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Al-Ahram Weekly
2 days ago
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt reiterates readiness to fund Ugandan water projects in Nile Basin - Foreign Affairs
Egypt reiterated on Wednesday its readiness to "finance and mobilize the necessary financing" for Uganda's water-related infrastructure projects in the Nile Basin during bilateral talks in Entebbe. Egypt also has pledged to support development projects in the upstream nations, Uganda, as per a joint statement released by both nations following the conclusion of the second round of (2+2) ministerial consultations between Egyptian and Ugandan officials. The consultation round was held in Entebbe on Monday and Tuesday. Both nations also underscored their commitment to "win-win cooperation" and the importance of avoiding significant harm to the Nile River. They also agreed to hold regular consultations on Nile water management, to reach a cooperative agreement that adheres to international law, according to the statement. The commitment aligns with a new financing mechanism approved by the Egyptian cabinet last year. The mechanism aims to strengthen Egypt's African ties, particularly the Nile Basin countries, as being a strategic depth for Egypt. Egypt's commitment to support Uganda's projects is based on successful collaborations in the Owen Dam and the Water Weed Control Project in Uganda, the statement noted. Meanwhile, Egypt, the statement noted, welcomed the "constructive engagement" in the Nile Basin Initiative's (NBI) Ad Hoc Committee, which is currently presided over by Uganda. The committee engages with NBI countries that have not yet ratified the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), also known as the "Entebbe Agreement." Egypt froze its full participation in the NBI in 2010 due to disagreements over the CFA, which contains three controversial items that Egypt rejects, including a provision on water security. "The two parties look forward to the continuation of the Nile Basin Initiative's consultative process to restore comprehensive participation and achieve win-win cooperation among the Nile Basin countries," the Egyptian-Ugandan statement said. An Egyptian delegation, led by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, participated in the (2+2) consultations. In a side meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday, Minister Abdelatty underscored that Cairo will take all necessary measures guaranteed under international law to protect its water security. 'The Nile River is an existential issue for Egypt,' Abdelatty stated. Abdelatty's comments come as Ethiopia plans to inaugurate its disputed dam – built on the Nile River and known as GERD – in September despite a lack of agreement with downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. Cairo and Khartoum, while not opposed to Ethiopia's development aims, have repeatedly criticized Addis Ababa's unilateral actions after it filled the dam in five stages between 2020 and 2024 Elevated Bilateral Cooperation According to the joint statement, Egypt and Uganda have agreed to intensify high-level exchanges, including ministerial and summit visits, as well as enhance bilateral cooperation in defence, security, law enforcement, peacebuilding, and counter-terrorism. This includes exchanging expertise and providing technical cooperation on water resources management and capacity building, the statement clarified. Such commitment will be coordinated via bodies from both nations, such as the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development and the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding, as well as the Egyptian Diplomatic Institute and Uganda's National Defence and Diplomatic Colleges. Furthermore, both nations will encourage their private sectors to boost bilateral trade and investment by organising trade visits, promoting investment, and holding forums to explore new opportunities. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
MPs challenge legal advisor's claim on Mkhwanazi's allegations
MPs took issue with a member of the parliamentary legal team for suggesting the allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi were technically not evidence. Image: Thobile Mathonsi / Independent Newspapers MPs on Tuesday raised their concerns when a parliamentary legal advisor suggested that KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's allegations were technically not evidence. This happened when the Ad Hoc Committee, which is mandated to investigate Mkhwanazi's allegations, met for the first time to discuss some of its preparations, such as the terms of reference and getting prisoners testify as witnesses. Responding to the questions, parliamentary legal advisor Andile Tetyana said there was a draft terms of reference that could be released in two or three days to MPs for comments. Tetyana also said there was a lot of backroom legal technical support that should take place, and that witnesses would need to be identified. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'I am saying this with the greatest of respect. What General Mkhwanazi said on 6 July 2025 was not evidence in a technical sense. Of course, one would need a legal person to go around speaking to people, who will be able to corroborate what Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi said. The committee can't do that, and, of course, you need sworn statements from witnesses drafted and so on. That is the kind of work that will take place in the next two to three weeks,' he said. EFF leader Julius Malema questioned where the remark about Mkhwanazi said was not evidence came from. 'You can't start by saying what General Mkhwanazi said is not evidence. That is very dismissive. Right at the beginning, we are starting on the wrong footing. 'Please, when people are asked, especially support staff, they must not enter the terrain. They must give us technical advice and leave the rest to us because we are not to leave here being part of a remark that says what Mkhwanazi said, not evidence,' Malema said. MK Party's MP David Skosana said he was a bit disturbed by the legal team's remarks about Mkhwanazi's allegations. 'If they want to work with us, they should not tell us that what Mkhwanazi said is not evidence. This is disturbing. Why are we here? Are we here for gossiping? We are not here for that,' Skosana said. 'Mkhwanazi presented, and he attached evidence in that press statement,' he said before asking that the chief parliamentary legal advisor should attend their future meetings. IFP MP Albert Mncwango said he was equally disturbed to hear that Mkhwanazi's revelations were actually not evidence. 'I think that was actually defeating the purpose of this session,' Mncwango said. He also raised his concerns about the absence of the chief parliamentary advisor at the meeting. 'This is a critical start to this process of investigation. It is very crucial that we start from a solid foundation and a solid legal foundation as well.' ANC MP Xola Nqola said they preferred the chief parliamentary legal advisor deployed to the committee to assist it, given the nature of the issues they would be handling. 'Without sounding, we don't take seriously the legal advisors that are here; they can work as a team led by the chief legal advisor,' Nqola said. Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane described Tetyana's remarks as being subjective and pleaded with MPs not to dwell on them. 'He can't decide for us what is evidence and what is not evidence. It is unfortunate that it has been said here. He can't say that before we agree on the terms of reference. The terms of reference will tell us this is evidence or it is not evidence,' Lekganyane said. ActionSA MP Dereleen James said the statement by Tetyana was out of line based on allegations made by Mkhwanazi and the office he held. James took issue that an ANC MP was elected as the committee chairperson. 'How do we garner public trust here this morning when we have a chairperson who has been elected from the very party where most of these people are embroiled? 'How does that make the public feel to know that today we have a member from the same family, where all these people come from?' she asked. This prompted the ANC and Patriotic Alliance to raise concerns that James did not use the opportunity to raise her concern when Lekganyane was elected, but the MK Party and EFF came to James' defence. ANC chief Mdumiseni Ntuli stated that the committee would discharge its responsibility consistently within the Constitution and the laws of the country. 'There should not be fear that because there are others who have come from this and other party, this might in any way negatively contaminate the process we are engaged in. 'We should get our work tested in action as opposed to what maybe our own preconceived ideas with one another as we start our work,' Ntuli said. Lekganyane said they were sworn as MPs and should act within the law in executing their responsibility. 'I was not sworn through the law of the ANC. There is only one law to swear in MPs,' he said. 'It will be sheer hypocrisy on our part if there is anything we are going to do is meant to shoot down the noble intention of Parliament when it appointed this Ad Hoc Committee,' he said.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Soviet Lekganyane calls for integrity in Parliament amid Mkhwanazi allegations
Newly-elected chairperson Soviet Lekganyane says MPs, serving on the Ad Hoc Committee probing allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, have a duty here to raise the flag of the Parliament and reignite the confidence of the people of South Africa in Parliament as an institution that can represent them to the best of its abilities. Image: Parliament ANC MP Soviet Lekganyane on Tuesday called on MPs to do their work in the name of South Africans when they investigate allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. 'All the eyes of the people of the Republic are on this committee, and all the hopes of the people of this country are on us. Wherever there could have been unscrupulous activities, South Africans will want to hear us rise into the occasion speaking on their behalf,' Lekganyane said. He made the statement when he was elected unopposed as the chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee following his nomination by ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli and seconded by IFP MP Albert Mncwango. EFF MP Julius Malema turned down a nomination by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, saying: 'I am not available.' Lekganyane thanked the MPs for showing confidence when they elected him as the chairperson. He noted that previous surveys showed that South Africans were losing confidence in public institutions, including Parliament. Lekganyane said the last survey by Afrobarometer showed the confidence level of South Africans in Parliament was standing at 27%. 'It is up to us, all of us sitting here, to say those confidence levels are what we represent, or do they represent us as MPs. If we are happy, this is what represents us or if this is what we represent, we will continue to work as if there is nothing that reflects how we do our work, but my feeling is that all of us here, and which I will urge all of you, is that we have been appointed from a position of incompetence,' he said. 'And every day when we do our work, let's find a way to do better so that we can improve from the incompetence that anybody outside looking at us would say 'we elected these men and women and in some way, this is what they have done and we don't think it represents us as South Africans'. 'We have a duty here to raise the flag of the Parliament of the Republic and reignite the confidence of the people of South Africa in Parliament as an institution that can represent them to the best of its abilities,' he said. Lekganyane was hopeful that the MPs from across the political divide would work together on the mandate they have been given until the end of October 'I was very impressed when I arrived here; almost everybody was here. This is the kind of attitude and work ethic that will take us to greater heights. I want to give you 100% for the manner we responded to the call and thank the organisers of this meeting for the work you have done.' Lekganyane is currently the co-chairperson of the Joint Committee on Financial Management of Parliament. He previously served as the MEC for local government and human settlements in Limpopo between 2009 and 2012. When he was elected as ANC provincial secretary, he resigned from the provincial legislature and returned in 2014 to serve as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Finance. In 2018, he was again elected as the ANC provincial secretary and then elected as an MP in 2024. 'The period between 2022 and 2024, I worked with the Minister of Basic Education, Minister (Angie) Motshekga, as her special advisor. I have four university qualifications, among them there is a law degree and an Honours degree in political science,' said Lekganyane when he introduced himself after his election as committee chairperson.
The Star
29-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Parliament forms Ad Hoc Committee to investigate serious allegations by KZN police commissioner
Mayibongwe Maqhina | Published 5 days ago The National Assembly on Wednesday night unanimously agreed to form an Ad Hoc Committee tasked with investigating the serious allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. This decision comes after the adoption of a report from the portfolio committees on Police and Justice and Constitutional Development, which were requested to consider the appropriate approach to deal with the allegations. ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli announced that the 11-member committee will consist of four members from the ANC, two each from the DA and the MK Party, one member from the EFF, and two representatives to be recommended by other parties. Ntuli said the committee will report to the National Assembly by not later than October 31. He said the committee's terms of reference included t he alleged unlawful decision by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to disband the Political Killings Task Team, t he alleged unlawful removal of 121 case dockets from the Political Killings Task Team on the direction of Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, and t he alleged moratorium by Mchunu on filling vacancies within the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit. Others are t he nature and implications of the relationship between SAPS senior leadership and certain members of the public, w hether the award of the R360 million contract to Vusumuzi Matlala's company for the provision of healthcare services to SAPS was irregular. The committee will also look into t he alleged interference by the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption in police matters, including judicial issues, and also c onsider the need for legislative policy and institutional reform to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system. Parties have thrown their weight behind the Ad Hoc Committee. ANC MP Samuel Moela said the allegations made by Mkhwanazi cannot be left unexamined. 'General Mkhwanazi's assertion, if accurate, paints a disturbing picture of how certain elements might be undermining the integrity of law enforcement institutions for political or personal gain. 'Parliament has both the responsibility and the authority to get to the bottom of these claims, not for political point scoring, but to protect the democratic institutions so many South Africans fought to build,' Moela said. DA deputy spokesperson on police, Lisa Schickerling, said the evidence Mkhwanazi presented raised the greatest questions about the conduct of Mchunu, Sibiya, senior police officers, and even members of the judiciary. 'The National Assembly must hold the executive to account, even in the face of parallel investigations. We welcome the urgency with which this House has resolved to independently oversee the political and institutional dimensions of this crisis,' said Schickerling. MK Party's Sibonelo Nomvalo saluted Mkhwanazi for taking on the perceived untouchables by exposing criminal syndicates within the criminal justice system. 'Our clarion call is that Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi must appear before the Ad Hoc Committee in Parliament and expose all the police officers, prosecutors, judges, Members of Parliament, and all officials in the Department of Police who are in cahoots with criminals," he said. 'An allegation by Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi against judges justifies our valid call for a lifestyle audit against judges. It is our firm belief that judges are human beings. They are not a paragon of morality, and therefore are corruptible honourable members,' Nomvalo said. EFF MP Rebecca Mohlala said the SAPS was a seriously compromised service, and its top brass enabled the capture of the institution for nefarious reasons. Mohlala said Parliament should get to the bottom of the allegations and reassert its role in providing oversight to the executive. 'We support the recommendation of the report for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee to conduct an inquiry to get to the bottom of corruption,' she said. [email protected]
IOL News
25-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
MK Party's budget vote confusion in National Assembly
MK Party chief whip Colleen Makhubele blamed their initial support for the Budget to mistaking the vote for the Ad Hoc Committee that will probe the allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers Drama played out during the adoption of the Budget in the National Assembly this week when the MK Party supported the Appropriation Bill only to change its vote despite rejecting every departmental budget. The party's chief whip Colleen Makhubele blamed the confusion on mistakenly casting their vote for the Ad Hoc Committee that was established to probe allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during the marathon session. The unexpected vote of the official opposition unfolded soon after all the 42 schedules were agreed to. House chairperson Cedric Frolick had asked the National Assembly Secretary to read the Fifth Order, which was the next to be considered on the agenda after the schedule of vote of department. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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When the voting took place, the ANC voted in favour with 140 votes, followed by the support of the DA with 74 in support and then MK Party supporting with 49. The EFF voted against with 35. When Frolick asked Makhubele to clarify her party's vote, she said: '49 in support.' ACDP chief whip Steven Swart suggested that there might be confusion on which item that was being dealt. In response, Frolick said he had been explicit that they were dealing with the Fourth Order. 'I followed the procedure and the EFF was the last one to indicate and now I am with the IFP,' he said. Voting by other parties continued with the Patriotic Alliance. Its chief whip Marlon Daniels said his party 'follows the lead of MK Party with eight votes in support'. After the voting session had closed, Makhubele stated that she had mistakenly thought that they were dealing with the Ad Hoc Committee. 'We are changing our vote. We will support the Ad Hoc committee when it comes. That was confusion,' Makhubele added. Frolick agreed that there was confusion in terms of the MK Party's vote. 'The party has now changed the vote three times. What is your final position?' he enquired. In response Makhubele said: 'I am just a new chief. I will make errors so relax. We are voting against this.' DA chief whip George Michalakis said the parliamentary rules did not provide once the voting has closed for parties to change their vote. 'That will be highly irregular to allow parties to change their vote once a vote has closed,' Michalakis said. But, Frolick blamed the confusion on the disorderly conduct that was taking place in the House. 'I called the member on more than one occasion to vote in a particular manner.' He then announced the results that the Second Reading of the Appropriation bill was agreed to with 256 in favour and the MK Party's votes included among the 87 that voted against. 'No abstention and the Second Reading is agreed to,' Frolick said, adding the bill was to be sent to the national Council of Provinces for concurrence. He maintained that even if there was a rerun of the vote, it would not make a material difference on the outcome. Frolick stood his ground when EFF leader Julius Malema maintained that he made a bad judgement because he set a wrong precedent. 'You ruled in our favour but that was not in line. You are making this process to have a problem of legitimacy and credibility. This has to be the most respected process that you don't make the mistake,' said Malema, referring to Frolick when he overruled the MK Party when it was outsmarted by the EFF earlier in objecting and calling for division on the schedule of all the votes. Frolick was unmoved, saying there would no material difference to outcome of the vote. 'The majority voted in support of the Second Reading,' he said. Cape Times
