Latest news with #HermanMashaba
eNCA
3 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
ActionSA believes new Tshwane budget will turn things around
TSHWANE - ActionSA has welcomed the passing of the Tshwane Budget for 2025/2026. The party says it's a victory for the metro's residents. READ: Service delivery | City of Cape Town confirms lack of services since 2021 relocations There's been push back though, with the DA rejecting the budget, claiming residents are being used as cash cows. ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba had a discussion with eNCA's Gareth Edwards.
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Mashaba slams tertiary institutions for hiring foreign academics
Herman Mashaba says prioritising foreign academics over locals undermines immigration laws and worsens youth unemployment. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has joined the chorus condemning tertiary institutions appointing foreign academics over locals. It's a 'reckless disregard for immigration controls', which brought much suffering among vulnerable South Africans who bore the brunt of porous borders, he said of the statement by Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, which seemingly supported the continued appointment of foreign academics at the expense of locals at SA universities and TVET colleges. Mashaba, as the mayor of the City of Joburg, opposed the flooding of undocumented and illegal immigrants, while he clearly stated that he welcomed those who were in the country legally. 'Employ locals in teaching institutions' – Mashaba But some ANC members in the municipality and top leaders in government accused him of being xenophobic. Mashaba said over time, the consequences of the lack of immigration control have escalated, with higher levels of employment under threat due to unfair competition and foreign dominance in critical sectors 'The result is what we face today: uncontrolled immigration that has created unfair competition for basic services and economic opportunities between South Africans and many foreign nationals, who should never have been permitted to remain in the country in the first place.' ALSO READ: WATCH: ActionSA will negotiate in the best interests of people if party joins GNU, Mashaba says 'It is no secret that South Africa suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Millions of our citizens, many of them young graduates, are unable to find work. 'In this context, prioritising the employment of South African academics within our universities is not only reasonable, but essential. 'These institutions have a constitutional and ethical obligation to uplift South Africans by providing opportunities for them to contribute their skills and expertise,' Mashaba said. Attempt to meet affirmative action and employment equity requirements Since 1994, the employment of foreigners, particularly from other African states, has intensified as institutions attempted to meet affirmative action and employment equity requirements. This continued even after former higher education minister Blade Nzimande introduced a special programme to train and promote local black academics, particularly black professors. During a recent discussion of the parliamentary committee on higher education, Ashley Sauls from the Patriotic Alliance publicly humiliated the leadership of the Bloemfontein-based Central University of Technology when he vigorously questioned them for hiring a foreign candidate as a dean of faculty, when a local candidate who was more qualified with a PhD degree was overlooked. NOW READ: WATCH: Has 300 years passed? Mashaba says he'll accept Cabinet post if Ramaphosa asks
News24
19-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Mzansi celebrates as controversial Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso finally deported
A mix of emotions has greeted the news of self-proclaimed man of God, Timothy Omotoso's deportation from South Africa. With some hailing it as a relief and a sense of closure, while others highlight the failure of the justice system to hold him accountable for his alleged crimes. Read more | From acquittal to arrest: Televangelist Omotoso detained on immigration charges Timothy Omotoso, the Nigerian pastor and televangelist, has been deported from South Africa after a lengthy legal battle. Omotoso was acquitted of 32 serious charges in April 2025. Despite his acquittal, the Department of Home Affairs declared him a prohibited person, stating his continued stay in the country as unlawful leading to his arrest in East London on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Omotoso then appeared in East London Magistrate's Court - May 12, 2025, where he chose to be deported instead of contesting the Department of Home Affairs' decision and left South Africa from OR Tambo International Airport as broadcasted live by eNCA. His deportation has been welcomed by ActionSA, which is further calling for a lifetime ban and not just five years. The party's president, Herman Mashaba, in a press statement, stated that foreign nationals who commit crime in South Africa should face severe sentences and eventual deportation. 'Today, we welcome his deportation from South Africa and hope he never returns to a country whose people and laws he held in contempt. The same fate should befall anyone who either enters our country through fraudulent means or commits crime once here. While our call for harsh punishment against criminals is not limited to foreign nationals, we particularly advocate for severe sentences and eventual deportation in such cases. It is high time South Africa ceased to be seen as a haven for criminality.' Omotoso's acquittal and deportation without facing any serious consequences and justice not prevailing has sparked widespread public outrage, with many describing it as a miscarriage of justice. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced its intention to appeal the acquittal despite him being deported.
News24
15-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Mpumalanga legislature ‘undermined' as MECs refuse to answer questions, says ActionSA
ActionSA has accused Mpumalanga MECs of failing to respond to written questions for months, undermining legislative oversight. Thoko Mashiane says the departments of education and community safety are the worst offenders. The party has written to speaker Linda Masina demanding urgent intervention. Herman Mashaba's party, ActionSA, has raised alarm over what it describes as a 'systemic and deliberate erosion' of accountability in the Mpumalanga provincial legislature, where MECs are reportedly failing to respond to written questions - some going unanswered for more than three months. The party raised the issue during a sitting this week, saying this persistent non-compliance was undermining the legislature's constitutional mandate and weakening public trust in the province's democratic institutions. ActionSA Mpumalanga chairperson and MPL Thoko Mashiane, told City Press that the situation had reached a crisis point. 'There are several troubling examples,' Mashiane explained. 'In one case, a written question submitted to the department of community safety regarding the Lebombo border post and illegal immigration has gone unanswered. Similarly, our question submitted to the MEC of education was partially responded to during the sitting. The MEC committed to furnish us with a written response and to this day, we have not received those responses despite a follow-up letter.' 'These are not isolated cases. Numerous questions across departments have experienced extended delays, despite reminders and follow-ups,' she added. MECS 'REFUSING TO ACCOUNT' Mashiane accused the MECs of blatantly disregarding the legislature's oversight role and warned that this conduct was 'a direct insult to the principles of transparency and good governance'. 'In some cases, questions have gone unanswered for more than three months. This is a dereliction of duty and must not be normalised,' she said. 'The frequency with which the MECs promise to submit written replies during oral sessions, only to never follow through, is eroding public trust.' Mashiane singled out the departments of education and community safety, security and liaison as the worst offenders. The MECs responsible for these portfolios have repeatedly failed to provide written responses. It is also frequently promised during oral question sessions to reply in writing but these commitments are never followed through. This trend is especially concerning given the critical nature of these departments to service delivery and the welfare of residents in Mpumalanga. Thoko Mashiane Mashiane warned that the legislature's ability to perform its core function - oversight - was being hollowed out. 'As an MPL, when questions go unanswered, it limits our capacity to monitor how public funds are being used, how departments are performing and whether promises made to the public are being kept,' she said. 'We are essentially legislating and debating in the dark, which is an unacceptable state of affairs in a constitutional democracy.' The inaction, she added, sent a dangerous message: that the MECs are above scrutiny and not answerable to the legislature or the public. A CULTURE OF IMPUNITY? Asked whether this trend reflected something more systemic, Mashiane was blunt: 'We are increasingly convinced that this reflects a broader culture of impunity within the provincial executive. 'The repeated failures across multiple departments and the lack of consequences suggest that this is not simply an issue of administrative delay or isolated non-compliance. It appears to be a systemic issue, with the executive members acting as though they are not answerable to the legislature or, by extension, the people of Mpumalanga. This culture must be challenged decisively if we are to restore integrity to governance in the province. Thoko Mashiane SPEAKER URGED TO INTERVENE On Wednesday, ActionSA submitted a formal letter to the speaker, Linda Masina, urging her office to take 'urgent and decisive measures' to compel the MECs to comply with their constitutional obligations. 'There is a persistent refusal by the MECs to honour their obligation to respond to questions, which undermines the constitutional mandate of this legislature to exercise oversight,' reads the letter signed by Mashiane. 'This conduct is eroding public confidence in the work of the legislature and diminishes the integrity of our democratic institutions.' The letter proposed three measures: Stricter timeframes for replies to written questions, with regular compliance reporting; Sanctions or disciplinary action against the MECs who repeatedly fail to respond without a valid reason; and Public disclosure of unanswered questions and delays to respond, to allow civil society and media to hold the executive accountable. While ActionSA awaited the speaker's response, the party was considering escalating the matter. 'Yes, we are actively looking at taking this to the National Council of Provinces. This is now a national concern. The failure of the provincial oversight mechanisms cannot go unchecked,' said Mashiane. The party had not ruled out tabling a motion to force debate and visibility on the issue. 'We remain resolute in ensuring that the legislature's constitutional oversight role is respected and enforced. Transparency and consequences are the only way to compel compliance.'
IOL News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
'If they were white, they would've been rescued': Mashaba slams government inaction over Lily Mine tragedy
Herman Mashaba, leader of ActionSA, has issued a scathing condemnation of the South African government's handling of the Lily Mine tragedy, asserting that racial bias plays a role in the prolonged delay in retrieving the remains of three miners trapped 90 metres underground since 2016. A Call for Urgency and Justice During a segment on Power FM last night, Mashaba made an emotional appeal to Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to take urgent action. 'It's heartbreaking to think of the families who have been waiting for their loved ones' remains for almost nine years,' he said. 'If those miners were of the white race, the container holding their bodies would have been removed long ago. The government would have mobilised every resource to rescue them, and the media would have been shouting from rooftops.' Mashaba's words underscore a perception of racial disparity in the government's response, a sentiment that has gained momentum among affected families and the public. 'It's a tragedy that, despite the government's claims of progress and development, they have failed to act on this matter,' he added. 'We have spent over R4 million on legal costs trying to seek justice for these families, yet no meaningful action has been taken as the bodies are still trapped underground.'
