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The World Court on Friday ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, but it stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Ruling on a case brought by South Africa, the court said Israel must ensure its forces did not commit genocide and take measures to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in the enclave.

In the ruling, 15 of the 17 judges on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) panel voted for emergency measures which covered most of what South Africa asked for, with the notable exception of ordering a halt to Israeli military action in Gaza.

Israel's military operation has laid waste to much of the densely populated enclave and killed more than 25,000 Palestinians in nearly four months, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel unleashed its assault after a cross-border rampage on October 7 by Hamas militants. Israeli officials said 1 200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 240 taken hostage.

The court said it was "gravely concerned" about the fate of the hostages in Gaza and called on Hamas and other armed groups to immediately release them without conditions.

But the ruling, welcomed by Palestinians, will still be an embarrassment for Israel and its closest allies, including the United States.

Israel had asked the court to reject the case outright, saying it respects international law and has a right to defend itself.

"The state of Israel shall...take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide convention," the court said.

Israel must report back to it on what steps it was taking in a month's time, it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the charge of genocide levelled against Israel was "outrageous" and said it would do whatever is necessary to defend itself.

"The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected," he said in a statement.

But while the ICJ's decisions are final and without appeal, the court has no way to enforce them.

The court did not rule at this stage on the core of the case brought by South Africa - whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognised the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.

South Africa hailed the judgment a "decisive victory" for international rule of law.

"Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people," South Africa's department of international relations and cooperation said in a statement.

"South Africa sincerely hopes that Israel will not act to frustrate the application of this Order, as it has publicly threatened to do, but that it will instead act to comply with it fully, as it is bound to do."

It said South Africa would continue to act within the institutions of global governance to protect the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.

South Africa's deputy president Paul Mashatile and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola were seen cheering and dancing at a gathering of the governing African National Congress party following the court's verdict.

South Africa argued two weeks ago that Israel's aerial and ground offensive was aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

Acts of genocide named in the convention include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group in whole or in part.

The man who admitted to a commission of inquiry that he had started the fire that claimed 76 lives at the Usindiso building in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, last year has officially confessed before a magistrate.

Both National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane and Dumisani Mabunda, lawyer for the accused, confirmed that Sithembiso Lawrence Mdlalose had confessed freely and voluntarily on Wednesday.

During his appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday, Mdlalose was officially charged with arson, 76 counts of murder, and 86 of attempted murder.

South Africa's top diplomat is leading the nation's delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where judgment on provisional measures in its genocide case against Israel will be handed down on Friday.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor will be in attendance representing South Africa at the hearing.

According to the ICJ, proceedings will start at 14:00 (SA time) at the Peace Palace, during which court president Judge Joan E Donoghue will read the court's order.

In its application, South Africa accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.

On provisional measures, it said in the application: "South Africa requests that the court indicate provisional measures to protect and preserve those rights, as well as its own rights under the convention, and to prevent any aggravation or extension of the dispute, pending the determination of the merits of the issues raised by the application."

South Africa is requesting that the ICJ grant interim injunctions, including that:

Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza.

Takes reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians.

Ensures that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance, including adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing.

Takes necessary steps to punish those involved in the genocide.

Preserve the evidence of genocide.

Israel has vehemently opposed the case.

South Africa's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept interest rates on hold at 8.25% in its first meeting of the year, having left the benchmark rate unchanged at a 14-year high for the past nine months. This was in line with economists' expectations.

The decision was unanimous, with the MPC currently made up of five members after David Fowkes, who was appointed as an advisor to the governors on 1 December, was made part of the committee.

The choice to maintain rates at a fourth consecutive MPC meeting comes after annual consumer price inflation (CPI) eased for a second month to 5.1% in December, the lowest since August last year and below economists' expectations of 5.2%.

On Thursday, headline producer price inflation also drew back - it decreased 0.6% month-on-month in December and 4.0% year-on-year. The figure again came in below market estimates.

Despite inflation's downward trend, the average headline CPI in the fourth quarter was above the SA Reserve Bank's (SARB) forecasts. Further, SARB's targeted range for inflation is 3% to 6%, with CPI still higher than the mid-point of 4.5%.

"While headline inflation continues to ease in much of the world, core inflation [which excludes volatile fuel and food prices] remains sticky and high," SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago said in his presentation in Pretoria on Thursday.

The longer-term economic outlook is also uncertain, as geopolitical tensions and climate change threaten supply chains, output and prices. This uncertainty, alongside high interest rates and debt, will dampen investor appetite and capital flows, resulting in volatile financial markets and asset prices, he said.

The SARB sees fourth quarter gross domestic product fourth quarter expanding by 0.4%, an improvement on the 0.2% contraction in the third quarter.

The performance of Transnet and Eskom remain a burden on the economy, with the governor saying:

The operation of ports and rail has become a serious constraint, and, alongside electricity shortages, contributed to weak output growth and higher costs last year. These constraints are expected to persist, severely limiting potential growth of the economy.

GDP growth was revised down to 0.6% from the November figure of 0.8%. The central bank's GDP growth forecast for 2024 and 2025 was unchanged from the previous meeting, at 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

Fuel price inflation was expected to be low, averaging below 1% in 2024. Food price inflation was revised higher for 2024, to 5.7%, but remained broadly unchanged over the forecast period. Core inflation was 4.9% in 2023 and the core inflation forecast for 2024 and 2025 was little changed at 4.6%, and 4.5% in 2026.

Headline inflation for 2024 is expected to ease to 5.0%, to 4.6% in 2025, and to 4.5% in 2026.

"While our baseline inflation forecast is of continued gradual moderation in global and domestic inflation, the risks to the outlook are still assessed to the upside," said Kganyago.

South Africa's national budget day has been confirmed for 21 February at 14:00, according a statement by the National Treasury on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will "announce government's spending, tax and borrowing plans for the next three years" in Parliament, it said.

This year's event will be closely watched, with Godongwana having said during the medium-term budget presentation in November that significant cost-cutting measures will be undertaken within the government and that the fiscus needed to recoup about R15-billion in taxes.

Promises by various finance ministers in the past to curb government's spending haven't amounted to much and analysts have questioned whether or not the state has the stomach for austerity measures, especially in an election year.

The need to raise an extra R15-billion has also been a topic for debate for the past three months, with consumers concerned that the likes of value-added tax could be increased. Economists have, however, said the amount isn't inordinate and that it could be achieved in a variety or ways, including not adjusting tax brackets so as to allow for bracket creep.

What this means is that if there's no intervention by the state, inflation and pay increases will push some consumers into higher tax brackets, resulting in larger revenues flowing into the fiscus.

Any statements on load shedding, Eskom's debt, Transnet and state-owned-enterprise bailouts more broadly will also be scrutinised.

In November, Godongwana said the government had made the mistake of focusing on fixing Eskom when what was required was fixing the electricity supply. Similarly, he said the issue with Transnet is about fixing the "structural aspects" hampering the sector, rather than the company.

When he spoke, no new allocations were made to state-owned and no support for state-owned companies was written into the budget in the next two years to come.

Social welfare grants and SA's borrowing plans will also be up for discussion and will form part of the fiscal consolidation that ratings agencies want to see.

With the date planned for a month away, National Treasury said on Monday it's now in a close-out period until 20 February and that senior officials will be unavailable because of preparations for the budget.

Annual consumer price inflation eased for a second consecutive month, to 5.1% in December from 5.5% in November. December's inflation rate was the lowest since August last year.

The median expectation of a Bloomberg survey of economists was 5.2%.

The average consumer inflation last year is now calculated at 6%. That's lower than 6.9% in 2022.

December's inflation decrease was driven by a decrease in fuel prices, which lowered the cost of transport.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, household contents and services, and recreation and culture also fell in December.

Bread and cereal prices fell by 0.2% from November to December but remain 7.5% higher than a year ago.

Maize meal prices eased by 0.9% from November to December, with the average price of a bag of maize meal (2.5 kg) declining from R37.04 in November to R36.64 in December, Statistics SA reported.

But meat prices ticked higher - to 3.9% in December from 3.5% in November. As bird flu continues to ravage South Africa, the price of fresh chicken portions are now almost 15% higher than a year ago.

The milk, eggs and cheese price index increased by 14.5% in the 12 months to December, higher than November's rate of 13.9%. Egg prices were 38% more expensive in December 2023 than a year before, down slightly from 39.9% in November.

But even though the inflation rate eased, it's not where the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) wants it.

"Stubbornly elevated inflation expectations, anchored above the midpoint of SARB's 3% to 6% inflation target, will support a continued hawkish policy stance by the Monetary Policy Committee in the forthcoming months - but easing global price pressures combined with the underlying weakness in domestic demand will support the commencement of a shallow interest rate cutting cycle [in South Africa] towards the middle of 2024," debt manager Futuregrowth said in a note.

The Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee is meeting this week and will announce its decision on interest rates on Thursday. Most economists expect rates to remain unchanged.

Risks to the inflation outcome remain to the upside, with CPI inflation likely to rise to around 5.8% year-on-year in January despite another petrol price cut in the first month of the year, according to Investec.

Government expects the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hand down judgment on provisional measures sought in South Africa's genocide case against Israel on Friday.

News24 understands that a government delegation has touched down in The Hague in anticipation of the judgment.

Two well-placed sources close to the matter said they were expecting the 17-member Bench to deliver its ruling on provisional measures that include ordering Israel to stop military actions in Gaza while the case is being determined.

However, the ICJ registrar has yet to issue formal communication on the matter.

In its application, South Africa accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.

Israel has vehemently opposed the case.

After the oral submission, ICJ Judge President Joan Donoghue said the court would decide on the matter as soon as possible.

Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Blade Nzimande on Tuesday told higher learning institutions not to deny National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students with outstanding payments registration for the current academic year.

Nzimande was giving an update on the state of readiness for institutions of higher learning following the release of the 2023 matric results.

He noted that as part of a smooth beginning to the 2024 academic year, NSFAS will process up to R4.2-billion as an upfront payment to all government colleges and universities prior to the finalisation of applications and registrations.

He added that out of its financial reserves, the scheme will pay R1-billon to colleges and R3.3-billion to universities, allowing them to register students for financial aid.

Nzimande explained that the scheme reported a number of outstanding allowances following a thorough data analysis provided by institutions to finalise payments of outstanding allowances for the 2023 academic year.

"I call on NSFAS, working together with institutions, to ensure that they speedily resolve all the outstanding payments. I am urging institutions not to deny NSFAS funded students with outstanding payments to register for the current academic year," he said.

Nzimande said that the outstanding payments were due to the reconciliation between NSFAS and higher learning institutions, predominately because of registration data changes.

He said the scheme ought to be strict in 2024 on its management with adjusting the registrations processes and institutions ought to submit their registration information timeously upon first submission.

He said submissions must not be made later than March 31.

He said NSFAS has received 1.5-million bursary applications as of January 21, saying the scheme has provisionally funded already more than 657 000 applicants, mainly who are South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries.

"This thing that we are not funding, it is not true," he said.

He said the scheme anticipates additional applications before the close of the 2024 application, on January 31.

He said applicants are requested to submit a consent form to verify relevant information from third parties, such as Sassa and the South African Revenue Service (Sars). He noted that the information is required to verify the employment status and income level of parents of the applicant.

"It is mandatary for applicant to download and upload a completed consent form on the NSFAS website or the NSFAS portal or its mobile application. The Sars consent form requirements affects students who are in the application data category," he explained.

He said non submission of the complete accurate and duly signed NSFAS form would disqualify a student from NSFAS funding due to NSFAS's inability to evaluate and determinate financial legibility.

However, he noted that Sassa beneficiaries who have been approved for funding, are not required to submit these forms. He added that this is because no financial checks are conducted on the parents of the applicants.

uMkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans (MKLWV) convenor Dan Hatto asserted on Tuesday that the MKLWV will take part in the protection of the uMkhonto weSizwe name, disputing that former President Jacob Zuma was a senior commander of the African National Congress' (ANC's) uMkhonto weSizwe military arm during the liberation struggle.

In December, Zuma addressed the nation in Soweto where he spoke about his political future and launched the uMkhonto weSizwe party.

Speaking exclusively with Polity, Hatto said it was "very disingenuous" for Zuma to have chosen December 16 to announce the formation of a new party using the name of uMkhonto weSizwe, using the original logos of uMkhonto weSizwe without any consultation with members.

He said Zuma wanted to "try by all means to exonerate himself" of the legal problems that he faced.

"As time goes on [he] is proving that this was just a ploy and nothing else for him to defend himself, for him to run away from responding to issues, especially in court. It was disingenuous for Zuma to have gone that far. For me personally Zuma is too much of an individualistic person. As revolutionaries we must be prepared to lead but we must also be prepared to be led," Hatto said.

He was also emphatic that Zuma was never a senior commander of uMkhonto weSizwe, as was claimed by the former President.

"If Jacob Zuma takes himself to be the commander of uMkhonto weSizwe - which we dispute, I want to say it right here - we know our commanders, we know [the] people that we fought with…," he stated.

The ANC has indicated that it will legally challenge the use of the name uMkhonto we Sizwe by the new political formation stating that the name belongs to the party.

Hatto said the MKLWV had written to the ANC, wanting to be part of the case, as it affected uMkhonto weSizwe directly.

ELECTIONS AND COALITION GOVERNMENT

Meanwhile, Hatto does not believe that the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe party's usage of the uMkhonto weSizwe brand will impact the ANC badly in the upcoming elections, noting that there are already people who have spoken out saying they will not join a party that is not clear about its own constitution and does not have policies.

"We as the ANC, the uMkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans, without taking sides within the ANC itself but doing the correct thing of renewing and strengthening the party, we know very well as to what is it that we are supposed to be doing as military veterans in defending the ANC," said Hatto.

He said while the ANC had made mistakes it needed the will to correct them.

Hatto said MKLWV will do "everything in its power" to make it possible for the ANC to win this year's election outright.

He said the MKLWV would, on Tuesday, submit a letter to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula indicating that the MKLWV wanted to be part of the election campaign.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has axed disgraced economist Thabi Leoka from his Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

"On Monday, 22 January 2024, the Presidency communicated to Ms Leoka the immediate termination of her membership in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council," said Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

Leoka has been under fire after the London School of Economics denied her claim that she has a doctorate from that institution.

Last week, Ramaphosa asked Leoka to "expeditiously address the matter of her qualifications".

Magwenya said that the council is a non-statutory body, therefore formal vetting wasn't a requirement.

"The members volunteer their time, and they are not employed by the presidency, nor are they remunerated by the state."

The 44-year-old is a well-known economist and commentator. In 2019, she was appointed by Ramaphosa to serve on the Public Investment Corporation Commission of Inquiry. She has also worked on a panel that reviewed SA's zero-rated VAT products.

On Monday, Leoka resigned from the boards of MTN SA and Anglo American Platinum in the wake of the controversy.

Both companies used the same language to announce her resignation, saying that the 44-year-old had stepped down to "attend to her health and the questions she has been facing concerning her academic qualifications".

Leoka, who is currently in the US undergoing medical treatment for glaucoma, is also listed on the board of the Small Business Institute. The institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Last year, Leoka resigned from her directorships at Netcare and Remgro.