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Despite the success of eradicating over 93% of identified pit toilets in public schools across the country, the Department of Basic Education said that the eradication of pit toilet infrastructure backlog remains a non-negotiable priority.

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube announced on Tuesday that over 93% identified pit toilets in public schools had been eradicated by the Sanitation Appropriate for Education initiative.

Gwarube was briefing the National Council of Provinces, where she said despite the severe fiscal constraints facing the basic education sector, the department determined to meet the March 31 deadline set by President Cyril Ramaphosa to eradicate unsafe sanitation in schools.

The Department acknowledged the ongoing challenges posed by budget constraints, infrastructure backlogs, and rising construction costs, however, said all efforts were being made to ensure that every learner had access to "safe and hygienic school sanitation."

Gwarube highlighted that the progress made thus far reflected the collaborative efforts of national and provincial education departments, the private sector, and development partners who she said had played a crucial role in fast-tracking the delivery of safer toilets.

Gwarube announced that her department would intensify efforts to ensure full compliance and that she would conduct site visits in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, the two provinces most affected by the legacy of unsafe sanitation infrastructure.

"The Minister's visits will allow for first-hand monitoring of the final phase of implementation and direct engagement with communities, school leadership, and implementing agents to ensure that all remaining projects are completed as scheduled," the department said.

The Department said it would continue to provide regular updates on progress, approaching the March 31 deadline and that it remained committed to transparency and accountability in delivering on this critical mandate.

Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Basic Education Dr Delmaine Christians described this as "tremendous news, and demonstrable progress".

"It has always been the DA's position, and the DA's fight, that no learner should face the risk of losing their life from dilapidated infrastructure in our schools and instead, that the Minister must achieve progressive realization of safe ablution facilities," said Christians.

She highlighted that earlier this year Gwarube shared the good news of improved matric results, and with improved infrastructure now being announced too, she said the fruits of the work of a committed Minister undoing years of neglect were being witnessed.

The DA foresees even further improving learning outcomes, by investing in early childhood development, by committing to basics such as reading and numeracy, and by promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, she stated.

Ten civil society organisations, and counting, are urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to censure Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana following comments he made to a Sunday newspaper, which they say shows his "lack of regard" for the Constitution.

Ahead of his much-anticipated rescheduled Budget speech on Wednesday, Godongwana had made comments to the newspaper that he was not required to consult on the Budget outside of the African National Congress (ANC).

The ANC and its Government of National Unity partners clashed over the original Budget in February, with talks still ongoing this week on particular points of contention such as VAT increases.

A national Sunday newspaper reported that Godongwana had defended his opposition to the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant by stating that, "If you allowed me to cut the SRD, I wouldn't increase anything. I'm faced with increased expenditures which are not in the Budget."

Civil society is accusing the Minister of misleading the public and having a lack of regard for the democratic process.

"Minister Godongwana asserted that he is not required to consult on the Budget outside of ANC leadership, due to market sensitivity, and that ideally he should consult as few people as possible. This is openly contemptuous of his responsibility to the ANC's coalition partners, those who voted for them, the expertise of government departments, and our participatory democracy," the organisations said.

Further, civil society pointed out that there were eight-million SRD grant beneficiaries with 16-million dependants who had used the grant since it was introduced in 2020, owing to the Covid-19 lockdowns, which restricted some from working.

"National Treasury has sought to remove it from the Budget on numerous occasions and successfully limited its scope through barriers that the Pretoria High Court has deemed unlawful. Having lost the battle within government to dismantle the SRD grant, the Minister chose to solicit a press interview to pre-empt and circumvent government policy," the organisations said.

They also accused Godongwana of misleading the public by stating that a VAT increase was needed to fund the SRD grants.

"It is categorically untrue that the SRD grant is not in the Budget. Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse confirmed to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on 31 October 2024 that the SRD grant was 'included as a provisional allocation in the fiscal framework's baseline' for 2025/26, meaning it is budgeted for, and it has been in the Budget for the past five years. It is by no means a new or unanticipated expense," the organisations argued.

They further stated that the Minister was asking the poor to make an "impossible sacrifice" in his arguments that Treasury could not make any further budget cuts, warning that if it did, this would impact basic services.

Civil society disagreed with the Minister and pointed to several alternatives.

"…building the State's capacity to collect existing taxes - as Sars Commissioner Edward Keiswetter has called for; drawing further on the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account; removing unnecessary tax breaks and subsidies which benefit the wealthy such as retirement fund contribution rebates and corporate tax incentives; raising VAT on luxury goods; reversing the Corporate Income Tax rate cut, from 27% to 28%; dealing with unnecessary and wasteful expenditure; and implementing a wealth tax," they said.

They further warned of economic instability, owing to Godongwana's comments, so close to the rescheduled Budget speech.

"The President must ensure that the Minister of Finance shows due regard for democratic processes and mandates, and is appropriately censured. The government as a whole must end the era of impunity for National Treasury, which, together with the Minister of Finance, must not be allowed to act unilaterally and defy the collective will of government," the organisations said.

The organisations calling for Ramaphosa to cen...

Following the passing of dramatist, novelist and actor Athol Fugard, politicians have expressed their sadness, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) calling on government to reopen the Fugard Theatre, in District Six, in Cape Town, following its "shameful closure" in March 2021.

Fugard passed away on Sunday at the age of 92.

The EFF said Fugard's career as a playwright was defined by his commitment to "exposing the brutal realities of apartheid, giving voice to those silenced by a racist and oppressive system".

"…at a time when state censorship and political repression sought to erase the suffering of Black South Africans, Fugard insisted on telling the truth through theatre.

"His contribution to the arts, particularly in using theatre as a weapon against apartheid, will forever be remembered as an act of defiance and a testament to the power of storytelling in the fight for justice," the party highlighted.

The EFF said the theatre plays an important role in developing communities and in mainstreaming the concepts of justice. It accused government of failing to support the theatre industry and of failing to preserve the heritage of the South African anti-apartheid movement in the art industry.

The EFF urged stakeholders to invest in local theatre, creatives and movements in townships, institutions of higher learning and broader society.

As the EFF reflects on Fugard's passing, it acknowledged that the injustices he exposed continue to manifest in the economic exclusion, poverty and racial inequality that still plague South Africa today.

"The struggle against oppression remains unfinished and we must continue the fight with the same courage and conviction that defined Fugard's work," it said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Fugard Theatre is a "fitting tribute to a man whose life and works have left an indelible footprint, and that will continue to inspire generations of creative professionals for time to come".

Ramaphosa lauded Fugard as "an extraordinary storyteller in extraordinary times, and the moral conscience of a generation".

"Beyond the impressive body of work that he has left behind, Athol Fugard will be remembered for being an outlier amongst the millions of white South Africans who blithely turned a blind eye to the injustices being perpetrated in their name," he said.

Fugard also made significant contributions to South African literature.

In 2011, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to theatre.

He was also the recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver.

In the late 1950s he worked as a clerk in the Native Commissioner's Court in Johannesburg, which Ramaphosa said would significantly impact his worldview and shape his political consciousness.

He was renowned for collaborating across the racial divide at a time when the mixing of the races was forbidden and founded several theatre companies alongside black actors.

Fugard's body of works include the plays No Good Friday, The Blood Knot, Master Harold and the Boys, and Sizwe Bansi is Dead.

DA spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture Joe McGluwa said Fugard's profound contributions to South African theatre and the struggle for freedom will reverberate through generations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's legal team is set to begin negotiations to settle a lawsuit filed against him and several government agencies by families of the victims of apartheid-era crimes, who say the State has stymied their attempts to get justice.

The case, brought by 20 victims or representatives of families impacted by the murder, torture and abductions meted out by apartheid security forces, is seeking R167-million in damages and the establishment of a commission of inquiry into why those crimes have never been prosecuted. Ramaphosa, along with the police and justice ministers have dropped their opposition to the case. The National Prosecuting Authority is still opposing it.

"It means that he won't be opposing the relief we seek - the commission of inquiry into the political interference and the constitutional damages," said Howard Varney, a lawyer acting on behalf of the families. Negotiations will start March 17 and the judge has urged the parties to reach a settlement by the end of the month, he said.

The lawsuit is an attempt to resolve a decades-old dispute over the failure of successive African National Congress-led administrations to pursue the cases. It alleges that governments, including that led by former president Thabo Mbeki, deliberately frustrated attempts to move forward with prosecutions and says there may have been a secret deal with officials of the former apartheid government.

"The president prefers mediation as an appropriate platform to resolve the matter with the families," Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa's spokesperson said.

Mbeki, who has denied interfering in prosecutions, has indicated that he intends to intervene in the case and must do so by March 31, Varney said. The former president's foundation declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up by former President Nelson Mandela, recommended that about 300 cases be pursued when it finished its work in the early 2000s. There have only been a handful of prosecutions since.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has said that digital transformation requires more than just technology, noting that by the time of the next national and provincial elections in 2029, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) wants to have a fully functional digital Identity Document (ID) system.

Schreiber was speaking during the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Conference and Exhibition on Electronic Voting Technologies, in Cape Town, on Monday, where he noted that the reforms under way at Home Affairs would amount to the "most significant intervention since 1994" to bolster South African democracy.

He said there was no point in digitalising a process if it was just "as slow, inefficient and insecure" as the manual, paper-based process that preceded it.

"Digital transformation requires a deep re-examination of all existing processes to ensure that the introduction of technology becomes a catalyst that transforms the process itself. There is only one way to do this, and that is by keeping in mind the end-user," he explained.

He said the digital transformation of government was a means to deliver better services, to enhance security, and to ensure that the user of the service walked away satisfied.

"In the case of the IEC, this means that the goal of digital transformation should be to ensure that queues get shorter, not longer, on voting day. That citizens should have higher trust, not less trust, in the integrity of election outcomes. That security should be stronger, not weaker. And that the efficiency of any electronic system should be better, not worse, than under the existing paper-based system," he explained.

He noted that the goal for the total digital transformation of the Home Affairs ecosystem was not principally about technology, but rather about people, improving the quality, security and efficiency of products, as experienced by the people who used the services every day.

"…nowhere is this perspective more important, than in the case of elections. South Africa has a proud track record of conducting elections with integrity, which is a testament to the work of the IEC," Schreiber stated.

He said declining voter turnout and increasing radicalism, including from those who sought to question the outcome of legitimate elections, were warning signs that South Africa must do more to enhance public trust in democracy.

"Ultimately, it must be the goal of reform - digital or otherwise - to deliver a better experience to the end-user if we are to protect the credibility and legitimacy of our elections," he added.

He announced that the work of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel continued, noting that once that process was concluded, he would table recommendations to Parliament that may result in further reforms aimed at bolstering the accountability of the country's electoral system.

He said that IEC systems would need to be updated to interact with new DHA solutions, such as the digital ID and the verifiable credential.

"It is therefore important that, at a technical level, the IEC participates in the process of developing these new systems to ensure full interoperability," he explained.

DHA REFORMS

Meanwhile, he said his department was "moving determinedly" to expand access to Smart IDs at a scale, as "never seen before".

"We will do so by building on the successful pilot project that has rendered ID and passport services in about 30 bank branches over the past decade. It is now time to scale this to hundreds or even a thousand bank branches, so that all South Africans can obtain Smart IDs much closer to where they live," he expressed.

Schreiber noted that this would enable the department to eventually discontinue the green bar-coded ID book, which he said was far more prone to fraud than the Smart ID.

"This will not only enable South Africans to securely store their IDs and other official documents on a smartphone, but will also provide a verifiable credential for each citizen and permanent resident.

"This wi...

South Africa recorded a roughly 16% drop in rhino poaching last year, with 420 animals killed for their horns versus 499 the previous year, the government said on Thursday.

The country is home to nearly half of the critically-endangered black rhino population in Africa and to the world's largest population of near-threatened white rhinos.

Rhino horns - made primarily of keratin, a protein also found in human hair and fingernails - are prized in some East Asian countries for traditional medicine and jewellery.

Of the rhinos poached last year, 320 were killed on state properties and 100 on privately-owned parks, reserves or farms, South Africa's environment minister Dion George said in a statement.

The minister partly attributed the year-on-year decline to a dehorning programme in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the hardest-hit by poaching.

But he said he was concerned by a recent uptick in rhino deaths in its world-famous Kruger National Park, much of which is remote and hard to police.

Eighty-eight rhinos were poached in the Kruger park last year, up from 78 in 2023.

The government's strategies to clamp down on poaching include lie-detector tests for staff in poaching hotspots like the Kruger and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi parks, the minister's statement said.

Separately, neighbouring Namibia said on Thursday that it had seen an increase in rhino poaching last year, to 83 cases from 69 in 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to South Africa next month to discuss efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy will meet President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 10, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Bloomberg on Thursday in Johannesburg.

"The visit is a continuation of ongoing engagements held by President Ramaphosa with President Putin and President Zelenskyy on an inclusive peace process that will provide a path to peace between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

South Africa has adopted a non-aligned stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and Ramaphosa has previously touted that position as a means to help bring an end to the war. A Ramaphosa-led initiative by six African nations two years ago to help end the conflict failed to yield any results.

The announcement of the meeting between Zelenskyy and Ramaphosa comes as both leaders seek to repair strained ties with the US. The Ukrainian leader had a disastrous meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House last week, while South Africa's leader has clashed with the American president over the African nation's land-expropriation and foreign policies.

With the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) hosting the G20 Leaders' Summit in November, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday that government is proposing the establishment of a Presidential Johannesburg Working Group to accelerate service delivery, stabilise the city's finances and operations, and enable economic growth and job creation.

Ramaphosa was speaking during day two of the National Executive's visit to the CoJ, where he said special focus should be the rejuvenation of Johannesburg's inner city.

"…this historic part of our city has been allowed to deteriorate for much too long. Efforts must be taken to make it a liveable, thriving and safe space for all citizens," he said.

He explained that the group must also work to ensure the inner city was primed to attract new investment and jobs.

Ramaphosa thanked CoJ mayor Dada Morero and his team for "engaging openly" and in a collaborative spirit with the Presidency on this support mechanism.

"It is in this spirit that we will make real strides to unlock Johannesburg's role as the engine of growth for South Africa's economy," Ramaphosa said.

The Presidency is looking to engage on the report it will receive from the Johannesburg mayor and city leadership, ahead of the engagement with the city's stakeholders on Friday afternoon.

"We will listen to their concerns and incorporate their proposals for how we can improve service delivery and enable growth," Ramaphosa added.

He said visitors of the G20 Leaders' Summit must leave inspired by their experiences in Johannesburg.

He pointed to the Presidential eThekwini Working Group, noting its success.

"The result of this ongoing work has been a marked improvement in business confidence and a sense by all stakeholders that eThekwini is on the road to recovery," he said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Ramaphosa met with the Gauteng Executive Council on the province's priorities to drive inclusive growth and job creation.

He noted the presence of all mayors at the meeting, which he said was an important reminder of how the work of all spheres of government was closely intertwined.

He noted the many challenges in the Johannesburg municipality, and said the effects were felt across the whole country.

"Johannesburg today faces enormous challenges, ranging from financial and governance instability to rapidly deteriorating infrastructure. Water and electricity interruptions have become the norm. This has an enormous impact on the quality of life of citizens and the operations of businesses. The road infrastructure faces tremendous challenges. These include vandalism of traffic lights, dysfunctional streetlights and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges," he listed.

He said government "understands" the constraints faced by the city and "appreciates" Morero's leadership and his executive in their attempts to stabilise governance and financial management.

"Without these critical levers, service delivery will not improve," he explained.

Following oversight visits to Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday met with the Johannesburg Metro Council, as part of the seventh administration's priority to enhance intergovernmental coordination.

As part of the requirements outlined in the District Development Model, Ramaphosa will visit with leadership of all nine provinces, all in an effort to improve service delivery.

His visit to Gauteng comes after Premier Panyaza Lesufi's State of the Province Address (SoPA) last week, in which Lesufi reiterated commitment to the priorities of the Medium Term Development Plan.

This includes improving growth and employment, reducing poverty and addressing high living costs, and building a "capable, ethical and developmental State".

Ramaphosa pointed out that the Gauteng meeting was taking place during Human Rights Month, and stressed the rights to water, sanitation, healthcare, housing and education.

"It is our duty to ensure that these rights are not just enshrined in our Constitution but are actively realised through tangible and impactful service delivery. People should not only be aware of their right to these services but should actively experience them in their daily lives. We therefore have to continue to harness the power of collaboration to overcome obstacles and implement sustainable solutions that will uplift our communities.

"Through unity and action, we must create a future where the rights of all South Africans are upheld, and where every citizen can access the quality services they rightfully deserve. The District Development Model, which we introduced in the previous administration, remains our guiding framework for cooperative governance and service delivery," he said.

Ramaphosa noted Lesufi's SoPA warning that if challenges were not addressed then progress would be undermined.

While he identified Gauteng's challenges as governance failures, financial mismanagement, crumbling infrastructure, crime and lawlessness and unreliable service delivery, he said the greatest was unemployment and poverty.

"Gauteng's unique position in the national landscape is both an opportunity and a challenge. While it may be the smallest province in terms of land size, it is a giant in many other respects. Gauteng contributes the largest share of any province to the country's GDP. It is the single most critical economic hub in the country, serving as a powerhouse of finance, governance, industry and innovation. The economic success of Gauteng is integral to the economic success of South Africa," he stressed.

He said the outcomes from this meeting must be put to practice to better serve Gauteng residents.

He welcomed the province's plan to build on the "success" of the South Africa Investment Conference and host the inaugural Gauteng Investment Conference in April, as well as plans to strengthen township economic development, agro-processing, and small, medium-sized and microenterprise development.

"We eagerly anticipate the forthcoming presentation from the province, which will provide valuable insights into the key priorities, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Let us seize this moment with urgency and determination, ensuring that every commitment made here today is followed by decisive action," Ramaphosa said.

The GOOD Party said on Thursday the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) visit to the US was an act of "poor political judgment and clumsiness", and showed that the DA was struggling to balance national interests, as a member of the Government of National Unity (GNU), with the interests of those who vote for the DA - which GOOD claims includes AfriForum members and supporters.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron believes the DA's visit will do nothing to advance South Africa's interests, "while handsomely serving the DA, AfriForum, Solidarity, and US President Donald Trump's divisive identity agenda".

Following a recent Solidarity Movement delegation visit to the US amid tensions between Washington and Pretoria, the DA also undertook a visit to the US capital this week, in an attempt to stabilise diplomatic relations between both countries.

Relations between South Africa and Trump's administration came to a head after the signing of the Expropriation Act, tensions which many believe were exacerbated by the Solidarity Movement and its members AfriForum and Solidarity lobbying the US.

Charges of treason have since be laid against AfriForum.

Herron said the DA's decision to "double down" on AfriForum's visit to the White House was not about the good of the country but about "retaining the white vote in the next election."

"The party has sought to position its gambit as an attempt to understand Trump's problems with South Africa, but more revealing about its intentions is what it hasn't said about the visit. It hasn't said that the party - and member of the South African government - had sought to counter AfriForum and Solidarity's misinformation about the alleged victimisation of white citizens. Nor did it mention the context of post-apartheid inequality in South Africa or defend the Constitutional imperatives to reduce poverty and foster dignity for all," Herron stated.

He said instead, the DA relied on AfriForum's talking points, highlighting that what the party was doing "was simply grabbing the opportunity to attract publicity by claiming common ground and common purpose with the US's anti-diversity, anti-inclusivity, anti-redress and anti-justice agenda".

During its visit to Washington, the DA said it had engaged with the US Congress, State Department and the White House, to present "accurate and fact-based information" on issues affecting South Africa.

When approached for comment, DA spokesperson on International Relations & Cooperation Emma Louise Powell told Polity that the DA's visit had "absolutely nothing to do with AfriForum".

"We represent all South Africans," she said. "I'm not wasting my time responding to Brett's ridiculous statements. No one pays him any attention."

She said the visit proved that there was a need to strengthen bilateral trust.

Herron said the current US policy and statements by Trump made it improbable that South Africa's - and Africa's - current preferential trade agreement, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, would survive in anything like its current form beyond its September 2025 expiration date.

He noted that global politics was speeding along, and much could happen over the next six months.

"Advancing South African interests in this period requires State to State engagement aimed at developing understanding and trust. Lickspittle visits to the White House to compare anti-woke notes achieves the opposite," he said.

Meanwhile, DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp has said that the uMkhonto weSizwe Party's (MKP's) recent treason charges filed against AfriForum, have "no prospect of success", and will only harden attitudes against South Africa in the US.

He described the charges as "frivolous stunts that only inflame divisions".

Aucamp said there was a shared national interest in building capacity against a "gathering global storm".

He added that South Africa would be "profoundly affected by this, especially given the poor international positioning and policy choices over the last three decade...