Morning Brief: Final Zondo report expected this week

All eyes on Zondo as fifth part of state capture report released – News24

We’ve finally reached the end of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, with the expected release of the fifth and last report due out this week. News24 reports, that after many extensions the commission has a Wednesday deadline to hand over its final report. The latest report will arrive at a politically charged moment in the country as President Cyril Ramaphosa faces the greatest scandal of his presidency thus far. Former spy boss Arthur Fraser has opened a criminal case against the president for an alleged cover-up of a $4 million cash heist on his Phala Phala farm in 2020. But Fraser will surely face some heat of his own this week as the fifth instalment of the Zondo report will bring the dealings of the State Security Agency into focus. Fraser is expected to be heavily implicated. Read more here. (For subscribers)

Tenderstorm hits Zondo office over Thomson Reuters contract on eve of State Capture final report – Daily Maverick 

Meanwhile, three staff members of Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s office seem to have transformed into overnight millionaires following a tender bidding process. The trio are said to have allegedly arranged an R255 million IT tender before handing in their resignations and becoming partners with the winning bidder. The contract has all the traits of many of the corrupt deals that the chief justice has been investigating during the course of the State Capture Commission. Read more here.

South Africa not getting new R500 bank note & R10 coin – The Citizen

Despite inflationary pressures and higher consumer price inflation, we will not get an R500 note and R10 coin says the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The SARB had to rebuff rumours that began circulating on social media that the central bank was ready to introduce the new banknote. The SARB has said that it continuously researches whether it should introduce a higher denomination currency, but this would only be the case if the highest denomination, the R200 note, is the most circulated banknote. The SARB has not found this to be the case yet. Read more here.