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South Africans are gearing up to watch the much anticipated battle between the Springboks and New Zealand's All Blacks in the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, taking place in France.

South Africans are backing the Springboks. wishing them success.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa, will lead a strong contingent of South African fans joining the team in Paris.

Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Tsepo Mhlongo said despite a challenging tournament and attempts to derail the team's focus, the Boks have shown "true South African spirit", overcome adversity and are "on the cusp of making history".

"Your journey has already made us proud," Mhlongo said.

He noted that Springboks Coach Jacques Nienaber and South Africa Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus will be fielding the "most experienced team ever" to go up against New Zealand, and said the hope of an entire nation rests upon them.

"May your show of strength, unity, and resilience continue to inspire South Africans and the world. South Africa unites behind the Boks and we will ensure they feel the roar of every cheer tomorrow night! Bring it home, boys! Go, Bokke!" he said.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa is looking to be invited onto the pitch a second time by Springboks Captain Siya Kolisi to help lift the Cup.

"This will be the first time any country will hold four Rugby World Cup titles," Magwenya pointed out.

Ramaphosa wished the Springboks and the All Blacks well for this showcase which he hopes will be memorable for the in-stadium audience and the global media audience.

Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture chairperson Beauty Dlulane said all 60-million South Africans have been behind the Springboks since day one of the World Cup in France.

"The Springboks have given themselves a realistic opportunity to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Given the recent success of the team, this was hardly surprising, and as the committee we appreciate the unifying effect such success has had in the country," Dlulane stated.

She highlighted that this is further proof that success not only unites but a lot more has been achieved.

"[They have achieved] recognition in the rugby world and beyond; what the Springboks have done is also to etch South Africa's name in the annals of history. All that is left is to win the title for the record fourth time," she urged.

Dlulane noted that the Springboks had a crucifying passage that involved Scotland, Ireland, and the massive fight of having to eliminate the hosts France in the quarterfinals, as well as the "spirited England team" in the semi-finals.

Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport Anroux Marais has extended her best wishes to the Springbok rugby team.

"You have done us proud with your exceptional team spirit, and your never-say-die attitude, You have shown us that South Africa can be the best in the world when we all work together. All of the very best against New Zealand," said Marais.

Parliament's ethics committee has found a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa's executive Dipuo Peters guilty of breaches related to State capture at the troubled Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

Despite the Zondo Commission's findings against her, Ramaphosa appointed Peters as the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development.

She previously served as transport minister in former president Jacob Zuma's Cabinet, when state capture was at its height. Actions committed while she was in that position led to the committee finding against her.

The committee recommended that Peters be suspended from her seat in all parliamentary debates and sittings and from committee meetings and committee-related functions and operations for one term of the parliamentary programme. The committee's report must still be adopted by the National Assembly for the sanctions to take effect.

The complaints against her were laid by activist Zackie Achmat, who intends to run as an independent candidate in next year's elections, Zukiswa Fokazi, and NPO #Unite Behind in September 2022, following the release of the Zondo Commission's report.

Their complaints were as follows:

Peters was neglectful in her previous portfolio as minister of transport by failing to appoint a Group CEO of Prasa.

Peters dismissed the Prasa board chaired by Popo Molefe seemingly because it had uncovered R14 billion of irregular expenditure and instituted investigations into corruption at Prasa. The High Court found that the conduct by the Peters was irrational, unreasonable and unlawful.

Peters also attempted to stop the investigations into corruption at Prasa that were initiated by the Molefe board.

"That the member (Peters) failed to investigate the allegation of the R79 million of Prasa money paid by Swifambo to other people for alleged distribution to the African National Congress. The member was under a duty to ensure that corruption as rooted out from public entities."

Peters used Prasa buses for ANC events in 2014 and 2015 without ensuring payment from the ANC.

Peters is alleged to have influenced procurement proceedings by pressurising the Prasa CEO and Board of Control (BOC) because of the nationality of tender applicants. "The member allegedly demanded a change of the procurement prescript despite a legal opinion that indicated that changes to the procurement prescripts would be in breach of the procurement laws of the country."

Peters, through Majavu Incorporated Attorneys, told the committee the complaints "regurgitate the findings and recommendations [in] the state capture report and in the result demands 'accountability'".

The committee's report, as tabled, read: "The member is taking legal advice on the possible remedies that are open to her. The member intends taking the state capture report on judicial review to the extent that it relates to her. The member is awaiting the president of the RSA to put in place an implementation plan on how these matters are to be dealt with by Parliament. She will deal with the matter in a holistic manner and not in a piecemeal fashion and therefore will await the action plan by the president of the RSA."

"The member requested that any further process by the committee be held in abeyance until the president of the RSA's implementation plan is put in place. The member elects not to engage with the conclusions in the state capture report at this stage."

In their deliberations, the committee took note of the Zondo Commission's report.

Regarding her failure to appoint a CEO, the committee's report stated: "She is on record stating that the reason she did not appoint a Group CEO is because she thought that Prasa was not ready for a new CEO. Later, her testimony changed for the reason for not appointing a Group CEO.

The report indicated that the Prasa board gave the member names to be recommended as Group CEO, but she did nothing.

"Mr Molefe denied that he agreed with the member that Prasa was not ready for a Group CEO."

The...

An election poll conducted in recent weeks predicted a sharp decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC), placing the governing party at 45%.

The Social Research Foundation (SRF) poll, conducted in October, placed the Democratic Alliance (DA) at 31%, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 9% and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at 6%.

The poll was conducted on 1 412 registered voters, with a 5% margin of error in place, and forecast South Africa's electoral mood ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections.

The SRF conducted two previous polls which tracked electoral support for parties that were noticed by the registered electorate.

The first poll was conducted in July 2022 and involved 3 204 participants. The second was conducted in March 2023 with 1 517 participants.

The survey showed that even with a high voter turnout at 66%, the ANC's support would decline.

The July 2022 survey placed the party at 50% support.

In the March 2023 one, support increased to 52% but then sharply declined in October 2023.

The DA showed growth in all three surveys.

The party, led by John Steenhuisen, polled at 31% in October from 24% in March 2023 and 25% in July 2022.

The EFF showed an increase and a decline. The party polled at 12% in July 2022, 6% in March 2022 and 9% in the latest poll.

The IFP appeared in the survey, with the party polling at 2% in July 2022, 6% in March and 6% in October.

With a slightly lower electoral turnout of 56%, the ANC polled marginally higher at 46%, the DA at 31%, and the EFF at 10% and 6% in the October 2023 survey.

The SRF poll shows that the DA, with a lower turnout, would receive the same results at 31%, the EFF slightly higher at 10% and the IFP at 6%.

"The data reveals that ANC support levels have slipped somewhat relative to July 2022 and March 2023. DA support levels have lifted over that same period, as has support for the IFP. EFF support appears to be pinned near the 10% mark. All other parties have support levels near or under the margin of error," the SRF said.

A similar poll by the Brenthurst Foundation showed a similar decline in support and placed the ANC at 37% in Gauteng and 32% in KwaZulu-Natal.

September's annual producer price index accelerated for a second consecutive month to 5.1% from 4.3% in August. This was hotter than economists expected.

The main contributor was food products, beverages and tobacco products, which increased by 4.4% year-on-year and contributed 1.1 percentage points, according to Stats SA. That was followed by metals, machinery, equipment and computing equipment, then paper and printed products and finally transport equipment.

SA Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, warned at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting last month that food prices may increase further and put pressure on inflation. The reasons behind climbing food costs include volatile oil prices, a depreciating rand and weather events that have damaged crops.

The gauge rose 1.5% month-on-month.

With PPI showing that domestic producers are receiving higher prices for their goods, a knock-on effect typically follows for consumer prices. Earlier this month data from Stats SA showed annual consumer price inflation accelerate to 5.4% in September from 4.8% in August - this was also the second consecutive increase. It was in line with economists' expectations.

Neither measure bodes well for the interest rate decision at the end of November. In sub-Saharan countries with still rising inflation, "further monetary tightening may be required until there are clear signs that inflation is cooling", the International Monetary Fund said in a recent report.

The country's benchmark rate, at 8.25%, is already at a 14-year high, but so far data is signalling that the MPC may have to hike it further in order to try quell inflation, which eats away at the value of the rand.

Political parties attending launch of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC's) 2024 national and provincial elections campaign have expressed their readiness for what is touted to be South Africa's wastershed election since democracy in 1994.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont tells Polity that the upcoming elections will be the first elections in which South Africans can voice their opinions on the country since loadshedding became a permanent feature as well as amid the ongoing controversies of Phala Phala, the ongoing degradation of the economy and the loss of jobs.

Beaumont says his party is "ready to take its campaign to the corners of South Africa. We have spent a great deal of time building structures on the ground across South Africa because contrary to popular belief it is those structures on the ground, talking with people directly, that wins elections more than social media or anything else."

The IEC announced that young persons between the ages of 20 and 29 account for 3.7-million voters on the roll.

Beaumont shares that his party seems to be attracting young people and unregistered people, with the average age of the ActionSA member being under 38, which he said is very young "when we talk about political parties across the South African spectrum".

"We have enormous responsibility ahead of all other political parties in this election to get [first-time voters] out to register to vote on the registration weekend of the 18th and 19th of November because we must be clear, people who haven't registered up until now are not going to do so for a political party that they have had the option to register for for some time and who they feel let down by," highlights Beaumont.

Touching on the Multi-Party Charter, which recently welcomed the African Christian Democratic Party as an eighth member, Beaumont says that all members of the alliance are working together in a unified way to create momentum.

Meanwhile, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa says his party is more than ready for the elections as it prepares for its policy conference in December which will inform the party manifesto.

Hlabisa urges the 13-million South Africans who are not registered to vote to use the voter registration weekend to be part of the election process because "we know our people are saying what is the point of registering because the government is not doing what we want it to do. The message is simple, if you want a change in the government you must be part of the election process. Use your vote to remove a government that is not delivering on your mandate. If you abstain, the status-quo will remain but if you participate, you will change things to what you want it to be."

Hlabisa also appeals to the dormant 14-million voters who are registered but do not want to vote and reminds them their vote is the power in their hands.

He adds that protesting and abstaining from voting will not remove a government that is failing.

The IFP leader says the KwaZulu-Natal province is the party's first target, as it wants to reclaim the province. It also wants to be part of a Gauteng coalition government.

Habisa told Polity that his party wants to cut the ruling African National Congress's (ANC's) electoral support below 50% nationally "so that the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa, as a coalition government, becomes an alternative government to save our country from crime, unemployment, loadshedding, poor education and poor health system."

Hlabisa says the 2024 election is a turning point in South Africa and must be a watershed moment just as when the apartheid government was removed in 1994. He says the ANC must also be removed as it has failed South Africans.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says the upcoming elections are crucial as no party will win with an outright majority and every vote will count.

Steenhuisen says the IEC election campaign launch is vital as there are 13.8-millio...

Bulk water supplier Rand Water noted on Wednesday that while it continues to pump at maximum capacity, storage capacity continues to drop, all this amid raising concerns about huge amounts of outstanding debts by municipalities.

Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai gave an update on its water provision in areas of supply where he revealed that the entity has added additional storage and purification infrastructure.

He noted that with Rand Water's current challenges, it won't be able to pull off its infrastructure development if it is not paid on time. Municipal debts are currently sitting just under R6-biilion as of September.

Mosai said as a result Rand Water's net trade receivable on the balance sheet will reduce from about R6-billion to R3-billion.

"So we are seeing an expected credit loss that is increasing to a 35% jump from 2022 to 2023, to more than R5-billion. We are concerned because we are expected and we have an obligation to supply bulk water, upgrade, refurbish, operate our infrastructure but we need to be paid," he said.

While he acknowledged the challenges facing municipalities he said Rand Water is self-reliant and self-sufficient, with no assistance from the fiscus.

". so it is important that we get paid on time to continue to maintain the system," he explained.

He highlighted that the City of Tshwane and City of Ekurhuleni are municipalities with biggest outstanding debts. Tshwane has an outstanding amount of about R690-million and Ekurhuleni's debt is sitting at R440-million.

While both municipalities are making payments they ae not being made on time, Mosai said,

"We have received payment for this month, we are hopeful that between the 25th and end of the month, the current accounts will have been at least been settled," he said.

He added that Mogale City has debts of about R43-miilion, the Madibeng municipality has over R7-miilion in debts and Royal Bafokeng's debts are over R5-million.

Mosai explained that seven municipalities are under the category of non-performing municipalities with debts of about 90 days and beyond.

Lesedi local municipality has outstanding debts of more than R48-million and Ngwathe local municipality, in the Free State has more than R58-milion in debt.

Victor Khanye local municipality owes more than R300-million and Rand West municipality owes about R400-million.

Merafong city local municipality, Govan Mbeki municipality and Emfuleni local municipality each owe more than R700-million.

Mosai noted that Rand Water's biggest customer, Joburg Water, is making payments on time.

"We remain internally grateful to the mayor, the MMCs, finance and water and sanitation infrastructure provision, MD and the Board, for paying us on time. We thank Midvaal, Metsimaholo, Rustenburg and Thembisele Hani for being the best performing municipalities in our value chain," he said.

GROWING WATER DEMAND

Meanwhile, he explained that through Rand Water's augmentation plans for ensuring a sustainable water supply and meeting current and growing demands, Rand Water has embarked on building a completely new water purification plant station 5 at the existing Zuikerbosch Station.

Zuikerbosch Station 5A was launched in August with the main objective of providing an additional 1 200 ML/day of potable water to the current supply capacity of Rand Water.

Mosai added that construction of the scheme commenced in 2015, adding that the

additional supply of 150 ML is now complete.

Democratic Alliance (DA) national spokesperson Solly Malatsi has dismissed claims that his party is in secret negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) for a coalition government after the 2024 elections.

This follows a recent book titled 'Who will rule South Africa?: The demise of the ANC and the rise of a new democracy' written by News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson and assistant editor: politics and opinion Qaanitah Hunter, which claims that there are secret talks between the ANC and the DA that would result in an ANC president and Cabinet and the DA controlling the legislature and Parliament.

Malatsi accused Basson of using false claims to sell copies of his book.

"The DA will not be deterred by this sideshow. We have an election to win and a government to form that will not include the ANC or Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)," he said firmly.

The DA has previously been on record saying that it and its Multi-Party Charter colleagues will never enter any coalition arrangement with the EFF and the ANC.

Malatsi said Basson's claims were untrue and added that "a claim of this magnitude must never be published without supporting evidence or seeking comment from the DA to clarify it. By doing so without applying those basic journalistic requirements, Basson has allowed fiction to get in the way of facts".

He noted that the DA's mission for South Africa had always been to replace the ANC's "corrupt" government with one that upholds the rule of law and pursues market-orientated policies that create jobs and produce an economic surplus to alleviate poverty.

"The DA's vision centres on accountability, good governance and economic growth, something that the ANC has proven incapable of providing to South Africa," said Malatsi.

He added that the DA had no interest in co-governing with the ANC or keeping the ANC in power and that the party was also "not interested in rescuing the ANC from their own mistakes".

Malatsi pointed out that the recent alignment of the ANC with the EFF in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni highlighted the ANC's willingness to compromise on anything for the sake of power and patronage.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) CEO Andile Nongogo has been fired amid a R47-billion payments scandal.

On Tuesday, NSFAS officials told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that Nongogo has been axed.

NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khoza told Scopa that the decision was taken late on Monday night.

"Just last night, the board took a decision to fire the CEO of NSFAS," Khoza said.

NSFAS revealed last week that a probe by law firm Werkmans Attorneys and advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi found that the suspended Nongogo, among a slew of "irregularities", had handpicked four firms to pay around 1.1-million students their R1 650 monthly allowances directly and not through tertiary institutions, which had been the previous payment method.

Four companies responsible for directly paying NSFAS beneficiaries were named in an investigative report.

One of the implicated firms threatened legal action should it be removed from the lucrative contract.

Tenet Technologies, implicated in a brazen conflict of interest in the R47-billion NSFAS direct payment scandal, vowed to sue the state fund should it cancel its "irregular" contract.

The company threatening legal action is embroiled in a court case involving a multimillion-dollar debt.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the efforts of law enforcement agencies and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to bust coal smuggling syndicates operating in the country.

Planned search and seizure operations targeting coal smuggling syndicates have gained traction across five provinces with the documents of individuals alleged to have committed procurement fraud, tax crimes and coal diversion being confiscated.

This operation follows on from a raid in September on an illegal coal mine in Mpumalanga, where the South African Police Service (Saps) Illicit Mining Task Force seized R60-million of mining equipment.

Ramaphosa decried the impact of coal smuggling on the lives of South Africans and alluded to the impact of coal diversion as an impediment to the country's energy generation capacity.

"When I visited the Tutuka power station in Mpumalanga last year, the plant's management explained to me the significant damage caused to its operations by this inferior coal. The coal is often mixed with other stones and other materials. They explained that the conveyer belts at the power stations repeatedly break down because the stones damage the belts, with the result that spare parts have to be brought at substantial costs. The entry of poor-grade coal into the production processes further affects power station boilers, causing corrosion and other long-term damage," he added.

Ramaphosa has stressed the need to strengthen institutions such as the Energy Safety and Security Committee and the Tactical Joint Operations Centre to investigate and prosecute these crimes. Due to the operations of the Energy Safety and Security Committee, a total of 234 arrests have been made with the confiscation of R260-million. The President has also commended the Asset Forfeiture Unit for its role in ensuring that individuals implicated in coal smuggling are unable to hide their improper proceeds from the law.

Investigations into Eskom-related corruption led by the Special Investigating Unit are yielding results, he noted. Through litigation, coal supply agreements to the value of R3.7-billion have been declared invalid.

"There will be more arrests. There will be more seizures. The impunity that has allowed many to believe themselves beyond the reach of the law is a thing of the past. To stop the rot at Eskom, mining houses, labour, business and civil society need to work together. The media also needs to continue the work it is doing to uncover criminal acts at Eskom," said Ramaphosa.

Independent Election Commission of South Africa (IEC) chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo on Tuesday declared that the IEC is ready for the 2024 national and provincial elections and reminded South Africans that they have a duty to elect public representatives who will guide the course of the country's national future.

Mamabolo was speaking at the IEC's launch of the 2024 elections campaign, in Midrand, under the theme "Your Democracy. Own It". The elections will be held as the country marks 30 years of democracy.

He said an election was possible between May and the middle of August 2024 and that, in terms of the Constitution, the country must have an election within 90 days of the expiry of the legislatures' terms.

Mambolo said that while the term of office of the current legislatures ends around May 18, the national and provincial governments would remain in office until the newly elected public representatives are able to take office.

"The proclamation of the election date is by our head of state, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa after consultation with the electoral commission. Our expectation is that the provincial elections will, as they have for the past 30 years, be synchronised with the national election," he added.

He said the 2024 elections would be historic as independent candidates would, for the first time, be able to contest the national and provincial elections.

In April, Ramaphosa signed into law legislation enabling the participation of independent candidates.

Mamabolo shared that the changes in the electoral system in as far as the independent candidates is concerned has also affected the IEC business operations.

At a high level, some of the implications to the electoral systems are supporting technology applications are being rewritten anew, this includes the candidate nomination system as well as the results system.

November 18 and 19 of this year will be set aside as a voter registration weekend when 23 296 voting stations will be open across the country to allow new voters to register, while registered citizens will have an opportunity to amend their details if they have changed addresses.

The IEC issued a clarion call to South Africans to use the Commission's online portal for registration, verification and updates or to make use of the WhatsApp Chat box via 0600 88 00 00.

"We urge you to actively participate in the registration weekends and exercise your responsibility as engaged citizens who choose their own representatives. We extend a call to all electoral stakeholders to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, working collaboratively to make these historic elections a resounding success," Mamabolo said.

The IEC has said that it will target 80 000 community events where it will conduct voter education, which it said was crucial.