Polity Audio Articles

Home Affairs boosts border force with 301 new immigration officers The South African Department of Home Affairs has initiated a major recruitment drive to hire 301 additional immigration officers, aiming to drastically bolster the country's border security and law enforcement capabilities. This deployment addresses a long-standing personnel deficit that has strained the department's capacity to po...

AfriForum launches PAIA application over grim municipal stats Lobby group AfriForum has launched a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act application targeting the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, following the Auditor-General's (AG's) 2024/25 consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes. The legal application seeks to uncover records concernin...

DA wants inquiry over high commissioner meeting with Zuma, Gupta in India The DA has called on International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola to launch an urgent departmental inquiry into whether South Africa's High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal received official written instructions meet with with former President Jacob Zuma and fugitive businessman Ajay Gupta in India. Minis...

South Africa deploys troops to bolster security during anti-migrant protests South Africa has deployed more than 3 000 soldiers nationwide to bolster security and support police this month during anti-migrant protests that organisers have vowed to hold every week, a letter signed by the president showed on Friday. Protesters marched across cities on Tuesday, with some demonstrations hit by violenc...

Hill-Lewis defends GNU but warns ANC over mandate In his first major address since assuming the leadership of the DA, Geordin Hill-Lewis has declared that South Africa has entered a "second transition" that demands a "fundamentally new type of political movement". Speaking in Sandton on Thursday, Hill-Lewis called for an "honest, unvarnished assessment" of post-1994 politics. He framed the upcomin...

Johannesburg faces R2.1bn funding gap as its bills mount Johannesburg is starting a new financial year with a multibillion-rand budget that's not fully funded, potentially deepening a crisis that's already left it unable to pay for power and fuel supplies. South Africa's biggest city is facing an unfunded budget gap of about R2.1-billion for the year starting July 1, according to a framework seen...

ActionSA files complaint with Public Protector against Tony Leon's PR firm ActionSA has escalated its fight against alleged political cronyism by lodging a formal complaint with the Public Protector's Office, demanding an official investigation into Resolve Communications, a public relations firm owned by former DA leader Tony Leon and its alleged dealings with Government of National Unity ministe...

Hill-Lewis hails 'DA difference' as new GNU executive sworn in, condemns Pule's appointment DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has congratulated his party's new representatives in the National Executive, who are being sworn in on Wednesday to serve in the Government of National Unity (GNU). The appointments follow "structural adjustments" requested by Hill-Lewis last month, aimed at demonstrating the "D...

Kganyago signals South Africa could hike rates again this month South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said inflation expectations have risen above the central bank's 3% target, justifying the May interest-rate increase and signalling further tightening may be needed when policymakers meet later this month. The central bank raised rates in May for the first time in three years, lifti...

Over 900 arrested during nationwide anti-migrant protests South African police arrested more than 900 people during nationwide anti-migrant protests on Tuesday that were mostly peaceful but at times turned violent, with shops looted, police said on Wednesday. Of 120 marches, 108 were peaceful while 12 required police intervention, deputy national police commissioner Tebello Mosikili told a press c...

Tony Leon defends communications firm: 'We have never sought to influence ministers' Tony Leon has denied allegations by fellow former DA leader John Steenhuisen that his communications firm, Resolve Communications, sought to influence DA ministers, saying the claims are false and that legal action is being considered. Over the weekend, Steenhuisen alleged that Leon and former DA CEO Paul Boughey'...

South African cities shuttered as anti-migrant protests gather pace Demonstrators wrapped in flags and wielding wooden sticks gathered across South Africa on Tuesday for anti-immigrant marches, some of which saw brief outbreaks of violence amid heavy police guard, as shops remained shut and foreign workers stayed at home. Thousands of foreign nationals from elsewhere in Africa had already fled the...

Inflation expectations rise before South Africa rate decision South Africa's two-year inflation expectations climbed,complicating the central bank's efforts to anchor expectations around its 3% target. Average inflation expectations two years ahead, the measure the central bank closely watches when setting interest rates, rose to 3.9% in the second quarter from 3.6% previously, according to a surv...

Broken system inflaming xenophobic tensions – Amnesty International Ahead of the planned nationwide June 30 protests against illegal immigration, Amnesty International South Africa has accused government of inflaming tensions between South Africans and other African citizens residing in the country. The human rights organisation said there is a need for broader systemic reform to ensure that migra...

ANC, ActionSA call for investigation into Steenhuisen's allegations against Tony Leon The ANC and ActionSA on Monday issued separate statements calling for an investigation into the allegations made recently by former DA leader John Steenhuisen after he was removed as Minister of Agriculture. The ANC stated that after years of the DA associating corruption with a black-led government, a former DA...

Ramaphosa warns against vandalism, violence ahead of June 30 protests As South Africa gears up for national protests against illegal immigration, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday stressed that while the right to protest is enshrined in the country's Constitution, intimidation, vandalism or violence will not be tolerated. Thousands of African migrants began the process of leaving South Africa fo...

SA govt intensifies mass migration repatriations, crackdown on vigilantism The South African government is accelerating its five-point migration strategy, marking significant milestones in the deportation, verification, and repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals across multiple provinces. Established by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration is overse...

Families, survivors of apartheid crimes fight Zuma, Mbeki's court bid A crucial legal battle is set for the Constitutional Court on June 29, when 25 families and survivors of apartheid-era crimes, alongside the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR), will formally oppose an application lodged by former Presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki. The high-stakes hearing marks the latest hurdle in a decades-l...

Johannesburg collapse risk spurs call for State to run city South Africa's government may soon need to make the politically fraught decision to take control of Johannesburg to avert the city's financial collapse, according to a consultant appointed by two of the country's leading business groups. While such a move would be difficult for the ANC before crucial local elections in November, it may ha...

SAPS urges taxi industry to use influence to prevent disruption ahead of June 30 march The South African Police Service (SAPS) has called on the country's taxi industry to reject any attempts to destabilise South Africa or disrupt economic activity ahead of a planned nationwide protest against undocumented immigration on June 30. Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane made...

South Africa producer inflation accelerates to 7.8% y/y in May South Africa's producer inflation quickened to 7.8% year on year in May, up from 4.8% in April, statistics agency data showed on Thursday. The Producer Price Index increased 2.6% month on month in May, Statistics South Africa said.

Pretoria pushes back against US criticism on diplomatic engagements South Africa has issued a formal rebuke following critical remarks made by U S Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III regarding the African nation's foreign policy alignments. On Thursday, the country's Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) delivered a firm message clarifying its sovereign stance and the strategic d...

DA leader reflects on party's inspiring heritage, leadership push in new coalition era As the DA marks its twenty-sixth birthday, now under the leadership of newly elected federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, he says the occasion serves as a reflection of the party's historic roots and a forward-looking commitment to its future in South African governance. Hill-Lewis noted that the party's story was...

Outa warns of entrenched S African municipal crisis, as no metro achieves clean audit Not a single metropolitan municipality in South Africa achieved a clean audit for the 2024/25 financial year, according to the latest Auditor-General (AG) reports, with the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) warning that this failure points to an entrenched crisis in local government. Metros represent 54% of t...

Ramaphosa taps former Treasury Budget Chief as economic adviser President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed former National Treasury budget chief Michael Sachs as his economic adviser, bringing a respected fiscal policy technocrat back into the government as the country seeks to accelerate growth and deepen economic reforms. Sachs, who headed the Treasury's budget office between 2015 and 2017, is expected...