For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I am Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: DA says ActionSA has plunged Tshwane into political instability; South Africa household wealth rises to highest level in a year; And, CDE wants urgent enquiry into NPA, citing ‘disappointing performance’ 

DA says ActionSA has plunged Tshwane into political instability

ActionSA’s decision to leave the multi-party coalition in Tshwane threatens the city’s future, said the Democratic Alliance, as a Motion of No Confidence against Mayor Cilliers Brink passed today.

The DA said ActionSA’s move has created political instability in the city.

DA Tshwane spokesperson Kwena Moloto said the DA had tried, several times, to persuade the African National Congress to withdraw the motion against Brink.

The motion was first initiated in July this year, and the DA says the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi faction of the ANC has been hard at work to drive a wedge between Tshwane coalition partners.

The DA accused the ANC in Gauteng of having the “upper hand” in the power relations within the party, saying this threatened the Government of National Unity.

South Africa household wealth rises to highest level in a year

South Africa’s household wealth rose in the second quarter as an increase in the market value of their assets outstripped that of their liabilities — in part due to a strong stock market rally, the central bank said.

The ratio of net wealth to nominal disposable income rose to 393% in the three months through June, from 389% in the first quarter, data in the South African Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin published today showed. That was the highest ratio since the first quarter of 2023.

South Africa’s Financial Times Stock Exchange/JSE All-Share Index rose 6.9% in the quarter after declining 3% in the prior three months.

Gains were fuelled, in part, by optimism over the formation of a business-friendly governing coalition in June. The African National Congress formed the alliance after losing its outright parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years in May elections.

The new government has committed to accelerating reforms to boost economic growth that’s remained stagnant for a decade.

And, CDE wants urgent enquiry into NPA, citing ‘disappointing performance’ 

Policy think tank the Centre for Development and Enterprise today expressed disappointment with the National Prosecuting Authority’s performance, calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently appoint a retired judge to conduct an enquiry into the NPA and its leadership, performance, structure and independence.

Speaking at the launch of the organisation’s report ‘ACTION FIVE: Energise the NPA’, CDE executive director Ann Bernstein said the proposed enquiry was not a formal commission of enquiry but rather one to make recommendations to Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Thembi Simelane and her Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, within eight months.

Bernstein explained that the NPA had been seriously weakened by political interference over the years, noting that the lowest point was during Jacob Zuma’s Presidency, when he appointed Shaun Abrahams to replace Mxolisi Nxasana as National Director of Public Prosecutions in 2015.

She said the disappointing performance of the NPA has failed to deter the spread of corruption, has created disillusion with government’s commitment to upholding justice, and has diminished State capacity.

She said the goal of the proposed commission should be to identify the specific causes of the NPA’s lack of performance and to recommend remedial action.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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