Latest news with #SouthAfricanGovernment
News24
3 days ago
- Business
- News24
18 months for a visitor visa? Here's how long popular tourist visas now take to process in SA
Visa applications are a necessary process for many South African travellers, but delays are jeopardising some travel plans.
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Minister Solly Malatsi welcomes launch of Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of the South African Government
Minister Solly Malatsi welcomes launch of Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of the South African Government The government has launched a plan to modernise the delivery of essential services, aiming to make it easier for citizens to conduct administrative tasks with the state. This initiative is outlined in the Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of Government, which provides a strategic plan for enhancing government services through investment in digital public infrastructure. Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi welcomed the roadmap's launch at the Gallagher Convention Centre on May 12. 'With this roadmap, we are moving from a fragmented past to a unified, people-first, whole-of-government approach,' Malatsi stated. 'This roadmap is more than just a plan to use technology, it is a transformative vision to fundamentally change how citizens interact with their government.' Also read: Government prioritises water and sanitation security at national indaba The roadmap supports the digital transformation pillar of phase two of Operation Vulindlela, which President Cyril Ramaphosa initiated on May 7 this year. It aims to fulfill the Government of National Unity's commitment to inclusive growth, efficient service delivery, and ensuring that all South Africans can access government services. As a flagship initiative of the 7th administration, the roadmap is based on Digital Public Infrastructure principles, focusing on delivering integrated public services safely, securely, and seamlessly. At its core, the roadmap seeks to establish a 'one person, one government, one touch' system – a single, trusted platform that connects citizens to services. Collectively, these initiatives will help us achieve our vision of an inclusive, secure, and people-centred digital government. 'Together, they will demonstrate to the world what we mean by 'one person, one government, one touch.' Our goal is to ensure that citizens have a convenient, cost-effective, reliable, and user-friendly digital experience with government services.' Also read: Ward 80 councillor vows to contest 2026 local government elections The Inter-Departmental Working Group, co-chaired by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and National Treasury, will collaborate with various government departments to implement the initiatives outlined in the roadmap. These initiatives include the rollout of a Digital Identity System for remote identity verification, the creation of a Data Exchange Framework to streamline government processes, the introduction of a Digital Payments System for secure transactions, and a zero-rated Digital Services Platform that allows citizens to access government services without incurring data charges. Read more: State of the City: Johannesburg mayor pledges better services, power for informal areas For ordinary South Africans, this means that tasks such as renewing a driver's licence, applying for social grants, or accessing health records will become simpler, faster, and more affordable. The roadmap is not just about modernising systems, it is about reclaiming people's time, reducing the cost of accessing services, and ensuring that government services operate as efficiently as the best private sector platforms. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We'd love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
19-05-2025
- IOL News
Understanding the surge in SA kidnappings
From the eerie disappearance of journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Mdhluli to the action-packed abduction of US pastor Josh Sullivan, there seems to be vulnerability in our society that is being sorely exploited, says the writer Tswelopele Makoe SOUTH Africa, our society, is being consumed by a mounting and deeply unsettling crisis - one that is easy to overlook, until it reaches your doorstep. Every day, two people are kidnapped in our society. In the last year alone, over 17,000 kidnapping cases were reported by Statista. This amounts to a harrowing 260% increase over the last decade. These astonishing figures do not even encapsulate the whole picture. Rather, they are part of a larger, far more disturbing trend: the rise of disappearances in our society. From the bravest of men to the most delicate children, women, professionals, and so many other ordinary citizens everywhere are being snatched from our streets, never to be seen again. From the eerie disappearance of journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Mdhluli to the action-packed abduction of US pastor Josh Sullivan, there seems to be vulnerability in our society that is being sorely exploited. Very recently, the kidnapping of a Gqeberha shop owner has not only spotlighted the brazenness with which ransom kidnappings are taking place, but also the recurrent threat that they represent to the growth of our economy. Not even a year ago, Gqeberha businessman Calvin Naidoo was abducted in the very same way. This disturbing trend seems to extend beyond ages and locations, with defenceless children being amongst the most affected. This past Tuesday, 11-year-old Jayden Lee's body was traumatically discovered on a staircase at his home. Concurrently, the heart-wrenching case of 6-year-old Joshlin Smith came to a head as the High Court's Western Cape Division officially convicted her mother, Jacquen Rowhan Appollis (alongside Steveno Dumaizio van Rhyn and Racquel Chantel Smith), for the Trafficking and ultimate slavery of the young girl. According to the South African Government, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) revealed that kidnappings reported to the police in South Africa have almost quadrupled over the last decade, amounting to a whopping 260%. A concerning majority of kidnappings involved ransom and extortion tactics, showing an inclination to organised crime. These distressing statistics do not even consider many more of those who remain unreported. Over and above this, the rampant rate of disappearances in our society is not only attested to armed robberies and organized crime syndicates; it is exacerbated by extremely stringent economic conditions that perpetuate crimes such as these. Poverty, crime, joblessness, unequal access, unstable human rights, and many other factors, directly perpetuate this disturbing plague in our society. This is even further compounded by cultural practices that worsen the vulnerability faced by men, women and children at various stages, and that seek to protect necromancers and malicious spiritual healers. Additionally, the role of culture and indigenous heritage was especially spotlighted during the Joshlin Smith trial, where the State's accused-turned-witness, Laurentia Lombard, detailed the horrific details in the hours leading up to the six-year-old's disappearance, admittedly selling the child to a sangoma for R20 000. Hers is not a unique story, as merely a year ago, sangoma Ntombentsha Limbo was apprehended during the kidnapping of a minor child from a mall in Thabong, Free State. Yet as recently as this past Wednesday, a son and mother were snatched from the street and promptly robbed in the Northmead community of Benoni, Gauteng province. Although our post-apartheid democratic society is plagued by rampant economic inequality, institutional instability, political corruptions, and so much more, the increasing precariousness of our society will only seek to cripple our already-fragile back. The increasing spate of disappearances of people from our society, of all ages and ranges, highlights a deplorable trend indeed. The disappearance of people from our society is indicative of an overarching problem of human trafficking and human smuggling. South Africa, facing an unprecedented crisis with its precarious borders, is especially susceptible to exploitation by human trafficking syndicates. This is an even greater concern for young children, many of whom travel extensive distances daily, and who cannot be tracked as easily as adults with digital footprints. What's worse is that human trafficking disproportionately affects women and young girls, at a rate of approximately 70%. A major factor driving human trafficking cases is the job market, where unemployed people everywhere are being lured in for job interviews and then being subsequently human trafficked. Whether it is a young couple getting hijacked on a sunny Sunday afternoon or a group of young school children crossing the park to their respective homes, our society is fast becoming a breeding ground for evil, nefarious deeds. The rate at which people are vanishing in our society is not just a chilling statistic; it is a sobering realisation that everywhere, our daughters, sons, sisters, and mothers' lives are being swallowed by a shadowy underworld thriving on exploitation and silence. This crisis cannot be tackled with reactive policing or short-term campaigns. It demands a serious, coordinated response rooted in swift, effective justice and our constitutional human rights. We need proper mechanisms and training that will allow our law enforcement to tackle missing persons cases seriously from the outset. We need a centralised, transparent, national database that tracks these past and ongoing cases, and utilises the public as a resource to tackle these cases. This will require the collective efforts of all of our communities, schools, institutions, legislative bodies, and civil society. Tackling disappearances across our society will require us to prevent abductions before they occur, and to support the families who are left behind when they do. Above all, we need to confront the conditions that make people easy targets: poverty, inequality, lack of opportunity, and broken trust in public institutions. These are not abstract issues; they are the breeding ground for the crisis we now face. There is something fundamentally wrong when so many people can vanish in a democratic society. It points to a breakdown, not just in public safety, but in the basic fabric of trust and care that holds a nation together. We are watching a crisis unfold in real time, and the danger is not just to individuals or isolated communities. This is a national problem, one that threatens the shared future we've been trying to build since the dawn of democracy in 1994. South Africa is teetering on the edge of a crisis that's expanding at an alarming rate. Our democracy was born from Struggle, with the promise of dignity, safety, and equality for all. If we allow this crisis to continue in silence, we fail that promise. We must take this seriously before we become the kidnapping capital of the world. Because when disappearances become the norm, and when justice becomes rare, we lose more than individuals - we lose faith in the society we're trying to build. * Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender and Social Justice Activist and the Editor at Global South Media Network. She is also an Andrew W. Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
Washington Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump's stance against South Africa is not just about white farmers. It's also about Hamas and Iran
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — U.S. President Donald Trump's claim this week that there is an unreported 'genocide' happening against white farmers in South Africa was his harshest accusation yet against a country he moved to punish over a range of issues soon after returning to office. Trump's criticism has focused mostly on his allegations that South Africa's government is fueling anti-white racism in the majority Black country, leading to the killing of white farmers. That has been denied by the South African government.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
What to know as Trump brings a group of white South Africans to the US as refugees
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The Trump administration brought a small number of white South Africans to the United States as refugees Monday. It says it's the start of a larger relocation effort for members of the minority Afrikaner group who are being persecuted by their Black-led government because of their race. The 59 South Africans had their applications fast-tracked by the U.S. after President Donald Trump announced the relocation program in February. He said Monday that white Afrikaner farmers are facing a 'genocide' in their homeland, an allegation strongly denied by the South African government. The Trump administration has taken an anti-migrant stance, suspending refugee programs and halting arrivals from other parts of the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Refugee groups have questioned why the white South Africans are being prioritized. South Africa says there's no persecution The South African government said the U.S. allegations that Afrikaners are being persecuted are 'completely false,' the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country, and said they are amongst 'the most economically privileged.' Afrikaners are the descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. There are around 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa's population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black. Many in South Africa are puzzled by claims that they are persecuted. Afrikaners are South Africa's largest white group and part of the country's everyday multi-racial life. Many are successful business leaders and some serve in government. Their language, Afrikaans, is widely spoken — including by non-Afrikaners — and is recognized as an official language, and churches and other institutions reflecting Afrikaner culture hold prominence in almost every city and town. Afrikaners were the leaders of the apartheid system of white minority rule that ended in 1994. So what persecution is the U.S. alleging? Farm attacks Trump and his South African-born adviser Elon Musk have accused the South African government of having racist anti-white laws and policies, but the claims of persecution and genocide center on a relatively small number of violent farm attacks and robberies on white people in rural communities. The U.S. alleges those attacks are racially motivated and the South African government is 'fueling' them by allowing anti-white rhetoric in politics and not doing enough to protect Afrikaner communities. The government has condemned the farm attacks, but says their cause is being deliberately mischaracterized. Violent attacks on farm owners in South Africa have been a problem for years but represent a small percentage of the country's extremely high violent crime rates, which affect all races. The government says there is no targeting of white people and farm attacks are part of its struggles with crime. Groups representing farmers have recorded around 50 or less farm homicides a year in the last two years in South Africa. Those figures are set against a total of more than 20,000 homicides a year affecting all races. 'There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans or white Afrikaners in particular,' South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said. 'White farmers get affected by crime just like any other South Africans.' Still, many rural white communities have long expressed fear at the threat of violence and feel attacks against them in home invasions and robberies are especially brutal. 'So, we've essentially extended citizenship to those people ... to escape from that violence and come here,' Trump said. Affirmative action and 'reverse racism' The Trump administration has also criticized South Africa's affirmative action policies as racist against whites and has falsely claimed white South Africans are having their land taken away by the government under a new expropriation law that promotes 'racially discriminatory property confiscation.' No land has been expropriated, but Afrikaners who make up many rural communities have raised fears their land might be targeted. South Africa has laws designed to advance employment opportunities for Blacks, and many white South Africans and white-led political parties have also criticized them and called them racist and counter-productive. Some Afrikaner groups say the employment, land and other laws are designed to specifically limit their opportunities in South Africa in a kind of reverse racism as punishment for Afrikaners' role in apartheid. The government rejects that and says the laws are designed to give Blacks access to jobs and land they were denied under apartheid. Not the only racial minority in South Africa Afrikaners are not the only racial minority in South Africa, and not the only white minority. South Africa also has nearly 2 million white people with British or other heritage. The Trump administration's program initially only referred to Afrikaners. But in new guidelines released by the U.S. Embassy on Monday, applicants for refugee status must be 'of Afrikaner ethnicity or be a member of a racial minority in South Africa.' Other racial minorities include a group of around 5 million with biracial heritage, as well as people with Indian and other south Asian heritage. It's not clear how many South Africans have applied for or been granted refugee status, but U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the administration would welcome more Afrikaners as refugees in the coming months. ___ Associated Press writers Michelle Gumede and Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg contributed to this report. ___ More news on South Africa:
