ANC RALLIES BEHIND AU’S 2026 WATER INTEGRATION AGENDA ON 63RD AFRICA DAY

ANC RALLIES BEHIND AU’S 2026 WATER INTEGRATION AGENDA ON 63RD AFRICA DAY

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA 

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​JOHANNESBURG — The African National Congress (ANC) has joined the global community, the people of the continent, and the African Union (AU) in celebrating Africa Day, marking the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union.

​Commemorated under the official 2026 continental theme, "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063," the day’s focus centers heavily on driving aggressive investment into liquid infrastructure, improving sanitation, and securing climate resilience to anchor pan-African economic growth.  

​Elevating Water Security as a Fundamental Human Right

​According to a statement released by the ruling party, the 2026 theme serves as a direct directive to the entire continent to confront mounting water security challenges. By placing water and sanitation at the core of Africa’s developmental and climate adaptation strategies, the framework highlights the resources as essential engines for public health, modern agriculture, industrialization, and regional stability.  

​The ANC emphasized that South Africa has already made tangible strides toward fulfilling these specific goals. Chief among these successes is the country's historic, cross-border partnership with the Kingdom of Lesotho through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP)—a flagship model of bilateral cooperation rooted in a shared vision of treating water as a fundamental human right.

​Domestically, the party noted that targeted structural reforms are successfully unblocking key development bottlenecks. 

Key initiatives managed under the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) have improved the municipal financial sustainability framework, effectively unlocking R108 billion in infrastructure investments. This legislative momentum is further backed by the formal passing of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency Act and a dramatic clearing of historical backlogs in water-use license applications.

​Confronting Continental Challenges & Border Realities

​While celebrating the progress of the AU’s Agenda 2063 framework—further accelerated by expanded trade networks via the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFT) and strategic capital deployments in the African Development Bank—the ANC acknowledged that persistent structural issues continue to test continental unity.

​The party directly addressed the sensitive issue of undocumented migration, noting that illegal immigration continues to place an immense strain on South Africa's domestic public resources. The organization firmly rejected ongoing accusations of state-sponsored or structural xenophobia against South Africa, framing the issue instead as a complex socio-economic reality requiring a unified diplomatic approach.

​"We call for decisive leadership and deep continental unity to explore lasting, systemic solutions to the systemic crises holding our people back," the ANC stated. The party underscored that resolving cross-border immigration issues must happen hand-in-hand with collective pan-African strategies aimed at eradicating regional wars, military coups, acute malnutrition, extreme poverty, and the compounding shocks of climate change.

​As the 2026 Africa Day commemorations draw to a close, the ANC re-affirmed its commitment to working closely with its fraternal liberation movements and regional partner governments. 

The party maintained that ensuring equitable access to safe water and robust public health infrastructure remains the most viable pathway to guaranteeing that no African citizen is left behind on the road toward complete economic emancipation by 2063.

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GAUTENG HEALTH IN MASSIVE SAFETY BREACH: 40,000 UNVETTED STAFF LEAVE HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN AT RISK

GAUTENG HEALTH IN MASSIVE SAFETY BREACH: 40,000 UNVETTED STAFF LEAVE HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN AT RISK

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA 

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​JOHANNESBURG — Thousands of sick children, toddlers, and infants across Gauteng’s public healthcare system have been exposed to severe safety risks following a massive systemic failure by the provincial Department of Health to vet its workforce.

​An explosive legislative disclosure has revealed that the department has failed to screen nearly 40,000 staff members against national databases specifically designed to block sexual predators and child abusers from accessing minors.

​The administrative breakdown leaves vulnerable patients—ranging from infants in high-care hospital wards to teenagers in school health programmes—relying on a network of clinics and hospitals that has completely skipped basic, legally mandated safety protocols.

​A Massive Vetting Void

​The crisis came to light in a written reply by the Gauteng MEC for Health, Faith Mazibuko, responding to sharp questioning in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

​According to official figures provided by the provincial executive, approximately 39,653 individuals are currently employed in "critical posts" across the province. A vast number of these employees maintain direct or indirect contact with minors across a wide web of public services, including:

​Public hospitals and regional community clinics

​School health and immunization initiatives

​Ward-based community outreach and mobile health teams

​Specialized pediatric and neonatal healthcare environments

​Despite the high-stakes nature of healthcare environments, the department admitted that it does not conduct routine vetting against the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) or the National Child Protection Register (NCPR) as a standard, non-negotiable prerequisite for employment.

​By failing to enforce these checks, the department has allowed thousands of personnel to work in close proximity to children without verifying whether they hold criminal records for sexual offences or child abuse.

​"An Admission of Systemic Failure"

​Compounding the anxiety of parents across the province, the Department of Health stated it is currently working to "create a system" to ensure that future personnel hired for child-facing roles are properly screened.

​

Legal and political critics point out that this statement serves as a damning, outright admission that the province currently lacks the infrastructure to comply with South Africa's statutory child preservation safeguards. It means key legislative frameworks—specifically the Children’s Act and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act—are effectively being ignored by one of the largest provincial departments in the country.

​

Demands for Urgent Rectification

​

The Democratic Alliance (DA), which brought the issue to light, has slammed the department's negligence and demanded immediate, sweeping reforms to secure public healthcare facilities.

​

The opposition party is calling on the Gauteng Department of Health to implement a five-point emergency corrective strategy:

​

Mandatory Screening: Immediately enforce compulsory, routine NRSO and NCPR background checks for all personnel assigned to child-facing roles.

​Comprehensive Audit: Conduct an urgent, wall-to-wall audit of all posts that involve direct or indirect interaction with minors.

​Full Disclosure: Publicly reveal the exact number of current health department employees who have never undergone vetting.

​Enforcement Timeline: Establish a strict, transparent deadline to achieve 100% compliance across all regional facilities.

​

Accountability: Provide regular public progress reports detailing the corrective actions taken.

​

"It is entirely unacceptable that one of South Africa’s premier provincial departments is failing to implement fundamental child protection laws," the DA stated, asserting that standardizing universal vetting across all provincial government branches must be prioritized to ensure no individual with a history of offenses can slip through the cracks.

​

The Gauteng Department of Health is now under intense pressure to explain how such a massive regulatory oversight was allowed to persist, and how quickly it can secure its facilities to protect the province's youngest and most vulnerable patients.

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THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSAR NKULULEKO DUNGA AS MEC FOR FINANCE IN GAUTENG

KASIBC_AFRICA BREAKING NEWS 

THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSAR NKULULEKO DUNGA AS MEC FOR FINANCE IN GAUTENG 

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE_EDITOR 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the appointment of Provincial Chairperson, Commissar Nkululeko Dunga, as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) responsible for Finance in Gauteng. 

This appointment marks a progressive step towards strengthening governance in the province and ensuring stability within the administration. It further confirms the EFF’s participation in the Government of Provincial Unity, in line with our long-standing organisational principle that we will form part of government at both provincial and national levels, provided that our key principles are upheld. 

These include the 7 NonNegotiable Cardinal Pillars of the EFF, and the clear exclusion of racist organisations such as the DA and VF Plus from governance arrangements. 

The appointment of Commissar Dunga is welcomed with confidence, as the EFF firmly believes in his leadership capabilities, discipline, and ability to work within a collective while safeguarding and advancing the political programme of the EFF. 

Commissar Dunga previously served as a Member of the City of Ekurhuleni Council, where he held the position of EFF Caucus Leader. He also served as an oversight committee chairperson for Municipal Public Accounts (MPAC) and and an MMC for Finance, responsibilities which he executed with excellence and in the interests of the people.  

During his tenure, he provided decisive leadership and, together with the EFF caucus, championed several pro-poor and transformative interventions, including: 

1. Leading the successful insourcing of security guards and cleaners, ending exploitative outsourcing practices and restoring dignity to workers. 

2. Launching the “Siyacima manje namhlanje” campaign which was a credit control measure, targeting industries and government departments who owe the city leading to the recovery of R350 million in revenue 

3. Achieving an increase of cash on hand in the municipality from R350 million to approximately R2.1 billion 

4. Spearheading the amendment of the Indigent Policy, increasing the qualifying threshold from R350,000 to R500,000 property value, thereby expanding access to relief for approximately 500,000 households. 

5. Receiving two awards from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) for reducing unauthorised, irregular and wasteful expenditure and implementing consequence management in the 2023/24 Financial Year. 

6. Advocating for the extension of indigent support to SASSA grant recipients. 

7. Proposing the removal of indigent residents from municipal debtors’ lists, a motion unjustly rejected by the ANC, DA, and ActionSA. 

8. Driving the publication of housing beneficiary lists to enhance transparency and combat corruption in housing allocation. 

9. Championing the relocation of residents living in flood-prone areas, particularly in Wards 9 and 91, to ensure safer human settlement 

10. Leading the removal of apartheid and racist symbols and statues in Ekurhuleni, as part of advancing spatial and historical justice. 

11. Contributing to the establishment of the Ekurhuleni Roads Agency to improve infrastructure delivery and maintenance. 

12. Promoting a hands-on governance approach, ensuring that public representatives spend the majority of their time on the ground engaging communities and holding departments accountable. 

These achievements reflect Commissar Dunga and the EFF’s unwavering commitment to the working class and the poor, as well as his capacity to translate revolutionary policies into practical governance outcomes. 

The EFF is confident that, as MEC for Finance, Commissar Dunga will advance a people-centred fiscal agenda that prioritises service delivery, economic justice, and equality, while ensuring transparent and accountable management of public resources in the interests of the most marginalised. 

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Alarming Rise of Suicides SAPS

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

 

Alarming Rise of Suicides SAPS 

Alarming rise of suicides in the South African Police Service tragically reflects the strain facing those in the line of duty.

DA calls on National Police Commissioner to take decisive action in saving lives.

DA in Parliament will also ensure reforms are implemented.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned by the alarming rise in suicides within the South African Police Service (SAPS). Recent reports reveal that, on average, one police officer takes their own life every week. 

This is not just a statistic; it is a tragic reflection of the immense psychological strain borne by those tasked with protecting our nation.

The DA extends its deepest condolences to the families and colleagues of those who have lost their lives. Every one of these tragedies represents a devastating failure of a system that continues to neglect the mental health and wellbeing of its members.

This crisis cannot be separated from the deep systemic issues within SAPS. Chronic under-resourcing, inadequate training at police colleges, long working hours, and relentless exposure to trauma have all created an environment of burnout and despair. Equally concerning is the lack of regular psychological debriefing and the continued stigma around seeking mental health support within the police service.

The fact that SAPS continues to dominate the headlines for all the wrong reasons, from corruption scandals to mismanagement and political interference, only adds to the psychological burden on officers who are doing their best to serve with integrity. These men and women on the ground feel abandoned and demoralised, forced to work within a system that too often undermines their efforts instead of supporting them.

The DA calls on the National Commissioner and SAPS management to take urgent, decisive action to address this crisis, including:

- The immediate rollout of mandatory and confidential mental health support and debriefing sessions after traumatic incidents;

- The integration of comprehensive mental health training and resilience programmes at all police colleges;

- Improved working conditions and resource allocation to relieve operational pressure; and

- Leadership accountability to ensure that the wellbeing of officers is prioritised alongside operational performance.

Our first responders face unimaginable trauma daily, they should not also have to face it alone. Protecting those who protect us must be a national priority.

The DA will be raising this matter in Parliament and through the Portfolio Committee on Police to ensure that SAPS implements urgent reforms to safeguard the mental health of its members.

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