Category: English

Durban is reinforcing its status as a leading centre for ocean economy dialogue and innovation, as it prepares to host the Ocean Innovation Africa Summit from 23 – 25 March 2026.

The summit, organised by Ocean Innovation Africa, in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality, will take place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC), bringing together global and continental stakeholders focused on advancing Africa’s blue economy.

A major highlight of this year’s event will be the keynote address by Director-General of the European Commission for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Charlina Vitcheva, who will deliver the keynote address aligned to the summit theme: ‘Accelerating and Scaling Out Regenerative Blue Economy Action.”
Vitcheva will also participate as a panelist in a high-level panel discussion titled “Blue Finance for Resilience: Shifting from Aid Dependency to Sustainable Local Capital’.

The significance of this annual event is reflected in its growing reach, with the 2025 summit attracting 593 delegates from 59 countries, including representatives from 28 African nations.

The summit will bring together policymakers, including practitioners, innovators, community leaders, investors, researchers, and development partners to explore pathways that support the uptake of African-developed solutions.

Discussions will centre on advancing regenerative blue business models, promoting nature-positive growth, strengthening marine economic expansion, community resilience, and the strengthening of pan-African innovation ecosystems.

Welcoming Vitcheva’s participation, eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba said Durban is honoured to host a global leader in maritime affairs.
“As a coastal city deeply connected to the ocean economy, Durban stands to benefit from strengthened engagement between international policymakers and African stakeholders, creating opportunities for regeneration, collaboration and inclusive growth,” Xaba said.

Ocean Innovation Africa co-founder Alexis Grosskopf emphasised that the summit is designed to move beyond traditional conference formats by fostering coordinated, action-oriented outcomes among keyholders.
Grosskopf noted that Vitcheva’s participation will help bridge policy, investment priorities, and practical pathways to scale regenerative ocean solutions across Africa, bringing valuable expertise across finance, innovation, science and implementation.

In her role, Vitcheva leads European Union policy on maritime affairs and fisheries, focusing on ocean health, sustainable fisheries, and resilient coastal economies.

She highlighted the importance of international cooperation, pointing to initiatives such as the European Ocean Pact, which serves as a blueprint for the protection and sustainable use of the ocean.

“Partnerships, including those under the Global Gateway Strategy and initiatives such as Blue Invest Africa are critical to promoting sustainable ocean governance, supporting local value creation and unlocking investment in ocean solutions,” Vitcheva said.

Vitcheva emphasised the importance of international cooperation, stating that the European Ocean Pact serves as a blueprint for the protection and sustainable use of the ocean.

“Partnerships, including those under the Global Gateway Strategy and initiatives such as Blue Invest Africa are critical to promoting sustainable ocean governance, supporting local value creation and unlocking investment in ocean solutions,” Vitcheva said, adding that protecting the ocean must go hand in hand with building prosperity for coastal communities. – SAnews.gov.za

The Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services SETA) has committed to restoring justice for employees dismissed after raising concerns about alleged irregularities, signalling a shift toward stronger protection for whistleblowers.

Speaking at a media briefing on Friday, Services SETA Administrator Lehlogonolo Masoga outlined steps being taken to address cases involving three former employees believed to have suffered occupational detriment after making protected disclosures.

The briefing follows a recent update by Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela on progress at entities placed under administration, including the Services SETA.

READ | Department’s interventions restore governance and trust in SETAs

Masoga said the organisation had undertaken a comprehensive legal review process, including internal assessments, independent external evaluations and senior counsel input, to determine whether the dismissals were linked to whistleblowing activities.

“The process was guided by a victim-centred restorative justice approach, ensuring fairness, transparency and the protection of those who acted in the public interest,” Masoga said at the briefing in Pretoria.
The move comes amid growing national attention on whistleblower protection, particularly following remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2026 State of the Nation Address, where he reaffirmed plans to introduce legislation criminalising retaliation against whistleblowers.

Masoga emphasised that existing legal frameworks, including the Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000 and the Labour Relations Act, prohibit any occupational detriment against employees who disclose wrongdoing in good faith.

Cases under review
The review focused on three former employees dismissed between 2017 and 2020.

In the case of Lehloma Ramajoe, Masoga said independent findings confirmed that the employee suffered an occupational detriment as he was disciplined, suspended or dismissed “on account, or partly on account, of having made a protected disclosure.”

Ramajoe alleged that he disclosed information of maladministration within the Services SETA to at least seven individuals or entities, including the then two erstwhile Chairpersons of Services SETA; the National Skills Authority; Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (presumably of Higher Education and Training); then Minister of Higher Education and Training; the Public Protector; and OUTA.

“It was independently confirmed that Mr Ramajoe has suffered an occupational detriment as he was disciplined, suspended or dismissed “on account, or partly on account, of having made a protected disclosure. It follows that the Administrator should afford Mr Ramajoe a remedy in accordance with the provisions of section 193 and/or 194 of the LRA [Labour Relations Act].

For Thandi Mkhize, the Administrator said there were reasonable grounds to conclude she was targeted after raising concerns about irregularities. As she has reached retirement age, compensation is being considered as the appropriate remedy.

In July 2017, Mkhize was charged for misconduct for allegedly sharing information with the union members on a matter she considered irregular. She was subsequently dismissed and her attempts to challenge the dismissal through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and Labour Court did not bear fruit.

“Upon review of the facts at my disposal and on legal advice, there is reasonable grounds to conclude that the employee was deliberately targeted and may have been exposed to occupational detriment as a result of raising various issues of irregularities as per the provisions of Protected Disclosure Act,” the Administrator said.

In the case of Tshepiso Mofokeng (Mngceke), findings indicate her dismissal followed disputes with management over alleged maladministration, including concerns about the appointment of a service provider. Despite a prior settlement, the matter meets the threshold of a protected disclosure case and may warrant further remedial action.

Masoga acknowledged institutional failures and accepted responsibility on behalf of the organisation.
“We take full responsibility for the actions and inactions of our predecessors and commit to dispensing justice to the victims.”

He added that the whistleblower review process is running alongside efforts to hold accountable those implicated in wrongdoing within the entity.

Towards restorative justice

Masoga said the approach adopted reflects principles of restorative justice, including acknowledging harm, involving affected parties and ensuring corrective action.

He noted that whistleblowers often face severe consequences, including loss of employment and, in some cases nationally, threats to their safety.

Masoga reaffirmed the Services SETA commitment to justice through timeous and decisive action in pursuit of good governance.

“I wish to state categorically the Services SETA has its own internal policy on whistleblowing and further that this process is running parallel to other efforts to ensure that decisive and concomitant action is taken against those who committed act[s] of irregularity and malfeasance. The Minister’s decision to put the entity under administration was primarily for the purpose of addressing among others challenges of this nature.

“Restorative justice incorporates among other elements active participation by the affected parties, taking responsibility and commitment to repair damages, and a victim-centred approach. It is for this reason that on behalf of the Services SETA, I take full responsibility for the actions and inactions of my predecessors and commit to dispense justice to the victims of our previous decisions and/or sometimes lack thereof,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a warning for severe thunderstorms in the escarpment and Highveld of Mpumalanga, and the northern parts of Gauteng, for Friday.

“A high likelihood of minor impacts due to severe thunderstorms is expected over the central interior of Mpumalanga as well as the northern parts of Gauteng,” the weather service said.

These storms may result in localised flooding of low-lying areas (including bridges and roads) and damage to infrastructure and settlements due to strong, damaging winds.

There is a possibility of service disruption due to power surges/ disruptions.

Meanwhile, the extended weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday shows partly cloudy and cool to warm conditions with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers. –SAnews.gov.za

Following the successful separation of conjoined twins in a groundbreaking operation at Mankweng Hospital recently, the babies are doing well, Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba said on Friday.

The twins, who were born on 28 January 2026, underwent a complex surgical procedure that marked a historic milestone for South Africa’s public healthcare system.

The twins were delivered by a 29-year-old mother, who had been transferred from Maphutha Malatjie Hospital, outside Phalaborwa, after midwives detected the condition during an ultrasound.

“For now, there is nothing new that we can share with you, except that the babies are doing very well. The team is updating us on a daily basis through Prof and the hospital CEO,” the Premier said of the twins on Friday.

Earlier this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Professor Nyaweleni Tshifularo and his medical team for successfully separating the twins. In response, lead paediatric surgeon Dr Tshifularo said the team was honoured by the recognition.

READ | President hails successful separation of conjoined twins at Limpopo hospital

The Premier said that one of the babies has been extubated and was breathing on his own while the other was recovering “one step at a time.”

“As the provincial government, we continue to say that Mankweng Hospital remains our pride,” she said.

The Premier’s comments come as Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi visited the hospital following the twins’ procedure. 

The Minister’s visit to the facility on Friday reinforced government`s commitment to innovative surgeries while also inspiring similar deeds across public health facilities. 

Following his visit to the babies’ wards, the Minister expressed his excitement at what has been achieved.

“I’m very excited like everybody else but I suspect that my excitement is a little bit different from most of you. It is different because you are celebrating a procedure like this that has happened in a public hospital in a rural area and you are saying it should not have been because we’ve developed a very bad narrative here in South Africa, which has been created mostly in the media that healthcare only happens in the four walls of a private hospital. 

“Outside of that, there’s a belief that there is no healthcare at all,” the Minister explained.

“Mankweng Hospital took us to where we want to go,” said the Minister, who also recalled that the first heart procedure in the country took place at the Groote Schuur Hospital in the Western Cape in 1967.

Good facilities 

He stressed that people who work in public hospitals are knowledgeable.

In the doorstep interview, the Minister added that he had given the Council of Medical Schemes CEO a phone call on Thursday, where he inquired about how much the family of the twins would have paid, had their procedure been carried out at a private hospital.

The cost, he said, would have “easily been between R3.5 and R4.5 million. Where was this woman [the twins’ mother] going to take that money from?” he remarked.

He further added that good facilities are needed in public hospitals.

Construction 

Limpopo province is in the process of building an academic hospital. Motsoaledi was also due to visit the academic hospital’s building site this afternoon. 

In the State of the Nation Address last month, President Ramaphosa said the country will be undertaking substantial investment in health infrastructure, prioritising the construction and revitalisation of academic hospitals. 

Meanwhile, the Premier added that a home is being built for the family of twins, who have three other siblings.

“We will make sure that they are discharged to a proper home. We will continue to support them,” said Premier Ramathuba, who also expressed pride in the work of the doctors at Mankweng Hospital. –SAnews.gov.za

President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a bilateral engagement with the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, at his official residence in Pretoria, Mahlamba Ndlopfu, on the occasion of a Working Visit to South Africa. 

“The Working Visit provides an opportune moment for the two Heads of State to discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on the latest political developments in South Sudan, particularly the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS),” the Presidency said on Thursday.

The R-ARCSS is a legal framework governing South Sudan’s transition to peace.

It outlines governance structures, security sector reform, the establishment of unified forces, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), as well as judicial review and constitution-making processes.

Relations between South Africa and South Sudan were formalised with the signing of an agreement establishing bilateral relations on 24 September 2012, followed by the General Cooperation Agreement (CGA) in 2013.

These fraternal relations are founded on longstanding ties that predate South Sudan’s independence.

The meeting follows recent engagements between the two leaders on the margins of the African Union (AU) Summit held in Addis Ababa in February 2026, where President Ramaphosa also chaired the Ad Hoc High-Level Committee on South Sudan (C5) Plus.

The role of the C5 is to oversee the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

 The year 2026 marks a pivotal moment for South Sudan, as the country is earmarked to hold its first-ever elections since gaining independence from Sudan in July 2011. – SAnews.gov.za