Puleng Dimpane secures SAPS Top Post
By Bernell Simons
The Presidency has confirmed a dramatic leadership shift at the top of South Africa’s policing
structures, with Cyril Ramaphosa moving to appoint Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane as acting
head of the South African Police Service (SAPS) following the precautionary suspension of National
Commissioner Fannie Masemola.
Announced on Thursday, 23 April 2026, and confirmed publicly on Saturday, the decision marks one
of the most significant shake-ups within SAPS in recent years. It comes at a time of heightened
scrutiny over law enforcement leadership and performance.
Masemola’s suspension is understood to be precautionary and linked to undisclosed matters that
are expected to draw national attention in the coming days. While the government has yet to
release full details, the move has already triggered widespread political and public debate, with
questions mounting around accountability, governance, and stability within South Africa’s policing
structures.
Dimpane steps into the role with extensive experience within SAPS and the broader public service.
Before her appointment, she served as Divisional Commissioner for Financial Management Services,
effectively the police service’s chief financial officer, where she oversaw budgeting, procurement,
and financial governance. Her career, spanning nearly two decades, has included both operational
policing and strategic management roles, earning her a reputation for professionalism and
administrative competence.
Her background in financial oversight is seen as particularly significant at a time when procurement
processes and internal controls within SAPS are under increased scrutiny. Analysts suggest her
appointment is not only about continuity, but also about reinforcing accountability and
strengthening governance within the institution.
Dimpane now assumes command during a period of intense pressure on SAPS. The country
continues to grapple with high levels of violent crime, the expansion of organised criminal networks,
persistent gender-based violence, and growing concerns over public safety. Her leadership will be
critical in maintaining momentum in ongoing crime-fighting operations while stabilising the
institution internally.
Analysts say Ramaphosa’s swift intervention signals a firmer stance on accountability within key
state institutions, particularly as public trust in governance structures faces increasing strain. By
acting decisively, the President appears intent on limiting instability at the top of the police service
while allowing due process to unfold regarding Masemola’s suspension.
Masemola, who was appointed national commissioner in 2022, has overseen several high-profile
anti-crime operations during his tenure. His sudden suspension, however, is likely to intensify
scrutiny over internal dynamics within SAPS and raise broader concerns about leadership resilience
in one of the country’s most critical institutions.
Further announcements from the Presidency and the Police Ministry are expected as South Africans
await clarity on the circumstances behind the suspension and what it may mean for the future
leadership of the police service.
The ongoing conflict in Iran has triggered a prolonged economic shock, with global repercussions for businesses and consumers. Oil prices have been volatile, with Brent crude reaching $107 in early April and forecasts indicating prices could remain above $95 in the near term.
Even a moderation to the $90 range would still leave prices higher than a year ago, with elevated levels expected to persist through 2026.
Disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz are unlikely to be resolved quickly, with time needed to restore confidence in shipping routes, rebuild production capacity and stabilise supply agreements.
For consumers, the impact is expected to be significant. Higher fuel prices will directly affect costs at the pump, while also feeding into broader inflation, given fuel’s role as a key input across the economy. Rising inflation is likely to erode disposable income and weaken real purchasing power.
This could slow inflation-adjusted income growth in 2026, following a stronger 3.3% increase in 2025. There is also a risk of interest rate hikes, while job creation may come under pressure if global growth slows.
The combined effect is expected to be felt through higher transport and food costs, increased bond repayments and wages that struggle to keep pace with living expenses.
Pressure is already visible in consumer credit trends. Unsecured lending is expanding faster than other credit categories, with more frequent borrowing but smaller loan sizes. This suggests consumers are increasingly using credit to cover monthly expenses rather than for asset acquisition.
In the first two quarters of 2025, loan originations rose by 41%, while average opening balances declined by 13%. The trend is particularly pronounced among lower-income groups.
Despite these pressures, the current environment may accelerate long-delayed economic reforms in South Africa. Reduced support from favourable global conditions could push policymakers to prioritise structural changes aimed at boosting growth.
Recent improvements in electricity supply, progress on rail concessions and a major port concession in Durban indicate movement in key sectors. The Government of National Unity (GNU) has also signalled a stronger focus on economic performance amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
However, with reforms expected to take time, households are being urged to act proactively to manage their finances. Reducing large fixed costs, such as housing and vehicle expenses, can provide immediate relief by lowering instalments and associated costs like insurance and maintenance.
Transport expenses also remain a key pressure point, with options such as lift clubs offering potential savings. Cutting discretionary spending — including takeaways, subscriptions and non-essential services — can further ease financial strain.
Maintaining a healthy credit record is increasingly critical in the current climate. Consumers are advised to prioritise essential debt obligations, budget carefully and avoid taking on unnecessary new credit.
Reliance on unsecured loans to cover basic expenses may increase long-term financial risk, while debt review should be considered only as a last resort due to its impact on future access to credit.
While economic reform may strengthen long-term growth prospects, the immediate outlook remains challenging. In the interim, financial discipline and prudent credit management are likely to be key to navigating ongoing uncertainty.
This article was originally posted by IOL
US Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out Saturday evening at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a "would-be assassin."
Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered.
People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents' Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.
"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service," Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.
"They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too," he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.
A screen grab taken from a video filmed by an AFP reporter shows an armed agent climbing over chairs as they move to the stage after loud bangs were heard during the White House Correspondents' dinner at the Washington Hilton.
Repeated security lapses
Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be critically injured. He added that the venue was "not a particularly secure" facility as questions swirled about the president's safety.
Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire. He said he planned to re-schedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.
City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives.
"Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual," Washington police chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters. "A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits."
Trump told reporters that the authorities have gone to the suspect's apartment and "I guess he lives in California."
FBI agents were seen outside a residence in Torrance, California late Saturday, according to an AFP photographer.
The area near the two-story, brown house was blocked off by police tape.
Multiple US news outlets identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, in the southwest of Los Angeles County.
Asked about Allen late Saturday, the FBI did not confirm his identity and told AFP it had nothing to add beyond what was disclosed in news conferences.
A LinkedIn profile with the name "Cole Allen" showed a picture of a man which appeared to match a photo of the suspect shared by Trump.
The social media profile said Allen was a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher.
Glitzy annual gala
During the chaotic incident, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.
Police surrounded the hotel, and helicopters hovered overhead.
The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.
Cabinet members were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.
One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists "shots fired upstairs" as he was rushed out by security.
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear.
A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.
The Washington Hilton where Saturday's gala was taking place was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.
The White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.
Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.
The "Nerd Prom", as attendees dub it, brings together journalists and the who's who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally makes a few cracks of his own, though no comedian was booked this year.
This was originally posted by IOL
The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has raised alarm over the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority’s (ETDP SETA) failure to provide adequate documentary evidence to account for its discretionary grant expenditure, despite the entity maintaining that no funds are missing.
The ETDP SETA appeared before the committee to respond to findings by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), which flagged R637 million linked to discretionary grants. The entity also faced scrutiny over claims that it had been paying R690 000 per month for a vacant building.
While the SETA rejected allegations that it could not account for R637 million, it told MPs the audit finding related to a “limitation of scope” rather than missing funds.
It further argued that the issue instead concerned 179 transactions totalling R116 million. However, AGSA indicated it had not received supporting documentation for those transactions.
Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said the confusion could have been avoided with clearer communication from the entity.
He noted that “the funds had not disappeared but remained in the discretionary grants account,” adding that “clearer communication from the outset would have prevented unnecessary public alarm.”
Despite this, MPs expressed concern that the SETA could not produce sufficient evidence to substantiate how the funds were spent. Members stressed that without proper documentation, AGSA was unable to verify the flow of funds or determine what had happened to the money.
Further concerns were raised over R42 million earmarked for student stipends that was not paid. The committee heard that the amount had been recorded as accruals from May 2024 before being reversed in July 2025.
The ETDP SETA attributed this to human error, an explanation that did little to ease concerns among lawmakers.
The committee also scrutinised the entity’s lease of office space, which reportedly stood empty while staff worked remotely.
Former ETDP SETA chief executive Nombulelo Nxesi told MPs that employees had been instructed to work from home because the head office was unsafe. She said the entity paid a total of R8.9 million over a 13-month “occupancy and transition period.”
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela described the allegations as serious, particularly given the impact on staff.
He told the committee the situation was concerning “particularly given that employees had been left without office space and had to work from home.”
Letsie said the issues pointed to failures in due diligence when the lease agreement was concluded.
“The problems identified after the lease agreement was signed pointed to a lack of proper due diligence.”
He added that “expert inspections and sound professional advice should have been secured before the agreement was concluded.”
He acknowledged that steps had since been taken to address the matter but emphasised that the situation could have been avoided.
This article was originally posted by IOL
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has warned that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) may face a massive influx of claims should it be unsuccessful in defending the claim form used for compensation by claimants in court.
The committee said the fund was likely to find itself in a difficult position for not considering the liabilities arising from the claims.
“The impact of the above is likely to have severe financial consequences for the business of the RAF, which in turn will have a negative knock-on effect on claimants and society as a whole,” said Scopa in its draft report.
Scopa made the observations in a section of the draft report that was considered at its meeting on Friday following an inquiry into the affairs of the RAF.
The report was drafted by the committee’s secretariat on various aspects of the matters traversed during the inquiry undertaken that ran from last year until this year.
Parliamentary legal advisor Fatima Ebrahim said the old claim form introduced in 2008 was in line with the RAF Act, which required claims to be set out in the prescribed form.
Zurenah Smit remains in custody as bail application awaits new judge.
“Our courts have accordingly referred to compliance with this form as the ‘gateway’ to any claim for compensation,” Ebrahim said.
The old form required simple documents such as identifying the insured vehicle, a medical report, the date and place of the accident, the amount claimed, and supporting documents for medical expenses.
However, Ebrahim said the RAF amended the form in 2022 to require “substantial compliance”, which demanded significantly more information and documentation, including specialised reports.
“If a claimant fails to provide all the ‘compulsory’ information and documents at the lodgement stage, the claim will not be registered or allocated a claim number,” she explained.
In its draft report, Scopa said the introduction of the 2022 RAF 1 Form made the claims process largely inaccessible.
It heard evidence that the 2022 RAF 1 Form is complex, difficult to comply with, and costly because of onerous requirements.
The form also increased litigation and did away with direct claims by claimants.
“The committee heard that in the absence of successfully lodging a claim, the claimants would not be able to readily access any assistance from the RAF.”
Scopa also said it heard evidence that the impact of the new requirement resulted in the number of registered claims dropping significantly.
According to the committee, apart from the form being available only in English, the claimants were essentially prevented from lodging direct claims without the assistance of attorneys.
“It appears that the introduction of the 2022 RAF 1 Form has only increased costs, given the legal consequences and the plethora of litigation,” reads the report.
It also said there was no evidence that the board properly interrogated the executive management on the legality of the changes to the form.
“On the contrary, the former board members appear to have merely rubber-stamped decisions taken by executive management,” said Scopa in its findings.
Scopa Chairperson Songezo Zibi said the courts had guided how the form was to be interpreted and how the RAF should apply it, while ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said the draft report made him go cold.
Beesley feared what would happen when a final judgment on the RAF form ruled in favour of those prevented from lodging claims.
“We need to highlight the risk that is real. It makes me so cold. We talk about R500 billion,” said Beesley.
Zibi said the National Treasury has estimated the liability for the RAF at more than R400 billion.
“I agree that we need to put in our recommendations that they (the RAF) must be prepared to reinstate those claims. We should take advice on those that prescribed,” he said.
DA MP Patrick Atkinson said Scopa should make findings against the former board and former CEO Collins Letsoalo, under whom the change in the claim form was made.
“They created this liability to grow when it should not have. What they have done has the potential to break the organisation. They should be held to account,” Atkinson said, adding that they had pursued litigation in hopeless situations.
ANC MP Helen Neale-May said there was concern with the pattern of litigation to change the RAF form.
“Even the court ruled against their efforts to pursue that, which resulted in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. We must put together the total amount spent on litigation,” Neale-May said.
This article was originally posted by IOL
The ANC is scrambling to prevent an imminent crisis ahead of the local government elections by forcing its members and deployees holding dual SACP membership to state which organisation they intend to campaign for.
The move comes as the SACP has told its members not to allow the ANC to push them out of its fold due to the party’s decision to contest the upcoming local government elections independently.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula on Thursday said the party has informed its Tripartite Alliance partners – SACP, Cosatu, and the SA National Civic Organisation – about its decision.
He said the SACP’s decision to contest the upcoming municipal polls independently carried clear organisational consequences.
According to Mbalula, at its special national executive committee (NEC) over the past weekend, the ANC directed that all its members declare whether they will campaign for it or any other political party.
He said the ANC issued a communiqué on Thursday, April 23, and this will be monitored in 10 days. Mbalula indicated that members of the executive at all levels holding dual membership must decide which party they will campaign for.
He said they must declare, not their loyalty, but who they will be campaigning for. According to Mbalula, the ANC respects the SACP’s decision to contest the elections independently and that they are not going to call its ally any names, as its General Secretary Solly Mapaila has done, calling the party “stooges of capital”.
Mbalula also promised that no communists will be hounded out of the ANC and that anyone who does that will face consequences.
“SACP members in the ANC are not our enemies and will not be treated as such… We are not going to force communists out of the ANC.”
Mbalula added that only the national conference, the ANC’s highest decision-making body, can decide to abandon the Tripartite Alliance.
He said it was possible that after the elections, the ANC and the SACP would share the spoils.
“We’ve never looked at the SACP as a party that brings numbers,” added Mbalula.
Mapaila said the SACP has never had a problem with the ANC in its own right and never disciplined and threatened any of its members for campaigning for the ANC.
He described the ANC’s demand for a declaration of allegiance as a serious anti-communist move that will have far-reaching consequences.
Mapaila accused the ANC of wanting subordination and permanent support, which is an approach the SACP rejects with the contempt it deserves.
He said the Tripartite Alliance has always been strategic but has never been about the liquidation of the SACP into the ANC.
Mapaila said the SACP’s secretariat will be talking to some of the party’s members, but has not received any letter from any member resigning following the ANC’s decision.
“We have said (to our members) they must remain where they are, do their duties, they are ANC members in their own right. We don’t have any quota, and they have been given duties and responsibilities,” he added.
Mapaila said the tripartite alliance’s problems did not arise because the SACP chose to contest elections.
“No amount administrative enforcement can resolve a political crisis,” he insisted.
Mapaila categorically stated that the decision to contest elections stands and will continue.
He said in deliberations with the ANC, the only thing that the SACP could not agree on was to change its national congress decision to contest elections independently, when the ANC cannot even change an NEC decision, yet they wanted the party to change its congress decision.
According to Mapaila, as far back as 1993, the SACP warned that if there is degeneration in the liberation movement, ill-discipline, and chaos, “like the chaos we are seeing in ill-discipline, corruption, and other things, we will have to reconsider that commitment”.
This article was originally posted by IOL
