Mass funeral for EFF supporters killed in crash
They died in a bus crash on the R34 near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal while returning from a Youth Day rally.
At least 40 others, including the two drivers, were injured.
The SAPS and Road Traffic Management Corporation are investigating the cause of the crash.
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Malema warns new Minister Manamela about department challenges and advises Nkabane to be humble
EFF leader Julius Malema says former Higher Education minister Nobuhle Nkabane must be humble and know that she does not know and be prepared to be guided and be advised by proper people. Image: X / EFF EFF leader Julius Malema on Thursday offered free advice to newly-appointed Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela and his sacked predecessor Nobuhle Nkabane. Responding to questions from journalists at a media briefing in Cape Town, Malema said Manamela should never trust the department's director-general (D-G) Nkosinathi Sishi, whom he described as 'the big problem' in the department. 'He is the one who misleads them. He worked with Blade (Nzimande) that D-G. Blade is disgruntled and bitter about his removal from higher education. He will do anything and everything to undermine whoever is in that institution,' he said. 'Buti must find a way to part ways with that D-G and bring a competent, qualified person who is not Blade Nzimande stooge, if he wants to succeed in that department,' he said. Malema gave the advice days after Manamela replaced Nkabane. Nkabane was axed amid the investigation by the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education into the now-cancelled appointment of chairperson for boards of Sector and Education Authorities (SETAs). She withdrew the appointments of chairpersons for the SETA boards following public outrage after the list of the appointments was leaked. The appointments had included ANC-aligned people that included former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Buyambo Mantashe, son of ANC national chairperson and Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe, among others. Nkabane had told the portfolio committee that an 'independent panel' had made recommendations on the appointment of board chairpersons. However, those she named to have served on 'the independent panel' denied involvement in the work of the panel apart from confirming the appointments to be panellists. Malema described Nkabane's sacking as 'so painful', adding that she was young and had the chance to come back. 'I have seen people demoted politically rework themselves and come back. The first thing she must do is stop chewing gum in a meeting,' Malema said. His reference to chewing gum related to a recent portfolio committee meeting where Nkabane was seen chewing something while being interrogated by MPs. 'She must be humble and know that she does not know and be prepared to be guided and be advised by proper people. Only a person who does not know how government works would have advised what she did.' Malema noted with concern that Nkabane had not used 'the second chance' given to her by the portfolio committee to explain the selection and recommendations made by the 'independent panel' on the appointment of SETA board chairpersons. 'She leaves the committee to go to a gender-based violence (event) of a TVET college when TVET colleges are a responsibility of a deputy minister. Someone from the streets is misleading her. She is listening to someone who has no idea what we deal with here (Parliament). There are certain things you don't do in Parliament. She should have known.' Malema also said Nkabane had not been collegial to 'the protection' in the form of her ANC colleague and committee chairperson, Tebogo Letsie. 'That was extremely girlish. She was not ready to be a minister. She must go to the branch and learn,' he said. [email protected]
IOL News
2 hours ago
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The impact of political appointments on the leadership crisis in the South African Police
A large group of uniformed police officers salute Appointment of national police commissioners based on political affinity, rather than professionalisation is among the caused of the leadership in the South African Police Service, according to experts. Picture: Supplied. Image: Supplied The appointment of individuals with no policing experience as national police commissioners in South Africa is among the causal factors contributing to the leadership crisis within the South African Police Service (SAPS). This was revealed during a recent webinar that looked at the leadership crisis in the SAPS and what should have been done to rectify the situation. It was co-hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CIPLO), and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. At the centre of the discussion was the bombshell dropped by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who accused the police minister and a deputy national commissioner of corruption. The Parliamentary and judicial inquiries, which are about to commence, relate to this crisis and a new police minister who will assume office in August. Gareth Newham, Head of Justice and Violence Prevention at the ISS, said the National Development Plan (NDP) back in 2011 identified a serial crises of the top leadership of the police. The NDP was adopted by the Cabinet in 2012. 'I think the main challenge has been that between the year 2000 and 2017, the people who were appointed as permanent national commissioners of the South African Police Service were not career police officers. 'They were not professional policemen or policewomen who had worked their way up through the ranks, who understood the nature of the challenge of policing in South Africa, had walked in boots, understood the difficulties that the men and women in blue face on a daily basis, what it's like to be in a command situation over a unit or a shift or to run a police station,' Newham said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He added that the individuals who were made national commissioners without being career police officers were appointed primarily, seemingly, because of their personal and political loyalties to whoever was the President of the time. Newham said it is important to leave it up to the police, who are the professionals, to look at the resources they have and come up with operational plans about how to address crime, to structure the organisation correctly, to make sure it has its functions working well and effectively in an efficient manner. 'The post, the National Commission of Police, is operational. They are the head of the department. They are the counting officer. According to the Police Act, they are supposed to give operational direction to the organisation. Whereas the minister, who is provided for in the Constitution, is the political head. 'So, we have elections, the governing party appoints the minister of police, and that police minister gives directives to the police, and primarily should be giving those directives in terms of policy and strategy,' he said. He said that the permanent national police commissioners who were not professional police officers were largely coming to that post with a political lens, their focus was not on what good and necessary for the police and the public. Instead, they focused on what served their political aims, which is actually the job of the minister. 'And this is why you often see conflict between the minister and the National Commissioner. Both are appointed by the president, both believe they are responsible to the president for what they do, and can only be fired by the President. And so that has always led to conflict between the National Commissioner and the police, as seen back then between Riah Phiyega, who conflicted with then Minister Nathi Nhleko. 'We also saw Bheki Cele as the National Commissioner being in conflict as well with Minister Nathi Mthethwa at some point. When Cele became the minister, he was then in conflict with the National Commissioner, Khehla Sitole, and that's where the root of this high-level serial crises, because of course, the commissioner appoints people, and the police minister wants their people in,' Newham said. He added that this has resulted in a lot of mistrust, a lot of working against each other, and a lot of trying to undermine each other. Newham said this is an issue of leadership that promotes a specific ethos that characterises the organisational culture in which the men and women who have to serve the public are invested, take pride in, and are supported to promote. 'We really need to strengthen our (SAPS) internal and external accountability mechanisms, so that when police officers who are engaged in corruption or crime, or various kinds of misconduct, that we can identify them, and if it's corrective counselling they need in order to just guide them on the right path, we do that effectively,' Newham said. Professor Sandy Africa, Research Director of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), said in many cases, there have been appointments made, seemingly based on political affinity, rather than professionalisation. She added that there is an element of managerialism in the SAPS. 'It was assumed for quite a long time that all that was needed were the skills of management. And so you had, for example, former police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who had been quite successful as the director-general in the Department of Foreign Affairs, without policing experience, of course, he had the background of having been in the trenches in the past, in the uMkhonto weSizwe. 'It was assumed that the level of exposure to a kind of security environment, coupled with the managerial experience that had been accumulated over time, would probably be sufficient. And it turned out not to be. And again, and again, in the case of others, it seems to have been a mistake that just repeated itself,' Africa said. She added that even when someone from the private sector was brought in to the SAPS at a senior level (not as a commissioner) for a short period, on the assumption that he would deal with the problems, however, they could not be sorted out. She said over the last couple of years, at the very least, professional police have been given the opportunity. Africa highlighted that it is the problem of the entire public service to assume that managerialism is all that is needed. Asked whether the country was starting to see police officers, defence officials, actually entering the political sphere, she said what's happening at the moment shouldn't be misdiagnosed. 'I think this is, in fact, symptomatic of the high levels of trust or mistrust, and the kind of breakdown. So, all I am seeing is the fact that there's conflict between senior officials and within the departments, between the ministers and senior officials, and sometimes even between ministers, as you saw, in the July 2021 unrest, where even the ministers were at loggerheads with each other. 'The conditions actually are, I suppose, such that with the breakdown of authority, of trust, of systems, it's enterprising that these pronouncements are made, just because the very senior officials don't seem to trust them sufficiently, and I think this is the crisis that we are facing,' Africa said. Cardinal Stephen Brislin, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, said we are so used to having these sorts of scandals that there is a danger that is not taken seriously enough. 'The police services are there for the protection of people to protect their rights, to protect life itself, to protect resources, and to give recourse for people to justice, so that people may access justice. And when there is a breakdown, as has been alleged, this really breaks the very fabric of society,' he said. 'There are many good men and women in the police services, and we truly appreciate what they do and the integrity they have, but we also appreciate the suffering and the pain that they must be going through because of all this turmoil within the security forces,' he said. 'In this case, it is just very, very important that we know what the findings of the commission are. This investigator Commission, which we understand how they assess the allegations and who is implicated in any wrongdoing. And we also need to see action being taken about this. It cannot just be left to dwindle and nothing actually happens because that will simply ensure that the problems will continue into the future and that things will deteriorate even further,' Brislin said. He added that the church can become a very important voice in this process, together with other organisations and civil society.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Julius Malema: MK Party won't affect EFF support among progressive South Africans
EFF leader Julius Malema told the media in Cape Town that the Red Berets will only be reduced among tribalists, not among progressive South Africans. Image: Ayana Ndamane / Independent Newspapers EFF leader Julius Malema said on Thursday the MK Party, which is the third largest in Parliament, would not reduce its support base despite being relegated to fourth place after the 2024 elections. 'There is no MK that is going to reduce us. It will reduce us among tribalists, not among progressive South Africans,' Malema told the media during a briefing in Cape Town ahead of the party's anniversary celebrations on Saturday. 'There is no MK that can replace us ideologically, politically, and otherwise. You saw yesterday in Parliament, a mess in action,' he said. He was referring to the flip-flopping made by MK Party chief whip Colleen Makhubele during the vote on the Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly. Makhubele voted in support of the Bill only to change their vote, claiming she mistook it for the Ad Hoc Committee that was established to probe the serious allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Malema expressed his shock that Makhubele had not corrected herself when she was allowed to do so by Parliament's House chairperson Cedric Frolick, but 'she says we vote in support'. He also noted that Makhubele had 'thrown her toys' when Frolick did not recognise her, instead of EFF MP Omphile Maotwe, when there was an opportunity to object and call for a division when the schedule of budgets of the department was voted. 'The TG (treasurer-general Omphile Maotwe) said 'we are going against and called for a division'. She threw her toys. The issue was much bigger than emotions. When they objected and called for division, we supported them,' he said. 'She behaved like she was not a leader and threw toys,' Malema added. He also said the EFF has proven to be an effective opposition party in Parliament. Malema also said his party was making huge inroads in the Western Cape ahead of the 2026 local government elections. He said the Western Cape was one of the provinces where the Red Berets increased the number of votes during the May 2024 general elections. 'Research shows that the EFF is to have huge increases in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. We are here to consolidate the ground because this is where we want to grow,' he claimed. Explaining the Western Cape as the host of their 12th anniversary celebrations, Malema said the province had never hosted their anniversaries. 'We were told the season is not good, it's rainy and windy. We have had to take a bold decision that we can't have a province in the history of our organisation, which has never hosted the national celebrations of the EFF, because we are a national organisation.' The EFF national leaders moved the anniversary celebrations from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape following the devastating floods that displaced people and left communities in mourning. 'The EFF made the responsible decision to relocate the venue out of respect and solidarity with those affected.' He also said the choice of Khayelitsha as a venue was significant because it is the second largest township and home to thousands of poor and working-class Africans who lived under the weight of special apartheid and deliberate under-development. 'Khayelitsha remains physically and economically separated from the so-called World Class parts of Cape Town. When the DA-led city speaks of this smart city, they are not referring to Khayelitsha. They are referring to the wide enclaves of Sea Point, Claremont, Constantia, and Stellenbosch, while the people of Khayelitsha are left to swim in poverty, crime, poor sanitation, overcrowding, and the lack of basic housing.' Malema said they have erected a dome with a capacity to accommodate 10,000 people as the main venue for the rally. 'This structure includes all essential amenities, including sanitation facilities, and will be ready to host thousands of Fighters, supporters, and community members. 'We expect a powerful turnout from surrounding areas, including side B, Site C, TR Section, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Delft, and Belhar.'
