Cape Town —  

ANC Mpumalanga Conference  Closes, President Ramaphosa Warns 'House Is on Fire'

The ANC's 13th Mpumalanga provincial conference took place this past weekend, to elect new leadership for the province. President Cyril Ramaphosa warned of deep divisions within the province, describing it as a "house on fire". President Ramaphosa also urged delegates to reconsider their decision to elect Mandla Msibi as provincial treasurer. Msibi is accused of murder and attempted murder and it appears that the ANC has not applied the step-aside rule. However when the newly-elected Mpumalanga leadership was introduced, Msibi was notably absent. The president also warned that the ANC stands to lose the 2024 general elections if  members continued to fight over power and access to resources, to serve personal interests.

Black Coffee Wins First Grammy Award!

The South African DJ and producer won in the category Best Dance/Electronic Album for Subconsciously at the 64th annual Grammy Awards last night. In a post win interview Black Coffee gave a special shout out to "the African kids who are watching who come from where I come from who think they don't have a chance."

SACP Wants R350 Grant Made Permanent to Fight Unemployment

The South African Communist Party is calling on the government to extend the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant, implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist the unemployed. General-Secretary Blade Nzimande in his media address, urged the government to consider continuing with the  Social Relief of Distress (SRD). Nzimande said  that instead of the government ending the SRD  at the end of June 2022, it should maintain it and consider improving it gradually towards a universal basic income grant. He said that this is what the continuing unemployment crisis calls for.