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Let the readers have their say

Let the readers have their say

IOL News06-05-2025

Illegal foreigners need to go back to their countries. I am in support of the protest. Good job. | Sheila Verulam
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I pledge my support to the protest 100%. In the first half of 2025, I have been mugged four times, twice at gunpoint and have been assaulted three times by the Shona-speaking individuals. The last attack was on April 29, at around 9.15am on the N12 westbound freeway near the Giloolies interchange. | Daily News reader
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I see Independent Media has come up with a new, slimmer look Daily News, which is called the Berliner Format and is designed to make for easier reading, especially when 'on the go' or outside. This is progressive, and I am glad to know that you are considerate of the reader's comfort. However, I have two more suggestions: 1. Please refrain from having loose pages in the newspaper, as the pages invariably flop about and easily fall out of the main body, making for an irksome reading experience. 2. Secondly, now that you've reduced the width of the paper, consider the same for the length so there is a sense of proportionality in size to the paper. The slim, lean appearance is disproportionate to the paper. Thanks, loyal subscriber and reader for many years. | Pravin Thakur
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini is alarmed by the findings presented at the Finance Committee meeting of March 2025, which confirm that the City is failing to invest in basic infrastructure while its financial position worsens. | Councillor Alicia Kissoon DA eThekwini councillor.
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Ethekwini Municipality water unit blames the increased water demands and its ailing infrastructure for the water woes in the south of Durban. Where were the engineers, building inspectors and related disciplines with the concomitant oversight functions? Why did this weak leadership at eThekwini allow new holiday flats and shopping centres like Galleria and Arbour Crossing to be built without proper due diligence? Apartments built three years ago in Amanzimtoti are experiencing blocked sewers and weak water supplies for weeks because of the dereliction of duty by the ANC-run municipality. | Sanj
q q qI walked into a Shoprite store and discovered that Albany bread now costs R20.00. Something is wrong with the pricing. | Daily News reader
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Why call for the resignation of the Minister of Finance (Enoch Godongwana). Every parliamentarian who voted for the minister's budget are accomplices to the crime. Either they resign voluntarily or be booted out. | Kamal Panday
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Please, enough with the page 2 articles about Joshlin Smith. Your journalists are just rehashing the same article daily. It's very frustrating. Please post proper news about this poor child. | Daily News reader
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Why does this completely failed ANC want to stay in power? My humble advice is for them to close shop, apologise to the citizens of this once most beautiful country and say loudly, 'We have failed you'. | Bhagat Singh
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I just wanted to comment on the new law on having to restrict firearms for security personnel and companies. Why don't the government or Psira upskill the companies or the guards? Why don't they bring in additional programmes or training to the ones in possession of these? | Daily News reader
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The proposed private security amendments are catastrophic. Minister Mchunu has drafted this without thinking. Imagine if these amendments were passed, that would mean more South Africans would be left jobless, adding to the already high number of unemployed. | Daily News reader
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I don't know why (Police Minister) Senzo Mchunu is still in office when he clearly is failing to do his job. Instead of fighting crime, he wants to cripple the private security sector with his dizzy amendments. Who does he think he is? Why isn't he going after the real criminals? And when is Cwecwe going to receive justice? | Daily News reader
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Corruption still remains a societal and moral evil, causing suffering to our despised economic classes. It is perpetrated by self-oriented human beings. We have unending investigations into government, business and legal corruption. | Mervyn Appadu
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The ANC is dead in KZN and nationally. | Daily News reader
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The DA, please investigate the Durban Metro together with the ratepayers associations, as corruption between the course management and metro is continuing, as huge funds are being allocated to both golf courses by the course management, but the playing conditions on these courses are below acceptable levels. We need to take back our golf courses, and looters and corrupters must be jailed. | Daily News reader

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Navigating the Ideological Divide: The Litmus Test for Fragile GNU
Navigating the Ideological Divide: The Litmus Test for Fragile GNU

IOL News

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  • IOL News

Navigating the Ideological Divide: The Litmus Test for Fragile GNU

President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted a working dinner with leaders of political parties that are signatories to the Government of National Unity (GNU) at Genadendal, the President's official residence in Cape Town on November 11, 2024. Image: GCIS Prof Dirk Kotzé South Africa's second Government of National Unity (GNU) reached its first anniversary this week. Comparisons with the GNU of 1994 were initially made, but the ensuing debates made it clear that they are not comparable. The first point of debate was whether the new multiparty government was indeed a GNU or a coalition government. For some, the distinction was merely a matter of semantics, while for others, it represented a political stance on black unity in government. The fact that the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MKP) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were not included in the new government disqualified it as a national unity government. In the meantime, this debate has petered out, mainly because the ANC and DA continue to use the name GNU. The GNU's formal foundation is very limited in nature: in essence, it is the Statement of Intent first signed by the ANC and DA, and later by the other eight parties. The Statement included ten Foundational Principles, the Basic Minimum Programme of (nine) Priorities and the GNU's Modalities or main procedural arrangements. The programme of priorities came the closest to an agreement about policy matters, though they were formulated in very general terms. Compared with new coalition governments in many parts of the world who first negotiate a coalition agreement over an extended period, a combination of sections 51 and 86 in the South African constitution determines that a new president must be elected by Parliament not more than 14 days after the results of the election were announced. That sets the maximum time available to establish a coalition of at least 50%+1 in parliament that is required to elect a president. The fact that the election of the president is linked to a parliamentary majority (and therefore in some cases a coalition) is because the president is not directly elected. The coalition also does not allow for the outgoing cabinet to continue until a new one is formed by the president but is dissolved when the new president is inaugurated (section 94) five days after the presidential election. The impact of these constitutional arrangements are lessons already learnt from the GNU's first year of existence. Given the fact that coalition governments appear to be the norm in South Africa for the foreseeable future, constitutional re-engineering might be required, because the GNU's early history demonstrated that the Constitution was not designed to include a coalition government. A potential complication for a coalition government – especially for one in a stalemate situation – is the Constitution's section 50(1)(b) which states that an early general election cannot be held within three years after the previous election. It means that no early election can be held before May 2027. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Coalition governments sometimes collapse, like the German one not long ago, and then an early election is held to form a new government. If it were to happen in South Africa before 2027, such an option would not exist. Its desirability in South Africa under new conditions should be considered. A counterintuitive consequence of the GNU's emergence is that it enhanced the prominence of Parliament. In the past, the ANC government (cabinet) dominated Parliament, especially when the opposition was small. The ANC also did not accommodate parliamentary backbenchers who could ask difficult questions. With the GNU, these dynamics are changing. Portfolio committees are now chaired by members of the GNU parties and even other small parties such as Rise Mzansi, BOSA and ActionSA. DA and other GNU parliamentarians play often the role of critical backbenchers. The official opposition (MKP) and the EFF are often vocal in debates but not necessarily an effective opposition that can enhance public accountability by the GNU executive. In this regard, the oversized 70% coalition government suffocates the parliamentary opposition. That might be one of the considerations why GNUs are normally only a one-term government arrangement. It is noteworthy that opinion surveys done by the Social Research Foundation suggest that the bigger parties in the GNU (except for the ANC) have increased their support since the May 2024 elections, while the opposition parties have lost support, notably the MKP and EFF. It suggests that the downside of the GNU already mentioned, as well as the policy differences, the GNU as a concept, is not discredited in the public mind. Despite the absence of a coalition policy agreement – or maybe because of it – policy matters have become very prominent during the GNU lifespan. South African politics are dominated by the socio-economic issues of increasing unemployment, crime, illegal immigration and transformation policies, as well as the governance issues of service delivery and corruption. In the context of the GNU, the policy issues that became prominent have been school education (BELA Act), health care (NHI Act), fiscal policies (Budget), property rights (Expropriation Act) and international relations. In the areas of home affairs, agriculture and trade & industry a process of convergence is seen. While the conventional approach for coalitions is to negotiate an agreement on policy matters, largely as a consequence of the 14-day limitation on the formation of a coalition, the alternative is a piecemeal approach to dealing with policy issues one by one as they emerge. Some of them, like the BELA Act, went to the GNU's 'clearing house' or dispute resolution mechanism, chaired by Deputy President Mashatile, and thereafter to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). The Budget issue was resolved by different negotiation and consultation processes, mainly by the ANC and DA, while other policy matters, like the BELA and NHI Acts as well as the Budget, were taken to court. The result so far is therefore an incremental development of a policy framework in the absence of a comprehensive agreement.

Assessing the DA's push for policing devolution in South Africa
Assessing the DA's push for policing devolution in South Africa

IOL News

timean hour ago

  • IOL News

Assessing the DA's push for policing devolution in South Africa

The DA said they want the government to devolve some police powers to the provinces and cities Image: Supplied / SAPS The call to devolve some police powers to the provinces and metro councils, has been a drum beaten by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for some time. But will it make a difference or is just about the DA thinking that they can do it better than the ANC? The DA runs the Western Cape province as well as the City of Cape Town and has within the Government of National Unity, the chairmanship of the police portfolio committee in parliament. The province and city is racked by gang violence, and there is frustration that the national police can't seem to get a handle on it. Michael Jacobs of the Mitchell's Plain United Residents Association (MURA) said that every day in a suburb on the Cape Flats, a life is lost through gang and gun violence. 'These violent incidents sketch a picture of abnormality, fear, and the sheer brutality faced by ordinary residents on the streets. "We need to acknowledge that all levels of government - national, provincial, and municipal - have failed our bullet-ridden and gang-infested communities on the Cape Flats, Atlantis, Paarl, and elsewhere where gangsterism thrives. 'No amount of political theatrics and political spin will take away the fear, blood on our streets, death and open coffins on the Cape Flats of Fear,' Jacobs said. The Cty wants the ability investigate gang-related violence, firearm offences, extortion, and drug trafficking. It wants to have the power to collect its own crime intelligence; its own forensic laboratory testing centres to test firearms; participation in the Cooperation Agreement task team, between Province and police and endorse the establishment of a joint technical workstream comprising representatives from various stakeholders. Mzwakhe Nqavashe, chairperson of the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee within the City Council said communities are plagued by crime at all levels and it is clear that more is needed – from the South African Police Service and the City. SAPS does not have the manpower, and the City's uniformed staff do not have the power to undertake investigations. Professor Isaac Khambule from the University of Johannesburg, who lectures on political economy, said the DA 's idea smacks of neoliberalism. 'The fact is they say it should be the private sector that is running all of these particular functions, as we've seen in the case of Prasa, because they tried to bring in more private stakeholders. And we've seen the president giving in to some of these demands, such as bringing private players on by Transnet. 'So, at this particular moment, I think we just need to look at one avenue that says, 'yes, it is something that the DA has been pushing for', but since they were swallowed by the GNU, they did not necessarily have space to push for the kind of reforms that they wanted." DA Safety and Security Mayco member JP Smith said the Council's portfolio committee on safety and security passed a motion on June 4 to initiate an intergovernmental dispute. He also touted the city's emergency call centre, handing over 16,000 incidents to SAPS in the past 100 days alone, amid 'ongoing collapse of the national 10111 system'. 'We're stepping in where others are failing, and doing more to keep our residents safe.' Given the DA's majority in the city council, the motion calling for the devolution is likely to pass. However, Khambule has added that the DA's chances of getting the devolution are slim, as it could set a dangerous precedent. 'If they do allow this particular devolution, then it is likely to be more push for the entire Western Cape to be independent. 'It is not just an issue of the ANC not allowing it, but it is also about all the political players within Parliament who are not going to allow this particular devolution to happen, because tomorrow then you are seeding power to certain sub-national structures that may not necessarily be competent in addressing these issues.'

DA demands tabling of forensic report into corruption at Endumeni Municipality
DA demands tabling of forensic report into corruption at Endumeni Municipality

The Citizen

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DA demands tabling of forensic report into corruption at Endumeni Municipality

The resignation of Endumeni Municipal Manager Sithembiso Ntombela has intensified calls for transparency following a CoGTA report that revealed security tender corruption dating back to 2023. Ntombela stepped down amid a Section 106 forensic investigation. The probe reportedly found that FBL Security was appointed without following supply chain protocols; however, its findings have yet to be presented to the council. The report was finalised last year, but only presented to the Endumeni council in March of this year. The Courier has a copy of the report, and its findings were published last month. In it, the investigators recommend that two senior officials be charged, including Ntombela. DA caucus leader, Cllr Saleem Abdool, urged Speaker Andile Nsibande to present the report immediately and for councillors to act on its recommendations. 'Accountability must not be sacrificed for political expediency,' said a DA spokesperson. The party insists that due process be followed and that anyone implicated be held responsible. 'Throughout this term, the DA has pushed for clean governance and financial accountability. 'With public scrutiny at its peak, the party vows to continue advocating for a municipality that serves residents, not hidden agendas.' HAVE YOUR SAY: Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram or email us at Add us on WhatsApp 071 277 1394. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

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