Category: South Africa Government

Source: President of South Africa –

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday, 24 April 2026, deliver a keynote address to the public Global Inequality Dialogue at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. 

During its 2025 G20 Presidency, South Africa commissioned the first-ever global inequality report from a committee of independent experts led by Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz.

The key recommendation from the report was the establishment of an International Panel on Inequality (IPI).

It is intended that the panel, which was inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will monitor trends and assess drivers and consequences of inequality.

The founding International Panel on Inequality Committee (IPI) is convening for the second time with leading academics and think tanks over two days from 24 -25 April 2026 at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits University.

The gathering will deliberate on the structure and governance of the IPI and will be accompanied by a public Global Inequality Dialogue.

Nobel Economics Laureate, Professor Joseph E Stiglitz, UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and distinguished experts Dr Adriana Abdenur and Professors Jayati Ghosh, Imraan Valodia, and Wanga Zembe-Mkabile will join representatives of the Panel’s founding governments – Brazil, Norway, South Africa and Spain – in two panel sessions to discuss the state of global inequality. This platform will also engage on progress towards establishing an International Panel on Inequality.

Having received the endorsement of the African Union, South Africa will present a draft resolution on the establishment of the International Panel on Inequality for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly during its 80th resumed session in 2026.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the public Global Inequality Dialogue as follows: 

Date: Friday, 24 April 2026 
Time: 11h30
Venue: Wits School of Governance and Business School, Parktown, Johannesburg 

Media wishing to cover the public address physically are advised to register on the link below and should note that allocations for media are restricted due to the venue. Live Streaming of the President’s address to public Global dialogue will be broadcast on all Presidency digital platforms. 

Media RSVP link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/MUtcF4qCpJ

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

Source: President of South Africa –

President Cyril Ramaphosa will this evening, Thursday, 23 April 2026, deliver a keynote address at the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the National Business Initiative (NBI) in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Held under the theme, “30 Years of Collective Leadership by Business through Shaping a Sustainable and Inclusive South Africa”, the event marks three decades of partnership between business, government and civil society in advancing the country’s economic transformation and development.

Established in 1995 at the request of former President Nelson Mandela, the National Business Initiative has, over the past 30 years, served as a key platform for collective business leadership in support of South Africa’s socio-economic progress.

Through collaboration with Government, civil society and development partners, the organisation has contributed to initiatives that promote economic inclusion, youth employment, skills development, gender equality and environmental sustainability.

The 30th Anniversary Celebration will bring together leaders from business, Government, development institutions and civil society to reflect on the evolution of this partnership and to reaffirm a shared commitment to building a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient economy.

President Ramaphosa will address the event as follows:

Date: Thursday, 23 April 2026
Time: 19h00
Venue: Nedbank Group Head Office, 135 Rivonia Road, Sandton, Johannesburg

Media enquiries: Ms Nabeelah Khan, NBI Communications Manager, on NabeelahK@nbi.org.za / Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President, on media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Source: President of South Africa –

Programme Director,
Chairperson of the National Business Initiative, Mr Cas Coovadia,
CEO of the National Business Initiative, Ms Shameela Soobramoney,
Members of the NBI Executive Committee,
Members of the business community,
Honoured guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening, 

It is truly a privilege to pay tribute to an organisation that has been instrumental in shaping South Africa’s democratic journey. 

For the past thirty years, the National Business Initiative has been a respected voice of responsible business action and a powerful agent for change. 

It was launched in 1995, at a time when all of society was being called upon to step forward to build a new nation. 

The formation of the NBI signalled that progressive South African business was ready to be active partners in nation-building and to help define the contours of a new, inclusive economy and society. 

This vision continues to guide the work of the NBI today. 

To fully appreciate the NBI’s contribution to the democratic project, one has to go back to the late 1980s, to the early talks between organised business and the liberation movements in exile. 

As one researcher put it, it was during this period that the beginnings of a transformed corporate paradigm were initiated. 

Both sides recognised the need for partnership. 

These engagements culminated in formation of the Consultative Business Movement, the forerunner to the NBI. 

The Consultative Business Movement would go on to play a formative role in the pre-1994 transition period by helping open channels of dialogue between business and the government in waiting, and by actively supporting the peace negotiations. 

The Consultative Business Movement provided the secretariat and administrative support to the CODESA processes that began in December 1991 and later to the Mult-Party Negotiating Forum. 

It actively supported the work of the Independent Electoral Commission and mobilised private sector support for the Reconstruction and Development Programme. 

When the Consultative Business Movement merged with the Urban Foundation in 1995 to form the NBI, it represented rebirth but also continuity. 

The organisation had already cemented its reputation as a credible, non-partisan and pragmatic partner in the cause of building a new South Africa. 

The NBI has been able to respond to the complexities and changing dynamics of our society. 

The NBI has pioneered initiatives in support of transformation, improved service delivery, training and skills development, job creation, safety and security and many others.

Whether through the formation of Business against Crime, the Education Quality Improvement Partnerships, support to the Youth Employment Service or the groundbreaking CEO Initiative, the NBI has been at the forefront of innovation. 

The NBI has a proud history of supporting pathways for employment. The organisation’s Skills and Youth Employability programme has become even more critical at a time when we have to urgently align the skills being produced by our institutions of higher learning with those needed by the economy of the future. 

This pathfinding work is anchored in a deep appreciation that creating a sustainable, equitable and thriving economy relies on collective action. 

As the Government of National Unity, our apex priorities are driving inclusive growth and job creation, addressing poverty and the high cost of living, and building a capable, ethical and developmental state. 

We strive to do so in a challenging context, in which we have had to confront the effects of state capture, an energy crisis, crime and corruption, and service delivery failures. 

Overcoming these challenges will require of us the mettle that helped dismantle apartheid. 

It will require the spirit of collectivism that defined our transition. 

We do so at a time when our economy is showing promising signs of recovery. 

Growth is improving, investment is expanding and more jobs are being created. 

National debt has stabilised and our sovereign outlook has improved. 

The reform agenda being driven through Operation Vulindlela has gained significant momentum, enabling growing confidence in our economic trajectory. 

We have restored sound governance to a number of our state-owned enterprises, including to Eskom, that last year returned to profitability for the first time in eight years. 

The energy crisis is largely behind us, and we are laying the groundwork for a transformed, competitive and sustainable electricity market. 

We are also seeing marked improvement in the performance of our rail and port systems. 

We have just held a successful sixth South Africa Investment Conference, where we secured a record R890 billion in investment pledges, with a substantial share of these being domestic in origin. 

The state has announced plans to embark on a R1 trillion infrastructure build over the next three years. This is the largest infrastructure build programme in our country’s history. 

As investors look to South Africa with renewed interest as favourable destination, we remain committed to a structural reform agenda that is institutionalised, that is making measurable progress, and that it is supported by a strong regulatory architecture. 

Although we are greatly concerned by the economic and social impact of the uncertain global environment, we are firmly on course to overcome remaining challenges with logistics, to deal decisively with crime and corruption, to reform and transform the water sector, and, most critically, to fix local government. 

I would like to use this opportunity to welcome the NBI’s Technical Assistance and Mentorship Development unit to Operation Vulindlela Phase 2, where it will be lending critical support to our efforts to strengthen municipal service delivery. 

Our foremost task at this time is to stay the course, to focus on implementation, and to do so at scale. 

Our task is to deepen our collaboration in pursuit of the shared future we envisioned back in 1994. 

It is to achieve change that both improves the business environment and benefits all of society, knowing as we do that these are not mutually exclusive. 

In his State of the Nation Address in February 1996, President Mandela spoke of a new patriotism having taken root across the land and of the importance of partnership to addressing and overcoming society’s most pressing challenges. 

The NBI was born of this spirit and actively embraced it. 

Three decades on, the NBI with its deep institutional memory and sterling track record of implementation, continues as it has done since 1995. 

It has carried its mandate through moments of hope and of strain. 

The journey of economic transformation has been longer, more complex and at times more contested than anticipated. 

As the structural reforms take root, as investor confidence returns and the green shoots of growth break ground, there can be no better time to seize this window of opportunity. 

As a bridge-builder during the political transition, we call on the NBI to help us complete the bridge we set out to build in 1994. The bridge from the promise of our Constitution to meaningful and tangible economic transformation. 

We thank you for your enduring contribution to South Africa’s democratic journey.

May you continue to build, to convene and to lead for many years to come. 

I thank you.

Source: President of South Africa –

Minister of Police, Mr Firoz Cachalia,
Deputy Ministers,
Members of the media,
Fellow South Africans,

In the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) in February, I said that our primary focus this year is on stepping up the fight against organised crime, corruption and violence.

For this fight to be successful, it is vital that our law enforcement agencies are capable, ethical and effective. It is vital that they have the confidence and the trust of the South African people.

We have worked hard over the last few years to rebuild our law enforcement agencies and security services in the wake of state capture, to restore their credibility and integrity.

We have taken measures to uncover malfeasance and investigate allegations of wrongdoing within the ranks of the police and other institutions.

 These measures have been necessary to ensure accountability and to devise remedial action to prevent the abuse of office and the theft of public resources.

It is in pursuit of these objectives that I established a commission of inquiry under Justice Mbuyiseni Madlanga to investigate allegations of police collusion in organised criminal activity. The work of the commission is ongoing and we look forward to its recommendations.

In all these efforts, we have promoted respect for the rule of law and upheld the principle that law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies must be able to act without fear, favour or prejudice.

It is this principle that informs our response to the appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court earlier this week of the SAPS National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, on charges of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.

In consideration of the seriousness of these charges and the critical role of the National Commissioner in leading the fight against crime, I have agreed with General Masemola that he be deemed to be on precautionary suspension pending the conclusion of the case.

To ensure stability and continuity in the South African Police Service, I have appointed Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane as the Acting National Commissioner of Police.

Lt-Gen Dimpane is currently the Divisional Commissioner for Financial Management Services of the SAPS and has a long and distinguished career both in the SAPS and in other public institutions. 

Having been in the police service for close on two decades, she has extensive experience in policing, strategic management, financial management and governance. Lt-Gen Dimpane has a reputation for professionalism and integrity.

I am confident that she has the qualities and the standing necessary to provide effective leadership to the SAPS during this challenging period.

Lt-Gen Dimpane will be supported by a strong team of experienced and dedicated police leadership throughout the country.

She will lead a police service that, notwithstanding substantial challenges, is comprised of men and women who are committed to serving the people of this country and the cause of justice.

A key area of attention for the Acting National Commissioner and the police leadership is to urgently address weaknesses in the procurement of goods and services.

In the report of the Zondo Commission and through the proceedings of the Madlanga Commission, procurement has been identified as the source of corruption, abuse of office and instability within the police service.

The Minister of Police will support the work that the SAPS leadership must now undertake to insulate procurement processes from any form of manipulation. This work will feed into the broader restructuring of public procurement that was announced in SONA.

The Acting National Commissioner will be expected to sustain the momentum of our national fight against crime and corruption.

There has been a reduction of contact crime over the last two financial years, largely due to the focus on police visibility. 

Focused initiatives to address gender-based violence and femicide, as well as the implementation of the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy remain central to our ongoing fight against the scourge of violent crime. 

The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster has made great progress towards the adoption of an Organised Crime Strategy, for which significant resources have been allocated from Departments in the Cluster as well as from the Criminal Assets Recovery Account. 

Important steps have been taken with regards to organised crime, including gang violence, illegal firearms, illegal mining, drug trafficking and kidnappings. These efforts have been strengthened by collaboration between the SAPS and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The SAPS Task Team investigating matters arising from the Madlanga Commission has made significant progress, leading to a number of arrests. We commend the team and wish it continued success. 

As we embarked on the task of rebuilding our law enforcement agencies and security services, we knew that it would be a difficult undertaking.

We have been guided at all times by the need for transparency, accountability and respect for due legal process.

It is understandably a cause of great concern for all South Africans that the National Commissioner of Police is in court facing criminal charges.

However, we should not allow this development to weaken our determination or diminish our ability to fight against crime and corruption. We should not allow anything to destabilise the police service or undermine the morale of those entrusted to protect our people.

We must hold firm to the values of our Constitution and, in this case as in all cases, allow the law to take its course.

Minister Cachalia and Acting National Commissioner, Lt-Gen Dimpane, will be holding a briefing soon to outline further actions that will be taken to stabilise the SAPS and strengthen its work.

I wish Lt-Gen Dimpane and the entire SAPS leadership well in building on the progress that has been made in our fight against crime.

I thank you.