
Freedom Charter 70 years on: Land reform, wealth distribution still lagging, says ANC
The African National Congress (ANC) has governed the country since the turn of democracy in 1994.
On Thursday, the party is holding a commemorative event at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto, where the Freedom Charter was adopted during the Congress of the People 70 years ago.
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* Some Kliptown residents say govt has fallen short of Freedom Charter ideals
* Heritage sites associated with Freedom Charter neglected
The Freedom Charter was drawn up as a blueprint for what a democratic South Africa should look like.
A non-racial state, where everyone's vote counts and citizens share in the country's wealth.
The ANC's deputy secretary general, Nomvula Mokonyane, says it has been partly achieved.
'We have touched every clause of the Freedom Charter, boldly we can say South Africans are the beneficiaries of all the clauses, albeit not everything has been touched. The most stubborn is the clause that talks about the economy and the sharing of the wealth.'
Mokonyane says the country's land restitution programme has not been successful, which is why the Expropriation Act was recently signed into law.
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IOL News
39 minutes ago
- IOL News
ANC orders KwaDukuza mayor to repay taxpayers' money
KwaDukuza mayor Ali Ngidi and his deputy Njabulo Cele have been ordered to pay back municipal funds they splurged on luxury vehicles hire which was not approved by the council. Image: Facebook Opposition parties in the embattled KwaDukuza Local Municipality north of KwaZulu-Natal have welcomed the removal of the mayor and his deputy as well as the instruction to pay back all the taxpayers' money that the pair abused while in office. On Wednesday evening, ANC provincial task team coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu summoned the party caucus, where he presented the report and the recommendations of the team that the party had appointed in April to investigate the reported abuse of privileges by both the mayor, Ali Ngidi and his deputy Njabulo Cele. Besides removing the pair from their positions, the ANC also ordered them to pay back the money they splurged on luxury vehicles since assuming office in November without council approval. The report that was presented to council in April showed that from November to February the mayor had spent R497,180,10 while his deputy had spent R527,720,13 which meant the municipality was paying R17,590 on the vehicle hire. Furthermore, the ANC ordered Ngidi to pay for fuel use of the mayoral car which was used to transport his family, particularly his children to school. Ngidi will also have to pay for the security firm that guarded his home- this was also not approved by the council. It was reported that the Durban-based security company was billing the municipality R173,000 for eight guards that were stationed at the mayor's house day and night. It is not clear for how long the company had guarded his home. Reacting to the ANC's announcement on Wednesday, the DA's caucus leader Privi Makhan said her party welcomed the decision, describing it as long overdue. 'The DA in KwaDukuza welcomes the long-overdue removal of former Mayor Ali Ngidi, whose time in office was marked by scandal, arrogance, and a blatant disregard for the people he was elected to serve. Over the last eight months, Mayor Ngidi brought the Office of the Mayor into utter disrepute. Under his watch, service delivery collapsed and basic municipal functions deteriorated while he embarked on a relentless pursuit to support events and vanities designed to boost his personal image,' said Makhan Also weighing in, ActionSA councillor Halalisani Ndlovu said his party was vindicated by the ANC decision that the mayor and his deputy must pay back the money they used illegally. He said his party had been calling for the docking of the mayor and his deputy's salaries because the hiring of luxury vehicles was never approved by the council. 'For now we know they have to pay just over a million for care hire costs and we are still waiting for a full report on the security company costs and mayoral car fuel costs that was used by the mayor's family. I think the mayor alone will pay more than a million,' said Ndlovu. ANC spokesperson Fanle Sibisi said the total costs to be paid by the mayor and his deputy will be determined by the council after proper consolidation.

IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
IRR warns Parliament against expropriating SARB
So extreme is the Bill's threat of expropriation without compensation that even the government and members of the ANC have voiced public opposition to it. The Institute of Race Relations has made written and oral submissions to Parliament in opposition to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Amendment Bill. The Bill, tabled by Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema in 2018, is moving forward to a committee vote on 'desirability'. The IRR warned that it is undesirable, uneconomical, unfunded, unconsidered, and unconstitutional. To start, the Bill expropriates the shareholders of the SARB without compensation, which is a direct violation of constitutionally protected property rights. The shares are worth an estimated R20 million, so no one can seriously claim that the Bill would expropriate these shares without compensation to save the fisc money. Rather, the real purpose of such an exercise is to try to set a precedent that any shares in the country can be expropriated without compensation, including trillions of rands worth of stock and bond securities that depend on SARB's prudent monetary management. So extreme is the Bill's threat of expropriation without compensation that even the government and members of the ANC have voiced public opposition to it. Treasury official Christopher Axelson, representing the government, spoke out at length in opposition to this danger and other dangerous aspects of the Bill before Parliament. Says IRR Fellow Gabriel Crouse: 'The effort to expropriate rural landowners in the hinterland is death to property rights by a thousand cuts. Expropriating SARB shareholders without compensation poses the same threat, only faster, like an atom bomb.' SARB's 802 shareholders make very little money from those shares, with dividends limited to R1,000 per annum, but do get to elect seven of the SARB's 15 directors. This decentralised, minority input provides a public-private engagement mechanism that has helped implement the 'primary object' of the SARB, which is 'to protect the value of the currency', according to the Constitution. SARB is arguably the most successful government institution at hitting its target. Over the last quarter of a century, it has largely succeeded in maintaining inflation within the 3% - 6% target range that was nominated for it by the then-minister of finance back in 2000. Most of South Africa's thousands of other organs of state have, by stark contrast, been riddled with ongoing state capture, often taking them well beyond the point of bankruptcy. Most organisations where the state is the 'sole shareholder' are so badly off that President Cyril Ramaphosa's first, second, and third presidential terms have included repeated calls for 'reform' through 'public-private partnerships' that increase the role of the private sector. So why, in this local environment, would anyone want to make the same overburdened state the 'sole shareholder' of one of the only bastions of excellence, namely SARB? Malema, the Bill's sponsor, leaves no room for mystery about it. Malema openly calls for total nationalisation of the land, banks, and mines, which would be significantly easier if the SARB were captured, and forced to abandon its mandate temporarily by stocking rampant inflation. That sudden loosening of monetary policy would produce what luminary SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago has warned would be a 'deep depression'. It would also create enough chaos to facilitate a deeper round of state capture. Crouse concludes: 'This is a test for the GNU. The MK, EFF, and Action SA signalled support for the Bill in Parliament. If the ANC joins those parties in keeping the Bill alive to spite its investment-friendly GNU partners, this will damage government unity. More importantly, it dangles a threat over everyone's prospects, and the lifesavings of those who have any.' Institute of Race Relations I Joburg


The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
WATCH: Kenny Kunene closes crèche, says homeless foreigners destroying bridge in Joburg CBD
He also lamented the hijacked buildings in the CBD, which are allegedly using illegal electricity and water. Acting Joburg mayor Kenny Kunebne with law enforcement agencies inspect homeless encampments near Braamfontein cemetery in Johannesburg, 2 July 2025, located under Joburg's bridges. Acting City of Johannesburg Mayor Kenny Kunene led an operation targeting buildings allegedly occupied by undocumented immigrants. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen Acting Johannesburg Mayor Kenny Kunene took Operation Kunakisa to the inner city on Wednesday, where he inspected buildings and homeless encampments located under bridges. Accompanied by members of the mayoral committee, Kunene's inspection is part of the mayor's high-impact service delivery programme, which aims to enhance community services. 'The City [of Johannesburg] acknowledges that tackling homelessness requires coordinated efforts from officials, community organisations and residents. This initiative aims to assess living conditions and identify solutions to address homelessness,' said the city in a statement on Wednesday. ALSO READ: Kenny Kunene warned me many moons ago, says Ramaphosa on Joburg CBD Kunene accused the homeless foreigners of destroying some of the bridges in the CBD. 'We went to the bridges today because we heard that the bridge on Smith [street], which has collapsed twice in less than a year, and we went to see the damage that is being caused on the bridges by these illegal foreigners. We also went to the off-ramp of Selby and saw the damage that is being caused. So, it is not only taking jobs from South Africans and hijacking buildings, but they're also destroying the infrastructure of South Africans,' said Kunene. Kunene on hijacked buildings He further lamented the hijacked buildings in the CBD, which are reportedly using illegal electricity and water that is not paid for, and consequently costing the city. 'We're not collecting from over 600 buildings, let alone buildings that are owned by private. We're losing a significant amount of revenue in services, rates, and taxes, as well as electricity and water. There are water leakages, but water is also being redirected illegally to these buildings and houses,' said Kunene. ALSO READ: 'Not very pleasing' – Ramaphosa's tough talk to Gauteng ahead of G20 Summit 'City Power now has a backlog and debt to Eskom, but we can't account for the consumption of electricity because it goes to houses illegally and buildings. We're on this programme this winter to assist City Power so that law-abiding citizens get electricity. Now, people end up not getting electricity because of illegal connections. We're assisting residents in easing and limiting the burden on the power grid by disconnecting these illegal connections.' He said the City's initiative would ultimately save some jobs for South Africans, as foreigners are hired and paid less than minimum wages, in favour of locals. 'Some of these foreign nationals, or most of these illegal foreign nationals, when they come here, they're being paid slave salaries and being treated like slaves. But at the expense of South Africans getting jobs. So, the exercise that we're doing is part of job creation for South Africans.' READ NEXT: Kenny Kunene sends Trump a message over SA meeting 'snub'