by SABC NEWS | Oct 15, 2024 | News
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for urgent intervention to address public safety concerns and the social and economic challenges caused by the expansion of informal settlements near highways, intersections and schools in Gauteng.
The DA says numerous complaints have been received from motorists and residents regarding rising crime in areas like Clay Oven and Ginger Farm in Paulshof in northern Johannesburg.
Some reports allege that residents intentionally damage traffic lights to control traffic and solicit donations from passing motorists.
DA Gauteng spokesperson for Community Safety, Michael Sun, says, “What might appear as an issue of housing is, in reality, being exploited by criminals. These makeshift settlements provide ideal hideouts for those who commit crime, allowing them to strike at nearby targets and retreat swiftly into the maze of shacks.”
“Some of these informal dwellers deliberately damage traffic lights to direct traffic themselves, soliciting donations of money and food from passing motorists. The DA demands that the Department of Community Safety, led by Premier [Panyaza] Lesufi, and relevant law enforcement agencies act on these criminals who are making life hard for motorists and learners,” adds Sun.
SA informal settlements crisis:
Story by: Nonhlanhla Nsthingila
by SABC NEWS | Oct 15, 2024 | News
ActionSA in Parliament has vowed not to let the Phala Phala matter go, without a formal prosecution taking place.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last week announced that it is not going to prosecute anyone over the Phala Phala case, stemming from the criminal complaint laid by the former head of the State Security Agency, Arthur Fraser, in 2022.
ActionSA leader in Parliament Athol Trollip says the matter has to be ventilated through the criminal justice process.
“As for Phala Phala, it is not going to be switched under the couch. The NPA might believe that there is no prima facie case, but we believe there is a prima facie case. For example, if you and I we were found with 580 000 dollars in our house, in a couch, we will have to answer to the court of law because that is a criminal offence in itself,” adds Trollip.
“Where the money came from, that’s another matter. Where the money went to, that’s another matter. How do they try to follow and get that money back, that’s another matter. The fact of the matter is that there is a contravention of the foreign exchange act in this country and the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] must come and account. Simple as that,” he explains.
by SABC NEWS | Oct 15, 2024 | News
African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged party members to use the government of national unity (GNU) to advance its future electoral fortunes.
He was addressing hundreds of party members at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on the achievements of the government of national unity after 100 days.
Only alliance partner the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) attended.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) staged a boycott.
Ramaphosa says ANC members should see the GNU as an opportunity to strengthen the party and ensure it once again appeals to people of South Africa.
“Comrades, this is a moment that we should use to increase the standing of the ANC. This is the moment that we should use to ensure that the ANC continues to lead society. The people of SA still love the ANC.”
“We should use this moment of the GNU to strengthen the ANC, to rebuild our branches from the bottom. So that the ANC must go back to its original seat of governing this country,” adds Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has urged South Africans not to judge the GNU on its political orientation but on the work it has done to change their lives for the better.
The ANC President cited what he calls the marked improvement in investor confidence and reduction of load shedding as some of the achievements of the GNU.
He says South Africans should be patient with the GNU and judge it fairly.
“The GNU should not be judged by the political orientation that constitute it but it must be judged by the impact it has on the lives of the people of South Africa,” explains Ramaphosa.
by SABC NEWS | Oct 14, 2024 | News
African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa says the Government of National Unity (GNU) remains focused on transforming the economy so that South Africa manufactures goods instead of exporting its raw materials.
He was speaking at Luthuli House in Johannesburg as the country marks the first 100 days of the GNU.
Ramaphosa says the ANC wants to see international investment in the productive side of the economy, especially the beneficiation of raw materials into finished products.
The ANC leader says South Africa should export finished goods to Africa and other parts of the world, stressing that the party will continue to lead the ‘fundamental transformation of society’ even as it takes part in the GNU.
Ramaphosa says the ANC had to face a new reality when it failed to obtain an outright majority in the national elections.
He says the party has always taken the lead and its decision to participate in a GNU was another act of leadership.
by SABC NEWS | Oct 14, 2024 | News
ActionSA says it will pressure President Cyril Ramaphosa when he appears in Parliament later this week to demand accountability from Justice Minister Thembi Simelane.
The party was briefing the media on how it fared in the 100 days as one of the newcomers in the 7th Parliament.
ActionSA says it won fewer seats than it had anticipated after the May general elections. However, it says it has more compared to others who have been in Parliament for years, adding that it will use President Cyril Ramaphosa’s oral question session on Thursday to ask about Justice Minister Thembi Simelane and her VBS loan.
“There will be an opportunity to take up all the issues, all the correspondence, every comment we have made, the charges that we have laid the letters to the public protector, the letter to the speaker. We will be raising all those issues and the fact that there has been radio silence from all the people in this regard,” says ActionSA’s Parliamentary Leader, Athol Trollip.
The party also says it’s not going to let the Phala Phala farm scandal rest because it believes that there is a prima facie case, despite the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) saying it won’t prosecute.
“If you or I were found with 580 dollars in our couch, we would have to answer in a court of law because that is a criminal offence in itself. Where the money came from, that’s another matter; where the money went to that’s another matter; and how they get it back that’s another matter. There’s contravention of the foreign exchange matter and the president must account for that,” Trollip adds.
Regarding recent developments in the City of Tshwane, the party says it is about protecting itself.
“We are now completely independent. The voters out there are aware that ActionSA is actually a totally independent political party. It’s not aligned with any other party. We will always act in the interest of the people of SA and protect our own political party,” says ActionSA Leader Herman Mashaba.
The party also says it has written to Parliament’s Joint Constitutional Review Committee, calling for reforms to bar compromised people from becoming members of Parliament.
Video: ActionSA is briefing the media in Parliament
