First Take SA

 A major showdown will take place in the Constitutional Court TODAY (20/08) when it hears the Electoral Commission's urgent application to have the October Local Government Elections postponed. Various political parties and civil society organizations including the ANC, DA, IFP, ATM, One Movement South Africa, Makana Independent New Deal and the Forum for Service Delivery will be pleading their case as to whether the polls should proceed or not. The Western Cape Government through its Local Government MEC, Anton Bredell, in his capacity as the tenth respondent, will also oppose the application.

Several of the opposition parties in Parliament say they will work with the newly-elected National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, even though they were opposed to her nomination to the position. They say they expect Mapisa-Nqakula will reciprocate by respecting all political parties irrespective of their make-up in the house

It's still not known how much it will cost to rebuild the Medupi power station following the recent explosion. Public Enterprise's Director General, Kgathatso Tlhlakudi, revealed this when he was updating Parliament's Portfolio Committee on the state of financial affairs and governance issues at SOEs, as well as the explosion. He says their recovery manager is still assessing the costs

The United States - joined by 19 countries and the European Union - has issued a statement expressing concern about Afghan women and girls - particularly their right to education, work and freedom of movement. The statement comes despite vows from the Taliban to respect women's rights - a position that has been greeted with skepticism given the group's historic treatment of women and girls in particular. United Nations Agencies have urged the Taliban to make good on their promises to protect vulnerable Afghan citizens who continue to bear the brunt of the rapidly evolving situation on the ground as humanitarian needs countrywide remain acute. 

The Democratic Alliance is TODAY expected to oppose the election of former Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as the new speaker of the National Assembly. Mapisa-Nqakula is the ANC's nominee to replace the former speaker, Thandi Modise, who has been appointed as the new Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. The DA has also vowed put forward its own nominee for the position of speaker of parliament while a group called the New Nation Movement has threatened parliament with court action if it proceeds with the election of Mapisa-Nqakula, claiming she is not fit for the position.

Former PRASA Board chairperson, Popo Molefe has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry. During his two-day testimony at the commission last week, Ramaphosa said it was disingenuous for Molefe to tell the commission that the ANC Top Six officials failed to help him fight corruption at PRASA. But, Molefe has hit out at the president and says he knew he was not telling truth about engagements he had with the governing party's top leadership.

The Solicitor General at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Fhedzisa Pandelani, says 35 of the 36 Marikana claimants against the state have been settled following the massacre in August, 2012 at Lonmin Mine in the North West. Pandelani says the total amount that has been paid as compensation to the affected families of the mine workers killed in Marikana to date is almost 70 Million rands. Pandelani however noted that there were other various claims that are yet be attended to.  He also urged the 35 claimants that have been settled to approach the State Attorney's office for any update of their claims. Pandalani says any other outstanding issues regarding other claimants are subject to court processes.

The United Nations Secretary General has told the Security Council that the dreams of a generation of young Afghans, particularly women and girls, hang in the balance. Antonio Guterres was speaking during an emergency session of the Council after the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan including the capital Kabul, over the weekend. President Ashraf Ghani has fled to Tajikistan. Guterres called on the Taliban and all parties to respect and protect international humanitarian law and the rights and freedoms of all persons.

The emergence of the deadly Delta variant in South Africa has retarded the human immunity goals in the country. That's according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases' Dr Melinda Suchard. SA initially intended to vaccinate two-thirds of the population to achieve population immunity. The Delta variant has scuppered these plans. As of last week -- 3.25 million people had received a jab -- with 4 million fully vaccinated. 

Nine years down the line and there's still no accountability for the lives of thirty four people killed by police on the 16th of August 2012 and ten who lost their lives prior to the shocking incident in Marikana in the North West Province. Some political parties are still putting the blame on President Cyril Ramaphosa's door step, who was at the time a shareholder of Lonmin but the Farlam commission found the accusations him were groundless. Recently, former national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega  lost a court bid to set aside the findings of the Marikana Commission