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Non-profit organisation Corruption Watch said on Tuesday that it is critical that the country's election laws are subjected to a reasonable interpretation, noting the Constitutional Court's (ConCourt's) judgment on former President Jacob Zuma's eligibility to run as an MP.

The ConCourt ruled on Monday that Zuma was not eligible or qualified to stand for election to the National Assembly based on his conviction and sentencing to 15 months' imprisonment for contempt of court in 2021, after defying a court order to testify before the Zondo Commission.

The apex court overturned an earlier ruling by the Electoral Court.

CW said the judgment represented a win for civil society.

Corruption Watch noted Section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution, which stated that politicians were not eligible for candidature until five years after the completion of a sentence.

The Electoral Court order is set aside and replaced, dismissing the former president's appeal.

CW executive director Karam Singh explained that in its submission as amicus curiae in this matter, CW argued that a person convicted and sentenced by a court was disqualified from being a member of the NA, which it said came into effect immediately after sentencing.

"It is the fact that a sentence has been imposed, and not the sentence served, that applies. The organisation also highlights the importance of the correct application of 47(1)(e) as a matter of public interest, emphasising that its purpose of disqualification is aimed at maintaining the integrity of the democratic regime, ensuring that members of the NA respect the rule of law and are not serious violators of the law," explained Singh.

Corruption Watch highlighted that allowing such persons to stand for office would "subvert" the purpose of the constitutional provision and would allow for an "arbitrary distinction" between individuals convicted by the ConCourt and the lower courts.

These points were evident in the judgment, CW said.

Singh noted that there had been little accountability for State capture, which he said heightened the need for consequences to flow from Zuma's failure to respect the Zondo Commission proceedings.

"It remains disappointing and concerning that charges emanating from the Arms Deal have not been concluded and we await the start of that trial in 2025," Corruption Watch added.

The organisation praised the "soundness of this judgment, its careful and thorough review of all arguments leading to a solid conclusion", which it said was a demonstration of the strength and independence of the South African judiciary.

"The contributions of the four amici curiae - CW, the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, and the Black Lawyers Association - also emphasises the vital role that civil society continues to play in protecting the health of the democracy," said Singh.

MK STEADFAST AND UNDETERRED

Meanwhile, the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party noted the judgment saying while it was disappointing, it had not disheartened the party.

"…instead it has reinforced our conviction that the current system, where just 10 unelected individuals can make lifetime decisions for 62-million people, is fundamentally flawed. Worse in this current case, six of the ten judges were glaring conflicted, raising serious questions about their refusal to recuse themselves," it said.

The party stated that it was not deterred, saying the people's mandate rally had demonstrated that South Africans from all walks of life love the party and Zuma.

On Monday the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa said it would remove Zuma's name from MK Party's candidate nomination list on the election ballot for May 29.

MK assured its members and supporters that it remained "steadfast and undeterred" by the "enemies of the poor". It said Zuma continued to lead the MK Party and would appear on the ballot despite not being a candidate.

It was also adamant that Zuma would be reinstated into the Union Buil...

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa said on Monday that it will remove former President Jacob Zuma's name from uMkhonto Wesizwe Party's candidate nomination list on the election ballot for May 29.

However, his photograph will remain in the cluster of identifiers of the MK Party.

This after the Constitutional Court found that Zuma is not eligible to become a Member of Parliament. The apex court overturned an earlier ruling by the Electoral Court.

The EIC had approached the Constitutional Court to seek clarity on whether it had powers to enforce Section 47(1) of the Constitution, relating to persons eligible to be members of the National Assembly.

On Monday, following the judgment, the IEC said that it would not affect the ballot papers for the 2024 national and provincial elections.

"Now that the matter has been settled by the highest Court and given that the constitutional uncertainties have been clarified, the Commission can continue with final preparations for free and fair 2024 National and Provincial Elections single-mindedly, without apprehension that the elections are susceptible to challenge," it said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday that while there may be different views on how the National Health Insurance Bill will be progressively implemented, the reality is that South Africa's current health care system is unsustainable.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that access to quality, decent healthcare should not depend on one's ability to pay, noting that the country's current healthcare "does not serve the poor, does not serve the middle-class and does not serve the country".

Last week, Ramaphosa signed the NHI Act into law, which he said would bring the country one step closer towards universal health coverage.

Civil society organisations and political parties are threatening legal action following last week's controversial signing of the NHI Bill.

However, Ramaphosa noted that the signing was a milestone in the country's quest to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of good health and wellbeing for all.

Ramaphosa highlighted that for many years, South Africa had had parallel healthcare systems operating in the country, with about 84% of the population, using public health facilities, while 16% were covered by medical schemes, enabling them to access private health care facilities.

A small percentage of people use both, he said.

He pointed out that some people have claimed that the NHI would signal the end of private health care.

"To the contrary, the NHI aims to use the respective strengths and capabilities of both the private and public health sectors to build a single, quality health system for all," he said.

Ramaphosa noted that South Africa's private health sector had "world-class expertise" and was a major source of domestic and foreign investment, saying the public sector also had numerous centres of excellence and was staffed by well-trained, experienced personnel.

The NHI Fund will procure services from accredited public and private service providers for every person in need of health care, he said, and added that the NHI would be a lifeline for millions of poor South Africans whose financial resources would be freed up for other essential needs.

"…it will also alleviate the burden on those who are increasingly paying more in medical aid premiums for increasingly fewer services," he said.

He explained that while achieving social justice was a key objective of the NHI, efficiency and better resource allocation were equally important.

Government believes that the real challenge in implementing the NHI lies not in the lack of funds, but in the misallocation of resources that he said currently favoured the private health sector at the expense of public health needs.

He said there was a misconception that the private health care sector operated and was funded completely independently of government.

"We, therefore, have a situation where the State both directly and indirectly helps to fund a private health care sector that serves only a minority of society. Access to private health care through medical aids is also costly for users. It is said that without the tax rebate private healthcare would not be affordable to the majority of users. Medical aid contributions are increasing faster than inflation. At the same time, benefits are being reduced. As the 2016 Healthcare Market Inquiry found, private healthcare services and medical scheme cover is frequently over-used without clear improvements in health outcomes," he explained.

Ramaphosa said that the resources that were spent by the State and private individuals could, therefore, be more efficiently used to build a single, unitary health care system that served all.

South Africa's constitutional court ruled on Monday that former president Jacob Zuma was not eligible to run for parliament in this month's election, a decision that was closely watched as it has the potential to affect the outcome of the election.

The case stems from a decision in March by South Africa's electoral commission to disqualify Zuma on the basis that the constitution prohibits anyone given a prison sentence of 12 months or longer from holding a parliamentary seat.

In 2021, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry.

In April, a court overturned the disqualification, saying the relevant section of the constitution applied only to people who had a chance to appeal against their sentences, which had not been Zuma's case.

The electoral commission challenged that decision in the constitutional court.

Zuma, who was forced to quit as president in 2018, has fallen out with the governing African National Congress and has been campaigning for a new party called uMkhonto we Sizwe named after the ANC's formed armed wing.

Opinion polls suggest the ANC's majority is at risk after 30 years in power, and MK represents a threat to it, especially in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal where he is popular.

In 2021 Zuma's jailing triggered riots in KwaZulu-Natal in which more than 300 people died and which morphed into a wider spate of looting.

Asked about the potential for violence in the wake of the constitutional court ruling during an interview with local radio station 702, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "I'm not concerned about this instigating violence."

"We have rule of law in South Africa that governs us. Once a constitutional court has decided, that is it and should there be any threat of violence our security forces are ready," he said.

South Africa's electoral commission originally disqualified Zuma in March, but a month later a court overturned the disqualification saying the relevant section of the constitution applied only to people who had a chance to appeal against their sentences, which had not been Zuma's case.

The electoral commission then took the case to the constitutional court. It said previously that even if Zuma was disqualified from standing as a member of parliament, his face will still appear on ballots this month as he is the registered leader of the MK party.

An Ipsos opinion poll published in April put support for MK at roughly 8%, versus just over 40% for the ANC.

While the ANC is still on track to get the most votes, if it gets less than 50% support it would have to seek one or more coalition partners to govern the country, the first such alliance since the party swept to power under liberation hero Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid.

At a campaign rally for his MK party on Saturday, Zuma told thousands of supporters in a stadium in South Africa's biggest township Soweto that his party would provide free education for disadvantaged children and create jobs.

Public interest law centre SECTION27 on Friday strongly encouraged President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign into law the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill) as soon as possible.

The Bill was passed by the National Assembly on Thursday, despite concerns. On Wednesday the Education Portfolio Committee met to consider the amendments and adopt a report for submission for the passing of the Bill in the National Assembly after it was sent back by the National Council of Provinces.

The Bill was subject to much public opposition owing to its removal of powers from parents and giving such powers to the State.

The Bill will now go to the President for assent.

SECTION27 welcomed the signing of the Bill, and said it was a necessary piece of legislative reform that would align the current South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 with developments in the education sector and case law from the country's courts.

One of the key changes that the BELA Bill seeks to introduce is the strengthening of the Department of Education's (DBE) oversight over language and admission policies that school governing bodies (SGBs) are mandated to develop, said SECTION27.

"There has been strong conservative opposition to this, but these changes will not only align the Schools Act with Constitutional Court cases such as MEC for Education in Gauteng Province v Governing Body of Rivonia Primary School, but will also ensure wider access to the right to basic education and address past inequalities that have stubbornly lingered in South Africa's education system through discriminatory SGB policies," it explained.

However, SECTION27 expressed disappointment that the Bill increased the penalty imposed on parents who do not let their children attend school, which it said was an ineffective and potentially harmful method to increase learner attendance at school.

The organisation said further education law reform could address the issue.

Meanwhile, the FW de Klerk Foundation expressed concerns with Bill, which it said would infringe on the right to education in an official language of choice (Section 29(2) of the Constitution), even as the State had failed to effectively expand the official languages that education was offered in.

It said that it was also concerned with the criminalisation of parents for failing to send their children to school from Grade R, which it believed would disproportionately impact socio-economically vulnerable families.

"This begs the question whether criminalising parents is the right solution to address attendance issues in our schools," said FW de Klerk Foundation constitutional programmes manager Daniela Ellerbeck.

Ellerbeck highlighted that the Bill continued to criminalise parents (with up to 12 months' imprisonment) should they fail to enrol their child from Grade R.

It also grants the State the power to direct a public school to adopt more than one language of instruction.

However, public hearings with the affected community are compulsory, allowing them to tell the State what they think about this decision and SGBs can also appeal against the State's decision.

AfriForum said it remained steadfast in its commitment to oppose the Bill, which it said continued to prove a threat to the existence of Afrikaans schools and quality education.

AfriForum announced that its preparations for legal action against the Bill are ready for finalisation, depending on further developments.

Members of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) with the assistance of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations, also known as the Hawks, seized computers, electronic pieces of equipment, and documents which will assist with the ongoing investigation at the Department of Home Affairs offices.

Following a tip-off from a whistleblower suggesting maladministration at Home Affairs offices in five provinces, the SIU and Hawks on Friday conducted searches and seized evidence at the various offices.

The tip-off claimed that Home Affairs officials in Gauteng, Limpopo, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are working with syndicates to duplicate application status files that are applied for in other offices and process them for a fee.

The whistleblower also stated that the officials bypass immigration systems to enable foreign nationals who have entered the country illegally to remain in the country and acquire permits illegally and unlawfully.

Furthermore, the whistleblower alleged that Home Affairs officials are delaying the finalisation of the asylum seeker permits to facilitate bogus asylum seekers.

"Through the permits which were obtained illegally and unlawfully, the bogus asylum seekers will use them to remain in the country and later use the same permits to apply for Permanent Resident Permits and ultimately, obtain South African citizenship. After getting citizenship, they qualify to get a maroon passport, which allows them to travel all over the world except their country of origin," explained SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.

President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the SIU to investigate serious maladministration and improper conduct at Home Affairs through Proclamation 154 of 2024.

Kganyago noted that the SIU was granted a search warrant by the Special Tribunal, a judicial platform established to adjudicate on matters emanating from SIU investigations, on May 10.

The SIU said that in addition to investigating maladministration, malpractice, corruption and fraud, it will identify system failures and make systematic recommendations to improve measures to prevent future recurrence.

In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996 (SIU Act), the SIU will refer any evidence pointing to criminal conduct it uncovers during its investigations to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action.

Kganyago said the SIU is empowered by the SIU Act to institute a civil action in the High Court or a Special Tribunal in its name to correct any wrongdoing uncovered during its investigation caused by acts of corruption, fraud or maladministration.

Israel defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive on Friday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after South Africa asked judges to order it to halt operations in Rafah and completely withdraw from the Palestinian territory.

Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa's case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, "completely divorced from facts and circumstances".

"(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide," Noam said. He called it "an obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention," referring to the international treaty banning genocide, agreed after the Holocaust of European Jews in World War Two.

The convention requires all countries to act to prevent genocide, and the ICJ, also known as the World Court, which hears disputes between states, has concluded that this gives South Africa a right to make the case.

In past rulings, the court has rejected Israel's demands to dismiss the case and ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians, while stopping short of ordering it to halt the assault.

Ahead of Israel's presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas fighters on October 7 and demanding their release.

The South African legal team, which set out its case for fresh emergency measures the previous day, framed the Israeli military operation as part of a genocidal plan aimed at bringing about the destruction of the Palestinian people.

South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, requested the court to order Israel to "immediately, totally and unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip".

Israel's Noam said that Israel's military operations were not aimed at civilians, but at Hamas terrorists using Rafah as a stronghold, who have tunnel systems which could be used to smuggle hostages and militants out of Gaza.

Examples of alleged violations by Israel raised by South Africa were "not evidence a policy of illegal behaviour, let alone a policy of genocide", he said. Ordering Israel to withdraw its troops would sentence remaining hostages in Gaza to death, Noam said.

More than 35 300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, health officials in the enclave said on Thursday. The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1 200 people and abducting 253 others.

This week's hearings focus only on issuing emergency measures and it will likely take years before the court can rule on the underlying genocide charge. A decision on the request for emergency measures is expected next week.

In a ward where South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) won handily in local elections three years ago, party campaign worker Poppy Vilakazi has been getting a decidedly frosty reception lately.

"Mostly they are angry," she told Reuters, speaking in Komati, a village in the shadow of a shuttered power plant in Mpumalanga province, an ANC stronghold in the country's coal belt.

"They feel the ANC let them down by allowing this power station to close."

South Africa's creaky power sector and the economic fallout from State utility Eskom's struggle to keep the lights on are top issues in a May 29 election that polls predict could see the ANC lose its 30-year parliamentary majority.

But as President Cyril Ramaphosa seeks to balance the need to boost energy output against dwindling funding for coal - which generates 80% of the country's power - and global demands that South Africa decarbonise, the issue is dividing his party.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Komati, where the conversion of a 60-year-old, 1 000-megawatt coal power plant has triggered a local and national backlash.

Eskom is installing 370 megawatts of solar, wind and battery storage at Komati. It is meant to be a blueprint for future coal station closures and create new jobs and training programmes in the renewable energy sector.

But local residents like Dumisani Mpungose - laid off from his maintenance job at the plant - say so far, they've seen nothing but unemployment, poverty and rising crime.

"Komati was a place of happiness, of life," said Mpungose, 37, whose wife returned to her parents' home after he lost his job, taking their daughter with her. "It's been two years I haven't seen them now. Two years that I haven't been working."

Ramaphosa's ministers have piled on the criticism.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe labelled Komati's closure a disaster. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa called it a mistake and has successfully lobbied cabinet to delay future closures.

"If you can't make your pilot work, it's going to send a very bad message. It means you've failed," said Chris Yelland, an energy expert who believes South Africa must pivot to renewables but worries Komati risks undermining that shift.

The ANC's main rivals - and potential coalition partners if it loses its majority - are proposing their own solutions.

The left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters want to stop decommissioning coal plants and add new nuclear capacity, while the centre-right Democratic Alliance wants to liberalise the sector and break Eskom's monopoly.

HEFTY BILL

Years of mismanagement, corruption, and neglect crippled Eskom. Near daily blackouts have curbed economic growth and contributed to one of the world's highest unemployment rates.

Eskom is pushing its ageing fleet to the limit. But that's undermining commitments South Africa, the world's 14th biggest producer of carbon emissions from energy production, made under the Paris climate agreement.

South Africa's global partners are not the only ones concerned. A youth survey released this month by the Johannesburg-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which backs wildlife conservation and youth empowerment projects, found that 63% of South African respondents were "very concerned" by climate change, a 26-point jump in just two years.

However, funding a shift away from coal could cost up to $46 billion.

That is too hefty a bill for the government, so it's turning to the United States and wealthy European countries, who have pledged an initial $8.5-billion in financing, most of it loans.

South Africa has committed to cutting emissions to between 350- and 420-million metric tons annually by 2030, from 442-million tons this decade.

"We will prove that this can work," Thevan Pillay, Komati's managing director, told Reuters. "We'll do that in the rest of the fleet. And it will change the mindset of people."

Residents in Mpumalanga, which produces the bulk of South Africa's power and is the heart...

Independent candidate Zackie Achmat has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service (Saps) regarding the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA), which he says is a threat to democracy.

Under the new PPFA, independents were required to administer all campaign funding through personal bank accounts, which Achmat said forced all independent candidates to run their campaigns and offices as sole proprietorships.

"Section 12A(4) of the PPFA requires independent candidates to deposit all donations into a separate but personal bank account, effectively forcing me to shut down a registered non-profit company that has serious internal and external oversight. Instead, I would be forced to have two personal bank accounts, a private one and a political one. I refuse to do this because I believe in the daily oversight over my campaign account on which I do not have signing power," he explained.

Achmat, who established the Zackie2024 campaign as a non-profit company, said the Act had created loopholes that would make it more difficult to hold parties and independents accountable by requiring them to be transparent and thereby deepen democracy.

He explained that his campaign's bank account was controlled by independent directors and senior campaign staff, ensuring accountability.

"Since independents were not governed by the PPFA before the amendment was signed into law, Zackie2024 was not obliged to disclose its funding to the IEC, even though we attempted to submit reporting. Holding ourselves to the same scrutiny as parties, we voluntarily disclosed our donors and funding on the Zackie2024.com website. Up to this point we have been more diligent in disclosing than the PPFA requires and therefore we should be supported not disrupted," Achmat stated.

His campaign said the new requirement by the Act would mean contracts would need to be changed and payrolls would need to be transferred to a bank account in his personal capacity.

"Our suppliers, includin printing companies, taxi drivers, caterers, t-shirt manufacturers and printers, would have to be paid out of a private bank account which Zackie Achmat would have to administer personally. This is preposterous," his campaign said.

It wanted Ramaphosa, the NPA, the IEC and the Saps to recognise that the Act's provision was unconstitutional and said Achmat would not be adhering to the new requirements and would legally challenge it after the elections.

"We are not avoiding accountability, openness and oversight, instead the Zackie2024 campaign demands it. The PPFA opens the door to fraud and corruption with its requirement that independents open personal bank accounts to receive and disburse funds," he said.

Civil society organisations and political parties are threatening legal action following Wednesday's controversial signing of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who publicly signed the Bill into law amid significant criticism, said the NHI was an opportunity to "break with the prevailing inequality" in South Africa's health system. He also called on stakeholders to work with government to ensure the NHI operates successfully.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) wants Ramaphosa to "return to the drawing board" and work with various industry experts to design a "workable" universal health care model.

Outa said while it fully supported the constitutional right of all South Africans to proper healthcare, it warned that government was creating "false hope" by signing the NHI Bill into law just two weeks before the National Elections and questioned whether it was an election ploy.

South Africa will hold its general election on May 29.

"There is a big disconnect between the dream of the sort of universal healthcare envisioned in the NHI Bill, and the reality of implementing it. Our country is in crisis on so many levels. For a universal healthcare system to work, you need enough funding and proper management, something that is sorely lacking at this stage of the country's history," said Outa accountability division executive director Stefanie Fick.

Outa has analysed the NHI Bill, and while it acknowledged the good intention to create a better healthcare system for all South Africans, it has several concerns around funding and management.

Outa explained that the law, in its current form, would put "undue strain" on the country's fiscus.

"Various role players in the healthcare system have voiced their concerns - from professional bodies representing medical professionals to medical aids, academics, civil society and economists - but it is apparently just ignored. Why the rush with signing the Bill into law," said Outa.

Meanwhile, official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube said that the proposed NHI scheme, touted as the panacea for the country's healthcare woes, was nothing more than a "political tool" wielded by the African National Congress (ANC) to "manipulate" voters in the upcoming election.

"Contrary to popular belief, the NHI will not equalise our healthcare system. In its current form, it lacks the necessary investment to provide accessible and quality healthcare as mandated by our Constitution. The notion that individuals will seamlessly access private hospitals under the NHI is a fallacy and an intentional lie peddled by the ANC," said Gwarube.

She said South Africa needed a comprehensive overhaul of the entire healthcare system, using a significant portion of the country's GDP allocated to healthcare, which she noted the ANC has failed to deliver over the past three decades.

Gwarube stated that the NHI was "a desperate attempt" to deceive the public into thinking that the ANC could remedy a broken system that it perpetuated.

The DA said it would pursue all legal avenues to challenge the NHI and ensure that the rights of all South Africans were upheld.

AfriForum is also preparing for a class action lawsuit against the government, Ramaphosa, Parliament and Minister of Health Joe Phaahla, for "the damage that South Africans will suffer under the unaffordable NHI policy".

AfriForum confirmed this in a legal letter that was handed over at the Union Buildings.

AfriForum said it would also issue a summons and an interim application for the setting aside of the implementation of the law, pending the completion of the class action lawsuit.

AfriForum campaign officer Louis Boshoff explained that with this case, AfriForum aimed to stop the NHI and force those responsible for this "destructive" policy to bear the consequences of their "ill-considered" actions.

Further, Solidarity has commenced with its legal action against the NHI Act, hours before Ramaphosa signed t...