Ahead of the G20 summit in India on September 9-10, much has been written about Western plans to reset relations with African countries to counter the growing influence of Russia and China on the continent. For example, the press indicated that the European Union would support the African Union’s membership in the G20, and the United States would seek support from countries in the Global South to achieve its goals in Ukraine. To be honest, they talked about the African…

HARARE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — The Zimbabwean government Wednesday deplored poor sanitation across the country amid a cholera outbreak and announced a raft of measures to address solid waste management challenges. In a media briefing after the cabinet meeting, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere attributed the poor sanitation, particularly in urban areas, to incompetence and negligence in collecting and managing solid waste disposal by local authorities.  The minister said the central government has made various interventions to…

North West farmers are up in arms against Ndhuna Civil Engineering Services, saying the controversial company has directed traffic onto private property without permission to avoid building a bypass for Khunotswana motorists as required by the law. They say the company’s director, Oberon Matsuvuki and the North West Department of Public Works and Roads have failed to consult them about the matter and “arrogantly” dismissed their concerns.  According to Naude Pienaar, Agri North-West’s general manager and chairman of the Klippan…

BRICS leaders have invited six new members to join the powerful economic alliance of developing nations, marking the rise of the Global South in geopolitics and the world’s new political and financial architecture.  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Argentina officially join BRICS in January next year – in a paradigm shift that would rearrange international politics, dent the petro-dollar system and expedite the demise of the United States of America’s (U.S) empire.   The move…

BRICS leaders presented a united front at the Johannesburg summit, promising to deliberate on the bloc’s expansion, push for a common currency and reform global governance systems in favour of the Global South. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian leader Lula da Silva vowed to tackle global challenges together without forcing members to choose between BRICS and Western political and economic blocs such as the Group…

South Africa and China have taken their political and economic ties to the next level, signing several trade agreements and agreeing to “consult closely” on issues of common concern within BRICS and other multilateral forums.  Speaking to the media at the Union Buildings during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he and Xi had agreed to adopt a joint approach to global issues of common interest.  This included reforming the United Nations Security Council…

A construction company under investigation for tender fraud and corruption in the North West has scored a R8 million contract in Limpopo.  Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL), a provincial parastatal, awarded Ndhuna Civil Engineering Services the multi-million contract to re-gravel the road between Ga-Mokgwathi and Dzumeri in Mopani in May this year.  The contractor abandoned multimillion projects in Rustenburg and Zeerust in 2021.  Ndhuna is under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), parliamentary committees in the North West Legislature and…

John Steenhuisen, the DA Leader, was three months old when the apartheid police massacred Hector Pieterson and other youths on June 16, 1976. His fellow DA leader, Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille, was 25 and working as a journalist at the Rand Daily Mail. Their fellow traveller Kallie Kriel, the Afriforum CEO and face of white Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa, was six years and three months old.  The trio are the faces of white South Africans who accuse EFF…

THE Mahikeng High Court has declared unlawful and set aside a R44m tender awarded by the North West Department of Public Works and Roads for constructing a road at Mmakaunyane village outside Tshwane.  African Times reported last month that the department’s adjudication committee, led by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Peter Modika, had manipulated tender processes to favour MM Industries, which did not meet the criteria.  The controversial contract signed by the head of the department, Moss Kgantsi, in January this…

Burkina Faso Interim President, Captain Ibrahim Traore, took the Russia-Africa Summit by storm when he denounced neocolonialism and implored fellow African leaders to stop defending Western puppets.  He also called on the African Union to stop condemning Africans who decide to fight against their “own puppet regimes of the West”.  Traore, 35, seized power in a military coup in September last year – the second in eight months – which toppled another coup leader Paul-Henry Sandaogo Daniba.  He cited deepening…