Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson has cited national security concerns as a reason for resisting “pressure” to accept third-country migrants
Nigeria will not accept foreign migrants deported from the US despite other neighbors doing so under deals with Washington, local newspaper The Punch has reported, citing the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson.
Kimiebi Ebienfa told the outlet on Saturday that the West African nation is grappling with “multiple domestic challenges” and will not take on “additional baggage” from abroad.
“We have our own issues we are struggling with. We will not allow ourselves to be pressured into accepting deportees, regardless of what other nations are doing,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to the newspaper.
“We are a sovereign country and we take decisions only after fully analyzing the implications to our national security,” Ebienfa added.
The comments come amid US President Donald Trump’s push to secure third-country deals to deport migrants deemed a threat to America’s national security.
Last week, Rwanda agreed to take up to 250 deportees under a deal in which the East African nation will receive a US grant in return. In July, the Trump administration deported five “barbaric criminals” to Eswatini, saying their home countries had refused to take them back, weeks after sending eight people to South Sudan.
Details of the agreements with both countries have not been disclosed. The White House had earlier revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and halted new issuances, effectively barring the country’s nationals from America.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was in response to Juba’s refusal to accept deported nationals, adding that the measure could be reviewed once the country fully cooperates.
In July, the US State Department announced changes to its “reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy,” cutting the duration and tightening entry conditions for most travelers from countries including Nigeria.
Following the move, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told local broadcaster Channels TV that Washington’s visa restrictions and tariff hikes were not reciprocal measures but coercive tactics aimed at pressuring African nations to “accept Venezuelans to be deported from the US, some straight out of prisons.”
*This article was first published by IOL News
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By: Matshidiso Selebeleng
Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) MEC Ketso Makume’s strong leadership and sound financial management have steered the department on an upward trajectory with strong and sound financial management.
Building on the department’s unqualified audit outcome for the 2022/23 financial year - an improvement from the qualified audit opinion received the previous year - Makume secured a clean audit opinion from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) for the 2024/25 financial year.
The AGSA report confirms that the Department’s financial statements are free from material misstatements and that its performance reporting and compliance controls meet the highest standards.
According to Makume, the continued improvement in the department’s financial records reflects the high level of excellence and professionalism demonstrated by all staff members, from cleaners to the head of the department.
He said meeting the standards of AGSA clearly shows that the department developed and rigorously implemented action plans to address the deficiencies identified in previous years’ audits.
“I would like to congratulate the team for their sterling work in ensuring that we spend the money entrusted to us by the people of the Free State in a prudent and responsible manner. Meeting AGSA’s standards demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement,” he enthused.
Makume further emphasised that the department will enhance its support to its entities, the Free State Development Corporation (FDC) and Free State Gambling, Liquor & Tourism Authority (FSGLTA), to ensure that they also achieve improved audit outcomes.
By: Refilwe Mochoari
Investments and economic development were the centre of attention during the Free State chapter of a two-day G20 cultural diplomacy roadshow that took place in Bloemfontein on 6 and 7 August under the theme Advancing Cultural Diplomacy to building a sustainable country.
This roadshow takes place exactly 103 days before the upcoming G20 meeting, which is expected to take place in Johannesburg in November this year.
Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha Mathae hosted hundreds of delegates from across the country, and amongst those attending were ministers, members of the executive committee, international and local businessmen.
The G20 is an international forum comprising 20 heads of state from across the world's largest developing and developed economies.
G20, amongst others, includes presidents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and United States and two regional bodies, namely the European Union and the African Union.
These are the world’s major economies, representing 85% of the global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
In February this year, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Nomalungelo Gina, said South Africa's presidency takes place when the world is facing a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises, including climate change, underdevelopment, inequality, poverty, hunger, unemployment, technological changes, and geopolitical instability.
In her keynote address at the Bloemfontein City Hall on Thursday evening, Letsoha-Mathae said the Free State as a province is rich in untapped potential, voicing that it is a land of vast opportunity, where culture, industry, and innovation converge to shape a prosperous future.
She said the province is ready for investment in all five districts and called upon investors to come on board.
During her speech, she mentioned that through the Free State Development Corporation, the provincial government will partner with various Small to medium enterprises to facilitate the occupation of the industrial premises
Addressing the dignitaries and delegates, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Anna Thandi Moraka, echoed the national commitment to ensure the G20 is felt by every South African and African.
“This G20 is about the citizens of South Africa and Africa. It must be taken to all the people and be a source of pride for all Africans,” said Moraka, reinforcing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s vision for inclusive global engagement.
From deep-rooted systemic collapse to missing billions, sewage spills, illegal tenders and vacant posts in Free State municipalities. Twenty-three municipalities came under scrutiny during a joint oversight visit last week to account for these fail ings, marking the beginning of a new era of in tergovernmental accountability. In this article, Dr Zweli Mkhize outlines the joint oversight delega t ion’s observations during the oversight visit and lists some urgent reforms that could turn the crisis into a course correction. South Africa’s municipalities are intended to be the frontlines of public service delivery – the engine rooms of local development and daily wellbeing. Yet, in many parts of the country, they have become sites of dysfunction, decay and despair. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the Free State, where systemic collapse has made basic services a privilege rather than a right. But this month, Parliament and the Free State Provin cial Legislature took a bold step to draw a line in the sand. In an unprecedented show of intergovernmental resolve, three parliamentary committees: the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, led by me as Chairperson of the COGTA committee, embarked on a joint oversight mission to the province where our counterparts in the Free State Legislature joined us. Twenty-three municipalities were called to account. The scale of failure they revealed was staggering, but so too was the clarity with which the delegation demanded reform and consequences. A Sobering Reality The facts are damning. Municipalities have racked up billions in unpaid debt. One municipality owes over R8 billion to a water board. Others have failed to pay pension contributions deducted from workers’ salaries, and some paid millions in often unauthorised overtime, while service delivery has all but collapsed. Roads are impassable in some ar eas, water systems are dysfunctional and waste ser vices are in disarray. In some instances, entire towns are grappling with sewage spills, and electricity is available for only a few hours each day. One by one, the municipalities came to account as committee members’ interrogation exposed the rot beneath the surface: litigation driven by unpaid service providers, unauthorised financial commit ments, irregular tenders and decades-long impu nity. In Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, a de fault judgement for a R27 million debt was granted based on a fraudulent acknowledgement of debt, signed by an acting municipal manager with family . That manager remains employed. In the same municipality, despite a R2.2 billion allocation from the Department of Water and Sanitation, no infrastructure had been laid. Chronic outages, unpaid Eskom bills and a water distribu t ion system so broken that consumers had turned to boreholes painted a picture of systemic collapse. In Mangaung, the dysfunction is so entrenched that, despite national intervention since 2022, it has failed to implement more than a quarter of its finan cial recovery plan. We found a 61 per cent vacancy rate coupled with R2.5 billion in personnel costs, and an inability to link overtime to actual work done. Pit latrines, decaying roads and non-function al water meters added to the grim picture. Mean while, the Auditor-General has flagged its inability to account for billions in conditional grant funding. These are not isolated crises. They are a culmina t ion of years of neglect, political interference and administrative erosion. Collapse from Within Two narratives emerged from the oversight – the f irst, of municipalities hamstrung by structural dis advantage – rural towns with low revenue bases, high unemployment and little capacity to attract skilled staff. These municipalities are caught in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment, reliant almost entirely on national transfers. The second, more damning narrative is that of municipalities with viable revenue streams – those capable of sustainable governance – that are in stead hamstrung by internal sabotage. Bloated staff complements, politically connected appointments, non-functional audit committees, and a lack of con sequence management have eroded public trust and institutional stability. As I summarised during the visit, “It is a kind of self-inflicted injury.” Indeed, this is not failure due to resource scarcity alone, but also due to compromised leadership, administrative negligence and a culture of impunity. EPWP Abuse: A Litmus Test for Ethical Govern ance The case of Matjhabeng Local Municipality pro vides a powerful case study of what is broken – and what is required to fix it. Following allegations that councillors were unlawfully drawing stipends under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Mr Dean MacPherson, suspended the municipali ty’s EPWP funding. While we welcome decisive in tervention, this move risks punishing the innocent along with the guilty. Hundreds of impoverished EPWP workers, many earning just R2 600 a month, will be left in limbo. The committee supports a thorough investiga t ion, but accountability must not come at the ex pense of the vulnerable. “We cannot allow the poor to suffer for the misdeeds of a few.” Investigations must be targeted, transparent and evidence-based. This case highlights the need for rigorous oversight, as mandated by the Constitution, which protects both institutional integrity and the rights of citizens. A New Model: Collaborative Oversight Many have asked what makes this oversight visit different from previous attempts to address munic ipal dysfunction. This time around, it is a coordinat ed, multi-sphere approach. By bringing together MPs, MECs, the Office of the Premier, the Speaker and relevant committees of the provincial legisla tures, it breaks down the siloed approach that has allowed accountability to slip through the cracks of intergovernmental relations. It sends a strong mes sage: the separation of powers is not an excuse for the separation of responsibility. In addition, municipalities will now be required to submit quarterly progress reports, aligned explicitly with the Auditor-General’s recommendations. Fail ure to act will trigger disciplinary or even criminal proceedings. Moreover, a consolidated oversight report will be tabled in Parliament to ensure trans parency, follow-through and public scrutiny. This visit is not the end – it is the beginning of a new cycle of monitoring with North West as our next stop. Within six months, municipalities will be re-evaluated to check progress. We hope that when the Auditor-General next visits the province, there will be measurable progress. The Way Forward In addressing these failures, we have proposed 10 interlinked interventions. First, audit oversight structures must be rebuilt. Every municipality must have a functioning municipal public accounts com mittee (MPAC), an audit committee and a discipli nary board. MECs must ensure that all disclaimers, unfunded budgets and missed deadlines for submit t ing financial reports to the AG are eliminated. Second, all cases of unauthorised, irregular, fruit less and wasteful expenditure must be investigat ed and acted upon, as this was one of the failings across municipalities. Third, consequence manage ment must be institutionalised, and wrongdoing must carry penalties. Fourth, municipalities need robust financial systems and timely reporting mech anisms. Fifth, acting appointments must cease, with t imelines for filling permanent posts. Sixth, critical vacancies in finance, audit and infrastructure must be filled. Seventh, political interference must be stopped, while stability and professionalism must be enforced. Eighth, financially distressed munic ipalities need tailored, intensive support. Ninth, corruption must be tackled decisively through inter nal and criminal processes. Finally, audit readiness must be embedded in daily governance, not as an emergency measure but as standard practice. These 10 pillars are not suggestions – they are im peratives. Oversight must be followed by enforce ment. We must institutionalise quarterly reporting, track progress and keep Parliament and the public informed. Oversight, in its truest form, is a commitment to the Constitution. We do not perform it to find fault, but to restore trust. The people of the Free State, and South Africa as a whole, deserve municipalities that are ethical, capable and people-centred. As public representatives, we must take collective responsibility and ensure nothing less.
A photo depicting the poor service delivery in Free State municipalities Picture: Baagedi Setlhora ties to the service provider.
The South African Heroines Awards will host its 14th annual business awards. The event will take place at Mittah Sperepere Convention Centre, Kimberly tomorrow. These awards are to honor and celebrate women from all walks of life and professional spheres in the country. They include categories such as politics, se curity, tourism, and many more. The South African Heroines Awards were established in 2012 by Carol Mosiamo. This year’s ceremony is hosted in partnership with the Mme Re Ka Thusa Trust which is a sign of a powerful celebration of trailblazers who continue to make significant strides within their communities and across the nation. This year’s nomination list includes influential indi viduals like the Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC, Nomvula Mokonyane, and renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “MaMkhize” Mkhize among others. ”This is a celebration of unsung heroes who are shaping South Africa through their dedication and im pact. Even though it was initially to celebrate women, the platform has evolved to also recognize men who actively contribute to the advancement of women and champion gender equity in meaningful ways,” said Nkosazana Mazibuko, the newly appointed Chief Op erating Officer of South African Heroines Awards. She further added that the foundation remains a beacon of empowerment, legacy, and recognition, ensuring that those who give so much to others are f inally given their moment to shine. 32-year-old Keotshepile Jonathan who is the founder of a transportation company called Jonoago Group in Kuruman Northern Cape. She’s been in this male-dominated industry for 6 years now. She started with a Polo Vivo and now has a fleet of taxis and 17 employees. She is a nominee for the 2025 Heroine in Transport and Logistics Award. ”It takes a lot of courage and boldness to make things happen in this industry, but being consistent and knowing what you want is the cherry on top. Women are winning in any field of business. I mean we birthed men, what is there to be difficult to handle? You just have to be a go-getter and never undermine opportunities of the development programs that are there for entrepreneurs,” said Keotshepile. She added that winning this award would be a great mark for her business and the goals they still want to achieve as a business.
