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IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa prepares for US trade framework amidst Trump's tariff uncertainties
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, said South Africa welcomed this indication and expressed a preparedness to engage with the said template once finalised. Image: Independent Media Archives Banele Ginidza The ongoing evolution of trade relationships between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa has entered a critical phase as the USA moves towards establishing a new trade-matters template. This template will guide its future engagements with African nations, a development revealed by Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Zuko Godlimpi, following discussions last week with the US Assistant Trade Representative for Africa, Connie Hamilton. On the heels of South Africa's submission for a proposed Framework Deal aimed at bolstering trade and investment relations with the US, the government has urged local businesses to brace themselves for potential changes poised to emerge from this new framework. Godlimpi's dialogue with Hamilton occurred during the recent US-Africa Summit in Luanda, Angola, where pertinent issues surrounding reciprocal tariffs were also addressed. While the proposed Framework Deal, submitted on 20 May 2025, underscores measures designed to resolve trade deficits and promote bilateral investment, its future may hinge on the forthcoming US internal approval process. The expiry of a 90-day tariff freeze, initially set for 9 July 2025, has raised concerns within the South African government about the adequacy of this timeline. 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. 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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 ✕ As such, African countries are collectively advocating for a deadline extension to allow adequate preparation for aligning their proposed deals to the forthcoming US template. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, said South Africa welcomed this indication and expressed a preparedness to engage with the said template once finalised. 'In this regard, we are of the view that South Africa may need to re-submit its Framework Deal in accordance with the new template. It is thus expected that the deadline may be shifted,' Tau said. The government is keen to ensure that the new requirements do not unduly disadvantage local enterprises, hence the appeal for strategic patience from the South African industry. Prospectively, South Africa's Framework Deal aims to tackle a range of US concerns, including non-tariff barriers and longstanding market access issues. It seeks specific exemptions from Sections 232 duties for key export products such as automobiles, auto parts, steel, and aluminium, ensuring these critical sectors can remain competitive in the US market. South Africa is also seeking the maximum tariff application of 10%, as a worst-case situation. The Framework also seeks exemption for Small and Medium Enterprises, counter-seasonal products and products that the US does not have productive capacity for. 'We urge the South African industry to exercise strategic patience and not take decisions in haste and that the government will continue to use every avenue to engage the US government to find an amicable solution to safeguard South African interests in the US market,' Tau said. As South Africa navigates these complexities, international sentiment has shifted towards urgency. The New York Times recently reported that governments around the globe were racing to negotiate trade deals with the US in order to forestall President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs. Trump announced what he referred to as 'reciprocal tariffs' on April 8, saying they were in response to other countries' unfair trading practices. However, he agreed to pause those levies for 90 days to give countries time to reach trade deals with the US. The coercive nature of previous tariffs has spurred conversations across the globe about fair trade practices, with Trump signalling readiness to impose tariffs on countries perceived as uncooperative—compounding existing anxieties surrounding the impending July deadline.
IOL News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
KZN House of Traditional Leaders to address serious arrests of amakhosi
Former president Jacob Zuma shakes hands with Inkosi Simphiwe Zuma, who was recently charged with the murder of his Induma Qalokunye Zuma. Image: Independent Media Archives The KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders (KZNHTL) will on Wednesday discuss the arrest of two amakhosi who are facing murder and rape charges, which are not related to each other. Inkosi Simphiwe Zuma, who is a popular associate and relative of Jacob Zuma, has been charged following the murder of his induna, who is also his relative. Another, Inkosi Thulabenzwe Dlamini, who is a relative of former African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is appearing in court for allegedly raping an 18-year-old woman last month. When contacted about the arrests, KZNHTL secretary Ntshinkala Dumo said the House would comment after its meeting on Wednesday. 'At the moment, there is still consultation, and once the decision is taken, it will be communicated after the meeting that is rescheduled for tomorrow,' said Dumo. 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 ✕ Ad loading Inkosi has been charged in connection with the murder of the senior induna of his Nxabalala tribal authority in Mpendle, KwaZulu-Natal midlands, Qalokunye Zuma, who was also his relative. Both Inkosi Zuma and Inkosi Dlamini did not respond to questions sent to them via WhatsApp, and their phones were not answered. National Prosecuting Authority's KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Zuma faced charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and was remanded in custody until Wednesday for a bail application. Inkosi Zuma faces the charges along with another induna of his clan, who is also an accused in the murder of a Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor in uMngeni Municipality, Nhlalayenza Ndlovu. Inkosi Zuma was well-known for supporting the former president during court appearances. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leaders would normally visit his palace to conduct traditional ceremonies. Inkosi Zuma's co-accused in the murder of Qalokunye Zuma is Zwelithini Buthelezi, who is also an induna in KwaNxamalala. Qalokunye Zuma was a senior induna, in charge of all izinduna in the tribal authority, when he was sprayed with bullets and killed in front of his children, wife, and customers who were buying at his tavern at his homestead in Novuka village in January 2023. Ndlovu was the chief whip at the uMngeni Municipality when he was killed in the same executional style in December 2023. Qalokunye Zuma was in his bedroom when strangers arrived at his homestead asking to talk to him. When he approached them, they opened fire, killing him instantly before getting away in a car that was parked nearby. A few days after the murder, Inkosi Zuma told this reporter that he was shocked by the murder of Qalokunye Zuma, whom he said was his close confidant 'Which is why I promoted him to be my prime minister (chief induna).' At the time, Inkosi Zuma said he was shocked that a person could be killed in broad daylight and in full view of the people because Impendle was known to be a peaceful rural town. 'Had it been a faction fighting, we would be able to deal with it by talking to warring factions to lay down arms,' said Inkosi Zuma. On social media, a member of the Zuma family told a journalist that the implication of the Inkosi in the murder was shocking because Inkosi Zuma and Qalokunye Zuma were related. Buthelezi, who was arrested a month earlier before Inkosi's arrest, made his first appearance on May 30 in Ndlovu's murder, and the case was postponed to July 9. According to the DA, Buthelezi did not apply for bail. In the Ndlovu's murder, Buthelezi is charged along with Thobani Hlongwa, who was alleged to be the trigger man, and another suspect whose identity could not be established. Meanwhile, Inkosi Dlamini of the Bhidla Tribal Authority, will appear at the Ixopo Magistrate's Court on Friday facing rape and kidnapping charges. 'The charge of kidnapping was added because he drove past the area where he was supposed to drop the girl,' said a councillor who attended Inkosi Dlamini's court appearances but who declined to be named for fear of victimisation. Inkosi Dlamini threw a big party to wish Dlamini-Zuma good luck when she was going to the 2017 ANC national elective conference in Nasrec, Johannesburg, to compete with President Cyril Ramaphosa for the party's presidency position. It was alleged that Inkosi Dlamini gave an 18-year-old girl a lift on May 3, but instead of dropping her at her destination, he continued driving the car and only stopped at a spot where there were no people and allegedly raped her. In a statement released shortly after Inkosi Dlamini's arrest and his first appearance at the Hlanganani Magistrate's Court on May 9, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu condemned the alleged sexual assault on the victim. 'This vile act — allegedly committed by someone who holds a position of leadership and authority— is a betrayal of the moral, ethical, and societal responsibilities bestowed upon traditional leaders; it flies in the face of the values we seek to uphold in a just, safe, and respectful society. 'It is clear that this Inkosi premeditated this and executed his plan using his car. 'All along and up to now, when engaging with my counterpart in CoGTA, it has been around the role that traditional leaders need to play on various social ills and around their security concerns, but we have never thought that we now have to engage on their involvement in the act of rape,' said Mchunu in a statement.
IOL News
17-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Cyril Xaba urges stronger contract management in eThekwini Municipality
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba warned municipal officials that the failure to monitor contracts showed a weakness in governance. Image: Independent Media Archives eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba warned municipal officials that the failure to monitor contracts showed a weakness in governance, and he suspected there was collusive corruption in the city. The municipality came under public scrutiny following three court cases that cost it millions, involving Daily Double Trading 479 CC, Solbeth Security and Risk Management Services, and Bless Joe Trading CC. Speaking at an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday, Xaba said the Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP) needed to be thoroughly interrogated by all political parties, and whether the money allocated in budgets would meet the performance indicators and targets. He warned of a mismatched budget where performance indicators were low while the budget was high. Xaba stated that the budget is meant to provide goods and services to the people, and it was important to monitor the process and improve oversight. He went on to urge municipal officials to do things differently. 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 ✕ Ad loading Councillor Zandile Myeni, the deputy mayor of eThekwini Municipality, stated that the heads of departments should be held accountable. Andre Beetge, DA Exco member, said it should not be a case where, within three months into the budget cycle, there would be calls to reprioritise the budget, which often left projects incomplete. Xaba said the city's losing cases in court pointed to a weakness in managing contracts. 'I do not know who benefits from such, but I suspect collusive corruption in the process. We have to put a stop to this. We must be able to monitor contracts.' The recent court orders issued against the city have prompted the municipality to strengthen contract management controls. To ensure contracts are properly planned, executed, and monitored, the municipality stated that they have implemented the following measures: Early Contract Initiation: Departments are directed, in terms of Supply Chain Management circulars, to initiate procurement processes at least nine months before the expiry of existing contracts. This allows for proper planning, competitive bidding, and uninterrupted service delivery. Automation and Red Flag Reporting: Contract monitoring is being automated in line with the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts requirements. This includes the implementation of exception-based red flag reports to detect delays, non-performance, and irregularities in real-time. Capacitation on Contract Compliance: Targeted efforts are under way to train and capacitate departments and legal services to ensure a thorough understanding and enforcement of the terms and conditions of contracts.
IOL News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Organise or Starve: Youth Mobilisation Key to Overcoming Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality
Members of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) marched through the streets of Durban, March 19, 2014 to highlight youth unemployment in the country. Image: Independent Media Archives Mbuso Ngubane This Youth Day, we must speak the truth without the varnish of liberal sentiment. The truth is this: South African youth are under siege. They are not free. They live under the dictatorship of hunger, unemployment, crime, and hopelessness. This is not a democracy for the working class. It is a capitalist nightmare, run by the same comprador elite who inherited the whip from the apartheid bosses, and now wield it in the name of profit. The Young Lions of 1976 rose against Bantu Education and the racist capitalist state. They had no illusions. They understood that the struggle for education could not be separated from the fight for freedom and dignity. Today, our youth face a different, but no less brutal enemy: neoliberalism, austerity, and a corrupt ruling class that has sold out the dreams of liberation. We must remember that the youth who marched in Soweto in 1976 were not just reacting to Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. They were rejecting a system designed to make them hewers of wood and drawers of water — cheap labour for white capital. The apartheid bosses, like the ANC's current neo-liberal government, feared nothing more than a politically educated and organised youth. Steve Biko said, 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.' That is why we must centre political education. Without it, the youth are led like lambs into the slaughterhouse of TikTok distraction, and fake entrepreneurship, and are dying for sneakers and status. The revolution must begin in the mind, and move into action. The youth of today must not be reduced to hashtags and handouts. You must organise. You must take power into your own hands. The capitalist system has nothing to offer you but casualised labour, surveillance, poverty, and mental collapse. The gig economy is not freedom — it is wage slavery without the dignity of a contract. We must return to the principle Lenin taught us: "Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement." That means building youth structures rooted in class struggle. NUMSA's youth structures are not built on empty slogans but on political education, shop-floor militancy, and international solidarity. We must build unity among the unemployed, the precarious, the students, and the exploited. In Cuba, the youth were not bystanders in the revolution. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were in their twenties when they picked up arms and overthrew the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Today, because of that struggle, Cuban youth have universal education, healthcare, and a future not dictated by private profit. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ In Burkina Faso, the revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara placed young people at the heart of nation-building. He trained them in agro-ecology, literacy, and defence. He built schools and clinics. He fought against corruption, privilege, and the domination of international finance. He said: 'While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.' And today, in the same country, young Captain Ibrahim Traoré has become a symbol of defiance against the old order. Whether his government can remain on a revolutionary path is not guaranteed. But what is clear is this: young people in Burkina Faso have rejected the old elite and are demanding that their country serve the people, not foreign powers. It is a lesson for us here. We too must reject leaders who have long passed their sell-by date, men who cling to office while the country burns; men who were once comrades and have become tyrants. The revolution must be renewed by the youth or it will rot in the hands of the old. Even in the belly of the beast, in the United States, we have seen young people rise. From the Black Panthers to today's movements like Black Lives Matter, young people have resisted imperialism and racial capitalism. However, we must also be clear: without structure and class analysis, movements can be co-opted and destroyed. In South Africa, the reality is stark. Youth unemployment sits above 60% for those under 25. But the capitalist state has no solution. The ANC government implements budget cuts, not jobs. They militarise communities instead of building schools. They worship private capital and destroy public institutions. The solution is not individual hustle, nor is it waiting for handouts from ministers living in luxury. The solution is organisation. We must build revolutionary youth brigades, trained in Marxist theory, linked to working-class struggles and rooted in the community. We must revive the spirit of the Young Communist League, of COSAS in its militant days, and of youth who linked their liberation to the overthrow of capitalism. Youth must return to the factory gates, to community halls, to classrooms and campuses with one message: We are not commodities. We will not be sacrificed so that the rich can live in Sandton while we rot in townships.
IOL News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Organise or Starve: Youth Mobilisation Key to Overcoming Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality
Members of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) marched through the streets of Durban, March 19, 2014 to highlight youth unemployment in the country. Image: Independent Media Archives Mbuso Ngubane This Youth Day, we must speak the truth without the varnish of liberal sentiment. The truth is this: South African youth are under siege. They are not free. They live under the dictatorship of hunger, unemployment, crime, and hopelessness. This is not a democracy for the working class. It is a capitalist nightmare, run by the same comprador elite who inherited the whip from the apartheid bosses, and now wield it in the name of profit. The Young Lions of 1976 rose against Bantu Education and the racist capitalist state. They had no illusions. They understood that the struggle for education could not be separated from the fight for freedom and dignity. Today, our youth face a different, but no less brutal enemy: neoliberalism, austerity, and a corrupt ruling class that has sold out the dreams of liberation. We must remember that the youth who marched in Soweto in 1976 were not just reacting to Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. They were rejecting a system designed to make them hewers of wood and drawers of water — cheap labour for white capital. The apartheid bosses, like the ANC's current neo-liberal government, feared nothing more than a politically educated and organised youth. Steve Biko said, 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.' That is why we must centre political education. Without it, the youth are led like lambs into the slaughterhouse of TikTok distraction, and fake entrepreneurship, and are dying for sneakers and status. The revolution must begin in the mind, and move into action. The youth of today must not be reduced to hashtags and handouts. You must organise. You must take power into your own hands. The capitalist system has nothing to offer you but casualised labour, surveillance, poverty, and mental collapse. The gig economy is not freedom — it is wage slavery without the dignity of a contract. We must return to the principle Lenin taught us: "Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement." That means building youth structures rooted in class struggle. NUMSA's youth structures are not built on empty slogans but on political education, shop-floor militancy, and international solidarity. We must build unity among the unemployed, the precarious, the students, and the exploited. In Cuba, the youth were not bystanders in the revolution. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were in their twenties when they picked up arms and overthrew the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Today, because of that struggle, Cuban youth have universal education, healthcare, and a future not dictated by private profit. In Burkina Faso, the revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara placed young people at the heart of nation-building. He trained them in agro-ecology, literacy, and defence. He built schools and clinics. He fought against corruption, privilege, and the domination of international finance. He said: 'While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.' And today, in the same country, young Captain Ibrahim Traoré has become a symbol of defiance against the old order. Whether his government can remain on a revolutionary path is not guaranteed. But what is clear is this: young people in Burkina Faso have rejected the old elite and are demanding that their country serve the people, not foreign powers. It is a lesson for us here. We too must reject leaders who have long passed their sell-by date, men who cling to office while the country burns; men who were once comrades and have become tyrants. The revolution must be renewed by the youth or it will rot in the hands of the old. Even in the belly of the beast, in the United States, we have seen young people rise. From the Black Panthers to today's movements like Black Lives Matter, young people have resisted imperialism and racial capitalism. However, we must also be clear: without structure and class analysis, movements can be co-opted and destroyed. In South Africa, the reality is stark. Youth unemployment sits above 60% for those under 25. But the capitalist state has no solution. The ANC government implements budget cuts, not jobs. They militarise communities instead of building schools. They worship private capital and destroy public institutions. The solution is not individual hustle, nor is it waiting for handouts from ministers living in luxury. The solution is organisation. We must build revolutionary youth brigades, trained in Marxist theory, linked to working-class struggles and rooted in the community. We must revive the spirit of the Young Communist League, of COSAS in its militant days, and of youth who linked their liberation to the overthrow of capitalism. Youth must return to the factory gates, to community halls, to classrooms and campuses with one message: We are not commodities. We will not be sacrificed so that the rich can live in Sandton while we rot in townships.
