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Opposition parties in the Drakenstein municipality, in the Western Cape, on Wednesday removed Conrad Poole as mayor through a motion of no confidence, amid serious allegations of corruption.

The GOOD party joined forces with other opposition parties after losing trust in the Democratic Alliance (DA) mayor and in his ability to lead the municipality, said GOOD Drakenstein Councillor and Caucus Whip Keagen Gerste.

The vote, through a secret ballot, was passed in Council on Wednesday. The motion was carried with 34 votes in favour of removal and 26 against his removal, with 2 abstaining from the process.

"Moreover, the motion to remove Poole was necessary because the DA's leadership failed to act. Their claims to always act in the interests of good governance were exposed for the hypocrisy it is," said Gerste.

He said while faced with serious allegations of corrupt and unethical conduct the DA chose to keep Poole on as mayor.

In August last year, GOOD wrote to the Speaker of Council about allegations that Poole was running a pay-for-jobs scheme with councillors paying a kickback for lucrative Mayoral Committee positions.

The complaint activated two consecutive investigations, in terms of the Councillors Code of Conduct, and prima facie evidence was found of a potential breach of the Code and of Poole violating certain rules.

"In addition to facing a disciplinary hearing, parties held that stronger measurements of accountability should be implemented against Poole. It was then agreed that his removal would best serve the people of Drakenstein," Gerste recalled.

Meanwhile, DA provincial leader in the Western Cape Tertuis Simmers assured residents that service delivery would continue unaffected, and since the party had a majority in council, a new DA mayor will be elected in due course.

Simmers said Drakenstein was one of the "best-run municipalities" in the country as confirmed by their back-to-back clean audit reports and many service delivery accolades.

He added that in the interim, Deputy Mayor Gert Combrink would take over the responsibilities of the Mayor.

Following Tuesday's briefing on developments in South African entertainer Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes's murder, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has hit back against Police Minister Bheki Cele for scoring "cheap political points" by trying to show that the South African Police Service (Saps) is doing its job.

Seven people were arrested for the February 2023 murder of AKA and his friend Tebello 'Tibs' Motsoane.

The DA said it acknowledged the arrests but said it was an "embarrassment" that they had only occurred more than a year later after the murders.

"Whilst the arrests are welcomed, these professional hitmen have been out on the streets for over a year, with how many other hits having potentially taken place. While Cele takes the opportunity to parade in front of the cameras for a case over a year old, he neglects to tell us of the 27 494 murders that occurred last year, the 25 181 murders the year before, or the 19 972 murders before that, and how these criminals have not been brought to book," said DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Police Okkie Terblanche.

He accused Cele of focusing on earning support through "publicity events" and said the justice system should treat everybody equally, regardless of status or "public prominence".

"The loss of life due to violence is always a profound tragedy, and every victim deserves equal treatment under the law; however, it should never be that mediocrity is celebrated or accepted," Terblanche said.

The Integrated Task Force, set up by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks, is coordinating the implementation of 205 'recommendations' that came out of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

Of these, 36 recommendations have resulted in three convictions and 11 cases before the courts. The remaining 169 recommendations are still being investigated.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile was providing an update in his keynote address at the National Conference on the Integrated Criminal Justice System and Review of Criminal Procedure Act, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.

The conference took place under the theme 'Strengthening the criminal justice system to keep our people safe and secure' and aimed to take stock of, and critically reflect on, the progress in the implementation of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) 7-Point Plan, targeted at promoting an integrated and modernised criminal justice system.

Addressing attendees, Mashatile acknowledged that confidence in South Africa's criminal justice system was declining.

He said the system and democracy had been put to the test owing to corruption, criminality and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

He noted that despite government's strategies to combat crime, the scourge remained persistent. He also pointed to overburdened prosecution and judicial systems, overcrowded prisons and a beleaguered police system.

"Looking at these challenges, it is easy to grow despondent, but we must never be discouraged. Instead, we must double our efforts to reach our desired goal. The legal system in South Africa has undergone significant changes since the apartheid era, aiming to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for all citizens. Post-1994, changes include a National Crime Prevention Strategy, victim empowerment programmes, and a diversion programme for low-impact offenses under Pillar 1, to ensure a human rights culture. Recently, we replaced the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy with the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy, approved in March 2022 by the Cabinet. This strategy focuses on preventing crime and violence through a 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach," Mashatile said.

Over the next few months, the JCPS will focus efforts on GBVF, corruption, creating an independent unit called the 'Investigating Directorate against Corruption' within the NPA, strengthening the Whistleblowers Act and revising the Criminal Procedure Act.

CONSTRUCTION MAFIAS AND UNLAWFUL ARRESTS

Mashtaile stressed the need to deal with crime in the construction sector, as it directly impacted the country's economy.

He said the Economic Infrastructure Task Teams were dealing with non-ferrous metal theft, infrastructure crimes, and illegal mining activities.

He stressed the need to strengthen existing interventions to protect infrastructure relating to State-owned companies Eskom, Transnet, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

"A concerted effort from all is necessary to unravel the complex web of construction site disruptions, which endangers lives and impedes the government's objective of transforming the nation into a massive construction site that generates employment and expands the economy," he said.

Crime and corruption, he said, undermined not only the rule of law, but also human rights.

Further, unlawful arrests also impacted the fundamental rights of individuals and should be reduced, the Deputy President stated.

"…it is imperative to reduce the instances of unnecessary arrests that may lead to unlawful arrests and detention. Promoting alternative methods of ensuring a suspect's court attendance, such as summons and written notices, is crucial to reduce costly civil claims against the State and address pressing needs. Ensuring these methods are more accessible to police officials, and considering greater judicial oversight over arrest is also necessary to reduce unnecessary arrests. This will indee...

Ahead of Raymond Zondo's end of term as Chief Justice on August 31, President Cyril Ramaphosa has nominated current Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya to take over.

The President is calling on political party leaders in Parliament to comment on Maya's suitability.

Drawing out her career, Ramaphosa noted that she held degrees from the University of Transkei, University of Natal, Duke University in the US and honorary LLD degrees from the Universities of Fort Hare, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela.

She began her career, in 2000, as a judge in the Eastern Cape High Court and has held the positions of Deputy and President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has also nominated Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Dumisani Hamilton Zondi to take on the role of Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Justice Xola Petse's term as Deputy President comes to an end on July 10, when he turns 70.

Zondi has degrees from the University of Fort Hare, the University of Natal, and from Georgetown University, in the US.

"Following a successful career in practice, Justice Zondi was appointed to the Western Cape Bench in 2007. In 2011, he became a Judge of the Competition Appeal Court. Justice Zondi was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal in June 2014. In 2022, he was appointed as a Chairperson of the Electoral Court," the Presidency revealed.

Ramaphosa will await submissions from the Judicial Service Commission on Zondi's suitability for the position.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is giving the African National Congress (ANC) 30 days to comply with its Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application, which the opposition party said is based on the same rationale that led to its Constitutional Court victory.

The DA announced, during its election billboard unveiling on Tuesday, that it will submit a fresh PAIA application to obtain the ANC's missing cadre deployment meeting minutes, a list of decisions, WhatsApp conversations, email threads, CVs, and all other documents relevant to the work of all regional and provincial cadre deployment committees dating back to January 2013.

This is the period when President Cyril Ramaphosa was the chairperson of the ANC's committee.

DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration Dr Leon Schreiber said that should the ANC fail to comply with the PAIA application within the 30 day deadline, the DA will take the matter to court.

Schreiber claimed that there is overwhelming evidence that the ANC also has active provincial and regional cadre deployment committees which subvert legal appointment processes in ANC-controlled provincial and municipal governments.

The DA will pursue the same records from provincial and regional committees following evidence from the State Capture Commission, and a series of documents apparently leaked to the DA, which Schreiber said confirmed the existence of these committees across provincial and municipal party structures.

For the PAIA application, the DA will use the precedent created in its Constitutional Court victory, which saw an order for the ANC to hand over complete records of its national cadre deployment committee.

Schreiber said the DA has been driving the fight against the ANC's cadre deployment policy for years.

"In South Africa we need to address the root causes of State failure and of economic collapse... We have put on the table, through this billboard, thorough the manifesto announced by the [DA] leader, a very clear undertaking that we are the party that will crush corruption by outlawing cadre deployment," he stated.

Last week, the DA sent a letter of demand to the ANC, indicating that it had analysed the 1 300 pages of cadre deployment records submitted, and that there were records missing.

"In fact, the very first item on the first minutes they send to us, is the adoption of the previous meetings minutes, which they claimed does not exist. We also know that the WhatsApp conversations, emails threads that were submitted to us mysteriously dates to the day after Ramaphosa stopped being cadre deployment chairman," Schreiber said.

He said there is much more that the ANC needs to handover, adding that the ANC failed to respond to the DA's lawyers' letter which gave the ruling party two working days to comply and submit any missing records.

Schreiber announced that the DA is currently drawing up court papers for a Contempt of Court application against ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.

"We will be using the precedent created in the Jacob Zuma matter because there are very important similarities. There ANC is now in contempt of an order that was confirmed by the Constitutional Court, just like Zuma was," he said.

He said the DA will demand equal treatment, referring to Zuma being given jail time for being in contempt of the Constitutional Court.

"We will be asking the court to uphold that same standard for Fikile Mabalula. Just like we did in exposing the records of the national cadre deployment committee, the DA will defeat any attempt by the ANC to hide these provincial and regional records, because it is in the public interest to see how the ANC unlawfully interferes in public sector appointments which hollow out the State, facilitate corruption, and cripple the delivery of services to citizens," Schreiber said.

'BITTER FORMER MEMBERS'

Meanwhile, DA leader John Steenhuisen rubbished rumours by former members of the party that the DA had also practiced cadre deployment.

This...

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has the publishing of the provisional voters' roll for inspection after the voters' roll closed, last week.

"This means no further voter registration may take place, either at a local office or online. Voter verifications as well as other validations are currently underway to ensure that there is compliance with the provisions of the law in respect of eligibility to vote," it said.

Last week President Cyril Ramaphosa announced May 29th as the day for South Africans to head to the ballot box for the national and provincial elections, calling on all those eligible to exercise their democratic right to vote.

The commission said that an electronic version of the voters' roll will be made available at all offices of the Commission for inspection purposes.

The IEC reminded role-players that objections to the voters' roll are governed by the law, highlighting that both the procedural and substantive requirements of the Electoral Act must be satisfied when lodging an objection.

The commission explained that following the determination of voters' roll objections, the Chief Electoral Officer will certify the voters' roll on March 12.

Electronic copies of the certified voters' roll will be made available to contestants and a printed copy will be prepared for use in voting stations on Election Day, the IEC said.

CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS

The IEC highlighted that this landmark election will see a third ballot, as well as the participation of independent candidates for the first time.

The Commission promotes the use of the online Candidate Nomination (CNS) platform, saying it is convenient and facilitates compliance with the requirements of the law as it provides a compliance dashboard for users.

Furthermore, the online platform generates pro-forma invoices and a payment gateway for the payment of prescribed deposits.

The IEC said that all independent candidates and political parties who intend to contest the general election must submit nomination requirements by 17:00 on the March 8.

The Electoral Commission will, after verifying the submitted nomination documents, issue notices on non-compliance where applicable. These notices will be issued on March 18 and those issued with such notices must rectify non-compliance by March 20.

The commission explained that in previous elections, there were candidates who were nominated by more than one political party, however, it said the law now obliges the Commission to notify affected parties and offer them an opportunity to either remove said candidate and substitute or confirm their continued candidature.

These notifications will be issued on March 22 and political parties have until March 25 to submit requests for removal, substitution or confirmation of candidature.

The provisional lists of candidates will be published for inspection on March 26 and 27.

"With all compliance matters and objections relating to candidates resolved, the Commission will publish the final lists of candidates on 10 April 2024 and certificates of candidature will be issued to certified candidates on 12 April 2024. The conclusion of the candidate nomination process will set in motion the ballot paper printing project," the IEC said.

Meanwhile, the IEC called on those who will not be in their voting districts on May 29 to apply for a special vote to cast ballots ahead of Election Day. Home visits and voting station based special votes will happen on May 27 and 28.

The applications for special votes will close on May 3.

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday that by reducing debt, government will spend more on improving infrastructure, schools and hospitals, and making communities safer.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that the less the State borrows, the more can be invested in the economy.

"This will help to create a virtuous cycle of investment and growth in the years to come," he said.

He noted that over the past 15 years, the country's debt burden had seen government spend more on interest payments than on education or health care services.

Last week, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the national Budget, which Ramaphosa believes will help achieve more rapid and inclusive economic growth while supporting government's developmental goals.

He said that the 2024 Budget showed that government was staying the course in its commitment to achieve a sustainable fiscal trajectory.

He highlighted that over the last five years, government had taken several actions to get the economy back on track.

"We have implemented far-reaching reforms in the energy, logistics, water and telecommunications sectors to address the binding constraints on growth. We have created a stable macroeconomic environment to encourage investment. And we have expanded public employment and social protection to create jobs and provide an income for those who are unemployed," he noted.

He said that while the country's economy had been weighed down by more than a decade of low growth and rising debt, made worse during the State capture era, the 2024 Budget showed that government was heading in the right direction.

He said that the Bdget took the country further along the path of reviving its economy and rebuilding its institutions.

Ramaphosa said the Budget protected critical services and social spending.

"We have allocated additional funds for service delivery, which will help to pay the salaries of police officers, teachers, nurses and doctors. This year alone, we will spend more than R480-billion on education, R272-billion on health and R265-billion on other services like water, housing and public transport. A further R7.4-billion will go towards the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which has already created more than 1.7-million opportunities for work and livelihoods over the last three years, ensuring that key programmes like school assistants will continue," he said.

Ramaphosa said that government was also increasing social grants to help the poorest households cope with the rising cost of living. He added that additional money had been allocated to the fight against corruption and State capture, following through on the commitment he made in the State of the Nation Address.

NEW MEASURES

The Budget included new measures to support growth and create jobs, while rebuilding infrastructure, with a new R2-billion grant established to fund the rollout of smart meters in municipalities, which Ramaphosa said would help to modernise the country's electricity system and reduce loadshedding.

A "generous incentive" will be introduced to support the manufacturing of electric vehicles from 2026 onwards, as part of government's commitment to position South Africa as a leading player in the green economy, he explained.

Ramaphosa added that innovative new funding instruments had been introduced for infrastructure projects, and National Treasury had published revised regulations to make it easier to implement public-private partnerships.

These measures aim to enable much greater investment in infrastructure.

"We are determined to continue on this path, following through on economic reforms, getting our public finances in shape and protecting basic services for the poor. Working together we will ensure that better years lie ahead," he explained.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday it wants the Public Protector to order Police Minister Bheki Cele to pay back the South African Police Service (Saps) costs incurred for his personal use of the police helicopter, including fuel, rental time, airport taxes and any other amounts.

This comes after Cele used an official Saps helicopter to get to the African National Congress's (ANC's) manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend.

DA Shadow Minister of Police Andrew Whitfield said Cele not only acted in a manner that was "unbecoming of a Minister", but that he used his position to unduly benefit himself and abuse resources, which were violations of the Ethics Code.

The DA noted that the Public Protector's Office must order that the use of the Saps helicopter was for private/party use and not in accordance with Cele executing his functions as Minister.

"Cele continues to burn through taxpayer Rands for his personal benefit, something that is in direct contravention of the Executive Members' Ethics Code. This is the second time in quick succession that Cele has abused taxpayer funds. Just last year, hundreds of thousands of Rands were spent on his personal assistant to travel with him to the Rugby World Cup Final in France - despite it being a privately funded trip. The Public Protector is already investigating this matter as well," said Whitfield.

He said Cele's "flagrant disregard" of the Ethics Code and abuses of power were indicative of the state that the country's policing finds itself in.

"With forever increasing crime rates, Saps members around the country are pleading for more resources to combat crime - yet here we have a Minister using vital State resources as his own personal taxi," Whitfield added.

He highlighted that a Minister of Police has only executive oversight powers and is not responsible for any "on the ground operation", despite what Cele said in various interviews.

"It is clear that he was at the stadium in his capacity as an ANC member, and any use of State resources is strictly prohibited," Whitfield said.

He said Cele's tyrannical rule over the Saps must come to an end, and accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of protecting Cele to prevent any further exodus of ANC voters, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.

RISE Mzansi national leader Makashule Gana says that despite the "sorry state of the economy", political party funding has "undeservedly" been allocated R200-million, with the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) getting the lion's share.

National Treasury has set aside nearly R3-billion for South Africans to vote in the general elections on May 29.

Tabling his Budget 2024 in the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa was allocated R2.3-billion, while police and defence were allocated R350-million to support the elections.

A further R200-million is allocated for political party funding.

Gana said it was absurd that South Africans were being forced to fund political parties that had "done little with their governance mandate".

He stressed that the R200-million could have funded more teachers, could have helped end poverty and could have helped single mothers.

Gana said it was clear that the political establishment did not stand with the people, and sought only to "advance their own interests at the expense of the people".

"The people of South Africa are being forced to pay for 15 wasted years marked by corruption, economic decline, and increased joblessness under the poor leadership of Presidents Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa," he highlighted.

He pointed out that while parties such as RISE Mzansi spend time and resources mobilising donations from South Africans, the political establishment has simply handed itself a cheque.

He didn't spare the DA in his comments.

"The DA, which prides itself as being better than the other political parties have confirmed that they are no different to the ANC. They have in fact formed a coalition around the people's money," said Gana.

RISE Mzansi is issuing a call to South Africans who believe in building a credible political to donate to the party.

Build One South Africa (BOSA) on Friday challenged Democratic Alliance (DA) federal executive chairperson Helen Zille to release documents relating to the party's cadre deployment policy.

This after Zille went public on X - formerly known as Twitter - to say the practice of cadre deployment was introduced in the DA under its former leader Mmusi Maimane, and that when she "ceremoniously" returned to the party the policy was done away with.

Maimane resigned from the DA in 2019, after the return of his predecessor Zille to the second-most senior post in the party in a bid to salvage lost support.

BOSA acting spokesperson Roger Solomons stated that there was no cadre deployment policy in the DA under Maimane.

"In fact, when he took office, Zille's own cadre deployment policy - fit for purpose - was expunged. That policy led to what appears like a patronage network of DA persons and affiliates in the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government," said Solomons.

He called on Zille to release the minutes of the federal executive (FedEx) meeting in which the "non-existent" cadre deployment policy within the DA was allegedly done away with.

BOSA wants Zille to release all minutes of any FedEx meeting where Maimane was present, which directed or dictated which individuals should be appointed to any government departments or entity.

"In particular instance where senior officials such as municipal managers or departments executive directors and head of departments were approved for appointments," said Solomons.

He also called on Zille to release the minutes of the meeting whereby Zille's "nearest and dearest" were appointed to senior positions in DA governments, which he said included the likes of Ryan Coetzee, Penny Tainton, Tim Harris and "countless others".

Zille responded to the challenge on X, on Friday.

"Let me remind you. 30 September 2016: your resolution to Fedex.

Reviewed and rescinded after John [Steenhuisen] became leader and I became Chair of FedCo," she responded to Maimane.

Meanwhile, African National Congress secretary general Fikile Mbalula called on the DA to release the minutes of the party's cadre deployment policy to the public.

However, DA leader John Steenhuisen has denied that his party has ever practiced the policy.