Author: Kgaogelo Magolego
ANC Gauteng Chairman and Premier Panyaza Lesufi has vowed to go toe to toe with the Democratic Alliance which he accuses of hijacking the liberation movement. Lesufi who addressed the ANC 113th anniversary rally in Alexandra, outside Johannesburg said the former opposition ( now partner in the Government of National Unity) was using its position in the coalition to negatively influence internal ANC affairs. Lesufi said the DA was targeting in particular the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee he leads in retaliation after he left it out of his cabinet. “We are running government here in Gauteng without the DA. We…
The ANC is confident it will not be overrun by the DA and expressed confidence it has the former opposition in a corner. As President Cyril Ramaphosa convened a cabinet Lekgotla this week, him and his ANC colleagues were expected to ignore threats by the DA not to allocate funds for implementation of disputed programmes such as the National Health Insurance (NHI) which were all signed into law amid fierce opposition from the blue party. The DA on Tuesday threatened to not support the budget should the ANC not budge but the party through Secretary General Fikile Mbalula dismissed the threat likening it to blackmail. This…
The DA went into the Government of National Unity with a publicly stated objective of preventing the ANC from working with what it calls corrupt Economic Freedom Fighters and uMkhonto Wesizwe Party but finds itself making headlines for not-so-glorious activities. This after a criminal charge of defeating the ends of justice has been laid against DA Federal Council chair Helen Zille. The National Coloured Congress’s Fadiel Adams has opened a case this week with the complaint related to the police’s raid that happened at Civic Centre. Zille allegedly exposed herself to have known about a HAWKS investigation against two City…
In an unprecedented escalation of hostilities the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame has threatened war against South Africa if it maintained a presence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Kagame, a military strongman, made the threat in direct reply to South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media platform X. “If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” said Kagame.…
The government has denied claims that South African National Defense Force (SANDF) soldiers deployed in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lack basic weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Several ministers briefed the media on the sidelines of the cabinet Lekgotla on Wednesday in Pretoria and pushed back against the narrative of a weak national defence force. Defence Minister Angie Motshekga who was leading the briefing said she was in Goma around the time of the escalation and had the assurance of senior officers that there was enough military gear and supplies. “As I say I was in Goma and went to…
The biggest players in the Government of National Unity have vowed to stick together despite being frustrated with each other over serious ideological differences. The ANC are the largest and second largest in the GNU, compromising of 10 parties and on Tuesday they separately undertook to stay the course even as they continue to differ on key issues of transformation. The DA briefed the media at its offices in Johannesburg and said the GNU was the most ‘precious’ thing in South Africa at the moment. “The GNU is the most precious thing for South Africa at the moment, to the…
The suspicion around the company, partly owned by the South African government, coincides with claims that the South African National Defence Force lacks basic military equipment and would have been out of their depths against M23 rebels in Eastern DRC where 13 South Africans were killed this week as the rebels advance towards the city of Goma.ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said the government is yet to see proof that Rheinmetall Denel Munition ( partly owned by the government) was shipping arms to countries it is not supposed to be supplying.“ We have not seen any proof really and we…
The ANC has called for calm as calls mount for the recall of South African soldiers currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The calls for the soldiers’ return follows this week’s killing of 13 of them at the hands of rebel group M23 which has advanced towards the city of Goma, the provincial capital of Eastern DRC. “The ANC extends its deepest condolences to the families of the SANDF soldiers who tragically lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the UN Mission deployed in the…
The party briefed the media in Johannesburg on Tuesday and slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa for signing the expropriation bill into law without consulting coalition partners. DA Leader John Steenhuisen said the ANC wrongly regarded the GNU as an extension of the sixth administration in which the liberation movement had a clear majority. “We need to dispel the misconception that this is an extension of the sixth administration, its not, this is a new government altogether,” said Steenhuisen. He said the ANC also confused being the largest party in the coalition into being a majority party. “We are all minorities in…
The divisions within the African National Congress (ANC) continue to deepen, as Secretary General Fikile Mbalula issued a stern warning to potential defectors contemplating a move to the newly formed uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP). His remarks follow a troubling trend within the ANC, suggesting that former President Jacob Zuma’s influence remains a persistent albatross around the party’s neck, jeopardising its unity and electoral prospects. During a media briefing held in Johannesburg, Mbalula reflected on the ANC’s expectations regarding Zuma’s MKP, predicting an appeal to some disgruntled members of the ruling party. However, he insisted that mass defections are unlikely. “You…