GAUTENG SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE  @KASIBCNEWS

As the 2025 academic year commence in Gauteng today, the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure Development & Property Management is calling on the Department of Infrastructure Development to fast track the completion of school infrastructure projects to address the growing issue of overcrowding in Gauteng schools.

This comes after high pressure areas in the Province are experiencing an intake of high number of learners and this urgent action is critical to ensuring that learners are provided with conducive and safe learning environments.

The increasing demand for quality education in Gauteng has placed immense pressure on existing infrastructure and delayed school construction and refurbishment projects have exacerbated the problem.

The Committee is in possession of a list of schools which should have been completed by now and handed over to communities to alleviate overcrowding in certain areas, but they remain incomplete which the Committee views as unacceptable as it robs leaners of the opportunities they deserve.

To address this, the Committee urges the Department of Infrastructure Development to implement effective project management systems to ensure that all infrastructure projects are completed on time, within budget and the required quality standards.

The Committee calls for decisive action against Project Managers responsible for delays in school infrastructure projects.  

Where negligence, corruption or inefficiencies are identified, swift and firm action must be taken to hold those responsible accountable.  This will send a strong message that delays in the completion and delivery of critical infrastructure projects will not be tolerated in Gauteng.

The Committee recognizes that there are some areas where efforts have already been made by the Department of Infrastructure Development, but stresses that the pace of progress must improve significantly.

Learners and educators cannot wait any longer for the completion of much needed school infrastructure projects such as Rust Ter Vaal Secondary School, New Simunye Secondary School, Thubelihle Secondary School, Ditau Primary School and many other projects across the Province which the Committee has previously visited.

The Committee will use the list it has of incomplete school infrastructure projects to monitor their progress and hold the Department accountable particularly on timelines, standard of work done and allocated budgets to ensure that Gauteng learners are given conducive learning environments and allowing them access to quality education.

 

MATRIC CLASS 2024 @KASIBCNEWS

The African National Congress (ANC) proudly celebrates the outstanding achievements of the Matric Class of 2024. Their success stands as a testament to the transformative power of ANC policies that have, over the three decades of democracy, reshaped South Africa’s education system into one that prioritises equity, access and quality as espoused by the Freedom Charter. 

The Class of 2024 achieved a historic 87.3% pass rate, the highest in the country's history. This remarkable milestone reflects the resilience of learners, educators, and parents, as well as the decisive role of successive ANC-led administrations' interventions in education. It is particularly inspiring that 67% of Bachelor passes were achieved by learners from Quintile 1 to 3 schools, underscoring the ANC’s commitment to uplifting historically disadvantaged communities. 

These achievements reflect decades of targeted ANC policies, from introducing no-fee schools, which now boast an 85.8% pass rate, to expanding access to school nutrition programmes and addressing resource inequalities. The Class of 2024 has further demonstrated that these interventions work: 319,651 distinctions were achieved, with significant gains in critical subjects such as Mathematics. The ANC has worked tirelessly to dismantle the apartheid legacy in education, implementing policies that have ensured near-universal school attendance for learners aged 7 to 15. 

The recent Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, making Grade R compulsory, is a bold step toward strengthening Early Childhood Development and ensuring a solid foundation for learning. 

This Act is a catalytic vehicle to universal access and the dignity of learners. The ANC commends the Department of Basic Education, Umalusi, provincial departments, and educators for ensuring a robust, credible examination process. The verification by Umalusi demonstrates that the results reflect the maturity and international competitiveness of South Africa’s education system. 

As we celebrate the achievements of this cohort, we honour the legacies of our leaders, President Nelson Mandela, Professor Sibusiso Bengu, Professor Kader Asmal, Dr Naledi Pandor and Mam Angie Motshekga who understood that education is a key ingredient of transformation. Their vision continues to guide us in striving for a system that empowers all learners, irrespective of their backgrounds. 

GAUTENG BACK-TO-SCHOOL CAMPAIGN @KASIBCEVENTS

 Gauteng Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlements Tasneem Motara will tomorrow visit three schools in the Sedibeng region to assess their readiness for the first day of school for the 2025 academic year under the theme Delivering Quality Education in a Modern Environment.  MEC Motara will also host a stakeholder meeting with key parties in the education sector to better understand issues of education in the Region.  

The schools are General Smuts Secondary School in Vereeniging, Thuto Lore Secondary School in Sharpeville, and Mohlodi Maritime School of Specialisation in Sharpeville. 

The details of the visits are as follows: 

Venue 1: General Smut Secondary (Van Riebeek Street , Vereeniging) Time: 7:00am Date: 15 January 2025  

Venue 2: Thuto Lore Secondary School (7120 Sharpeville) Time: 09:00am 

Venue 3: Mohlodi Maritime School of Specialisation ( Zwane Street, Sharpeville) Time: 10:20am 

SOUTH AFRICA A WAR ZONE @KASIBCNEWS

This morning’s shooting in Nyanga, which claimed one life and injured seven others, alongside the murder of nine people at a tavern in Mpumalanga over the weekend, underscores the SAPS’s inability to act proactively and the lack of crime intelligence.

The Minister of Police’s recent revelation that 9,000 people were killed in mass shootings between 2019 and 2023 highlights the severity of the crime crisis in our country. Citizens and police officers alike live in fear, with a growing number of officers themselves becoming victims of violent crime.

We need significant change with regards to crime intelligence to ensure that these incidents can be stopped before they happen. Most of these incidents are planned and can be prevented if the right intelligence structures are in place.

This would entail amongst others a skills audit to determine whether the right people are in positions and to introduce well-trained recruits to start building relevant localised capacity. It is also crucial to determine the origins of leaks that compromise good police officers.

We once again call on the minister to devolve policing powers so that all can assist to fight this scourge against South Africans.

The DA supports the Minister’s proposed law reforms to outlaw gang membership and urges the government to act swiftly to implement these measures. South Africans cannot continue to live under siege. It is time for decisive action to restore law and order.

SCHOOL SAFETY TO PROTECT LEARNERS AND EDUCATORS #KASIBCNEWS 

As schools across Gauteng reopen for the 2025 academic year tomorrow, the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has called on various Government Departments to prioritize the implementation of recommendations of a Focused Intervention Study (FIS) on School Safety.

The FIS titled “Assessing the Effectiveness of School Safety Interventions in Fighting Crime in Gauteng Schools”, was tabled and formally adopted during a House Sitting of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature last year and was jointly conducted by the Portfolio Committees on Community Safety and Education as a result of the prevalence of violent crimes in Gauteng schools.

The FIS was focused on assessing the effectiveness of programmes of various government departments, which are aimed at creating safer learning environments at schools across the province. Amongst others, the objectives of the study were to investigate factors contributing to the scourge of violence at schools, ascertain the level of implementation of safety plans, the multi-disciplinary diversion programmes, as well as the impact of the adopt-a-cop programme in deterring criminal behavior at schools.

In gathering data for the FIS both Committees of the Legislature conducted unannounced oversight visits at several schools which are among the 75 high-risk schools in the Province, as well as conducting stakeholder engagement sessions with key and relevant stakeholders within the education and safety sector.  

In one of the schools that the Committees visited, Eldorado Park Secondary School, a learner was stabbed during the joint Committee oversight visit, revealing the shocking state of safety in schools.

Some of the joint Committee findings exposed shocking realities of learners carrying dangerous weapons, illicit substances being abused on school premises and disturbing incidents of bullying, gangsterism, and tribalism leaving both learners and educators at risk.

Several recommendations have been made to Government Departments, demanding urgent implementation to prevent further tragedies and they include:

➢ The Department of Community Safety in collaboration with Law enforcement Agencies must enhance the random school search interventions to curb violent behavior including the carrying of dangerous weapons and the use of illicit substances by learners at schools.  

➢ The Department of Education jointly with the Department of Community Safety must strengthen the deployment of security personnel such as Gauteng Traffic Wardens, security guards, or patrollers to enhance visible policing and maintain law and order at schools. Also, enhance efforts of installing CCTV cameras to ensure that learners, educators, and school physical environs are completely safeguarded.  

➢ The Departments of Community Safety, Education, and Social Development jointly develop and implement a multidisciplinary strategy to curb the scourge of illegal substance and drug abuse within school premises

The relevant Departments have been given until the 28th of February 2025 to submit an integrated report to the Legislature on all the recommendations contained in the FIS report.

The Committee warns that failure to act on these recommendations could lead to escalating violence, further endangering the future of Gauteng learners and educators.

The full FIS report is available on the Gauteng Provincial Legislature website https://www.gpl.gov.za/fis-report-on-school-safety-interventions/

 

ARREST OF ANC COUNCILLORS @KASIBCNEWS 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes reports of the arrest of ANC Councillor Tobius Malope, who was recently elected to the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality Council. He was arrested on allegations of extortion of a contractor in a construction project.

The extortion allegations against him are grave, and we expect that he will be suspended immediately. Unfortunately, such allegations are not new for ANC councillors in Limpopo, a province that has long struggled to attract investment and create job opportunities due to rampant corruption.

Local ANC Councillors, like Malope, hailed by the ANC as being “among the best to represent the best”, have usually shown more interest in personal enrichment than in addressing the needs of struggling residents. Elias Motsoaledi Municipality has faced persistent service delivery issues, with many communities lacking access to water and job opportunities.

The DA continues to fight against construction mafias and corruption at both national and local levels. We urge the public to report any instances of extortion or intimidation to the police without delay.

As we approach the 2026 local government elections, the DA is confident that the residents of Elias Motsoaledi will reject the ANC, just as South Africans did in the recent national elections.

KHOI SAN JOINS GNU @KASIBCNEWS 

*The GNU Must Not Turn a Blind Eye to the Khoisan Question of Indigenous People*

The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) unequivocally supports the quest for recognition and inclusion of the Khoisan people as the aboriginal and indigenous owners of the land south of Africa. 

It is worth the good of the national agenda to engage their spokespersons in earnest dialogue, rather than shove their concerns under the carpet and call upon the courts to treat them as vagrants on the grounds of the Union Buildings.

The failure of the authorities to make the hairline distinction between form and content is appalling, to say the least. The form of protestations is superseded by the content of the matters they raise for the immediate attention of the office of the State President.

The PAC therefore calls on the Government of National Unity, in which we play a role, to take up the question of the rights of the First Nation people to be unapologetically included in the agenda of the National Dialogue.

It is not prudent nor in the interest of cohesive and remedial justice to use coersive instruments, such as the sheriff or the so-called Red Ants, on the protesting group occupying a small site on the Union Buildings grounds.

The PAC and the Greater Aboriginal Community Council of Southern Africa (GACCSA), as a united front, are already engaged in the conversation of inclusion to address the bigger picture of the status of the original owners of the land, the preservation of their great civilisation, the development of their languages, and other related issues.

The two organizations are as ready and as willing to engage the Government of National Unity to urgently resolve the impasse and to chart the road ahead.

SESFIKILE YACHT TO ROBBEN ISLAND @KASIBCNEWS 

The African National Congress (ANC) has noted with concern certain misleading narratives surrounding the mode of transport utilised by the Secretary General, Comrade Fikile Mbalula, during the recent visit to Robben Island as part of the ANC’s 113th Anniversary commemorations. 

We categorically reject the misrepresentation that the Secretary General’s transport choice was an indulgence in luxury. This operational decision was guided solely by practical and logistical considerations to ensure the efficient execution of a tightly packed programme. The Secretary General had an intense schedule on the day, which began in Robben Island, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of Comrade Songezo Mjongile, a regional cake-cutting ceremony and multiple stakeholder engagements. 

Every engagement required precise coordination to ensure that all obligations were met without delay or disruption. To suggest that such logistical decisions were anything other than necessary is to wilfully ignore the realities of a demanding leadership role during a historic occasion. There was no unethical conduct or undue benefit derived from these arrangements. 

The businessman in question is a reputable, above-board entrepreneur, whose relationship with the ANC is limited to being a stakeholder, as is the case with many other legitimate partners who share in the goal of building a better South Africa. There is also a need to acknowledge the apparent coordinated effort to discredit the ANC by painting its stakeholders and associates in a negative light. This growing trend seeks to delegitimise lawful partnerships between the ANC and credible businesspeople, relationships that remain essential in driving forward the socio-economic transformation agenda. 

The ANC will continue to defend and foster these partnerships, as they are critical to achieving the goals of the National Democratic Revolution. The ANC remains resolute In its mission to address the socio-economic challenges facing our country. Reflecting on the overwhelming success of the January 8 Statement Rally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Khayelitsha and the Western Cape for their enthusiasm, and unwavering support. 

The rally Let us remain focused on what truly matters—building a united, prosperous, and inclusive South Africa where dignity, opportunity, and shared prosperity are realised for all. Together, we can and will build the future envisioned in the Freedom Charter. 

Cautions Scholar Transport Operators #KASIBCNEWS  

MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela has cautioned unregistered scholar transport operators to comply with operating licensing regulations or face the full might of the law.  This comes after the expected start of the academic year on Wednesday, 15 January 2025. 

The Department has issued a notice to all scholar transport operators, through their various associations, to ensure they operate legally and that vehicles are roadworthy.   MEC further warned that operators who do not possess valid operating licenses will not be allowed to transport learners and may have their vehicles fined or impounded.  "Our priority is to save lives in the learner transport system. 

Those scholar transport operators without operating licenses will not be allowed to ferry learners and those who do can expect to face the harshest consequences”, said MEC Diale-Tlabela  Traffic law enforcement officials will be conducting routine checks and those found not to be compliant will face the full might of the law" warned the MEC.  

GONE TO SOON WINNIE KHUMALO @KASIBCNEWS

It is with profound sadness to learn of the passing of the legendary Winnie Khumalo, who tragically left us on 7 January 2025 at the age of 51. Her untimely death marks a great loss for South Africa and the music industry.

Born on 20 July 1973 in Soweto, Winnie Khumalo was raised by her grandmother in a time of vibrant cultural life.

Her early education began at Vuyo Lower Primary and continued at Esiyalwini Higher Primary, ultimately culminating in her matriculation at Mncube Senior Secondary School.

At the tender age of 15, Winnie released her debut album, Hey Laitie, Tshina Tshina, produced by the renowned Sello Chicco Twala. She followed this with another album, Dlamini, setting the stage for a prolific music career that spanned decades.

Her musical journey was nothing short of remarkable. In the 1990s, she recorded the gospel album Izono Zami, produced by Pastor Langa Dube, and collaborated with iconic artists and groups such as the late Brenda Fassie, Brothers of Peace, Bongo Maffin, DJ Cleo, and Zonke Dikana. She was not only a talented lead vocalist but a formidable backing vocalist, enriching the work of those she collaborated with.

After a seven-year hiatus, she returned with the electrifying album Live My Life, which became an instant classic. The title track, I Just Wanna Live My Life, dominated music charts, earning gold certification with over 25,000 copies sold and 50,000 mobile downloads. The song’s success saw her nominated for prestigious awards such as the Channel O Music Awards and the South African Music Awards, cementing her place as a trailblazer in the industry.

She collaborated with Sello Chicco Twala on Mina Ngiyohlala Nginje, and starred as Brenda Fassie in The Brenda Fassie Musical under the direction of Jerry Mofokeng.

Her later albums, including Woman (2013), Higher and Higher (2013), Ncgocgo Lo Mfazi (2015), and The Storm: Isivunguvungu (2022), reflected her personal growth and resilience. Tracks like Woman and Impilo showcased her ability to channel life’s challenges into powerful and relatable music.

On behalf of the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to her children, family, friends and the countless fans whose lives she touched. South Africa has lost a legend, but her music and contributions to our cultural tapestry will live on forever.

Rest in power, Winnie Khumalo.

RESIGNATION OF DR. MBUYISENI NDLOZI @KASIBCNEWS 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has received the voluntary resignations of Fighter Yazini Tetyana and Fighter Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi as representatives of the EFF in the Parliament of South Africa. 

The voluntary requests to be released from deployment, which were sent to the Secretary General of the EFF consecutively and within days of each other, expressed gratitude to the EFF for the opportunity to serve the organization and the people of South Africa. 

The EFF has accepted the respective voluntary requests to be released from deployment of the two Fighters, who have diligently served the organization in their respective deployments since the EFF has had representation in the legislative sphere.

 Fighter Tetyana has served in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature and subsequently the Parliament of South Africa, while Fighter 

Dr. Ndlozi has served in the National Assembly since 2014. They have both been exemplary in their deployments and acted as commendable Public Representatives. The EFF wishes the Fighters well in their future endeavors. 

Grounding of City Power Fleet @KASIBCNEWS 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg is deeply concerned by the worsening service delivery crisis caused by the grounding of City Power's Test Branch Fleet. With over 500 outages per depot still unresolved, the grounding of essential vehicles has critically hampered the ability to restore power to residents across the City.

The grounding of the almost 200 vehicles, particularly the Test Branch vehicles, has left depots unable to attend to faults swiftly. This has resulted in outages escalating and delays in resolving them stretching to several days, leaving residents in distress.

Despite assurances from Mayor Dada Morero following a News24 report on 21 December 2024 that only Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) vehicles were grounded and that resolutions would be sought, it has now emerged that more vehicles across various entities are being grounded.

The DA calls on Mayor Morero to urgently intervene in this crisis by directing the relevant Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) for Executive Business and Environment & Infrastructure Services (EIS) to resolve this matter immediately.

We seek clarity from the City on the following:

1. What is the status of the Afrirent debt and the payment plan to address it?
2. What actions is the City taking to ensure uninterrupted service delivery in City Power during this period?
3. What measures will be implemented to prevent such a crisis from recurring in the future?

We will continue to hold the Executive accountable and ensure that service delivery to residents remains at the forefront of the City’s priorities.