February 16, 2016.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

ANC fines controversial Beaufort West mayor.

Parliament conducts public hearings into Higher Education amendment bill.

And, NUM Women Structure says new tax law will hit women most.

The ANC has fined controversial Beaufort West Mayor Truman Prince R10 000 for bringing the party into disrepute.

In a statement from the ANC in the Central Karoo regional, the party said that following an internal disciplinary process Prince had been fined and ordered to apologise for his recent conduct which had made headlines.

In a letter, signed by Prince, a request was made to the Construction Education and Training Authority chairman that a tender to build a skills development centre be given to a construction company sympathetic to the ANC with a view to raising election campaign funds for the party.

That prompted the opposition DA to lay a charge of corruption against Prince.

Prince, meanwhile, was also facing charges relating to the alleged assault of a female traffic police officer.

Public hearings on the Higher Education Amendment (or HEA) bill would begin today, led by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training.

In Parliament, Cape Town relevant stakeholders would meet over the next two days to discuss the HEA bill.

The bill, according to the committee, would seek to ensure “proper governance, [an] oversight mechanism on institutions, balancing institutional autonomy with accountability, and pushing transformation of the sector in line with the National Development Plan”.

The South African Parastatal and Tertiary Institutions Union, the University of Cape Town, and the Catholic Institute of Education were among those stakeholders who would make presentations.

Representing UCT is Vice-Chancellor Max Price and it is expected that he will make numerous suggestions for adjustments to the HEA bill.

The bill will be introduced into the National Assembly during the 2016 parliamentary session.

Women will be the most severely affected by a new tax law should it proceed, the National Union of Mineworkers (or NUM) National Women Structure said yesterday.

The Tax Administration Amendment Act was signed into law on December 24.

NUM Women Structure secretary Phumeza Mgengo said the Act doesn’t only deprive workers the right to decide on where to invest, where to save and how to spend their hard earned monies.

She said the new Act imposed annuitisation, claiming that workers would save on tax rebates without considering the conditions that are faced by workers that are indebted caused by some among many reasons maintaining a living standard.

She said their structure supported a call by Cosatu to President Jacob Zuma to scrap the amendments as it would lead to continued poverty for women.

Also making headlines:

The social protection, community and human development cluster said with the upsurge of racist incidents this year, all South Africans needed to be familiar with symbols which united the country.

And, the South African Parastatal and Tertiary Institutions Union was the first stakeholder to make its verbal submission on the Higher Education Amendment  bill today in Parliament.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today