Morning Brief – Friday, 5 August 2022

Good morning. Today we’re covering Investec’s decision to pay millions of rands for its executive directors’ personal security. Kagiso residents assaulted 19 people who are allegedly in SA illegally. Sahpra has confirmed a death linked to taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

Investec budgets up to R2m for each executive’s protection – Business Day (for subscribers)

With concerns around rising crime levels, Investec says it will pay over R2 million to cover the personal security costs of its executive directors in South Africa.

The banking and wealth management group said during its annual general meeting on Thursday that a resolution, approved by 99.79% of shareholders means the personal security costs of the SA-based executive directors will be borne by the bank and will no longer be part of their fixed income.

There were questions over whether this new resolution was reasonable given the high inequality and poverty that exists in South Africa but the chairperson of Investec’s remuneration committee, Henrietta Baldock, said the bank did not see the security costs as an increase of the executive’s fixed pay. Read more here.

WATCH | 19 people allegedly assaulted by protesting Kagiso residents in SA illegally – ex-top cop – News24

Residents of Kagiso, a township in Krugersdorp, took to the streets on Thursday to protest illegal miners.

The protests turned violent when residents assaulted 19 people, they believed to be illegal miners with one man found dead, and his shack was torched, claims former acting Gauteng police commissioner Major-General Tommy Mthombeni.

Mthombeni added that the 19 people that were assaulted were also found to have been in South Africa illegally. Read more here.

Sahpra confirms fatality linked to COVID-19 vaccination – EWN

For the first time, South Africa has recorded a death following immunisation for Covid-19 using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) said due to patient confidentiality, no details regarding the case may be released.

The patient was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a disorder that attacks the body’s nervous system and is associated with taking various vaccines but can also be triggered by infections, including the SARS-CoV2 virus. Read more here.