Update as at 16h30 SAST
Agri SA Wants Agriculture Declared Essential Service
Agri SA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare the agriculture sector an essential service amid the country's worsening power crisis, as farmers who need power to irrigate their crops battle to keep up. Meat and dairy farmers are also struggling.
Agri SA said there would be dire consequences should the electricity cuts continue unabated. This included businesses collapsing, as well as threats to the country's food security, Eyewitness News reports.
State Departments, Public Institutions Owe SIU R1 Billion
The Special Investigating Unit has revealed that state departments and public institutions owe it almost a billion rand in outstanding fees for investigations it’s conducted. Members of Parliament have expressed outrage saying it impacts the fight against corruption, Eyewitness News reports.
Cape Town Wants Control of Policing, Rail, Energy Services
The City of Cape Town has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa on the devolution of a number of competencies - policing, rail and energy - ahead of the State of the Nation Address on February 10, 2023. The city previously wrote a letter to the president early in 2022 requesting full control of operations on energy, policing and rail services.
All Set for SONA - What Will Ramaphosa Say?
Despite three vacancies in the executive and a deputy president who wants out, President Cyril Ramaphosa does not want a Cabinet reshuffle to overshadow his State of the Nation Address (SONA), reports News24. The news website says that Ramaphosa does not want his address, expected to focus on the electricity crisis facing the country, to be overtaken by the political fallout of a Cabinet reshuffle. Instead, Ramaphosa will announce a plan of action for his government for the year ahead. IOL reports that Ramaphosa's reputation has been sullied by the Phala Phala scandal, in which foreign currency was found stashed in furniture at his private game farm, instead of it being declared to the authorities. He has also been unable to deal with the ongoing electricity crisis that has crippled the economy. These are among the reasons some political parties want him gone.
Only 18% of South Africa's 10-Year-Olds Can Read for Meaning - Report
Shocking new research shows that only 18% of South African Grade 4 children can read for meaning, taking the country back to 2011 reading levels, reports News24. South Africa's former deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has issued a dire warning to the government that they are making the same mistake with education as with power utility Eskom. Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "We are in this situation because we didn't invest enough in a generation, therefore we don't have enough energy to transmit and to distribute. Foundation phase (Grade R-3) reading is investing in a generation. If we don't do it now, we won't have enough to transmit and distribute." She was speaking at the launch of the annual Reading Panel report in Stellenbosch. Mlambo-Ngcuka established the panel last year to track whether South Africa will reach the 2030 goal set by Ramaphosa in his 2019 State of the Nation Address.
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Grave of Ladysmith Black Mambazo Founder to Become Monument
Xolani Majozi, the manager of the internationally acclaimed award-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, says that the KwaZulu-Natal Amafa and Research Institute is going to convert the grave of Ladysmith Black Mambazo founder, Joseph Shabalala, into a monument, reports SABCNews. Shabalala passed away on February 11, 2020, at the age of 78. Group members are hosting a number of events in the lead-up to the commemoration of his death. These include a music competition and festival in the town hall, as well as visits to schools where Shabalala was taught. According to News24, Shabalala has a school named after him where children who are studying music and arts will get a chance to meet Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
