July 15, 2013.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:
 

South African Revenue Service commissioner Oupa Magashula quits after a probe finds he placed Sars’ credibility at risk.

Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai contests the police and soldiers’ early elections.
 

And, the Department of Public Service and Administration gets tough on graft.

 

South African Revenue Service (or Sars) commissioner Oupa Magashula  quit with immediate effect on Friday after admitting that improper behaviour on his behalf constituted a failure to promote and maintain the high standards of professionalism and ethical behaviour that are expected of a Sars commissioner.  Magashula had been head of the revenue service since 2009.

The resignation followed the outcome of an investigation initiated by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in March, to probe allegations of impropriety, which surfaced through the media.

The inquiry, undertaken by a committee headed by retired Constitutional Court Judge Zak Yacoob, found that Magashula had not committed a crime when he inappropriately offered a 28-year-old chartered accounted a job, but that he had placed the reputation and credibility of Sars at risk.

Deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay would head up Sars as acting commissioner until a replacement for Magashula has been found.

 

Police officers and soldiers who would be on duty during Zimbabwe's July 31 election began voting on Sunday, a day before a court hearing to stop the process. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party says police numbers were inflated.

Zimbabwe will hold presidential and parliamentary elections at the end of the month. Police chiefs have been campaigning for Tsvangvirai's arch-rival, President Robert Mugabe, telling rank-and-file officers to vote for the veteran leader and his ZANU-PF party.

The MDC says junior officers were threatened by superiors to rally behind Mugabe, a charge that has been dismissed by the police. Mugabe, 89, has been in power for 33 years and long criticised by political rivals and the West for perceived authoritarianism.

The state electoral commission says 69 000 police officers, 2 000 prison officers, 164 soldiers and thousands of election officials were taking part in a two-day special vote starting on Sunday. Tsvangirai, making his third attempt to end Mugabe's long grip on power, says nothing has been set in place to ensure a vote fairer than previous elections.

 

Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said at business briefing on Friday that corruption wouldn’t be tolerated in the public service. 

She said two elements fostered corruption in government procurement processes. These were particularly; the corrupter in the private sector, which she deemed "the most lethal poison in the corrupting game", and "a relatively vulnerable but greedy and potentially corrupt state official".  Another aspect of the problem was citizens who bribed public servants.

Sisulu said her department had "massive potential, but its inefficiencies still hobbled it". The department was in the process of launching an anti-corruption bureau to deal effectively with the problem which was a significant threat to the public service.

Sisulu warned the private sector to "think very carefully" before offering bribes because "the consequences would be very dire for the rest of ones life".

 

Also making headlines:

 

Tanzania seeks a stronger mandate for peacekeepers in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region.

And, the Department of Labour is concerned over a potential rise in the number of labour unions in South Africa, as applications to form unions increase

 

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.