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IOL News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
'They just sat there': Fury as Trump slammed SA and ministers failed to defend the country
Parks Tau, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Ronald Lamola seen quietly observing as former US President Donald Trump criticises South Africa's land policies Social media users have labelled Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola, and Trade Minister Parks Tau as 'useless' for remaining silent during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Critics slammed the trio for failing to speak up on key issues affecting South Africa. The South African delegation to the United States included a mix of political, business, and public figures including, Democratic Alliance leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen; professional golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen; Richemont founder and Remgro chair Johann Rupert; Business Unity South Africa Vice President Adrian Gore; and Congress of South African Trade Unions President Zingiswa Losi. A central point of contention during the meeting was the controversial topic of land expropriation. Trump delivered a sharp critique of South Africa's land policies, alleging the targeting of white Afrikaner farmers. 'We have thousands of people trying to come into our country because they fear they are going to be killed, and their land is going to be confiscated,' Trump said. 'You are taking people's land away, and those people, in many cases, are being executed. They happen to be white, and most of them happen to be farmers.' President Cyril Ramaphosa responded firmly, emphasising that South Africa's Constitution protects land ownership while seeking to address historical injustices. 'The South African Constitution protects land ownership,' Ramaphosa said. 'And we are seeking to address the injustices of the past within the rule of law.' While Ramaphosa spoke, Ntshavheni, Lamola, and Tau remained silent, looking at each other, smiling, and simply watching.
IOL News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Drakensberg Secondary School concerns escalated
In January, allegations surfaced of a Muslim teacher forcing Hindu pupils to remove their red Lakshmi prayer strings at the school. Last month, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education concluded its investigation into allegations of religious intolerance and exonerated both the principal and a teacher. THE Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights (CRL) Rights Commission has escalated concerns over religious intolerance at Drakensberg Secondary School to the Minister of Education, following an investigation that cleared the principal and a teacher of wrongdoing. Last month, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZN DoE) concluded its investigation into the allegations and exonerated both the principal and a teacher. When the incident first came to light, Professor Brij Maharaj, the Deputy President of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, said they had escalated the complaints relating to religious intolerance at some schools, especially prejudice towards Hindu pupils and teachers, to the CRL Rights Commission. This, he said, was done on January 24. 'The maha sabha maintained that such actions were insensitive and irresponsible. A critical focus of the CRL is to ensure that 'persons belonging to a religious or linguistic community may not be denied the right to enjoy their culture and practice their religion,' which is entrenched in the South African Constitution. 'It is pleasing to note that on Monday, the CRL informed the South African Hindu Maha Sabha that these complaints had been escalated to the minister of education. More specifically, the CRL is requesting a meeting with the minister of education with a view to a resolution,' said Maharaj. Maharaj said all schools should practice religious tolerance. 'The maha sabha is requesting that the Minister of Education issue a national notice to all public and private schools informing and requesting all educators in South Africa to be aware of the religious significance of the items worn by Hindus, to be sensitive to the multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity in our country, in order to proactively prevent any unpleasant incidents and negative publicity,' said Maharaj. Mpiyakhe Mkholo, the senior communication manager at the CRL Rights Commission, said: "We are in the process of writing to the minister of education. Once we receive feedback, we will contact the affected parties and find a way forward." THE POST
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The South African
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The South African
SA confirms citizenship of 49 Afrikaners [video]
Watch the full version of the ' Are 49 Afrikaner 'refugees' still South African citizens?' article – in a minute. A group of 49 South African/Afrikaners 'refugees' who recently resettled in the United States has sparked debate over their citizenship status. According to immigration lawyer Chris Watters, these individuals cannot be deprived of their South African citizenship despite their decision to leave the country. 'By definition, they are fleeing because they cannot get protection from the South African government (or the government refuses to give them protection) regarding the [supposed] serious harm they face in South Africa,' Watters said to TimesLive . He added that this created a paradox. Watters pointed to a recent Constitutional Court ruling on dual citizenship, confirming that no South African may be deprived of citizenship. Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola's spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, supports this view, confirming that Section 20 of the South African Constitution protects citizens from being deprived of citizenship. Looking for quick updates? Watch News in a Minute videos on The South African's YouTube page for all the key stories you need to know! Catch all the latest videos on news, lifestyle, travel, sports and more – there's always something to watch! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky to stay connected and get your news on the go!
The South African
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The South African
DIRCO confirms 49 Afrikaners who fled to US remain SA citizens
A group of 49 South African refugees recently relocated to the United States has sparked debate over their citizenship status. According to immigration lawyer Chris Watters, these individuals cannot be deprived of their South African citizenship despite their decision to leave the country. 'By definition, they are fleeing because they cannot get protection from the South African government (or the government refuses to give them protection) regarding the serious harm they face in South Africa,' Watters said to TimesLive . He added that this creates a paradox: 'They cannot have it both ways,' highlighting that seeking refugee status in the US implies a need for protection from harm in South Africa, yet they may still require consular assistance from the South African government as citizens. Watters pointed to a recent Constitutional Court ruling on dual citizenship, confirming that no South African may be deprived of citizenship. DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri supports this view, confirming that Section 20 of the South African Constitution protects citizens from being deprived of citizenship. However, Watters noted that if they returned to South Africa, they would likely have to abandon their refugee status. He added that once the parents naturalise as US citizens, their children would automatically become US citizens. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. South African authorities argue that white Afrikaners, as a group, do not meet this threshold, a stance echoed by International Relations and Co-operation Minister Ronald Lamola. Lamola stated that the group doesn't fit the international definition of refugees, citing a lack of persecution of white Afrikaners. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Ending hunger: A call for legislative action on food waste in South Africa
To be successful in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in South Africa, the broadest possible consultation will be required across the food system, including with farmers and agri-business food manufacturers, retailers, the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector and, crucially, the government. The commitment by Gauteng Department of Agriculture MEC Vuyiswa Ramakgopa to ending hunger in Gauteng — and in South Africa as a whole — is most encouraging. Her 'Ending Hunger Symposium' held in early April 2025 was a powerful show of her genuine interest in collaboration among all the many civil society and government organisations that are fighting the hunger crisis in South Africa. The Union Against Hunger (UAH), a recently launched movement that aims to pull together the efforts of the myriad organisations and individuals fighting to end hunger, along with FoodForward South Africa and SA Harvest, are committed to working closely with Ramakgopa and her department to build this collaborative effort. FoodForward SA, South Africa's largest food redistribution organisation, understands that, since food insecurity and malnutrition affects millions of vulnerable households each month, addressing these challenges requires the combination of systemic intervention involving the government, the private sector, and civil society. The right to food The foundation of the right to food in South Africa is the enshrinement of that right in the South African Constitution. Broadly speaking, section 27(1) (b) of the Bill of Rights states that everyone living in South Africa has the right to enough food and water, while Section 28(1)(c) states that every child has the right to basic nutrition. It is abundantly clear that the government has failed in its responsibility to honour its obligations in relation to the right to food. It is unacceptable that in our country, which produces more than enough food to feed all its people, more than 29% of our children up to the age of five are stunted as a result of severe acute malnutrition; up to 20 million South Africans are on a spectrum of severe food vulnerability ranging from running out of money to feed their families at some point during the month, to millions of children going to sleep hungry every night. Up to 65% of South African women and about 40% of men are overweight or obese because of the general unaffordability of nutritious foods. The government must urgently set in motion the realisation of its constitutional obligations with respect to sections 27 and 28. This demand is also expressed constitutionally: Section 7(2) of the Constitution imposes an obligation on the state to 'respect, protect, promote and fulfil' all rights in the Bill of Rights, which obviously includes the right to food. Make dumping edible food illegal — a low-hanging solution It is globally accepted that legislation concerning various aspects of the food ecosystem would make a massive — and relatively quick — difference to ending hunger in South Africa, and the place to begin is by making the dumping of edible food illegal, a measure that has precedent, and has achieved great success in countries such as Italy and France. One-third of food produced in South Africa — ten million tons — goes to waste each year. This is equivalent of 40 billion meals, in a context where 20 billion meals are needed to feed all of South Africa's hungry people three meals a day for a year. It is difficult to estimate the quantum of food that is currently being saved from the food chain but, suffice it to say that if legislation increased the food saved from going to landfill by just 5% per annum, two billion additional nutritious meals per annum would become available. Legislation and incentive schemes to reduce food waste have made a palpable difference globally. One well known example is France's 2016 'Garot Law' , which mandates, inter alia, that unsold food products from retail stores that are still safe for consumption must be donated rather than discarded. This includes measures such as that supermarkets larger than 400 square metres are required to sign agreements with food redistribution organisations to donate unsold food, and that supermarkets are obliged to keep records of their food donations and provide annual reports on the amount of food wasted and donated (tax incentives or penalties apply). If a similar law were legislated in South Africa, farmers, manufacturers and retailers would be obliged (by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, which is responsible for drafting the current food waste reduction policy) to make agreements with food redistribution organisations (e.g. SA Harvest and Food Forward SA). This would ensure that the cost of handling and transporting donated food was not a barrier for redistribution organisations, and that tax incentives were provided for farmers, manufacturers and retailers. These incentives would include reductions in their income tax based on the value of the food donations they have made. In South Africa, in addition to the mandates such as those included in the Garot Law, two key actions that we believe are required. First, a Food Donations Bill that, inter alia, relaxes the often over-strict safety liability of food donors and redistribution organisations and clarifies date marking ('sell by' dates), which can be misleading, as they often suggest a much shorter 'safety' window for a product), which severely hampers the quantum of food that can be donated by food producers. Second, a Food Donations Bill should revise the front-of-pack labelling guidelines issued by the health department, encouraging the donation of food that has passed its 'best before' date. (Editor's note: draft new front-of-pack labelling guidelines have been under review for more than two years.) Rescued food Since the Garot Law was passed in 2016, according to independent research carried out for SA Harvest, the law has been effective in increasing the amount of food rescued by nearly 28% (from 36-million to 46-million kilogrammes) in its first two years. Ultimately, to be successful in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in South Africa, the broadest possible consultation will be required across the food system, including with farmers and agri-business food manufacturers, retailers, the non-profit organisation sector and, crucially, the government. Critical to this process is that the government creates a Food and Nutrition Security Council (which has been promised since 2018) in order to (1) onboard strategic partners (2) strategically carve out an approach to solutions, and (3) develop key performance indicators and metrics, as well as define who will be responsible for measuring success, and for reporting on the council's actions and progress. As Dr Tracy Ledger, who leads the Just Transition programme at the Public Affairs Research Institute and is one of South Africa's leading food activists, asks: 'Why is it that food prices are so high that millions of South African families go hungry, while the prices paid to farmers for the same food are so low that many cannot stay in business? Why are the people who produce our food — farmworkers — among the most insecure of all? Why do high levels of rural poverty persist while corporate profits in the food sector keep rising? How did a country with enough food for all and a constitutional right to food become a place where more than one in four children is malnourished and classified as stunted?' Obtaining the answers to these questions is what Ramakgopa has set in motion. 'We will find the answers through a collaborative effort, and we will ensure that, based on these answers, we will implement the appropriate actions,' she said. 'After all, quality research and market intelligence are worth nothing without action, and I am dedicated to showing that genuine care, in the case of our people, is a 'doing' word.' DM
