For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: ActionSA pulls out of National Convention, will instead observe proceedings; AgriSA calls for withdrawal of draft Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill; And, Dirco slams ‘inaccurate, deeply flawed’ US human rights report

ActionSA pulls out of National Convention, will instead observe proceedings

Owing to what is says are “serious and unresolved” questions around the budget of the National Dialogue, ActionSA has decided it will not send a formal delegation to precursor gathering the National Convention on Friday.

Instead, the party’s Dr Kgosi Letlape and Lerato Ngobeni will attend as an observation committee.

ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip announced today that the party was unconvinced that any of the concerns raised by key stakeholders, organisers and the broader public had been addressed.

Trollip noted an insistence on continuing with the undertaking despite serious, unresolved questions, specifically on the budget appropriation, which he said no parliamentary committee had been briefed on.

He said Letlape and Ngobeni’s observations would culminate in an assessment of whether the process served as a meaningful platform for reform.

AgriSA calls for withdrawal of draft Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill

Agricultural industry organisation AgriSA has called on government to withdraw the draft Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill and subject it to a full socioeconomic-impact assessment, as well as introduce binding landowner consent for mining on zoned agricultural land.

The organisation expresses serious concern over the draft Bill, which was published for public comment by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources in May.

The Bill's current form poses significant risks to South Africa’s agricultural sector, food security and rural sustainability, AgriSA argues.

It states that the Bill purports to streamline regulation and promote inclusive economic development; however, it introduces provisions that would allow artisanal and small-scale mining operations to access private agricultural land without any guidance as to how meaningful consultation should take place or on compensation requirements.

AgriSA says this undermines constitutionally protected property rights and threatens the viability of farming operations, particularly in high-potential agricultural zones.

And, Dirco slams ‘inaccurate, deeply flawed’ US human rights report

The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation expressed disappointment with what it said was an “inaccurate and deeply flawed” account of human rights practices in a recent report on human rights in South Africa published by the US State Department.

In its yearly human rights report, the US State Department accused South Africa of a significantly worsened human rights situation. The report also included US President Donald Trump’s critiques of the country’s Land Expropriation Act, raised concerns about alleged extrajudicial killings and alleged repression of racial minorities.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said the report’s reliance on a-contextual information and discredited accounts was highly concerning, as it failed to accurately reflect the reality of the country’s constitutional democracy.

He highlighted that this was not only premature but a fundamental distortion of the facts, as the individuals were formally arraigned before a court of law.

Lamola said South Africa remained open to addressing these “distortions” through the diplomatic channels, and said his department was compiling a set of documents “to provide a complete and accurate picture”, and which would be released for public perusal during the course of the week.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA