March 10, 2017
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines:
Dlamini-Zuma to officially hand over to incoming chair of AU Commission
DA to march over Sassa crisis
And, Solidarity says government in need of moral turnaround

Outgoing chairperson of the African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is set to officially hand over to the incoming chair Faki Mahamat on March 14 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mahamat was elected by AU member States during the 28th AU Summit of Heads of State and Government in January.

Reports indicated that he received 28 votes in the final round of voting, while Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamad got 24 votes.

 

DA leader Mmusi Maimane is expected to lead a march to the Department of Social Development in Pretoria today, to voice the party's concern over the ongoing Sassa crisis.

This after the Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered the department to provide it with answers as to why it will fail to meet the March 31 deadline to insource social grant payments.

The Constitutional Court in 2014 ruled that a contract with the current social grant distributor Cash Payment Systems was illegal and ordered the department and the South Africa Social Security Agency to insource the administrative requirements to distribute grants.

 

Trade union Solidarity says the government needs to "reassess its moral direction".

Government revoked its intent to withdraw from the International Criminal Court this week, with a senior government official on Wednesday confirming that a letter had been sent by the South African government to the United Nations to this effect. 

Dated March 7, the letter cited the North Gauteng High Court’s judgment of February 22, in the case bought by the Democratic Alliance against the executive, as its reason for the reversal.

Solidarity Research Institute political analyst Dr Eugene Brink yesterday said the 2015 debacle involving Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, which saw the South African government announce its intent to withdraw from the ICC following condemnation of its failure to extradite Al-Bashir, was indicative of the government's contempt for the courts.

Also making headlines:
Famine-hit South Sudan hikes fees for work permits

To advertise on Polity email advertising@creamermedia.co.za
That’s a roundup of news making headlines today