Category: South Africa Government

Source: Government of South Africa

Just as birthdays are traditionally marked with celebration and some reflection, South Africa’s Constitutional Court recently blew out the candles in celebration of its 30th birthday, having continued to make a positive impact on society.

Few of us can envision a democratic South Africa minus the apex court that was birthed by our country’s world-famous Constitution.

In the most basic form of our understanding of the court, most of us have come to associate the court with the human rights contained in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. That loose definition is not too far off the bat. As the highest court in the land on constitutional matters, it deals exclusively with matters that raise questions about the application or interpretation of the Constitution.

Given our painful history where torture and the real threat of death were the order of the day for the majority, South Africans care a lot about their human rights and that of others.

The court is an integral part of South African life, traversing even to the core of matters of life and death. In its S v Makwanyane (1995) landmark case on the constitutionality of the death penalty, which was a feature of the apartheid regime, the court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional as it violated the right to life as enshrined in Section 11 of the Bill of Rights.

That seminal ruling was proof that the law which was previously used to oppress non-whites in the apartheid era, could and did work in favour of South Africa’s people in all their diversity.

It was a needed and powerful ruling that spoke to the sacredness of life. 

While that ruling of the court was made many years ago, its impact and effectiveness has continued to echo through the various stages democratic South Africa has gone through.  Even when citizens and political formations, among others, called for a referendum to bring back the death penalty, government though the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services responded by stating that the Constitution strives “to eradicate the injustices of the past, to protect us from our own whims and to advance the rule of law and to guarantee equality before the law.”

Section 74 of the Constitution states that the founding provisions in section 1 of the Constitution may only be amended by a bill passed by the National Assembly with a supporting vote of at least 75% of its members and a supporting vote of at least 6 provinces in the National Council of Provinces. Government said that any decision of the return or otherwise of the death penalty could not be legally done via a referendum. 

And while one may say that the public outcry expressed by society back in 2019 over not only the brutal murder of student Uyinene Mrwetyana, but the overall levels of violent crimes committed against women and children necessitated the referendum, the supreme nature of the Constitution as the law of the republic has remained.

This is seen in how government responded to the matter while also highlighting that conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid and that obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled. 

This was also evidenced by the August v Electoral Commission (1999) case which sought to confirm the right of prisoners to vote and subsequently, since 1999 the Electoral Commission and the Department of Correctional Services has worked to provide voter registration and voting opportunities for inmates in line with the Constitutional right extended to prisoners to vote. 

These judgements and others that followed, including the Government of the RSA v Grootboom (2000) case on the right to housing, which President Cyril Ramaphosa referred to at a ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of the court, show that the work of the court does not favour one particular sect of society, but champions the validity and integrity of the Constitution instead.

These judgements have not only educated the public on the Constitution but have also strengthened the country’s law-making capabilities while also strengthening South Africa’s democracy.

As we reflect on the body of work that the Concourt has produced over the years, what remains is that while the faces of government administrations have changed, the court and indeed other courts around the country have and continue to maintain their sacrosanct independence.

And while the court has had to force the hand of government to implement rights contained in the Bill of Rights such as the right to housing in the Grootboom matter in which the applicant Irene Grootboom died without a decent house is something that government must still work on.

In his commentary on the matter, President Ramaphosa said that deepening respect for constitutionalism across all sectors must start with the state and that Grootboom’s death without her dream having been realised, “will forever remain a blight on our democracy.”

And while the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, with the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land on constitutional matters, our democracy makes provision for the amending of the Constitution where necessary.

Recently, Parliament’s Joint Constitutional Review Committee concluded deliberations on the feasibility of amending the Constitution, following up on legacy submissions inherited from the previous Parliament.

In the sixth Parliament, the submissions were subjected to public hearings with the committee having considered 10 legal opinions.

These opinions provided by the Parliamentary Legal Services, informed the committee’s assessment of various proposals for constitutional amendment.

The actual amendment to the Constitution can only be considered through a resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament.

The court is not merely a building, but a breathing, living element of a present and future South Africa, warts and all. May it continue to live long into the future. –SAnews.gov.za 

Neo Semono is the Features Editor at www.SAnews.gov.za , in the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) 
 

Source: Government of South Africa

Monday, July 7, 2025

Source: Government of South Africa

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has mobilised the Committee of Ministers to support the upcoming Africa Water Investment Summit that will be held in August.

This as she concluded her participation in the 43rd Southern African Development Community (SADC) Joint Meeting of Committee of Ministers responsible for Energy and Water held in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The meeting was held from 3 -4 July 2025.

“During day two of the joint meeting, which focused mainly on water issues, Minister Majodina used the platform to mobilise the Committee of Ministers to support the upcoming Africa Water Investment Summit that will be co-hosted by South Africa and the African Union- Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AU-AIP) in the context of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, on 13- 15 August 2025,” said the Minister.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the summit seeks to mobilise financial investment for bankable water and sanitation infrastructure projects around the continent.

The DWS said Africa faces a US$30 billion (around ±R528 billion) annual water investment gap and the summit will mobilise investments in climate-resilient water and sanitation projects, ensuring water security, economic growth, and sustainable development across the continent.

“We think that from that summit, we will have a concrete plan. As a continent, we must start being serious and start ringfencing budgets to fund our water infrastructure as well as energy. No country, region nor continent can survive without putting water and electricity as the catalyst for economic growth,” said Majodina.

This as the regional water sector is experiencing infrastructure challenges as a result of growing populations and lack of adequate infrastructure development due to financial investment gap.

The AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit’s key objectives are to: 
•    mobilise financial commitments towards Africa’s water investment needs; 
•    advocate for improved access to finance for water and sanitation projects; 
•     strengthen governance and accountability in the water sector; 
•    showcase a pipeline of investment-ready projects to funders and investors; and 
•    promote legal and regulatory reforms to enhance water investments. 
The SADC Joint Meeting of Ministers is a critical platform for member states to engage on issues to enhance regional collaboration in the energy and water sectors.

“Minister Majodina engaged with fellow Ministers from across the region on critical issues related to the management of shared water resources and transboundary programmes and projects that are led by the River Basin Organisations and Shared Water Institutions, and on the delivery of regional water projects aimed at improving water and sanitation services in the SADC member states; as well as the status of implementation of previous decisions taken during the 42nd joint meeting held in May last year.”

South Africa shares transboundary water projects with its neighbouring countries including the Lesotho/Botswana water transfer; Beitbridge/Musina integrated water supply scheme; the Catuane Matutuine groundwater project in Maputo.

Majodina attended the 43rd SADC Joint Meeting of Committee of Ministers responsible for Energy and Water with Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa whose portfolio is part SADC Committee on Water and Energy.

The SADC Ministers of Water and Energy Committee are a decision-making body that adopts decisions on regional policies and programmes that are implemented in the entire 16 SADC Member states, both at regional and national level, and Ministers responsible for energy and water direct the regional energy as well as water and sanitation agenda. -SAnews.gov.za
 

Source: Government of South Africa

With the country bearing the brunt of climate change and the resultant devastation it causes in communities and economies, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has launched the One Million Trees campaign.

“We have witnessed fires, deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, and prolonged droughts. These events underscore our shared vulnerability, but also our shared responsibility to act, to adapt, and to do so in a way that leaves no one behind. 

“Tree planting is one of the mitigating factors that are recommended to slow down this environmental threat. It is for this reason that the department is pursuing the coordination and implementation of the National Greening Programme,” said Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Bernice Swarts.

Speaking on Monday at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, Swarts said to ensure that South Africans benefit from the National Greening Programme, President Cyril Ramaphosa directed that 10 million trees, comprised of 60 percent fruit and 40 percent indigenous, be planted in the country over a period of five years, ending in 2026. 

The initiative, which links to goal 13 of Sustainable Development Goals, is a clarion call to South Africans from all walks of life to participate and contribute towards the greening of the country. 

The Deputy Minister put forth a challenge to plant one million trees in a single day – on 24 September 2025 during Heritage Day – while celebrating Arbour Month. 

“We are calling on all South Africans to join hands in greening our country. This is an all of society campaign which calls on collaboration by government departments, municipalities, civil society organisations, non-government organisations, corporates, students and learners, churches and the public at large to plant at least one million trees for the benefit of our country.

“I have started conversations with different role players, and it came as a surprise when I saw the response. Some were asking “what can we assist with” – “how can we be part of this” – and so on. In no time, we had already amassed a lot of support – most have responded positively, though we are in the process of tallying commitments and pledges in this regard.”

 She said the greening programme was taking place at a time when the environment of the country and indeed the entire Africa was counting the cost of climate change, and drastic measures are urgently needed for a swift recovery. 

“South Africa’s G20 Presidency’s Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group prioritisation of Land degradation, desertification and drought highlights their direct threat to economies, food security, and sustainable development. Planting trees helps to combat these phenomena.” – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Chairperson of the Civil 20 (C20) Thulani Tshefuta says from December 2024 to date, they have managed to register more than 1 900 organisations that participate in C20 structures and processes.

“These organisations are drawn from South Africa, the African continent and the rest of the world,” Tshefuta said at a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday.

The briefing was held to update media on the state of readiness to deliver the C20 Policy Pack ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in November 2025.

The global C20 initiative serves as a vital platform for civil society engagement with the G20. Established in 2013, C20 advocates for the inclusion of diverse voices in shaping the decisions that affect communities worldwide.

C20 South Africa is led by a network of national apex organisations that represent a broad range of sectors and activism including youth, women, the disabled, civics, cooperatives, the informal sector, traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, coalitions and campaigns, social movements, NPO/NGO networks and Issue-based formations

Tshefuta said C20 South Africa convened a successful Mid-Term Policy Dialogue on 22 – 24 June 2025 in Sandton and was attended by more than 300 delegates in person, while an additional 1 800 delegates attended virtually in South Africa, Africa and other G20 countries.

“The outcomes of our deliberations and policy proposals were presented to the G20 Mid-Term Sherpa Meeting that was held on 25 – 27 June 2025 in Sun City,” Tshefuta said.

He explained that C20 member organisations are apex organisations, national organisations, medium sized organisations, grassroots and community-based formations.

“The substantive work of C20 is organised into six clusters and 14 working groups in line with government working groups.” 

Tshefuta said the essence of the theme of the South African G20 Presidency — Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability — is about co-existence, collaborations and partnerships.

“You cannot be in solidarity with yourself. You cannot be equal to yourself. Measures of sustainability outlive oneself. This further suggests that as social partners, we can play different but complementary roles.

“The G20 Presidency of South Africa has committed to promote a people-centred, development-oriented G20 that fosters inclusive economic transformation rather than economic dominance by a few.” 

Tshefuta said education and health are the two most important public services whose access to good quality services should never depend on social status, and level of income and affordability.

“The governments and the social partners must foster better strategic policy alignment between the macro-economic policies, employment and labour market policies, sectoral economic policies and skills development policies.” 

Tshifuta further said economic policies must be inclusive and job-rich.

“Skills development policies must respond to the labour market demands. We recommend that the G20 Summit and outcome document must prioritise policies, programmes and budgets to promote massive Youth Employment.

“Developing economies must be given space for debt relief and cancellation in order to redirect debt service costs towards productive economic activities,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs’ new identity verification service that enables government users and private sector clients to verify information against the National Population Register (NPR) is making progress since its rollout earlier this month.

“The department is proud to report that it has already successfully onboarded government’s entire justice cluster to the upgraded service, which includes key public sector entities like the South African Social Security Administration (SASSA), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 

“This cluster alone is now successfully processing over 180 000 transactions per day through the new service, which consistently delivers results in less than one second, with an error rate well below one percent.”

In a statement the Ministry of Home Affairs said that owing to years of under-pricing the service had broken down to the point where over half of all verification attempts failed – severely undermining social and financial inclusion, as the provision of services ranging from social grant payments to banking makes use of this service.

READ | Home Affairs rolls out upgraded National Population Register from 1 July

In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Home Affairs added that the system which was launched on 1 July 2025 is working well for private sector users that have been onboarded, and has delivered a major step towards making both government services more efficient and financial services more accessible and reliable.

“One private sector user has already processed over one million records through the new off-peak batch option that would previously have gone into the real-time queue, directly contributing to a more stable NPR for all users,” it said.

Additional help 

However, despite extensive public consultations that included both written correspondence and in-person meetings over a period of a number of months, including the recent 30 days set aside explicitly for public consultation which ended at the end of May, some users had still not adequately prepared their systems to make use of the upgraded service. 

“While a number of both public and private sector users have already proactively transitioned to the upgraded service, it is unfortunate that some users have not been as proactive. In particular, users that have been slower to make this critical transition have contacted the department to request assistance to avoid incurring higher costs, while they work to optimise their usage by moving as many verifications out of the R10 real-time queue to the off-peak queue, which attracts the lower charge of just R1.

“In a gesture that reflects the department’s ongoing commitment to working in good faith with responsible users to repair the NPR, Home Affairs has decided to implement an additional measure to ensure cost effective fees for clients that have been slow to optimise their usage and are therefore not able to immediately take advantage of the new low-cost off-peak alternative,” it explained.

While users must pay in terms of the new fee structure introduced by the amended regulations that went into effect on 1 July, the department has also provided an option for users to voluntarily elect to only have their usage costs incurred for the three-month period between 1 July and 30 September calculated at the end of October, based on their usage pattern during the month of October.

“In effect, this means that the amount owed to Home Affairs will only be confirmed after users have had the three-month period to optimise their usage by moving as many verifications as possible out of the R10 real-time queue, into the R1 off-peak queue. 

“Once the actual amount owed is calculated at the end of October, any amounts paid in excess of what would have been paid had usage been optimised from 1 July 2025, will be credited back to users,” said the department.

Additionally, the department said that in terms of the lower-cost batch option, there is significant opportunity for cost savings. The intricacies of this can be dealt with by the department when interacting with users on verifications@dha.gov.za.

“This measure not only reflects Home Affairs’ commitment to responsibly managing the transition process to ensure adequate investment in maintaining the new, world-class NPR verification service for many years to come, but also confirms that the new system and fee structure is working as intended,” said Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber.

Clients that have been slow to optimise their usage and want to voluntarily make use of this measure to ensure that their transition to the upgraded service is as cost-effective as possible are encouraged to contact verifications@dha.gov.za. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Government has announced a substantial Disaster Recovery Grant, allocating R1.2 billion to municipalities affected by recent disasters. 

This decision follows severe snowfall and flooding that occurred earlier this year in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and the heavily impacted Eastern Cape.

The announcement comes after a devastating disaster in June, which caused an estimated R6.3 billion in infrastructure damage, leaving many communities struggling with loss and destruction.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, announced that the Eastern Cape will receive the largest portion of the relief funds. 

By the end of July, Hlabisa stated that the province will receive an initial allocation of R50 million, with a substantial additional amount of R504 million to be distributed in August. 

Municipalities such as the O.R. Tambo District and the Amatole District will receive R30 million and R20 million, respectively, which will provide crucial support for reconstruction efforts.

Last month, the Eastern Cape experienced devastating impacts, with torrential rains leading to unprecedented floods in districts such as Nelson Mandela Bay, Chris Hani, and O.R. Tambo.

This tragedy claimed the lives of approximately 103 people in the Eastern Cape.

According to the latest figures, the O.R. Tambo District has the most fatalities with 79 victims, followed by the Amathole District with 10, with five each in the Alfred Nzo and Chris Hani districts, two each in Joe Gqabi and Sarah Baartman districts. 

In total, in June, South Africa lost 107 lives because of the disaster, of which three were in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Western Cape.

“Government urges communities in affected areas to remain alert and follow early warning advisories issued by the South African Weather Service, as a critical measure to safeguard lives, property, and livelihoods,” the Minister said. 

According to Hlabisa, after the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) transfers funds, municipalities are expected to use these resources promptly. 

“Recipients of the funds must follow established reporting protocols and use the required templates to ensure accountability in their financial disclosures,” he explained. 

Phased funding approach 

Hlabisa announced that the funding will be released in carefully planned phases. 

The first tranche of R151.3 million in provincial response grants will be distributed on 11 July, followed by a R395 million municipal response grant on 18 July. 

In addition, the Minister said a more substantial allocation of R708.9 million is set for 28 August, of which R504 million will go to the Eastern Cape.

“We want all municipalities to know ahead that this money is coming, and they must activate their project processes,” Hlabisa stated, stressing the importance of transparency and strategic planning.

The Minister used the platform to highlight financial accountability. 

He said that municipalities that received previous disaster relief funds will be required to provide comprehensive reports detailing the utilisation of those funds. 

The Minister warned that failure to do so could result in the suspension of future allocations.

“If there is no accountability, money will not be released. It will be as simple as that,” he cautioned. 

Meanwhile, he said the NDMC plans to convene a joint meeting with Premiers, MECs, and Mayors to ensure rigorous oversight and transparency.

Recognising the potential for price inflation and mismanagement, the Minister said technical teams are currently on the ground verifying infrastructure damage. 

Hlabisa believes that the goal is not just to restore, but to “build back better” through meticulous project management and quality assurance.

In addition, he highlighted several areas of concern, including poor infrastructure planning, inadequate workmanship, and the diversion of funds from intended projects. 

To address these shortcomings, the Minister said the NDMC will collaborate closely with the municipal infrastructure support agency and various sector departments.

He also touched on a commitment to community recovery and resilience. 

By ensuring transparent, accountable, and strategic fund allocation, government aims to not just repair infrastructure, but to restore hope and dignity to communities devastated by natural disasters.

“Furthermore, funding that reverts to the national fiscus exposes communities to risks, and there is a concerning trend of non-reporting and a lack of accountability for the funding allocated to provinces and municipalities.” 

As the country moves forward, the Minister said the comprehensive disaster relief plan represents a critical step towards rebuilding and strengthening municipal infrastructure.

“We are actively working to enhance response and recovery operations in the wake of disasters. We recognise the frustrations that communities often face during these trying times, and we are committed to addressing the significant challenges and uncertainties that can arise.” 

In August, the Minister is expected to announce the funds that will be redirected to communities affected by the June floods. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Monday, July 7, 2025

Source: Government of South Africa

BRICS urged to lead global governance reform

GabiK
Mon, 07/07/2025 – 04:05