Author: Kgaogelo Magolego

The newly formed Security Personnel Party of South Africa (SPPSA) is hopeful it will gain representation in the City of Tshwane come the November 4th local government elections. The party on Friday marched on the city demanding among others improved conditions of employment for security guards and better service delivery for the capital’s black communities. Most importantly though, said the party, the demonstration, which saw hundreds in branded T-shirts march through the streets of Pretoria and submitting a memorandum of demands at Tshwane House, was aimed at announcing itself as a contender ahead of much anticipated poll. ” We know…

The City of Tshwane is calling on informal traders in and around Pretoria to register on its newly launched database to help them comply with regulations. The City has been cracking down on non-compliant small businesses and now wants to help them operate lawfully. The metro on Friday launched a registration and compliance portal for informal traders, of whom it estimates there are more than 7,000. Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the city is ahead of its counterparts in terms of the registration of spaza shops and other informal businesses. “From our side, as the leadership of the city, we made…

The City of Tshwane believes its efforts to build internal capacity are beginning to bear fruit, with 85 artisans graduating from the municipality’s own training academy and 23 being absorbed into various departments. Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya presided over the graduation ceremony of the 23 artisans, who have been nicknamed Amabutho, a Zulu word meaning “warriors”. She highlighted the financial benefits of developing an in-house workforce to handle the municipality’s repair and maintenance needs. Following the pass-out ceremony, Moya deployed the 23 artisans to various units across the City, where they will work on the repair and maintenance of municipal…

There are calls for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to be decentralised to make it easier to administer and address student concerns. This emerged during Deputy Minister of Higher Education Yusuf Cassim’s visit to Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria. TUT SRC President-General Banele Ntsele expressed frustration that NSFAS is based in Cape Town while students are spread across the country. “Realising NSFAS, it will make issues to be addressed quickly as and when they arise. You must not wait because currently, NSFAS is centralised in Cape Town. Our students, there’s no one. When they go to…

A newly formed political party that campaigns on safety issues has offered a R200,000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest of those involved in Monday’s cash-in-transit (CIT) heist in Mamelodi, outside Pretoria. The attack happened in Extension 16 of the township, leaving two security guards dead and another hospitalised with gunshot wounds. The assailants fled following a shootout with police, which left one officer injured. Gauteng police said the money being transported was not stolen, while firearms and explosives were recovered at the scene. The Security Personnel Party of South Africa (SPPSA) condemned the attack and offered…

Anti-foreigner groups have not made use of opportunities to contribute to laws governing immigration, but have instead opted to complain on social media. This is according to Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who led a media briefing by the Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Immigration in Pretoria on Tuesday. Kubayi said many of the demands made by March and March, as well as other anti-immigration groups, require the government to act unlawfully and therefore cannot be entertained. “So what we are appealing for South Africans is that there are laws in the country. When you say your government must…

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has assured South Africans that the government is engaging its counterparts on the African continent about the factors driving citizens to leave their home countries. Kubayi led a media briefing by South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Immigration in Pretoria, where she said that while the government does not engage its counterparts through the media, “difficult conversations” are being held behind closed doors. “So that’s why you can see the outcome of the summit speaks to that summit (the upcoming summit on immigration), to say that there’s a need for cooperation. There’s a…

The number of people queuing outside the embassies of several African countries in Pretoria to be repatriated has dropped significantly, with only small groups now turning out. Just under 100,000 people were repatriated between June and August amid a wave of anti-immigration protests. Initially, hundreds of people stood in long, winding queues outside the Nigerian High Commission in Hatfield. However, only a handful of people remain. The High Commissioner continues to provide support to Nigerians wishing to return home, with registration for those wanting to board the next flight out of South Africa set to take place on Thursday. Officials…

The ANC has not ruled out taking legal action against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) over the failure to register some of the party’s candidates for the upcoming local government elections. ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa was campaigning in Tembisa when he told the media that the party was considering all available options, including litigation. Ramaphosa expressed hope that an agreement could be reached with the IEC but did not rule out court action. “Well, there were some glitches with regard to the interface with the IEC system. The candidate list was there for the whole country. This is…

A stand-off is continuing between the ANC and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) over the party’s claim that its failure to register the names of some candidates for the upcoming local government elections was due to technical failures on the online portal — a claim refuted by the IEC. During a media briefing held at its Centurion headquarters, the IEC also denied ever promising to entertain late candidate submissions by the ANC or any of the 45 political parties it said had missed the deadline. “There are 45 parties who have captured but have not submitted, and we will be…