logo
Tensions erupt in Limpopo ANC after vandalism of spokesperson's bakkie

Tensions erupt in Limpopo ANC after vandalism of spokesperson's bakkie

The Citizen22-05-2025

Jimmy Machaka's support for a rival ANC leadership slate may have led to an attack on his bakkie.
Tension in the ANC in Limpopo is ratcheting up following a Tuesday night attack on a bakkie belonging to the party's provincial spokesperson, Jimmy Machaka.
The tyres were slashed while he was presiding over a media briefing in Polokwane. Machaka said damage inflicted on the car could run to R13 000.
Speaking to The Citizen at the Polokwane police station, where he laid charges, Machaka said he wasn't sure who was responsible for the attack.
But he crossed the floor earlier this year to align with the electoral slate of Peter Mokaba regional contender Mamedupi Teffo and former ANC youth league provincial chair Tonny Rachoene.
He was previously part of the 'Third Term' slate, which backs Polokwane mayor John Mpe's re-election for a third term.
ALSO READ: ANC urged to fast-track dispute resolution in Limpopo
He said the Third Slate people backing Polokwane mayor John Mpe's re-election for a third term were 'angry because they did not see it coming'.
He said it was not the first attack on him: 'Those who want me, let us go into the conference ring and battle. I support Teffo and Rachoene because they support service delivery and I cannot support mediocrity,' he said.
In their response, spokesperson for the ANC in the Peter Mokaba region, Adolph Rapetsoa said: 'We sympathise with Machaka for the damage caused on his vehicle.
'But we don't agree with him on dragging the names of our leaders and organisation into the matter. That is malicious.'
NOW READ: 'Third Term' slate shines at Limpopo ANC elective conference

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

SA almost has a Budget — finance committee adopts fiscal framework, despite MK and EFF rejections
SA almost has a Budget — finance committee adopts fiscal framework, despite MK and EFF rejections

Daily Maverick

time8 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

SA almost has a Budget — finance committee adopts fiscal framework, despite MK and EFF rejections

After multiple false starts, a key aspect of the 2025 Budget was adopted in Parliament on Wednesday, with the support of the ANC and DA. When the second iteration of the 2025 Budget came before Parliament's finance committee in April, the divisions in the Government of National Unity (GNU) were on full display. The Democratic Alliance (DA) refused to support the adoption of the fiscal framework and it only moved through the committees and then the National Assembly thanks to the support of non-GNU parties such as ActionSA. On Wednesday, 4 June, the GNU's largest members, the African National Congress (ANC) and DA, finally found each other and the fiscal framework was passed by a vote of seven to three. The passing of the fiscal framework is a key step in the budgeting process. This framework establishes economic policy and revenue projections and sets the overall limits to government spending. This report must be adopted within 16 days after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables the Budget. While the DA opposed the fiscal framework in Budget 2.0, Wednesday's situation was different, with both the ANC and DA supporting the measure against the opposition of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. Wednesday's meeting was briefly halted to find a bigger venue in Parliament to accommodate all the MPs, journalists and officials, as well as ensure it was recorded, in line with MPs' requests. There were several comments and queries by MK party MPs, including axed finance minister Des van Rooyen and former Eskom boss Brian Molefe. At one point, Molefe said the fiscal framework should include the expanded unemployment rate (43.1%) rather than the narrow definition (32.9%), but his suggestion was shot down. The MK and EFF also criticised the increase in the fuel levy, with Molefe describing it as 'regressive' and 'not pro-growth'. On Tuesday, the Western Cape Division of the High Court dismissed the EFF's urgent bid to block the fuel levy increase. Issues were raised on whether the Budget was that of an austerity budget, denied by the ANC – an answer the MK party and EFF continued to reject. It was questioned several times during the meeting whether MPs were making points simply to grandstand 'because there were cameras'. This seemed evident when EFF MP Omphile Maotwe raised objections over a section of the report that dealt with 'not providing bailouts' to state-owned entities (SOEs), rather than 'capitalising SOEs'. Maotwe said she was at Transnet when she claimed it had been successful under the management of fellow finance committee member Brian Molefe – the former Transnet CEO turned State Capture accused, and now a member of the MK Party on its parliamentary benches. Next week, the National Assembly will vote on whether to adopt the fiscal framework in a sitting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. When the fiscal framework is passed, other steps in the budgeting process include the passing of the Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriation Bill. During the tabling of the fiscal framework in the National Assembly in April, the ANC appeared jubilant when it was passed without the DA's support, while the DA had harsh words for the ANC and other parties who supported that version of the Budget. It's unlikely there will be such acrimony next week. DM

The NPA illustrates the rot within South African institutions
The NPA illustrates the rot within South African institutions

Daily Maverick

time8 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

The NPA illustrates the rot within South African institutions

The decision by the Free State High Court to withdraw charges against Moroadi Cholota, the former assistant to former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, reveals the level of crisis within the NPA. But the NPA is just one example of a government institution in which officials either resist change or simply refuse to work, often aided by politicians. There will, no doubt, be several legal examinations of Tuesday's decision, in which Judge Phillip Loubser said his court had no authority to try former Free State premier Ace Magashule's former assistant, Moroadi Cholota, because the NPA had instituted her extradition from the US, while legally it should have been the Justice Ministry. While the legal correctness of this decision might be examined by higher courts, the public perception is likely to be dominated by a question of why legal technicalities matter so much. Of course, to lawyers, judges and the rule of law, they absolutely matter. But to many people, they are simply a way for people to avoid justice. The best example of this is former president Jacob Zuma, who has been able to avoid a fair trial since 2003. No accountability for the powerful The message this sends is that there is no accountability for those in power. But it also suggests that despite the reams of evidence heard at the Zondo commission, and the findings that it made, no convictions will come from it. For the moment, it seems that there is no big desire by voters to change our legal system, to remove some of the rights of those accused of wrongdoing. Considering our past, this is entirely legitimate. But if those in power continue to be able to avoid accountability, it is likely that first, trust in the justice system will continue to decline, and second, parties that propose limiting the rights of the accused will grow stronger. One of the important lessons from the NPA is that despite having independent leadership that appears determined to deliver justice, the institution itself is still very weak. The history of how the NPA was captured was being written almost in real time. People like Lawrence Mrwebi or Nomgcobo Jiba were in leadership positions there for many months. Both were found by the courts to be 'not fit and proper' for their positions. During the time they were there, it is likely that they packed the NPA with people who either supported their views or would never challenge their views. Ramaphosa But politicians have played an important role in keeping the NPA weak, too. Perhaps the person who has played the biggest role in weakening the NPA is President Cyril Ramaphosa. One of the important figures in the NPA during the State Capture period was the head of prosecutions in Johannesburg, Andrew Chauke. He was involved in delaying cases against former Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwe and helped to bring a now debunked case against former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Head Johann Booysen (Chauke has delivered a robust response to the claims against him, including in a TV interview with this writer). In 2023, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi formally asked Ramaphosa to suspend him from his position (under the law, only the President can suspend someone in this job). Two years later, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said that the matter was at an 'advanced stage'. This is nonsense. If Ramaphosa really believed in the rule of law, and if he wanted a properly independent NPA, he would have suspended Chauke the moment he could. Worse for the NPA has been the Justice Ministry's refusal to share the Zondo commission database with it. Again, this must be deliberate. Even if there is some legal reason to make this difficult for the NPA, this would be for the courts hearing State Capture prosecutions to determine, not the Justice Ministry. However, it must be remembered that the situation at the NPA is repeated in many other institutions. Culture of resistance On Monday, the chair of the National Lotteries Commission, Barney Pityana, told 702's Bongani Bingwa about the difficulties he is facing in fixing the organisation, after the incredible corruption that happened there. Pityana appeared to be particularly critical of former Department of Trade, Industry and Competition minister Ebrahim Patel. One of his problems is that only the minister can appoint distributing agents to distribute funds, and the commission only had two or three when it should have had 11. As Pityana put it, 'For a long time, minister Patel was stuck with this appointment for reasons best known to him.' Pityana also said that within the organisation, 'There's internal resistance to some of the changes being made in the organisation, therefore compliance, we admit, has been a very difficult issue.' Pityana is almost pointing to a culture of people in important organisations that resist change. In some cases, it may simply be that they do not believe there is any reason for change. Or that workers in many government institutions feel that there is no reason for them to work, because it seems virtually impossible for them to be fired. The Sunday Times published an important report last weekend about the situation in Gauteng metros. It would appear that many permanently employed workers tell bosses that they can't be fired, and thus can't be forced to work. This culture has been evident in councils for many years. It could explain why services do not improve, whether it is a DA-led coalition taking over from an ANC-led coalition or the other way round. This toxic mix of a refusal by workers to change, and political interference (or so often just a refusal to act), may help to explain why so many institutions are not improving. Unfortunately, coalition politics is unlikely to make major changes. In institutions where this culture exists, workers may feel they can just outlast a new boss, knowing that they will still be there after she becomes frustrated and leaves. Ministers and others with political authority are likely to continue interfering or just doing nothing. This means that we can continue to expect the NPA, and so many institutions like it, to simply keep stumbling. DM

Here's how much government paid capped, sick leave to employees in the public service
Here's how much government paid capped, sick leave to employees in the public service

The Citizen

time10 hours ago

  • The Citizen

Here's how much government paid capped, sick leave to employees in the public service

Capped leave is expected to grow in costs. A South African flag flies against a backdrop of flowering jacaranda trees outside the Rosebank police station. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen The cost and broader impact of leave taken by public service employees over a four-year period have come under scrutiny. Officials from the Department of Public Service and Administration, alongside the Public Service Commission (PSC), presented these findings to Parliament during a meeting on Wednesday. PSC commissioner Vusumuzi Mavuso explained to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration that data was collected from the Personnel and Salary Administration System (Persal) for the period between 2020 and 2023. ALSO READ: How many ghost workers are there in government? This data focused on various types of leave, including study and sick leave. Information gathered included the gender, age, and salary levels of personnel from all national and provincial departments, with the exception of the Department of Defence and the State Security Agency (SSA). 'It was quite necessary to collect the data and making sure that we have a sense as to what is happening within the public service, specifically looking into sick and study leave from Persal and to establish whether there is any excessive utilisation of such leave,' Mavuso told MPs. Capped leave in public service PSC Director of Employment Management, Renel Singh, reported that as of December 2023, the government spent R16 billion on 9.2 million days of capped leave. This applied to 189 039 employees out of a total of 1 387 391 in the public service, with about 122 000 of them from the education and health sectors. Public sector employees appointed before 1 July 2000 retained their capped leave – pre-2000 audited leave converted to working days – which is only paid out in the event of death, retirement, or medical boarding. READ MORE: Will review of public sector doctors working in private hospitals lead to better healthcare or brain drain? Singh said capped leave is expected to grow in costs. 'The costs go up on the basis of cost-of-living adjustments and factors such as promotions and notch upgrades.' 'Capped leave is a moving target, and it is a contingent liability for the state. It is something that the state has to pay to the public servant who chooses to retire,' she said on Wednesday. Alongside the anticipated future payout costs, there are growing concerns about the potential loss of experienced personnel from the public service sector. 'The health sector has 26 524 officials who have capped leave, and education has 96 096 people who have capped leave, and that raises future concerns in terms of the skills deficit that we may encounter.' Watch the meeting below: PSC recommendations on capped leave Given that capped leave is a 'quite expensive cost' for government, the PSC made several recommendations. Among these was for the National Treasury to perform a detailed cost-based analysis of expected payouts over the next five to ten years. 'There has to be recommendations that need to be made by the National Treasury together with the Department of Public Service and Administration specifically in relation to the negotiation of this particular practice of leave to ascertain what the future costs would be.' 'And it would be feasible for the state to actually incur that cost now or wait for people to exit the system, which could considerably be a higher cost in the future,' Singh explained. READ MORE: Corruption 'not government's responsibility alone' but taxpayers fork out millions for suspensions Another proposal involves allowing employees to convert capped leave into extra pension benefits, in line with Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) rules. 'The GEPF offers the option to purchase additional pension and will result in improved retirement benefits.' This would require the Department of Public Service, the GEPF, and the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) to explore the option from a cost-benefit perspective. The PSC also urged the department to initiate human resource planning exercises to prepare for the loss of experienced staff due to retirement. Sick leave for public service employees Singh presented data showing that the number of public service employees taking sick leave in national departments ranged from 224 649 to 266 445 over the four-year period. In provincial departments, the range was between 14 041 and 145 301. 'In 2022, there was a spike, but it was the new sick leave cycle, which is the reloading of the 36 days of sick leave over a three-year period,' she remarked. READ MORE: Almost 90% of foreign government employees in health and education sectors, says DPSA Between 2020 and 2023, public servants took between 5.4 million and 7.6 million days of sick leave, with a peak in 2022. The cost of this leave rose from R8 billion in 2020 to R11.5 billion in 2022, before slightly dropping to R10.1 billion in 2023. 'When we look at costs, we are looking at it from a perspective of employees not being in the office. They are not operating. They are getting paid their salaries, but they are not actually in office.' Incapacity leave Temporary incapacity leave peaked in 2021, with 43 878 employees taking 1.4 million days of leave. This figure decreased in 2022 but rose again in 2023 to 1.3 million days. The cost reached R2.38 billion in 2023. 'Temporary incapacity leave is employee-initiated,' Singh told the committee. In terms of permanent incapacity leave, which is employer initiated, the police had the highest number of cases, with 696 between 2020 and 2023. The highest cost of permanent incapacity leave for all government employees was R31.18 million in 2020. 'The costs were relatively far lower than your temporary incapacity leave.' To address the escalating costs and potential misuse of sick leave, the PSC suggested annual audits by all government departments to identify instances of excessive use and possible misuse by employees. Departments should also strictly monitor medical certificate submissions to verify sick leave applications. Finally, the PSC recommended that the Department of Public Service consider placing a cap on temporary incapacity leave. NOW READ: Parliamentary 'ghostbusters' target Casper – the unfriendly public service ghost

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store