Category: MIL-OSI

Cabinet has approved placing Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West under administration, following a review of its current challenges. 

The decision was made at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, where the Executive received an update on the status of the local municipality. 

“This measure is aimed at restoring stability in the municipality. Ditsobotla will be placed under administration in terms of section 139(7) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

“This intervention is done in accordance with the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003. A Recovery Plan will be instituted under the stewardship of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Finance. 

“The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will coordinate Inter-Governmental Relations structures to facilitate restoration of administrative functions to assist the municipality in fulfilling its legislative mandate. A Joint Operations Task Team will also focus on criminal activities,” Cabinet said on Friday.

The National Department of Cooperative Governance placed Ditsobotla under section 139(7).

The North West Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has committed to collaborating with all relevant stakeholders to resolve challenges at the municipality.

The department made the commitment during a meeting with the Ditsobotla Local Municipality and the Ditsobotla Service Association (DSA) to discuss challenges confronting the municipality. 

READ | N West Premier to launch Phase 5 of Service Delivery Programme in Ditsobotla Local Municipality. – SAnews.gov.za

More than R3 billion in recoveries, at least 37 high-profile cases underway, with a further 20 cases still under investigation.

This is the hard evidence Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has presented in a counter to claims that government is dragging its feet in the implementation of the State Capture Commission recommendations.

The Minister was delivering an address during the University of Johannesburg’s Combatting Corruption Summit held on Friday.

“A perception has been created that our government is reluctant to implement the recommendations. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. We are implementing,” she said.

The Minister cited the example of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which she said is working to bring perpetrators to book both in court and through paying back the money.

“The NPA… has made important progress in responding to State Capture corruption matters, both in terms of the number of high-profile cases enrolled and by removing the profit from crime through the work of the NPA Asset Forfeiture Unit [AFU].

“Since the submission of the report to the President, IDAC [Investigating Directorate Against Corruption], under NPA, has been dealing with 120 recommendations by the State Capture Commission, which are dealt with under 37 cases,” Kubayi said.

The 120 recommendations are being dealt with as follows:

• Some 82 recommendations, comprising 20 cases, are still under investigation.
• A further 23 recommendations, comprising nine cases, are before court, with suspects having been charged.
• Four recommendations, comprising two cases, have been finalised.
• Some 11 recommendations, comprising five cases, are under consideration for authorisation.
• IDAC decided not to prosecute one case under one recommendation.

“[IDAC] is also dealing with State Capture related matters where there were no specific recommendations. They took the report from the Chief Justice and looked at… the 120 recommendations. They then realised that there are others that can be derived as cases where there were no recommendations.

“Those are 57 cases out of those. Twenty-eight cases are before court, 23 are under investigation and six are under authorisation. In terms of the [AFU]… it has been able to recover R3.9 billion of stolen money in terms of assets,” she said.

“Many perpetrators must still be held accountable”

Beyond bringing wrongdoers to account, government has also implemented recommendations that strengthen the hand of law enforcement, with the establishment of IDAC as an institution and the establishment of the Special Tribunal. 

“Admittedly – while I’m reflecting on some of this progress – there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to deal with the wrongs that have been committed. There are many perpetrators of corruption who still need to be held accountable. 

“It is for this reason that government will be increasing its efforts to strengthen the institutions that are fighting against corruption.

“A review of the Protected Disclosure Act… is underway, with a view to incentivising whistleblowing. The department will provide the required resources to the NPA to ensure that the full operationalisation of IDAC is in place and support its mandate. We are also bringing in expertise through Section 38 appointments… that are assisting us in various skills,” she said.

The Minister called on all of society to work with government to combat not only corruption but crime in general.

“All of us have a role to play not only as leaders or people who are in the JCPS cluster or security cluster because it is our neighbours, children and brothers who are committing these crimes. Sometimes they are hidden in our households and protected from facing the might of justice.

“We have to say: it stops and ends here. Let us join hands and work together to prevent and combat crime and corruption in our country,” Kubayi concluded. – SAnews.gov.za

As the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit draws closer, South Africa, continues to facilitate meetings in preparation for the all-important gathering.

South Africa will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 22 and 23 November 2025 in Johannesburg under the theme, ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’.

“The countdown to the G20 Leaders’ Summit is underway. South Africa continues to host and facilitate preparatory meetings, and the adoption of declarations by different taskforce and work-streams,” said Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Friday at a Post Cabinet briefing in Pretoria.

Cabinet on Wednesday received an update on G20 preparations.

The following G20 Summit preparatory meetings were held over the past few weeks:

• The Sixth Health Working Group Meeting, which discussed strengthening the global health systems and preparing for future challenges.
• The Third Task Force 2 Meeting: Food Security in Egypt to address the main outcomes of the G20 Food Security Task Force, and also discussed the Ministerial Statement on global food security, which is expected to be adopted during the G20 Ministerial Meeting to be held in South Africa on 19 September 2025.

South Africa is gearing up for several important events in the coming months, including the G20 Compact with Africa in Johannesburg, a Food Security Meeting in Egypt, discussions on industrialisation and agriculture in Nigeria, and the second G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Cabinet further welcomed the launch of the G20 Experts Taskforce by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

READ | SA appoints economic experts to produce G20 report on global wealth inequality

The G20 Experts Taskforce will examine global wealth inequality and its impact on economic growth, poverty and multilateralism. 

“This initiative, which is the first of its kind for the G20, is in line with South Africa’s commitment to use its G20 Presidency to address issues that affect low-income countries, such as rising inequality and high sovereign debt burdens,” Ntshavheni said.

The G20 Expert Taskforce will deliver a report on global inequality to G20 world leaders at the G20 Leaders Summit in South Africa. 

Brazil officially transferred the Presidency of the G20 to South Africa at the closing ceremony of the 2024 annual summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024. This marked a historic moment, as South Africa became the first African nation to assume the G20 Presidency. – SAnews.gov.za 

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has appointed 111 solid waste workers in a bid to improve waste management, restore hygiene and create cleaner neighbourhoods across the metro.

The new recruits will focus on essential cleaning services, such as street sweeping, litter picking, emptying bins, and loading refuse.

The services are expected to significantly improve the quality of life in communities by tackling litter, keeping public spaces safe and fostering civic pride.

Speaking at an induction meeting, Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Health, Thsonono Buyeye, welcomed the appointments, describing them as long overdue.

“We have been mobilising funds and engaging our Human Resources Sub-directorate to expedite these appointments. Our people have been telling us that their neighbourhoods are filthy and for a few years we did not have enough manpower. I am happy that we will have people on the ground,” Buyeye said.

“The workers have resumed their duties from 1 September 2025, [and] we expect to see the difference in our streets. A cleaner living environment will soon be something of the past,” Buyeye said.

Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe said the recruitment was part of the metro’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) priorities, which were shaped by extensive community consultations.

“Through our IDP Public Participation meetings that we convened throughout the metro, our people have been telling us that the city is dirty. We have responded with action — the picture of the city will never be the same,” Lobishe said.

The workers will be deployed across depots to ensure citywide coverage.

Clean cities and towns campaign

The municipality’s efforts come as government rolls out the Clean Cities and Towns Campaign, launched in June by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The campaign marks a comprehensive approach to urban cleanliness and community engagement.

Speaking at the launch, the Deputy President stressed that the campaign goes beyond mere cleaning but addresses broader service delivery issues and creates opportunities for community employment.

“However, the idea is not really to employ people, it’s a voluntary programme. People must clean where they live. There may be instances where the city may employ people here and there, but we want to create a culture of cleaning where people don’t have to be paid to clean where they live,” the Deputy President said. – SAnews.gov.za
 

Deputy President Paul Mashatile is scheduled to deliver the eulogy at the Special Official Funeral for the late Ambassador Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu on Saturday, 6 September 2025. 

The funeral service will be held at the Steve Tshwete Banquet Hall in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, from 9am. 

Mahlangu served as the High Commissioner of South Africa to Kenya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Somalia, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON).

The former Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and a long-serving diplomat, Mahlangu, passed away at the age of 72 on 24 August 2025, while en route to a South African hospital after a brief illness.

President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that Mahlangu be honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 2, which will entail ceremonial honours performed by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The President has also directed that the National Flag be flown at half-mast at all flag stations from Saturday, 30 August 2025, until the evening of the funeral.

Deputy President Mashatile said: “The late Ambassador Mahlangu played a number of significant roles both in the struggle for liberation and the birth and nurturing of South Africa’s democracy, as he participated in the drafting of South Africa’s democratic Constitution and later served in the first Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Government will, therefore, honour the late Mahlangu for his contribution as he is laid to rest.” 

Mahlangu, affectionately known as “MJ”, was born on 8 October 1952 in Middleburg.

His journey began as a student activist, and he went on to play a pivotal role in shaping a new, democratic South Africa. 

Mahlangu was a part of the group that drafted the country’s post-apartheid constitution and was elected to the first democratic Parliament in 1994.

As tributes have been pouring in since his passing, Mahlangu was described as a leader who exemplified dedication, integrity, and patriotism. 

Meanwhile, this evening, Deputy President will attend the Inaugural Charity Gala Dinner organised by the Phawu Lethu Skills Development Training organisation in Kleinmond, Western Cape. 

According to the Presidency, today’s engagement further underscores government’s commitment to supporting the positive and important role played by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their contribution to socio-economic development. 

“Deputy President Mashatile as champion of social cohesion and moral regeneration initiatives in South Africa, has accepted Phawu Lethu’s invitation, in view of their commitment to support vulnerable communities affected by hunger, natural disasters, and poverty, thus restoring hope and dignity to those impacted by hardship.” – SAnews.gov.za