For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa announces date for local government elections; South Africa records 1 569 new infections and 53 new deaths; And, qualifications of senior government officials updated amid credentials outcry

Ramaphosa announces date for local government elections

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the local government elections will take place on October 27, this year.

This will be the sixth time under South Africa's democratic dispensation that voters will elect leadership and public representatives at metropolitan, district and local level.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will follow the necessary legal process to proclaim the date and undertake other requirements.

Ramaphosa urged eligible - and especially first-time voters - to ensure they are registered to participate in the elections, which provide the basis for development and service delivery closest to where citizens live.

South Africa records 1 569 new infections and 53 new deaths

South Africa recorded 1 569 new Covid-19 infections by Wednesday and 53 new Covid-19-related deaths, taking the confirmed death toll to 53 940.

As of Wednesday, the country recorded over 1.5-million confirmed Covid-19 cases.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most confirmed active cases with 4 974, followed by the Northern Cape with 3 393 and Gauteng with 2 946 cases.

The recovery rate is steady at 95% and more than 1.4-million recoveries have been recorded.

And, qualifications of senior government officials updated amid credentials outcry

The heads of national and provincial departments have nine days left to update the qualifications of senior government officials on their systems amid an outcry over senior public servants who are not qualified for their jobs.

In a letter dated 15 April, the Department of Public Service and Administration's director-general, Yoliswa Makhasi, said departments were expected to prioritise updating their systems as it was only the Persal system that was considered to be accurate.

Persal is the government's payroll and personal staff system that is used by provincial and national departments.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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