Arrival of Additional 2 Million Doses of FMD Vaccine

Arrival of Additional 2 Million Doses of FMD Vaccine

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA

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Minister John Steenhuisen announces arrival of additional 2 million doses of FMD vaccine

The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, announced that with the arrival this morning of a further 2 million doses of the Dollvet vaccine from Turkey, the Department of Agriculture has now successfully coordinated the importation of 8 million vaccine doses since late February. This accelerated procurement drive marks a major escalation in government’s war against Foot and Mouth Disease and a turning point in the Department’s commitment to biosecurity, food security and the protection of rural livelihoods.

Underscoring the scale of this achievement, Minister Steenhuisen said:

“With an additional 5 million doses expected to arrive shortly, South Africa’s total imported vaccine volume will rise to 13 million doses. When combined with the 2 million BVI vaccine doses secured last year, the country will have landed 15 million doses by the end of May 2026. This sends a clear signal of our determination to protect the national interest, defend our livestock industry, and win the war against FMD.”

These efforts form part of the Department’s strategic objective to vaccinate 80% of the national herd, comprising approximately 14 million cattle, by the end of December 2026. The vaccination campaign is central to South Africa’s long-term strategy of achieving and maintaining “FMD free with vaccination” status, while reducing the economic and social damage caused by recurring outbreaks.

By securing vaccine volumes at this scale, the Department is ensuring that the agricultural sector remains a resilient pillar of the economy, capable of meeting international animal health standards while safeguarding domestic food security and protecting export markets.

Regional approach

Diseases do not respect borders, and Minister Steenhuisen is leading a new era of South-South cooperation in the fight against transboundary animal diseases. On Monday, in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, the Minister was joined by his counterpart from Eswatini, Mr Mandla Tshawuka, as well as representatives from Mozambique, to vaccinate 300 cattle in a demonstration of regional solidarity and coordinated action.

Reflecting on lessons drawn from South America’s success in controlling Foot and Mouth Disease, Minister Steenhuisen said: “One of the clearest lessons from South America is that you cannot defeat this disease in isolation. Cows do not carry passports. If one country acts alone, the risk remains for everyone. That is why we are working closely with our neighbours to build a truly regional response. 

We must move beyond simply reacting to outbreaks and establish a SADC antigen bank so that Southern Africa can rapidly access vaccines when they are needed most, without relying on lengthy international procurement processes.”

SADC Ministerial Meeting

Momentum behind this regional effort continues to build. Later this month, Minister Steenhuisen will chair a meeting of SADC Agriculture Ministers in Zimbabwe, where discussions will focus on establishing a regional platform for animal movement control, livestock traceability, and coordinated response mechanisms for transboundary animal diseases. The Minister also delivered a message of support to South Africa’s farming communities: “We have seen the pain, the uncertainty and the economic damage this disease has inflicted on farming communities across our country.

I have made a commitment that if we continue implementing this plan at scale and with urgency, this must be the last major 

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak to devastate our people. We are fighting this disease with everything we have, and we stand firmly with our farmers.”

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Ramaphosa Review must not delay Accountability

Ramaphosa Review must not delay Accountability

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA

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President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to take the Section 89 Panel report on review must not be used to delay the work of Parliament.

It is his legal right to approach the High Court and the DA respects due process, the courts and the rule of law.

President Ramaphosa should bring any review application with due haste and on an expedited basis, so that the legal position is clarified quickly and this matter is not delayed unnecessarily.

Parliament must also now take urgent legal advice on the implications of the President’s incoming review, including whether it affects the establishment and work of the impeachment committee, or whether the committee may proceed while the review is underway.

Given the serious constitutional consequences of this matter, and the massive public interest in it, Parliament must take the South African people into its confidence by sharing that legal advice once it receives it.

This matter must be handled lawfully, transparently and with the constitutional seriousness it deserves.

The DA will continue to be guided by the Constitution, the rule of law, and the legal position before Parliament.

This remains an ANC-made crisis, rooted in serious unanswered questions about the President’s conduct and the ANC’s long record of shielding its own leaders from accountability

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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENT SPEAKER DETERMINES THE PROCESS

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENT SPEAKER DETERMINES THE PROCESS

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA

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SPEAKER DETERMINES THE PROCESS TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOLLOWING THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENT

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thoko Didiza, has determined the process that the National Assembly will follow in response to the judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court on Friday, 8 May 2026, in the matter of Economic Freedom Fighters and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others, concerning Rule 129I of the Rules of the National Assembly and the report of the Independent Panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo.

The Constitutional Court found Rule 129I of the Rules of the National Assembly unconstitutional and invalid and set the Rule aside. Pending the formal amendment of the Rules by the National Assembly Rules Committee, the Court further directed an interim reading-in and amendment of Rule 129I to govern the processing of section 89 matters.

The Court further declared unconstitutional and invalid, and set aside, the decision of the National Assembly taken on 13 December 2022 declining to refer the Independent Panel Report to an Impeachment Committee established in terms of the National Assembly Rules. The Constitutional Court consequently ordered that the Report of the Independent Panel be referred to the Impeachment Committee established in terms of the Rules of the National Assembly.

Parliament reaffirms its respect for the judgment of the Constitutional Court and will act in full compliance with the order and directions of the Court.

The implications of the judgment for the National Assembly and the next procedural steps arising from the judgment are as follows:

1. In accordance with the revised reading of Rule 129I, the Speaker will formally inform the National Assembly of the Independent Panel Report by tabling it through the appropriate journals of Parliament.

2. The Speaker will provide the President of the Republic with a copy of the Independent Panel Report forthwith, as directed by the Constitutional Court.

3. In compliance with the judgment of the Court, the Speaker will initiate the process to constitute the Impeachment Committee in terms of Rules 129J to 129O of the Rules of the National Assembly to consider the section 89 inquiry process contemplated in the Constitution and the Rules of the Assembly.

4. The Speaker will formally refer the Independent Panel Report to the Impeachment Committee as directed by the Constitutional Court.

5. The Speaker will refer the Constitutional Court judgment to the National Assembly Subcommittee on the Review of Rules to consider and process the amendments required to the Rules of the National Assembly pursuant to the findings, reading-in, and directions of the Court. The Subcommittee will report on its work to the Rules Committee, which will in turn submit its recommendations to the National Assembly for consideration.

6. The Speaker will determine the appropriate programme, procedural arrangements, timeframes and institutional support measures necessary to enable the Impeachment Committee to undertake and finalise its work effectively, fairly and within the framework of the Constitution and the Rules of the National Assembly.

The Constitutional Court reaffirms the constitutional obligations of the National Assembly in relation to accountability, oversight and the constitutional mechanisms established under section 89 of the Constitution. Parliament remains committed to discharging these constitutional responsibilities with due regard to constitutionalism, legality, fairness, institutional integrity and the rule of law.

The Speaker further notes that the Constitutional Court judgment concerns the constitutional and procedural obligations of the National Assembly relating to the processing of the Independent Panel Report and the section 89 framework, and that the processes directed by the Court must now proceed in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of the National Assembly.

Parliament will communicate further details regarding the constitution, programming and operational arrangements of the Impeachment Committee through the appropriate parliamentary processes and announcements

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Gauteng Schools’ Electricity Crisis

Gauteng Schools’ Electricity Crisis

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA

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MEC Mamabolo and Maile must account for Gauteng schools’ electricity crisis after High Court judgement

It has taken an urgent ruling by the Gauteng Division of the High Court to restore electricity to Tshwane schools that had their power disconnected, disrupting learning due to outstanding fees owed to the municipality. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns this direct failure of governance by the MEC for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), Lebohang Maile, and MEC for the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo. 

We call for urgent action to resolve this crisis that is crippling schools across Gauteng.

The High Court order compelled the immediate restoration of electricity to affected schools and extended protection to other Gauteng public schools facing similar disconnections linked to unpaid municipal accounts by the provincial government. Schools cannot become victims of intergovernmental failures and financial mismanagement.

For years, the DA has warned that Gauteng schools are facing a growing utilities crisis. Many schools already struggle to pay electricity and water bills because of insufficient fund allocations for utilities, while others continue receiving exorbitant or disputed bills. These warnings fell on deaf ears, and now schools have become victims of intergovernmental failures and financial mismanagement.

The situation has now worsened to the point where teachers in some schools are struggling to print teaching materials, cannot use smartboards, and learners are left without access to basic sanitation because electricity and water bills remain unpaid.

This is an absolute disgrace and a clear failure of governance; a trend far too common in the Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led government. Under his leadership, there has been no coordination among the GDE, DID, COGTA and municipalities, compromising the delivery of quality education in Gauteng.

The DA reiterates its call for the immediate establishment of a permanent intergovernmental committee comprising these departments, the Provincial Treasury, and municipalities to coordinate, audit and resolve municipal billing and utilities disputes affecting schools across Gauteng. This committee must establish whether municipal bills are accurate, correct that meters are linked to schools and determine if underground leaks exist.

The DA has already requested the Public Protector to investigate the electricity disconnection and the failure to intervene by the concerned parties. 

We will also table questions to determine why rates and taxes were not paid, how much is owed in each municipality, how many schools have been affected, and what immediate steps are being taken to prevent further electricity or water disconnections.

Where the DA governs, there is proper coordination between provincial and local spheres of government to ensure that services are not disrupted in schools and other government facilities. 

This is the DA difference that has made our governance admirable and much sought by Gauteng residents who are tired of being taken for a ride by a government that thrives in failure.

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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA INTENDS TO APPLY FOR REVIEW OF SECTION 89 REPORT ON PHALA-PHALA

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA INTENDS TO APPLY FOR REVIEW OF SECTION 89 REPORT ON PHALA-PHALA 

BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA

LISTEN HERE @KASIBCAUDIO

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has taken note of reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering a judicial review of the Section 89 Independent Panel Report chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. 

These reports reveal a desperate litigation strategy, which comes immediately after the Constitutional Court correctly ruled that Parliament acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it used the ANC’s numerical majority to block the implementation of the Independent Panel’s findings and prevent the establishment of an impeachment inquiry into the Phala Phala scandal. South Africans must be reminded that before Cyril Ramaphosa abused the ANC’s parliamentary majority to shield himself from accountability, he had already indicated his intention to challenge the Section 89 Panel Report through the courts. 

On 5 December 2022, Ramaphosa formally launched an application seeking to review and set aside the findings of the panel after it found that there was prima facie evidence that he violated the Constitution and his oath of office. 

However, after the ANC used its parliamentary majority on 13 December 2022 to irrationally and unconstitutionally suppress the report and block the impeachment process, Ramaphosa abandoned his review application.   

In May 2023, his spokesperson openly admitted that the President no longer wished to pursue the review because Parliament’s unlawful vote had rendered the report “moot” and of “no practical and legal consequence”. 

This sequence of events exposes Cyril Ramaphosa as a constitutional delinquent who has never sought genuine judicial clarity on the merits of the report but has instead relied on political manipulation and procedural delay to evade accountability. If Ramaphosa truly believed that the Independent Panel Report was fundamentally defective, irrational, or unlawful, he would have pursued his review application to finality in 2022 and 2023. 

Instead, he opportunistically withdrew the matter once he believed the ANC’s parliamentary majority had permanently buried the report. Now that the Constitutional Court has correctly declared that the parliamentary vote was unconstitutional and invalid, Ramaphosa is contemplating a review application once again, in order to hide behind court proceedings and to delay, frustrate, and ultimately avoid the inevitable impeachment inquiry. 

This conduct demonstrates profound disrespect not only for Parliament, but also for the judiciary and the constitutional order itself. The EFF maintains that the courts should dismiss with contempt any renewed attempt by Ramaphosa to litigate against the Section 89 Independent Panel Report nearly four years after its publication. 

The Constitutional Court, through our diligence as the EFF, has already restored constitutional order by invalidating the ANC’s unlawful parliamentary protection racket. 

The next step must be the immediate establishment of the impeachment inquiry contemplated by Section 89 of the Constitution.

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