For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.

Making headlines: DA nominates Khathutshelo Rasilingwane as Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate; Amnesty International wants urgent legal safeguards for human rights defenders; And, Trump reorganises foreign aid at fraction of USAID’s size

DA nominates Khathutshelo Rasilingwane as Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate

The Democratic Alliance has announced Khathutshelo Rasilingwane as its Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, ahead of the local government elections, expressing confidence in her leadership.

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said the upcoming elections would be a watershed moment.

He said through the elections, voters would be able to deal with what he said was the African National Congress’s corruption, maladministration and service delivery failure in Gauteng.

In accepting the nomination, Rasilingwane assured no tolerance for the capture of institutions under her leadership.

She said her foremost priority was to rebuild the city and to get it working again.

She acknowledged that the work would not be easy, but was urgent and necessary, vowing to fight for residents.

Amnesty International wants urgent legal safeguards for human rights defenders

Amnesty International South Africa said despite a continuing pattern of violence against human rights defenders in South Africa, there is little protection for them or accountability for perpetrators.

Ahead of Human Rights Day, Amnesty International South Africa wants government to uphold its international law obligations to protect human rights defenders and ensure their safety.

South Africa will tomorrow commemorate Human Rights Day, to commemorate and honour those who fought for liberation and the rights enjoyed today.

Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed pointed out that three decades after South Africa adopted its Constitution, human rights defenders were still being silenced with threats, violence, and death.

Mohamed pointed out that last month, just before President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his State of the Nation Address, Abahlali baseMjondolo activist and human rights defender Zweli Mkhize was shot and killed.

Mohamed noted that after Mkhize’s killing, there were many messages of solidarity and calls for justice, but pointed out a lack of reaction from government.

And, Trump reorganises foreign aid at fraction of USAID’s size

The Trump administration is reorganising foreign aid at a fraction of its former size after dismantling USAID, a move critics say has cost millions of lives.

The State Department will announce today that aid is being consolidated under a new Disaster and Humanitarian Response bureau with a staff of more than 200 people, according to a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters.

A bureau of that size would be equivalent to about 5% of the direct-hire staff that worked at the now defunct agency, known as the US Agency for International Development, which President Donald Trump shuttered last year. Including locally hired staff in foreign countries and contractors, USAID had more than 10 000 people working on projects in 2024, the last year of the Biden administration.

The international humanitarian assistance budget for this year was slashed to $5.4-billion. By contrast, USAID managed around $43-billion overall in fiscal year 2023.

The Trump administration says it’s improving aid by maximising efficiencies, ending programmes focused on climate and social issues and focusing on life-saving work. But the move reflects Trump’s shift away from overseas aid to more transactional and bilateral deals.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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