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

Making headlines: DA proposes Bill to replace BEE; Ramaphosa urges private sector to make nutritious food more affordable for S Africans; And, thousands turn out for funeral of Kenyan opposition leader after deadly week

DA proposes Bill to replace BEE

The Democratic Alliance launched its Economic Inclusion for All Bill to replace Black Economic Empowerment and is urging support from the African National Congress.

The party expressed concerns about what it said was the ANC’s continued defence of BEE, which it argued had deterred investment, stifled growth and benefited ANC cadres while the majority of black South Africans remained in poverty and excluded from opportunity.

With its proposed Bill, the DA aimed to replace what it termed “years of ineffective ANC empowerment policies”.

The party’s Economic Inclusion for All Bill seeks to amend the Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2024, to repeal all race-based preferential procurement provisions and replace them with an empowerment system that targets poverty as the proxy for disadvantage instead of race.

The Bill aims to create a public procurement system that encourages economic empowerment by offering incentives for developmental outcomes such as job creation, poverty reduction, skills enhancement and environmentally sustainable practices.

Ramaphosa urges private sector to make nutritious food more affordable for S Africans

President Cyril Ramaphosa urged the ‘Big Five’ retail companies to make nutritious food more affordable for South African households, saying despite a range of interventions by national and provincial governments, a large portion of South African households are food insecure.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that amid high unemployment and poverty and limited economic growth, many South African households were finding it difficult to afford nutritious food.

He said with the majority of South Africans relying on supermarket retailers for their food supply, the private sector had an important role to play.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the efforts by several retailers to keep prices as low as possible, as well as initiatives to keep daily essentials affordable. The Shoprite Group’s R5 products line is an example of this, he said.

Ramaphosa stated that as retailers worked to grow their market share among low-income households, they had a responsibility to ensure this included affordable healthy food choices such as plant and animal proteins, fruits and vegetables.

And, thousands turn out for funeral of Kenyan opposition leader after deadly week

Thousands of mourners, relatives and dignitaries paid their final respects to Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday as he was laid to rest close to his farm in Bondo near Lake Victoria in western Kenya.

Sunday's Anglican service and burial took place without major incident after an outpouring of national grief this week, in which at least five people were killed and hundreds injured when surging crowds eager for a glimpse of his body overwhelmed authorities.

Odinga died last week, aged 80 in India where he was receiving medical treatment.

In a message on social media platform X, former US President Barack Obama praised Odinga as a champion of peace who placed his country's interests ahead of personal ambitions.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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