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President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged South Africans to exercise their civic duty and vote on November 1 when South Africa holds its local government elections.

In his weekly newsletter to the nation, Ramaphosa stressed that the elections were an opportunity for people to make their voices heard about the most pressing issues affecting them.

In less than seven days voters will be choosing from among over 94 000 candidates, including those from political parties and independents.

Ramaphosa said this year’s election posters displaying the names and faces of new parties and candidates were a sign of the country’s democratic health.

The election, he said, was an opportunity for voters to hold elected representatives accountable for the promises they had made to communities.

“We are at an extremely difficult time in the life of our nation. The Covid-19 pandemic has considerably worsened our economic situation, and if we are to get the country back on track, we need people at the helm who are not only capable, experienced and qualified, but who are also honest and trustworthy,” he said.

Local councillors needed a clear plan to promote investment and business opportunities in their areas while delivering municipal services to better communities and ensure that businesses thrived, Ramaphosa said.

The empowerment of young people and women is one of the President’s major concerns.

He urged councillors to change local by-laws and regulations, if necessary, to make it easier for the youth and women to establish new businesses, to make it easier for them to access municipal procurement opportunities and to ensure they had access to training and other support.

Ramaphosa stressed the need for candidates who kept their promises to communities and for more openness and engagement with communities.

He urged voters to work with their elected officials, regardless of political party affiliation.

“Twenty-seven years after its founding, ours is a democracy that has matured. So too should our politics. We may have differing political allegiances, but we ultimately want to see a South Africa that is better for ourselves and for our children. Let us vote responsibly. Let us vote wisely. Let us remember that it is only those who have the best interests of the South African people at heart who should get our vote,” he said.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said that on Friday while his party is disappointed by the Electoral Court’s findings against it, it would now focus on ensuring that voters are able to locate ActionSA on ballot papers come election day on November 1.

ActionSA filed an urgent application against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) after the party’s name was omitted from draft ballot papers for Gauteng ward candidates.

ActionSA had argued that the absence of its name on the ballot paper would confuse voters as the final ballot only contains the party’s logo.

“ActionSA has received the disappointing news that the Electoral Court has found against our application,” Mashaba said.

He said given the urgent nature of the application, the Electoral Court will only provide written reasons at a later date.

“While we are disappointed by the outcome, ActionSA is dedicated to the rule of law and we respect the outcome of the court and the experience of the jurists who presided over our matter,” he stated.

The party said it appreciated South Africans who have rallied behind it in the battle with the IEC.

More than 10-million South Africans applied for the Covid-19 social relief of grant of R350, less than two weeks after applications were reopened.

According to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had received 11 237 724 applications by 25 August 2021.

This was contained in Zulu's response to a parliamentary question by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Liezl van der Merwe, who wanted details on the applications.

The application channels were reopened on 6 August, shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the reintroduction of the special Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant.

The grant's extension will run from August 2021 until March 2022.

Zulu said the validations of these applications were still under way.

"However, as at 25 August 2021, a total of 1 914 538 applications have been approved. A total of 282 598 have been paid to 25 August. Payments will continue to be made until 31 August, by which time we expect to reach 6-million payments," she said.

Last month, News24 reported that more than 170 000 public service employees were illegally receiving R200-million in Sassa grants.

At the time, Zulu said 177 108 public service employees from national and provincial government departments had received a combined R200 787 648.

Public servants were entitled to receive a foster child grant, and may also get a care dependency grant, only for the same child.

By far, the lion's share of the R200-million went to KwaZulu-Natal government employees, who received more than R107-million.

The second-largest amount, R19.6-million, was taken by Northern Cape government employees, while Gauteng and Eastern Cape employees were in the top four after getting R18.1-million and R16.3-million, respectively.

In respect of the new application process, Zulu said the total number of grants approved on appeal, which are still outstanding from the first cycle of this grant, is 1 425.

"This refers to the numbers of grants to be paid, not the number of beneficiaries, as one beneficiary may have the grant approved for more than one month," she said.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has welcomed the Electoral Court’s judgment against ActionSA.

This after the party claimed that its name was intentionally omitted from draft ballot papers for Gauteng ward candidates. The party sought to have the IEC’s decision declared unconstitutional.

The IEC said the judgment paved the way for the orderly conduct of elections in the affected wards.

The Commission reiterated that it did not exclude ActionSA from the ward ballots, adding that the party had elected not to register an abbreviated name or acronym when registering.

“Abbreviated names or acronyms are used instead of full names because the ward candidate full names are used,” the IEC explained.

The IEC earlier explained that ward ballot papers usually showed the name of the candidate, a photograph of an independent candidate, the party’s logo and the registered abbreviated name of the party.

The approach to ballot design had been part of electoral management practice with the advent of the new system of local government in 2000, the IEC said.

Envoys from Southern African countries are expected to travel to eSwatini this week, South Africa said on Thursday, after protests against the kingdom's absolute monarch flared up again.

Anger against King Mswati III has been building for years.

It broke out into the open during demonstrations in June and July which the local authorities quashed with tear gas and water cannon, and another round of protests erupted in recent weeks.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the envoys to eSwatini in his capacity as chair of regional bloc SADC's organ on defence, politics and security cooperation, Ramaphosa's office said in a statement.

The envoys include South Africa's deputy foreign minister, a special adviser to Ramaphosa and a former South African cabinet minister, as well as representatives of Botswana and Namibia.

Campaigners say 53-year-old Mswati III has consistently ignored calls for reforms that would nudge eSwatini, which changed its name from Swaziland in 2018, in the direction of democracy.

The king denies accusations of autocratic rule and of using public money to fund a lavish lifestyle in the impoverished nation that borders South Africa. In July he called protests against his rule "satanic".

"The Special Envoys will be accompanied by SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi, senior officials of the SADC Secretariat and senior officials of the South African Government," the statement from Ramaphosa's office read. "The envoys are expected to travel to the Kingdom this week."

In protests in eSwatini schools Pro-democracy protests flare up in eSwatini last week students chanted "Mswati must fall" and "Release our MPs," a reference to two lawmakers arrested during earlier protests. Bus drivers blocked some main roads in the city of Manzini.

Rhodes University students may be required to have themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 before returning to in-person classes after the university council approved a senate recommendation for mandatory vaccinations.

The rule will require evidence of Covid-19 vaccination by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) as a condition for access to the campus in 2022.

"Based on an analysis of the law and information drawn from the higher education sector, it was submitted that having assessed risks, Rhodes University has a responsibility to ensure that employees and students are protected and that all the necessary precautionary measures are in place," the council said in a statement.

The special meeting of the council was convened as the university prepared for the full return of students and staff in 2022.

The vaccination requirement also applies as a registration condition for all students as well as staff, service providers and visitors.

"A recommendation for an exemption application process and an alternative health status process for those who cannot take the vaccine on medical or other legitimate and justifiable grounds was also approved. The university is considering the team who will evaluate all applications for exemption," the statement read.

"Where such applications are successful, the university will consider steps to mitigate risk, including the requirement to produce a negative Covid-19 test result on a weekly basis. This would be at the cost of the student, staff member, visitor or service provider concerned in specific circumstances," the statement read.

Besides the requirement for digital vaccination certificates or vaccination cards upon entering campus, workers will be allowed to take paid time off to get vaccinated.

Sick leave will also be permitted if someone experiences side effects associated with the vaccine, the statement indicated.

Rhodes announced the move shortly after the University of Cape Town (UCT) council approved in principle a proposal to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for campus access.

It requires that all staff and students provide acceptable proof of vaccination against Covid-19. The UCT council sat over the weekend to deliberate the move after weeks of engagements with staff and students.

Former President Jacob Zuma opened a criminal case against National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) advocate Billy Downer on Thursday for allegedly making public affidavits that relate to Zuma’s medical information.

Zuma was accompanied to a Pietermaritzburg police station by his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla as well as his foundation’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.

The foundation says Downer’s alleged conduct breaches sections of the NPA Act.

Reacting to the charge against Downer, the NPA said while the law must be allowed to follow its course, it was concerned about the context in which the charges were laid.

“Adv Downer SC is a highly respected prosecutor who has carried himself with integrity throughout his career in the NPA. His reputation speaks for itself. All NPA prosecutors are required to act without fear and favour and should feel confident to deliver on their mandates without fear of intimidation. However, we will allow the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal to deal with the matter as and when she receives the case docket from the police,” the NPA said.

The Jacob Zuma Foundation has announced that the former president will lay criminal charges against State advocate Billy Downer for allegedly leaking affidavits containing information about his health.

The charges will be laid on Thursday, according to foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the foundation said: "As indicated in court on 22/09/21 H.E Prez (sic) Zuma will be laying criminal charges against adv Billy Downer for his admitted conduct which is in breach of Section 41 (6) read with [Section] 41 (7) of the NPA Act."

The foundation invited the media to a briefing outside the Pietermaritzburg SAPS on Thursday at 13:00.

During Zuma's court case last month, his advocate, Dali Mpofu, SC, said, "Former president Zuma takes the strongest possible exception to what was done with his confidential information and the way it was treated in this court."

Mpofu said it amounted to "criminal activity", and added that Zuma wanted to lodge a complaint of prosecutorial misconduct against Downer with Judge Piet Koen, who is deciding his application for a special plea.

Public interest law centre SECTION27 has applied to be admitted as friend of the court to make submissions which highlight the pattern of neglect for learner safety in a case about unsafe school infrastructure in Gauteng.

This follows the death of a learner after being electrocuted at school because circuit breakers, earth leakage and other electrical equipment had repeatedly been stolen, making the school unsafe.

The case will be heard virtually in the Gauteng Division of the High Court on October 21.

SECTION27 explained that over four years after the death of a matric learner in 2017, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) had not confirmed that it had addressed the unsafe infrastructure at the school.

It added that learners at the school, therefore, remained at risk of serious injury or death.

“Risks to learners’ safety and rights need to be prevented at all costs, and where dangerous infrastructure is flagged (as was the case at this school), provincial education departments must remedy the situation timeously so that catastrophes like this never occur,” SECTION27 said.

It further explained that unsafe school infrastructure violates learners’ interconnected rights to basic education, an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and their right to have their best interests considered as paramount in all matters.

The centre called for the relevant departments to be proactive and comply with their duties to prevent injuries and deaths owing to unsafe infrastructure at all schools.

SECTION27 said if its submissions were admitted it would address the systemic nature of unsafe school infrastructure. It will also argue that government has a history of non-compliance with statutory, constitutional and common law obligations to ensure safety at schools.

The centre will again look at the role of public officials, including government officials and educators, in keeping learners safe in the place of a parent, and the need for accountability for failures in this regard.

SECTION27 stated that it did not represent the deceased learner’s family.

Former journalist and current Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha has launched a crowdfunding appeal for around R1-million to cover the costs of fighting a defamation suit filed against him by Matshela Koko.

In an opinion piece in the Daily Maverick on Tuesday, Mantshantsha writes that one year ago he received a summons to answer a defamation charge from Koko, which includes a R600 000 damages claim.

"The lawsuit followed a series of news articles I published in the pursuit of my chosen career as a financial journalist in the seven years to June 2019 in the financial publications of Times Media Group, now Arena Holdings," said Mantshantsha.

After leaving Times Media, where he worked at Business Day and the Financial Mail, Mantshantsha joined Daily Maverick before being appointed Eskom spokesperson in January 2020.

In the article, Mantshantsha appeals for financial help to fight the case. He says that although Arena Holdings has already settled about a third of the legal cost, a shortfall of around R1-million remains. "Needless to say, most journalists such as I am have never seen such a sum of money," he said.

Koko, who briefly served as Eskom's acting CEO during his more than two decades at the power utility, told Fin24 on Tuesday that his defamation suit was directed against "false and defamatory" statements allegedly made by Mantshantsha when he was still a journalist.

"He must be held to account. You can't lie and claim the lie is in the public interest. That's rubbish," he said via WhatsApp. Koko resigned from Eskom in February 2018 without admitting to wrongdoing.