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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to hand over all of his personal emails, WhatsApp's and other communication during his position as African National Congress (ANC) cadre deployment chairperson.

The DA has won a seminal case finding the ANC and its secretary-general Fikile Mbalula guilty of contempt of court.

Last month, the DA approached the court on an urgent basis after the ANC "redacted, destroyed and withheld" records of its cadre deployment committee dating back to January 2013, when Ramaphosa became its chairperson.

In its ruling, the court specifically condemned the "ANC's contemptuous failure" to disclose communications and records held by Ramaphosa.

"The court noted that "in particular, [the ANC] was obliged to disclose communication relating to the committee's work by, and involving, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was the chairperson of the committee between 2013 and 2018," said DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration Dr Leon Schreiber.

He noted that the ruling confirms "beyond all doubt" that the ANC was a "lawless criminal syndicate" that hid the fact that its "corrupt cadre deployment committee" was the root cause of State capture, corruption and service delivery failure.

"As a result of today's ruling, the DA calls on Ramaphosa to act in accordance with his position as President of South Africa in order to bring an end to this escalating constitutional crisis triggered by his party, by abiding by the ruling and handing over to the DA all of his personal emails, WhatsApp's and other communication revealing the role he personally played in State capture through his position as ANC cadre deployment chairperson," he said.

Schreiber said the court agreed with the DA that the behaviour by the ANC, in violation of a court order upheld by the Constitutional Court, amounted to "wilful" and "mala fide" contempt of court.

The court ordered the ANC to pay the DA's full costs for the application, and to, within 15 days, give effect to the original court order by providing to the DA all of the information that has already been disclosed and that is further required to be disclosed in unredacted form so as to ensure all names of persons are legible.

The court has ordered the ANC to provide to the DA all of the information related to the processes and decisions of the ANC cadre deployment committee during the period 1 January 2013 to 1 January 2021, including minutes, draft minutes, notes, attendance registers, communications and decisions of the deployment committee whether prepared by or communicated to staff members of the ANC, members of the committee, chairpersons of the committee, and government officials.

The DA must also be furnished with emails, WhatsApp's and other social media communications between and among members of the committee and between committee members, committee chairpersons and government officials.

The court ordered the ANC to hand over the personal email, hard drive and laptop of ANC official Thapelo Masilela and the laptop of ANC official Lungi Mtshali.

South African policymakers are in discussions on lowering the central bank's inflation target, its governor said on Wednesday, adding that a lower target would make the country more competitive and bring the central bank in line with peers.

Lesetja Kganyago told Reuters he personally preferred a decision that would lower the target from its current range of between 3% and 6% "before we get to 2025", but that teams from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and National Treasury were still identifying the appropriate range and risks associated with it.

"Our teams are in conversation now," Kganyago said in an interview. "The teams will advise the governor and the (finance) minister and say ok this is the appropriate target and this is the appropriate timeline within which we have got to achieve the target."

South Africa introduced its inflation-targeting framework in 2000, and had planned to lower the target to 3%-5% and then 2%-4%. But the target was never lowered, something Kganyago views as a big mistake and has been vocal about for years.

He said the current band was too wide and served to anchor inflation expectations higher than the bank would like.

Regarding the general elections in May, he said there was huge uncertainty about the outcome which was "keeping the country's risk premium elevated", referring to the additional return investors demand to compensate them for local risks.

Kganyago, whose term as SARB governor was extended for another 5 years last month, said President Cyril Ramaphosa had tried to mitigate some of the uncertainty surrounding South Africa by ensuring stability in the leadership of key institutions like the revenue service and central bank.

Asked what he wanted to achieve in his third term starting in November, Kganyago said "the job on the inflation front is not yet done".

Over the longer term, the key to reducing the country's risk premium lies in prudent macroeconomic and fiscal policies, he said.

Inflation picked up to 5.6% year-on-year in February, and the bank only sees it falling to 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Kganyago dismissed the idea of using explicit forward guidance on interest rates as a way to further rein in inflation expectations, saying bank officials did not view it as a useful tool.

Following the launch of his party's 2024 election manifesto last month, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba sat down with Polity, setting out the party's blueprint to "fix SA" and reiterating that he is unapologetic about his stance on illegal immigration.

He said he could not understand why people would want to allow non-nationals to arrive in South Africa, undocumented.

"This country was built on the backs of migrants and we must continue doing this. We must have red carpets for people of the world to come here, to come and invest, to come and holiday, to come and live here but they must come here legally and when they are here they must respect the laws of our country, anything outside that is unacceptable. You come into our country illegally, you commit crime, we will not hesitate to send you back to your country after serving a term in jail," Mashaba stated.

If ActionSA is given the mandate to govern, Mashaba has promised that upon birth, children will be issued with a birth certificate, youth that turn 16 will be issued with an identity document and upon a person's death, a death certificate will be issued.

"We are unapologetic about this. I think I have been very clear from the 1 December 2016 when I was the mayor of the City of Johannesburg. I don't want to live in a country where there is one undocumented South African," he said.

COALITIONS

When asked about how the party would implement its policies in a coalition government, Mashaba said, "We accept that SA has entered an era of coalitions, that means compromise. You leave your arrogance out and look at the bigger picture."

He believes the African National Congress (ANC) will not garner 50% support in the upcoming May election.

As a result, he believes coalitions will come into play and is urging South Africans to give ActionSA the mandate to govern.

"South Africans can trust ActionSA; under our leadership, we've got an experienced leader who respects other political leaders. It is for that reason we are asking South Africans, make us the biggest party in the event we don't get an outright majority, so that we can lead this coalition because we understand that under a coalition arrangement we will not really be able to implement all our policies. We've got to accommodate all other parties so that it's a coalition arrangement that works for South Africa and not one political party," he said.

ENERGY & GRANTS

Mashaba stressed the need to professionalise flailing State-owned power utility Eskom, and to allow private sector participation and competition in the energy sector.

He touted the idea of regional grids, telling the success story of a municipality in the Free State.

He said this story should be used as a template for the rest of the country, where municipalities could produce their own energy and take the strain off Eskom.

"Eskom must immediately run on a commercial basis. And allow private sector competition in competing with [it]," he stressed.

Meanwhile, ActionSA wants South Africans to be less dependent on government grants, with a plan to create more jobs to allow people a more sustainable and constant means of income.

The party has done a study showing that 4.8-million jobs could allegedly be created in the first five years of its rule, by stimulating the economy and being tougher on crime.

"I have a sense that this ANC government wants to keep black people poor and dependent on the State. Deal with labour, revise our draconian labour laws, free them to make sure that people can employ those who want to work. All those factories that are closed, give them to the private sector to employ our people and those that want to work. As ActionSA we are prepared in the first few years to assist those who need help with a stimulus. But what we want South Africans to judge us on is how many people we will take off government dependence," Mashaba said.

CRIME AND CORRUPTION

ActionSA's reforms for policing include ethical leaders for the head of police, as well as training ...

An analysis of accounts on social media platform X that have been used to promote Russian interests in South Africa are now being utilised to rally support for a new party backed by former President Jacob Zuma, according to a director at the Centre for Information Resilience.

The observation is the latest example of how Moscow appears to be using social media to try and sway the outcomes of votes around the world as it seeks to promote leaders that can help further its interests. Russia allegedly interfered in the US election in 2016, which saw social media being used to sow distrust in the process and institutions. More recent examples in Africa include support for pro-Russian military regimes in West Africa.

Zuma, who led South Africa from 2009 to 2018 and forged closer ties with Moscow during his tenure, announced in December that he would campaign for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, or MKP, rather than the ruling African National Congress, in next month's elections.

Several X accounts that praised Russia's invasion of Ukraine since it began in February 2022 and have drawn parallels between Zuma's leadership and that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been used to promote the new party ever since, the CIR said in research shared with Bloomberg.

The most prominent of the accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, has about 170 000 followers and constantly posts endorsements of MKP and Zuma, said Tom Southern, the London-based independent non-profit's director of special projects. The account interacts with thousands of others, amplifying its impressions, the CIR research shows. At times, those impressions exceed 1-million per post.

Russia Praise

The postings are interspersed with praise for Russia, its deepening relations with military governments in West Africa and criticism of current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The accounts have also been used to retweet so-called deep fakes of former US President Donald Trump endorsing Zuma. Some of them claim to be based in Russia and Burkina Faso, the West African nation under military rule that's forging closer ties with Moscow.

"I can't comment on who owns these accounts," said Nhlamulo Ndlela, an MKP spokesperson. "Neither you or I know if these accounts are legitimate. They could be propaganda."

Dmitry Peskov, a spokespersin for the Kremlin, said that Russia isn't involved with the accounts.

It's unsurprising that Russian disinformation is being used to influence South African politics, and the fact that Jacob Zuma's party is a beneficiary "is even less surprising," said Priyal Singh, a senior researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies who has been researching Russian disinformation in Africa. "There are deep interpersonal relationships within the ANC and associated parties within South Africa, with the Russian elite and President Putin going back decades."

Russian disinformation activities have been on the increase across Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said in a report last year.

Most African nations targeted have weak democratic institutions and those have allowed disinformation campaigns that are largely aimed at keeping or putting Russian-friendly regimes in power to flourish, the center said. South Africa, which has relatively strong institutions, is an exception, with the ties between the Russian elite and South African politicians - some of whom trained in the then-Soviet Union during apartheid - providing scope for Russia to try and boost its influence, the center said.

South Africa gained entry into the BRICS group of emerging nations, a political bloc that includes Russia, during Zuma's tenure. His administration also tried to push through a nuclear-power contract with Russia that, if fully implemented, would have cost as much as $100-billion, according to construction companies.

The ANC forced Zuma to step down in 2018 after a string of corruption scandals. A survey released last month by the Brenthurst Foundation a...

Ten opposition parties, currently represented in Parliament, have petitioned President Cyril Ramaphosa to not sign into law the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill, on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill was passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) last week and sent to Ramaphosa for assent.

The Bill is a sequel to the Electoral Amendment Act that was passed last year to provide for independent candidates to stand for election in Parliament and provincial legislatures.

It provides for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives, among other things.

Non-governmental organisation My Vote Counts made submissions to Parliament, arguing that, in its current form, the Bill is "unconstitutional, and undermines" the Constitution in respect of transparency and accountability in political party funding legislation.

Other civil society organisations are also calling for the Bill to be reviewed.

The political parties that have petitioned Ramaphosa include the African Christian Democratic Party, the African Transformation Movement, the Congress of the People, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Freedom Front Plus, GOOD Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the National Freedom Party, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and the United Democratic Movement.

"If the President assents to the Bill we would then be forced to join those in civil society, who have already given notice of their intention to approach the courts, to oppose this legislation on the grounds of unconstitutionality," said the parties.

The Multi-Party Coalition explained that the Bill was "hastily" approved by the National Assembly, and then by the NCOP and includes contentious and substantive changes to the Political Party Funding Act which were not consequential to the inclusion of independent candidates.

"The substantive, and unnecessary, amendments to the Political Party Funding Act included a change to the implementation of Sec 236 of the Constitution which requires that represented political parties receive public funding on an 'equitable and proportional basis' in order to enhance multi-party democracy," said the opposition parties.

The Multi-Party Coalition highlighted that the African National Congress "opportunistically" used the need for consequential changes to be made to the electoral system to substantially increase their public funding by 25%, based on current representation.

This is achieved at the expense of all of the opposition parties, except the DA which would also receive an increase of about 10% in public funding, they argued.

"Despite the benefit of a proposed increase the DA joins us in challenging the Bill's constitutionality. We have submitted to the President that this does not enhance multi-party democracy but undermines it," they explained.

The parties have also submitted to the President that, in its haste to pass this legislation, Parliament has failed to meet the constitutional duty to facilitate meaningful and reasonable public consultation.

Civil society has argued the same.

Opposition parties noted that with the national elections eight weeks away, parties are all committed to contesting without disrupting or delaying the election timetable.

"However, it is our duty as currently represented parties to protect the constitutional imperative of enhancing a multi-party democracy in the face of this existential threat to one of democracy's greatest strengths," it said.

The opposition parties called on Ramaphosa to refers those parts of the Bill which make substantive amendments to current legislation to the next Parliament for proper and constitutionally compliant consideration.

Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula lost a court bid to prevent the authorities from detaining her over allegations of corruption, and now faces arrest.

Judge Sulet Potterill handed down the ruling in the High Court in Pretoria, the capital, on Tuesday.

Mapisa-Nqakula, who faces possible graft charges related to her tenure as defense minister, had launched an urgent application for the court to compel the National Prosecuting Authority to suspend plans to arrest her and share with her evidence related to the case.

The controversy surrounding Mapisa-Nqakula, a senior African National Congress (ANC) leader, comes two months before South Africa holds national elections in which the party is at risk of losing its national majority for the first time since it came to power three decades ago.

Opinion polls show voters are dissatisfied with the ANC over issues including its failure to deal decisively with State corruption and arrest officials accused of graft.

The leader of South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said his party opposes forming a coalition with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in order to govern the country should it need to.

"We don't want to be in government with the ANC," John Steenhuisen said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "I don't think we're going to solve the country's problems by having the same people who are responsible for the economic crisis, the social crisis, and the infrastructure crisis sitting around the table."

South Africa is on the cusp of an era of national coalition politics after elections scheduled for May 29. Opinion polls suggest the ruling ANC will lose its overall majority for the first time since it came to power at the end of apartheid 30 years ago.

Steenhuisen, 48, has spearheaded the formation of a bloc of 11 opposition parties that aims to form a coalition government after the vote. Members of the Multi Party Charter have ruled out working with the ANC or the populist Economic Freedom Fighters, currently the third-biggest party, and polls show they'll collectively struggle to obtain even 40% support. A survey by the Social Research Foundation indicates that an ANC-DA tie-up would be the one favoured by most South Africans.

The DA, which espouses market-friendly policies, currently controls the Western Cape - the only province not run by the ANC - and won 21% of the vote in the last national election in 2019. It has also wrested control of several major towns from the ANC in municipal elections by forming alliances with other parties, but those coalitions have proven unstable, with power changing hands several times and some services grinding to a halt as a result.

A survey released by the SRF this month shows support for the DA is slipping in the Western Cape, and it may be forced into a coalition in the province, though it's likely to remain by far the biggest party in the region.

The DA faced internal turmoil when Mmusi Maimane, its first Black leader, exited in 2019 and a number of its other senior Black members followed suit, with some of them taking issue with the DA's policy on race. While the municipalities it controls are regarded as being among the country's better-run, its top leadership is predominantly White and the party has struggled to increase its support among the country's Black majority.

Among the policy proposals outlined in the DA's manifesto are the scrapping of race-based economic redress - a cornerstone of ANC policy - and converting a temporary monthly stipend that was introduced to cushion the unemployed against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic into a permanent job seekers grant at an additional cost of R39.6-billion.

It also favours breaking the monopoly of state power utility Eskom, whose failure to adequately maintain its plants and invest in new generation capacity has led to years of rolling blackouts. The DA would instead increase investment in electricity transmission.

Law firm Webber Wentzel noted on Thursday that should President Cyril Ramaphosa decide to sign the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill (EMAB) into law, its client, My Vote Counts, will launch an urgent application to challenge the constitutional validity of the Bill, and obtain interdictory relief to prevent its implementation.

The Bill was sent to Ramaphosa for assent after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed it without amendments on Tuesday.

The Bill is a sequel to the Electoral Amendment Act that was passed last year to provide for independent candidates to stand for election in Parliament and provincial legislatures.

It provides for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives, among other things.

In My Vote Counts' submissions to Parliament, it argued that, in its current form, the Bill is "unconstitutional, and undermines" the constitutional duties in respect of transparency and accountability in political party funding legislation.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND PRESIDENTIAL SOLE DISCRETION

The organisation explained that the version of the Bill that has been passed, has not been subject to public participation, which is in breach of Section 72 of the Constitution.

It noted that not just the process before the NCOP, but the entire enactment of the EMAB, including the President's assent, could be deemed invalid owing to the fundamental breach of constitutional procedure.

The Bill allows the President discretion to establish the funding upper limit and the disclosure threshold places a substantial amount of political influence within the grasp of one individual.

My Vote Counts added that this essentially allows the President to set rules that could disproportionately benefit his own party's political interests, creating an unequal playing field for other political entities.

My Vote Counts argues that this is unconstitutional because the President, as the leader of a political party, inherently possesses a vested interest in the outcomes of such decisions.

"The ability to influence the financial dynamics of political competition, including the flow of private donations, can significantly impact the political landscape to favour the President's party," it says.

The organisation highlights that there is presently no National Assembly resolution authorising the President to determine the upper limit and disclosure threshold and any such resolution is unlikely to be passed before the elections scheduled for May 29.

This, My Vote Counts explains, will place South Africa's constitutional democracy and party accountability in peril, and will facilitate the undue influence by certain companies and actors in South Africa's political and governance system.

The organisation notes that in light of the constitutional defects, Ramaphosa should not sign the Bill into law, instead he should refer the Bill back to the National Assembly and the NCOP for reconsideration.

"If the reconsidered EMAB does not cure the constitutional defects, then, in terms of Section 79(4) of the Constitution, the President should refer the EMAB to the Constitutional Court," it says.

The President can only sign the Bill into law after the Constitutional Court determines it to be constitutional, said My Vote Counts.

It is requesting that Ramaphosa provide confirmation in writing by no later than Wednesday regarding his intentions in respect of the Bill.

ActionSA's bid to get Ekurhuleni Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana out of office was a success on Thursday, after council removed him in motion of no confidence.

Ngodwana, a member of the African Independent Congress, was voted out 47 to 32. The African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance did not vote.

Ngodwana became mayor in a coalition agreement between the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters.

Calls for his removal have been growing as a result of complaints of lacking service delivery in the municipality.

Council will vote for a new Mayor after seven days.

RISE Mzansi announced on Wednesday that human rights and social justice activist Mark Heywood has joined RISE Mzansi National Campaign Team and will help to refine the party's policies.

Heywood initially joined Roger Jardine to form Change Starts Now, which will no longer contest the upcoming elections, for which it blames the Constitutional Court's recent ruling and the barriers it imposes.

The Independent Electoral Commission's rules for new parties, relating to the amount of signatures required for them to contest the elections, was recently under scrutiny in the Constitutional Court, however, the court chose not to hear the issue citing a disruption in preparations for the May elections.

RISE Mzansi National Chairperson Vuyiswa Ramokgopa said Heywood has volunteered his time to work with the organisation ahead of the May 29 National and Provincial Elections, and beyond.

Heywood will work with RISE Mzansi on its policy offering, help to continue building the movement, work with civil society and help organise in communities across the country.

Ramokgopa said Heywood will bring with him six highly skilled individuals who will assist the National Campaign Team in the key performance areas of marketing, communication, organising, mobilising, political programmes as well as research.

"With just nine-weeks until millions of South Africans cast their votes for new leaders at the more than 23 000 voting stations, our enhanced National Campaign Team is critical to ensuring that RISE Mzansi is able to reach more communities through community meetings, door-to-door, and the media," she said.

She added that "RISE Mzansi's door remains open to all patriots who align with the constitutional and social democratic values of freedom, equality, integrity, solidarity and justice".