Vrede is a town in the Free State province of South Africa that is the agricultural hub of a 100 km²region. Maize,wheat,mutton,wool,beef,dairy products and poultry are farmed in the region.
Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba is a South African politician who served as Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 February 2018 until his resignation on 13 November 2018. He also held the post from 25 May 2014 to 31 March 2017 as appointed by former President Jacob Zuma. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs,Minister of Public Enterprises and Minister of Finance in the government of South Africa. He is currently a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress.
Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency for South African Defence Force (SADF),now known as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF),and the manufacturing divisions were grouped together under Denel as divisions. It is the largest of South Africa's state owned arms companies. The company had been experiencing major financial problems since 2015 and in 2021 it was announced in Parliament that Denel was on the brink of insolvency. The company stated that its woes were due to declining local defence budgets,weakened relationships with key customers and suppliers,the inability to retain or attract skilled personnel,ongoing salary disputes and a Fitch ratings downgrade.
Corruption in South Africa includes the improper use of public resources for private ends,including bribery and improper favouritism. Corruption was at its highest during the period of state capture under the presidency of Jacob Zuma and has remained widespread,negatively "affecting criminal justice,service provision,economic opportunity,social cohesion and political integrity" of South Africa.
Lynne Brown is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premier of the Western Cape following the resignation of Ebrahim Rasool in July 2008. Previously,she was Minister for Economic Development and Tourism. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and an elected member of its National Executive Committee in 2007 and 2012. She is from a coloured background and was the fourth coloured premier of the Western Cape,the second from the ANC,and the first openly gay person to be appointed to a cabinet post in any African government.
Matjhabeng Municipality is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality,in the Free State province of South Africa. The municipality includes Welkom,Virginia,Odendaalsrus and Allanridge. Matjhabeng is a Sesotho word meaning "where nations meet". It is derived from the migrant labour system where people from various countries like Lesotho,Mozambique,etc. met to work in the mines.
Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who served as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC),South Africa's governing party,between December 2017 and his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier of the Free State,one of South Africa's nine provinces,from 2009 until 2018,and is known to be influential in the ANC of his home province.
Azwihangwisi Faith Muthambi is a South African politician who was the Minister of Public Service and Administration and Minister of Communications under President Jacob Zuma. She represented the African National Congress in the National Assembly from May 2009 to November 2022,and she has been a member of the party's National Executive Committee since December 2017.
Ngoako Ramatlhodi,a senior member of the African National Congress,was South Africa's Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2015 to March 2017. In the first Zuma administration he had been an MP and a controversial member of the Judicial Service Commission. He resigned as MP in 2017.
Duduzile "Dudu" Cynthia Myeni is a South African businesswoman,a former chairperson of South African Airways SOC Limited,and former executive chairperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation since September 2008.
The Gupta family is a wealthy and influential business family from India,with close ties to former South African President Jacob Zuma and his administration. The family's most notable members are the brothers Ajay,Atul,and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun,and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family's business empire in South Africa spanned a variety of industries,including mining,media,and technology. The family name has become synonymous with corruption in South Africa as well as undue influence,and state capture. They have been sanctioned by multiple countries for their activities,with investigations ongoing in both South Africa and the United States. Many prominent South Africans and politicians have been linked to the family's alleged corrupt activities,including members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. The Gupta family has since fled South Africa and their current whereabouts are unknown although since fleeing the country their presence has been reported in Switzerland,the United Arab Emirates (UAE),and Vanuatu.
Bongani Thomas Bongo is a South African politician,whose ANC membership is currently suspended pending the finalisation of a corruption case at the Nelspruit Magistrates Court. Bongo is the former Minister of State Security,a position to which he was appointed on 17 October 2017 by President Jacob Zuma until he was relieved from the post on 28 February 2018. He was the only appointment that had not been a cabinet minister before. He is also the elected President of the University of Limpopo's Alumni and Convocation Association. As the Minister of State Security,Bongo headed the State Security Agency of South Africa.
The Vrede Dairy Project is a South African dairy project established in 2012 on Krynaauwslust Farm,near the town of Vrede,Free State Province. The dairy was established as a public-private partnership with Estina,a Black Economic Empowerment company,as part of the Free State provincial government's agricultural project,Mohoma-Mobung. Estina was given the land under a free 99 year lease.
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture,Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State,better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission,is a public inquiry established in January 2018 by former President Jacob Zuma to investigate allegations of state capture,corruption,and fraud in the public sector in South Africa.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is a registered non-profit Civil Action Organisation,located in Johannesburg,South Africa. The anti-corruption advocacy organisation focuses on tackling government corruption and misappropriation of public funds. It is crowd funded by the public and businesses within the Republic of South Africa.
Elizabeth Cornelia "Elzabe" Rockman is a South African African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council for Finance during the premierships of Ace Magashule and Sisi Ntombela. She was first appointed to the post in March 2013 and left office in May 2019. She was also a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature during that time. From 2010 to 2013,she was the Director-General of the Free State Provincial Government. In October 2019,she testified at the Zondo Commission.
Thamsanqa (Thami) Bhekokwakhe Mabhena is a South African politician. He is currently the Shadow Deputy Minister of Transport and a Member of Parliament (MP) for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).
The Executive Council of the Free State is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African province of the Free State. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the Free State Provincial Legislature by the Premier of the Free State,an office held since March 2018 by Sisi Ntombela of the African National Congress (ANC).
Mxolisi Abraham Dukwana is a South African politician who has been the seventh Premier of the Free State since February 2023. He has also served as Provincial Chairperson of the Free State branch of his political party,the African National Congress (ANC),since January 2023. Prior to his election as Premier,he served in the Free State Executive Council as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs since October 2021.
Motlagomang Grazy Qabathe,commonly known as Mamiki Qabathe,is a South African politician who served in the Executive Council of the Free State as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development from May 2019 until October 2023. Before that,she was Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature from 2015 to 2019. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).
