Photo: Mzwandile Masina

South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Tuesday 23 November 2021

In the latest news in South Africa on Tuesday, 23 November 2021, the ANC lost its grip on several key metros within the space of a few hours.

by Corné van Zyl

23-11-2021 05:30

in News

Photo: Mzwandile Masina

We’ve got all the latest news stories and headlines in South Africa you really need to know on Tuesday 23 November 2021.

In a shocking turn of events, the ANC had the rug pulled out from under it in the Gauteng metros on Monday evening.

Within the space of a few hours, the ANC lost its grip on several key metros.

The IFP ditched them in eThekwini, they were outfoxed in Ekurhuleni, and later on Monday evening, the 109-year-old institution lost the Johannesburg Mayor race to the DA. This was thanks to Action SA and the EFF. Mpho Phalatse is now the new Johannesburg Mayor and the first female mayor of the country’s economic hub.

TODAY’S LATEST NEWS IN SOUTH AFRICA, Tuesday 23 November

DA mayor elected to lead Johannesburg, as ANC left crushed

Mpho Phalatse will officially take charge of the sprawling metro, a little over two years after Herman Mashaba quit the post and the DA lost control of Joburg. Earlier this month, it seemed like the ANC would keep hold of the city… but it now looks like they have been blindsided by the work of the EFF and ActionSA.

Voting patterns in the election of House Speaker Vasco da Gama – also a DA representative – suggested that the Red Berets and Herman Mashaba’s party had secretly thrown their weight behind the Blues.

As much as this has been a bruising day for the ANC, the DA must be thanking their lucky stars. They’ve managed to wrestle back control of Gauteng’s biggest metros – with Tshwane likely to follow on Tuesday. This will be the first time that the party has ruled all three of the province’s metropolitan districts.

DA win big in Ekurhuleni, Tania Campbell elected Mayor

Stunning scenes have unfolded in Ekurhuleni, where the ANC has lost control of the metro to the Democratic Alliance (DA). Tania Campbell is now the executive mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, with longstanding ANC mayor Mzwandile Masina losing out.

Campbell took 116 votes, with Masina receiving 105 votes in the 224-seat council.

In a tweet, Masina congratulated Campbell and insisted that the transition will be peaceful.

South Africa’s first-ever EFF Mayor elected in Free State

The EFF will be celebrating a slice of history this evening, after their first-ever Municipal Mayor was elected to public office – some eight years after the party first formed. Selloane Motjeane will now run the rule over Metsimaholo in Free State, as the Red Berets got the better of the hung council.

The EFF put in a respectable performance in this part of the province, finishing with over 25% of the vote. However, they only came third in Metsimaholo, trailing behind the DA and the ANC respectively. But, with their 12 council seats, the far-left party was able to play itself into a position of power.

For the very first time, a municipality in South Africa will be under EFF control. Their plethora of promises, including the acceleration of land expropriation and the improved provision of jobs, will now come under greater scrutiny.

WATCH: ANC, EFF members storm eThekwini Council meeting

Chaos has broken out in eThekwini, where ANC and EFF supporters have stormed Moses Mabhida Stadium where the sitting of the eThekwini municipality council is taking place.

A group of around 30 people broke through security with ease, pushing over barricades as they sang and danced their way into the venue where the hotly contested Mayoral position is being fought over.

The meeting drew to a close after an unexplained power cut plunged the venue into darkness.

Charges laid against racist SA TikTok user Henrico Barnard

Charges have been laid against TikTok user Henrico Barnard, after a video of him using racial slurs went viral.

Barnard instantly gained fame with his disgusting racial slurs, using the k-word SEVENTEEN times in one video.

Limpopo police spokesperson Motlafela Mojapelo said police in the Waterberg district have open charges of intimidation, crimen injuria and incitement to commit crime after the video went viral on social media.

Noodles latest: Children ate ‘deadly’ noodles from TWO brands

The Department of Health has said that investigations into the deaths of five children in separate incidents are being prioritised. Three children died in the Eastern Cape last week after eating instant noodles, while another two siblings who also tucked into some ramen in Mpumalanga also died.

It has not yet been established whether food poisoning is the reason for their tragic deaths, but the Department has established that the two sets of children had eaten noodles produced by two different brands.

Pics and videos: Rain floods in George shock South Africa

Rain floods in George have turned the streets into scenes of riverbanks after a heavy storm fell on Sunday night and Monday morning.

As The South African reported the warning on Saturday, severe thunderstorms were expected in the Western Cape.

Nature has since delivered on its promise with a violent pouring on the Garden Route capital. The freaky event has quickly left South Africans open-mouthed after images and videos of the high water overflow did the rounds via social media.

New wave, new lockdown? Health Minister details SA’s ‘fourth wave plan’

Health Minister Joe Phaahla has arguably brought some Christmas cheer to apprehensive South Africans ahead of the festive season, after he suggested that the country would ‘do things differently’ in the face of a COVID-19 fourth wave. Thanks to Mzansi’s vaccine rollout, the need for harsh lockdowns has now dwindled.

The general scientific consensus is that another resurgence of the virus will hit South Africa from next month onwards, due to the increases in gatherings, mass travel, and social interactions linked to the holidays. Last year, the second wave of COVID-19 struck mid-December, and curtailed our plans for New Year’s Eve.

But Phaahla is confident that SA can take a different path this year.