today’s generation of young people and unleash their potential.

Like many parts of the world, he highlighted that South Africa is grappling with high youth unemployment. 

“To overcome this challenge, we need an approach that includes investing in education and skills development, fostering youth entrepreneurship and implementing targeted employment programmes focusing on young people,” he said. 

As part of this work, government established the Presidential Employment Stimulus and the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, initiatives that are providing opportunities to hundreds of thousands of young people at a time when not enough jobs are being created to absorb new entrants into the labour market.

Since it began in 2020, the Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided more than two million jobs and livelihood opportunities. Of the participants in the programme to date, 72% are young people and 66% are women.

A vital part of government’s efforts to empower young people is the SAYouth.mobi platform, which is a single point for unemployed young South Africans to access opportunities for work, training and learning.

There are now over 4.7 million young people registered on the SAYouth platform and the Department of Employment and Labour’s employment services database. Through these platforms, young people have been supported to access over 1.6 million earning opportunities.

“Last week in the City of Tshwane, I met with a number of young people who told me excitedly they had been approached by potential employers who had seen their profiles on SA Youth.mobi.

“I want to encourage young job-seekers to utilise this trusted recruitment platform at https://sayouth.mobi/. Registration is free and the app is zero rated, meaning you can access the site and its contents without incurring any data charges,” the President said. 

READ | Presidential Youth Initiative continues to empower SA’s most excluded youth

The President said government has also focused on providing workplace experience and on-the-job training. He added that young people have often expressed frustration around the onerous experience requirements from employers, which effectively serve as a barrier to entry for them. 

In 2019, government abolished the work experience requirement for entry level jobs in the public sector. Through the Youth Employment Service, a collaboration with the private sector, thousands of young people have been placed in workplace experience opportunities in a range of economic sectors.

“The extent and scale of the youth unemployment crisis means that we should not focus solely on placing more young people in formal, existing jobs, but that we must bolster skills development and foster an entrepreneurial culture.

“It is critical that we overcome the mismatch between the skills available in the workforce and market need,” he said. 

President Ramaphosa said this is why government is investing in vocational training. 

“We have increased funding to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and subsidies for the operationalisation of new campuses. Each year, we are placing thousands of learners and graduates into workplace experience opportunities.

“Entrepreneurship is a key economic growth driver, but rates of entrepreneurial activity in South Africa are relatively low compared to other countries. We are working to foster an enabling environment that allows more young people to become self-employed,” the President said. 

The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention has been working with the National Youth Development Agency and the Department of Small Business Development to financial and non-financial support to young people for their businesses.

“Through all of these initiatives, the state has supported millions of young South Africans with work opportunities, work experience and skills development. However, we can only vastly scale up the employment of young people with greater private sector involvement,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

The Serious Corruption Investigation component of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, based in Pretoria, has arrested an additional two suspects in the ongoing operation that began on 14 June 2025, in KwaZulu-Natal, bringing the number of those arrested to seven.

The execution operation emanates from a complaint from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) relating to the issuance of fraudulent passports to undocumented foreign nationals. 

The allegations reported serious offences include corruption, fraud and the contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act, which took place between February 2020 and July 2023. A group of South African citizens allegedly facilitated the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at DHA offices in Durban, specifically at the Commercial Street branch. 

These unlawful activities took place outside of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the DHA offices were officially closed.

Preliminary investigations by the DHA confirmed that the criminal activities were conducted after hours, where the local citizens were offered R300 to R1 000 in exchange for their cooperation, particularly at DHA offices in Isipingo, Durban Central and Eshowe — resulting in a case being opened for investigation by Serious Corruption Investigation.

Thus far, a total of 38 individuals have been previously arrested in the matter from September 2022 to date. Of those arrested, seven are DHA officials, while 31 are private citizens. 

About 24 individuals, four of whom are DHA officials, have been convicted and sentenced to a combined sentence of 310 years imprisonment.

The other five suspects were arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation on 14 June 2025 in various parts of Durban and will face charges of corruption, fraud, contravention of the Immigration Act and contravention of the Identification Act.

The DPCI is not ruling out the possibility of more suspects being arrested. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe has visited the OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape as part of coordinated efforts by government to offer psychosocial support and social relief packages to the communities adversely affected by the recent floods. 

The Minister was joined by Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development, Bukiwe Fanta and Speaker of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, Nomamfengu Siyo-Sokutu. 

During the visit, both the Minister and the MEC extended heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured and currently recovering in hospitals and places of safety.

“SASSA [South African Social Security Agency] and Home Affairs are working very closely to ensure that death certificates are released, so that the agency can assist the families that will not be able to lay to rest their loved ones with financial assistance,” the department said in a statement on Monday. 

The principals were accompanied by the National Director-General Peter Netshipale, SASSA CEO Themba Matlou, Acting CEO of National Development Agency (NDA) Thabani Buthelezi, SASSA Eastern Cape Regional Manager Bandile Maqetuka, and NDA Provincial Manager, Nokulunga Skeyi. 

Following the events of the past week, where approximately 90 people lost their lives and thousands displaced, the social development sector with its partners dispatched its personnel to provide assistance to the affected people. 

SASSA, through its Social Relief of Distress (SRD) programme, has acted swiftly to assist families whose homes were severely affected during the floods. To this end, SASSA has been active on three established sites, where people are served with three nutritious meals a day, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to immediate food security.

In anticipation of the transition phase, SASSA has developed a disengagement plan aimed at equipping beneficiaries with basic resources to support reintegration and restore a sense of stability. This includes the provision of urgent packs to restore the dignity of the families who have lost everything they had. 

The department explained that the activation of the Disaster Management Act has enabled SASSA and its partners like the Gift of the Givers and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, to provide urgent needed services to the displaced communities. 

“The work of the agency has been supervised by the Internal Audit Committee to allow proper accountability at the end of the intervention to avoid and protect the resources of government,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za 

Source: South Africa News Agency

Five suspects arrested over the weekend for fraud and corruption are scheduled to appear in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court today.

The arrest is related to the issuing of passports at the Department of Home Affairs offices in KwaZulu-Natal.

A Home Affairs-led law enforcement operation, supported by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, busted a syndicate involved in passport fraud at the uMngeni and Commercial Road offices in Durban. 

Among the five people arrested are a former Home Affairs official from the Prospecton office, a municipal project volunteer at the Commercial Road office, and three members of the public – one of whom was found with 226 passports that were recently stolen from the uMngeni Home Affairs office.

Earlier this year, Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, warned at the launch of the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum (BMIACF) that South Africa was increasingly becoming a “syndicate society”, and that Home Affairs was determined to work with other law enforcement agencies to crack down on syndicates operating in this environment.

The operation follows the dismissal of 33 corrupt officials since July last year, as well as the criminal conviction of eight offenders, with sentences ranging from four to 18 years in prison.

The successful operation was initiated by the Home Affairs’ Counter-Corruption Unit, following information received from the public.

One of the suspects was found with keys to the Home Affairs offices on Commercial Road and at Prospecton. 

The same suspect was also found with copies of enabling documents that did not belong to him. 

Two further suspects have been identified as members of this syndicate but the Hawks remain on the hunt for them.

“This latest operation lands another blow in our ongoing cleanup campaign at Home Affairs, which is specifically focused on breaking open criminal syndicates. 

“The details of the case also reaffirms the urgent work we are doing to digitalise all of our processes, so that it becomes impossible for syndicates to penetrate and manipulate our systems. 

“This combination of ensuring criminals are arrested and prosecuted, and using digital transformation to close the loopholes they exploit is how we will ultimately win the war against corruption,” Schreiber said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, is set to visit the Impendle Local Municipality after the area was severely affected by recent strong winds.

According to the department, the visit, scheduled for Tuesday, is in response to the intense weather conditions that have caused widespread damage and hardship for more than 100 families in the municipality, with Wards 1 and 5 being particularly hard hit by the storms. 

The Minister will be accompanied by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Thamsanqa Ntuli. 

“The Premier and Minister will conduct on-site assessments, engage with affected residents, and ensure that urgent relief measures are being implemented,” the department said in a statement. 

This joint visit underscores government’s commitment at both provincial and national levels to respond swiftly and effectively to natural disasters and support vulnerable communities through recovery and rebuilding efforts. 

On Friday last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mthatha in the Eastern Cape to offer support and assess the damage following the recent floods that killed about 90 people.

The floods have caused widespread destruction to homes, government facilities, roads, hospitals, and schools, highlighting the urgent need to tackle climate change. 

President Ramaphosa highlighted that this is becoming a new reality for South Africa, with both Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal experiencing recurring annual disasters.

“The Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are now prone to continuous annual disasters that are causing a lot of pain and suffering amongst our people, where a number of people are dying,” he said then. 

Government officials pledged continued support to the affected communities, promising to assist families in their time of grief.

President Ramaphosa also took the time to extend his condolences to the people of KwaZulu-Natal, who are facing significant challenges due to climate change. – SAnews.gov.za