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As he concluded his working visit in Canada, for the Group of Seven (G7) Summit Outreach Session, President Cyril Ramaphosa noted Canada's comprehensive Africa strategy, which he said held potential for cooperation in areas where there was alignment with the African Agenda.

He pointed out that several engagements have taken place between South Africa and Canada at various levels, including at Sherpa and Ministerial levels, and he welcomed the strengthening of cooperation between both countries as it relates to the Group of Twenty (G20) and the G7.

Ramaphosa participated in the G7 Summit Outreach Session, on the margins of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, where he noted that South Africa views the G7 as a strategic partner.

Ramaphosa's participation at the G7 Leaders' Summit was an opportunity for South Africa to pursue strategic alignment within the framework of G7-G20 cooperation, said the Presidency.

Ramaphosa said South Africa sought greater cooperation in areas such as investment, financing for development, international crime, climate change and just transitions, as well as inclusive global growth and development.

Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa Vincent Magwenya explained that the Outreach Session aimed "to explore leadership and collaboration in driving a comprehensive approach to energy security with a focus on technology and innovation; diversification and strengthening critical mineral supply chains; and infrastructure and investment".

He said the Outreach theme resonated with South Africa's national interests and priorities of South Africa's G20 Presidency.

"The Outreach Sessions of the G7 in which President Ramaphosa participated in have been a feature of the Group over the years, with the aim to strengthen unity among G7 members and like-minded countries to deliberate on and address some of the world's most pressing issues," he explained.

Ramaphosa noted that the G7 should support the efforts of the Global South to create a fair, just and inclusive global order that would foster sustainable development and that the G7 should support the reform of international institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the global financial architecture.

Ramaphosa held bilateral meetings on issues of mutual interest with other heads of State and government, from Canada, France, Germany and South Korea.

Canada assumed the Presidency of the G7 on January 1.

The G7 consists of the largest advanced economies Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The EU also participates in G7 Summits, although it is not a member.

South Africa's inflation rate was steady in May, staying below the central bank's 3% to 6% target range as it pushes for the target to be lowered.

Headline consumer inflation stood at 2.8% year-on-year last month, unchanged from April and in line with the median forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which has cut interest rates at four of its last five policy meetings, stressed its preference for a lower target at its last meeting.

The finance minister would need to sign off on changing the inflation target, but discussions are at an advanced stage, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said last month.

Inflation has been below the midpoint of the target range - the current level the SARB aims for - since August 2024, and the bank believes lowering the target would make the economy more competitive.

Analysts agree.

"From the SARB's perspective this will be the ideal time to proceed with the lower inflation target, using current well-behaved inflation to anchor future expectations," said Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered.

Danny Greeff, co-head of Africa at ETM Analytics, said a lower target "could foster structurally lower inflation and interest rates over time, benefiting both the demand and supply sides of the economy".

Annual core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, came in at 3.0% in May, the same as the previous month and below analysts' expectations.

South Africa will resume trade talks with the Trump administration on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit next week, with less than a month to go before Washington's reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect.

The negotiating teams will aim to thrash out the details of South Africa's proposed framework agreement, which includes ramping up liquid natural gas imports, a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals and duty-free US quotas for the auto and steel industries. Officials first presented the measures to the Trump administration when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Washington on May 21.

Discussions on the technical details of the accord have taken place and South Africa's team will resume negotiations at the summit, according to people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified because they're not authorised to speak to the media. The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Angolan capital, Luanda, from June 22-25.

The South African trade department didn't respond to a request for comment. The US State Department didn't immediately respond to a request sent by email.

South Africa is behind countries including India and the UK in negotiating a trade deal with the US, making it unlikely that the parties will reach a deal by the July 9 deadline, when tariffs will triple from the current 10%. Africa's most-industrialised nation is hedging its bets on the US accepting a proposal to maintain the duty at current levels until an agreement is concluded.

"Effectively what we have put forward tries to be a mitigating factor for July 9," deputy director-general for trade, Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, told lawmakers in Cape Town last week.

What South Africa has proposed:

The establishment of a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals in South Africa

A duty-free quota of 40 000 vehicles per annum for the auto industry and duty-free access for automotive components sourced from South Africa for production in the US

A duty-free quota of 385-million kilograms of steel and 132-million kilograms of aluminium annually

Increasing imports of LNG from the US to as much as 100 petajoules annually for 10 years, which may generate as much as $12-billion of trade over a decade.

Washington's trade complaints against Pretoria span a range of industries from vehicles to citrus and meat, while differences between the two nations extend beyond trade.

President Donald Trump has spread the false conspiracy theory that White farmers have been subjected to a genocide in South Africa and that the authorities have seized their land. There have been no official land seizures in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994.

The threat of higher US tariffs has also prompted the South African authorities to diversify its export markets, Mlumbi-Peter said last week.

"We have identified 22 critical markets that we need to diversify our exports to," she said. "The export branch is working with the private sector to continue our diversification efforts so that we can build a greater resilience so that we are not too vulnerable in one market."

The GOOD Party expressed hopes on Tuesday that the National Dialogue will be more than symbolic and that it produces tangible outcomes.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government will convene a National Convention, in August, which will set the agenda for the National Dialogue.

He explained that in the wake of government's engagements with various entities, there was broad agreement to convene a National Dialogue, given the challenges facing the country.

Tuesday marked one year since the Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed, a "bold and necessary step towards restoring stability and collaboration in a fractured political landscape," said GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron.

Herron claimed his party, a GNU partner, kept the centre from collapsing, however he said GOOD is concerned because key elements of the GNU's founding agreement remain unmet.

He noted that the "long-delayed dialogue" is a chance to "course-correct".

The GOOD Party hopes to see outcomes that includes a Basic Income Grant, spatial transformation, a capable State, and renewed economic inclusion.

He explained that without a common strategy, the GNU risked becoming a fragmented management structure, rather than a unified engine for change.

He said the Statement of Intent committed the parties to an agreed policy agenda, to be developed at a joint GNU Lekgotla, which he said never materialised.

"…instead, the Cabinet developed its Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) in isolation without the inclusive strategic session that was meant to shape it. This is more than an administrative oversight. It is a missed opportunity to forge real consensus, to root our policy agenda in the shared vision that brought the GNU into being," he said.

Herron pointed out that three parties to the GNU Statement of Intent remain excluded from Cabinet, while one is excluded from even the extended Cabinet structure of deputy ministers.

"If the GNU is to work, its spirit must match its signature - collaborative, inclusive, and united in action," he said.

Herron highlighted that for the first time, the official opposition, most notably the Democratic Alliance, has found itself at the table.

"This has placed them in uncharted waters, balancing critique with cooperation. It is a tightrope that GOOD has walked before. Being part of a unity government means more than sharing power. It means sharing purpose.

"You cannot govern through press releases. You cannot deliver justice or services with one foot in and one foot out. The real work lies not in merely critiquing policies, but in shaping, implementing, and owning them," he said.

The GOOD Party said the second year of the GNU must be defined by implementation, noting that the country cannot afford another year of "political positioning".

A year into South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU), ActionSA has given the coalition government a 'failed' grade, saying it reflects, what is believes, is the coalition's poor performance and a missed opportunity to chart a new course for the country.

The GNU was formed following the May 2024 elections, which saw the African National Congress (ANC) lose its electoral support for the first time since the advent of South Africa's democracy.

ActionSA on Tuesday presented its inaugural one-year review of the GNU, with a comprehensive grading of the GNU's performance over the past 12 months.

ActionSA claims that the GNU has "failed to deliver meaningful reform".

"The consequence of this failure is a country caught in the grip of stagnation and regression, rather than progress, growth and measurable improvement," explained ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.

Trollip described the GNU's Cabinet, which he said increased the Cabinet's budget by almost R250-million each year, as an outrageous financial burden placed on already overburdened taxpayers.

"Lavish spending has defined Ministers' first year in office. Based on replies received to date, R204-million has been spent on executive travel. However, this figure is incomplete. Two Ministers - Land Reform and Rural Development, and Social Development - have failed to respond more than six months after the question was submitted. Two others - Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and the Presidency - either failed to disclose any amount or deflected accountability altogether, with one referring the matter to the Standing Committee on Intelligence.

"Most replies received only cover the first six months in office. Taking these omissions into account, ActionSA conservatively estimates that executive travel in the GNU's first year cost taxpayers between R350-million and R400-million," he said.

He pointed out that under a GNU coalition South Africa's expanded unemployment rate increased from 42.6% to 43.1%. ActionSA gave the GNU an 'F' in this metric.

Trollip highlighted that according to the latest employment figures, nearly 300 000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

"…that means today, 5 000 South Africans will go home and tell their families they've lost their jobs, another 5 000 tomorrow and every working day after that. There are now 8.23-million unemployed South Africans, with a further 3.5-million so discouraged that they've given up even trying to find work. That is 12-million people without opportunity, without support, and without hope," he said.

He said when evaluating the GNU, the metric should show what government had done to create jobs, adding that only sustained economic growth of at least 3% to 4% would lift South Africans out of unemployment.

"The painful truth is that in the GNU's first year, annual growth has not breached the 1% ceiling, less than population growth. Even for the current financial year, National Treasury projects an overly optimistic, but still inadequate, growth rate of 1.4%. As long as growth remains this low, the heartbreak of joblessness will persist," Trollip said.

He attributed the stagnation to "a government bereft of bold, pragmatic ideas and one that is openly at war with itself".

He claimed that parties in the GNU spent more time taking each other to court than crafting meaningful reforms.

One year since its formation, not a single new economic policy had been introduced, he said.

Trollip highlighted that while isolated pockets of improvement may be cited in certain areas, it had yielded little to no "tangible impact" on the prevailing socioeconomic conditions in the country.

"Every day, ordinary South Africans bear witness to the reality that life has not improved. Over the past week, as we engaged with people across the country, their lived experiences told a powerful and consistent story. From rural villages to urban centres, from Cape Town to Limpopo, from students to small business owners,...

Following this year's Youth Day celebration, President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out that while entrepreneurship is a key economic growth driver, rates of entrepreneurial activity in South Africa are relatively low compared with other countries.

In commemoration of June 16, Ramaphosa acknowledged in his weekly letter to the nation on Tuesday, South Africa's high youth unemployment.

"The extent and scale of the youth unemployment crisis means that government should not focus solely on placing more young people in formal, existing jobs, but that it must bolster skills development and foster an entrepreneurial culture," he said.

One of the challenges, Ramaphosa said, was the mismatch between the skills available in the workforce and market need.

He said closing this gap should be a critical priority for government, adding that it was working to foster an enabling environment that allowed more young people to become self-employed.

"This is why we are investing in vocational training. We have increased funding to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges and subsidies for the operationalisation of new campuses. Each year, we are placing thousands of learners and graduates into workplace experience opportunities," he said.

The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention has also been working with the National Youth Development Agency and the Department of Small Business Development to provide business support, financial and otherwise, to young people.

"Through all these initiatives, the State has supported millions of young South Africans with work opportunities, work experience and skills development. However, we can only vastly scale up the employment of young people with greater private sector involvement," he said.

He urged business and other public sector entities to use government's platform SAYouth.mobi to provide more pathways for young people to earn and learn, and said the private sector should use all available mechanisms, including the Employee Tax Incentive, to hire young people.

He highlighted that there were now over 4.7-million young people registered on the SAYouth.mobi platform and the Department of Employment and Labour's employment services database.

Ramaphosa noted that through these platforms, young people had been supported to access over 1.6-million earning opportunities.

He explained that registration was free, and the app was zero rated, meaning it can be accessed without incurring any data charges.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will from June 17 till 21, undertake a working visit to the Russian Federation, aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and trade ties between South Africa and Russia.

The working visit will take place in Moscow and St. Petersburg involving high-level engagements as well as economic diplomacy activities, with a particular focus on enhancing economic cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, automotive, energy and mining as well as science and technology cooperation.

The working visit will be Mashatile's first visit to the Russian Federation since he took office as Deputy President under the seventh administration.

Acting spokesperson to Deputy President Mashatile Keith Khoza pointed out that the visit was preceded by President Cyril Ramaphosa's Working Visit to Kazan, for the BRICS Summit in October 2024 and Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Thandi Moraka's participation in the First Russia-Africa Ministerial Meeting in November 2024.

It was also preceded by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola's visit to co-chair the eighteenth ITEC session in April 2025, and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga's representation of South Africa during the "80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War Celebrations" held in Moscow in May 2025.

Khoza highlighted that while in Moscow, Mashatile will meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishutin, to discuss cooperation in the economic, trade and energy spheres.

Mashatile will also meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin; chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko (Speaker of Upper House) and chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin (Speaker of Lower House).

Mashatile will also lay a wreath at the memorial site dedicated to South Africa's liberation stalwarts John Beaver (JB) Marks and Moses Kotane.

The second part of the Working Visit will take place in St. Petersburg, where Mashatile will participate in the plenary of the twenty-eighth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2025.

"On the sidelines of SPIEF '25 Deputy President Mashatile is scheduled to deliver a Public Lecture at the St Petersburg State University under the theme: "South Africa's G20 Presidency in a rapidly changing Geopolitical Environment" and speak during the opening of the South African Trade and Investment Seminar.

"The St. Petersburg leg of the visit is expected to leverage on promoting South Africa's trade relations and South Africa as an investment destination," highlighted Khoza.

Mashatile will be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Alvin Botes; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande; Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina; Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau; Agriculture Deputy Minister Nokuzola Capa; Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala; Mineral and Petroleum Resources Deputy Minister Phumzile Mgcina, and Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Peace Mabe.

The Democratic Alliance on Friday expressed concern at the accelerating collapse of South Africa's defence capabilities, calling for urgent action, real investment, and accountability.

DA spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans Chris Hattingh pointed out that the South African National Defence Force was facing a full-blown capability crisis, not just being on the sharp end of late maintenance or delayed procurement.

Hattingh explained that this was starkly laid bare in Friday's Armscor presentation to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

"Our Navy is barely seaworthy. The Air Force can hardly get off the ground. And our ability to monitor or defend our vast coastline is close to zero. Years of underfunding, policy paralysis, and absent leadership have brought us here.

"The Navy's key assets, its submarines and frigates, are mostly dockside relics. Armscor's Dockyard, once the engine room of naval support, is now a hollowed-out shell. It no longer has the in-house capacity to conduct major refits without outsourcing critical work," he explained.

He noted that it was the state of the Air Force that truly painted the picture.

"Across all categories - fighters, helicopters, transports, and trainers - aircraft availability has plummeted to near-zero," he added.

He said the DA wanted a defence force that was "capable, credible, and aligned" with the real needs of the country, not one that performs "ceremonial fly-pasts while operational capacity crumbles".

The party called for a full audit of the SANDF's reconnaissance, surveillance, and response capabilities, both in the air and at sea, noting collapse of all the country's maritime reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities.

"Vast stretches of our coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone are going unpatrolled and unprotected, leaving the door wide open for illegal fishing, piracy, trafficking, and environmental degradation. We are blind in our own backyard," Hattingh said.

The party also called for immediate investment in "affordable and effective" maritime surveillance platforms, including drones, shore radar, Inshore Patrol Vessels, and long-range patrol aircraft.

Hattingh said a full investigation into the collapse of maintenance and engineering capacity at Armscor Dockyard and in the SAAF technical environment, was also needed.

"This didn't happen overnight. The 2015 Defence Review clearly warned that the SANDF was heading toward block obsolescence and operational collapse. It offered a roadmap. But it was ignored. No funding. No implementation. No urgency. No accountability," he explained.

He further pointed out that to make matters worse, the Department of Defence missed a binding deadline to table a formal reassessment of the 2015 Defence Review by 31 October 2024.

"Parliament is still waiting. In its place, the department now punts vague promises of a so-called "Journey to Greatness", a slogan with no plan, no timeline, and no credibility. South Africa doesn't need slogans. It needs strategy, structure, and solutions," he said.

Hattingh said his party was calling for an urgent parliamentary debate on the non-implementation of the 2015 Defence Review, and a firm deadline for its long-overdue reassessment.

"This is not just about rusting ships and grounded aircraft. It is about a defence department that cannot prioritise in a shrinking budget. It's about an SANDF becoming symbolic instead of functional. And it's about political leaders who deflect blame instead of fixing what is broken," he explained.

The DA called for political accountability from Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga and the leadership of the department for presiding over this steady decline.

ActionSA has called for the proposed National Dialogue to be halted, calling instead for robust economic policies and investment in strengthening the criminal justice system, especially the National Prosecuting Authority, that it says has become a weak link under National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi considering the unfinished business of the Zondo Commission.

On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that in the wake of government's engagements with various entities, there was broad agreement to convene a National Dialogue, given the challenges facing the country.

He revealed that a National Convention, which will set the agenda for the National Dialogue, will be held on August 15.

The party expressed concerns that after fruitlessly spending over R1-billion on the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, with nothing to show for it in terms of arrests and successful prosecutions of high profile politicians implicated in aiding, abetting, and benefiting from the crimes linked to it, government is about to launch yet another process that is reportedly going to cost at least another R1-billion.

"…currently budgeted at around R750-million, but we know how these things go - and will no doubt be another burden on an already stretched fiscus," said ActionSA president Herman Mashaba.

Mashaba explained that indications are that the National Dialogue is already looking like a "carefully choreographed process to fool South Africans yet again".

"In line with our recent calls for decisive changes in the National Prosecutions Authority, starting with the removal of the ineffective Advocate Shamila Batohi, what we should be seeing instead of another talk-shop is a raft of criminal prosecutions in line with the outcomes and recommendations of the Zondo Commission. It doesn't make sense that all the people implicated in what were clearly treasonous crimes are still walking the streets of our country and the corridors of Parliament as if they have no reason to be ashamed and to be afraid," he said.

The party further expressed its concern that other than PR spin, nothing had come out of Ramaphosa's "so-called Investment Conferences" of the past few years.

He claimed all that was witnessed were media picture-perfect announcements of investor pledges amounting to hundreds of billions of rands with nothing pointing to such pledges leading to noticeable job creation and, specifically, tackling the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

"…no one seems to be asking how much has been spent on these conferences and what has been their return on public investment, other than fabulous media appearances for the President," he said.

Mashaba highlighted that with a Government of National Unity, and different parties "pulling in different directions", no new policies had been introduced to tackle economic stagnation.

He pointed to the latest quarterly unemployment figures, which showed that almost 300 000 people lost their jobs, translating to 5 000 a day.

"As things stand, we're sitting with some 8.23-million unemployed South Africans and a further 3.5-million having given up trying to find a job because of the dire outlook. Expected economic growth has been revised down on several occasions, from 1.3% down to 0.6%," he noted.

Tanzania's economic growth is forecast to rise to 6% this year from 5.5% last year, its planning and investment minister said on Thursday.

Minister Kitila Mkumbo added that the budget deficit was seen at 3.0% of GDP next fiscal year, from 3.4% of GDP this year.

The East African country is set to hold an election in October. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is seeking to remain in power, having taken office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.