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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala and the Resident Coordinator and Head of the United Nations in South Africa Nardos Bekele-Thomas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that identifies priority areas in which the province and the UN will collaborate to assist communities and entities that were affected by the civil unrest in the province in July.

The MoU is also aligned to provincial priorities and the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) which are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2020-2025.

As agreed between the two parties, the immediate actions consist of an Emergency Response Plan addressing the impacts of the unrest, including the medium to long-term actions which focus on proactive measures that address the underlying causes of the civil unrest.

“We gather on the eve of South Africa’s Heritage Day to sign a historic memorandum of understanding between the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal and the United Nations to declare for our country and the world that by working together we can build a proud legacy and a heritage that future generations will be proud to inherit,” Zikalala said.

Zikalala said that the partnership with the UN was part of provincial efforts towards building enduring peace and advancing sustainable development.

“We wish to assure the UN and its agencies that KwaZulu-Natal is home to you and we welcome you with open hands on this journey of supporting development and peace in this beautiful and legendary province,” he said.

During a walk about, Bekele-Thomas and her team interacted with affected communities in the province and stakeholders and discussed the potential support that the UN could contribute to ongoing response efforts.

The mission consisted of various meetings with the provincial leadership, the political and administrative leadership of eThekwini metro, the executive management team of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Accord) and visits to the sites impacted by the civil unrest.

These engagements identified areas where the UN could provide support to the KZN provincial government in the immediate, medium and long term to recover and build back.

“As we strengthen our law enforcement and put in place plans to mitigate future occurrences, we also agree that we need to get to the root causes of anti-social behaviour in KwaZulu-Natal and indeed in our country. In this regard, we share the sentiment by the UN Resident Coordinator that, ‘People need a stake in the economy because then they will protect it not destroy it’. We appreciate that the UN has pledged its support to the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal to assist in rebuilding affected communities and to address the underlying causes of the complex developmental landscape in the province,” Zikalala said.

He went on to say that the UN and its agencies would be an important player in defeating the coronavirus and reduce its impact on citizens.

“Our efforts will support KZN’s Vision 2030 which is a prosperous province with a healthy, secure and skilled population, acting as a gateway to Africa and the world. We have undertaken that the joint work carried out by the provincial government and UN will be channelled through the Emergency Response Plan, and the Implementation Framework between the UN and the Office of the Premier,” Zikalala explained.

He said he was also pleased that the MoU was informed by the need to support a post-Covid recovery and developmental trajectory that is environment-friendly and sustainable, in line with the ethos of a green recovery, the promotion of low carbon emissions and supporting climate resilient development.

“We have no doubt that our partnership with the UN and all its entities will enable KwaZulu-Natal to maximise mutual benefits for our residents and citizens,” he ended.

African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte announced on Thursday that 46% of the party’s candidates for proportional representational (PR) councillors and ward councillors are women.

She said the party was proud that women gained the confidence of their communities to be selected as ward councillor candidates.

Duarte was briefing the media on the status of the ANC councillor candidate registration process for the 2021 local government elections which are to be held on November 1.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) extended its deadline for political parties and independent candidates to register for the local government elections from its initial date of August 23 to September 21 after the ANC and other political parties failed register candidates by the initial deadline.

The ANC has registered 4 468 ward candidates, with candidates registered for 257 municipalities.

“Although women candidates are mainly found on our PR list, we are proud of the fact that women gained the confidence of their communities to be selected as ward councillor candidates as we all know that this is the year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Charlotte Maxeke,” said Duarte.

She went on to say that it was encouraging that women were affirmed but added that there was more to be done as many were still selecting men to be ward councillors.

Duarte stated that the party also had a diverse list of candidates representing people with disabilities, members of the LGBQTI community, as well as various community leaders.

There were also a number of young people on the list, with the youngest being 20 years old contesting in the Buffalo City Metropolitan. Johannesburg and Kouga local municipalities also have young candidates.

“We have insisted that the list must have a component of young people. Approximately 25% of our list is composed of young South Africans so that we can build for the future. I think they will bring a lot of new thought and new life into the local government sphere,” Duarte said.

CREDIBILITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE PARTY’S INTERNAL DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

Duarte admitted that the party had many disputes that were unresolved but said it was committed to meeting with those involved after the elections to discuss and debate the concept of community involvement and being a servant of the people.

She said the party was aware that within its ranks there were people who were determined to subvert and undermine ANC rules and guidelines.

“I do want to say to you that it’s important that we also reaffirm that the ANC’s election committee ran the processes independently… Our task was to support in whatever way needed ... and this gives this process quite a great deal of independent credibility, but with it also comes a number of questions from people who did not want to go this route,” she said.

Duarte said there were branch leaders who still felt that they should have been the candidates whether the community agreed or not.

Meanwhile, three ANC supporters were killed in a drive-by shooting in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal during the party’s nomination process.

Duarte also mentioned that a number of people were removed from the list.

The corruption trial of former South African president Jacob Zuma has been postponed to October 26, the presiding judge said on Wednesday.

Judge Piet Koen said he will try to deliver judgement then on Zuma's plea to have the lead prosecutor, Billy Downer, removed from a case he has been involved in for almost two decades because of perceptions that Downer was biased and not impartial.

"I will try and hopefully have the judgment ready by then," Koen said before adjourning the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

The trial over a 1990s deal was meant to start in May, but has been postponed a number of times due to legal arguments and Zuma's unavailability.

Zuma, 79, and suffering from an undisclosed illness, was absent from proceedings at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. Zuma had surgery in August, but it is not clear what the surgery was for.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering related to the acquisition of military equipment.

In particular he is accused of receiving kickbacks over a 1999 deal with French arms group Thales in exchange for protecting the company from investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and Thales has denied wrongdoing.

On July 7, Zuma was jailed for failing to cooperate with a separate corruption probe, precipitating some of the worst riots and looting the country has seen since the end of white minority rule in 1994. More than 300 people were killed and thousands of businesses looted.

On Friday the Constitutional Court dismissed a bid by Zuma to overturn his 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court after he ignored instructions to participate in a corruption inquiry.

Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo has launched a government unit aimed at rooting out corruption through encouraging and protecting whistleblowers in the public service.

Speaking on Monday during the launch of the unit, Dlodlo said the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit would play a critical role in terms of government reaching its objectives as stated in the 2018 National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS).

The NACS was developed by President Cyril Ramaphosa shortly after he assumed the presidency, in an effort "to create a South Africa that is free from corruption, based on the values of integrity, transparency and accountability, respect for the rule of law, and zero tolerance for corruption".

Building on the key tenets of this vision, the Constitution and anti-corruption legal framework, Dlodlo said the unit would, "...contribute to the building of an ethical leadership, to professionalise the public administration, and to establish a culture of reporting and whistleblowing, while its main aim would be to institutionalise ethical conduct in public administration."

According to Dlodlo, the establishment of the unit was an important step in addressing corruption and to encourage workplace ethics as it highlighted to all public servants ensuring an ethical work environment was the responsibility of all employees, not just a select few.

"Section 195 of the Constitution requires the maintenance and promotion of a high level of professional ethics in the public administration. This not only speaks to the role of public servants performing their work in an efficient and ethical way, but also for those in leadership positions to act ethically at all times," she said.

She added that "any anti-corruption and professionalisation initiative must allow employees to blow the whistle on corruption and for the protection of whistleblowers".

"The death of [whistleblower] Ms Babita Deokaran highlights the imperative to increase awareness amongst employees on whistleblowing, to bolster early detection of corruption and criminal conduct.

"It is time that we revisit South Africa's whistleblowing regime and examine it vigorously, not only the legislation and its effectiveness, but also the lack of a single repository that can be used for research to strengthen the system and practice. We also need to interrogate the lack of cooperation across government to protect whistleblowers and we have to identify the bullies abusing their power to stop whistleblowing from happening," said Dlodlo.

The minister said the establishment of the unit also ensured that government professionalised the public service "by setting norms and standards on ethics, integrity and discipline management and to strengthen its oversight of ethics, integrity and discipline".

"It is my view, that the unit will be an integral cog in the anti-corruption machinery of government, and an important instrument to address corruption, fraud and unethical conduct in the public administration."

Dlodlo said the unit was one of many initiatives the government was using in its bid to stamp out corruption.

"Our government has put several programmes in place for this purpose, directed by a National Development Plan. This plan envisages a South Africa with reduced levels of corruption by 2030, to be achieved through the National Anti-Corruption Strategy that serves as South Africa's blue print to tackle corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy is a contract between the whole of society and will focus on addressing the root causes of corruption so that the citizens of South Africa can see a real change," said Dlodlo.

She added that through the unit, the government envisioned an entity that would "successfully detect and investigate cases of corruption, with a view to prosecute, convict and incarcerate perpetrators".

Dlodlo pointed out that significant strides had already been made, amongst others, to address t...

Former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini made her first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday to face a case of perjury.

The case relates to her testimony during an inquiry the Constitutional Court had instituted into her role in the 2017 social grants crisis.

The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) president appeared briefly and the matter was postponed to October for docket disclosure.

News24 reported in August that the Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng had decided to criminally prosecute Dlamini for perjury and that summons had been issued for her to appear in court on 21 September.

Background

Judge Bernard Ngoepe chaired the inquiry into Dlamini's role in the social grants crisis. The inquiry investigated whether Dlamini should be held personally liable for the costs in the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) debacle.

The judge found that Dlamini had been evasive when questions were put to her during the inquiry, News24 reported.

In his report, Ngoepe stated that Dlamini would "unjustifiably answer with 'I don't know/remember' to important questions".

"She would simply not answer some of the questions. Instead of answering the questions, she told counsel to proceed to the next one. She gave long answers, which did not speak to the question asked.

"... I simply could not understand why the minister was not properly answering such a simple question," Ngoepe said in an earlier report.

Dlamini is due back in court on 1 October.

Former president Jacob Zuma continues to be monitored by prison officials while on medical parole, a KwaZulu-Natal Department of Correctional Services (DCS) official said outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday.

"Mr Zuma was granted medical parole, but he remains in hospital as he requires in-hospital care until doctors discharge him. He has been enrolled in community corrections system meaning that as a parolee he will be monitored by our officials until such time that the sentence expires," DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.

Nxumalo was speaking outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court where lawyers for the State and Zuma, as well as the national commissioner of correctional services Arthur Fraser, appeared before Judge Piet Koen.

Fraser previously took a decision to release Zuma, saying the former president had declared his comorbidities, and that he was frail and required specialised treatment.

Nxumalo said Fraser and other senior officials were summoned to court to speak on Zuma's medical parole issue.

"I can confirm that Mr Arthur Fraser, Kenneth Mthombeni (acting regional commissioner for KZN DCS) and Mpumi Hadebe, head of Estcourt facility were subpoenaed by the NPA. They were subpoenaed for many areas of interest."

"What I can disclose is that the matter surrounds access to medical records for the former president Mr Jacob Zuma."

Zuma failed in his bid to have his 15-month sentence for contempt overturned.

The Constitutional Court dismissed his application to rescind his contempt of court order, describing it as "litigious skulduggery".

No supporters outside court for Zuma

There were no supporters for Zuma outside court on Tuesday, with a large police and media presence the only sign of his proceedings continuing.

Zuma supporters often swarm the area outside the court house, but have often stayed away from proceedings when Zuma failed to attend.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has gazetted 1 November 2021 as the date for the municipal elections.

The gazette was done as per the Constitution, section 159 read with the Municipal Structures Act, which prescribes that at the end of a five-year term of local government, elections must be held within a period of 90 days.

Gazetting of the election date means that the IEC will seal the voters' roll at midnight on Monday while the candidate registration system will close on Tuesday.

The statement from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs read: "The gazetting of the date is taking us a step closer to voting day. We urge all South Africans who will be embarking on campaigning and canvassing for votes to do so responsibly, while respecting the Covid-19 regulations and protocols."

Dlamini-Zuma added that, with the gazetting done, her department was "now looking towards voting day" as she urged "all South Africans to ensure peaceful, credible, free and fair municipal elections".

"Our actions have thus far proved true to our noble intentions to keep the flame of democracy burning by voting on 01 November 2021.

"With the voter's roll sealed, I hope that South Africans, especially the women, youth, persons with disabilities and people in rural areas under different traditional authorities had an opportunity to register," said Dlamini-Zuma.

The Minister thanked those citizens who made sure that they are registered and that their names appear in the voter's roll.

This as the IEC held a final registration over the past weekend.

"We are encouraged by the numbers of citizens who went out to over 23 000 voting stations to register to vote on 01 November 2021. The IEC will over the course of the week release the actual statistics and the status of our voter's roll," said the minister.

This will be the sixth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday it is at a local government level where elected public representatives’ commitment to advancing human rights is measured the most.

Ramaphosa urged those standing for elections to agree that the focus should not only be about securing the most votes, but that it would fundamentally be about the people of South Africa and ensuring that their best interests were placed above all else.

South Africa will hold municipal elections on November 1.

“We share the common goal of a better life for all. Regardless of which political party we support, belong to or are campaigning for, let us together work to rebuild trust and improve communication,” he said.

Ramaphosa visited parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga over the weekend in finalising the voter registration weekend ahead of the local government elections on 1 November.

“As I met with residents in parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga over the weekend, what struck me most was the importance of local government being accessible, visible and above all, reachable. This is particularly important when service delivery challenges, disruptions or failures occur,” he said.

He explained that citizens often complained that in the lead-up to elections, ward councillors, candidates and officials were energetic, interacting with communities and listening to their concerns. However, once elections had passed, they either disappeared or it became difficult to reach them, he said.

Ramaphosa said water, electricity, sanitation, housing, education and health care were the things people needed most to have a decent quality of life, explaining that where local government failed to meet these needs, the impact was immediate and profound.

He said accountable local government meant maintaining a sustained public presence and an open door policy, not just when election time came around, adding that services must be delivered and allocated budgets must be spent.

“When this does not happen as planned, elected officials must clearly explain why and show how and when problems will be fixed,” he added.

However, he said when local government was efficient and well-run, it provided the foundation people needed to improve their living standards and to find opportunities.

He explained that elected public representatives needed to be out in communities, listening to people’s concerns and resolving their problems.

“A common refrain from communities, and something I heard again over the weekend, is that engagement with ward councillors starts off well, but diminishes steadily over time,” he said.

The Constitutional Court has dismissed the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) application to declare the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) decision to reopen candidate registrations unlawful and invalid.

This effectively means that the African National Congress (ANC), which failed to register candidates in 93 municipalities after missing the initial deadline, would have the opportunity to participate in the elections in these municipalities.

The unanimous judgment was handed down on Monday without an oral hearing by the court.

Two weeks ago, the IEC announced voter and candidate registrations would be reopened after the Constitutional Court dismissed its application to postpone the local government elections to next year.

Last month, the ANC approached the court to have the candidate registration process reopened, but withdrew its application at the last hour.

Similar past applications by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and National Freedom Party (NFP) had also failed.

The DA then launched its court application to have the IEC decision declared invalid and unlawful, and set aside.

The DA's application was supported by the IFP, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), African Transformation Movement (ATM) and the South African Institute of Race Relations. ActionSA also opposed the extension. The application was opposed by the IEC, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the ANC and Freedom Under Law.

According to the IEC, the African Christian Democratic Party, African Independent Congress, Al Jama-ah, Congress of the People, Freedom Front Plus, Good, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and the United Democratic Movement supported extending the deadline.

"Certain parties failed to meet the candidate cut-off date of 23 August 2021. Notably, the ANC failed timeously to submit its party lists and ward candidate nominations in respect of 20 municipalities and 598 wards. In 13 of these municipalities, the ANC has comfortable majorities in the municipal councils, and has enjoyed these majorities in 11 of them for many years," Monday's judgment stated.

"One can thus understand why other political parties might object to an extension of the candidate cut-off date from 23 August to 21 September, since the extension would give the ANC an opportunity to remedy its failure to meet the previous candidate cut-off date whereas, without an extension, the ANC would be removed as a potentially successful political rival."

The Constitutional Court dismissed the DA's contention that its earlier judgment on postponing the election prohibited the reopening of candidate registrations.

The IEC argued that the reopening of the candidate nomination process was a necessary corollary to holding a voter registration weekend and that it was empowered in terms of section 11(2) of the Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000 to amend the election timetable.

The Constitutional Court held that it was doubtful whether section 11(2)(b) was applicable because the election date, in this case, was not postponed but rather, Dlamini-Zuma's proclamation was set aside with the effect that there was no election date at all.

The court also held that granting a candidate cut-off date would be consistent with the legislative scheme.

"This judgment does not detract from the importance of adherence to deadlines imposed by election timetables. Our decision is concerned with the commission's power to amend timetables in terms of section 11(2). When that power is lawfully exercised, it inevitably changes the deadlines, in which event there must be compliance with the amended deadlines.

"Self-evidently, it would be improper for the commission to exercise its power of amendment in order to favour one particular party, but on the papers we cannot find that the commission's proposed amendment will be vitiated on this basis."

The DA alleged that the IEC's decision was biased and improper and inconsistent with the even-handedness demanded of an indep...

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has expressed concern about the number of uncollected identity (ID) documents at Home Affairs branches as voters are expected to register for the local government elections on September 18 and 19.

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has announced November 1 as the election date.

Addressing the media on the state of readiness to offer Home Affairs services during the voter registration weekend, Motsoaledi said his department is gearing up to issue identity documents to all eligible South Africans who wish to register to vote.

“Nobody will be registered if they lack identification,” Motsoaledi pointed out.

The department revealed that 103 239 identity documents are awaiting collection in Gauteng. Tshwane municipality, in Gauteng, has the highest number of uncollected ID documents with 30 762.

In KwaZulu-Natal the department announced that there are 51 777 uncollected ID documents. In the eThekwini region alone there are 22 319 uncollected documents.

In Gauteng, 43 Home Affairs offices will be opened. Of those, 29 are modernised offices, three of them are legacy offices which can only issue out the green bar coded ID not the smart ID and one is equipped with a generator and five branches have mobile units.

Most offices are fitted with generators in the event of no electricity.

3 039 Home Affairs staff will be deployed across the country this weekend to help issue temporary identification documents to those who have lost or damaged theirs.

The Minister said the department will also try to resolve the issues pertaining to duplicate IDs, changing of incorrect details such as ID numbers or spelling mistakes.

Ratifications and dead/alive cases will also be attended to but the Minister stressed that they will require supporting documents.

“We have deployed a staff of 200 people at the head office in Pretoria at the back office who will go to our archives. They will check through the files in order to make the ratifications,” he said.

In addition there are banks that will also issue out identifications in Gauteng.

Motsoaledi will be deployed in and around Gauteng over the weekend while his Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza will be deployed in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

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