Daily news update: SA mourns kaMagwaza-Msibi, IEC to reopen registration, more headaches for Denel

Local elections: IEC to reopen candidate registration process

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced it will reopen its candidate registration process for the 2021 local government elections later this month.

IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini made the announcement a short while ago at a media briefing in Centurion, Pretoria.

The reopening of the candidate registration will allow parties to submit their candidates after they missed the IEC’s initial 23 August deadline to register candidates.

The ANC was among the parties that did not register its candidates for the upcoming polls. The governing party failed to register candidates in more than 90 municipalities.

NFP founding leader Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi dies

The founder and leader of the National Freedom Party (NFP), Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, has passed away. She was 59 years old.

NFP MP Ahmed Shaik Emam confirmed to eNCA her passing, saying she died on Monday morning at a Durban hospital.

“I’ve always been motivated by the way she’s conducted herself and how she selflessly served the interests of the most vulnerable and the poorest in the country, particularly in areas where she governed as a mayor like in Zululand.

“In November 2014, she had a massive stroke and she had not really recovered from that. However, despite her challenges, she continued to serve our people,” he said.

Police open cases following Kebby Maphatsoe’s funeral

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has opened cases against mourners who attended the funeral service of uMkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) president Kebby Maphatsoe.

Maphatsoe, who passed away last week due to a heart attack, was laid to rest at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg on Sunday.

A video doing the rounds on social media shows his supporters sending him off in a gunfire salute that is alleged to have ended in the injury of an elderly woman and shattered a bedroom window of another.

More headaches for Denel: financials in chaos, after finance staff jump ship

Arms manufacturing company Denel is feeling the consequences of loss of skills in its finance department and is therefore unable to correct its financial statements for 2019/2020.

Staff left the company in droves after they did not receive full salaries for the past 18 months.

Denel said in a Sens statement last week that it is still working on correcting the financial statements after it received a disclaimer from the auditor-general. It has since published quarterly updates on progress made “in relation to the issues that resulted in the disclaimer opinion as contained in the audit report for the financial year”.

Looking back: These graphs show severity of the third wave in SA

With new Covid cases on the decline in Gauteng – along with hospitalisation and deaths too – experts declare the third wave to have passed.

This is by no means an invitation to rest on our laurels. Back in August, Prof Salim Abdool-Karim said South Africa could almost certainly experience a fourth wave.

He said it was expected to occur in December. The only way through, he said, was to ensure South Africa has a “very high level of vaccination”, meaning 70%-80% of the population should be vaccinated.

DA taking up the fight for ANC employees

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is planning to press criminal charges against the ANC’s top six leadership over the governing party’s alleged failure to pay Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions to the state.

The ANC’s cash flow problems have been an ongoing concern, with staff members complaining for months that they’re not receiving salaries on time.

The party hasn’t been able to pay its staff since July 2021 and it also allegedly owes the South African Revenue Service more than R100 million in taxes.

Guinea coup: SA govt calls for immediate release of President Alpha Condé

The South African government on Monday called for the immediate release of Guinea President Alpha Condé after the army seized power in a coup on Sunday.

The West African state was hit by fresh turmoil when special forces arrested the 83-year-old leader and declared they were scrapping the constitution and imposed a curfew.

In a statement, the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) said it noted with great concern the ongoing political and security situation in Guinea and called on for the African Union’s (AU’s) intervention.

Taliban now in total control of Afghanistan

The Taliban on Monday claimed total control over Afghanistan, saying they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.

Following their lightning-fast victory in mid-August over the former Afghan government’s security forces and the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war, the Taliban turned to fighting the forces defending the mountainous Panjshir Valley.

As the Islamist hardliners claimed victory, their chief spokesman warned against any further attempts to rise up against their rule while urging former members of the security forces to join their regime’s ranks.