South African recruiters for Russian military return to the docks, and NHI hits a roadblock

Today, 10 February, the Rand is trading at R15.90 to the dollar, remaining steady from closing business on Monday at R15.92.

Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), will start working on its draft report into the Road Accident Fund today after its three-month long inquiry into maladministration. 

Committee chairperson Songezo Zibi is pleased by the way the inquiry has been handled and believes it will set a benchmark for other troubled state entities. 

Five prison wardens accused of murdering an inmate will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court today. 

The matter dates back to 2022. The wardens are accused of beating the prisoner, Dumisani Ngwenya, to death at the Johannesburg prison after intervening in a fight between him and another prisoner. 

Forensic analyst Paul O’Sullivan will finally appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating corruption in the police and criminal justice system today.

This is after O’Sullivan made multiple attempts to avoid appearing in front of the committee in-person, saying that he fears for his life. He is expected to address allegations that he interfered in Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) affairs. 

Scholar transport operators across Gauteng have halted their services today, claiming they haven’t been paid by the Gauteng Department of Education in months. This is expected to impact over 200,000 learners. 

Here are five other big things happening in South Africa today:

South African mercenary recruiters for Russia return to the docks – eNCA

SABC radio presenter Nonkululeko Mantula and four co-accused will return to the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court today. They are facing charges of aiding a foreign military by recrutiing South Africans to fight for Russia in its war against the Ukraine. 

Johannesburg water becomes a political battleground – News24

Water is set to be the primary political concern for Johannesburg in the upcoming local government elections, as parties trade blame for the week-long outages. This is as some residents have been without water for as long as 20 days. 

NHI hits a major roadblock – BusinessTech

Chief Executive Officer of Profmed, Craig Comrie, says that the government’s plans to implement National Health Insurance will be bogged down in legal proceedings for the foreseeable future.

Cape Town attempts to shield residents from Eskom price hikes – EWN

The City of Cape Town has called on the National Energy regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to scrap Eskom’s electricity tariff hikes after the regulator agreed to allow Eskom to increase electricity fees by almost 9% for the next two years. 

Top school says it is not antisemitic for alleged Jewish school boycott – Newsday

Top South African private girls’ school, Roedean, has changed its reasons for cancelling a fixture against the Jewish day school, King David Linksfield. The school now says the match was cancelled because students expressed reservations about playing the fixture, but that Roedean is an apolitical institution.