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Watch: Comrades glory as Dijana makes it 3, Steyn 4
Watch: Comrades glory as Dijana makes it 3, Steyn 4

The Citizen

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • The Citizen

Watch: Comrades glory as Dijana makes it 3, Steyn 4

Tete Dijana has again won the men's Comrades Marathon, while multiple title holder Gerda Steyn took the women's title. Steyn has once again proven she's in a league of her own, claiming her fourth title with unmatched strength, grace and determination. Russia's Alexandra Morozova finished second to win her sixth gold medal. Shelmisth Muriuki became the first Kenyan woman to finish on the Comrades podium, placing third. Dijana crossed the finish line in a time of 05:25:28, seconds ahead of 'Flying Dutchman' Piet Wiersma, who won the race last year. Russian runner Nikolai Volkov came third. This is Dijana's third win. He triumphed in 2022 and 2023, but finished 14th last year. No DNA, ke RSA 🇿🇦 Her name is Gerda Steyn!!! 🇿🇦💪🏽 🔥FOUR-TIME Comrades Marathon winner! 🔥⁰ Gerda has once again proven she's in a league of her own, claiming her 4th title with unmatched strength, grace, and determination. 🥇🏆 Halala Gerda, Halala!🏃🏼‍♀️#ComradesMarathon2025… — South African Government (@GovernmentZA) June 8, 2025 Congratulatory posts for the winners are flooding social media: The Queen of the Comrades Marathon, the people's champion, Gerda Steyn did it in style at People's Park when she won the Comrades Marathon today. Steyn made herself a new piece of history when she became the first South African woman to win the Comrades Marathon four times. In… — The Witness (@WitnessKZN) June 8, 2025 'I just run on wings' Here's your 2025 Women's Comrades Marathon winner, Gerda Steyn. She was ecstatic to get a roar from Caster Semenya #ComradesMarathon @gerdarun @MightyCaster @ComradesRace — 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) June 8, 2025 Sure @Vee41449940 remember our discussion regarding comrades marathon . Look at Tete holding a caduceus, two snakes entwined around a winged staff is itself a pagan symbol. It is a symbol of the Greek god Hermes. This cant be a coincidence 😭 #ComradesMarathon2025 — ReconcileWithGod (@Mickzo) June 8, 2025

Mantashe says deal on SA minerals unlikely to be on the table as Ramaphosa meets Trump
Mantashe says deal on SA minerals unlikely to be on the table as Ramaphosa meets Trump

Eyewitness News

time21-05-2025

  • Business
  • Eyewitness News

Mantashe says deal on SA minerals unlikely to be on the table as Ramaphosa meets Trump

Nokukhanya Mntambo 21 May 2025 | 6:45 Gwede Mantashe Cyril Ramaphosa Donald Trump Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe. Picture: @GovernmentZA/X JOHANNESBURG - Minerals and Petroleum Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe, said a deal on the country's critical minerals is unlikely to be on the table at the Oval Office when President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with his United States (US) counterpart, Donald Trump. Mantashe, who is also the acting president in Ramaphosa's absence, briefed the media on the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy in Cape Town on Tuesday. This is part of what the government says is a broader tactic to tighten the policy framework for the critical minerals sector and streamline regulations. Africa is said to hold 30% of the world's critical mineral reserves, such as manganese, graphite, nickel, lithium and copper. The US relies on South African metals and minerals that are essential for its economy and national security, making metals and minerals the biggest South African exports to the US. According to the Institute for Global Dialogue, in 2021, platinum group metals were almost half of South Africa's exports to the US, and nearly 100% of the US's global chromium supply. When Trump slapped the world with higher import tariffs, he put gold, platinum group metals, copper, and zinc on a list of exemptions. Some economists said SA's minerals could be the Trump card the country needs at the negotiating table when diplomats talk trade and race policies in Washington. But Mantashe said otherwise. 'I would imagine that the US would try to put the issue of minerals on the table, but I doubt if the South African delegation will commit South Africa on its minerals. They may have issues, but that will have to come back for a discussion in the country. 'Any decision on that front will have to involve us, it will have to involve the Mineral Council, labour, and then we can make proposals. But our emphasis remains, our critical minerals must be enriched close to the place of production and that delegation in the US understands that fully,' added Mantashe. That aside, there are also semantics involved with calls for a new definition on critical minerals - one that differentiates between what is genuinely vital to a country, and what is just something of importance. ALSO READ:

Housing, local gov and digital transformation at the forefront of Operation Vulindlela phase II
Housing, local gov and digital transformation at the forefront of Operation Vulindlela phase II

The Citizen

time07-05-2025

  • Business
  • The Citizen

Housing, local gov and digital transformation at the forefront of Operation Vulindlela phase II

Ramaphosa says the initiative has already started to attract private investment. President Cyril Ramaphosa at the launch of Operation Vulindlela Phase II at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 7 May 2025. Picture: @GovernmentZA / X Government has officially launched the second phase of Operation Vulindlela, with spatial inequality, local government and digital transformation at the forefront of the programme's agenda. Established in the aftermath of Covid-19 in October 2020, the joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury was formed with the aim of driving rapid and inclusive economic growth and job creation through structural reforms. The first phase of Operation Vulindlela focused on tackling issues in five areas – energy, logistics, water, telecommunications and the visa system. Need for growth Watch the phase II launch here: Addressing the media during a briefing at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the three new focus areas arose out of the need for growth that serves millions of South Africans who remain unemployed. He said the country also needs growth that improves people's daily lives by fixing the infrastructure that is broken. Spatial inequality 'We will address the apartheid legacy of spatial inequality, which has forced millions of South Africans to live far from economic opportunity,' Ramaphosa said. 'The poorest South Africans spend as much as 40 percent of their income on transport to get to work, more than almost any other country in the world. The structure of our cities has to change to enable people to access work,' he added. The president said this meant changing the country's housing policy to allow people to choose where they want to live through subsidies for home ownership and affordable rentals. ALSO READ: World Bank suggests trade policy reforms for SA – report 'While the millions of homes that we have built since 1994 have given families shelter and dignity on an unprecedented scale, we cannot continue to build houses on the periphery of our cities and towns.' Ramaphosa said the government would accelerate the release of publicly owned land and buildings for affordable housing, with a particular focus on inner cities. In addition, it will clear the backlog of title deeds for affordable housing while making the titling system more accessible and affordable. This, he said, would turn houses into an asset for poor households and enable them to access credit and use the asset to advance themselves. 'Finally, we are going to undertake a comprehensive regulatory review to remove barriers to low-cost housing development and incentivise investment in urban centres as opposed to outlying areas. These reforms will help turn our cities and towns into thriving centres of economic activity.' Improving local government Acknowledging that municipalities are struggling with delivering basic services to homes and businesses, Ramaphosa said the aim of the joint operation is to improve local government's performance. The second area of reform for this phase of Operation Vulindlela is to improve the performance of local government. The agenda is clear, he said, and it starts with improving the delivery of water and electricity services through professional utilities that have the right technical skills, strong regulation and oversight, and full control of their billing and revenue functions. This control would allow them to invest in infrastructure and maintenance. ALSO READ: Economist lauds govt's Operation Vulindlela drive to accelerate structural reform Another key step is to strengthen local government administration by appointing capable, qualified people like municipal managers and chief financial officers, the president said. 'This will be done by extending the mandate of the Public Service Commission to local government and taking action against municipalities that fail to comply with minimum competency standards,' he said. 'National Treasury will review the local government fiscal framework, including the design of conditional grants, to ensure that the revenue of municipalities matches their responsibilities.' Digital transformation Where digital transformation is concerned, Ramaphosa said Cabinet approved a Digital Transformation Roadmap last month to drive the adoption of digital technologies in government and to build digital public infrastructure that can be used by all South Africans. 'This will include a digital identity system, rapid payments to expand financial inclusion, and enabling people to access services like applying for an ID or passport online.' 'Meaningful progress' Giving an update of the five focus areas in the first phase, Ramaphosa said the economy is already starting to reap the benefits of the operation, and changes are attracting private investment. 'I commend in particular the ministers, deputy ministers, directors-general and CEOs that have provided leadership to these efforts,' he said. 'Over the last four years, Operation Vulindlela has become a government-wide initiative. This is meaningful progress, and it will enable higher growth in the years to come.' NOW READ: Steel Federation hopeful Operation Vulindlela will bring change

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