Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Government of South Africa

Madlanga Commission hearings kick off next week

NeoB
Tue, 09/09/2025 – 11:36

Source: Government of South Africa

South Africa is establishing itself as an emerging leader in the global hemp and cannabis industry by utilising its natural strengths and the increasing momentum of the private sector, according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

The country is transitioning towards a fully regulated, economically driven cannabis and hemp industry, focusing on harmonising laws, boosting local cultivation and creating export opportunities – all while emphasising public health and safety.

In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We want South Africa to lead in the commercial production of hemp and cannabis.” This declaration marked a turning point in the national policy, indicating a shift from informal cultivation to regulated, large-scale production.

The National Cannabis Master Plan has been assigned to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (the dtic) to centralise policy, accelerate implementation, streamline licensing, and foster an inclusive commercial framework.

The planting season for hemp and cannabis production has begun, with provincial Departments of Agriculture, growers and downstream manufacturers collaborating on cultivation and export market opportunities.

Recent legislation, including the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act signed in 2024, lays the groundwork for legal cultivation and private use. However, commercial trade still faces regulatory hurdles, which are gradually being addressed. 

“The commercialisation of hemp and cannabis in South Africa is advancing, with the dtic already consulting national and provincial departments, as well as industry stakeholders through preliminary consultation geared development of a commercialisation policy.

“The Hemp and Cannabis Commercialisation Policy is expected to be ready for Cabinet approval and public comment by April 2026. 

“An Overarching Cannabis Bill is also in development to unify existing regulations, including the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, 2024. This Bill, which will cover private use, commercial cultivation, manufacturing and research, is set to be presented to Parliament by mid-2027,” the department said.

In October 2021, the Department of Agriculture, declared Cannabis sativa L. with low THC (hemp) as an agricultural product under the Plant Improvement Act, 1976 (Act No.53 of 1976). This marked a major shift, allowing for regulated cultivation, import and export – provided growers obtained the required permits.

Historically, South Africa had one of the strictest THC limits globally – just 0.2%. But due to challenges like intense sunlight naturally boosting THC levels, a proposal was made to the Minister of Agriculture to approve the amendment of the threshold to 2% in terms of the Regulations of the new Plant Improvement Act 2018, (Act No. 11 of 2018) which is currently pending proclamation.

This is a game changer for farmers, making it easier to grow compliant crops and unlocking broader industrial uses, from textiles to construction materials. 

Medical cannabis is legal, with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) issuing 120 licenses for export and 1 408 cultivation permits issued by the Department of Agriculture, indicating strong government support.

As the dtic and Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Hemp and Cannabis, through the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau, the department has committed to support the industry through trade remedies, export opportunities, industry standards and compliance, combating illicit trade and access to funding for the downstream activities.

Initiatives like the Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS) offer grants of up to R20 million to stimulate investment in agro-processing, job creation and transformation.

Through international trade missions and agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, the dtic is helping the South African producers access new markets globally, including markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 

The department’s Director-General Simphiwe Hamilton has indicated that the export driven hemp and cannabis industry is key in the South Africa economy as it is one of the leading labour absorbing sectors within many rural communities. 

The hemp and cannabis industry employs over 90 000 people in South Africa. Favourable climate conditions, rising demand for medicinal products, and initiatives like the National Cannabis Master Plan contribute to the sector’s growth. 

Medicinal cannabis was legalised in 2017, with private use decriminalised in 2018, and the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act enacted into law by President Ramaphosa on 28 May 2024. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has held on an outreach programme in KwaZulu-Natal to promote holistic development and provide safe, constructive alternatives for youth engagement outside the classroom.

The programme also included oversight visits to NYDA grant recipients and youth-headed indigent households in uMzinto. 

“These efforts form part of the NYDA’s broader campaign to bring services directly to young people, particularly those in rural areas, townships, and informal settlements. The aim is to provide practical support that alleviates poverty, combats youth unemployment, and creates pathways to empowerment,” the agency said.

In a practical demonstration of this commitment, the NYDA, in partnership with the Umdoni Local Municipality, will support two young unemployed single mothers who were visited during the outreach.  

One will be enrolled in a business management training programme with a pathway to start-up funding, alongside job placement support. 

The second will receive assistance to return to school and will be enrolled in both the Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives and the National Youth Service programme for immediate socio-economic relief.

“To the young women who have faced challenges like teenage pregnancy; do not give up. This is not the end of your dreams. Use the opportunities we bring to empower yourselves, protect yourselves, and become the authors of your own future,” NYDA Executive Chairperson, Dr Sunshine Myende said.

This visit affirms the NYDA’s strategic vision of building an inclusive, youth-centred development agenda, aligned with the principles of the National Development Plan (NDP) and the broader national commitment to socio-economic transformation.

The visit was also intended to honour the legacy of the late former Executive Deputy Chairperson, Bavelile Hlongwa.

The outreach carried profound significance, as the informal settlements visited are the very communities where the late Bavelile Hlongwa was raised. Her memory and legacy live on through the ongoing work of the NYDA to serve, uplift, and empower young South Africans.

“As we honour Hlongwa’s legacy, the NYDA remains resolute in taking services to all young people where they are, as they are. Not every young person will go to university, but every young person must have access to skills, support, and opportunities that enable them to break the cycle of poverty,” Myende said. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

As government operates in a constrained fiscal climate, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is cutting unnecessary spending to ensure that every rand delivers maximum value.  

This will be achieved through fiscal accountability, limiting large physical events, eco-tourism and focusing on high-value environmental initiatives instead of funding campaigns without measurable impact.

With the R2.5 billion reduction over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, said the department is compelled to rethink how it works, spends and delivers.

“Fiscal responsibility starts with accountability. That is why I have directed that all outreach programmes, department projects, and initiatives must have my prior approval, backed by detailed cost breakdowns and alignment with strategic priorities. 

“This is stewardship, not micromanagement. It ensures compliance with the Public Finance Management Act and with my Performance Agreement with the President.

“We are cutting unnecessary costs. Large physical events that consume millions will be replaced, where appropriate, with more effective and affordable online consultations, as was successfully done during the COVID-19 pandemic. This allows us to broaden participation, while safeguarding limited resources,” the Minister explained.

The department is also reprioritising as it focuses on high-value environmental initiatives, such as the upgrading and securing of South Africa’s 12 proclaimed fishing harbours and strengthening the front-line support for rangers and Fishing Control Officers.

“New bunkering regulations signed this year will protect one of our most endangered species, the African Penguin, and secure eco-tourism worth billions to our economy. 

“These decisions have already received international recognition, including praise from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2025 Economic Survey for driving real emissions reductions,” George said.

He emphasised that this is a new era for the department.

“Weak oversight, inflated costs, and misaligned initiatives belong to the past. We are enforcing competitive procurement, aligning programmes with strategy, and holding officials accountable for results.

“The DFFE is not only a department of government. It is a steward of South Africa’s natural heritage and a driver of inclusive growth. With over 3 700 personnel, we must operate with precision and purpose. I am determined to ensure that this institution delivers jobs, sustainability, and credible governance.

“Together with South Africans across all sectors, we will prove that fiscal discipline and environmental stewardship are two sides of the same coin, and that through this discipline, we can secure a greener and more prosperous future for all,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

While the economic growth rate in the country has been subdued over the past decade, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, has asserted that government is serious about growing the economy. 

Government has demonstrated it efforts through initiatives to reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa, infrastructure investments, debt sustainability, undertaking structural reforms, attempting to diversify trade partners and working towards exiting the grey listing that was imposed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“The South African government will spend more than R1 trillion over the next three years on public infrastructure demonstrating government’s commitment to driving economic growth. The spending will focus on the roads, energy, water and sanitation.

“However, this is not enough. [We have] to deliver sustainable infrastructure at the speed and scale that supports our development aspirations. It for this reason that the government is mobilising greater private sector participation in public infrastructure investments,” the Deputy Minister said on Tuesday.

Addressing the Moneyweb Economy and Investing Summit in Johannesburg, Masondo explained that government has various incentive schemes to attract private sector financing and expertise to fast-track the effective delivery of infrastructure.

To unlock private sector investment, government has introduced the Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV) to derisk large infrastructure government programs, starting with some transmission infrastructure projects, without the need of sovereign guarantees.

“Government has been using Private Public Partnerships (PPP) to invest in public projects. To accelerate private sector participation, we have revised the Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) regulations, aimed at simplifying the rules governing PPPs. 

“For instance, projects below R2 billion no longer require National Treasury approval. These changes will reduce administrative burdens and make it easier for the private sector to participate in infrastructure projects, improving delivery outcomes,” Masondo said.

Since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s sixth administration took office, government’s overarching mission has been to reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa as a necessary condition for economic growth and reducing the cost of living.

“To place our economy on a sustainable footing, government continues to pursue economic and fiscal reforms such as debt sustainability. It is our belief that relatively lower cost of borrowing or bond yields will boost investor confidence in both our sovereign and corporate bond markets,” he said.

As debt-service costs decline, some of the savings may be used to build fiscal buffers and to invest in productive infrastructure. 

Improvements in infrastructure have the potential to reduce the cost of doing business and is thus positive for economic growth.

Amid the recent geopolitical tensions that have noticeably generated, amongst others, a complex and uncertain trading environment, South Africa is working towards increasing the diversification of trade partners exemplified by the recent trade agreement with China on stone fruit.

“We have pursued price stability through the Inflation Targeting (IT) Regime of which the mandate is to guarantee not just stability but also low inflation. When prices are low and stable so would be interest rates. For consumers, low inflation and interest rates imply lower cost of living. 

“While for producers, it implies low cost of doing business. All these are likely to have a positive impact on economic growth. High inflation increases production costs/ the cost of doing business as workers demand more wages to compensate for erosion of purchasing power,” the Deputy Minister said.

High inflation also reduces international competitiveness, and consumer demand, leading to decline in firms’ profitability. 

This is likely to increase unemployment as firms respond to lower profitability by reducing production and shedding jobs. This is detrimental to economic growth.

Currently technical work is conducted by the Macroeconomic Standing Committee (MSC) to draft recommendations on the inflation target and will table them before both the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

“To accelerate economic growth, we have also been undertaking structural reforms through Operation Vulindlela to make the South African economy competitive by reducing the cost of doing business in South Africa.

“We have been working hard to reduce the cost of energy, telecommunication, and freight logistics and make it easy to source skilled labour all over the work through VISA reforms.

In its first phase, the Operation Vulindlela reform programme focused on five areas, which were identified as the most important constraints on economic growth: energy, logistics, water, telecommunications, and the visa system.

The second phase of Operation Vulindlela includes a focus on improving the performance of local government, addressing spatial inequality through housing policy and other reforms, and advancing digital transformation.

Following the greylisting of South Africa by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2023, government has worked to address deficiencies in the country’s system for combating money laundering and terror financing.

“At the last FATF Plenary in June 2025, South Africa was deemed to have substantially completed all the 22 action items that were contained in the Action Plan, which is essentially the FATF to-do list, which had been adopted when South Africa was greylisted in February 2023. 

“The FATF Africa Joint Group concluded the on-site assessment visit of South Africa at the end of July, completing the last step before the October 2025 FATF Plenary can consider whether to remove South Africa from its grey list. If the outcome of the visit is positive, the FATF will delist South Africa from the greylist at its next Plenary in October 2025,” the Deputy Minister said. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in the Northern Cape has welcomed the appointment of Karabelo Mojanaga as the Regional Executive Manager (REM) of the agency in the Northern Cape.

The appointment was confirmed by the Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, at a post-Cabinet media briefing on Friday.

In her new role, Mojanaga will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of SASSA in the Northern Cape, ensuring the effective and dignified delivery of social security services across the province.

As the REM, her responsibilities will include setting and driving the strategic direction of the Northern Cape region in alignment with SASSA’s national priorities, overseeing the implementation and management of the Social Assistance Programme, managing financial planning, budgeting and supply chain management, among others.

Her appointment underscores SASSA’s commitment to capable and responsive leadership that places beneficiaries at the heart of service delivery.

Mojanaga brings with her a strong track record of public service leadership, having previously served in executive roles such as Senior Manager: Management Accounting at the Northern Cape Department of Health and Chief Financial Officer at the Provincial Treasury.

She graduated from the University of South Africa with a B.Compt Degree, and later obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of the Free State. 

She has also completed a certificate course on Africa’s Political Economy through the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of the Free State.

“I am deeply honoured to be entrusted with leading SASSA in the Northern Cape Province. This role is both a responsibility and a privilege to ensure that our beneficiaries receive services that are accessible, efficient and delivered with dignity, speed and care,” said Mojana said.

The new executive said she is looking forward to working hand in hand “with our dedicated staff, communities and stakeholders to strengthen service delivery, restore trust and ultimately change lives for the better.”

Prior to her appointment, Mojanaga acted in the REM role from 1 November 2024, after serving as General Manager: Finance and Corporate Services at SASSA in the Northern Cape since 15 March 2021.

During her tenure as Acting REM, the Northern Cape was crowned the top-performing SASSA region in the country, achieving 13 out of 14 Annual Performance Plan (APP) targets, a 93% overall performance score, the highest nationwide. – SAnews.gov.za
 
 

Source: Government of South Africa

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, accompanied by North West MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Madoda Sambatha, recently led a targeted cattle vaccination campaign in Rysmierbult, where hundreds of cattle were immunised to control the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). 

According to the provincial department, the visit was part of the government’s broader strategy to manage livestock disease outbreaks and safeguard the agricultural sector.

The Minister and MEC also engaged with local farmers, livestock owners, and community leaders to address their concerns and provide updates on control measures, biosecurity protocols, and the significance of early detection.

During the initial phase of the campaign, nearly 300 communal cattle were vaccinated by veterinary teams deployed to the region.

This intervention aims to preserve livestock health, bolster food security, and protect the rural economy from the adverse effects of FMD.

Addressing the farmers, Steenhuisen cautioned about the serious repercussions if the outbreak is not contained.

“Foot-and-mouth disease is not just a veterinary issue; it is an economic threat. If left unmanaged, it can destabilise rural livelihoods and undermine national food security. We must act swiftly and collectively,” said Steenhuisen.

He urged all stakeholders, including farmers, officials, and communities, to collaborate in reporting symptoms, adhering to containment protocols, and supporting vaccination efforts.

Sambatha echoed the call for vigilance and cooperation, urging farmers to report any unusual symptoms without delay.

“Collaboration with state officials is vital to halting the spread of this disease,“ the MEC emphasised.

Farmers welcomed the initiative and pledged to work with government representatives to ensure the safety of their herds and communities.

The department has stressed the importance for farmers to monitor their cattle for signs of FMD.

These include excessive drooling, sores or blisters in the mouth or on the feet, limping or reluctance to walk, and decreased appetite. 

In addition, some cows may produce less milk or appear tired and uncomfortable.

“If farmers notice any of these symptoms, they should report them to veterinary officials immediately. Acting quickly can help stop the disease from spreading and protect other animals in the area.” 

In addition, the department reiterated its commitment to supporting affected areas with resources, technical expertise and surveillance, and continues to coordinate efforts with national and provincial partners to ensure a unified response.

Meanwhile, on 1 September 2025, the Minister announced the formation of the FMD task team, led by the Department of Agriculture in partnership with the private sector, marking an essential step in the battle against FMD to protect the beef industry.

The task team will report directly to the value chain roundtables, which convene all stakeholders in the livestock sector.

In a media briefing, Steenhuisen confirmed that 900 000 vaccine doses valued at R72 million had been procured from the Botswana Vaccine Institute for the current financial year.

The Minister noted that the first 500 000 doses arrived in June and were utilised to vaccinate cattle in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, and Free State.

About two weeks ago, the country received the remaining 400 000 doses, of which 50 000 have already been distributed.

He indicated that the remaining doses of the vaccine will be allocated to provinces currently experiencing active outbreaks, including Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, and Gauteng.

The Minister told the media that there are currently 274 unresolved outbreaks across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, North West, and Mpumalanga.

Positive cases have been confirmed across all cattle farming systems, encompassing commercial beef herds, animal breeding, feedlots, dairy cattle, and communal herds. – SAnews.gov.za