‘There are no police reports gathering dust on president's desk'
Firstly, the article claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa has failed to act on a report he received in May last year by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) that 'provides a detailed analysis on how law enforcement agencies can better coordinate to identify and combat corruption'.
Yet, there is no such report. The president received no report from the NACAC, which, according to the article, investigates 'shortcomings' such as corruption and political interference in the police.
Perhaps City Press is confusing it with the mid-term report of the NACAC, which made certain proposals about a new overarching anti-corruption body. These proposals form part of the work of government's justice, crime prevention and security cluster to redefine the country's anti-corruption architecture in line with the recommendations of the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture.
As the president reported in the state of the nation address in February, the department of justice and constitutional development will this year report on the review of the anti-corruption architecture by the NACAC.
He said: 'This is expected to streamline legislation, eradicate the duplication of mandates and foster greater cooperation between law enforcement agencies.'
This is important work, which will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the police and other law enforcement agencies. But it is very different from the specific allegations, which the commission of inquiry chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga is being established to investigate.
Secondly, the City Press report claims that no action has been taken on the recommendations of the expert panel regarding the July 2021 civil unrest, chaired by Professor Sandy Africa.
Specifically, the article claims: 'Ramaphosa has also been sitting for over three years on a report prepared by a panel investigating serious shortcomings in the response of security forces.'
This is demonstrably untrue.
The president released the expert panel report in February 2022. Each of the relevant law enforcement and security agencies was directed to implement the panel's recommendations, overseen by the National Security Council (NSC).
There has been substantial progress to date on several specific recommendations:
On the NSC reform, the council meets regularly to assess security threats. Its functioning is streamlined and roles are more clearly defined.
On the National Security Strategy, a new strategy was approved by the Cabinet in March last year and, for the first time in our history, was made public last week. The National Intelligence estimates (2019 to 2024) were released at the same time.
On an early warning capability, the National Early Warning Centre has been established and staffed.
On rationalising intelligence coordinating structures, a clear distinction has been made between the strategic role of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) and the tactical role of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure.
On creating a more effective, streamlined and accountable intelligence capacity, the president has assented to the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act. This establishes separate domestic and foreign intelligence services. It also improves oversight and accountability, including enhanced independence for the inspector-general of intelligence and NICOC.
On compelling intelligence structures to provide information to NICOC, regulations on the coordination of national intelligence were approved by the Cabinet in March last year.
On improving Public Order Policing (POP), an additional 5 000 personnel were assigned to the POP function between 2022 and last year. Seven new POP units have been established, bringing the total to 49 across the country.
On strengthening community relations, the SA Police Service supported the capacitation of Community Police Forums and boards, through a R70 million allocation to the provinces.
These are some of the actions arising from the expert panel, which are being overseen by the NSC. None of them is secret and most have been reported on in various state of the nation addresses, reports to Parliament, media releases and elsewhere.
It is therefore strange that the City Press article says: 'There is no indication that any of these recommendations have been implemented.'
One wonders whether the writer bothered to look, or even to use that old journalist's trick: to ask.
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies uncover drone procurement graft scheme
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the agencies' independence. In a joint statement published Saturday on social media, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said the suspects had taken bribes in a scheme that used state funds to buy drones and other military equipment at inflated prices. 'The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,' the statement said, adding that offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of the contracts' value. The anti-corruption bodies did not identify the detainees, but said a Ukrainian lawmaker, local district and city officials, and National Guard servicemen were involved. Four people have been arrested so far, they said. The Interior Ministry said the National Guard personnel implicated in the case were removed from their positions. Drones have become a crucial asset in modern warfare for both Ukraine and Russia, enhancing military reconnaissance, precision strikes, and strategic flexibility on the battlefield. The majority of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian forces, including manpower and heavy weaponry, have been targeted by drones. Drone production is also a key aspect of Kyiv's hopes to expand domestic military production and export markets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the development in his nightly address on Saturday, calling the graft scheme 'absolutely immoral' and thanking the anti-corruption agencies for their work. 'Unfortunately, these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones ... There must be full and fair accountability for this,' he said in his address, posted to X. In an earlier post, which also included photos of him meeting with the agency heads, Zelenskyy said it is 'important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently,' adding that 'the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.' The exposure of the graft scheme by NABU and SAPO came just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore their independence. Ukraine's Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the bill presented by Zelenskyy, reversing his earlier contentious move that curbed their power and sparked a backlash, including street protests, a rarity in wartime. Last week's measure to place the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general prompted rebukes from Ukrainians, the European Union and international rights groups. It raised fears that the government could meddle in investigations and potentially shield its supporters from scrutiny. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars of vital Western aid in the all-out war, now in its fourth year. It's also an effort that enjoys broad public support. ___ Morton reported from London. Elise Morton And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
ISIS Is Waging a Deadly War Across Africa That Threatens US
Based on factual reporting, incorporates the expertise of the journalist and may offer interpretations and conclusions. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Militant groups aligned with the Islamic State (ISIS) are ramping up violence across Africa, staging a growing number of attacks and expanding their influence in a way that could ultimately pose a threat far beyond the continent, including to the United States. Over the past week, the jihadis' operations in both the Congo region and Sahel drew headlines as ISIS-affiliated forces claimed a deadly attack against a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday and took responsibility for the killing of soldiers in Burkina Faso on Thursday. Both incidents are part of a growing trend of ISIS-linked violence that analysts say exploits existing conflicts and capitalizes on deep-rooted insecurity to mount the kind of threat that makes combatting the group in Africa an especially complicated endeavor. "What we're talking about there is a multi-year, prolonged period of investment that realistically the United States doesn't have the capacity to provide," one security expert who has briefed several government and military institutions on the threat posed by ISIS in Africa, told Newsweek. "It has to be provided by the governments in which those communities exist. And so, I think that that's the real challenge." "What makes it complex is that you're dealing with local issues at the end of the day in order to address this larger problem," said the security expert, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media. "And if they're not addressed," the person added, "the risk is that it rises into something much larger that then presents a much greater threat on the global scene, so, a threat direct to the homeland of the United States, or to Europe or outside of Africa, just generally." ISIS is expanding its presence across Africa, "from the Sahel to Somalia to the eastern Congo to Mozambique," and "becoming more lethal." ISIS is expanding its presence across Africa, "from the Sahel to Somalia to the eastern Congo to Mozambique," and "becoming more lethal."The Spread of ISIS in Africa While traditionally associated with the Middle East, ISIS' roots took hold in Africa even before late founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi first declared his self-styled "caliphate" upon seizing vast territories in Iraq and Syria in 2014. A year earlier, militants in Libya, taking advantage of chaos in the wake of longtime leader Muammar el-Qaddafi's downfall at the hands of a NATO-backed rebellion, had begun to tie their ideology to what would soon become a global brand of Islamist violence. In 2017, an ISIS acolyte from Libya conducted the group's first Africa-origin attack in the West, killing 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. That same year, ISIS' presence in Africa drew headlines when four U.S. soldiers and five Nigerien personnel were killed in an ambush staged by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), also known as Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP). Today, ISIS counts a number of partner groups across the continent. They include ISGS, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP), Islamic State Mozambique Province and Islamic State Somalia Province. "Sadly, for several years now, Africa has been the frontline of the violence perpetrated by Islamist terrorists, including those affiliated with the so-called Islamic State," J. Peter Pham, former U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and Sahel Regions, told Newsweek. "For three years now, an absolute majority of deaths due to terrorism globally have been in Africa, including roughly half of all terrorism-related fatalities in the world happening in just the Sahel region," he added. "While the threat level of the various IS affiliates varies, all of them from the Sahel to Somalia to the eastern Congo to Mozambique are becoming more lethal." "Moreover," he added, "they are increasingly demonstrating capacity to hold large amounts of territory or, at the very least, deny governments the ability to function in many areas." Thus far, ISIS franchises across Africa have largely operated in geographical isolation from another, curbing the level to which they can cooperate effectively. But this may be changing. The security expert with whom Newsweek spoke called the situation in the Sahel "a really combustible one" with the potential for ISIS' local affiliates to expand further into Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and "pose a large enough threat to some of the criminal groups in Northwest Nigeria that maybe it pushes them out." "Maybe it absorbs some of those groups, and now you have a space that's much more densely populated, larger economic activity, and Islamic State Greater Sahara might be able to carve out its own presence in that space," the person added. "I think that's a real risk right now." An infographic with map of Western and Central Africa shows instances of political violence by ISIS-affiliated groups and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), according to ACLED data for one... An infographic with map of Western and Central Africa shows instances of political violence by ISIS-affiliated groups and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), according to ACLED data for one year up to June 6, 2025. More IOANA PLESEA/VALENTINA BRESCHI/AFP/Getty Images Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, echoed concerns over a potential connection being forged between ISIS' fronts in Sahel and West Africa, where the group has stepped up attacks in Nigeria. Already, he said a "junction" between the two self-proclaimed ISIS provinces is being established, elevating the threat posed by the otherwise geographically isolated outposts of ISIS influence on the continent. "This situation is not comparable with what happened in the Levant, but we should not underestimate neither the way for the ambition of the Islamic State to link territories, which they are doing in between Nigeria and the Sahel, nor the impact of that on their capacities," Nasr told Newsweek. "They don't have it for now," Nasr said, "but they might have it tomorrow." 'The Epicenter of Jihad' The situation in the Sahel presents an especially vexing landscape. With the three junta-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger having expelled U.S. and French forces in recent years and now focusing Russia-backed operations against Tuareg rebels, the primary challenger to ISIS in this front is another hardline Islamist group, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM). "The paradoxical thing today is that it is the affiliate of Al-Qaeda that is stopping the attempt of Islamic State moving further south," Nasr said, "because local armies are not efficient." Nasr first observed back in 2017 that "Africa is becoming the epicenter of global jihad." He outlined a complex of array of factors that have allowed the group to thrive in African nations where "you have failed states, you have corruption, you have unsustained borders, and most importantly, you have human rights abuses by local security and armed forces." This combination of conditions risks threatening to set the stage for new attacks once the jihadis find sufficient footing to project their militant plans abroad, as they did from Libya in 2017. "When they had a foothold in Libya, on the shores of the Mediterranean, they did not hesitate one second," Nasr said. "They have the will, and they have the ambition to do it, but they cannot because they do not have the means—yet. If they get the means, of course they will." A vehicle allegedly belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province is seen in Baga, in northeastern Nigeria's Borno province, on August 2, 2019. A vehicle allegedly belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province is seen in Baga, in northeastern Nigeria's Borno province, on August 2, 2019. AUDU MARTE/AFP/Getty Images Zacharias Pieri, an associate professor at the University of South Florida who has advised the U.S. and U.K. governments on security issues in Africa, also highlighted the centrality of Africa, and the Sahel, in particular, as it relates to ISIS activity. "The area of the Sahel that intersects Mali and Burkina Faso has become a global epicenter of jihadist terrorism and continues to pose a severe threat," Pieri told Newsweek. "Jihadist terrorism in the region is broadly split between those groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda (eg. JNIM) and those affiliated to the Islamic State (eg. ISIS-Sahel)." "AQ franchises tend to be a little more pragmatic while IS franchises tend to be more ideological," he added. "Both have proven lethal, both have made gains, and both are contributing to the rising death toll." Armies of the Apocalypse The war-ravaged region is just one of many instances in which ISIS has managed to seize on existing conflicts to forge inroads in the continent. Another example is playing out hundreds of miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan group established in the late 1990s, swore allegiance to ISIS' Central African outfit in 2018. It was this group that claimed responsibility for the slaying of nearly 40 people at a church in the eastern DRC, along with an earlier massacre against another church in February. Such anti-Christian operations, Nasr argued, demonstrated that the group once known as the ADF is now "applying the orders at the top of the Islamic State by the letter." While ISIS has infamously made enemies of all who oppose its ultra-fundamentalist doctrine — including other Muslims — targeting Christians both serves the group's desire to inflame sectarian tensions and live up to the prophetic narratives upon which it was founded. "ISIS affiliated groups have had a history of attacking Christians in DRC but also across other parts of Africa too, and it fits within their playbook," Pieri said. "It also forms part of their apocalyptic narrative about the armies of Islam having to fight against the armies of Rome (sometimes taken to mean Christians) in the end of times." Caleb Weiss, senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, also observed how targeting Christians has played into the ideological leanings of ISIS' presence in the DRC. "The group has in the past made mention of an 'economic war against Christians,' while more recently it has made a more concerted effort to convert local Christians to Islam, in addition to forcing others to pay the jizya [tax on non-Muslims]," Weiss told Newsweek. He also pointed out that "the fact that it primarily combats, or more accurately, kills Christians, has been a main feature of propaganda and internal messaging," but felt that such language was most rooted in the reality that ISIS fighters in the DRC were "operating in an area that is overwhelmingly Christian." Unlike in the majority-Muslim Middle East, where Christians constitute a minority in each country except for the predominantly Jewish state of Israel, Africa is divided near-evenly between Christians and Muslims. Home to more than quarter of the world's Christians, the highest portion among the continents, Africa also hosts around a third of the world's Muslims. As in the case with the DRC, ISIS has not limited itself to operating in overwhelming Muslim areas, as it does in Nigeria. "In Nigeria (as in the Sahel), ISWAP's area of operation is almost entirely in almost-entirely Muslim areas," Ryan O'Farrell, also a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, told Newsweek. "The group (and Islamic State's central propaganda apparatus, which publishes all official public-facing messaging) consistently emphasizes attacks on Christians and has in the past carried out attacks on churches." "But given the relatively tiny portion of the population that is Christian in their areas of operation," he added, "I think these attacks are probably meant more to antagonize Christians elsewhere in Nigeria—and Christians around the world—than it is to spark religious conflict between Muslim and Christian communities in northeastern Nigeria itself where ISWAP primarily operates." U.S. jets take off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to conduct strikes against ISIS-Somalia positions on February 1, 2025. U.S. jets take off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to conduct strikes against ISIS-Somalia positions on February 1, 2025. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Threat to Homeland A number of U.S. officials have come to recognize the threat posed by ISIS and other Islamist militant groups in Africa. "Left unchecked, they will have a direct threat on the homeland," U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) commander General Michael Langley said in response to a senator's question on the issue during an April testimony referred to Newsweek by AFRICOM. Yet even as President Donald Trump's administration has entered into the diplomatic realm in ISIS-affected nations, brokering a peace deal between the DRC and neighboring Rwanda, the issue appears to receive comparatively less policy attention that other theaters. "The problem is not that diplomatic, military, and intelligence professionals have not been tracking all of this," Pham, the former U.S. envoy, said. "The challenge has been that all too many armchair 'experts' who never get into the field—if they travel abroad at all—have are reluctant to acknowledge the problem." He recalled supporting the campaign to have the DRC-based ADF designated as a terrorist organization during his time serving under the first Trump administration, only to "face a great deal of resistance from the inside-the-Beltway policy community," before the decision was ultimately made under President Joe Biden. "I have not seen any regrets from some of the people who opined against the terrorist designation after what happened last weekend at the Catholic parish in Komanda," Pham said. Now, he hoped that the U.S.-facilitated peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda would mark "an important first step in a process which, hopefully, will not only lead to peace and security for the two countries, but also permit attention to be focused on the real threat against both of them and their peoples." "And, as Americans, we have our own strategic interests in that happening," Pham said. "It is not just a matter of the fighting terrorism, it is also about access to critical minerals that are needed for national security and economic growth, which can only be safely extracted and processed in partnership with African countries when there is security." Even with the Trump administration stepping up strikes against ISIS in Somalia, others are more skeptical that the U.S., precisely because of its growing focus on Africa as geopolitical arena to compete for resources, would be the force needed to provide solutions. "U.S. foreign policy has witnessed a significant shift from counterterrorism to competition over resources which has allowed armed groups to take advantage of the situation by spreading into locations beyond America's primary airstrikes," Confidence MacHarry, security analyst at the Lagos-based SB Morgan Intelligence, told Newsweek. "This competition over resources will expose America's vulnerability," MacHarry said, "especially if American economic interests come under attack from ISIS-affiliates in not only Eastern DRC but beyond." He argued that the U.S. setbacks and the escalation in ISIS operations may ultimately push African nations to work together "This gives an opportunity for African states to appreciate the depth of the threat posed by these groups," MacHarry said, "and improve regional collaboration in facing them as history shows that sustained regional pressure goes a long way in improving outcomes."
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies uncover drone procurement graft scheme
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the agencies' independence. In a joint statement published Saturday on social media, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said the suspects had taken bribes in a scheme that used state funds to buy drones and other military equipment at inflated prices. 'The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,' the statement said, adding that offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of the contracts' value. The anti-corruption bodies did not identify the detainees, but said a Ukrainian lawmaker, local district and city officials, and National Guard servicemen were involved. Four people have been arrested so far, they said. The Interior Ministry said the National Guard personnel implicated in the case were removed from their positions. Drones have become a crucial asset in modern warfare for both Ukraine and Russia, enhancing military reconnaissance, precision strikes, and strategic flexibility on the battlefield. The majority of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian forces, including manpower and heavy weaponry, have been targeted by drones. Drone production is also a key aspect of Kyiv's hopes to expand domestic military production and export markets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the development in his nightly address on Saturday, calling the graft scheme 'absolutely immoral' and thanking the anti-corruption agencies for their work. 'Unfortunately, these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones ... There must be full and fair accountability for this,' he said in his address, posted to X. In an earlier post, which also included photos of him meeting with the agency heads, Zelenskyy said it is 'important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently,' adding that 'the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.' The exposure of the graft scheme by NABU and SAPO came just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore their independence. Ukraine's Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the bill presented by Zelenskyy, reversing his earlier contentious move that curbed their power and sparked a backlash, including street protests, a rarity in wartime. Last week's measure to place the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general prompted rebukes from Ukrainians, the European Union and international rights groups. It raised fears that the government could meddle in investigations and potentially shield its supporters from scrutiny. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars of vital Western aid in the all-out war, now in its fourth year. It's also an effort that enjoys broad public support. ___ Morton reported from London.
