All Articles

Image: courtesy of FF Plus The Free State's budget for the 2026/27 financial year clearly shows that government’s first priority is not developing the province, but keeping the public service afloat. An eye-watering 65% of the provincial budget goes to salaries, while the sectors that truly drive economic growth are neglected. Agriculture – central to food security and job creation – receives only 2,3% of the budget, with a meagre R5 million earmarked for the foot-and-mouth d

Image: courtesy of FF Plus The announcement by the United States (US) that it will conduct a Section 301 investigation into South Africa (and 59 other countries) to probe possible unacceptable labour practices in the manufacture of trade goods is a clear sign that Washington’s patience with the ANC is finally running out. Section 301 allows the US to impose tariffs and other measures on countries whose policies are deemed discriminatory or unfair towards American interests. I

Image: courtesy of FF Plus With his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on 5 March, Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu should demonstrate that residents' concerns come first, and not the ANC's interests. The challenges communities face daily can no longer be ignored. These include residents' safety and security, the province's economic stability and the people’s future. Pressing issues that warrant urgent attention are: •                  Foot-and-mouth disease: The outbreak h

Image: courtesy of Freedom Front Plus While the Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Steenhuisen, is defending government's exclusive right to procure and administer foot-and-mouth disease vaccines in court, the economic crisis affecting rural communities keeps expanding. Most rural towns are primarily sustained by agriculture. Rural economies consist mainly of input suppliers, businesses that receive and process agricultural products, financial and personal services, and trade.

Image: courtesy of Freedom Front Plus With the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic wreaking havoc on livestock marketing, it is crucial to protect areas that are still free of the disease. This can be achieved by ensuring that infected animals are not transported – something for which the legal framework exists, but the capacity to enforce it is lacking. Foot-and-mouth disease is a viral disease, which means it can only spread via live carriers. So, it is essential to produce doc

Image: Stock Photos A high-level meeting has been held in Addis Ababa between Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), and Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of State.  The meeting built upon the first round of political consultations that took place in Abu Dhabi on September 13, 2025, under the framework of the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding. Both sides reaffirmed their mutual commitment to enhancing the partnership

Image: The Citizen The failure of the Gauteng government, led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi, to enrol all learners in schools before the 2026 school year commences is unacceptable. A mere 606 of the more than 5 000 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners have been enrolled over the past two weeks, leaving 4 858 learners without any idea where they will attend school just one week before the academic year is set to start.  This minimal progress is indicative of poor planning, incompetent adm

Image: FF Plus The ANC cannot speak on behalf of South Africa regarding the events in Venezuela or its foreign policy. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has repeatedly pointed out that the ANC's ideologically driven anti-Western policy does not reflect the sentiments of all South Africans. The Freedom Front Plus welcomes the actions of the United States against the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The free world is under a moral obligation to act against cou

Image: GCIS South African President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded the Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State today, announcing a decisive diplomatic intervention to ensure stability and democratic restoration in the Republic of Madagascar. In his closing remarks, President Ramaphosa confirmed that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will deploy a Panel of Elders and a Mediation Reference Group to the island nation. This mission is tasked with engaging all local

Image: courtesy of Polity.org The Foundation of Unity In the global effort to dismantle the structures of corruption, South Africa has reached a pivotal chapter in its journey. Having successfully navigated both cycles of the Implementation Review Mechanism, we have moved beyond the theoretical. We have taken our findings and woven them into the very fabric of our nation rewriting legislation, refining national strategies, and sharpening our policies. But we recognized early

Image: GCIS President Cyril Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Marius van der Merwe, a Brakpan-based security industry member and former Ekhurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department official who recently testified before the Madlanga Commission. Mr Van der Merwe was shot multiple times in full view of his family outside their Brakpan home on Friday evening, 5 December 2025. The President extends his deep condolences to the family o

Image: news24 The atmosphere in the room was one of warm cooperation as Deputy President Paul Mashatile of South Africa rose to welcome the Prime Minister of Finland, Anti Petteri Orpo, and his esteemed delegation. Speaking on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who conveyed his regrets, the Deputy President set a constructive tone for the bilateral meeting. The visit was highlighted as being perfectly timed, following South Africa's successful hosting of the G20 Leaders’ Su

Image: Supplied Global Citizen, the world’s leading movement to end extreme poverty, successfully concluded the inaugural African edition of its action summit, Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg . This pivotal event marked the culmination of the year-long "Scaling Up Renewables in Africa" campaign, generating significant new commitments from governments, private sector investors, and development institutions aimed at accelerating Africa's clean energy transition. The summit's c

Image: FF Plus The Department of Agronomy in Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences is currently advertising two internships for junior research assistants. The advertisement states, among other things, that only Black / Coloured / Indian / Chinese South African citizens with a South African identity document will be considered for the positions.  In practice, this means any South African citizen, provided they are not white. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) receiv

Image: Supplied Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) is issuing an urgent, emergency alert following the latest UN OCHA Gaza Humanitarian Response Situation Report ( No. 20) and dire warnings from Gaza’s Government Media Office. While official reports acknowledge severe strain, DAG’s medical partners on the ground report a rapidly deteriorating emergency far more catastrophic than publicly understood. Nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, most living in makeshift tents, are n

Image: Supplied FederalGovernment.info ( FEDCON ) confirms that the full resumption of federal agency operations marks the beginning of significantly expanded contract opportunities for small businesses nationwide. The end of the recent funding lapse clears the backlog of delayed procurements, allowing agencies to execute new spending plans and meet required small business contracting goals for the current fiscal year. The funding resolution immediately unlocks billions of d

Image: Supplied The City of North Lauderdale will host its Inaugural State of the City Address on Thursday, November 6, 2025, presented by Mayor Samson Borgelin at The Polish American Club Polonez located at 935 Rock Island Rd, North Lauderdale, FL 33068. The evening begins with a VIP Reception at 6:30 PM, followed by the formal program from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The 2025 theme, “North Lauderdale Rising: Building Tomorrow Together,” celebrates the City’s momentum and shared com

Image: Supplied The unprecedented public outcry of shock, grief and anger following Charlie Kirk's murder clearly shows that the incident...

Image: The Telegraph Online U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to rename the Department of Defense to the...

Image: Supplied This week, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development is engaged in a strategic planning...