Latest news with #Ntshavheni
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Greylist exit in sight: SA braces for make-or-break Financial Action Task Force inspection
South Africa is set to take the final step toward exiting the Financial Action Task Force greylist Image: File photo South Africa is set to take the final step toward exiting the Financial Action Task Force greylist, with an international assessment team scheduled to arrive in the country next week for an on-site evaluation. The FATF Africa Joint Group will visit South Africa on July 29 and 30, 2025, to verify progress made in strengthening the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems. IOL previously reported that the country was placed on the greylist due to its failure to adhere to the FATF's requirements in dealing with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terrorism (CFT). This visit is the final requirement before the FATF decides at its October plenary whether the country can be removed from the greylist. Since being greylisted in 2023, the country has worked hard to complete 22 action items required by the FATF These include improving investigations and prosecutions of serious money laundering and terrorist financing cases, enhancing transparency around company ownership and enforcing stronger penalties for violations. Earlier this year, the watchdog also confirmed South Africa had substantially completed the Action Plan, allowing the on-site visit to proceed. 'At its June 2025 Plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that South Africa has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment to verify that the implementation of AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future,' FATF said. During a media briefing last week, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni spoke about the upcoming FATF inspection, saying it was important for the country to be removed from the list and expressed hope that South Africans would behave. "The FATF inspection date, they are coming on the 29th and 30th of July 2025, so I hope South Africans will behave, the visitors will be here, we need to get out of the greylisting, it's important for all of us that we," Ntshavheni said. IOL Business [email protected] Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
A coup? Here's what makes SA most vulnerable to attacks
The NSS stated that a disregard for the state's authority was growing, fuelled by the malicious use of communication platforms. A National Security Strategy (NSS) document published this week gives an overview of the greatest dangers posed to South Africa's stability. Threats of a possible coup d'état were raised by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni as the country still reels from allegations made by a senior police official. Neither Ntshavheni nor the NSS document elaborate on any specific groups which could carry out a coup, amplifying calls for the minister to furnish the nation with proof of her claims. SA 'remains stable' The redacted NSS document released on 15 July stated that domestically, the primary risks were those that undermined the state's functionality and the physical vulnerability of citizens. The report listed organised crime, gangsterism and illegal migration as breeding grounds of instability — all tied together with the consistent use of illegal firearms. 'Illegal migrants create 'no-go' areas in South Africa that violate the sovereignty of the country and undermine the authority of the state. 'The threat to socio-economic stability is caused by, among others, violent community protests as well as instability in the labour, transport and education sectors,' read the NSS. The NSS stated that a disregard for the state's authority was growing, fuelled by the malicious use of communication platforms. 'In order to destabilise the social and political situation in South Africa, inaccurate information is distributed, including deliberately false reports about the threat of terrorist acts,' read the document. However, it concluded that 'South Africa remains a stable country', despite the number of internal social ills. African and global threats Outside South Africa's borders, threats to the Southern African Development Community primarily stemmed from poverty. 'Poverty and underdevelopment are the overriding human security challenge. Violence and crime feature strongly in the region as both a cause and symptom of underdevelopment,' the NSS states. 'The level and extent of terrorism as an asymmetric threat is contingent on the extent to which major demographic, socio-economic, developmental and governance issues are addressed,' it explained. This leads to a continental spread that sees the 'expansion of ungoverned and ungovernable spaces, transnational militancy, organised crime and trafficking'. Globally, the digital age has removed the geographical limits of crimes, leaving nations open to international crime, terrorism, sabotage and trafficking networks. However, Deputy Minister of Defence Bantu Holomisa said on Thursday that coups were not discussed on social media. Holomisa was one of the last leaders to successfully stage a coup south of the Limpopo when he took control of the Transkei civilian government in December 1987 as chief of the Transkei Defence Force. 'We are not expecting conventional warfare in South Africa. The major threat I foresee is civil disobedience, where we are asked by the police to assist and protect them,' said Holomisa while conducting an oversight visit at 1 Military Hospital. Digital insurgency Digital communications have also been highlighted by a European body as a platform for plotting social unrest and insurgency. A study by the German Council for Foreign Relations (GCFR) states that insurgent groups were most likely to use multiple online platforms to mobilise. 'There is a playbook available to plan a coup based on digitally maximising on- and offline capabilities to amplify a cause and push for mobilisation,' states the GCFR. However, no group or sector of society has been identified as having the resources or organisational capacity to pose a threat to the South African government. This has led Ntshavheni's opponents to insist that the minister or the security cluster reveal the source of her coup claims. 'She must tell us who, what and where,' said uMkhonto weSizwe (MP) party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela. 'She has already told the public, now she must give us details and stop politicking,' he concluded. NOW READ: 'A coup is not discussed on social media': Holomisa says no need to press panic buttons
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Are we now supposed to stay awake at night watching out for coup plotting bogeymen?
South Africans live under the constant threat of crime. Should we now worry about a possible coup against the current government? I must admit, after that media briefing by Ntshavheni, which was supposed to be about 'the national security strategy in light of the recent budget debate concerning the State Security Agency', I had a good night's sleep. I even had some lovely dreams, including one where a new government had suddenly come to power and begun rescuing our beautiful but beleaguered Mzansi from all the crime, corruption, unemployment, poverty and inequality. Should the citizenry sleep better at night going forward knowing that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his trusted minister are taking care of business? Or, should we be worried, afraid that the atrociously performing government is at risk of being suddenly replaced? This week's 'startling' comments by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni about the "risk" of a coup raise a number of questions. A coup d'état is not always a bad thing. It depends on the new leadership's intentions or programmes for the country and its citizens. So, don't let the minister scare you. The people of Libya saw an improvement in their lived reality after Muammar Gaddafi's coup, which is why the 1969 takeover is also known as a revolution – the 1 September Revolution. And there are many different kinds of coups, including a version that is increasingly becoming more common in recent times – self-coups. Unlike the standard violent and illegal ones launched by small groups for their own narrow benefit, self-coups are where a legally installed leader decides to stay in power illegally, renders the national legislature powerless and assumes dictatorial powers. In some cases self-coups or autocoups happen when, as seen at the beginning of the Trump 2.0 administration with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the leader assumes and uses powers not given to him or her by the constitution and other laws. It is that kind of coup that Mzansi must be afraid of. I wasn't startled or shook by Ntshavheni's briefing. But why did she decide to burden poor fellow South Africans with such weighty matters? We already sleep with one eye open because of crime. And we have that real-life bogeyman in the White House threatening to destroy our economy every week. Are we now supposed to keep our weary eyes peeled looking out for coup plotters too?
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Sisulu Foundation slams Ntshavheni's ‘coup' remarks as 'deeply irresponsible'
In a shocking revelation, Ntshavheni claimed that the security cluster had identified potential risks of a coup in the country. The Walter and Albertina Sisulu Foundation has criticised Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni's claim that South Africa's security services had detected a potential coup d'état. The foundation said such remarks are 'deeply irresponsible, dangerous, and, in the current political climate, reckless in the extreme.' Coup In a shocking revelation on Tuesday, Ntshavheni claimed that the security cluster had identified potential risks of a coup in the country. Ntshavheni said the State Security Agency (SSA) and all relevant law enforcement agencies are actively working to prevent any uprisings or violent protests, similar to those seen during the July 2021 unrest. 'Irresponsible' The Walter and Albertina Sisulu Foundation slammed Ntshavheni, saying the coup claims are 'irresponsible, dangerous and damaging to South Africa's democracy.' 'To utter such claims on the parliamentary record—without presenting evidence, without public briefing, and without accountability—is not merely careless; it verges on fearmongering by executive design. 'Let's be clear: this statement was made in the immediate aftermath of the suspension, on paid leave, of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, a key ally of President Ramaphosa, whose name has become entangled in serial allegations of political interference and suppression of forensic investigations,' the foundation claimed. ALSO READ: Are we safe? Ntshavheni says security cluster detected potential risks of a coup [VIDEO] 'Damning' The foundation claimed the timing of Ntshavheni's statement is 'damning.' 'It arrives just as public scrutiny of the president's handling of the police crisis reaches fever pitch. The appointment of a non-MP acting police minister (within his powers), the creation of yet another judicial commission (the fifth of his presidency), and the president's silence on Phala Phala have already enraged citizens. No wonder trust is collapsing. 'Ntshavheni's coup narrative functions as a classic deflection tactic—to distract public and parliamentary attention from real accountability questions. Instead of answers, we get an unverified claim of a coup attempt, floated in the most public forum of the land, then immediately dropped with no follow-up.' It said. Parliament must act The foundation said Parliament has a duty to act against Ntshavheni. Ntshavheni must be held accountable for her statements. If she has the intelligence to substantiate her remarks, she must provide it. 'If she does not, then her words should be withdrawn—and censured. The legislature must reclaim its oversight function and reassert the supremacy of constitutional order over political theatre,' the foundation said. The foundation said South Africans have a right to 'demand better: truth, transparency, and constitutional accountability. Not paranoia, not spin, not distraction. And certainly not ministers weaponising fear from the floor of Parliament.' ALSO READ: 'Ramaphosa will go down in history as one of the most useless presidents' – analyst
The Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Talk of coup in South Africa unrealistic, say experts
'There is definitely weakness in our security and there are comprehensive recommendations about the national intelligence, not crime and military intelligence, but the national State Security Agency. However, there has been little progress in implementation,' Kotze said. 'One reason is that intelligence in general has been politicised. People talk about it being 'weaponised'. It's used in internal ANC politics to compromise people and gather information, not necessarily for national security reasons.' Kotze said the report Ntshavheni based the risk of a coup on does not identify a coup as an immediate or short-term risk. 'I think it's a bit of an overstatement to say a coup is imminent based on what's in the actual document. From what I see in the assessment, it's not stated in that way,' he said. Advocate Sipho Mantula, a law expert, said South Africa would be able to respond to any threats. He said a coup is normally led by the military. 'What I read there was more about the idea that if the president takes action against Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi [KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner] or proceeds with the case against him, it might cause unrest similar to what we saw in the July 2021 unrest.' He said Ntshavheni should have detailed what sort of coup she was talking about. 'So you can't just come out and say those things. I think the issue of the special task force wearing uniforms that resemble military attire was perhaps a misunderstanding.' SowetanLIVE
