Catch up on the biggest stories this Thursday, 14 May 2026, in our simple daily news update.
Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe. Picture: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach
News today includes President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Sisisi Tolashe as minister of social development following a wave of allegations ranging from misleading parliament to governance failures within her department.
Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has won its bid to block former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales from further delaying the 1999 arms deal case.
Furthermore, the hopes of securing Elon Musk’s Starlink have been dealt a blow after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) effectively shut down Communications Minister Solly Malatsi’s December 2025 policy direction on broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) without amending the Electronic Communications Act (ECA).
Weather tomorrow: 15 May, 2026
Mostly fine and cool weather conditions have been forecast across the country for Friday, 15 May, with a chance of drizzle in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as well as rain in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Full weather forecast here.
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Ramaphosa fires social development minister Tolashe amid mounting allegations
President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Sisisi Tolashe as minister of social development following a wave of allegations ranging from misleading parliament to governance failures within her department.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed the removal, saying Ramaphosa had engaged directly with Tolashe before acting.
“He has had engagements with the minister and he did inform the minister of his decision to remove her from office,” he said.
CONTINUE READING: Ramaphosa fires social development minister Tolashe amid mounting allegations
Dunga paints grim picture of Gauteng’s finances amid R173bn municipal debt
Gauteng MEC for Finance Nkululeko Dunga has hit the ground running, painting a grim picture of the province’s finances to residents on Thursday.
Dunga was appointed to the position on 1 April and says that since then, he has engaged with officials of the Gauteng Provincial Treasury, municipalities, and other stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the province’s finances.
As of 31 March 2026, Gauteng municipalities collectively reported outstanding debts of approximately R173 billion. About 87% of this debt is more than 90 days past due and is largely held by households. According to Dunga’s predecessor, Lebogang Maile, in a February briefing, councillors and municipal officials across Gauteng also contribute to this debt, owing their own municipalities a combined R165.7 million in unpaid accounts.
CONTINUE READING: Dunga paints grim picture of Gauteng’s finances amid R173bn municipal debt
Court finds Zuma has been deliberately delaying arms deal trial
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has won its bid to block former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales from further delaying the 1999 arms deal case.
The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court in Pietermaritzburg delivered its ruling on Thursday, 14 May 2026.
The state had filed a counter-application to stop what it described as Zuma and Thales’ “Stalingrad” strategy used to stall the trial.
CONTINUE READING: Court finds Zuma has been deliberately delaying arms deal trial
‘You are out of order!’: MPs walk out of Ramaphosa’s Q&A amid Phala Phala fallout
Members of the EFF and MK party walked out of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s question-and-answer session in Parliament on Thursday, amid renewed tensions over the Phala Phala scandal.
The session, held at the Nieuwmeester Dome in Cape Town, saw repeated interruptions as opposition MPs challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings in light of ongoing impeachment processes.
The controversy comes a week after the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruled that Ramaphosa should face an impeachment committee over the Phala Phala saga, in which $580 000 (around R9.6 million) allegedly hidden inside a couch at his Limpopo game farm was stolen in February 2020.
CONTINUE READING: ‘You are out of order!’: MPs walk out of Ramaphosa’s Q&A amid Phala Phala fallout
Starlink setback as Icasa blocks Malatsi’s B-BBEE policy direction
The hopes of securing Elon Musk’s Starlink have been dealt a blow after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) effectively shut down Communications Minister Solly Malatsi’s December 2025 policy direction on broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) without amending the Electronic Communications Act (ECA).
On Wednesday, Icasa said it had communicated its position to the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies and remained committed to advancing transformation in the sectors it regulates.
Icasa is tasked with advancing the historically disadvantaged groups as guided by the Electronic Communications Act, which requires a minimum 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups for individual licence holders.
CONTINUE READING: Starlink setback as Icasa blocks Malatsi’s B-BBEE policy direction
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