A second shot at the DA federal chairperson role is on the table for Solly Msimanga as the party gears up for a wide-open leadership contest in April.
Msimanga officially enters the race
Solly Msimanga confirmed his bid for DA federal chairperson on 27 February during a public address.
Nominations open this weekend, and he plans to accept them immediately.
The 45-year-old previously lost a run at the same position back in 2018.
Multiple provincial leaders and party members reportedly urged him to jump in.
His political track record is substantial
Msimanga served as Executive Mayor of Tshwane from 2016 to 2019.
He chaired the DA's Gauteng provincial structures from 2014 to 2017.
His current gig is Leader of the Opposition in the...
A month-early mid-crop launch is slashing Ivory Coast's cocoa farmer prices to barely a third of the current rate in a desperate bid to clear massive unsold stockpiles.
Mid-crop season kicks off way ahead of schedule
Ivory Coast is treating all cocoa harvested from 1 March 2026 as mid-crop for the first time ever.
The Coffee and Cocoa Council will announce the exact farmer price by the end of February.
An interministerial committee already greenlit the plan, and it takes effect immediately.
The normal main-crop window from October to March just got chopped by a full month.
Farmer payments are about to crater
The new mid-crop price lands between 800 and 1,000 CFA francs per kilogram.
That is less than half the current main-crop rate...
Blocked oversight visits and crumbling clinic infrastructure are fueling ANC accusations that 17 years of DA rule have gutted Western Cape public healthcare.
ANC says oversight visits are getting stonewalled
ANC MP Nobulumko Nkondlo told the Standing Committee on Health that facility visits are being delayed or blocked.
She argued the DA administration is shielding real conditions from legislative scrutiny.
Communities in Manenberg, Gugulethu, and Khayelitsha reportedly feel completely abandoned.
Patients endure hours-long waits while clinics run dry on basic medication.
DA's 17-year healthcare record is under fire
The DA has governed the Western Cape since 2009 without interruption.
Critics say fast-growing informal settlements...
An open declaration of availability for the ANC presidency from the party's current deputy is turning up the heat on 2027 succession chatter.
Paul Mashatile signals he is ready for the top job
Paul Mashatile told interviewers in Johannesburg he would not refuse a call to run for ANC president.
His exact framing leaned on member-driven deployment rather than personal ambition.
Mashatile currently holds deputy president roles in both the ANC and the country.
This marks a noticeably more forward stance than his previous deflections on the topic.
The 2027 conference is the big showdown
The ANC's 56th National Conference is locked in for December 2027.
Cyril Ramaphosa hits his two-term limit and cannot stand for president again.
Every...
A 9.8% medical scheme hike stacked on top of last year's 13.4% increase has public sector unions giving GEMS exactly seven days to back down or face mass action.
COSATU unions slam the contribution spike
Seven COSATU-affiliated unions rejected the 2026 GEMS contribution increase as unilateral and unaffordable.
GEMS bumped contributions by 9.8% from January, with a slight trim to 9.5% kicking in from April.
Combined with 2025's 13.4% hike, members are staring at a 23.3% two-year increase.
The Council for Medical Schemes had recommended a far more modest 3.3% average.
Salary growth is nowhere close to keeping up
Government workers only scored a 5.5% pay adjustment for the 2025/26 financial year.
The employer subsidy bumped just 4.5%...
A hidden eyewitness allegedly watched Cato Manor police officers plant a firearm on his brother's body after torturing and executing him in Umlazi.
Ballistics expert drops damning testimony
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Mangena testified before the Nkabinde Enquiry on 26 February about the Umlazi killing.
Mangena was brought to KwaZulu-Natal in 2012 specifically to review Cato Manor unit cases.
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC led his evidence as the second witness for Advocate Andrew Chauke.
This enquiry is evaluating whether suspended DPP Chauke is fit to hold office.
The Umlazi operation was horrifying
Officers allegedly tortured the victim before shooting him at close range.
They then forced his finger onto a planted gun's trigger to...
A blocked redeployment order from a former city manager is at the center of explosive testimony before the Madlanga Commission probing Ekurhuleni metro police corruption.
Linda Gxasheka points the finger at Dr. Mashazi
Suspended HR manager Linda Gxasheka testified that former City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi directly ordered her to halt a planned redeployment.
The instruction targeted suspended EMPD Deputy Commissioner Julius Mkhwanazi's transfer to the by-laws department.
Mashazi allegedly intervened after EMPD Chief Jabulani Mapiyeye had already signed off on the move.
Gxasheka delivered her testimony at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College on 26 February.
Blue-light fraud allegations sparked the whole saga
Mkhwanazi allegedly...
A dual resignation from both ANC regional secretary and finance MMC roles is throwing Ekurhuleni's already shaky coalition government into deeper turmoil.
Jongizizwe Dlabathi walks away from both posts
Jongizizwe Dlabathi quit as Ekurhuleni's finance MMC and ANC regional secretary simultaneously.
His resignation letter cited irreconcilable differences with Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza.
Dlabathi had publicly backed Xhakaza's moves just days before stepping down.
His exit landed on 27 February, right in the thick of a leadership reshuffle.
Xhakaza's reshuffle triggered the whole mess
The mayor appointed three new mayoral committee members on Wednesday night.
Dora Mlambo's shift from council speaker forced a planned meeting to get...
A massive vaccination blitz targeting 70,000 fresh doses is Gauteng's biggest weapon yet against a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that has already hit 228 farms.
Gauteng FMD cases keep climbing
Confirmed outbreaks in Gauteng jumped from 173 in late January to 228.
MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa says the spike reflects ramped-up surveillance, not runaway spread.
Every single affected farm is under strict quarantine protocols.
The disease hammers milk production and causes brutal economic losses for farmers.
Vaccination rollout is in full swing
Gauteng scored 70,000 doses from a national batch of one million Argentine-imported vaccines.
Over 268,000 doses have already been administered across the province.
Farms near buffalo populations get...
