Top 10 stories of the day: Budget 3.0 date confirmed
News today includes Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirming that a new national budget will be presented in parliament on 21 May.
Meanwhile, Advocate Dali Mpofu has dismissed the misconduct charges against him as 'nonsensical' following the postponement of his disciplinary inquiry before the Legal Practice Council.
Furthermore, Afrikaans TV content sees a decline while state broadcaster SABC struggles to pay for the productions.
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Budget 3.0 to be tabled on 21 May — Godongwana confirms
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has confirmed that a new national budget will be presented in parliament on 21 May.
The decision to introduce a revised budget comes in the wake of government's move to abandon the plan by the National Treasury to increase the value-added tax (VAT).
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Picture: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais
The original proposal aimed to raise VAT by 0.5% starting on 1 May 2025, followed by an additional 0.5% hike in the 2026/2027 financial year.
The plan was intended to bolster government revenue, but it faced significant public and political resistance due to concerns over the potential impact on the cost of living and economic inequality.
CONTINUE READING: Budget 3.0 to be tabled on 21 May — Godongwana confirms
'They should be embarrassed': Mpofu slams charges as disciplinary hearing postponed
Advocate Dali Mpofu has dismissed the misconduct charges against him as 'nonsensical' following the postponement of his disciplinary inquiry before the Legal Practice Council (LPC).
The legal practitioner was scheduled to appear on Wednesday before an independent disciplinary committee at the LPC's offices in Pretoria.
Advocate Dali Mpofu at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on 20 March 2024. Picture: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart
Mpofu faced seven charges of misconduct, including matters involving former public protector Thuli Madonsela and Chief Justice Mandisa Maya.
Speaking to the media after the postponement, Mpofu described the inquiry as 'a mighty waste of our time'.
CONTINUE READING: 'They should be embarrassed': Mpofu slams charges as disciplinary hearing postponed
Afrikaans TV content dwindles amid SABC cash crunch
State broadcaster SABC doesn't seem to have a vendetta against the Afrikaans language – but is so broke it cannot pay for the productions.
One of the Afrikaans shows, Voetspore, could soon face the axe.
One of SABC's Afrikaans shows, Voetspore, could soon face the axe. Picture: Supplied.
Earlier this month, Afrikaners saw red when the SABC failed to broadcast the Afrikaans news on the first weekend of the month due to technical issues.
CONTINUE READING: Afrikaans TV content dwindles amid SABC cash crunch
Ramaphosa launches commission of inquiry into apartheid-era justice delays
President Cyril Ramaphosa is establishing a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate attempts to prevent the investigation or prosecution of apartheid-era crimes referred by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The commission will probe allegations of improper influence in delaying or hindering the investigation and prosecution of crimes referred by the TRC to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
'Allegations of improper influence in delaying or hindering the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes have persisted from previous administrations,' the Presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.
CONTINUE READING: Ramaphosa launches commission of inquiry into apartheid-era justice delays
2025 budget: Godongwana refuses to resign as Mbalula warns against another 'weekend special'
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has made it clear he has no plans to step down, despite mounting pressure and calls for his resignation following the 2025 budget impasse.
Godongwana announced at a media briefing on Wednesday that a third revised budget will be tabled in Parliament on 21 May.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables 2025 Budget Speech at the Nieuwmeester Dome in Cape Town on 12 March. Picture: X / @ParliamentofRSA
This follows a court ruling that reversed the recently proposed value-added tax (VAT) increase.
CONTINUE READING: 2025 budget: Godongwana refuses to resign as Mbalula warns against another 'weekend special'
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The SACP followed a similar trajectory. From its exile-era anti-capitalist declarations to its post-1994 parliamentary positions, the shift was clear. It offered ideological cover to the ANC's pragmatic manoeuvring, describing every compromise as a tactical delay. But the delays became permanent. The economic structure of apartheid remained intact, with new faces at the table. Jeffery does not mention these shifts, because her narrative relies on exaggeration. She needs the ANC to be a radical actor so she can frame even the mildest policy adjustment as evidence of Marxist capture. Her entire thesis depends on mischaracterisation. Redistribution becomes dispossession. Affirmative action becomes racial engineering. Healthcare equity becomes state control. She constructs an ANC that no longer exists and warns against an agenda that has already been abandoned. Her real objective is to delegitimise any challenge to racialised wealth. She is not defending democratic values. 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