South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Wednesday 4 March

Need to stay informed and up to date with the latest news in South Africa? Be sure to review all our major headlines on Wednesday 19 February.

The struggling South African economy continues on its downward spiral, officially slipping into a technical recession in Q4 of 2019 while Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema cheers his birthday with some expensive French Champagne and former president Jacob Zuma is in the spotlight again for all the wrong reasons.  

In sports news, the Proteas will face off against Australia in their second One-Day International (ODI) clash in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.

Today’s latest news in South Africa, Wednesday 4 March

SA slips into second recession in two years

So much for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promises of a “New Dawn”…South Africa slipped into a technical recession in the final three months of 2019, Stats SA said on Tuesday. 

Sadly, this is the second recession the country has suffered since since Cyril Ramaphosa came to power in 2018.

The weak gross domestic product (GDP) data piles pressure on Ramaphosa’s administration which has been struggling to keep his election pledge to revive economic activity while Eskom struggles to keep the lights on and the South African Airways (SAA) struggles to stay in the air despite several bailouts.

Instead of soaring as one of Africa’s powerhouses, South Africa remains dogged by high and rising debt, low growth and soaring unemployment.

GDP fell by 1.4% in Q4, after dropping by 0.8% in the previous three months, Stats SA said.

This took growth for all of 2019 to just 0.2%, its lowest reading since the global financial crisis in 2009.

Ramaphosa’s government will barely avoid another bout of economic tumult with the economy forecast to only grow 0.9% in 2020 and opposition parties had a field day laying into the president and the ANC after Stats SA’s dismal news. (Source: AFP)

Read more here about what the Democratic Alliance (DA) and EFF had to say.

Juju the ‘champagne socialist’ turns 39

The EFF commander-in-chief and his Red Berets decided to steer away from celebrating his birthday in last year’s style when Juju, along with his family and party members, spent the day renovating the Entokozweni Day Care Centre, in Orange Farm, Johannesburg.

This year, it was all about popping the fizz…and not just any old champers mind you.

In August 2019, Juju was branded a “champagne socialist” by Twitter users after he was snapped sipping Moët on a flight. The picture caused quite a “fizz” online, but it certainly didn’t phase Malema. He had a couple of bottles of M&C with him on Monday, as well as some of Bonang’s House of BNG sparkly wine.

FF Plus, Mabuza clash over land grabs

Speaking of the champagne-sipping “son of the soil”… Just 48 hours after EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu encouraged a group of land-grabbers to stand their ground in Mooidraai, the Freedom Front Plus cornered Deputy Minister David Mabuza on the illegal seizure of land.

Mabuza was giving his responses to a series of questions at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) meeting on Tuesday when the FF Plus wanted to know what was being done to maintain order and property ownership rights.

The deputy president answered that government issued legal guidelines to prevent land grabs, but then conceded that seizures of vacant land are increasing. I

It goes without saying that the FF Plus did not take Mabuza’s casual acceptance of these illegal acts lightly, calling his revelations “unacceptable”.

It remains to be seen how Metsimaholo residents will answer Shivambu’s call to illegally occupy the Mooidraai farm, in the Free State, will unfold.

Jacob Zuma could face AgriDelight Parliamentary inquiry

Zuma and two ANC cadres — Supra Mahumapelo and Manketsi Tlhape — have been accused of milking a deal with AgriDelight – scoring everything from cattle to a pricey nose job.

AgriDelight – through North West businessman Derrick Montshwe – are accused of buying their way into a R600 million contract with the Zuma administration back in 2017. And for going through all the trouble of facilitating the deal, JZ apparently scored 24 Nguni cattle.

The Hawks have been investigating the case for two years before Montshwe decided to step forward with the intention of “coming clean” by talking to a Parliamentary commission on the matter.

Needless to say, everybody was all ears to hear him spill the beans on Tuesday. Instead, his appearance at the Parliamentary committee left the panel frustrated, and crucially, without very many useful answers.

However, DA North West spokesperson on agriculture and rural development Jacqueline Theologo is not willing to let sleeping Nguni cattle lie and confirmed that she wants to haul Zuma into the Parliamentary inquiry into AgriDelight, in order to “respond to damning allegations”.

DA delegation to Tshwane

On Wednesday, DA interim leader John Steenhuisen will lead a delegation to meet the DA’s Tshwane caucus following the recent developments in the City. Following this meeting, he will brief the media on the outcomes of the meeting and the party’s long-term plans to usher in a way forward to keep making progress in the troubled Tshwane municipality.

Steenhuisen will be joined by DA governance unit head James Selfe, DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Randall Williams, DA Gauteng provincial chairperson Mike Moriarty and DA Tshwane regional chairperson Abel Tau.

This follows after the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in Tshwane has called on the Gauteng government to place the municipality under administration following the failure of cooperative governance at council meetings. 

The council meetings are held to elect a new mayor, following the resignation of Stevens Mokgalapa at the end of February after a “Tshwane mayoral war” broke out on 2 December 2019 during a chaotic council meeting. However, the DA, ANC and the EFF are yet to have a successful deliberation on the matter. 

This has left the City of Tshwane without a mayor, without mayoral members and therefore without any service delivery for its residents. A truly sad state of affairs.

Joint briefing on actions to address GBV

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu and Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will jointly brief the media on actions that have and will be taken to address the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide on Wednesday.  (Source: ANA)

All eyes on KwaZulu-Natal premier

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala will deliver his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Wednesday. The DA have made it clear that they would like the premier to address the following burning issues:

• The ANC-led provincial government’s solutions to the ongoing water crisis within the Ugu district;
• The decision to remove Sibusiso Sithole from his current critical role as Msunduzi administrator – a move which the DA regards as a step backwards for our province’s capital city; and
• What he and his ANC cabinet plan to do in response to in response to volatile protest action over service delivery failures – as witnessed most recently in Ladysmith.

(Source: ANA)

Proteas vs Aussies in Bloem

The Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein is the next stop on Australia’s whirlwind white-ball tour of South Africa on Wednesday.

Heinrich Klaasen’s maiden ODI century (123 not out) powered South Africa to a comprehensive 74-run win in the series opener at Boland Park, in Paarl, on Saturday 29 February.

Skipper Quinton de Kock remains the Proteas key player for the Bloemfontein match and will look to get the Proteas’ batting effort off to a great start in this critical match of the series. His expected partner is Janneman Malan who made his debut in Paarl — with a golden duck. 

The Proteas are no doubt eyeing a back-to-back international win at Mangaung Oval (13:00 start), in order to ensure an early 2-0 close-out of the series which draws to an end at Potchefstroom’s Senwes Park on Saturday (10:00).

Proteas ODI squad: Quinton de Kock [c] (Titans), Temba Bavuma (Lions), David Miller (Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (Lions), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Beuran Hendricks (Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), Janneman Malan (Cape Cobras), Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Lutho Sipamla (Warriors), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Cape Cobras).

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vc), Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Kane Richardson, D’D’Arcyhort, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

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