Author: Kgaogelo Magolego

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has positioned himself as a strong contender to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose terms as ANC president and South African president end in 2027 and 2029, respectively. While current Deputy President Paul Mashatile is not widely regarded as a natural successor, speculation is growing about potential candidates across the party’s factions. Speaking to the media, Mbalula emphasized that he is not part of any faction. “I address events sanctioned by the ANC. People sang about me at the January 8th celebrations and at the National General Council, but that does not go to my head,”…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended his pro-capital policy direction, arguing that his approach does not amount to neoliberalism but is instead a necessary strategy to enable State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to fulfil their developmental mandate. “It is often said that what we are doing is neoliberalism. That is not true. What we are doing is finding private capital to finance our developmental agenda,” the President said. Ramaphosa pointed to the construction of several major national roads as examples of successful partnerships with the private sector that did not result in privatisation. He noted that key routes such as the N3 and…

The government has conceded that inadequate and unreliable infrastructure in many rural areas and some townships has worsened the impact of flooding across parts of the country. Minister in the Presidency for Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, made the admission while responding to Newsnote during a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday. “Yes, we must acknowledge that infrastructure challenges are a contributing factor to the devastating nature of the floods currently being experienced in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga,” Ramokgopa said. She expressed the government’s sadness over the loss of life, extending sympathies and condolences to the 37 families who have…

Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has raised concerns that too few learners are taking pure mathematics in high school, a trend he says limits career opportunities and undermines South Africa’s skills base. Briefing the media in Pretoria, Manamela said growing enrolment in mathematical literacy instead of pure maths, together with low pass rates in mathematics, science and accounting, poses a serious challenge for the post-school education system. He warned that poor subject choices exclude learners from high-demand fields such as engineering, health sciences, ICT and data science, weakening the country’s ability to drive industrialisation, innovation and economic growth. Manamela also…

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has successfully retained Ward 57 in Lyttleton, Centurion, fending off a strong challenge from the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) in an area long regarded as a DA stronghold. The by-election was triggered by the death of DA councillor David Farquharson in October last year after a period of illness. The contest was marked by intense campaigning, with tensions escalating between the DA and the FF Plus, traditionally regarded as political allies. Earlier this week, the FF Plus lodged an official complaint accusing the DA of running a negative campaign, alleging that the DA had claimed…

The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of running a misleading campaign in Tshwane’s Ward 57 in Centurion, prompting the party to lodge a formal complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The FF Plus claims the DA has been telling residents that voting for the FF Plus would effectively hand the ward to the African National Congress (ANC). The allegations emerged amid intense campaigning outside voting stations as parties compete for the support of the ward’s approximately 18,000 registered voters. FF Plus Tshwane leader Adrian Theunessun said the DA’s campaign was based on “lies…

A Soshanguve man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his younger brother in a crime the court found was driven by greed. The Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court also sentenced 40-year-old Dineo Cambrige Baloyi to an additional five years for conspiracy to commit murder. The court found that Baloyi planned and executed the killing with his girlfriend in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria. The pair devised the plan after discovering that Baloyi’s younger brother, Lethabo Baloyi (27), stood to inherit their mother’s estate. The mother, an employee of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), was frequently deployed…

The ANC Tshwane Regional Executive has expressed confidence ahead of Wednesday’s by-election in Ward 57 in Centurion, where the party hopes to unseat the Democratic Alliance. The ward became vacant following the death of a DA councillor. Speaking on the sidelines of the final leg of campaigning, ANC Tshwane regional spokesperson Joel Masilela ka Mahlangu said the party had run a strong campaign and received positive feedback from residents in what has long been a DA stronghold. “You definitely don’t go into a battlefield with the intention of losing. We are hopeful because the candidate we are fielding, Comrade Elias…

Families of victims of several brutal killings have voiced growing frustration over what they describe as painfully slow progress in the justice system, after court proceedings in high-profile murder cases were postponed in Pretoria this week. Suspects linked to the Jukulyn mass shooting, as well as the killing of Mamelodi cousins Baleseng Moramaga (21) and Tshiamo Moramaga (22), appeared in separate courts where their cases were postponed — much to the dismay of grieving relatives who packed the courtrooms seeking justice. Phindile Ndwandwe, whose children narrowly escaped the 2023 New Year’s Eve shooting that claimed four lives, said repeated delays…

It remains unclear who in the South African armed forces or the government Iran should be allowed to continue participating in the recent navy drill held in Simon’s Town, Capetown after President Cyril Ramaphosa issued an instruction for Iran’s vessels to be withdrawn from the display. The exercise, part of a broader strategic cooperation among BRICS countries and their partners, includes Iran alongside Russia, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, and the UAE. Pressure from pro-USA lobby groups saw President Ramaphosa getting cold feet ordering that Iran’s participation be reduced to observing the exercise, a directive that was either…