For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Nzimande distances himself from reports he is lobbying for university tuition, residence fee hikes; Israel rejects genocide accusations at World Court, says it must defend itself; And, ANC targets outright majority in upcoming election

Nzimande distances himself from reports he is lobbying for university tuition, residence fee hikes

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has denied reports that he is lobbying for increases to university fees and student residences.

The Department of Higher Education said university councils, not the minister, were authorised to determine fees in accordance with the Higher Education Act. 

The department said Nzimande's input only involves a guiding framework for determining fee structures.

The department's statement comes after a news report that Nzimande proposed a tuition and student residence fees hike of 4.5% and 6.5%, respectively. 

The report cited a letter, dated 28 December and addressed to the chairpersons of university councils, which stated that a three-year fee agreement could only be introduced between 2025 and 2027. 

The letter said students from the "missing middle", whose annual household income is between R350 000 and R600 000, would be hardest hit by the proposed hikes. 

Nzimande said that while the fee regulatory framework was expected to have been finalised by March 2022, this was not possible "as it became necessary to review the sequence of the complex work on funding in a context of fiscal consolidation".

Israel rejects genocide accusations at World Court, says it must defend itself

Israel today rejected as false and "grossly distorted" accusations brought by South Africa at the United Nations' top court that its military operation in Gaza is a State-led genocide campaign against the Palestinian population.

It called on judges to dismiss South Africa's request to halt its offensive, saying to do so would leave it defenceless.

South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in December, yesterday asked judges in The Hague to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive.

It said Israel's aerial and ground offensive - which has laid waste to much of the enclave and killed more than 23 000 people, according to Gaza health authorities - aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.

And, ANC targets outright majority in upcoming election

The African National Congress won't be distracted by smaller parties as it prepares for an outright majority in the upcoming general election.

This is according to ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, who was speaking at a Peter Mokaba Memorial Lecture in Mbombela.

Mokaba was a former president of the ANC Youth League.

Ramaphosa told young people in the audience that smaller parties would not deter the ANC from achieving its goal.

He said the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe Party was ramping up its campaign in several provinces across South Africa.  

The MK party enjoys the support of former president Jacob Zuma, who announced in December that he would not campaign or vote for the ANC.

In the upcoming election, which Ramaphosa hinted could be held towards the end of the year, the ANC is going up against a host of emerging parties as well as a collective of some opposition parties.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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