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Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Dr Ivan Meyer welcomed Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi's decision to withdraw the regulations to ban cannabis-based foodstuffs, following a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Last week, the Health Department gazetted a regulatory update banning the import, manufacture and sale of any foods containing cannabis and cannabis products.

The notice, signed by Motsoaledi specified that this prohibition applied to any part of the plant or component of cannabis, including sativa, indica, ruderalis, hemp seed oil, or powder derivatives from the various species or subspecies.

Following public outcry over the proposed ban, Motsoaledi held a meeting with Ramaphosa, and the regulations are now lifted under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act (Foodstuffs Act) and will allow for comprehensive public consultation.

The Presidency said in a statement that Ramaphosa affirmed his support for more stakeholder consultation and public participation on the formulation of new regulations that will limit health risk and the negative impact of foodstuffs containing cannabis and hemp, particularly on minors.

"…this will lead to the development of policies and rules that support the potential of the cannabis and hemp industry to generate jobs, improve public health, and boost economic growth," Meyer said.

He said one of the Government of National Unity's objectives was inclusive growth, and stated that jobs must be protected and that the value chain must be supported.

"Let us use the consultation period to fully appreciate the value chain of this sector, including research, biotech and testing capability, IT and logistics, brand-building, agriculture and agri-processing and infrastructure. A comprehensive understanding will be crucial in maximising the contribution the cannabis and hemp value chain can make to the Western Cape's economic, social and environmental objectives," he said.

The Department of Health will continue to consult broadly before publishing the revised regulations.

South African consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in almost two years, as worries about higher taxes and the country's deteriorating relations with the US weighed on sentiment.

A quarterly index measuring consumer sentiment slumped to -20 in the three months through March from -6 in the previous quarter, FirstRand Ltd.'s First National Bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. That's the lowest level since the second quarter of 2023.

"The prospect of significantly higher taxes - either via value-added tax hikes or further bracket creep on the personal income tax front - likely alarmed many consumers," the Johannesburg-based lender said. "The souring of diplomatic relations between South Africa and the US and the corrosive knock-on effects of the trade wars triggered by US President Donald Trump likely also contributed to the extraordinary deterioration in sentiment."

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on March 19 proposed raising the VAT rate by a full percentage point to 16% by mid-2026 - in two half-point steps - and won't adjust personal income-tax brackets for inflation in a bid to boost revenue.

The country's relations with America - one of its biggest trading partners - have deteriorated after Trump criticised South Africa's land-expropriation laws and its relations with Iran and its proxy, Hamas.

"The collapse in consumer confidence and deterioration in the outlook for household consumption expenditure should set alarm bells ringing in terms of SA's economic prospects," FirstRand said. "The combination of rising inflation, tight monetary policy and higher real taxes will erode households' ability to spend, while plunging consumer confidence levels signal a dramatic decline in consumers' willingness to spend."

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber on Tuesday called technology "our greatest ally" in the fight against fraud and corruption, as he addressed the launch of the Border Management and Immigration Anti-corruption Forum (BMIACF), an intensified and coordinated initiative to deal with corruption in the sector.

The BMIACF was launched by Home Affairs, the Special Investigating Unit and the Border Management Authority of South Africa (BMA).

Schreiber said accountability needed to be enforced while systems were reformed to effectively deal with corruption, resource constraints, inefficiencies and risks to national security, owing to "ineffective and outdated" border and immigration management.

"In a country that is deeply tired of corruption, it is a source of true inspiration that this forum is walking the talk. As we speak, corrupt officials are being disciplined and fired. Prosecutions are following," he said.

He pointed to systemic changes, which he said were underway to rid institutions of the corrupt syndicates seeking to "hold citizens hostage".

He said Home Affairs was committed to systems reform that would close the space for discretion, that enabled fraud and corruption.

"In this quest, our greatest ally is technology. One of the fundamental pillars of our commitment to digital transformation, is to employ technology in ways that prevent and detect corruption to uproot corrupt networks altogether," Schreiber said.

He noted the work of the Multilingual Digital Terminology Today, which he said had already shown the power of data analytics.

"…but the reality is that, for as long as we have paper-based visa documents, for as long as we use manual, paper-based processes, and for as long as decisions are wide-open to human discretion and interference, the space for corruption will continue to exist," he stated.

Home Affairs' digital transformation vision would systematically close those gaps, he promised, as he announced that paper visas were being replaced by an Electronic Travel Authorisation featuring AI- and machine learning-based adjudication.

He added that paper documents were being replaced by secure digital documents, including the digital Identity Document (ID) system announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address.

The green ID book will be phased out and replaced by the smart ID and digital ID.

"…and we are automating entry-and-exit at all of South Africa's ports-of-entry. The Medium-Term Development Plan aims to achieve this at all airports first, and at all land and sea ports by the end of this administration," he explained.

He believes these reforms will deliver a systems revolution in the border management and immigration environment.

"No more papers that can go missing or be manipulated. No more photo-swopping on green ID books. No more bribing an immigration officer to manipulate an outcome, or to gain entry to our country illegally," he said.

He said it was for this reason his department was pursuing an unprecedented clean-up to enforce accountability, as well as a systems revolution that would demonstrate the power of collaboration and digital transformation to uproot corruption.

Schreiber said systemic reform through digital transformation that fundamentally reshaped and modernised the systems of government, could roll back capture by syndicates and end corruption.

ACTIONABLE COMMITMENT

Meanwhile, BMA commissioner Major-General David Chilembe said the launch of the BMIACF represented a critical milestone in ongoing efforts to combat corruption and uphold ethical governance within the border management and immigration sectors.

He said the establishment of the forum came as the BMA was intensifying and coordinating efforts to fight corruption within the ports of entry and along law enforcement area in the borderline.

He said the forum was not a symbolic gesture but an actionable commitment.

"…it is a shared responsibility that requires collaboration, transparency and resolve...

Lobby group AfriForum wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to publicly condemn the anti-apartheid "Kill the Boer" chant, sang by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema on Friday, during a Human Rights Day Commemoration in Sharpeville.

Malema addressed party supporters during the rally, where he said, "We do not come here to commemorate a so-called 'Human Rights Day', but to remember and honour the sacrifice of those who fell on March 21, 1960, at the hands of a murderous apartheid regime."

AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel then posted on X. "As President @realDonaldTrump would say: 'VERY BAD' things are happening in South Africa. Today, the chant 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer,' which targets Afrikaners and farmers, was once again sung in South Africa. @PresidencyZA Ramaphosa and other senior ANC leaders were, as always, silent - once again giving it tacit support by not condemning it. Ironically, this happened today, a day officially recognised as Human Rights Day in South Africa."

He also tagged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South African-born American political commentator Joel Pollak on the post.

AfriForum has come under fire for allegedly stoking tensions between the US and South Africa and for causing social division.

Now, the organisation wants Ramaphosa to take an "unapologetic stance" against the "Kill the Boer" chant, which it argues targets the white minority and farmers.

"If the President wants to improve race relations and wants to ensure that all citizens of the country feel safe and no one is explicitly targeted or ignored, condemning this violent chant would be a decisive step in the right direction," AfriForum said on Tuesday.

AfriForum head of public relations Ernst van Zyl accused Ramaphosa of being "silent", which he said showed that the President was more concerned with not "upsetting" Malema.

"For years the government has given the farmers of this country a cold shoulder and turned a blind eye to the extreme violence that affects farmers in the form of brutal farm attacks and murders. The government has also never condemned chants like 'Kill the Boer' that target farmers. That needs to change and the current crisis is the perfect opportunity," Van Zyl said.

Further, AfriForum wants farm murders to be classified as a national priority alongside gender-based violence, cash-in-transit crimes, gang violence and rhino poaching, accusing the government of ignoring crimes that effect minorities and farmers.

It further called on government to work with neighbourhood watches and farm patrols in rural communities.

South Africa's state electricity utility added an 800 MW unit at the Kusile Power Station to the national grid, amid ongoing efforts to boost generation and bring an end to scheduled outages.

The addition of Kusile's Unit 6 brings Eskom closer to its objective of adding 2 500 MW of new capacity by the end of March.

The unit will undergo testing and optimisation over the next six months, after which it will be officially added to Eskom's generation fleet. Once all units are fully operational, Kusile will contribute a total of 4 800 MW to the national grid, making it South Africa's largest infrastructure project, Eskom said.

"Kusile Unit 6's addition is proof that we are making continued progress in stabilising and strengthening South Africa's electricity supply," Eskom Chief Executive Officer Dan Marokane said in a statement.

Kusile will also be the first power station in Africa to implement Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation technology, which will help reduce sulphur-dioxide emissions from its largely coal-fired fleet of plants that generate more than 80% of South Africa's electricity.

Africa's largest economy has been subjected to years of rolling power outages after Eskom failed to keep pace with demand. Supply has stabilised since March 2023.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday South Africans should challenge what he termed "the completely false narrative" that South Africa is a place in which people of a certain race or culture are being targeted for persecution.

Last week South Africa observed Human Rights Day, which honours the 69 unarmed protestors who were killed by the apartheid police in Sharpeville on March 21, 1960.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that South Africans should reject the politics of divisiveness that is emerging in many parts of the world.

Last month, US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of "confiscating land" and "treating some classes of people very badly".

This after Ramaphosa signed into law the controversial Expropriation Bill, which was met with criticism from some opposition parties and civil society, which led to Trump terminating all United States Agency for International Development aid to South Africa.

Ramaphosa said citizens should not allow events in other countries to divide citizens or turn them against each other, explaining that since the end of apartheid South Africa had been recognised globally for upholding human rights.

"The free flow of ideas and opinions are vital to democracy and to having a vibrant society. South Africans should be proud of the fact that the majority of South Africans continue to believe in democracy, human rights and the rule of law as universal values," he said.

Ramaphosa said even those with the most offensive views should know that in democratic South Africa, unlike many other parts of the world, the country's Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression, if it does not include incitement to violence or advocacy of racial and other hatred.

"Reflecting on the perilous state of human rights in many parts of the world today, including the resurgence of racism, South Africa's path of reconciliation and nation-building becomes more important," he stated.

He noted that anyone could approach the courts and institutions supporting democracy if their rights were infringed or violated and said South Africans were confident they had a voice and a say in how their country was run, demonstrated by the fact that South Africa had held successive free and fair elections since 1994.

He said today, all citizens, African, white, Indian and coloured, male and female, enjoye equal rights and freedoms that the State was obliged to uphold, protect and advance.

"In South Africa today, there are constitutional protections guaranteed to all racial, cultural and linguistic groups, including their right to enjoy their culture and to use their language," he explained.

Ramaphosa pointed out that since South Africa's attainment of freedom, South Africans had been steadfast in its solidarity with peoples everywhere who were facing persecution, discrimination and the violation of their rights.

"Human rights are universal and indivisible. As South Africa we stand in solidarity with all those whose right to lead lives of dignity are being undermined by conflict and war," he said.

He called for the UN human rights system to be strengthened so that the enjoyment of human rights was no longer the preserve of some.

"As a country we will continue to repeat our call for a renewed global human rights movement so that the rights and dignity of all people should be upheld," he said.

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool has met with International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, following his expulsion from the US by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasool, who arrived back in South Africa on Sunday to a large contingent of supporters, was expelled as South Africa's ambassador to the US after he criticised US President Donald Trump's Presidency.

Rubio said Rasool was a "race-baiting politician" who hated Trump.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said on Monday that following the meeting between Lamola and Rasool, a formal report will be submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa for consideration.

"Pending this, the Ministry or Department will not engage in public engagements on the matter," it added.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the unannounced return of loadshedding showed the "incontrovertible need" for a competitive energy generation market.

Power utility Eskom implemented Stage 2 loadshedding on Wednesday, owing to the loss of five generation units before the evening peak period.

DA spokesperson on Electricity & Energy Kevin Mileham said this was an "immediate and pressing" concern for the nation, calling on Eskom's immediate horizontal unbundling to break its monopoly and end its "ongoing failure" to meet South Africa's electricity needs.

The party viewed the unannounced return of loadshedding as an "emergency act, that will bring more economic devastation".

"The DA shares the outrage of all South Africans at this bout of loadshedding with zero notice. We stand together in outrage," he said.

Mileham said South Africa needed new generation capacity to be built immediately.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has won a seat, previously held by the African National Congress (ANC), in the Saldanha municipality, in the Western Cape during Wednesday's by-elections, while the ANC retained its seats in Gauteng and Northern Cape.

By-elections were held in Gauteng, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

Saldanha Bay's Ward 1 became vacant following the death of a councillor.

Mzwandile Biko will be the new councillor for Ward 1 in Saldanha Bay after winning 36.33% of the vote.

Voter turnout was 55.30%.

Meanwhile, the ANC retained the seat it won in the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality, during the 2021 municipal elections, with 57.46% of the total votes cast, compared with 48.37% during the 2021 municipal elections.

Sthembiso Fortune Hlatshwayo is the new councillor, while Pako Matthews Bareki will be the new councillor for Ward 1 in the Joe Morolong municipality in the Northern Cape.

The ANC retained the seat it won in the 2021 municipal elections, with 54.12% of the total votes cast, compared with 62.77% during the 2021 municipal elections.

South Africa's central bank kept its main lending rate steady at 7.50% on Thursday, saying that a cautious policy approach was needed given global and domestic uncertainties.

The decision was in line with the median forecast of economists polled by Reuters and follows rate cuts at the previous three monetary policy meetings.

Annual inflation was steady at 3.2% in February, unchanged from the previous month and still near the bottom of the South African Reserve Bank's 3%-6% target range.

The Monetary Policy Committee's decision was split, with four members supporting an unchanged stance and two members preferring a 25 basis point cut.