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An African National Congress (ANC) branch chairperson in Ekurhuleni has been ordered by the party's provincial disciplinary committee to publicly apologise on Facebook for questioning the ANC Gauteng's political partnership with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to take over several municipalities.

Andrew Baloyi faced a disciplinary hearing by the ANC provincial disciplinary committee after he was charged with contravening the party's constitution in a Facebook post which accused Gauteng ANC leaders of plotting to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The ANC Gauteng said Baloyi, a branch chairperson from Kempton Park, had "embarrassed" the party nationally and internationally when he accused the province of plotting with the EFF.

Baloyi shared a lengthy Facebook post in February in which he questioned the ANC Gauteng leadership's decision to partner with the EFF in a power-sharing deal in the province.

The two parties have successfully toppled Democratic Alliance (DA) elected mayors and council speakers in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and the West Rand.

Baloyi faced a hearing in May and pleaded guilty after having first indicated to News24 that he planned to fight the charges against him.

The ANC Gauteng said in a statement on Thursday that Baloyi had shown remorse during the hearing and pleaded guilty.

The provincial disciplinary committee ordered him to apologise on Facebook for his comments.

"As a branch chairperson, Andrew spearheads the organisational renewal programme. The ANC communications protocol is further at the forefront of the renewal process, as it seeks to regulate the conduct of members on social media platforms, among other conduct relating to the use of public communications platforms by members.

"In the light of the guilty plea and remorse shown and expressed, the provincial disciplinary committee found it prudent to make the following sanctions against Andrew: That he makes an unequivocal public apology for the harm caused to the ANC by his conduct of publishing the statement. He must make an unequivocal retraction of the statement and use the same Facebook page [he used for the infraction] to issue an apology and retraction of the statement," the committee said.

Baloyi has also been instructed to attend ANC political and media education workshops.

He had faced the likelihood of his membership being terminated.

The sanctions were awarded based on the condition that he is not found guilty of breaching the ANC constitution in the next two years.

The ANC said Baloyi's hearing served as a reminder to members that ill-discipline would not be tolerated.

"The unity of the ANC is sacrosanct, but that must never be viewed as an indictment to sacrifice the ANC's values on the altar to achieve that unity.

"To this end, the provincial disciplinary committee has committed that wherever ... ill-discipline rears its ugly head, it shall be addressed consistently, across the board, without fear or favour," the party said.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has romped to victory in the Ward 2 by-election in the uMvoti Municipality, defeating the African National Congress (ANC) and the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC).

The ward became vacant after ANC councillor Mdu Ngcobo died in a car accident last year.

The IFP's candidate received 1 052 votes to beat the ANC, ABC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The party won 53.13% of the votes, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, which pegged voter turnout at 50.72% in the Matimatolo ward during the 14 May polls.

The IFP had won 47.05% of the vote during the 2021 municipal elections.

The ANC only got 24% of the votes, and the ABC 19%.

In an interview with News24, new IFP councillor Zwakushiwo Zondi wasted no time in attacking ABC president Philani Mavundla, calling him a "power hungry and jealous man", who he said was now probably going to "try his luck" in the legislature.

Mavundla recently resigned as eThekwini deputy mayor after disagreements with the ANC.

He also dropped the IFP as a coalition partner after a fallout in uMvoti.

Mavundla, who was the former mayor of uMvoti when he was still an ANC member, was recently appointed as an advisor to Zulu King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini.

Zondi said the IFP would continue to grow "because we don't lie to the people".

"The community is delighted by the outcome. I'm very happy that they've placed their faith in us. We last saw service delivery in around 2009 or 2012," he added.

"Everything was fine then. People started remembering those times when service delivery still reached them."

He said that during the door-to-door campaign, the IFP had only asked for a chance, basing this on the party's record.

He acknowledged that roads had been fixed, but he added that water and unemployment were still major issues in the ward.

Zondi said:

The first order of business is to address the issues plaguing the ward. It's winter and we're going to try to get this water issue fixed. Whatever the community complains about, we're going to try to fix.

He also took digs at the ANC.

"They brought the big people, but we still beat them," Zondi said, in reference to national ANC leaders' visits in May.

The ANC deployed first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to campaign in the area last month.

The IFP's victory comes just weeks after the ANC's national leaders descended on the province to scold its provincial leadership for poor performance in governance and in by-elections.

When they visited in May, the party had won only four out of 12 by-elections since the ANC's provincial elective conference.

IFP provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli echoed Zondi's statement about voters' trust.

"The Inkatha Freedom Party in KwaZulu-Natal continues to grow from by-election to by-election and has achieved another remarkable feat," Ntuli said.

"This victory is a testament to the trust and confidence the community has in the IFP as the best alternative to address their challenges."

He said the by-election victory was a testament to the "enduring legacy" of IFP founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose leadership continued to resonate with supporters.

"Despite [Mavundla's] high-profile candidacy, the ABC could not secure victory," Ntuli added.

"This outcome reinforces the people's unwavering belief in the IFP as the party that best understands and addresses their needs.

"It is essential to highlight the challenges the IFP faced during this campaign. The ANC resorted to the unfair use of state resources at government events for their campaign in uMvoti. Such actions undermine the democratic process and create an uneven playing field.

"We acknowledge their faith in the IFP's ability to champion their concerns and deliver meaningful change to their lives. We will not disappoint them."

Meanwhile, the South African Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said the ANC had retained its seats in Eastern Cape by-elections in Ward 5 of the Kou-Kamma Muni...

Solidarity CE Dr Dirk Hermann on Wednesday said his union is getting ready for what it calls a major court case against the government’s plans for National Health Insurance (NHI) which were approved in Parliament on Tuesday.

The objective of the NHI Bill is to provide universal access to quality health care for all South Africans, but Hermann says government has already failed with the public healthcare system, and it now wants to fail on an even bigger scale.

He says the government’s plans of trying to capture healthcare through the NHI are unaffordable and unimplementable as it will lead to a mass exodus of health practitioners from the country.

He says government has a history of failure when it comes to State enterprises, and there is no reason to believe the proposed NHI will not be to the serious detriment of South Africans.

Solidarity has participated in all the public participation processes and has already achieved several victories against the NHI in court.

“We cannot trust the government and we cannot deliver our medical professionals to them and trust our health to their hand. This is going to be a major court battle,” he warns.

The African National Congress (ANC) failed in its latest bid to continue to hide its cadre deployment records from when President Cyril Ramaphosa was the cadre deployment committee chairperson.

The governing party sought to overturn a court ruling that it must hand over its cadre deployment records to the Democratic Alliance (DA).

In February, the DA succeeded in its court bid to force the ANC to hand over the complete records of the cadre deployment committee since 1 January 2013, when Ramaphosa became its chairperson.

This information would include meeting minutes, WhatsApp conversations, email threads, CVs and all other records of its committee. The ANC was ordered to hand over its records within five days of the judgment, but sought leave to appeal.

On Tuesday, Judge Willem Wepener of the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg dismissed the party's application with costs, finding that it had "no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal, nor is there any reason to refer the appeal to another court".

DA MP Leon Schreiber, who is spearheading the party's campaign against the ANC cadre deployment policy, said in a statement:

As a result of today's ruling, the original ruling stands, which means that the ANC has five days to hand over to the DA complete records of its cadre deployment committee, including meeting minutes, WhatsApp conversations, email threads, CVs and all other relevant documents.

"The fact that the ANC fought tooth and nail to hide these records from the public suggests that the documents will, for the very first time, expose Ramaphosa's personal complicity in State capture and corruption as cadre deployment chairman."

Schreiber's battle to obtain the records started in 2021, when he lodged an application in terms of the Promotion to Access to Information Act. The ANC refused this application and he turned to the courts.

The Zondo Commission took a dim view of cadre deployment, saying it is unlawful and unconstitutional.

Shortly before the commission's report about cadre deployment came out last year in June, the DA lodged a court application to have the policy declared unlawful and unconstitutional, which the ANC and Ramaphosa, in his capacity as president of the country, rather than president of the ANC, opposed.

Arguments were heard in January, but this judgment is still awaited.

The Constitutional Court – led by Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya – has unanimously denied suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s bid to get direct access to its Bench, so that she could argue for untrammelled state funding of her impeachment legal costs.

"The Constitutional Court has considered the application for direct access brought by way of urgency and has concluded that no case has been made out for exclusive jurisdiction and direct access," the apex court stated in a two-page order.

"The court has decided to dismiss the application without directions for filing answering papers. The court has decided not to award costs."

Mkhwebane will now have the option to pursue her case for unlimited State funding of her impeachment trial costs in the High Court. She had argued that this application was one of the reasons that the investigation into her fitness to hold office should be postponed.

She has previously argued that the R4-million cap placed on her continued legal representation by the Public Protector was "a non-starter" and "represents the surest way to guarantee that the present impasse [over funding] will replay and repeat itself come the projected and totally improbable June 2023 end-date of the enquiry or the depletion of the capped funds".

Based on estimates from Mkhwebane’s own lawyers, Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) had initially budgeted R4.55-million for her impeachment defence costs. This subsequently ballooned to R30-million – an amount that resulted in the watchdog body being unable to pay some of the costs orders issued against it as a result of Mkhwebane’s disastrous reports.

Mkhwebane wanted the apex court, which previously found that she was entitled to be legally represented during the Section 194 inquiry into her fitness to hold office, to order that Parliament, the inquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi and President Cyril Ramaphosa and "alternatively the state bears the legal obligation to provide resources" for that legal representation.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to form a joint working committee with the City of Cape Town for the urgent devolution of the railway system.

In a letter sent by Hill-Lewis to Ramaphosa on Monday, the mayor asked the president to confirm if the Cabinet-approved White Paper on National Rail Policy to devolve rail to capable metros still stands, given a "series of recent anti-devolution comments from within the African National Congress (ANC)".

He asked Ramaphosa "to form a joint working committee with the City to chart the way towards rail devolution in the shortest possible time. If we don't do this critical preparation now, it will take many years for rail to be devolved for the metro to run."

Hill-Lewis said the City could not accept delays, given that residents desperately need an affordable, safe and reliable rail service in Cape Town.

"In fact, lower-income households will save up to R932-million per year with an efficient passenger rail service in Cape Town.

Our research also shows that getting the trains running will sustain over 51 000 jobs and add R11-billion to the local economy each year."

The City has been pushing to take over the management of rail services in the metro.

Hill-Lewis said the municipality's devolution feasibility study was well under way, adding that they were ready to join hands with the national government to resuscitate Cape Town's collapsed passenger rail system.

"We are concerned about recent anti-devolution comments in the media by the newly appointed transport minister and the ANC's policy head economic transformation," he said.

Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed receiving the letter.

"The process is still with the Department of Transport. The president will respond directly to the mayor," he said.

In May last year, Cabinet passed the White Paper on National Rail Policy, which commits to devolving rail to capable metros and producing a rail devolution strategy in 2023.

Fast-forward to May this year and newly appointed Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga told media that there are no plans to devolve rail to the City.

Earlier this year, outgoing transport minister Fikile Mbalula declined to form a working committee, confirming in a letter to Hill-Lewis that his department "has not been given a directive by the government and I to start with any form of devolution".

Four members of the Section 194 inquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's fitness for office have recused themselves from a Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests probe into allegations that three African National Congress (ANC) MPs solicited bribes from her.

Mkhwebane's husband, David Skosana, alleged that late ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson, who served on the committee but wasn’t an active member, sought bribes of R200 000 each for herself, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi and ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina.

Dyantyi and Majodina have publicly denied the allegations.

Skosana has laid a complaint with the police, and Mkhwebane, after being so advised by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, laid a complaint with the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests.

Mkhwebane, along with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), United Democratic Movement (UDM) and African Transformation Movement (ATM), insist that Dyantyi should recuse himself. Mkhwebane also brought an unsuccessful application for Dyantyi's recusal last year.

This ethics committee does its work behind closed doors.

According to a statement from Parliament, the committee met on Monday when it received a briefing from the Acting Registrar of Members' Interests, advocate Anthea Gordon, on Mkhwebane's complaints.

"The matter is on the ongoing agenda of the committee," the statement read.

It said:

The committee noted that four of its members serve on the committee for Section 194 inquiry. The four members, Mr Bekizwe Nkosi, Mr Julius Malema, Ms Violet Siwela and Ms Mimmy Gondwe have been recused from the committee for the purpose of the complaints by the Public Protector. This is to ensure that the process before the committee is fair, ethical, and conducted with integrity.

"The committee will process the complaints in line with the provisions of the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosures of Members' Interests and will at its next meeting engage on the substance of the complaints. The committee observes principles of natural justice, which must be adhered to."

TimesLIVE reported that the committee advised Mkhwebane against releasing audio recordings she claims relate to the bribery allegations at a media briefing she scheduled for 12:30 on Tuesday because doing so could jeopardise the committee's work.

Mkhwebane nonetheless released the audio recordings, and called it the biggest corruption scandal ever for Parliament.

"For the first time, we can talk about state capture," she claimed.

The National Assembly rises on Thursday and only reconvenes in September. The ethics committee is not expected to meet during the recess. However, the Section 194 Committee, under pressure from Parliament to conclude its work, will meet during the recess and intends to finalise its report on 28 July.

This means that the committee, never known for the speed with which it processes complaints, will only finalise its investigation after the Section 194 Committee concludes its work.

The inquiry has suffered many delays in the last two months, relating to Mkhwebane's legal costs and representation, and on Friday it decided that it would pose written questions to Mkhwebane. If she chooses not to answer, it would only consider the evidence before it.

Mkhwebane has been waging a war of attrition with the inquiry, including court applications, calling irrelevant witnesses and filibustering by her advocate, Dali Mpofu, SC.

This means the process, which was initially scheduled to be completed by September last year, with R4.5-million as Mkhwebane's legal costs, is ongoing, and her legal costs have ballooned to R30-million.

The minority shareholders in the Takatso Consortium have accepted the Competition Commission condition that they exit the strategic equity partnership with South African Airways (SAA) in order for the deal to go through.

The minority shareholders are now in the process of appointing a corporate advisor with experience in global aviation deals. The advisor will help assess the market for potential buyers, confirm the fair value of the business and assist with the legal process, according to Gidon Novick, who represents the minority shareholders.

"We will use our best endeavours to sell our minority stake, but obviously the outcome cannot be guaranteed," Novick told News24. "It's a pity. We really wanted to play a meaningful role in a successful privatisation in this country."

In May, the commission recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the disposal of a 51% stake in South African Airways (SAA) to Takatso – provided certain conditions are met. One of these conditions is that the minority partners in the consortium, Global Aviation and Syranix - which co-owns LIFT airline – exit, to avoid decreasing competition in the domestic passenger market.

In terms of the Takatso deal, the consortium would obtain 51% of SAA's shares and provide the airline with a capital injection of R3 -illion over two years. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), as government's shareholder representative, would keep 49%.

Takatso consists of infrastructure investment firm Harith (80%), Global Aviation (10%), and Syranix (10%). The consortium will only take the helm at SAA once the deal is finalised. It has also indicated that it will not take on any of SAA's remaining legacy debt - which stands at about R1.5-billion.

Novick said they have written to the Competition Tribunal to say a process has been initiated for the sale of shares held in Takatso by the minority shareholders to take place.

A tribunal hearing is expected to take place in June.

Asked what the value of the minority stake is, he said it will be best assessed by the interest expressed by potential buyers.

"That would be an honest reflection of the market value in conjunction with going through the asset base of SAA and the potential income generation of the airline," said Novick.

SAA went into business rescue in December 2019. When the Covid-19 lockdowns were imposed and the rescue practitioners could not get more funding from the government at that time, all flights were halted. SAA came out of business rescue in April 2021 and restarted commercial flights on a smaller scale in September 2021.

It is currently operating to some domestic and African destinations. The DPE hopes that the Takatso deal will provide the airline with the necessary cash injection needed in the absence of further government bailouts.

The government's biggest challenge in improving South Africa's waning economic situation is failing to implement policies.

This is according to Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who gave a keynote address to the Batseta Winter Conference at the Sun City Resort in North West on Monday morning.

He said "the [country's] challenge remains execution", but added that this could be overcome by joining forces with the private sector.

"At the centre of our economic reconstruction and recovery efforts is the mobilisation of the public and private sectors around an infrastructure-led recovery. We are envisioning an aggressive expansion of social and economic infrastructure that meets the needs of the people of South Africa.

"This includes new investments in energy, mining, water and sanitation, roads and bridges, human settlements, health and education, digital infrastructure and public transport."

The government previously announced that private participation would be enlisted to tackle the challenges in public transportation, particularly in the ailing rail sector.

In February, Transnet announced that it would bring in a private partner to take over the running of its Durban-Johannesburg rail corridor for the next 20 years to help it deliver on its mandate.

Transnet ruled out complete privatisation of its assets, but has invited private players to participate in its rail and port network, which has been hampered by inefficiencies, ageing infrastructure and congestion.

Batseta is a non-profit organisation that is focused on the interests of principal officers, trustees and fund fiduciaries within the retirement industry. Its recent conference was intended to be an opportunity for attendees to learn about the latest trends, research and solutions offered by local and international industry experts.

Mashatile's utterances come after Stats SA announced last week that South Africa narrowly avoided a recession.

The country's economy delivered a surprisingly positive first quarter despite load shedding fears, with Gross Domestic Product expanding by 0.4% in the three months to end-March 2023.

Despite the recent economic challenges, Mashatile said, over the past 29 years the African National Congress-led government has adopted policies that have contributed to the transformation of the economy.

"The policy interventions have resulted in the transformation of key sectors of the economy and indeed society. We are, however, concerned that the economy is not growing at a rate that results in many being absorbed by the economy."

He said the government was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the gathering, as it allowed for the exploration of a blueprint for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic growth.

"In discussions over the past few days of the conference, I have observed with keen interest the topics and areas of focus, which include a discussion on climate change; energy and a just transition; and the smart use of investment funds. These topics demonstrate your commitment to finding lasting solutions in the economy.

"Hence we believe that, by working with you, we can build an inclusive and sustainable economy that grows and much higher levels than it is now," said Mashatile.

He cited the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October 2022 as the government's lodestar towards a new, inclusive economy.

"Our goal is to make a permanent and decisive break from an economic trajectory characterised by low and declining growth; the exclusion of women, young people and people with disabilities from the mainstream economy; falling per capita incomes; low investment; as well as high and deeply entrenched levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment," said Mashatile.

A recent Stats SA announcement said South Africa's dwindling economy was due to increased load shedding.

Mashatile said the government was continuing to strengthen the security of energy supply to mitigate the impact of p...

South Africa is considering a legislative amendment that would domesticate the Rome Statute amid controversy over Russian President Vladimir Putin's planned visit the country for a Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) summit in August.

According to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, South Africa remains a full member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has all the rights and obligations that accrue to all members of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), which state that it is the duty of every state to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.

The ICC intervenes only where a state is unable or unwilling to carry out the investigation and prosecute. The statute established four core international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression.

It is the very ICC arrest warrant for Putin that has placed South Africa in a diplomatic storm and led to the establishment of an interministerial committee to explore the legal options available to the government regarding Putin's visit.

South Africa, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, has an obligation to execute the arrest warrant issued against Putin.

Responding to a written parliamentary question, Lamola said the African Union's (AU) resolve to reform or transform the ICC from within rather than through withdrawals was a notable development.

"South Africa is considering a legislative amendment that would domesticate the Rome Statute so that it reflects all the articles of the Rome Statute. This includes the provision of Article 98 of the statute, which requires a waiver of immunities for persons charged by the ICC from third-party countries where there is no referral by the UN Security Council," Lamola said in response to a question from Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa.

Last month, Zane Dangor, director-general of the international relations department, said the case with Putin was the first time that a third party state had been issued a warrant of arrest where the investigation had not been triggered by the United Nation (UN) Security Council.

He told MPs on the Portfolio Committee on International Relations that Article 98, which deals with countries' obligations under international law, provides that the ICC must get a waiver of a person's immunity from a third state before proceeding with a request for the surrender of a person.

The Security Council may refer a situation to the ICC, which empowers the ICC to investigate all four crimes which fall under the Rome Statute without any further conditions.

The Security Council's powers under the UN Charter are the legal basis on which the ICC can investigate such crimes without any consent requirement by the states involved.

Where an investigation is initiated by the prosecutor proprio motu (on one's own initiative), or where a situation is referred by a state party, the prosecutor must inform the Security Council about the investigation and give the Security Council six months to determine that an act of aggression has occurred.

In February 2022, the Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution on ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as Russia wielded its veto power.

The Security Council's presidency is rotated on a monthly, alphabetical basis, and February 2022 put the Kremlin at the head.

Russia is one of the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council.

In October 2016, the fifth administration took a decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

South Africa sent a written notice of withdrawal to the secretary-general of the UN shortly after its decision.

In January 2017, the AU took a decision followed by a resolution issued in February 2017, encouraging member nations to withdraw from the ICC. Two other AU members – Burundi and The Gambia – also indicated their intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute in 2016.

However, The Gambia ...