For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: IEC says possibility of 2024 elections between May and August, NSFAS board axes CEO and, MEC 'seeking guidance' as Ramaphosa quietly advises against hosting SAMAs

IEC says possibility of 2024 elections between May and August

Independent Election Commission of South Africa Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo has declared that the IEC is ready for the 2024 National and Provincial elections and he reminded South Africans that they have a duty to elect public representatives who will guide the course of the country's national future.

Mamabolo was speaking at the IEC’s launch of the 2024 elections campaign, in Midrand, under the theme "Your Democracy. Own It”.

Next year, the elections will be held as the country marks 30 years of democracy.

He said an election is possible between May and the middle of August 2024 and that, in terms of the Constitution, the country must have an election within 90 days of the expiry of the legislatures’ terms.

The proclamation of the election date will be announced by  President Cyril Ramaphosa after consultation with the Electoral commission.

NSFAS board axes CEO

National Student Financial Aid Scheme CEO Andile Nongogo has been fired amid a R47-billion payments scandal.

NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khoza told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the decision was taken late on Monday night.

NSFAS revealed last week that a probe found that the suspended Nongogo, among a slew of "irregularities", had handpicked four firms to pay around 1.1-million students their R1 650 monthly allowances directly and not through tertiary institutions, which had been the previous payment method. 

MEC 'seeking guidance' as Ramaphosa quietly advises against hosting SAMAs

President Cyril Ramaphosa is said to have quietly advised KZN Economic Development and Tourism Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma against hosting the South African Music Awards, following outrage. 

The province is marred by service delivery issues, and ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance are against the idea of hosting the awards at a massive cost of R20-million, according to the provincial government. 

According to reports last week, Duma's department had gone to the provincial treasury, with a request for virements – a process where a department shifts money around its programmes.

Duma's spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said there were no irregularities involved and added that the R20-million "investment" would inject R350-million into the economy. 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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