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

Making headlines: EFF, Patriotic Alliance take wards from ANC in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape by-elections; R5.4-billion of Guptas' estimated R72.3-billion recovered; And, SA now has 19-million people on social grants, costing taxpayers over R200 billion

EFF, Patriotic Alliance take wards from ANC in Mpumalanga

The Economic Freedom Fighters and Patriotic Alliance showed more electoral growth, by taking a ward each and removing African National Congress councillors in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape in yesterday's by-elections, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa.

In results released today, the IEC also revealed that, although the ANC retained its seat in the Siyancuma Local Municipality's Ward 6 in the Northern Cape, the party lost ground with a marginal win of 50.18% of the vote - a nearly 12% fall compared to the November 2021 municipal elections.

However, it still maintained its large majority in Msukalingwa, where it now occupies 23 of the municipality's 38 council seats.

The EFF's Siphiwe Florence Ngwenya occupies the party's eighth seat. The EFF won big in the Msukalingwa Local Municipality, with growth of more than 40% to win Ward 13 with 60.04% of the votes cast.

In the Northern Cape, the PA's Johan Loff won Ward 1 of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which includes the province's capital city of Kimberley, growing by nearly 13% to 53.27% of the votes, and removing the ANC.

The PA now has four of the 65 council seats, with the ANC's slim majority further reduced to 32 seats.

Northern Cape by-elections; R5.4-billion of Guptas' estimated R72.3-billion recovered

While the Gupta's looted R72.3-billion from the State, the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit and its partners restrained or preserved R14-billion of the loot, and R5.4-billion has been recovered.

This information is contained in the NPA's presentation on its annual report to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, where Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi was at pains to dispel the narrative that the NPA has been doing nothing on State capture.

According to Batohi, the NPA has been on an "upwards performance trajectory" for the past three years: in 2020/21, it achieved 50% of its targets, 71% in 2021/22, and now 75% in 2022/23, the year under review. 

In April, it emerged that an Emirati court did not grant South Africa's request to extradite brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta.

Batohi described these events as "setbacks" and noted that they were still appealing against the Nulane ruling and working on the Guptas' extradition.

She said the narrative that the NPA is not doing anything about State capture is not only wrong, it is dangerous.

And, SA now has 19-million people on social grants, costing taxpayers over R200 billion

South Africa now has close to 19-million citizens surviving on permanent government social grants and it's costing the taxpayer more than R200-billion per year.

Additionally, an average of 8.5-million beneficiaries are receiving the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant, incurring an expenditure for the 2022/23 financial year of R30.2-billion.

Not all beneficiaries of the R350-grant are paid on time every month, and sometimes they are not paid at all, which means the total expenditure could be even higher.

Overall, the SA Social Security Agency pays more than 27-million beneficiaries monthly, accounting for about 45% of the country's population.

These figures were shared during a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, who scrutinised the annual reports of the Department of Social Development and its entities.

The department's director-general, Linton Mchunu, said they were expanding their services to people with disabilities, victims of gender-based violence, the elderly, and those hit hard by Covid-19.

A total of R239-billion was made available to Sassa for the payment of social grants between April 2022 to March 2023.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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