As part of measures to address the FATF recommendations Zulu was scheduled to provide an update to the public “regarding the registration and deregistration of non-compliant non-profit organisations”.
The FATF regards NPOs as “vulnerable” to abuse for the financing of terrorism including being conduits for funds.
As part of steps taken to address this the government recently amended the Non-Profit Organisation Act, of which the social development department is a custodian, to ensure transparency and accountability.
Zulu's communications team sent out a reminder about the briefing at about 7am on Sunday, three hours before the briefing was to be held in Hatfield, Pretoria.
But as media gathered, it was announced that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the briefing had to be shelved.
An insider said staff were mortified at the last-minute postponement with no reason to give to media who had turned up.
Zulu told TimesLIVE on Sunday afternoon: “I called off the briefing because I was not in a good space.”
She did not provide details but said it was related to a personal matter.
“I will have to talk to my office about when we can reschedule.”
TimesLIVE
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Lindiwe Zulu cans important briefing at last minute because of 'personal issue'
The minister said she was not in a good space and her office would communicate about rescheduling
Image: GCIS
A “personal issue” forced social development minister Lindiwe Zulu to postpone at the last minute on Sunday an important media briefing meant to outline progress made in addressing failures to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing.
Earlier this year, watchdog body the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed South Africa on a greylist, which would mean increased monitoring, after it failed to address shortcomings the task force identified in its 2019 evaluation.
The decision, according to reports, has serious implications for the country, more specifically its financial services sector and ability to attract investment.
As part of measures to address the FATF recommendations Zulu was scheduled to provide an update to the public “regarding the registration and deregistration of non-compliant non-profit organisations”.
The FATF regards NPOs as “vulnerable” to abuse for the financing of terrorism including being conduits for funds.
As part of steps taken to address this the government recently amended the Non-Profit Organisation Act, of which the social development department is a custodian, to ensure transparency and accountability.
Zulu's communications team sent out a reminder about the briefing at about 7am on Sunday, three hours before the briefing was to be held in Hatfield, Pretoria.
But as media gathered, it was announced that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the briefing had to be shelved.
An insider said staff were mortified at the last-minute postponement with no reason to give to media who had turned up.
Zulu told TimesLIVE on Sunday afternoon: “I called off the briefing because I was not in a good space.”
She did not provide details but said it was related to a personal matter.
“I will have to talk to my office about when we can reschedule.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
SA takes key step to escape from global greylist
EDITORIAL | No grey area: SA cannot be seen as a money-laundering haven
Treasury worked hard to keep greylisting concerns to a minimum, Ramaphosa tells MPs
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