First Take SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government must strive to be an entrepreneurial state by being more innovative, by taking risks and adopting an investment driven approach in its leadership. Ramaphosa says government has often outsourced the services consultants to address its lack in capability however that has not yielded positive results. Ramaphosa says the role of the state has once again been brought into the spotlight by COVID-19 which now presents an opportunity to bring about transformation in government. The President was participating in a virtual master class in governance led by World renowned Economist and member of the South Africa's Presidential Economic Advisory Council Mariana Mazzucato.

Cabinet says the country is on track with its COVID-19 vaccination programme, and announced that it will extend the roll-out programme to 54 vaccine sites across the country. Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni made the announcement following Wednesday's (24/03) cabinet meeting. Cabinet also discussed the debt crisis facing higher education students, the country's unstable energy system, and the upcoming Easter long weekend in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Another North West Department is reported to have failed to spend its allocated grant by national treasury and as such, was requested to take back the money. The provincial human settlements department, has lost a hundred-million rand allocated for housing in the 2019/2020 financial year. The money has been re-allocated to other provinces. This comes against the backdrop of a huge housing backlog in the province. Beneficiaries for houses believe failure by government to provide them with houses, infringe on their rights to proper housing as enshrined in the bill of rights.

Farm workers from about 20 farms in the Cape Town and the Klein Karoo region say there's very little respect for the human rights of farm workers as the country celebrates Human Rghts Day. The workers are meeting in Stellenbosch where they shared their frustrations on issues including illegal evictions, sub-standard housing and non-compliance with the minimum wage.

Seventy-two-year-old amaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has been laid to rest at the KwaDlamahlahla palace in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal, in a ceremony called ukutshalwa in the early hours of this (Thurs) morning. In Zulu culture, the term ukutshalwa refers to the belief that a King never dies but that he is planted. The longest serving Zulu monarch died from COVID-19 complications last week. He has been hailed for reviving Zulu culture, strong traditional leadership and leading the call for many social challenges like the fight against HIV/Aids.

Deputy President David Mabuza has answered questions on wide ranging issues in the National Assembly. These included land redistribution, loadshedding and Eskom's turn around strategy as well as ensuring that the acquisition of Covid-19 vaccines will not be tainted by corruption.

The EFF's application in the High Court in Pretoria to have the bank statements and financial records of donors to President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential campaign, also known as CR17, unsealed will continue TODAY. The Deputy Judge President, Audbrey Ledwaba, sealed the CR17 financial records in August 2019 after Ramaphosa's legal team argued they were illegally obtained by the Public Protector during her investigation into his campaign. The EFF brought an application in the high court asking for the documents to be unsealed.

A hybrid sitting of the National Assembly has voted in favour of establishing an ad hoc committee to investigate the fitness of Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to hold office. The ad hoc committee was recommended by an independent panel, which found that prima facie evidence exists to institute removal proceedings, and that Parliament should look into charges of misconduct and incompetence against Mkhwebane.

Former president Jacob Zuma insists that there's nothing untoward about the state funding his criminal case. TODAY(16 March), Zuma's legal team will appeal the December 2018 high court order which set aside the state's decision to pay for legal costs relating to his criminal prosecution. Zuma, the DA and the EFF have filed papers in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein. The former president has argued that charges against him were prompted by political vengeance and acrimony.

Student bodies across the country are calling for the continued national shutdown of tertiary institutions as a result of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme's failure to fund first year students and the financial exclusion of students with historic debt. The protests started last week, and students say they'll continue taking to the streets until their demands are met. They also want to meet Higher Education Minister, Blade Ndzimande.