Latest news with #FikileMbalula
IOL News
6 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Mbalula will not apologise for remarks on Bergview principal, says ANC
The ANC has defended its Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula amid criminal charges from Berview principal. Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers THE ANC has remained unmoved by a criminal complaint against its secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, saying defending outrage against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBV-F) is not a crime. The party was responding to reports that Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse lodged a criminal complaint against him. Represented by AfriForum's Private Prosecuting Unit, Pieterse, alleges that Mbalula, along with EFF leader Julius Malema and Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade, violated his dignity by falsely accusing him of raping a child. Pieterse claims the trio publicly accused him of raping a 7-year-old girl, known as Cwecwe, after her mother suspected that she was raped. Medical reports had since found that there were no traces of sexual assault. Last month the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stopped pursuing the case saying they did not hold enough evidence. However, the ANC has slammed AfriForum's decision to pursue the matter, calling it "disingenuous, ideologically driven, and flawed." The party maintains that defending outrage against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBV-F) is not a crime. "We will not apologise for speaking out in defence of the voiceless," ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu wrote in a statement. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "We call on all progressive forces, including our Alliance partners, the ANC Women's League, youth formations, religious and community organisations, to reject any effort to criminalise outrage and moral clarity in the face of GBV-F,' Bhengu added. The party has reaffirmed its support for Mbalula, saying he carried the voice of millions when he condemned the rape of a seven-year-old girl at Bergview College. "We urge all to act with vigilance against those who exploit the justice system for ideological ends and threaten prosecution against those who defend what is right," the party said. EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo had not provided a response on charges being laid against Malema. Pieterse lodged a criminal complaint of crimen-injuria and intimidation at the Sophiatown police station in Gauteng against Mbalula, Malema, and Gade while Mbalula and Malema face additional charges of violating the Cybercrime and Intimidation Acts. In his affidavit, Pieterse asks that the rape docket be included as the first exhibit in his cases, citing the scope and extent of the lies told about him. "The consequences of the reckless and malicious statements made against me have had an irreversible and devastating impact on every aspect of my life," he said Spokesperson for AfriForum's Private Prosecution Unit, Barry Bateman, said the politicians' comments were unjust and violated Pieterse's dignity. "Pieterse was publicly labelled a paedophile, a label that in society's eyes is among the most irredeemable and damning," Bateman said. 'South Africa has a rape crisis, we have a child abuse crisis, and being falsely accused of committing such a crime against a child is devastating,' Bateman said. 'This is why we are pursuing these charges.' Bateman also criticised Mbalula, who he said had referred to Pieterse as 'an animal,' questioning how AfriForum could defend 'an animal who rapes children". 'This is simply unacceptable. There must be consequences for people who falsely accuse others in the public domain,' he said. Bateman added that both Malema and Mbalula have approached the courts in recent years because they felt their dignity had been harmed. 'Malema claimed that accusations of illegal dealings and accepting cocaine from drug dealers had left him feeling 'degraded and humiliated' while Mbalula's court case involved accusations of corruption, which the court found had caused him and his family "actual injury"," Bateman said. Cape Times
News24
14-06-2025
- Politics
- News24
‘This is not like football': Mbalula quashes talk of mooted Patrice Motsepe ANC president run
Patrice Motsepe's name has been mentioned alongside ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile and party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula as some of the people tipped to challenge for the top position. Cyril Ndegeya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once. Start your FREE trial now
Eyewitness News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ANC's Mbalula hits out at party succession talk, Motsepe links
JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC)'s Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has warned that leading the ANC is not as easy as running a football club. This as he tackled claims of a perceived campaign by billionaire Patrice Motsepe to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa as party president. Mbalula said it was not even known if Motsepe, one of the ANC's major donors, belonged to a branch in the party. Mbalula spoke in the Eastern Cape on Friday night at the 9th Chris Hani regional conference, which elected its executive without any contestation. Despite the ANC calling on its members to not engage in talks about succession and its 2027 national conference, discussions have been rife.
Eyewitness News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ANC believes there's no 'theoretical basis' for SACP to contest elections alone
JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) believes there is no 'theoretical basis' for the SA Communist Party (SACP) contesting elections alone. Last year, the SACP resolved to no longer contest elections under the ANC umbrella. The ANC has criticised the decision, saying it will split the alliance vote and benefit opposition parties, while the Communist Party says it wants more influence in the direction of the country. ALSO READ: SACP to contest local govt elections 'to advance working class, not as alternative to GNU' Speaking at the Chris Hani regional conference in the Eastern Cape on Friday, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says if the SACP wants more of its councillors to be on the deployment lists, that can be resolved. 'I know comrades from the Communist Party are always arguing that there is a theoretical basis to their contest, but I need to be educated on it. What is the theoretical basis of this contest? What is this hurry that now we have reached the point where the party can stand on its own, and it believes that will be favourable to the democratic forces in the NDR (National Democratic Revolution), how will that strengthen us?'
The Citizen
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Barely able to run ports, state pushes for national shipping company
Development Bank of Southern Africa, one of the few relatively well-functioning state-owned enterprises, is playing a key role in this. The government owned Safmarine for over 50 years – and imports and exports do not depend on whether SA has a national shipping carrier. Picture: Shutterstock It really is preposterous, isn't it? A government that wants to establish a new state-owned shipping company, but whose navy has little to no working ships and whose air force has little to no working aircraft. Thankfully, government is – as it does – moving forward so unhurriedly that we may not see final legislation to create a new state-owned shipping company by the early 2030s. The process to establish the unimaginatively named South African Shipping Company (Sasco) began in 2017 with the publication of the Comprehensive Maritime Transport Policy, under then minister of transport Joe Maswanganyi. In 2022, a pre-draft bill regarding Sasco's establishment was published by the then minister of transport Fikile Mbalula. It took a further three years after that for the department to start engaging stakeholders. Read more Budget 2024: No new bailouts for underperforming SOEs Recently, it invited industry role players to participate in a steering committee to help guide its development. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), one of the few relatively well-functioning state-owned enterprises, is playing a key role in this process. ALSO READ: Development Bank of Southern Africa 'is bullish' 'Own import and export trade' 'In particular,' the department says, the state will 'implement radical measures' and intends to ensure 'a significant targeted percentage of exports and imports are moved by the national shipping carrier'. It says the company model 'will enable South Africa to carry its own import and export trade which has suffered a negative growth since the 1980s since South Africa does not have a national shipping carrier'. Not only is this factually incorrect (we had a state-owned shipping company until 1999), it also simply makes no sense. The government owned Safmarine for over 50 years, but it was sold to global shipping giant Maersk at the end of the 1990s, which integrated it into the group in the 2000s. Maersk dropped the brand in 2020. Imports and exports do not depend on whether South Africa has a national shipping carrier. In fact, regulations that restrict cabotage, or the transporting of goods between two ports within the same country, may well negatively impact trade volumes. The policy sees a phasing in of cabotage restrictions, a targeted increase in domestic/state-owned vessels, and legislation on the carriage of government cargo by South African ships. ALSO READ: New minister of transport's five targets a clear and encouraging vision Even Ethiopia has a fleet … As far back as 2013, when Durban hosted the Brics Maritime Trade Forum, government appeared to realise that we were the only of the five founding members of Brics not to own a fleet of vessels. It highlighted that even Ethiopia had a state-owned fleet. Speaking to SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb, transport economist Dr Joachim Vermooten explained that: 'The international shipping industry is a very, very large industry, and it operates similarly to other network industries where you get economies of scope and scale. 'Now, with [just] a few ships you can't get any economic leverage to actually do that – and ultimately it would mean that you would end up with higher shipping rates because it increases the empty directional operations by ships. 'So, I think, you know, under the current economic situation there is no room for actually starting up a state-owned shipping company because we just can't generate the types of volumes to actually make it work. 'And that's why Safmarine was eventually sold to Maersk, which is a very, very large organisation. And before it was absorbed into Maersk itself, the company grew, I think, seven or eight times larger than it had been under the auspices of government ownership.' ALSO READ: Creecy 'very concerned' about Air Traffic Navigation Services woes Won't compete effectively That sums up the problem perfectly. A fleet of five, 10 or even a few dozen ships just won't be enough to be able to compete effectively. Thankfully, The Presidency knows that shipping is a network industry. That's part of the reason why it's rammed through reforms to introduce private sector players into Transnet's underperforming ports. The policy ideologues at the Department of Transport, however, don't seem to get this. Vermooten also says cabotage, which comes from 16th Century France, was adopted across Europe to reserve port-to-port operations for shipping lines run by each country. This principle has been relaxed totally for those within the EEC [European Economic Community]. He adds that 'South Africa's waters are not very conducive to this type of operation'. 'Practically, I think it would be wrong for us to apply a cabotage. We don't have the shipping, we don't have the routes that operate, and our land transportation is so good with trucks in various forms that it's very difficult to think that there are any routes along the coast that can actually financially sustain a shipping route.' ALSO READ: How to fix Transnet's ports in the interest of economic growth 'Billions will be spent' The overarching problem with the bureaucracy in national government (in particular), is that once a process like this starts, it's very, very difficult to stop. The train has left the station. And so the state will inch forward, slowly, and finally yet another state-owned enterprise will be established, complete with funding, a corporate structure (including board seats that must be filled), and staff. By that point, it likely won't own a single ship, but tens/hundreds of millions will have been spent to get there. Once it starts amassing a fleet (even of a single ship), that's where billions and billions will be spent. A cynical view might be that the DBSA is only involved as the fiscus has no money to fund Sasco. But that's the reality. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
