D-Day For Magashule as NEC Reports on Weekend Deliberations

LOCAL NEWS

• ANC NEC to rule on the step aside order today after the special weekend NEC.
  • SG Magashule says he is appealing the step aside order, and has not vacated the position.
  • Magashule supporters are pushing for an early conference to elect new leadership of the party, saying the current leaders have spent the last 4 years on factional battles, leaving the party in 'auto-pilot'.
  • ANC expressed concern over a number of media leaks that occurred throughout the weekend
• HealthMin Mkhize warns two new variants have been discovered in SA (UK & Indian) but says there is no cause for panic as all 4 Indian cases had been isolated.
  • The UK variant, however, has allegedly begun circulating the country. Mkhize says govt is still mulling travel restrictions.
  • 325k pfizer vaccines due to arrive next weekend, with phase 2 of vaccinations starting on 17 May
• ANC Treasurer General says the party is looking at retrenching 50% of its staff in a "right-sizing" move
• Moody's skipped last Friday's credit rating review with the next scheduled review now in November 2021
• Ex-president Zuma loses his third legal team, this time being the lawyers representing him in the personal costs case.
  • Zuma is in the process of appealing a personal costs order against him, made by the High Court in 2017