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Ipsos highlighted on Tuesday that while it was uncertain whether unemployment and high levels of crime and violence will play significant roles in next year's election campaigning, South Africa’s third largest worry, financial and political corruption, will.

According to Ipsos’ ‘What Worries the World’ survey, 69% of South Africans cited unemployment as their top worry, as opposed to 41% of the rest of world who chose inflation.

Meanwhile, 58% of South Africans chose crime and violence as their second-biggest concern with financial and political corruption coming in third as chosen by 57% of those polled.

“We can clearly observe the current debates and controversies about the alleged corruption at electricity provider, Eskom, and at other state-owned enterprises. The big question – without a doubt – is if any of these issues will play a role in the outcome and/or the percentage poll (turnout) in the national election in 2024. In findings from the Socio-Political Trends Study, 54% of South Africans mentioned that they might refrain from voting as a result of the perpetual blackouts and problems with electricity supply where they live and work,” said Ipsos.

It added that the growing unease about unemployment in South Africa served as a stark reminder of the challenges facing the country.

Among the 29 countries surveyed, only nine saw an increase in concern about unemployment from the previous year, while other nations showed signs of employment recovery after Covid-19.

Ipsos highlighted that even during periods of relative calm, concern about unemployment in South Africa had not dipped below 60%.

“By contrast, India, the country with the second-highest level of concern about unemployment, trails far behind South Africa at just 49%. On a global level, the issue of unemployment ranks as the fourth biggest concern (out of a list of 18), with a mere 27% selecting it as a worry,” it noted.

It could be argued that the pervasive anxiety over unemployment in South Africa is well-founded, Ipsos said.

The country's unemployment rate surged to a record high of 34.4% in Quarter 4 of 2020, up from 23.3% a year earlier.

The latest data on South Africa's official unemployment rate show that 32.7% of South Africans – or 7.8-million people – are currently without work.

Ipsos explained that this meant that more than a third of the country's potential workforce was unable to secure employment, underscoring the severity of the issue.

Furthermore, the impact of unemployment was particularly pronounced for women, with 35.5% of women currently unemployed compared to 30.4% of men.

DISTRIBUTION OF JOBLESSNESS

Ipsos said the challenge of unemployment in South Africa was compounded by the uneven distribution of joblessness across the population.

The youth are disproportionately affected, with 61% of those aged between 15 and 24 unemployed during the last quarter of 2022.

Further, 33.6% – or 3.4-million out of 10.2-million – young people in this age group were not in employment, education, or training. This is not only a significant social and economic issue but also a potential source of political instability, highlighted Ipsos.

It went on to explain that the pervasive worry about unemployment in the country was not limited to concerns about the present, but also reflected a broader sense of unease about the country's future trajectory.

Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane couldn’t obtain a legal team for the “unrealistic and absurd” fee of R4-million, leaving the Section 194 committee inquiring into her fitness for office with no choice but to postpone her continued evidence by a week.

Mkhwebane was scheduled to continue with her testimony on Monday, after it screeched to a halt on 31 March due to an impasse about the funding of her legal team. The cash-strapped Office of the Public Protector indicated it couldn’t continue to fund her ever-burgeoning legal bill in the new financial year.

However, after meetings with the National Treasury, the Office of the Public Protector found a further R4-million from its retained surplus from the 2021-22 financial year, and availed this to Mkhwebane’s legal fees.

This R4-million brings the legal tab the Office of the Public Protector has picked up for Mkhwebane to R30-million. However, it appears this is not enough for Mkhwebane.

In a letter to the committee, dated 4 May, Mkhwebane wrote: "Going forward, I need time to secure legal representation. I am not sure as to where will I get a legal team that will agree to your unrealistic and absurd terms dictating that the work to be undertaken must not exceed an amount of R4000 000.00 or a period of one month."

She added: "It ought to be obvious that these are absurd and impossible conditions to impose given the nature and scope of all the outstanding items in the enquiry and the real possibility of having to engage either the previous or a new legal practitioner of my choice."

"Please take note of the fact that should my previous legal team not be able or willing to return, the new legal team, if agreeable to your capped fee, will still have to peruse the 65 000-page record, excluding the transcript of the illegal 'committee meeting'.

"This alone may take months. This would be so even if the other issues raised above regarding fairness were resolved, which is not the case at present. Either way, the conditions of service must be negotiated and agreed between PPSA, or any other appropriate organ of state, and my nominated legal team."

By Monday morning, her position hadn’t changed, and she appeared before the committee sans legal team.

While Mkhwebane couldn’t find a legal team to represent her at the inquiry proceedings, she did manage to brief lawyers for another court challenge against the proceedings, this time to the Constitutional Court.

In papers filed on Friday, Mkhwebane asked the apex court – whose judges she threatened with a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission in Monday’s meeting – to provide clarity on her legal funding.

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

Mkhwebane demands unlimited state funding of her Section 194 defence on the Constitutional Court's earlier ruling that afforded her the right to be heard in her defence and "to be assisted by a legal practitioner or other expert of her choice".

She said the failure to grant her such funding amounted to a "malicious breach of the said binding court order" and "contempt of court at worst".

Furthermore, Mkhwebane also impugns the committee's decision to be briefed by the evidence leaders on the documentary evidence – mostly related to the raft of court decisions against her – while she was without legal representation in committee meetings, not hearings.

Mkhwebane, whose term ends in October, wants the process to start anew.

"I wonder why I was expected to come back, and we are continuing today," said Mkhwebane on Monday morning.

She said she had never handled the money for her legal fees; the Office of the Public Protector handled this.

"So basically, chairpers...

Government will lodge an urgent appeal against a ruling that it prevent loadshedding for schools, healthcare facilities and police stations within 60 days.

This step is to avoid "undue risk" to the country's grid, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Enterprises on Monday.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria made the ruling to exempt these facilities of loadshedding last week Friday. The application was originally lodged by the United Democratic Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party, Action SA, the National Union of Metalworkers and 15 others. They sought for hospitals and clinics, 23 000 public schools and police stations to be exempt from loadshedding, along with water and sanitation services, small businesses that deal with perishable goods and cellphone networks. The judgment, however, only focused on education, health and policing facilities, News24 reported.

The judgment noted that where it is impossible to isolate embedded buildings and spare them from loadshedding, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan must ensure that generators and other alternate energy supplies are secured to ensure uninterrupted power.

In a statement, Gordhan said that the Department of Public Enterprises had "serious concerns" about the implications of the court ruling on the current efforts to stabilise the national grid and to get the country out of loadshedding.

"The department has studied the ruling and has determined through legal advice that the prudent step to take is to lodge an appeal to set aside the ruling and allow for the ongoing efforts to end loadshedding to proceed without putting undue risk on the country’s grid infrastructure," Gordhan said.

"While the department respects the independence of the courts, in this case the department believes that the judgment would have unintended consequences and undermine the very efforts to balance the protection of the rights that were ventilated in this case, with the need to stabilise and protect our grid infrastructure," Gordhan said.

The decision comes following statements by presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya that an appeal would be "very likely".

Economists meanwhile have expressed doubts that government would be able to abide by the court order, for practical reasons.

"It seems very expensive and thus almost impossible," said Johann Els, Old Mutual Investment Group chief economist. Els believes that with an appeal – that would likely go to the Constitutional Court – any final decision or implementation regarding the ruling wouldn't happen this year.

Peter Attard Montalto, managing director of research and consulting firm Intellidex, also doesn't see the ruling materialising. "It won't happen as it will be appealed. It's completely impossible practically or fiscally to do it in 60 days, and the state lacks the competence to do it in any reasonable amount of time," he said. Montalto noted that the appeal would bring to the fore the importance of constitutional rights and fiscal realities.

Judgment was reserved on Part B of the ruling, where applicants want the court to issue an order to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa legally responsible for the human cost of loadshedding.

In a statement following the ruling, one of the applicants, the South African Federation of Trade Unions, highlighted that the long-term relief is for loadshedding to be declared a "violation of human rights" such as the right to equality, the rights to life and education and the freedom of economic activity.

"It is clear that loadshedding violates the rights of the general population in the country. In particular, its impact on the lives and rights of the overwhelming working-class majority is devastating.

"Unlike the economic elite, the working class cannot afford alternative sources of energy for their household heating and cooking," said general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

He added that many public institutions, such as hospitals, clinics and schools, do not have backup generators, an...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is urging the country’s media to use its reach and influence to encourage more citizens to register to vote for the 2024 general elections.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation on Monday that South Africa’s journalists continued to be the standard-bearers for accountability and the empowerment of citizens.

He acknowledged that media freedom was a pillar of the country’s democratic order.

“Next year the country heads to a general election. As citizens prepare to exercise this important civic responsibility, the media should use its reach and influence to encourage more citizens to register to vote,” he said.

He added that the media should also make a greater effort to cover issues in communities that sometimes receive little coverage in the mainstream media.

“Without seeking to unduly influence voters, the media should focus on the critical issues that matter to people when they need to decide who to vote for,” he said.

Ramaphosa highlighted that media freedom, like so many of the rights contained in the country’s Constitution, was hard-won.

He added that media investigations have shone a spotlight on corruption, the abuse of vulnerable people, the targeting of whistleblowers, and wrongdoing within the State, the private sector, academia and other sectors.

He said the growth of citizen journalism and the spread of smartphones had made it possible for all manner of newsworthy events, including the actions and utterances of public figures, to be instantly disseminated to a mass audience.

Ramaphosa noted that in South Africa, journalists were free to work without censorship, harassment or judicial sanction, even when harshly criticising those in positions of authority.

However, he explained that the media in South Africa was also faced with a number of challenges. Several media institutions were struggling to survive in the face of technological change, shifting media consumption behaviour and the after-effects of the Covid-19 epidemic. These developments inevitably undermined the vibrancy and diversity of the country’s media, he said.

He highlighted that in recent years, there had been incidents where journalists had been threatened or assaulted in the course of their work. Some have been vilified on social media or targeted by political figures.

“As a society, we must condemn such actions and work to prevent them. It is indeed important for the media to hold those in authority in government, business and civil society to account in the public interest. At the same time, the media has an important role to play in educating and informing citizens on the issues that matter most to them,” Ramaphosa said.

He argued that the state of the country’s media was not defined by its ranking on an index, but by how it contributed to building a vibrant democracy with an informed, empowered and active citizenry.

Last week the release of the World Press Freedom Index indicated that South Africa significantly improved its ranking, moving up ten places from thirty-fifth in the world in 2022 to twenty-fifth this year.

The World Press Freedom Index, compiled yearly by the organisation Reporters without Borders, assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories.

It looks at the environment in which media workers operate with respect to political conditions, legal frameworks, safety and economic and socio-cultural context.

“As a relatively new democracy, compared to those with more entrenched traditions of constitutionalism, we should be proud of our promotion of a free and independent media,” Ramaphosa said.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has applauded the passing of the Bill to recognise South African Sign Language (SASL) as the twelfth official language in the country.

The Bill was passed by the National Assembly through the amendment of Section 6 of the Constitution.

The SAHRC says the Bill is a step in the right direction to promote human rights and specifically the rights of persons who use sign language.

The commission has alerted to the impending challenges government departments and public bodies will face in enhancing capacity to service and communicate effectively with all citizens.

The SAHRC said it will now be able to expend some of its resources to ensure that it is better able to service some of the over four-million people who use sign language in South Africa.

The adoption of SASL as a subject in schools is suggested as an educational imperative, which will also foster nation-building and social harmony.

The Bill will be tabled at the National Council of Provinces for consideration.

Al Jamah-ah's Kabelo Gwamanda was elected as the new City of Johannesburg mayor, on Friday, beating ActionSA’s Funzi Ngubeni and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Mpho Phalatse for the position.

The election follows the resignation of mayor Thapelo Amad, who resigned last week.

Speaker Colleen Makhubele said the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) declared the election as free and fair, with 266 votes cast and no spoiled votes. Ngubeni received 59 votes, Phalatse got 68 votes and Gwamanda won with 139 votes.

An initial attempt on Tuesday to elect a new mayor did not amount to anything as the African National Congress (ANC) and its partners called for protracted caucus breaks, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the meeting.

Gwamanda noted that his mayorship, and by extension the Government of Local Unity, is bound by a sense of duty.

“It is not a mere title of glamour, prestige, celebrity status that most of us like to believe. As such, the outcome of this democratic process should not be misconstrue with narratives that seek to cast aspersions and suggestions that we as a people are incapable of self-determination,” he said.

He highlighted that service delivery is a competency of local government, saying the Government of Local Unity will commit to a level of service delivery for all 6-million residents of Johannesburg.

ActionSA congratulated Gwamanda and vowed to be a constructive opposition in the City of Johannesburg, to ensure that all residents receive quality service delivery.

The party urged Gwamanda to prioritise service delivery to desperate residents amidst bouts of loadshedding and watershedding and deteriorating roads.

ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont said his party thanked the City of Johannesburg DA councillors who sided with ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front (FF) Plus, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), and the United Independent Movement (UIM), all of whom voted for Ngobeni in an attempt to keep the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) out of the City of Johannesburg.

Beaumont said this commitment is the type of leadership necessary to unseat the ANC in 2024, and restore South Africa to a path of prosperity.

“Without opposition parties working together and putting asides personal egos, it will be impossible to form a stable multi-party government in 2024. We ask that the DA - who was left alone amongst opposition benches in council today - reconsider its approach to coalitions, especially if it would like to see the removal of the ANC in 2024,” said ActionSA.

DOOMSDAY COALITION

Meanwhile, the DA in Gauteng said it regretted the decision of the majority of Johannesburg City Councillors to install ANC-EFF “puppet mayors incapable of governing the City with competence, public trust, and stability”.

The DA said the result confirmed the destructive intent of the ANC-EFF- Patriotic Alliance (PA) doomsday coalition to destabilise service delivery in Gauteng and to loot and leech whilst residents languish.

“Today could have been a turning point for the people of Johannesburg had Cllr Phalatse won and reinvigorated the massive task of getting Johannesburg back on track. But residents of the City, and people across the country, will see in today's results the crystallisation of the political choice facing all of us: a future of DA-led delivery or a future of ANC-EFF failure,” said DA Gauteng Chairperson Fred Nel.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has condemned the landing of a sanctioned commercial military aircraft at the Waterkloof Air Force Base on April 24, which it says is the latest example of South Africa’s pro-Russia foreign policy.

The aircraft is said to be owned by Aviacon Zitotrans, a commercial airline sanctioned by the US and the UK on January 26 for the company’s “involvement in transporting armaments and components on behalf of the Russian armed forces”.

The DA will write to Minister of Defence Thandi Modise to request her to account for why the aircraft was allowed to land at Waterkloof and whether it was normal practice for goods to be brought in through an Air Force base for foreign missions.

“The landing follows the ANC government’s continued refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at world forums,” DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Affairs Kobus Marais stated.

The DA raised concerns over the potential breaches of security and protocol following joint naval exercises off the KwaZulu-Natal coast in February and December, and a Russian cargo vessel alleged to have docked in Simon’s Town Naval Base carrying unknown cargo.

“South Africa has a responsibility to ensure that our airspace and military bases are not used for purposes that are in contravention of our laws and international obligations,” Marais said.

A last-ditch effort is on the cards as ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance (DA) try to unite behind one candidate ahead of the mayoral election in Johannesburg on Friday.

A meeting involving political parties represented at the Joburg council will take place on Thursday.

The parties expected to attend include ActionSA, DA, Freedom Front Plus, African Christian Democratic Party and the IFP.

News24 was told the Patriotic Alliance (PA) might attend this meeting, despite the party already showing allegiance to the ANC.

The PA has the votes needed by the DA and ActionSA bloc to successfully elect a mayor of their choice.

A letter seen by News24 shows a last-minute request for the meeting was sent out to the DA and other parties on Thursday.

The letter, penned by ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont, said: "We need to convene a meeting on 4 May to identify a pathway for one candidate to emerge from our collective of parties around which we can achieve a majority."

The six political parties previously governed Joburg in a coalition partnership until January.

The issue facing the parties ahead of Friday is that two candidates are vying for the mayoral seat. The DA announced Mpho Phalatse as a candidate, while ActionSA planned to present Funzi Ngobeni as its candidate.

This will split the votes and kill any opportunity for a possible coalition bloc.

In a video on Wednesday, DA leader John Steenhuisen appealed to political parties, who were not working with the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), to vote in support of former mayor Phalatse.

Steenhuisen said, "Given the reality that there are no agreements on a coalition, I urge parties jostling for positions to support Phalatse. Phalatse is a proven candidate who has served as mayor before and gave us the best chance of salvaging the situation."

But Steenhuisen's insistence on Phalatse as a candidate will be challenged because the party has yet to consult other political parties.

The DA has been accused of hypocrisy in calling for a united pact to remove the ANC/EFF, but then decides on its own political strategy, separate from other political parties.

ActionSA has been the most vocal, saying the DA is abandoning its commitment to a moonshot pact.

Beaumont said his party and others were always willing to do what was possible to support a candidate that everyone could endorse.

He added that Thursday's meeting was the last opportunity for the parties to create a united front in opposition to the ANC.

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said Thursday's meeting could help provide a real alternative to the ANC and the EFF.

"The DA will today meet with other political parties to explore whether there is a way forward to guarantee a stable coalition government that residents of Johannesburg can rely on for delivery. The DA is committed to making good on our legacy as a good-faith coalition builder," Msimanga said.

Meanwhile, the ANC is trying to tighten its candidacy, with the party expected to finalise a decision to back Kabelo Gwamanda of Al Jama-ah as a mayoral candidate.

The ANC has a solid partnership with the EFF and a group of minority parties, with enough votes to push through a candidate of their choosing.

Pick n Pay chair Gareth Ackerman has slammed the government for its "inaction" in the face of South Africa's structural economic problems, warning of an "existential threat" to the food industry, as well as social unrest stemming from food shortages, if power outages worsen.

Speaking at an investor presentation after the release of the JSE-listed retailer's full year results, Ackerman pulled no punches, saying that instead of trying to find solutions, the government was focused on blaming retailers for rocketing inflation.

SA's support of Russia will also possibly come at the expense of far more valuable relationships with Western Europe and the US, he said, and given the risk to crucial trading agreements, it was "beyond understanding."

In arguably the hardest-hitting criticism of the state to date from a listed company, Ackerman also pointedly refused to refer SA's ongoing power interruptions as loadshedding, referring to them instead as "blackouts" throughout his speech.

These been costing Pick n Pay about R60-million a month recently.

"Shockingly, 37% of the cost of each litre of diesel we have bought – over half a billion rand’s worth – has gone into government coffers and the [Road Accident Fund] as a windfall tax. This is unconscionable, particularly when rolled up across the economy and the hardship the blackouts are causing," he said.

Pleas by retailers to be included in the diesel tax rebate, had fallen on "deaf ears", while elevated inflation was being driven largely by external factors.

Eskom had also transferred some of its "costs to industry through the stages of blackouts", with companies having to "absorb these costs".

Despite this, he said Pick n Pay had, through a "herculean effort" this year, kept its internal inflation rate below official consumer price inflation and at less than half of food inflation, which in March reached 14% - the highest in more than a decade.

Seemingly referring to a report from the Competition Commission in March that flagged possible unreasonable price increases of staples such as cooking oil and bread, he argued it was "distressing to see irresponsible efforts to shift the blame for food inflation onto retailers", saying:

"The recent statements by the Competition Commission and government spokespeople are a case in point. They have inexplicably accused the sector of making unjustifiable profits. This is incorrect and irresponsible."

Food industry at risk

Ackerman also said he felt "compelled" to warn that the entire "food industry is under existential threat".

"The probability of social unrest relating to food shortages and possible store closures if blackouts get too high is now heightened."

Ackerman said that, worryingly, about 45% of SA's total available food supply was being lost or wasted annually and that one of the consequences of "blackouts" was increased food waste.

"In a country that already registers troubling levels of poverty and hunger, this is unacceptable."

He said Pick n Pay had, over the past four years, reduced food waste by nearly 30% as it worked "steadily towards our target of 50% by 2030".

"We have also donated more than 880 tonnes of edible surplus food to [nonprofit surplus food redistribution company] FoodForward SA, valued at more than R35-million. We are also working with government to change some of the regulations which would allow more edible surplus food to go to those who really need it."

Ackerman said the government was also "mixing up policy with politics" at a time when "growth-orientated policy change and certainty" should be the only items on the agenda.

"How our government can risk AGOA [the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a trade agreement with the US] and other bilateral agreements through overt support for Russia, after its invasion of Ukraine, and threatening to withdraw from the ICC [International Criminal Court] is beyond understanding."

It could also jeopardise the $8.5-billion (about R155-billion) pledge of Western economies to...

The African National Congress (ANC) has been awarded the right to serve papers in its defamation claim against André de Ruyter in Germany, where the former Eskom CEO is believed to be staying.

On Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria awarded the ANC an "edictal citation", an application for permission to serve court papers in a foreign country. The papers will be served by an official authorised under the law of Germany.

De Ruyter left SA shortly after being abruptly asked to leave Eskom in February following an explosive interview with eNCA. He had already notified Eskom of his intention to resign and was completing a handover process.

In the interview, De Ruyter claimed he had evidence that a "senior politician" was involved in corruption at Eskom. De Ruyter said that he had told Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan of his concerns, who had shrugged and indicated he was already aware of the information, with words to the effect that such information would inevitably come out.

Two months later, appearing before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), De Ruyter refused to name the politician.

The ANC wants the court to declare De Ruyter's statement to eNCA defamatory and order him to retract.

De Ruyter, who survived a poisoning episode after announcing that he would resign, has said that he believes his life to be in danger, which is his reason for leaving the country.