Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says there are about 700 pupils who have not yet been placed in public schools across the province, a big improvement on last year.

“Last year almost 35,000 pupils were not placed. This year there are fewer than 700 who need to be placed,” Lesufi said on Wednesday when inland pupils returned to school.

In this week’s edition of Eusebius on TimesLIVE, Eusebius McKaiser offers some initial insights, as TimesLIVE contributor and analyst, into part one of the state capture report.

The Cape Town magistrates court has remanded alleged parliament fire arsonist Zandile Mafe to a mental institution for observation for a period of up to 30 days to established if he is fit to stand trail. This after the State provided evidence that the accused suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The 49 year old was arrested on January 2 2022, near the parliamentary prescient after a devastating fire had broken out in parliament.The official cause of the blaze has not yet been established, but the state has charged Mafe with 2 counts of arson, possession of an explosive device, destruction of essential infrastructure and now a schedule 6 charge of contravening the Terrorist Act.

Alleged arsonist Zandile Mafe, who stands accused of setting fire to parliament buildings last week, was accompanied by new, high-level legal representation in the form of advocate Dali Mpofu, former national chairperson of the EFF.

Mpofu told the court Mafe has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

After this revelation, the state requested that Mafe be committed to a mental institution for 30 days’ observation to decide whether he is fit to stand trial.

Mpofu said Mafe would refuse government-provided meals as a form of protest if he was not granted bail.

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the government to finalise vaccine mandates.

He says for the economy to operate fully, everyone must be vaccinated against Covid-19.

He reiterated the importance of vaccination.

The EFF held a “Siyabonga” (“thank you”) rally in Durban's People's Park on Saturday to thank its KwaZulu-Natal supporters for their support.

In the 2021 local government elections, the EFF secured 150 seats and 8.64% of the vote in the province — up from 59 seats and 3.46% in the 2016 election.

When the ANC officially opens the party’s leadership race, Limpopo will campaign for Cyril Ramaphosa to win a second term.

The premier of Limpopo and ANC provincial chair Stan Mathabatha told the party’s January 8 celebrations on Saturday that the province was fully behind Ramaphosa.

Mathabatha said Ramaphosa had led the ANC well and that it was not jumping the gun in calling for his second term.

Police minister Bheki Cele told journalists that someone deliberately shut down the power at the ANC gala dinner on Friday while President Cyril Ramaphosa was thanking the business community for its financial support.

ANC deputy president David Mabuza addressed the crowd at Mankweng Cemetery in Limpopo at a wreath-laying ceremony for the late ANC Youth League president Peter Mokaba.

Mabuza reiterated the words of the province's premier Stanley Mathabatha that it is not the party that is corrupt, but individuals within the party who are.

“We will correct ourself and get rid of unwanted elements," Mabuza said.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa is in Limpopo gearing up for the ANC January 8th statement on Saturday.

Other ANC leadership figures, including deputy president David Mabuza, chairperson Gwede Mantashe and treasurer-general Paul Mashatile are also in the province garnering support for the ANC's 110th birthday celebrations.

Ramaphosa says he is determined that the land will be returned to the people of the country.