October 18, 2018.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sashnee Moodley.

Making headlines:

Ethics committee confirms investigation of EFF's Shivambu

Govt ready to woo potential investors at SA Investment Conference

And, Robert Mugabe Junior allegedly pressurising model to drop assault case against Grace

 

The Democratic Alliance has welcomed the speed with which parliament's joint committee on ethics and members' interests responded to calls for an investigation into Economic Freedom Fighters deputy president Floyd Shivambu.

Shivambu has denied receiving R10-million from his brother Brian, after the latter was paid R16-million for doing consultancy work for Vele Investments the majority shareholder in the failed VBS Mutual Bank.

The DA said in a statement the ethics committee had confirmed on Wednesday that it would investigate Shivambu's possible conflict of interest over payments that he received from his brother in the VBS scandal.

 

Confirmed attendees for next week's South Africa Investment Conference include JSE listed companies with a market capitalisation of R6.5-trillion and Fortune 500 companies with a market cap of US$4-trillion, government said on Thursday.

The conference is government's attempt to unlock investment to grow the local economy and create jobs.

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said some 800 to 1 000 delegates were expected to attend the conference, about two thirds of them local business people from both large and established companies and emerging investors in South Africa.

 

One of the sons of former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has allegedly been pressurising Gabriella Engels, the Johannesburg model who filed assault charges against Grace Mugabe, to drop the charges against his mother.

Civil rights group AfriForum represents Engels in the high profile case and has asked to police to look into the matter as it interfered with the judicial process.

Mugabe allegedly assaulted model Gabriella Engels at a hotel in August last year but has claimed that she acted in self-defence.

In July, the South Gauteng High Court declared the South African government's decision to grant Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity unconstitutional, and set it aside.

 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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