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The Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Kevin Mileham said on Friday that Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's remarks, which suggest there is no urgency to unbundle Eskom, spread further uncertainty among investors with stakes in independent power generation projects across the country.

Mileham says South Africa needs clear direction and policy certainty during a crippling energy crisis.

This week, Ramokgopa embarked on a tour of South Africa’s power stations and during one of the visits, he stated that corruption was not a significant factor in Eskom’s problems.

The DA wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to “rein in” Ramokgopa, and provide the new Minister with a clear set of expectations.

Mileham said Ramokgopa’s recent remarks showed that his appointment was an African National Congress (ANC) cadre deployment tactic.

He accused Ramokgopa of being set on reversing the little reform that had been made in the energy sector over the years.

“With one reckless remark, Ramokgopa has shown that his new portfolio was created without any real plan in place. That no one from the ANC government has called him to order, least of all, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office, confirms the long-held suspicion that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” said Mileham.

He added that independent experts had warned that any delays to unbundle Eskom would severely constrain an Independent Transmission System Operator's ability to raise capital and do the much-needed grid investments to unlock new generation capacity.

In the last round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, 23 projects could not be awarded owing to grid constraints.

Mileham warned that sending mixed signals to energy investors would only exacerbate South Africa’s woes.

Newly appointed Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille on Friday cautioned the South African Tourism Board not to go ahead with the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal.

In her first press conference in her new role, De Lille revealed that she had sought legal advice on the deal, which revealed that it was unlawful and invalid.

Board members of South African Tourism (SA Tourism) had met with Tottenham in January to discuss the sponsorship deal and had subsequently approved a proposal that was subject to due consultation with the Minister of Tourism and National Treasury.

De Lille acknowledged the variety of considerations taken into account over the matter, which led to significant public outcry owing to its proposed R1-billion cost.

She explained that the deal was a procurement event that did not comply with the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

Further, the sponsorship had not been budgeted in terms of the PFMA which would mean that the expenditure would be invalid or unauthorised under the PFMA.

“It appears that the sponsorship is a service which was proposed to be acquired by procurement through “sole source”. Sole source procurement is, however, only allowed where there is no competition in the market and only one supplier is able to provide the goods or services, which does not appear to be the case here,” De Lille explained.

While she noted the importance of the tourism sector becoming a major contributor to the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, she cautioned that public money must be spent wisely and prudently.

“Given the circumstances we find ourselves in economically we have to be much more careful and take careful consideration of everything that we do as government,” she stated.

De Lille reminded the public that SA Tourism was a marketing agency within the Department of Tourism, therefore, she argued that constructive discussions between members of the SA Tourism board, herself, National Treasury and other relevant stakeholders must take place.

The SA Tourism board responded to De Lille’s legal opinion on Friday, despite being given until March 29 to issue a response. The Minister expressed that she was still considering the merits of the board’s response.

De Lille is also awaiting response from the Finance Minister to ascertain whether he had approved the proposal or transaction.

“As a country, when we enter into such massive partnerships, it is vital that we are able to be fully accountable, that we are transparent and can answer South Africans clearly and honestly. Based on the board chairperson’s interim response received this morning 24 March 2023, my advice to the SA Tourism board is that the proposal may as well be stopped completely,” she ended.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola is opposing an application that non-profit organisation, The Embrace Project, has lodged in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to challenge what it called "problematic" definitions of consent and rape in the Sexual Offences Act.

If the application is successful, it will do away with the principle of "innocent until proven guilty", chief director of legislative development in the Department of Justice, Leonard Sebelemetja, said in an affidavit filed on behalf of the minister last week.

The organisation approached the court in November last year.

Its case is that, in terms of the Act in its existing form, "it is insufficient to prove that an accused person committed an act of sexual penetration without the complainant's consent".

The organisation's director, Lee-Anne Germanos, explained, "It must further be proved that, in the accused's subjective state of mind, he/she/they intended to rape the complainant regardless of the complainant not having consented to the sexual penetration."

Germanos said the project wanted the law to apply an objective test, rather than a subjective one.

A subjective test, she said, "is not only regressive, but has proven to be a barrier to the conviction of accused persons who have been found to have committed acts of sexual penetration without the consent of the complainants (objectively), where the prosecution has been unable to prove that the accused persons subjectively intended to rape the complainants".

Presumption of innocence

Sebelemetja, however, said the relief sought would result in the following:

A revocation of the accused person's presumption of innocence;

The burden of proof unjustly falling on the accused, instead of the State;

The lowering of the standard of proof from beyond reasonable doubt to negligence; and

A conviction of rape when the accused was merely negligent, being too harsh a punishment.

Sebelemetja also submitted that by bringing the application, the Embrace Project was effectively blaming the Sexual Offences Act for the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.

"The Act does not perpetuate rape culture, as suggested, but protects the victim of a crime as well; the victim must comply with the provisions of the Act if she wants the Act to come to her aid. No one is above the law," he said.

According to Sebelemetja, the government recognises the brutality of rape and its consequences.

"As a result, the various legislations were enacted in order to combat the scourge of rape," he added.

However, he said, legislation alone could not solve the problem "as the interpretation and application of the legislation come into play after the fact".

He said, "The old adage, prevention is better than cure, is equally applicable to rape. All stakeholders should be engaged in the implementation and applications of measures to combat GBV."

Germanos said the organisation was disappointed at Lamola's stance and that he had mischaracterised the application.

The president and Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities have also been cited as respondents.

The Embrace Project is expected to file a replying affidavit before a court date is set.

Free State Premier Mxolisi Dukwana's official residence in Bloemfontein has been engulfed by a fire.

Confirming the incident, the premier's spokesperson Sello Dithebe told News24: "I am here at the residence, and a fire has engulfed the property."

He added that firefighters and other emergency services personnel were on the scene.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Free State police spokesperson, Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, refused to comment, saying investigations were under way.

According to Dithebe, there appeared to have been no injuries or casualties due to the blaze.

From the video of the remains of the house shared by Dukwana's staff with News24, the large property suffered extensive damage, with the roof almost completely destroyed.

Smoke could still be seen billowing out from the remains of the home, with numerous firefighters still on the scene.

Dukwana was officially sworn in as the province's new premier just last month, after the former Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC defeated the DA's Roy Jankielsohn.

This came after Sisi Ntombela was forced out as premier by her party, which cited her failure to turn around the fortunes of the province's ailing municipalities during her tenure.

Dukwana's rise to the top came almost 11 years after he was dismissed from then-premier Ace Magashule's cabinet.

His journey to the top started when he was tasked with the responsibilities of rebuilding the ANC in the province, after being appointed as the interim provincial committee (IPC) convenor in 2018.

The decision to appoint him came after the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein declared the provincial conference of the ANC in 2018 unlawful and unconstitutional.

The conference elected former secretary-general Magashule's allies: Sam Mashinini as chairperson; William Bulwane as deputy chairperson; Ntombela as treasurer; and Paseka Nompondo as provincial secretary, deputised by Mamiki Qabathe.

In January, Dukwana was elected as Free State ANC chairperson after receiving 346 votes, while Ntombela received 303.

It was a clean sweep for the Dukwana slate after his allies took the rest of the top five positions.

Barely a month after being at the helm of both the ANC in the province and the provincial government, Dukwana reshuffled his cabinet and fired three MECs.

African National Congress Youth League national task team (ANCYL NYTT) leaders disagree with a Luthuli House decision to change the league's 35-member interim leadership structure.

Last week, the ANC national working committee (NWC) decided that it would reconfigure the group that is meant to lead the party's youth structure.

This came after it received a report from the office of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on the need to disband the ANCYL NYTT.

At least three leaders of the interim structure told News24 they believed the decision to reconfigure the task team was "irrational and motivated by a desire by the ANC leadership to again have a say in who becomes the powerful structure's president".

"The youth league has in recent years been used to fight internal factional battles, and whichever faction manages to ensure that its candidate emerges as president, can therefore micromanage the radical structure of the ANC and wield it as a weapon," an NYTT member said.

The NYTT member added, "This is why at the eleventh hour, just as we are about to go into the conference, the leadership now wants to meddle in our affairs."

Another insider said that although the 35 NYTT members did not see eye to eye on the path to its elective conference, the mother body should only try to mediate the differences.

"It is a mere two months before the scheduled conference. Disbanding the structure and replacing it with new members makes absolutely no sense. Instead, the new members would come with their own plans and beliefs, and this could lead to further delays in rebuilding the organisation that has already been dysfunctional for years," another NYTT member said.

Another insider, who also spoke to News24 on condition of anonymity, said the hopes of NYTT members were "firmly placed on the national executive committee (NEC) overruling the NWC decisions as the NEC has the final say on all decisions made in the party".

In a letter to youth league task team convener Nonceba Mhlauli and coordinator Joy Maimela, dated 16 March, Mbalula said "the NWC has decided that the NYTT must be reconfigured".

This came after the NWC, at its meeting on 13 March, received a report on the office of the secretary-general's engagements with the task team on the state of the organisation and the implementation of its road map to the national conference.

The meeting happened as NYTT leaders were embroiled in a public spat over the outcomes of two ordinary NYTT meetings on 7 and 12 March.

On 13 March, a day after the last meeting, NYTT spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize, who is believed to be in the running for the youth league presidency, circulated a statement which she claimed contained the outcomes of the two meetings. In it, she claimed that the Youth League had finally settled on 1 June as the starting date of its conference.

But Mhlauli was quick to dismiss the statement, publicly described it as fake news and urged members not to circulate it as it was not the outcome of the two meetings.

Despite earlier saying the differences among NYTT leaders are "not that major" and that they can "find each other through discussion", Mbalula is understood to have grown disheartened by the constant bickering. He now wants the ANC NEC to approve the removal of some members who are seen as "troublemakers".

Mkhize, Maimela and Mhlauli were not readily available for comment.

The African National Congress (ANC) said on Wednesday that it was pleased with the responsiveness of the State security machinery to their mandate to protect life and property during the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF's) national shutdown.

On Monday, the EFF embarked on a national shutdown, calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s resignation and for an end to loadshedding.

“We have seen before that anarchic activities of this nature, what they have done to this country. We are still reeling from the effects of the uprisings of the July unrest that took place in this country last year, which claimed more or less 300 lives of people,” said ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.

He said the State security’s preparedness ensured that the country was not plunged into chaos as “the organisers of the ill-fated so-called shutdown” intended.

“Not only did they protect the protestors, but they also scuppered all attempts to plunge our country into disorder and mayhem,” Mbalula said.

Earlier this week government deployed 3 474 members of the South African National Defence Force across the country in response to the shutdown.

“The so-called shutdown failed to materialise because South Africans refused to be co-opted into an anti-democracy agenda that sought to undermine the authority of the State and remove a democratically elected government through nefarious and undemocratic means,” Mbalula stated.

He added that as the precursor to the Human Rights Day commemoration, the conduct of law enforcement agencies served as an exemplary example of how the country’s Constitution should be implemented in relation to the enforcement of the various laws of the republic.

He highlighted that this improvement in public order policing, as well as high levels of cooperation with communities, must be consolidated and sustained.

“The police on their own would not have dealt with the shutdown. It is because of the withdrawal of our people in participating in anarchy and chaos that this shutdown could not succeed,” Mbalula said.

The ANC reiterated its strongly held view that the EFF march was neither in the interest of the country nor did it advance the country’s hard-won democracy.

Instead, the ANC believes it showed that the EFF has no interest in building a cohesive nation.

The ANC commended the active citizenship and patriotism of civil society, the business community and individual South Africans who were resolute in rejecting the EFF’s attempts to “bully, coerce and intimidate them”.

“They firmly stood by the principles that are the cornerstone of our hard-won democracy,” said Mbalula.

He noted that the manner in which South Africans strongly and successfully repelled “desperate attempts by the EFF to paralyse the country and cripple the economy” indicated active and patriotic citizenship.

“The only way for us to rid ourselves of criminal elements in our communities is to ensure that we have an accountable, professionalised and ethical police service whilst strengthening a culture of cooperation with the women and men in blue,” he said.

Big hikes in food prices contributed to a 7% increase in annual consumer inflation in February from 6.9% in January – the first increase in four months.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.7% between January and February, the biggest monthly increase since July 2022, Statistics SA reported on Wednesday.

In February, food and non-alcoholic beverages annual inflation hit 13.6% - the highest level since April 2009.

The price of maize meal increased by almost 35% over the past year, with a sharp rise of 2.2% between January and February alone. Statistics SA reports that rusk prices jumped almost 7% in a single month, while macaroni (+4.4%) and savoury biscuits (+4%) also saw big monthly hikes.

There were large monthly increases in the prices of baby milk formula (+7.2%), baby cereal (+4.6%), fruit juices (+4%) and fizzy drinks in a can (+3.3%).

Meat prices increased to 11.4% in the year to February – the biggest annual hike in five years. However, the monthly increase was only 0.2%, the lowest monthly increase in a year.

Transport (including fuel prices) also contributed to February's high inflation rate following recent price hikes. But the annual increase in fuel prices slowed to 10.9%, the lowest reading since March 2021.

February's inflation numbers included annual price hikes for medical services (doctors, dentists and hospital ward fees), Statistics SA reported. Prices increased by 5.3% in February 2023, compared to 5% a year before.

Impact on interest rates

The latest inflation number will be considered when the Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee decides on interest rate hikes next week.

But just as important is the US central bank's interest-rate decision later on Wednesday.

The bank was on track for more aggressive rate hikes as US inflation remained stubbornly high – but a banking crisis may convince it to be more cautious with rate hikes. Economists expect that it may hike by a smaller 0.25 percentage point hike – or not increase rates at all. That will give the South African monetary authority significant leeway.

South African inflation reached a 13-year high in July last year, hitting 7.8%. To cool inflation, the Reserve Bank has aggressively hiked interest rates.

Tshwane councillors have, for the third time, failed to elect a mayor for the capital city.

A special council sitting on Wednesday did not see the election of a mayor after councillors bickered about the legality of the presence of one Congress of the People (Cope) councillor.

Tshwane council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana adjourned proceedings saying he was seeking legal advice on the presence of Cope member Thabang Sefanyetso.

He was last week accused of having two identity numbers.

The Democratic Alliance and ActionSA coalition have accused the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of using concerns about the Cope member to delay the election of a new mayor because the numbers did not support an ANC/EFF alliance.

The Congress of the People (Cope) in Tshwane is hoping the third time's a charm with its new executive mayoral candidate.

The party announced on Monday that it had approved candidate Ofentse Moalusi for the role.

Cope was embarrassed when Murunwa Makwarela resigned just days after he was elected executive mayor.

It was found he had produced a fake insolvency rehabilitation certificate when it came to light he had been declared insolvent in 2016.

Cope's second candidate, Thabang Sefanyetso, was found to possess two ID documents and was found to have a criminal record.

According to the party, Moalusi is an entrepreneur with 23 years of experience in private and public sectors.

President Cyril Ramaphosa affirmed on Monday that government needs to be resolute in its defence of the right to peaceful protest.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that in fulfilment of its constitutional responsibility to protect the rights of all people, government would always have measures in place to ensure that everyone who wanted to go to work, travel for leisure and conduct business could do so in a safe and secure environment.

He said these measures included the deployment of the country’s security personnel across the country to ensure that the law was observed.

The Economic Freedom Fighters on Monday embarked on a national shutdown, calling for Ramaphosa’s resignation and for an end to loadshedding.

Government has deployed 3 474 members of the South African National Defence Force across the country in response.

Ramaphosa said as citizens gathered to celebrate Human Rights Day on Tuesday they should recall that the rights being enjoyed today were the result of great sacrifices.

“Many people were imprisoned, many were driven into exile and many lost their lives so that our basic human rights are protected and upheld. Particularly as we remember the events of 21 March 1960, when 69 peaceful protestors in Sharpeville were killed by the apartheid police, we need to be resolute in our defence of the right to peaceful protest,” he said.

Ramaphosa explained that the country’s Constitution guaranteed every person “the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions.”

“One person’s right to protest should in no way infringe on any other person’s right to life and dignity. It should not impede their freedom of movement and association, or their right to engage in their trade or profession without hindrance,” he noted.

Ramaphosa highlighted that the Constitution was clear that the State must “respect, protect, promote and fulfil” all the freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights.

Therefore, he added it was the State's responsibility to prevent any attempt to violate any other rights in the Constitution.

He highlighted that it was well within the right of any person or organisation to call on fellow South Africans to freely join in acts of protest. But no-one should be forced, threatened or intimidated into joining that protest.

He concluded that government would not allow anyone or any group to take people’s right to freedoms away from them.