The South African Department of Agriculture has announced the country’s first ever mass vaccination of poultry.
This comes amid a severe outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Brazil, which led to South Africa suspending its poultry imports from the South American country.
Earlier this year the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) warned that the country could face catastrophic consequences without vaccination against the highly pathogenic bird flu.
South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, said the Department’s vaccination team, together with the Agricultural Research Council, would be working through a list of farms received by the poultry industry and would be prioritising high-risk areas.
“We have secured vaccine supply, ensured cold chain capacity, and are building in traceability and reporting mechanisms as part of a wider preparedness strategy,” Steenhuisen said.
The government’s vaccination team, which consists of poultry specialist vets from the University of Pretoria, would be further assisted by 50 animal health technicians on short term contracts.
Combating foot-and-mouth disease
The Department of Agriculture also provided an update on its progress in tackling the severe foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the country.
It said vaccines to cover the KwaZulu-Natal area had now been ordered. More than 900,000 doses have been ordered, with the first batch expected to arrive next week.
The Department said there were still signs of active virus circulation in the province, within the Disease Management Area, but some outbreaks have been detected outside of this zone. However, a system has been put in place to assess the level of biosecurity on individual farms.
Regarding the Gauteng outbreak, the Department said it was currently assessing the situation, including forward and backward tracing.
Karan Beef is currently working with State Veterinary Services on a containment plan, following an outbreak at its Heidelberg facility this week.
“These plans are not only about responding to outbreaks, but also about building permanent infrastructure to manage future risks," Steenhuisen said.
“More broadly, we are establishing a Biosecurity Council that will bring together the South African Police Service (SAPS), veterinarians, scientists, the Border Management Authority, and industry. We are rolling out a farm to fork national traceability system for livestock,” the Minister added.
*This article was first published by IOL News
The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, has publicly apologised for her behaviour in a Parliamentary Committee on Higher Education session held earlier this week after being lambasted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a post on X, she said that she had reflected and acknowledged “that the situation could have been handled differently”.
Nkabane met with the Committee earlier this week, to in theory, explain why she appointed certain people as chairmen of 21 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) recently and then withdrew those appointments.
However, Nkabane was accused of not providing a detailed explanation and of not being transparent over her withdrawal of the appointments, and said any process needed to ensure that it was not victim to state capture or be dominated by any one political party when it came to political allegiance of those chosen for the role.
She was also accused of not listening and telling Members of Parliament that, even though she withdrew appointments of chairmen, that process was not flawed. One member went as far as to say that no-one would believe her.
Ramaphosa’s indirectly said the Minister had called the process, and Parliament into ill repute.
“The public broadcast of Parliamentary proceedings and the viral spread of content from and public comment on these proceedings demand that all Ministers and senior officials remain conscious of all aspects of their conduct during such proceedings."
Ramaphosa’s office stated, “he has requested that the Minister provides him with a detailed report on the decorum and substance of her engagement with Parliament”.
Nkabane said she “noted” Ramaphosa’s statement and that of other “concerns raised by various stakeholders”.
Ramaphosa also said he wanted a report on the process undertaken to appoint board members to the SETA authorities that were at the centre of the Portfolio Committee's questions. “The request for the report is in view of the President's expectation that Ministers, Deputy Ministers and senior executives in our public sector conduct themselves professionally, transparently and cordially in engaging with Parliament and other accountability institutions.”
Nkabane said in her post on X that she took “this opportunity to express my commitment to strengthening the relationship between the Ministry, the Department, and the Portfolio Committee. I intend to inculcate and maintain a constructive, respectful, and professional working relationship with all Members of Parliament.”
The Minister added that “it was never my intention to evade accountability or undermine the decorum of Parliament. I will continue to lead with humility, and I value the critical role of Parliament in providing oversight to ensure our sector delivers effectively for the benefit of all South Africans.”
*This article was first published by IOL News
After 78 years of manufacturing tyres in Kariega, Nelson Mandela Bay, the Goodyear factory will close. Restructuring that includes the closure of the company’s manufacturing arm in South Africa will take place – Section 189A retrenchment notices have been served.
The jobs of 900 workers are at risk and thousands of jobs from secondary industries are being threatened as Goodyear announced this week that it was closing its factory in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The factory, in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage), was opened in 1947. About 900 employees will lose their jobs, but fears are that this will have a larger secondary impact as other industries, such as catering, security and corporate social investment projects will be affected by the decision.
Company representatives would not answer questions on Thursday, but issued a general statement confirming that it was shutting down its manufacturing arm in South Africa.
“Goodyear is transforming its go-to-market strategy in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region to optimise its footprint and portfolio.
“As part of that transformation, Goodyear South Africa is launching a restructuring process in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act to address proposals regarding the closure of its manufacturing facility in South Africa and the realignment of certain sales, administration and general management functions. Goodyear South Africa will continue to maintain a sales and distribution, and Hi-Q retail presence in South Africa,” the statement read.
“This proposal is in no way a reflection of the commendable efforts or the years of dedication of our South Africa team, for which we are grateful,” the statement added.
The process will be facilitated by the CCMA.
“As a company, we recognise our responsibilities towards our employees and their families and are firmly committed to acting fairly and providing them with appropriate support,” the company’s statement continued.
National Metal Workers Union representative Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union had not yet received a Section 189 notice from Goodyear.
CEO of Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Denise van Huyssteen said the chamber would assist workers through its job loss mitigation initiative. The initiative connects companies seeking artisans with those whose jobs had been made redundant. Previously, the chamber helped redirect employees of specialist tyre manufacturer, Continental Conti-tech when it closed its plant in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Van Huyssteen said the chamber was saddened to receive the news of the Goodyear retrenchments at the Kariega factory.
“This comes just months after Conti-tech announced that it was closing its plant, and the Bridgestone plant closure of over four years ago.
“This highlights the massive pressure which tyre manufacturers are under due to enabling environment issues such as the logistics challenges; lack of service delivery at a municipal level; inadequate maintenance of electricity, water and sanitation infrastructure; increased costs relating to safety and security; above-inflation input costs for essential services such as electricity; as well as cheap tyre imports which are flooding the market,” she said.
Nduduzo Chala from the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference said that while he wanted to allow Goodyear to go through the process it had begun, he could say that trading conditions for local manufacturers had been very difficult over the past few years.
The conference represents the four big tyre manufacturers in South Africa — Bridgestone, Dunlop, Goodyear and Continental.
“The market has been plagued with an unfair trade environment. It is a question of producers vs importers, and low-cost products have been introduced into the market,” he said.
He said they had persuaded the government, even though it took more than a year, to introduce anti-dumping duties on China recently.
“It was a very unfair trading environment,” he said. “But there are always loopholes, and the Chinese companies are now shifting operations to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We then had to do the same for these countries,” he said.
“However, the sustainability of manufacturing has become challenging,” Chala said.
*This article was first published by Daily Maverick
The key to fixing South Africa’s troubled municipalities is to appoint officials who are capable and know their job, says Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, as public comment for the overhaul of local government gets into full swing.
It’s been almost a year since Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa became Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), and he says he is happy with pipelines being put in place to fix South Africa’s crumbling local government.
Hlabisa spoke to Daily Maverick about local government, audits and the importance of political parties appointing capable people to lead municipalities, especially as the country headed towards the 2026 local government elections.
Hlabisa was appointed to the Cabinet by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his party joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).
His mandate, as explained to Daily Maverick earlier this year, was to fix local government, an arena that has been fraught with frustrated residents battling with limited water supply, crumbling infrastructure and coalition politics which hamper service delivery.
Among his responsibilities, Hlabisa is now tasked with local government overhaul via the review of the White Paper on Local Governance, which has been in effect since 1998. This includes looking at reviews of funding models and possible reconfigurations within the sphere.
Read more: ‘Time to pay up,’ Cogta Minister Hlabisa tells municipalities as government reviews funding models
Hlabisa said thus far, he was happy in terms of progress and projects in the pipeline. “The turnaround plan is a focused process.”
The review was officially launched in May 2025 with public comment closing on 30 June. After this, a process begins of capturing responses and then working to create a new, or as Hlabisa puts it, “reimagined” local government.
Thus far, there has been “very high interest” from various sectors: business and ordinary people alike.
“You have an opportunity to say, how do we reimagine municipalities? Should we stay with 257 municipalities, some of which are not viable, or must we do a reconfiguration, but not a reconfiguration for the sake of reconfiguration, but a reconfiguration for municipalities that will be fit for purpose?
“I like the interest people have shown,” he said.
This is a time-bound project which intends to publish a revised White Paper by March 2026, according to the Cogta website dedicated to the task. There is also a deadline of July 2026 for a close-out report ahead of the scheduled municipal elections. Hlabisa said that by this time, the foundation would have been laid for what the next term of office could look like.
He described the review as a “milestone” that would change the local government space – and local government is indeed in a difficult and shambolic space.
As Daily Maverick has reported, only 41 of 257 municipalities received a clean audit during the 2023-34 financial year. The City of Cape Town was alone among eight metros in receiving a clean audit. Coalition politics often makes headlines for causing disruption and affecting service delivery.
The process was going well as the 30 June deadline approached, said Hlabisa.
Within the next two weeks, Hlabisa and his department will host political parties and members of the House of Traditional Leaders for consultation on the review.
“This is an opportunity to reimagine, to shape once again municipalities that will be fit for purpose,” he said.
But will it really make a difference, after years of headlines about municipal dysfunction?
“The white paper review on local government is an overhaul process,” he explained. Some municipalities were unable to deliver services because “they are not viable, they are not collecting any money from anybody, they adopt unfunded budgets because they don’t have sufficient resources versus the needs of the community”.
“It is time that we must make municipalities work.”
The review will look at municipal structures themselves – their size, whether they are viable to perform or not, big or small. Then come the funding models.
“So we need to revisit the funding model. How much should be coming from the national government and provincial government,” he said.
Some municipalities had an advantage due to past history, so they would not need the kind of support disadvantaged municipalities needed, said Hlabisa.
“If you do not take into account all these factors, you will blame municipalities, saying they’re not performing – how are they going to perform? If there is no revenue base … and the assumption that they will collect 90% is not working – how are they going to perform?
“That is why we say, let’s go to the drawing board and come up with something based on experience – with functional municipalities, you don’t need to spend more time reimagining them because you know they are fit for purpose,” he said.
“And we know municipalities that are completely dismal, and you need to focus on them to reshape them in terms of structure, and in terms of the funding model.”
Political parties – ‘appoint capable people’
When Hlabisa meets political parties for the review, he will advise them to employ capable people, from senior administrative staff to local political leaders.
He said that municipalities, even if they had been reimagined and given more funding, would not change if “you deliberately decide to deploy people who you know, people you can’t take to Parliament – you want to keep them at a local government space because they don’t have the capacity, but you expect them to do miracles”.
Throughout the interview, Hlabisa emphasised that credible and capable candidates had to be appointed in political roles, particularly within local government.
He told Daily Maverick that when it came to some audit disclaimers (the worst audit opinion), it boiled down to the capacity and capability of the people deployed there.
Fourteen municipalities countrywide received disclaimer audits, in 2023-2024, compared with 15 the previous year.
Hlabisa said that incapable mayors and council officials ran the risk of defying good advice and making poor decisions, “which will lead the municipality to a disclaimer”.
“If you have a mayor and the speaker who know their jobs, they are the ones who say ‘CFO, here are your targets – we want clean audits, accountability and transparency, you have all our support to achieve this.
“In that scenario, if both the political and administrative levels have capacity, no doubt you will have clean audits.”
Hlabisa said this was also true for coalitions: “If you have capacity, you are able to pull the coalition government together. True, if you go to COJ (City of Johannesburg), we see a problem. I think it’s the fifth mayor now, in four years.”
In comparison, he used the example of the uMhlathuze Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, run by the IFP and the African National Congress.
“It has achieved a clean audit for three consecutive years now. It is under a coalition government… the leaders in the municipality are people with capacity and capability.”
*This article was first published by Daily Maverick
South Africans are being warned to brace for an intense spell of winter weather. From this weekend (7 June), severe storms and snowfall are expected across nearly the entire country.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a warning about a powerful Cut-Off Low (COL) system that is forecast to bring extreme conditions to every province except Limpopo, starting Saturday, 7 June 2025.
According to SAWS, the system will initially impact the Western and Northern Cape before sweeping eastward across the country early next week.
By Monday and Tuesday, it will be affecting the central and eastern provinces, bringing a dramatic drop in temperatures and a range of hazardous weather events.
Daytime temperatures are expected to plunge significantly, struggling to rise above 10°C in many areas, with icy winds intensifying the chill.
Snowfalls are anticipated in nearly every province, sparing only Limpopo, with some areas likely to experience disruptive accumulations.
These snowy conditions are expected to affect major routes, including the N3 highway at Van Reenen’s Pass, potentially leading to road closures or hazardous driving conditions on Monday and Tuesday.
Farmers with small livestock are urged to take protective measures as the cold and wind seriously threaten animal welfare.
The storm system is also expected to generate strong and damaging winds over large parts of the interior starting Sunday.
These winds could trigger wildfires, especially in the central and eastern regions, ahead of the arrival of colder air.
Along the coasts, gale-force winds and rough seas will develop from Friday on the south-west coast, moving along the southern and eastern shores through the weekend and continuing until at least Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall is forecast for parts of the Eastern Cape coast and nearby inland areas on Sunday, raising the risk of localised flooding and damage to infrastructure. On Monday, the rain is expected to shift toward southern KwaZulu-Natal.
In addition, severe thunderstorms are likely on Monday and Tuesday in provinces such as North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, possibly bringing hail and damaging winds.
Be prepared
These severe conditions are expected to persist in the eastern parts of the country until at least Wednesday.
SAWS has warned the public to prepare for prolonged exposure to bitterly cold weather, strong winds, and dangerous travel conditions in many areas.
Karen Rimmer, Head of Distribution at PSG Insure, has previously cautioned homeowners to take immediate steps to secure their properties.
She stressed the importance of outdoor maintenance, highlighting that loose furniture, poorly maintained structures, or neglected items can become hazardous during high winds or storms.
Homeowners should check that outdoor items are properly fastened and that features like awnings or sheds are in good repair.
Rimmer also advised trimming back dead plants, branches, and shrubs to reduce the risk of fires, especially during storms when lightning or electrical faults can ignite dry materials.
With winds capable of fanning even small embers, such fire hazards should not be overlooked.
On the financial side, Rimmer recommended that homeowners review their insurance policies to ensure that their coverage accurately reflects the current replacement value of their property.
This includes accounting for any special features, finishes, or custom-built elements that may require higher-value coverage in the event of damage.
*This article was first published by BusinessTech
Abigail Visagie
Bloemfontein based long distance runner and sports manager of Athletics at the University of the Free State (UFS), Kesaoleboga “Kesa” Molotsane, has been appointed the chairperson of the Athletics South African Board.
Her election reflects both her dedication to athletics and the UFS commitment to developing leaders in sport and the university’s constant commitment to producing top tier leaders.
Stepping into this role, Molotsane mentioned that the aim is to ensure that athletes are given a just and fair platform where the athletes’ concerns are addressed and their contributions are acknowledged especially since the Athletes Commission serves as the official voice of athletes within the federation, ensuring that their rights, needs, and experiences inform decisions at board level.
Molotstane looks forward to focusing on strengthening the connection between athletes and administration, helping to build a sporting culture that supports excellence both on and off the field.
With her background at an academic institution, the long-distance runner is focused on inspiring the next generation and although Molotsane is aware of the responsibility that comes with her new role, her journey stands as a powerful example of what is possible with hard work, self-belief, and consistent effort.
“It is possible. If you believe in your craft and are willing to put in the work to turn your dreams into reality, it is possible,” she says. “Never doubt yourself, believe in your dreams even if no one else does. Always be willing to learn, unlearn, and relearn,” concluded Molotsane.
