Author: Kgaogelo Magolego

UMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party has urged the government not to submit to pressure from US government to change its policies. The party said during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Friday that aggression by the US was meant to bully South Africa into among others withdrawing support for Palestine and distancing itself from historical allies Russia and China. MK Secretary General Floyd Shivambu said the aggression by the Donald Trump was somewhat of a knee jerk reaction to what he believes to be the end of US dominance over the rest of the world. “If anything what we should learn…

uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK Party) says it will launch a programme to counter Afriforum and Solidarity Movement’s alleged misinformation campaign. MK Party briefed the media in Johannesburg on Friday and rejected the groups’ agenda vowing to launch a multifaceted counter-campaign. “uMkhonto Wesizwe raises concerns about the reactionary and racially motivated narratives pushed by groups such as Afroforum and Solidarity. We will launch a robust media campaign including programs like demonstrations, and legal and parliamentary programs to counter attempts at secession and division, such as an attempt to break out the Western Cape province into an independent country. We will not agree to the subdivision of…

The political landscape of South Africa’s national coalition government has become increasingly precarious following the contentious passage of the recent budget, which the Democratic Alliance (DA) opposed. The budget was approved by Parliament yesterday without the backing of the DA, the second-largest party in the Government of National Unity (GNU). This development has prompted high-level meetings among the coalition’s major players as they contemplate the future of the GNU itself. In response to the contentious budget approval, the DA has announced its intention to file a legal challenge, setting the stage for a potential political showdown. The party’s Federal Executive,…

There’s mounting pressure on the Democratic Alliance to leave the Government of National Unity and give up ministerial positions after failing to stop the passing of South Africa’s national budget. The second largest party in the country and key player in the GNU unsuccessfully tried to use the budget process to blackmail the ANC into reversing some transformative policies such as the Expropriation Act, BELA Act and the National Health Insurance. The rest of the parties in the GNU supported the budget during a parliamentary vote on Wednesday which includes a 0.5 % increase in Value Added Tax. Action SA…

The City of Tshwane says having achieved financial stability, it is now focusing on strengthening the capital’s economy by among others creating energy sufficiency in order carry out rollout of massive infrastructure. Mayor Nasiphi Moya briefed the media in Pretoria and said the plan includes revitalising the city’s own power stations that have been neglected for years. Moya said among others the city is looking at converting waste into energy to meet its electricity needs. The Mayor said funding has already been provided for the pilot phase of the project. “We’re going to take an approach that once this work starts,…

The Democratic Alliance and Action SA have gone on a full public relations war as the fallout over the budget Action SA declared it had managed to convince the ANC that no VAT increase be implemented but the DA disagreed calling the move a “sellout tactic”. “ActionSA has done a deal with the ANC to pass a 1% VAT hike over the next 2 years, making life more expensive. The DA condemns this sell-out tactic by ActionSA, which has worked with the ANC to adopt the Budget and has condemned South Africans to a higher cost of living,” said the…

The future of South Africa’s coalition government termed the Government of National Unity once again hangs in the balance as the two biggest parties, the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance disagree over the country’s budget. The DA, the second largest party in South Africa and a key player in the GNU has vowed to not support the budget unless the ANC meets a number of demands it has put forward that include the scrapping of the Expropriation Act as well as other transformative pieces of legislation ( BELA Act and National Health Insurance) and the privatisation of the…

The Democratic Alliance’s position has become increasingly threatened in South Africa’s Government of National Unity. The DA’s decreasing influence in the GNU follows its consistent opposition to any form of transformation, which has often embarrassed even its own representatives in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet. The DA has opposed the National Health Insurance, the BELA Act and the Expropriation Act, all laws meant to bring about equality in South Africa following some 250 years of colonialism and apartheid which saw blacks oppressed while whites enjoyed unrestrained benefits including job reservation. The party is currently challenging the various laws in court and…

Public Works Minister Dean McPherson has come out strongly in defence of the Expropriation Act, a law challenged by his party the Democratic Alliance. McPherson said it would be foolhardy for any country to think it could carry out a development agenda without laws allowing the state to expropriate land. McPherson briefed the media on his department’s plan of turning South Africa into a construction site through a rollout of massive infrastructure projects and said such ambitions could be frustrated by greedy land owners. “Any country that wants to grow its economy, wants to expand ports,  wants to expand rail, wants…

President Cyril Ramaphosa is demanding a swift crackdown on the so-called ‘water mafia’ known for sabotaging infrastructure to create opportunities for their tankering businesses. Across the country municipalities are increasingly relying on the tankering businesses to supply water to communities as infrastructure breakdowns become increasingly an everyday occurrence. Ramaphosa addressed the two-day National Water Indaba at the Galagher Convention Center in Midrand on Thursday and said it was time to confront criminal gangs operating in the sector. “There are people who make it their business to go and cut water lines to create businesses for themselves so that they can…