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

Making headlines: NPA creates state capture 'task force' after Zondo finds it failed to prosecute corruption; Motshekga pleads with parents to be patient as Gauteng tries to address school placement issues; And, Ramaphosa admonishes terrorism during SADC Summit

NPA creates state capture 'task force' after Zondo finds it failed to prosecute corruption

More than a week after the Zondo Commission slammed the National Prosecuting Authority for its failure to take on state capture, the state has finally responded: with the announcement that a new "task force" would focus on these cases.

In a joint statement released today, the NPA and the Hawks promised that they would "systematically [be] reviewing the commission's findings and recommendations, with a view to investigating and building cases for criminal prosecution against those who broke the law, be they from the public or private sectors".

This, they said, "will include, where appropriate, the freezing and forfeiture of the proceeds of crimes".

While cautious about promising that there would be successful prosecutions of alleged state capture corruption, the NPA said it was "exploring options to boost its capacities, capabilities and resources".

Motshekga pleads with parents to be patient as Gauteng tries to address school placement issues

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has asked parents to bear with the Gauteng Department of Education as it tries to sort out the 2022 school placement backlog.

As of today, hundreds of children were yet to be placed by the Gauteng Department of Education. While parents who queued outside district offices complained that the online system was an issue, Motshekga said it was necessary in a province like Gauteng, which had a lot of migrations from other provinces.

She said the online system is to help the administration to have a sense of where things are. If the province doesn't have a centralised database, it will not know where the issues and pressures are and where they can assist. For a province like Gauteng, technology is the only way to manage this situation, she said.

And, Ramaphosa admonishes terrorism during SADC Summit

President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned terrorism saying that it could not be permitted to continue to thrive in any part of the Southern African Development Community region, saying its presence reversed the stability and progress SADC has achieved in its four decades of existence.

Ramaphosa was speaking in Malawi, where he chaired the Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit.

The Summit reviewed the progress of the SADC Mission in Mozambique, which was deployed to support Mozambique in combatting terrorism and violent extremism.

According to Ramaphosa, an agreement was reached in October 2021 for the extension of the SAMIM with the same mandate for another three months until January 15, 2022.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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