Premier Lesufi wishes the Matric Class of 2025 well in the upcoming final exams

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Premier Lesufi wishes the Matric Class of 2025 well in the  upcoming final exams  

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, has extended his best wishes to the  Class of 2025 as they prepare to sit for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, which officially commence on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.  Gauteng has consistently maintained its position among the top three performing provinces in the NSC examinations. 

In 2024, the province achieved an impressive 88.4% pass rate, placing it third nationally behind the Free State (91%) and KwaZulu-Natal (89.5%).  This year, a total of 188,057 candidates have registered to write the NSC exams in Gauteng, (144,315 full-time and 43,742 part-time learners). The examinations will take place at 1,007 centres across the province (741 public schools, 267 independent schools, and 25 designated centres).  

Throughout the year, the Gauteng Provincial Government has worked tirelessly to support and prepare the matriculants for success. All parents and guardians are called upon to support the learners throughout the exam period.  

Systems have also been put in place to mitigate potential disruptions, such as service delivery protests and operational challenges, ensuring that all learners can write their exams under safe and conducive conditions.  “On behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, I wish the Class of 2025 all the best in their upcoming final examinations. May your hard work and dedication throughout the year bear fruit as you prepare for these exams, which mark the culmination of your basic education,” said Premier Lesufi.  

The Gauteng Provincial Government remains confident that the Class of 2025 will continue the province’s proud tradition of academic excellence and resilience.  

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NATIONAL DIALOGUE ENTERS NEXT PHASE TOWARDS APPOINTMENT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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NATIONAL DIALOGUE ENTERS NEXT PHASE TOWARDS APPOINTMENT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

The National Dialogue process has reached a pivotal stage with the completion of the nomination of sectoral representatives to the National Dialogue Steering Committee. 

The first National Convention held on 15-16 August 2025 approved the mandate, responsibilities and composition of the Steering Committee, and agreed that each of the identified sectors would hold consultations to decide on nominees to serve on the Steering Committee and its sub-committees.

No less than 26 sectors have to date submitted nominations for the Steering Committee.

The list of nominated Steering Committee members has been handed over to the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) for quality assurance. For its part, the EPG will submit its recommendations to the President in his role as head of state and convener of the National Dialogue for finalisation.

Once approved by the President, the Steering Committee will coordinate the roll out of public dialogues across the country.

It is anticipated that the process of appointing the Steering Committee will be concluded in the coming weeks.

President Ramaphosa has received the Handover Report of the Convention Organising Committee (COC) and the Report on the National Convention, bringing to an end the mandate of the COC.

The Convention Organising Committee was tasked by the President with organising the first National Convention following the withdrawal of some foundations from the process.

President Ramaphosa said: “As a country, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the members of the Convention Organising Committee. Working with the Eminent Persons Group and the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the committee made sure that hundreds of delegates from around the country were able to gather at the National Convention to endorse and to launch the National Dialogue. Through a truly collective effort, the National Convention proceeding smoothly and gave people from all sectors an opportunity to express themselves.”

“We must also recognise the vital role played by the legacy foundations and other civil society organisations in the Preparatory Task Team, which were instrumental in getting the National Dialogue off the ground.”

“It is extremely important now that the momentum that has been built up and the expectations that have been raised are not allowed to dissipate. We need to ensure that as the Steering Committee is established, there is no disruption in the processes that need to happen,” he said.

The Eminent Persons Group (EPG), the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) and the Presidency remain custodians of the process’s integrity and will continue to safeguard its credibility until it is handed over to the Steering Committee. 

Work is underway to establish a fully-fledged National Dialogue Secretariat, housed at NEDLAC, which will provide institutional support to the process. 

The Report of the National Convention is available for download: https://tinyurl.com/4v7z7rfu

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SARS Welcomes Judgment on Mr Lucky Montana

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) welcomes the favourable judgment handed down on 17 October 2025 by the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng (case no. 2023-047735). This decision came as a result of an application brought by SARS for the sequestration of Mr Tshepo Lucky Montana.

On 5 June 2024, Mr Montana filed a notice of motion and founding affidavit seeking condonation for the late submission of his answering affidavit in the sequestration proceedings. Subsequently, on 14 August 2024, SARS brought an application to strike out, in terms of Rule 6(5) of the Uniform Rules of Court, on the basis that Mr Montana’s founding affidavit contained scandalous, vexatious, and irrelevant allegations.

On 21 July 2025, the Court granted SARS’s application to strike out and dismissed Mr Montana’s condonation application with costs. Mr Montana thereafter filed an application for leave to appeal against this judgment. The matter was heard on 17 October 2025 and the application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.

SARS’s strategic intent is to foster a culture of voluntary compliance. To this end, the organisation provides clarity and certainty to taxpayers regarding their legal obligations and continues to make it easy and seamless to comply through modern, enabling digital platforms. Conversely, SARS ensures that non-compliance becomes hard and costly for those who wilfully choose to disregard their tax responsibilities.

Commenting on the matter, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter stated:
“SARS recognises that the vast majority of taxpayers are honest and willing to do the right thing by meeting their registration, filing, and payment obligations. Pursuant to SARS’ mandate of collecting all the revenue due to the fiscus, we will do whatever is legally permissible to deliver on that undertaking. In doing so, SARS will always uphold and respect the right of taxpayers to explore and exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to approach courts to seek a whatever remedy they prefer. SARS believes that all South Africans are equal before the law, and the organisation is enjoined by the law to enforce its provisions without fear, favour, or prejudice.”

SARS will not provide any further comment on this matter.

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Sol Plaatje Municipal Manager Suspension and Secondment

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Sol Plaatje Municipal Manager Suspension and Secondment

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will report our strong opposition on the secondment of convicted fraudster, Busisiwe Mgaguli, to the position of acting Municipal Manager of Sol Plaatje, to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, for investigation.

This comes after the Speaker, Dipuo Peters, claimed that our request for a Special Council Meeting to deliberate on this matter was technically incorrect. We strongly dispute this and believe that her denial of our request is an attempt by the ANC council members to avoid accountability and buy more time to facilitate their own political agenda.

The fact that Peters refuses to allow engagement on Mgaguli’s involvement in financial crimes, raises many questions. As does her failure to consider that the suspension of suspended Municipal Manager, Thapelo Matlala, comes to an end today. His suspension can also only be extended by holding a Special Council meeting before the day is over. Failure to do so will permit him to return to office tomorrow, despite investigations into the allegations against him likely not completed yet.

Given the grave nature of the ongoing saga regarding the municipal manager position, the serious repercussions for service delivery and the financial and legal implications for the municipality, this is a slap in the face of Kimberley residents.

DA provincial spokesperson on COGHSTA, Gizella Opperman, will submit our concerns to Hlabisa directly, given that MEC of COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, is responsible for the secondment. We want Hlabisa to consider the processes and the grounds for both Mgaguli’s secondment and Matlala’s suspension. The matter will also be raised in upcoming legislature portfolio committee meetings.

Sol Plaatje municipality is not an ANC fiefdom. There are rules and regulations and a multi-party council to whom this institution must account. Above all, there are also the citizens of Kimberley to whom Sol Plaatje has a constitutional mandate to deliver clean governance and service delivery.

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SAPS breakaway from SITA – Police Deputy Minister Dr. Boshiela confirms to the NCOP

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SAPS breakaway from SITA – Police Deputy Minister Dr. Boshiela confirms to the NCOP

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the confirmation by Deputy Minister of Police, Dr Polly Boshiela, to the National Council of Provinces - Select Committee on Security and Justice, that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has “officially served its divorce papers” to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

In a revelation made before the Select Committee yesterday, the Deputy Minister disclosed that SAPS will no longer be bound by SITA’s outdated systems, which have for years crippled technological innovation and slowed police responsiveness. The Deputy. Minister further confirmed that the Minister of Finance has approved SAPS’s request to procure a new independent service provider for its ICT systems.

The DA has long maintained that SITA has become a digital bottleneck, a stumbling block to modern governance that has left departments like SAPS and Home Affairs trapped in inefficiency, corruption, and technological decay.

This confirmation is a victory not just for the DA’s consistent oversight efforts, but more importantly, for the millions of South Africans who rely on functional, tech-enabled police stations for their safety and security.

The Deputy Minister also revealed that she was part of the recent official delegation to China, where she was introduced to cutting-edge police technology systems. These innovations, including smart surveillance, integrated case-tracking, and data-driven policing models, highlight the urgent need for South Africa to embrace next-generation digital policing tools to strengthen investigations, accelerate case turnaround times, and improve community safety outcomes.

The DA now calls on the Minister of Police to ensure that this transition to a new ICT provider is transparent, corruption-free, and prioritises service delivery over political patronage, and will pose written questions to the Minister to ensure that transparency is kept.

This move must translate into practical upgrades at the station level from rural KwaZulu-Natal to the Free State and Eastern Cape, where communities have suffered most, due to outdated systems, broken communication tools, and unreliable databases.

This can be a turning point for South African policing. It comes at a time when SAPS has an opportunity to press the reset button.

The DA will continue to use our parliamentary oversight role to monitor the implementation of this decision, ensuring that the separation from SITA leads to real improvements in frontline policing, not just another costly government restructuring exercise.

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