January 12, 2017.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Zuma signs seven new finance bills into law

Gordhan to act against municipalities which owe Eskom money

And, Mantashe says stalwarts and ANC Women’s League could weaken the ANC

President Jacob Zuma has signed seven new finance bills into law, the Presidency said in a statement today.

The Bills had been passed by both the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces in the past year and sent to the President for ratification.

The new pieces of legislation are the taxation laws amendment Act, the finance Act, the rates and monetary amounts and amendment of revenue laws act, the tax administration laws amendment act, adjustments appropriation act and the unemployment amendment act.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said National Treasury will act against municipalities that have failed to settle their debt to Eskom.

In a letter to the DA MP for the Free State David Ross, Gordhan raised his concern over Eskom’s planned power cuts on January 16, saying that National Treasury would consider withholding national grants to the non-paying municipalities.

Judge Hans Fabricius on Thursday ruled in the North Gauteng High Court that Eskom may cut off power supply to the eight indebted municipalities as a means to recover outstanding debt.

The ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe has warned party stalwarts and the ANC Women’s League that they risk deepening divisions in the organisation.

Mantashe said the veterans’ intention of creating provincial chapters of stalwarts could further weaken the organisation as it would create a parallel process.

The women’s league had faced censure for publicly endorsing outgoing African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to replace President Jacob Zuma as ANC leader at the party’s elective conference in December.

Also making headlines:
Members of the Black First Land First organisation are to hold talks with Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane today.

And, Lesufi and Makhura assured parents of around 40 000 pupils that their children would be placed in schools.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today