The African National Congress (ANC) says it is prepared to engage political parties, civic movements and independent candidates as it seeks to establish coalition governments following its losses in the 2026 Local Government Elections. The party’s Special Extended National Executive Committee (NEC), which met from Thursday to Friday, has mandated its leadership to begin coalition negotiations in municipalities where no political party secured an outright majority. In a statement released on Friday, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said engagements with…
The Department of Basic Education says it is encouraged by the successful administration of the first Grade 4 assessments aligned with the newly introduced Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) programme, describing it as a significant advancement in the country’s early learning strategy. The assessments began on Monday, with learners tested in Natural Science and Technology, while Mathematics assessments are taking place today, both conducted in the learners’ mother tongues. According to the department, this marks an important milestone in South…
The North West Department of Education has concluded the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations without any reported incidents. The exams, which began on 21 October, officially ended on Thursday. According to the department, 45,336 candidates across the province sat for the examinations — comprising 41,813 full-time and 3,523 part-time learners. The exams were administered across all four education districts. Speaking on YOU FM Newshour, departmental spokesperson Vuyo Mantshule credited the smooth running of the examinations to strong collaboration among…
Dramatic scenes unfolded in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial on Thursday when Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng lost patience with warring legal teams, bluntly ordering defence advocate Charles Mnisi to “shut up” during a heated clash over evidence disclosure. The outburst came after defence lawyers accused state prosecutor Advocate George Baloyi of failing to properly share a Primrose police station cell register before introducing it as evidence. Baloyi insisted the document had been shown and the defence showed no interest – a…