@KASIBC_AFRICA

Publication of the first draft of the Student Debt Relief Bill

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

Publication of the first draft of the Student Debt Relief Bill

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) announces the publication of the First Draft of the Student Debt Relief Bill, 2025. This is a decisive intervention aimed at confronting the structural crisis of Student Debt in South Africa.

This is not only a legislative milestone but a continuation of the EFF’s unwavering commitment to the struggle for Free Quality Education for all. On 26 November 2024, the EFF submitted formal notice to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of our intention to introduce Student Debt Cancellation Private Member’s Bill. It was officially published in the Government Gazette on 28 February 2025 (Notice No. 5931), inviting public comment and marking the next stage in the fight against the financial exclusion of the most vulnerable and working-class youth in South Africa.

It is reported that over Five Hundred Thousand (+ 500 000) students across the country are shackled by institutional debt.

These are young people who have completed their academic requirements but are denied their qualifications and certificates due to outstanding fees. Their futures are placed on hold, not because they failed, but because they are poor. Student Debt, which stood at R16.5 billion in 2021, has become a tool of exclusion. In 2022 alone, more than One Hundred and Twenty (+ 120 000) students were unable to graduate due to unpaid fees.

This is the violence of neoliberal education policy, which criminalises the poor and turns public institutions into gatekeepers of privilege.

The Student Debt Relief Bill, 2025, seeks to establish a Student Debt Relief Fund, through which eligible students can apply to have their Student Debt cancelled and cleared. The Bill will also ensure that all students who have completed their studies receive their qualifications, regardless of outstanding debt. Education is not a commodity, nor should it be a privilege for the select few. Education is a public good, and Basic Right enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of South Africa.

This is not just an EFF Bill. This is a People’s Bill. It is grounded in the pain, suffering and voices of students who have been locked out, year after year, despite doing everything expected of them. We call on all Vice-Chancellors, Principals, Academics, University Councils, progressive Student Formations, Workers, Civil Society Organisations, and the broader public to engage this draft legislation. The future of higher education is our collective responsibility.

The EFF has always stood at the forefront of this struggle. From raising the demand for Free Education in Parliament, to standing with students in protest and on campuses, this Bill is a culmination of principled resistance and legislative action. Let us build an education system that does not punish the poor for seeking education.

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

BABY GIRL DIED IN GANYESA HOSPITAL

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

BABY GIRL DIED IN GANYESA HOSPITAL

The DA has laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in North West regarding a 10-month-old baby girl who died in Ganyesa Hospital on the 27th of August this year.

The baby was admitted to hospital with pneumonia; however, she developed pericardial effusion, a life-threatening condition. Despite the child’s deteriorating health, the hospital allegedly refused to transfer the child to a facility equipped to treat her condition, such as Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Gauteng.

Despite the parents' desperate pleas, they were given vague and inconsistent responses from the hospital, including a disturbing comment by a doctor who allegedly said to the infant's mother, "Brace yourself because there's no way of knowing what to do."

The DA also wrote to the MEC of Health, Sello Lehari, on the 26th of August, requesting him to urgently intervene and to ensure the transfer of the infant to a facility equipped to treat her, as well as an investigation into the hospital's behaviour. To date MEC Lehari has not responded nor reacted in any way.

More disturbingly, after the child's death, the hospital held a meeting with the parents during which they allegedly offered to pay for the funeral; however, the parents refused. The gesture by the hospital raises more questions.

If the child had been transported when her health deteriorated, she could still be alive.

KASIBC_AUDIO CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O6AExiqVKAFG9jnu-q9eix6pVaj8yy35/view?usp=drivesdk

Our health officials have a duty to maintain the highest standards of care and respect with patients and their families. We will continue to stand up for patient care and hold public entities accountable.

South Africans have a right to appropriate health care, and this right should never be dulled by bureaucratic delays and inattention.

This is not only about one child; it’s about safeguarding the rights of all vulnerable patients and regaining public trust in our health professionals. We need to empathise and make choices that serve the weakest among us.

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASHATILE MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GRIQUA ROYAL HOUSE

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASHATILE MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GRIQUA ROYAL HOUSE

In his capacity as Chairperson of the Presidential Task Team on Matters raised by Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile has this morning, 02 September 2025, met with Representatives of the Griqua Royal House at OR Tambo Official Residence in Pretoria.

In June this year, the Office of the Deputy President received a letter from The Griqua Royal House requesting a meeting with the Deputy President to discuss the Traditional Leadership recognition of the Khoi and San communities, among other things.

Today's meeting provided an opportunity for Deputy President Mashatile to brief the Representatives of the Griqua Royal House on progress on the process of the recognition of the Khoi and San communities by the Commission on Khoi-San Matters.

The Commission on Khoi-San Matters (Commission) is a statutory body established in terms of section 51(1) of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act of 2019.

In terms of section 57 and 58 of the Act, the Commission has the following functions:

• To receive applications for the recognition of Khoi-San communities, branches, senior Khoi-San leaders and Branch Heads.

• To investigate the applications received.

• To prepare comprehensive reports with recommendations on each application that has been received and investigated.

• To submit the report and the recommendations of each received and investigated application to the relevant Premier for comment and give the Premiers a period of 60 days to provide the comments.

• After receiving the comments from the relevant Premiers, the Commission must finalise and submit its report containing its recommendations to the Minister on the possible recognition of Khoi-San communities, branches, and leaders.

In this regard, Commissioner Cordney Mangale assured the meeting that all processes for recognition are being followed accordingly and that the Commission would make an announcement on the outcome of the application for recognition before the end of its term in August 2026.

Deputy President Mashatile thanked the Commissioners and Representatives of the Griqua Royal House for attending to the matters raised in the most cordial fashion and for their commitment to promoting and preserving institutions of Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership in South Africa.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, Commissioners and Senior Government Officials.

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

Corruption at the Government Employees Pension Fund

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

Corruption at the Government Employees Pension Fund

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has repeatedly warned that the failure of Parliament and the Standing Committee on Finance to exercise proper oversight over the National Treasury and its many state-owned entities has created conditions for corruption to thrive.

This explains why blatant looting can continue unabated in the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), an institution responsible for the pensions of millions of public servants. Recent revelations confirm that the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), which administers the GEPF, has been embroiled in scandal amounting to more than R1.2 billion in losses through corrupt procurement deals. Instead of safeguarding workers’ pensions, officials and their associates have enriched themselves at the expense of those who dedicated their lives to public service.

This is not an isolated case. For over a year, the EFF has exposed how trustees, fund administrators and asset managers operate in a dark web of corruption, engaging in risky, speculative and fraudulent activities with workers’ retirement savings. The result has been devastating: workers and their families find themselves destitute upon retirement because their pensions were gambled away without consequence for the perpetrators.

On 15 November 2024, the EFF tabled a motion in the National Assembly to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate violations of Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act. This was in anticipation of the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill of 2023, introducing the so-called “two pot system,” where we foresaw that many workers — especially municipal employees and private security guards — would discover that their funds were missing despite monthly deductions. At the time, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) had already reported that 2,224 private security companies and 172 municipalities had failed to transfer deducted contributions to pension funds, with a cumulative R7 billion outstanding.

KASIBC_AUDIO ~ LISTEN TO ARTICLES

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NW_aFqlfCMkMmt4Hm9rMhtvAz5Tpg4he/view?usp=drivesdk

Instead of addressing this crisis, the ANC, DA and IFP voted against the EFF’s motion, choosing to protect toothless bodies such as the Pension Funds Adjudicator and the FSCA, institutions that generate reports but fail to act against theft. The EFF also called on the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to conduct a full audit of private security companies contracted by the state, and to ensure their compliance with Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act.

We demanded that any noncompliant company be barred from state contracts. The Minister failed to act, leaving thousands of workers and their families destitute. Instead, allocations to municipalities were withheld, punishing communities without addressing private sector corruption.

The EFF maintains that it is the lack of oversight and regulatory enforcement that has allowed this crisis to deepen and now filter its way into the GEPF. National Treasury and the FSCA, despite their mandates, have turned a blind eye while employers deducted money from workers but failed to transfer it to pension administrators. Regulatory institutions have allowed pension fund administrators such a Salt Employee Benefits, Akani Retirement Fund Administrators and now the Government Pensions Administration Agency to operate with impunity at the expense of workers.

This has had dire consequences. When workers attempted to withdraw a portion of their savings under the two-pot system, many discovered that their pensions did not exist, and under the GEPF which has now been exposed, attempts at withdrawals have been met with non-ending delays and no responses. This betrayal underscores the scale of negligence and collusion at play.

These are not minor administrative lapses — they are large-scale financial crimes that undermine workers’ security and the integrity of our economy. The continued disregard by National Treasury, the FSCA, and political parties complicit in blocking accountability represents a shameful stain on our democracy.

The EFF therefore reiterates that the only solution lies in wide-scale reform of the pension fund sector, arrests and prosecutions of all those involved, and the recovery of every cent stolen.

We will continue to pursue legislative mechanisms to ensure that pension administrators, asset managers, board members and regulators are held personally accountable for the theft of workers’ pensions. Workers cannot be sacrificed to a corrupt system that gambles away their future.

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ORLAND PIRATES ROAD TRAFFIC INCIDENT

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

ORLAND PIRATES ROAD TRAFFIC INCIDENT

Orlando Pirates Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou and five members of the club’s staff were involved in a road traffic incident on Sunday night.

The incident occurred on the R21 highway as the team returned from Gqeberha, following their hard-fought 3–0 victory against Chippa United.

Upon encountering a collision between two vehicles, Coach Ouaddou and several staff members disembarked from the team bus to assist those involved. Tragically, while attending to the scene, a Nissan NP200 vehicle collided with the stationary vehicles, striking the group and causing serious injuries.

Coach Ouaddou, along with the five affected staff members, were immediately transported to hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care. The Club is in close contact with the medical team and will provide updates on their recovery in due course.

At this stage, our priority is the health and wellbeing of our colleagues. The Club has made arrangements to ensure that the affected individuals and their families receive all the necessary support during this difficult time.

We ask for privacy and respect for those involved as they focus on recovery. Further updates will be communicated when appropriate.

MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT EXPOSED

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT EXPOSED

Dear South Africa
By Lumka Oliphant

I have just received a letter of suspension from the department following an expose by the Sunday Times on a trip to New York where Minister Sisisi Tolashe spent R3 million for two weeks.

The department, Sisisi in particular, believes that I leaked the information to the Sunday Times and previous reports by the City Press—just because I have worked with almost every journalist and worked at City Press in particular.

Sisisi, who does not even have a Grade 12, has been ridiculing my work even though I remain one of the best performing Heads of Communication in government according to GCIS.

She has taken her political fight with Bathabile Dlamini to the department and has been victimising me in every meeting, but I decided to give her the respect she deserves as a leader and umntu omdala.

The trumped-up charges, they say, are as a result of the findings of the AG which have nothing to do with me. If they are talking about the AG findings, then the DG should be suspended because we have a multi-billion finding by the AG that speaks to the lack of management of SASSA by the department. A qualification for that matter.

This suspension is because one of the advisors, Ngwako Kgatla, has been telling everyone that I am the minister’s enemy because I worked with Bathabile. Actually, anyone who is not speaking with the advisor is moved around.

Thabani Buthelezi, Zanele Simmons, Osborne Masilela, are a case in particular. The very person who is now acting Chief of Staff is a niece to Kgatla and even lied in her CV that she used to volunteer for the late Hlengiwe Mkhize.

But here is the thing: I will not be intimidated by Sisisi, who must still go and finish her Grade 12. Ndim ndilapha etshatshalazeni bethuna. Andimoyiki uSisisi. To show that I know my work, as they were busy with the charges, my work is recognised internationally and confirmed today for an award.

My phone is charged and remains open for anyone who wishes to take an interview.

#LumkaOliphant #SocialDevelopment #SisisiTolaqa #HumanRights #Transparency #PublicService #Justice #PoliticalDramaIndia #fblifestyle

GAUTENG GOVERNMENT FAILURE TO SUPPORT TOWNSHIPS BUSINESS

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

GAUTENG GOVERNMENT FAILURE TO SUPPORT TOWNSHIPS BUSINESS

Despite the Township Economic Development Act (TEDA) being signed into law on 19 April 2022, small businesses in Gauteng continue to struggle to market their services, products and to do business with the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) due to the existing red tape.

This has also hurt the economic growth and job creation in Gauteng. TEDA was meant to assist local businesses, particularly in the township, with compliance, to make it easier to do business with the government; however, not much has changed since then, and now the MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, is attempting to fix the blunder that was made three years ago.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that proper and prompt amendments to this bill be made in consultation with the affected stakeholders.

MEC Maile has admitted that there are gaps in the current legislation for the township economy and the actual intention of the action in the current form, hence the need to amend the current TEDA. He was responding to the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng’s written questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

In 2022, the bill was passed unanimously with assurances given that all issues highlighted by political parties and stakeholders during the public participation phase and committee meetings were taken into consideration and amended.

Now three years down the line, MEC Maile has suddenly realised that this bill is not serving its intended purposes, and the township economy, particularly businesses located at the industrial hubs across the province, struggles to sell their goods and services to the government. This is clearly hampering job creation in the province, which currently has an unemployment rate of 33.8%. Instead of taking their time and following due process, the initial bill was pushed through the legislature and hailed as a victory for the ruling party, but not a victory for small businesses operating in the townships.

This is unacceptable and only pulled the wool over the eyes of the small businesses that were meant to benefit from this so-called bold step taken by former Premier David Makhura. Every year, the government commits to spending a certain percentage of its budget on the township economy; however, the department's quarterly reports indicate that this goal is never met.

Small businesses are a lifeline for many unemployed residents in this province. But if the current trend continues, small businesses will be forced to close their doors, leaving even more people unemployed.

If Premier Panyaza Lesufi were truly serious about improving the township economy, he would immediately cut the red tape and ensure that they do indeed spend 30% of their budget on the township economy. The DA Gauteng will be tabling questions in the GPL to demand that the MEC speedily implement the amendments to the bill once passed.

A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would immediately streamline the process for small businesses wanting to do business with the government. Furthermore, we will replicate the model implemented by the DA-led Western Cape, where one day a month is set aside for businesses to interact with officials from the Economic Development department.

Through these interactions, officials get to know the challenges faced by small businesses and determine how best to support them to flourish in their different sectors.

MAKE KASI GREAT

Publication of the first draft of the Student Debt Relief Bill