November,29 2016.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines:
eThekwini ANC Youth League backs Zuma
Minister to make announcement on social grant payments switchover
And, Mogoeng would prefer state to rely less on courts

The ANC Youth League in eThekwini has followed the example of its provincial leadership and backed President Jacob Zuma, following calls from within the national executive committee for him to step down.

In a statement, the youth league called for Zuma to retain his position as president of the country and the ANC until his term of office came to an end.

According to the league, the party needed to carefully consider who it elected in its NEC next year.

Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will soon make an announcement about the payment of social grants by the South African Social Security Agency amid fears of a disaster when the agency takes over direct payments next year.

Sassa is scheduled to take over the payments of grants to more than 17-million beneficiaries at the end of March 2017 when the current contract with Cash Paymaster Services expires.

But there are growing concerns that the agency – with its record of wasted expenditure, staffing problems, fraud and failure to curb illegal and unauthorised deductions from social grants by private companies preying on grant recipients – will not manage the takeover, possibly leaving millions of beneficiaries in the lurch.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng says the judiciary would prefer to have other arms of state to deal with their own issues instead of relying on the courts.

Mogoeng was speaking shortly after he met with the parliamentary committee on justice.

Mogoeng also touched briefly on the Helen Suzman Foundation and Freedom Under Law court bid to compel President Jacob Zuma to suspend National Prosecuting Authority head Shaun Abrahams. He said the matter was, however, not part of the agenda with the committee.

To keep in touch with the news while you are on the move, visit m.polity.org.za, That’s a roundup of news making headlines today