Category: Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to deliver the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, 12 February 2026.

“The President has called the joint sitting in accordance with Section 84(2)(d) of the Constitution and Rule 13(1)(a) of the Joint Rules of Parliament. The Constitution provides that the President may summon the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces, or Parliament to an extraordinary sitting to conduct special business,” the Parliament said.

During the sitting, which will be held at the Cape Town City Hall, the President will highlight achievements of the administration, flag challenges, and outline interventions for the coming financial year.

SONA marks the official opening of the annual Parliamentary programme and sets out the government’s key policy priorities for the year ahead.

SONA 2026 will be broadcast live at 19:00 on Parliament TV on DSTV Channel 408 and on Parliament’s YouTube Channel. – SAnews.gov.za
 

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development says it is working with stakeholders to ensure the speedy re-opening of courts affected by flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

The two provinces, Limpopo in particular, have been battered by rain for the past week, resulting in loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure.

“The damages that occurred include roof leaks at the courts, electricity supply outage, structural damage and inability to access to the courts by both the public and staff due to access bridges that have been washed away.

“The Minister has already engaged with the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, as well as other stakeholders to speedily mitigate the challenges encountered. Members of the public will be kept abreast of all the developments in this regard and the temporary arrangements that are being made in the interim,” the department said in a statement.

The majority of courts have not been affected by the flooding.

“The department reiterates its commitment of providing access to justice services and will continue to work with stakeholders to speedily restore services at the affected courts,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za

Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona says they are providing psychosocial support to the schools and parents who lost loved ones in the accident that claimed the lives of 12 learners in the Vaal area on Monday morning. 

Speaking to the media this morning, Mabona said psycho-social support teams have already been dispatched to schools impacted by the tragedy.

“So, we have started with the process of psycho support, the school has been taken through the process. Actually, we have sent the psycho support to all the schools that are affected,” Mabona said.

He announced that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is expected to brief the nation later on Tuesday on the latest developments following the tragic scholar transport accident. 

The Gauteng Department of Education said counselling services have been deployed to all affected schools, while government works with families to finalise identification processes and provide ongoing support.

He said the support will prioritise learners and educators who were closest to the deceased.

“We’ll normally identify those that are closer to the deceased, meaning the classmates and the educators that would have taught these children… and start with that process of psycho support, and then we monitor it,” he said.

Providing clarity on the death toll, Mabona confirmed that 12 learners died in the crash, revising earlier figures that indicated 13 fatalities.

“We might have released different numbers, but we can confirm that the number of learners that passed on is 12. And out of the 12, we have one child that is unidentified,” he said.

He explained that the department is working with officials alongside families to complete the identification process of the unidentified child.

Mabona confirmed that three learners remain in hospital, with one having been airlifted to a private medical facility due to the severity of injuries, while another learner has since been discharged.

“In hospital we have three learners, one was airlifted to a private facility because the situation there was quite dire, so the family decided to lift that child to a private hospital,” he said.

He added that the driver of the scholar transport minibus taxi involved has been discharged from hospital and handed over to police. He faces charges of culpable homicide.

Mabona said the MEC for Education in Gauteng, Matome Chiloane, will be visiting affected families as they complete processes at the government mortuary, while a comprehensive briefing by the Premier and affected MECs is scheduled for later in the afternoon.

Addressing public speculation and misinformation, Mabona appealed for respect at accident scenes and sensitivity towards grieving families.

“You might have seen at that active scene yesterday some family members and community members wanting to go closer to their loved ones and that might have been a challenge for the authorities, because we are reporting different numbers due to the unconfirmed reports. 

“Later on, we had to add the numbers, and it turned out one child was found on the scene under the car. That’s why it’s important for members of the community even if we are grieving, to know that an active scene must be respected. We need to give authorities the space to carry out their work,” he said. 

He also condemned the circulation of AI-generated images and inaccurate content on social media.

“We have families that are grieving… you are giving a different picture altogether, circulating graphics that are not accurate,” Mabona said.

Mabona said the names and images of the deceased learners would only be released with the consent of their families.

“We are hopeful that after interacting with the families with the MEC, they will grant us permission to publicise the names, because we need to talk about people identified. They have names and they must be celebrated,” he said.

The learners who died in the crash attended Vaal High School, Vaal Primary School, Suncrest High School, El-Shaddai Christian School, Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark and Oliver Lodge Primary School.

Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are ongoing. – SAnews.gov.za

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande, has announced that his department will strengthen its long-term partnership with the Department of Basic Education, with the aim of improving pass rates in mathematics and science.

According to the Minister, the collaboration will also enhance the quality of teaching in these subjects in schools. 

“We cannot hope to have high-quality science if we provide our young people with poor-quality education. Similarly, we cannot hope to have high-quality education if we produce poor-quality science. You simply cannot have one without the other. 

“In fact, all of the technologies that have changed our lives in the last 30 years, such as smartphones, electric and self-driving cars, drones… search engines… Wi-Fi and GPS, would not have existed had it not been for the interdependence between education and science,” Nzimande said. 

He was speaking during a recent two-day back-to-school oversight programme in the Harry Gwala District of KwaZulu-Natal. 

The Minister visited Enhlanhleni Combined School, Reichenau Primary School, Dingeka Technical High School, and Blessed Luanda Primary School to meet with both management and learners. 

The department produces a set of materials focused on careers in science, engineering and technology, which are distributed to schools and communities.

“Our department also supports talent identification in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], where we support learner participation in STEMI [science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and innovation] Olympiads and fairs such as the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists,” the Minister said.

Nzimande reminded learners that everything the department does is aimed at addressing the development needs of the youth of the country.

“In return, we expect you to be respectful towards your parents, educators, fellow learners, your communities and most importantly, we expect you to respect yourselves. 

“We also need you to understand that all the support you are receiving is so that you can become our future engineers, scientists, drone technologists, police officers, psychologists, ministers and presidents.

“Most importantly, we are giving you all this support because we love you and want you to grow up to become respected members of society.”

The programme is part of Nzimande’s District Development Model (DDM) initiative. It supports government’s objectives of enhancing learner performance, decreasing dropout rates, and strengthening the overall teaching and learning environment, particularly in mathematics and science education. 

The Minister also held a stakeholder engagement session, where he received reports on the achievements and challenges faced by schools. All stakeholders in the session agreed to a set of necessary actions to address these challenges.

Nzimande took the opportunity to formally commend KwaZulu-Natal for achieving the highest matric pass rate in the country for the 2025 academic year. 

He expressed his appreciation for the contributions educators are making to the development of learners and to South Africa’s skills development needs.

Nzimande’s back-to-school oversight programme included a Science Career Exhibition designed to encourage learners to pursue careers in STEMI. This initiative was supported by various entities of the department, universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, other science and academic organisations, as well as private sector companies like Sappi.

The Minister’s visit included the distribution of learner support materials, school shoes and sanitary pads, which were provided with the support of Sappi. – SAnews.gov.za