For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Patel to leave Cabinet after elections; Zuma says he will fight for his rights over South Africa election disqualification; And, judgment compelling Gauteng govt to pay NPOs huge win for NPOs, beneficiaries

Patel to leave Cabinet after elections

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel has announced that he will conclude his service in Cabinet after next week's election.

He thanked President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress for the trust and confidence shown during his period in office and the leadership the President has provided to Cabinet, the country and the continent.

Patel says the world changed considerably during his 15-year tenure as a Cabinet Minister.

The challenge of climate change has become more urgent, geopolitical tensions are sharper, volatility is now baked into economies and technological innovation and the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the world.

Patel notes that this period also entailed State capture locally and mitigation against it; the pandemic, which led to the deepest recession globally since World War Two; war in Europe that led to food, fuel and fertiliser price spikes; continued conflict around the right of Palestinians to Statehood; and droughts, floods and unsettled weather patterns.

Zuma says he will fight for his rights over South Africa election disqualification

South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma says he will fight for his rights, after the country's top court ruled that he was not eligible to run for Parliament in next week's election.

The Constitutional Court ruled earlier this week that Zuma's 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2021 disqualified him from standing in the May 29 vote, as the Constitution prohibits anyone given a prison sentence of 12 months or longer from holding a parliamentary seat.

Decisions of the Constitutional Court cannot be overruled.

While Zuma's name will be removed from MK's list of parliamentary candidates, his face will remain on the election's ballot papers as he is the registered leader of the party.

And, judgment compelling Gauteng govt to pay NPOs huge win for NPOs, beneficiaries

Public interest law centre SECTION27 has encouraged the Gauteng Department of Social Development to finalise all successful non-profit organisations’ applications for funding and subsidies without delay.

On Wednesday the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg handed down an order compelling the provincial department to address the funding crisis faced by NPOs across the province.

It was ordered to do so by no later than Friday and must make payments to those NPOs which have already signed their service level agreements, by 31 May 2024.

This after NPOs in Gauteng took the department to court because of delays in funding and subsidies.

SECTION27 welcomed this decision saying it was a huge win for NPOs and the beneficiaries they provide essential services to. It congratulated the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee and their legal representatives, Webber Wentzel, on this important decision.

For the past two months, SECTION27 has been engaging with the department on behalf of several NPOs that offer social welfare services to some of the most vulnerable people in the province.

SECTION27 said this crisis was nothing but a self-constructed disaster by the department through its dysfunction, urging Social Development MEC Mbali Hlophe and the Gauteng government to address the dysfunction, fix the current crisis and ensure it never happens again.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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