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Opposition parties have had mixed reactions to the resignation of Western Cape Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Bonginkosi Madikizela and some have accused the DA of double standards.

Madikizela also resigned from his position in the provincial cabinet on Wednesday, following his suspension amid claims that he lied about his qualifications.

News24 previously reported that sources said Madikizela should either leave his post voluntarily or face removal.

Good party secretary-general Brett Herron said his party had been calling for Madikizela's resignation for four weeks, "since the Public Protector found him guilty of lying to Parliament about DA government failures to deliver inner-city affordable housing".

"Madikizela was ultimately forced to resign after leaked allegations that he lied about his qualifications proved to be true. The Public Protector's finding that he had lied to Parliament should have been sufficient basis for removing him from office," Herron said.

However, African Christian Democratic Party MP Ferlon Christians said he was saddened to hear of the resignation.

"He was a good leader and a fantastic MEC. He still had a lot to offer," Christians said.

Christians added that he felt the DA handled the allegations around Madikizela's qualifications too harshly. He said he believed that the real reason the party demanded his resignation was that he challenged the party's mayoral candidate process.

While the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomed Madikizela's resignation, it felt the DA had double standards.

"As the EFF in the province, we are not surprised by the double standards and anti-black racist position that the DA has taken where it treats its black leaders differently from how it treats their white counterparts, whereas both are found to have committed similar offences," said provincial chairperson Melikhaya Xego .

African National Congress MPL Cameron Dugmore also said the DA had double standards and "exerted pressure on Madikizela to resign as provincial leader and MEC in stark contrast to how they treat other DA leaders".

"The double standards are obvious. It's as if the DA, in the words of Tony Leon, are saying that the MEC was another 'failed experiment'," said Dugmore.

"Why are they silent on the mayor of Saldanha, who is alleged to have misrepresented his qualifications? This is a party who has one set of rules for black leaders and another set for white leaders."

Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has lashed out at those who have questioned a skills transfer programme involving Cuban engineers.

On Thursday, Sisulu announced that 24 Cuban engineers would help with water infrastructure and maintenance "from source to tap" and that around R65-million had been budgeted for this financial year.

Most were seconded to water and river "clusters" to provide training and help local engineers and artisans with infrastructure problems. They will receive stipends and payment for goods and services.

However, the programme has come under fire from local organisations such as Solidarity and the Engineering Council of South Africa.

Solidarity has threatened to apply for an interdict to stop the government from hiring Cuban engineers for water systems maintenance and repairs, saying local engineers and skills specialists can do the job instead.

In a statement, Sisulu said she noted "with disappointment calls which seek to discourage or downplay the work of the Cuban engineers".

She remarked on the close ties between the two countries, with Cuba supporting South Africa's liberation movement.

"All of us live in a free country because they selflessly made it possible and this is the bitter pill they have not swallowed yet. But a few other truths need to be stated," Sisulu said.

She added that she had made a call for local engineers to assist in the skills transfer programme, but "only five companies responded".

"Responding to my call is their prerogative, however, whipping up negativity is not a way to a good working relationship. It is in their interest that the relationship is conducive to creating an environment that benefits themselves as well as the people they hope to provide services for," Sisulu said.

"I repeat, the Cubans are not in our country for employment. They are here to mentor our municipal workers so that we can create jobs for South Africa, both skilled and unskilled. Today we have qualified black women engineers whom they mentored during their last stint in our country."

Sisulu said the Cuban engineers will also help to repair infrastructure because they had been dealing with ageing infrastructure.

"The jobs we will be creating as we roll out infrastructure programmes will be for South Africans. All this was made clear at the ceremony and through the media. We are therefore left with no doubt that the mischief is deliberate and engineered," she said.

In the absence of a new Covid-19 variant, South Africans can expect the peak of a possible third wave of infections to be lower than what was seen during the second wave.

Although the timing of the third wave remains uncertain, the health department predicts that hospital admissions will be less for all age groups.

According to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize , the department plans to vaccinate as many citizens as possible before the expected third wave hits.

During a briefing to Parliament's health committee on Wednesday, Mkhize told MPs that officials specifically monitored infections in three provinces - the Northern Cape, the North West and the Free State.

He added: "These provinces are showing numbers that are increasing. These numbers are, however, very low, taking into account the total population of the country. We are working on them very closely and trying to reduce the numbers and further spread in particular areas. It's also important, the work on the modelling for the third wave is being done. Everything about it remains uncertain. When it will arise and how bad it will be, although there are indications that it won’t be worse than the second wave of infections. We want to, however, vaccinate as many people as possible and without being troubled about the next wave."

The health department's director-general, Sandile Buthelezi , also said that the size of the third wave depended on the rate at which contacts increased.

"Slow, weak response is not an upper bound on fatigue. More extreme scenarios are possible, but it would be unreasonable for fatigue to be so extreme that the population would not adopt any protective measures. Fast, strong response is not a lower bound on fatigue either. This scenario is comparable to the estimated response in the second wave; it would be unreasonable to assume less fatigue in the third wave," he said.

Buthelezi also said that behaviour change factors that could increase the possibility of a third wave, including reduced adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as mask-wearing.

He said the easing of restrictions, holiday travel and super-spreader events would also add to the possibility of a third wave.

"Monitoring trends in cases is the best estimator of when a third wave is likely to begin. Guidelines to using the Epidemic Explorer will be shared with the provinces. The emergence of a highly transmissible new variant may result in a third wave of the same size or worse if it is more severe or provides an opportunity for immune escape. Testing and lineage classification is ongoing," he said.

Earlier this month, the Health Ministry decided to halt the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine rollout after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a similar decision.

The FDA reported that six women developed blood clots after using the vaccine. More than six-million US residents have been injected with the vaccine.

Buthelezi said delaying the start of the third wave meant there was more time for vaccinations.

Next week, South Africa is expected to receive vaccine doses from Pfizer and another batch from J&J.

President Cyril Ramaphosa , on Wednesday, made his long-awaited appearance at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, in his capacity as leader of the African National Congress (ANC).

In his opening statement, he said he did not appear before the commission to make excuses or to defend the indefensible and stressed that the ANC would assist the commission in its work in any way possible.

“The ANC has consistently expressed its support for the objectives and the work of this commission. The ANC has taken this position knowing that the organisation may be placed under great scrutiny and that the process of examining these matters will likely be difficult and painful for the ANC. Nevertheless, the ANC maintains that this commission maintains a necessary part of the broader social effort to end State capture and corruption,” Ramaphosa stated.

He said the ANC recognised the extent to which some party leaders and members were advertently and inadvertently complicit in corruption and reiterated the party’s position that leaders and members who were found to be complicit in corruption must face the might of the law, adding that their actions would be in direct violation not only of the laws of the republic but also of the ANC constitution, its values and principles and the resolutions and decisions of the ANC’s constitutional structure.

He said there was broad support in the ANC for the implementation of the step-aside policy, which asks ANC members who are charged with corruption or other charges to step aside from their positions pending the finalisation of the cases. Members who do not step aside may be suspended.

Ramaphosa added that accused members must also appear before the ANC’s integrity commission to provide a credible explanation for the allegations made against them and that failing to do so may result in suspension.

Ramaphosa warned that ANC members who were found to be complicit in corrupt activities could not rely on the support of the ANC for protection and cautioned such members against using the principle of “collective responsibility” in accounting for their actions.

Members must be accountable for their actions themselves, he said, and stressed that the ANC did not and could never direct its members or leaders to commit acts of corruption.

Ramaphosa stated that the ANC distances itself from members who were involved in corruption or who were complicit in State capture, and said the party acknowledges that it must provide explanations for the matters currently under investigation by the commission.

“We should do so because State capture took place under our watch as the governing party. It involved some members and leaders of our organisations and it found fertile ground in the divisions and the weakness and the tendencies that have developed in the organisation since 1994. I should say however that the vast majority of ANC leaders, ANC cadres and ANC members are vehemently opposed to corruption in all its manifestations, but we all acknowledge that the organisation could and should have done more to prevent the abuse of power and the misappropriation of resources that defined the era of State capture,” he admitted.

He said one of the earliest claims of influence by the Gupta family over the executive was made by Minister Fikile Mbalula , however, he admitted that as far as he was aware, the claim was never investigated.

Ramaphosa said the ANC had, over the course of the last few years, recognised corruption within the State, in its own ranks and in other parts of society, and added that the party has taken a number of resolutions to address this, including the establishment of the State capture commission.

He revealed that State capture was a matter of political contestation in the ANC, with differences being expressed about its existence, its extent and what should be done about it. He said this contributed to divisions within the ANC national executive committee and other ANC structures.

“The ANC h...

Former president Jacob Zuma on Thursday criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa 's letter to the African National Congress (ANC), in which he called the party corrupt.

Zuma said some members may be corrupt, but not the party as a whole.

"It's not a secret the president wrote a letter, saying the ANC is the number one corrupt organisation in country. He said he was writing this to all the members of the ANC. I think we demonstrated that our power and political understanding are weak, because the ANC, in my view, is not corrupt," he said.

Zuma was speaking in Umhlanga, north of Durban, where the SA National Civic Organisation Youth Congress belatedly celebrated his 79th birthday - which was on 12 April.

Zuma said the party, as a whole, could not be defined as corrupt, but he conceded there were challenges with some members.

"There can be members of the ANC, who are corrupt, but not the ANC. I was waiting for people to say, 'no Mr President', but we were all quiet. Luckily, I told him when we met, that comrade President you were speaking to me in this letter because you said all members and, as a member, I responded and disagreed.

"I said because you've written a letter that has been read by the whole nation I'll also write a letter for the whole nation. I'm just making a point here that there's something within us that, when there's something wrong, we just watch."

He said there were some in the ANC national executive committee, "who said there was nothing wrong with the president's letter".

"At the end, I want us comrades to have a discussion. We can't fix things overnight, just like how the struggle didn't happen overnight. It took a long time.

"The ANC was the first organisation in Africa created to fight for freedom, but it became the last organisation to get freedom. What caused the ANC to be first to fight, but the last to be free. If we don't know that, then we still have a lot of work to do."

Ramaphosa wrote an open letter to ANC members in late August 2020, saying the party stood as accused number one and that some of its leaders stand accused of corruption.

Branches must do more

Zuma said ANC branches had to reclaim its power.

Addressing the small group of mostly young people, he discussed the power of ANC branches.

Zuma said he wanted branches to speak less and act more.

"There's something I'm not satisfied with. When we speak, we say the power is in the branches, but we're the same people who deprive branches of power. What a state the world is in right now, where leadership is talking this much, but have the branches ever spoken?

"Instead of letting them speak, we have reduced them with this thing is called 'interims' who are in charge. They lead, but they were not elected; they are put in those positions and so they doubt their powers," he said on Thursday.

Zuma said ANC branches were not being properly utilised.

"The branches are not using their powers, that's my complaint. This is an old disease. As soon as we elect someone, they try to rule us. It's no longer us who rule them, it's vice versa.

"We answer to them, they don't answer to us. I'm saying all of this because I'm old. When I go up to other old people, they will ask me, 'Zuma, in what state did you leave the ANC?'. What will I say to that?"

Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu announced that Cabinet has approved the Public Service Amendment Bill and the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill for public comment, as he provided an update on the current public service wage negotiations.

Mchunu welcomed the negotiations currently underway by the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), between government and unions in the public service space.

Workers are demanding a salary increase of consumer price inflation with an additional four percentage points, as well as a 12% risk allowance of basic salary owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Internally, as the DPSA, we revamped some of our systems although not completely. The Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit is managing public servants doing business with the State and generally improving on discipline and ethics in the public service,” he said.

An independent facilitator will monitor fragmentation in the public service and public administration in the country.

Mchunu said South Africa was at war against corruption and corrupt activities in public service and public administration. He noted that investigations were underway by the Special Investigating Unit, National Prosecuting Authority, the Hawks and the Auditor-General.

“We encourage the investigators to continue and not tire in their efforts as government and its leadership pledges its support. There are encouraging signs within the governing party to mean what they say and not only in terms of rhetoric but also in their actions. The whole of society must turn its back on corruption, which has decimating consequences for the poor,” he stated.

He is confident that engagements with the PSCBC will close the gap between government and labour.

He urged those involved with negotiations to be “courageous, exercise leadership and negotiate with their brains and hearts”.

“Negotiate as patriotic citizens not as adversaries. We, ourselves, are investing a lot into these negotiations and are expecting a lot from the outcome, doing so in good faith and with the utmost transparency under circumstances where National Treasury has unequivocally told Cabinet that the State has no money. Each proposal by either of the parties must be taken seriously, holistically and comprehensively. You need to go beyond demands and arrive at solutions to challenges facing all of us collectively, avoiding confrontation,” he said.

Blind South Africa president Ntshavheni Netshituni said on Friday that in the current Copyright Act of 1978, exceptions for production of reading materials is a deterrent to the blind community.

To date, people in the blind community are having to request publishers to produce books in alternative formats, which is sometimes not permitted.

Netshituni said fewer than 0.5% of published works in South Africa are said to be in accessible formats for the blind.

Speaking on World Book and Copyright Day, during a webinar organised by SECTION27 and Blind SA, Netshituni said producing books in alternative formats is not ideal as it depends on the publisher’s will to either grant or decline the permission. He said sometimes refusal is done arbitrarily.

“The worst is that a blind or partially sighted person may have to suffer double jeopardy because they have to pay twice for the material…,” he explained.

He said blind and partially sighted people are denied their constitutional right to equality which is protected in the Constitution of South Africa.

Furthermore, he pointed out that South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, saying that continuing to apply the Act in its current form violates the constitutional provisions.

The now-disbanded African National Congress (ANC) provincial executive committee (PEC) in the Free State is appealing a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment that nullified the party's 2018 provincial conference.

The group has decided to take the matter to the Constitutional Court on appeal.

This is despite an instruction from the ANC's national working committee (NWC) for the matter to be resolved politically and not legally.

In court papers filed on Wednesday, provincial ANC chairperson Sam Mashinini – whose position is in limbo as a result of the SCA judgment – disputed that the 2018 provincial conference was held illegally and unlawfully.

"The SCA was wrong both on facts and law. Declaring invalid and unlawful the PEC that was lawfully elected by lawfully elected delegates at a 'lawfully convened Provincial conference' of 18 and 19 May 2018, is a direct infringement of the constitutional rights of majority members of the ANC in the Free State who complied with the ANC guidelines and constitution by electing delegates [at] the provincial conference," Mashinini said in his founding affidavit.

He said the SCA got material facts wrong in its judgment.

The matter was first struck off the roll by the High Court, but the SCA upheld the appeal with costs.

ANC members Matshepo Ramakatsa , Themba Mvandaba and Shashapa Motaung had challenged the validity of the conference, which saw Mashinini replacing Ace Magashule as provincial chairperson.

In court papers, Mashinini said the SCA's interpretation of ANC laws "do not make sense".

He, with the support of Magashule, wants the Constitutional Court to grant them leave to appeal to hear the matter, arguing that the SCA "materially misdirected itself in this matter and incorrectly overturned the judgment and orders of the High Court".

"The prospect[s] of success have been fully demonstrated and there can be no doubt that there are reasonable prospects of success in the leave to appeal and that this court should grant leave to appeal and the appeal itself," Mashinini told the apex court.

The appeal comes despite an agreement by the ANC's NWC that former president and ANC veteran Kgalema Motlanthe would lead the talks in the province to resolve matters through political, rather than legal channels.

A source close to the matter told News24 that talks were held on Monday regarding a political solution to the impasse.

The source said a decision was taken to put in place an interim leadership structure.

The appeal by Mashinini, supported by Magashule, was said to be in defiance of the process led by Motlanthe.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the local government elections will take place on 27 October this year.

"This will be the sixth time under South Africa's democratic dispensation that voters will elect leadership and public representatives at metropolitan, district and local level," the presidency said in a statement.

It said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma would follow the necessary legal process to proclaim the date and undertake other requirements.

"The president urges eligible - and especially first-time voters - to ensure they are registered to participate in the elections, which provide the basis for development and service delivery closest to where citizens live."

Cabinet has welcomed the recommendation by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) regarding the lifting of the temporary pause placed on the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Sisonke Vaccination Programme, but did not immediately announce an end to the suspension following its Wednesday meeting, which was also the first physical meeting of Cabinet since the introduction of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Acting Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, confirmed on Thursday that Cabinet had left it to Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to announce the actual recommencement details, which would be made “as soon as the health department is ready with all the systems".

The recommencement was likely to be imminent, however, as Cabinet had been informed that a new consignment of one-million J&J vaccine doses would be delivered to government by Monday, April 26.

These doses were being manufactured at the Aspen facility, located in the Eastern Cape.

The Sisonke trial of the J&J vaccine was initiated in February to vaccinate health workers, after the AstraZeneca vaccine, initially procured for the purpose, was found to be ineffective against mild cases of the variant of Covid-19 first found in South Africa and which had emerged as the dominant variant in the country by early 2021.

However, the South African government placed a temporary halt on the administering of the J&J vaccine on April 14, after the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paused the vaccine’s use in America so as to further investigate the relationship between the vaccine and the development of extremely rare blood clots.

The reviewed data confirmed that South Africa had not experienced any rare blood clots, with more than 292 600 health workers having been vaccinated under the Sisonke Vaccination Programme ahead of the pause.

On April 19, SAHPRA recommended that the pause in the Sisonke study be lifted, provided that specific conditions were met, including strengthened screening and monitoring of participants who are at high risk of a blood clotting disorder.

In addition, SAHPRA said measures should be implemented to ensure the safe management of any participants who develop vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia, while information sheets and informed consent forms would be updated to reflect the possible risk of a blood clotting disorder after vaccination.

The various updated documents, procedures and study arrangements were submitted to SAHPRA for approval, but resumption of the Sisonke study also required approval from the relevant Research Ethics Committees.

Cabinet said that the temporary suspension in South Africa was in line with government’s commitment to ensuring that comprehensive safety measures were undertaken regarding the vaccine roll-out.

Cabinet also welcomed the successful negotiation of an additional 10-million doses of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine, bringing the total doses of the Pfizer vaccine procured to 30-million.

It also welcomed the progress in the signing of the contract with J&J on the procurement of vaccines for the roll-out of Phase 2 of the vaccination programme, which would initially focus on South Africans above the age of 60, before being extended to essential workers and people living in congregate settings.

The establishment of the No-Fault Compensation Fund, in line with contractual agreements entered into with the pharmaceutical companies supplying South Africa with Covid-19 vaccines, was also approved.

“The Fund is also important for the protection of South Africans who may be affected by side effects of vaccines to access better support and treatment,” Cabinet said in a statement, reporting that the fund would be established through amendments to Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act, and would be chaired by a retired judge.