Former president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Lex Mpati, will be the inquiry’s commissioner assisted by Gill Marcus and Emmanuel Lediga.

President Cyril Ramaphosa today appointed a commission of inquiry into allegations of impropriety regarding the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

In the Government Gazette, Ramaphosa said former president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Lex Mpati, will be the inquiry’s commissioner assisted by former Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus, and veteran asset manager, Emmanuel Lediga.

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The latest reshuffling of South Africa’s finance minister, following the resignation of Nhlanhla Nene and appointment of Tito Mboweni, may have negative origins but it brings with it some positive energy.

Nene resigned as finance minister after it emerged that he lied about the nature of his contact with the controversial Gupta family, the friends of former President Jacob Zuma who stand accused of championing massive misappropriation of public funds in a process branded as state capture.

In an initial response to a journalist’s question, Nene claimed that he had only met the Guptas in passing. But in his recent testimony to a commission investigating state capture he admitted that he’d met Gupta family members on numerous occasions, including a number of visits to their house and their offices.

The inconsistency tarnished his integrity and sparked massive public criticism. Within a week of making his admissions he resigned. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa immediately appointed former South African Reserve Bank governor Mboweni as the new finance minister.

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The economic stimulus package announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa shows that he and his political allies are, contrary to much analysis in recent months, in charge of economic policy.

Ramaphosa insists that it is a ‘bold’ attempt to initiate economic change which will particularly benefit youth, women and small businesses . It rests partly, he adds, on ‘significant regulatory reform’.

But the package is more interesting for what it says about the politics of economic decision-making in South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) than for its likely impact on the economy.

Certainly, it does not signal readiness by Ramaphosa and his allies to use their power to introduce much-needed reforms. In an article in the financial press explaining the thinking behind the package, Ramaphosa acknowledged that it rested not on new ideas but on trying to get the government to do what it has already said it will do. He wrote that it was “tempting to unleash novel policy directions” but it was far more important “to build a track record of successful implementation.”

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By Ciaran Ryan

3 October 2018

The Pretoria High Court struck another blow on behalf of distressed debtors last week. A full bench of three judges ruled that magistrates’ courts should be the first port of call for financial institutions seeking judgment against their clients, where matters fall within the lower courts’ monetary jurisdiction.

This follows the ruling two weeks ago by a full bench of the Johannesburg High Court. That court ruled that repossessed homes must be sold with reserve prices at sheriffs’ auctions. This is to stop homes from being sold for a fraction of their market value.

Banks frequently go to the high courts for judgment against defaulting clients, even when relatively small amounts of money are owed.

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