For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: South Africa's financial regulator launches probe into State asset manager; Outa takes government to High Court over Aarto Phase 2 implementation; And, Monale Ratsoma appointed NDB VP and chief risk officer

South Africa's financial regulator launches probe into State asset manager

South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority has launched an investigation into the Public Investment Corporation, citing concerns over governance, leadership stability and transparency at the State-owned asset manager.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the regulator said it had become "increasingly concerned" by recent developments at the PIC, including issues related to governance, leadership stability, transparency and the potential impact on confidence in one of Africa's largest asset managers.

On Monday, the PIC's board of directors placed CE Patrick Dlamini on precautionary suspension after a whistleblower complaint against him. It gave no further details of the allegations and said the suspension did not constitute a finding and was not a pronouncement of any wrongdoing. Dlamini could not be reached for comment.

The regulator said these recent events had raised "serious questions" about whether the PIC was consistently upholding standards of governance, integrity, accountability and conduct expected of such an institution.

Outa takes government to High Court over Aarto Phase 2 implementation

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has announced that it has initiated an urgent application to the High Court to put the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences second phase on hold.

Outa believes that government is bringing the amended legislation into force despite not yet having set up the legal safeguards that motorists have the right. In the application, the organisation is asking the court to pause Aarto Phase 2 until government complies with its constitutional and legal obligations.

The provisions of the amended Aarto Act were brought into effect by Presidential proclamation on June 29, and the 2026 Aarto regulations were published the next day. They cover 62 municipalities. The problem is that key safeguards are missing, major questions regarding implementation are still unanswered and regulations have been introduced without any meaningful public participation.

A key concern of Outa is the absence of the Independent Appeals Tribunal, even though that was part of the amended Aarto framework and is a crucial safeguard for motorists. The Appeals Tribunal will be the body that motorists will use to dispute administrative decisions.

And, Monale Ratsoma appointed NDB VP and chief risk officer

Development finance institution the New Development Bank has appointed Monale Ratsoma VP and chief risk officer, with responsibility for risk management, corporate strategy, policies, partnerships and enforcing environmental, social and governance standards.

The appointment is with effect from July 8. Prior to that, Ratsoma was NDB VP and CFO from July 2024.

South Africa's National Treasury, where he worked in the past, describes Ratsoma as a distinguished executive leader and international financial strategist with over two decades of experience at the intersection of international development, economic policy formulation, macroeconomic analysis, sovereign and private sector finance and global capital markets.

He was director-general at the NDB’s Africa Regional Centre from 2018 to 2024, where he established the bank's first regional office to finance African operations.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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