For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Zondo compelling Zuma to testify in January and February; South Africa missed first payment window to join Covax; And, Land Bank creditor urges South Africa to speed up rescue efforts

Zondo compelling Zuma to testify in January and February

The Zondo commission of inquiry has served summons on former president Jacob Zuma to testify before it not only in January next year, but also for a second week in February.

The commission said a summons was served on Zuma to appear before it from January 18 to 22 and again from February 15 to 19.

Commission spokesperson Mbuyiselo Stemela said the commission had yet to lay a criminal charge with the police against Zuma for walking out of the commission on November 19 after Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo dismissed the application he had brought for his recusal.

Zuma had argued that Zondo had abandoned the required objectivity and led witnesses to implicate him in state capture scandals.

South Africa missed first payment window to join Covax;

South Africa is yet to make an estimated R500-million payment to an international initiative designed to secure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines for middle- and low-income countries.

Head of health regulation and compliance as well as former acting director-general for the Department of Health Dr Anban Pillay confirmed the payment was yet to be made as the department was awaiting a range of approvals from National Treasury.

This despite statements by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, during a Bloomberg Invest Africa webinar on November 24, that "the R500-million is in the pocket, is in the consortium".

South Africa missed the deadline of the first payment window and the Solidarity Fund was now expected to step in and make a payment to the Covax initiative of an estimated R300-million, or 15% of the total envisaged spend.

And, Land Bank creditor urges South Africa to speed up rescue efforts

South Africa’s National Treasury and the state-owned Land and Agricultural Development Bank are being accused of dragging their heels in negotiating a rescue package for the stricken lender, leaving creditors in the dark as debt repayments loom.

Asset managers and other lenders are yet to receive a response to their queries about financial covenants and the mechanism of a new bond program that will be 60% backed by the government, according to the country’s biggest specialist fixed-income money manager. The state-owned bank missed a repayment in April that triggered a cross-default event under its R50-billion bond program.

The partial guarantee means that about R16.6-billion of the Land Bank’s R41.5-billion of debt is not guaranteed.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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