President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow, Tuesday 10 June 2025, engage with youth beneficiaries of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) and Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) flagship programmes in Pretoria.

The President will visit three sites: the Sefako Makgatho Primary School in Saulsville; the South African Creative Industries Incubator (SACCI) in Eersterust, and the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) in Pretoria East.

These visits will highlight innovative implementation models and public-private partnerships that are delivering dignified, high-quality employment and skilling outcomes for youth at scale.

The President will during the visits interact directly with youth beneficiaries, educators, and implementing partners, and see first-hand how the PES and PYEI’s community-based, demand-led approach is reshaping labour market access for the country’s most excluded youth.

The site visits will commence with the Sefako Makgatho Primary School, a part of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) and a flagship programme of the PES, designed to address the dual challenges of youth unemployment and support, for the basic education system by placing young people in roles within public schools as education and general school assistant.

The programme is implemented by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and administrated by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

The President will then proceed to the South African Creative Industries Incubator (SACII) which is a creative hub providing technical skills training, business incubation, production facilities and networking for artists and entrepreneurs in the creative industries.

The organisation is funded by National Pathway Management Network, a grant initiative of the PYEI, led by the National Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) and administered by the IDC.

The funding assists with improving and expanding the Visual Special Effects (VFX) programme, which is one of its kind in South Africa, specifically designed to train youth in the highly technical field of VFX.

The programme connects young people to industry jobs in the creative gig economy. One hundred trainees have been enrolled into the programme through the Innovation Fund.

The President will conclude his visit at the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) which provides health sector professionals and unemployed youth interested in the health field access to affordable, accessible quality education through management and clinical skills development courses.

These courses are customised to the needs of healthcare managers, practitioners and organisations.

The programme is funded through the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund, an outcome-based instrument to unlock jobs for excluded young people by linking contracted payments with desired outcomes.

This intervention of the PYEI that is led by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) with the National Skills Fund (NSF) as the lead implementer.

The media programme will unfold as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Time: 10h00 (Media arrival at 09h00)
Venue: Sefako Makgatho Primary School, 2 Sakweng street, Saulsville, Pretoria

Members of the media wishing to attend are requested to send their details to Ndivhuwo Kharivhe on Ndivhuwo@presidency.gov.za  by no later than 13h00 today Monday, 09 June 2025.

NOTE TO MEDIA/EDITORS:
The visit to the school will be open to all media to cover the engagement between President and Teacher Assistants.  However, due to space limitations, the other two sites will only be restricted to the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS), which will disseminate the materials to all media post the visits.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

Programme Directors,
The Farisani Family,
Premier of Limpopo, Dr Phophi Ramathuba,
Representatives of the African National Congress and the broader liberation movement,
Leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa,
Traditional and religious leaders present,
Leadership of the University of Venda,
Fellow Mourners,
 
Fellow South Africans, batho ba Limpopo, muta waDean Farisani,
 
We are to bid farewell to Dean Tshenuwani Farisani.
 
His life bears witness to the mission of Christ espoused in the Gospel of Luke chapter 4.
 
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed.”
 
We have lost an extraordinary man who led an extraordinary life.
 
He was born in 1948, a year that was a turning point in South Africa’s history. 
 
This was the year the National Party swept to power and ushered in the reviled system of apartheid.
 
Dean Farisani was born into circumstances that mirrored the lives of millions of black South Africans at the time.
 
He was just a child, barely three years old, when his family was confronted with the ugly face of injustice.
 
Many years later, in 1996, he would testify at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on how his family were victims of forced removed from the Songozi Tsapila area near then Louis Trichardt, now Makhado.
 
The authorities arrived one day without warning, and his parents were ordered to vacate the area immediately.
 
He recounted how they had to carry their belongings on their backs and leave, on foot. That which could not be carried, including all the family’s livestock, was left behind.
 
They were relocated to another empty piece of land and told this was their new home. They were never compensated for the land that was stolen from them.
 
Eight years later, in 1959, the family were forcibly removed again. 
 
Two years later, in 1961, again.
 
These experiences instilled in him a deep sense of justice. 
 
They planted the seeds of his political consciousness when he was still in his teens.
 
He only entered formal schooling at the age of 12. Like most children in rural areas at the time, he was a child labourer on the white farms.
 
At school a missionary from the Evangelical Lutheran Church noticed his academic brilliance and he was prepared to enter theological training.
 
It was at Maphumulo Theological Seminary in KwaZulu-Natal that he first became acquainted with the Black Consciousness Movement.
 
Its teachings fired his growing political awareness.
 
For him, there was no contradiction between the teachings of his faith and the mission of national liberation.
 
He soon became attracted to liberation theology, and its message that true Christian faith demands active resistance to all forms of oppression and solidarity with the poor.
 
Apartheid was a great injustice, and he, heroic heart, was not content to choose a quiet life of pastoralism.
 
He was eventually expelled from the seminary after hebecame involved with underground political organisations like the South African Students Organisation, the Black People’s Convention and the Black Consciousness Movement.
 
By then he was at the Beuster Mission at Maungani outside Thohoyandou and a rising figure in the BCM, going on to be elected its president in 1973.
 
I first met Dean Farisani when he spoke at my high school, Mpaphuli.
 
We formed an immediate and lasting bond.
 
For many years we worked alongside each other in the Black Evangelical Youth Organisation.
 
There were many points in the life of the great man we lay to rest today where he found himself sorely tested.
 
During the late 1970s and 1980s was arrested on a number of occasions for his political activities. But it was his third detention, in 1981, that he found his courage truly tested. His faith tested. His principles tested.
 
He was detained by the Venda police on suspicion of being involved in the bombing of a police station in Sibasa. 
 
He was held for more than eight months and severely tortured. 
 
In his book, Diary from a South African Prison, he recounts the unimaginable ordeal of beatings, electricshocks, being forced to squat for days and being smothered.
 
In an interview given years later he recounts how his torturers tried everything to force a confession, even offering him the position of Bishop of Venda.
 
And yet he, strong in will, did not yield.
 
Fellow Mourners, Comrades, 
Fellow South Africans,
 
Dean Farisani was a courageous revolutionary who inspired a generation to reclaim their pride and stand up for their rights. I was amongst them.
 
He was a beloved father and a grandfather who will be sorely missed by his wife, mufumakadzi Mudzunga, his daughters Nzumbululo and Ndamulelo, by his son Zwovhonala and by the entire extended family.
 
He was a renowned academic and prolific scholar whose writings gave voice to the voiceless. 
 
He was a guide and mentor to many. He was a dear friend.
 
And yet it is Dean Farisani’s most salient quality that I will most remember him for: he was a man of unwavering principle.
 
Nothing could sway him from what was right, from his dedication to the cause of the South African people, and to their total emancipation.
 
In detention, he was offered positions and status. He refused them.
 
When he was released and went into exile in the United States, he could have easily put the entire experience behind him and led a quiet life. 
 
Instead he campaigned vigorously against the regime from abroad.
 
When Venda was proclaimed as a so-called independent homeland by the apartheid regime he was outspoken in his opposition, even when this brought him into conflict with church leaders in his circuit.
 
His activism continued into the democratic South Africa.
 
He was determined to be part of the struggle to overcome the injustice and inequality bred of apartheid.
 
He was elected to the first democratic Parliament in 1994. 
 
He would go on to serve further as an MEC here in Limpopo and as speaker of the Legislature.
 
These roles placed him in a position of power and influence. Yet they did not change him. 
 
He did not succumb to the allure of high office. He was never arrogant. 
 
He was a servant leader who came, served and left, and continued to contribute to the betterment of his beloved country.
 
He did not regard loyalty to a political cause or party as being above his own principles.
 
When he saw corruption being perpetrated by those entrusted with public funds, he was vocal and scathing in his criticism. He held power to account.
 
The Foundation that bears his name continues to be an influential voice in the public space in advancing social justice, including for apartheid’s many victims.
 
Fellow Mourners,
 
Neither beatings nor torture could make Dean Farisani surrender his principles. The trappings of power did not interest him. He was content to walk in the footsteps of his Lord with the downtrodden, the oppressed and the marginalised.
 
He understood his life’s mission and it was not negotiable.
 
These are the greatest lessons we take from his life. These are the reflections we take today as we lay this great son of the soil to rest.
 
To the family, we share in your great sorrow. Yet even amidst our mourning we celebrate a man who has left such a deep and lasting impact on all of us. He was an inspiration. 
 
In Dean Farisani’s book of poetry, titled Justice in my Tears, there is a moving poem.
 
It is called “The Lord is my Shepherd: Psalm 23 in Pietermaritzburg and Howick.”
 
It was published in 1977, the period of his first imprisonment.
 
In it he writes:
 
“The Lord is my shepherd, 
I shall not buckle
He rests me in the land of freedom
I drink from the cup of liberty,
Even when I wander in the valley of torture.
I shall fear no human beasts,
 
He shall fight my fight.
His angels and his visions
Guide me through brutal interrogations
He gives me life in the hands of murderers
Giving me a crown for a victory his own”
 
Dean Farisani, yours was a life of service to others. As the South African people we crown you as you go to your eternal rest.
 
In the words of the Psalm 23 you so loved, surely goodness and mercy did follow you all the days of your life. May you dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
 
Fare well brother, comrade, friend, patriot.
 
I thank you.
 

Programme Director,
President of the Black Business Council, Mr Elias Monage,
CEO of the Black Business Council, Mr Kganki Matabane,
National Officer bearers of the BBC,
Ministers and Officials
Representatives of the business community,
Distinguished Guests,
 
Good evening.
 
Allow me to extend my thanks to the leadership of the Black Business Council for the invitation. 
 
The Black Business Council remains one of the foremost voices for the transformation of the South African economy.
 
The BBC understands that this transformation is necessary not only for its members, but for our entire society as we work to undo the inequalities and injustices of our past.
 
Seventy years ago, our forebears declared that the people shall share in the country’s wealth. That must remain among our foremost ambitions as a nation.
 
Fundamental economic transformation is vital to the growth of our economy and to the progress of our nation.
 
This transformation is necessary if we are to unlock the capabilities of all our people and realise the full potential of our economy.
 
We must dispense with the false choice that we urged to make between growth and transformation.
 
Transformation is vital if growth is to be meaningful, inclusive and sustainable.
 
Growth is essential if we are to effectively transform our economy.
 
Our task is to ensure that we pursue both growth and transformation, in concert, with more vigour and to greater effect.
 
This must be a common effort that brings all South Africans together.
 
We must give practical effect to what is contained in the Preamble to our Constitution, which says: 
 
“We, the people of South Africa, recognise the injustices of our past, honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land, respect those who have worked to build and develop our country, and believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it – united by our diversity.” 
 
If we are to remain true to this solemn declaration, then we must reaffirm our common commitment to empowerment.
 
We must reaffirm our commitment to redress and restitution.
 
We must recognise that economic empowerment is an undertaking that requires deliberate action across nearly every area of our national life.
 
It is not limited to a few laws, policies and regulations.
 
The economic empowerment of black South Africans starts at birth.
 
It begins with the circumstances into which a person is born. 
 
From nutrition to health care, from early childhood development to the quality of basic education, we must ensure that the black child receives the same developmental foundation that all children need to succeed in life.
 
The expansion of fee-free schooling, the funding of students from poor and working class families, school feeding schemes, scholar transport and child care grants all make a vital contribution to black economic empowerment.
 
By the same measure, interventions to reduce youth unemployment – by providing work experience, skills and job opportunities – are directed towards reducing the great divides in economic opportunity.
 
Just this week, over 200,000 unemployed young people started work at thousands of schools across the country – gaining valuable skills and capabilities while helping to improve the educational outcomes of the learners that follow in their footsteps.
 
From the partnerships that we have forged with business to provide workplace experience opportunities to young people to the input vouchers provided to small scale farmers, we are steadily transforming the structure our economy.
 
Across every sector of society, we will continue our work towards a South Africa of equality and equal opportunity for all. 
 
Since the advent of democracy, we have built a comprehensive and robust legislative framework to advance the transformation of the economy. 
 
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act are essential parts of this legislative framework. 
 
Since these Acts came into being, there have been notable increases in black business ownership as well as in the number of women-owned businesses. 
 
We have seen progress with respect to management control, skills development, and enterprise and supplier development. 
 
On household income, we have seen progress in narrowing the gap between race groups.
 
According to Statistics SA, between 2006 and 2023, black African households experienced real income growth of 46 percent, while coloured households experienced income growth of 29 percent and Indian households 19 percent. 
 
While this can be considered progress, the average income of white households is still nearly five times as high as black African households.
 
On some employment measures, we are also seeing the gap narrowing.
 
In the 20 years between 2003 and 2023, for example, the proportion of senior management positions occupied by black Africans increased from 14 percent to 27 percent.
 
Again, important progress. But not at the scale or at the pace that we need.
 
The data that we have shows that our broad-based black economic empowerment measures have made an impact, but we need to do more and we need to do better.
 
We have to build on the successes we have registered since the laws were introduced. We need to entrench their principles and to improve their outcomes and impact. 
 
Where we need to make changes, where we need to make improvements, we should not be afraid to do so.
 
We need to recognise that there was some concern about the effect that the establishment of the Government of National Unity would have on government’s approach to economic empowerment and transformation.
 
The parties to the GNU reflect a wide range of political, social and economic perspectives.
 
Even now, these parties continue to articulate differing positions in public.
 
These debates are important and should be aired.
 
Yet the agreed priorities of the Government of National Unity provide a platform for meaningful transformation.
 
The Medium Term Development Plan of government has identified three strategic priorities: driving inclusive growth and job creation, reducing poverty and the high cost of living, and building a capable, ethical and developmental state. 
 
The reforms that are underway to improve the capacity and efficiency of our network industries are transformational.
 
By driving investment, improving efficiency and increasing competition in areas like electricity, logistics, water and telecommunication, we will substantially reduce the cost of doing business.
 
We will reduce the barriers to entry for emerging businesses, including businesses in townships and rural areas.
 
Similarly, our focus on expanding infrastructure investment will drive productive activity and expand our economic capabilities.
 
Public infrastructure spending over the next three years will amount to R1 trillion.
 
It is vital that we use this investment to provide opportunities for black businesses not only in construction, but in all the sectors that will provide the materials, goods and services that such an infrastructure drive requires.
 
As we develop our industrial capacity – expanding traditional sectors like mining and agriculture, while developing new industries like renewable energy, electric vehicles and green hydrogen – we will be creating opportunities for the emergence of new black and women-owned businesses.
 
As we support emerging farmers, improve our logistics network and rural supply chains, and open new export markets, we need to be driving the transformation of agriculture.
 
We cannot separate our drive for inclusive growth from our drive for economic empowerment.
 
The creation of a Transformation Fund to fund black-owned and small business enterprises is not only about correcting past wrongs, it is also about establishing a new wave of emerging innovative businesses that can create work and opportunity.
 
The use of the Public Procurement Act to ensure businesses owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities receive equitable opportunities in government contracts is about unleashing the potential of the South African people.
 
The Black Industrialists programme is promoting the growth and competitiveness of black owned and controlled enterprises in the manufacturing sectors of the economy. 
 
This programme is drawing into the productive economy the skills, initiative, capabilities and energy of people who had been neglected in the past.
 
Such initiatives make our economy stronger.
 
We need to challenge the notion that black economic empowerment is a cost to the economy. We need to demonstrate that it is an investment in the economy.
 
Now is not the time to abandon the measures we have put in place to drive transformation. 
 
Now is the time to move forward with greater purpose and ambition.
 
We must use the lessons we have learnt over the last 30 years to make our empowerment policies and programmes more meaningful and more impactful.
 
They must be ever more effective drivers of inclusive growth and employment.
 
As we undertake this work, we can be certain that the Black Business Council will remain an unwavering champion of empowerment, transformation and progress.
 
We can be certain that the Black Business Council will continue to advance the interests not only of its members, not only of black business, but of all the people of South Africa.
 
By working together, by focusing on growth that is inclusive and transformational, we can make real progress towards ensuring that the people do indeed share in the country’s wealth
 
I thank you.
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa supported by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi and Deputy Minister Andries Nel, today hosted a high-level engagement with Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Heads of Court at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the President’s official residence in Pretoria.

This important engagement brought together the Executive and the Judiciary to reaffirm their shared commitment to building a stronger, more effective justice system, firmly anchored in the values of South Africa’s Constitution.

Also in attendance were Ministers Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister in the Presidency, Enoch Godongwana, Minister of Finance, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi Minister of Public Service and Administration, and Dean Macpherson Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Chief Justice Mandisa Maya was supported by senior members of the Judiciary, including, Justice Mahube Molemela, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Judge Presidents, Cagney Musi of the Free State Division of the High Court, Dunstan Mlambo of the Gauteng Division and Pule Tlaletsi of the Northern Cape Division.

The meeting built on prior engagements between Chief Justice Maya and Minister Kubayi, who is spearheading a multi-departmental initiative to address critical issues that have been raised by the Judiciary.

In collaboration with the Ministers of Finance, Public Works and Infrastructure, and Public Service and Administration, Minister Kubayi has prioritised improvements in court infrastructure, human resources, security, and judicial independence.

"Within the principle of the separation of powers, each arm of the State has a responsibility to cooperate with, and provide support to, the other arms of the State in giving full effect to our Constitution.

It requires, in particular, that we create conditions in which each arm of the State can fulfill their respective mandates without hindrance.

It is an opportunity to develop common approaches on issues that are critical to the effective functioning of the Judiciary.

At the core of our deliberations is our shared commitment to safeguarding and entrenching the independence of the Judiciary and ensuring that it has the space and means to administer justice", said President Ramaphosa.

Key discussions focused on advancing the process to ensure institutional independence and unification of a single judiciary, and enhancing the capacity of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, and High Courts.

President Ramaphosa and Chief Justice Maya, welcomed the collaborative tone of the engagement and reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement between the Executive and the Judiciary.

"This meeting is significant in that it happened days before we are due to host dignitaries of the judiciary from across the globe, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of the Constitutional Court on the 20th of this month," added Chief Justice Maya. 

Today’s engagement marks a renewed determination to transform South Africa’s justice sector into one that is resilient, secure, and accessible to all.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President on Media@presidency.gov.za / Terrence Manase, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development Spokesperson on +27 82 338 6707 / Bongiwe Gambu, MLO, Office of the Chief Justice on +27 82 714 9463

Issued by: The Presidency and the Judiciary of the Republic of South Africa
Pretoria
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his sadness at the passing in South Africa of His Excellency Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu of the Republic of Zambia.

Aged 68, President Lungu passed away on Thursday, 5 June 2025, in a Pretoria hospital where he had been receiving treatment for a number of weeks.

On behalf of the government and people of South Africa, President Ramaphosa offers his condolences to President Lungu’s family and to the nation and government of the Republic of Zambia led by His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema.

President Ramaphosa said: “As regional compatriots, South Africans are standing by the people of Zambia in this difficult moment.

“We have had the duty and privilege in recent weeks to care for a leader from our region whom we embraced as a brother and friend.

“We therefore share the grief and loss experienced at this time by the Lungu family, as well as the Zambian nation.

May his soul rest in peace.”

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa will this evening, 06 June 2025, address the annual Black Business Council Summit Gala and Awards Dinner at Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre in the City of Erkurhuleni. 

The Black Business Council (BBC) is hosting the 2025 Annual Summit under the theme “Socio-Economic Transformation and Inclusive Growth in the context of the Government of National Unity (GNU), G20 Presidency and the Changing Geopolitical Dynamics” on 05 – 06 June 2025.  

Over the course of the BBC Annual Summit, Ministers will participate in panel discussions ranging from the theme of the Summit to access to funding for black-owned - women owned and youth owned businesses, which also will encompass a panel on strategies to revive and grow the economy. 

The BBC represents black professionals, business associations, and chambers, and it advocates for the interests of black business and works to ensure that policies and economic frameworks reflect the inclusive growth agenda. The Black Business Summit plays a central role in engaging both the public and private sectors to advance transformation, economic empowerment, and enterprise development in South Africa.

President Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the Gala and Awards Ceremony Dinner that will draw the BBC Annual Summit which brings together senior leaders in government, business, politics and civil society to a close following engagements to address and build a sustainable and inclusive economy. 

President Ramaphosa will address the Black Business Council Summit Gala and Awards Ceremony as follows:
Date: Friday, 06 June 2025
Time: 18:00
Venue: Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre, Kempton Park, City of Erkurhuleni

Media wishing to attend the BBC Gala and Awards Ceremony Dinner should register to Ms Masedi Sesele on  masedi.sesele@blackbusinesscouncil.africa  or  on 066 588 2464.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President- media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE PRESENTATION
President Ramaphosa has noted the content from and media commentary on the appearance of the Honourable Dr Nobuhle Nkabane before the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on 30th of May 2025.

The President appreciates that what he has seen may not constitute the full scope or context of the engagement, therefore, he has requested that the Minister provides him with a detailed report on the decorum and substance of her engagement with Parliament.

In this regard, the President will appreciate a report on the process undertaken to appoint board members to the Sector Education and Training Authorities that were at the centre of the Portfolio Committee’s questions.

The request for the report is in view of the President’s expectation that Ministers, Deputy Ministers and senior executives in our public sector conduct themselves professionally, transparently and cordially in engaging with Parliament and other accountability institutions.

The public broadcast of parliamentary proceedings and the viral spread of content from and public comment on these proceedings demand that all Ministers and senior officials remain conscious of all aspects of their conduct during such proceedings.

It also demands that Portfolio Committees are viewed as a welcome platform on which to update the nation on the progress the government is making in all its portfolios.

The President expects the Minister to establish a constructive relationship with the Portfolio Committee as she exercises her leadership and accountability.

06 JUNE 2025 MEETING WITH CHIEF JUSTICE AND JUDICIARY
President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow, 06 June 202, host a meeting with Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, Justice Mandisa Maya and the Judiciary at his Official Residence, Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria.

The meeting will discuss operations of the Superior Courts and other challenges faced by the Judiciary.  The President will be supported by the Ministers of Justice and Constitutional Development; Finance and Public Service and Administration.

06 JUNE 2025 BLACK BUSINESS COUNCIL SUMMIT GALA AND AWARDS DINNER
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday, 06 June 2025, address the annual Black Business Council Summit Gala and Awards Dinner at the Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre in City of Ekurhuleni. 

The Black Business Council (BBC) is hosting the 2025 Annual Summit under the theme “Socio-Economic Transformation and Inclusive Growth in the context of the Government of National Unity (GNU), G20 Presidency and the Changing Geopolitical Dynamics” on 05 – 06 June 2025.  

Over the course of the BBC Annual Summit, Ministers will participate in panel discussions ranging from the theme of the Summit to access to funding for black-owned – women owned and youth owned businesses, which also will encompass a panel on strategies to revive and grow the economy. 

The BBC represents black professionals, business associations, and chambers, and it advocates for the interests of black business and works to ensure that policies and economic frameworks reflect the inclusive growth agenda. 

10 JUNE 2025 YOUTH ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES
As South Africa commemorates Youth Month under the theme: “Skills for the changing world, empowering youth for meaningful economic participation, the President will on Tuesday, 10 June 2025 as part of Youth Month activities, engage with youth beneficiaries of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) and Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) flagship programmes in Pretoria.

The President will visit three sites which are the Sefako Makgatho Primary School in Saulsville; The South African Creative Industries Incubator (SACCI) in Eersterust and The Foundation for the Professional Development (FPD) in Pretoria East.

These visits will highlight innovative implementation models and public-private partnerships that are delivering dignified, high-quality employment and skilling outcomes for youth at scale.

The President will during the visits interact directly with youth beneficiaries, educators, and implementing partners, and see first-hand how the PES and PYEI’s community-based, demand-led approach is reshaping labour market access for the country’s most excluded youth.

NOTE TO MEDIA/EDITORS: The visit to the school will be open to all media to cover the engagement between President and Teacher Assistants.  However, due to space limitations, the other two sites will be restricted to only Government Communications and Information System (GCIS), to which they will disseminate the materials to all media.

12 JUNE 2025 GREEN HYDROGEN SUMMIT
President Ramaphosa will address the inaugural Africa Green Hydrogen Summit, scheduled to take place from 12 to 13 June 2025, in Cape Town under the leadership of the Department of Electricity and Energy.

This high-level platform builds on the momentum of the successful South African Green Hydrogen Summits of 2022 and 2023 and reflects a natural evolution toward a continent-wide agenda. It seeks to promote regional collaboration, advance technological exchange, and unlock market access for African countries in the emerging green hydrogen economy.

The Africa Green Hydrogen Summit 2025 arrives at a pivotal moment for the continent’s clean energy transition. Africa’s vast renewable energy potential, coupled with its mineral endowments, positions it to become a competitive global supplier of green hydrogen and its derivatives.

14-17 JUNE G7 SUMMIT CANADA 
President Ramaphosa will travel to Canada, Kenanaskis from 14-17 June to attend and participate in the G7 Leaders’ Summit. The theme and purpose of the G7 Leaders discussion is “to explore leadership and collaboration in driving a comprehensive approach to energy security with a focus on technology and innovation, diversification and strengthening critical mineral supply chains and infrastructure and investment’’. 

The President will use his participation at the summit to engage fellow world leaders towards finding solutions for energy security and related issues linked to South Africa’s G20 Presidency. This will provide the President with an opportunity to strengthen G7-G20 cooperation.   

19 JUNE 2025 RESPONSE TO ORAL QUESTIONS IN THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 19 June 2025, respond to questions for Oral Reply by members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), in Parliament, Cape Town.

President Ramaphosa’s engagement with the NCOP is a mechanism for Parliament to hold the executive branch of government accountable, to ensure transparency and to strengthen constitutional democracy.

20 JUNE 2025 30 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
On Friday, 20 June 2025, the Judiciary will host a celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa. This celebration will reflect on the Court’s pivotal role in shaping our constitutional democracy, safeguarding human rights and upholding the rule of law. 

The Constitutional Court of South Africa remains the apex court on constitutional matters, ensuring the proper interpretation, protection, and enforcement of our Constitution. President Ramaphosa is deeply honoured to attend and participate in this occasion and will deliver the keynote address.

20 JUNE 2025 WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES SUMMIT IN JOHANNESBURG 
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday, 20 June 2025, present South Africa’s reflections on the role of religion and church in addressing domestic and global issues at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Summit in Johannesburg. 

The World Council of Churches consists of 352 member churches with over 600 million Christians from 120 countries in the world.

The Council works with Non-Governmental Organizations, Interreligious leaders and others to seek justice, peace, reconciliation and unity in the world.

The WCC played a very significant role in campaigning against apartheid in the international community. Its Program on Combating Racism provided an international platform to work against the evils of racism and apartheid in South Africa. 

The WCC efforts to put the issues of South Africa at that time on the international stage were very successful and led to the withdrawal of the Dutch Reformed Church from the WCC, they are now full members of the WCC again. 

27 JUNE 2025 SACU SUMMIT IN WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA
At the invitation of Her Excellency President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, in her capacity as the Chairperson for SACU, the President will attend the 9th Summit of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Heads of State and Government scheduled for 27 June 2025, in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Summit will receive an update from SACU Council of Ministers on the implementation of the SACU Strategic Plan 2022-2027 and the progress made on the process of the re-imagined SACU as adopted by the SACU Heads of State and Government. 

The summit will also provide an opportunity for the leaders to engage on geopolitical developments affecting the region.
South Africa will also assume the SACU Chairship from July 2025.

30 JUNE 2025 THE 4th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT IN SPAIN
At the invitation of the President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón of the Government of Spain and United Nations Secretary - General António Guterres, President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead South Africa’s participating delegation to the 4th International Conference on the Financing for Development Summit that is taking place in Seville on 30 June 2025. 

This conference aims to address new and emerging issues in financing for development, including the need to fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reform the international financial architecture.

South Africa’s participation at the Summit aligns with its G20 Presidency objectives of solidarity, equality and sustainability in complementing and supporting the Summits’ goals of reshaping the global financial system in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

On the margins of the 4th Financing for Development Summit, South Africa will convene a side event under the theme: “Forging a common agenda to achieve debt sustainability in developing economies”.
South Africa seeks to advance through cooperation, collaboration and partnership sustainable solutions to tackle high structural deficits and liquidity challenges and extend debt relief to developing economies which disproportionately affect countries in Africa.  

This event will bring together leading voices from various debt-related initiatives to identify synergies and areas of convergence. It will seek consensus and highlight solutions that enjoy broad support.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - Media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Deputy President Paul Mashatile to launch the Clean Cities and Towns campaign in Gauteng Province. This campaign is a nationwide initiative aimed at fostering cleaner, greener, and more inclusive urban spaces, while advancing sustainability, equality, and solidarity among all citizens.

The Clean Cities and Towns Campaign is envisaged to start a nationwide movement, encouraging citizens to come together for community cleaning activities throughout townships and villages. This unified effort will not only promote cleaner surroundings but also cultivate a sense of community spirit and pride.

Additionally, the campaign will also build on the Deputy President’s commitments made at the SALGA Lekgotla earlier in the year to address both environmental and socio-economic challenges. This initiative will form part of a broader service delivery drive by government within the context of the District Development Model, led by the Deputy President as a champion.

Deputy President Mashatile together with the Premier of Gauteng, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Dada Morero and senior government officials will engage in clean-up activities. Activities will include tree planting, cleaning at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication and lighting of the Flame at the Square.

The media are invited as follows:
Date: Friday, 6 June 2025
Time: 09:00
Venue: Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, Kliptown, Soweto 

For more information on the Clean Cities campaign, kindly contact Matshepo Seedat on 082 679 9473.

Media enquiries: Keith Khoza (The Presidency) on 066 195 8840, Vuyo Mhaga (Gauteng Provincial Government) on 076 636 5193 and Chris Vondo (City of Johannesburg) on 079 851 9908

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Presidential Spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya will today, 05 June 2025 host a media briefing to update the public on the President’s programme and address topical issues of interest.

Members of the media are invited as follows:
Date: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Time: 16h30
Venue: Union Buildings, Media Centre  
RSVP: Members of the media wishing to attend the media briefing in person are requested to submit their details to ndivhuwo@presidency.gov.za

Media following remotely can text their questions to Patience @ 083 376 9468. The media briefing will be streamed live and the link will be shared prior. 
 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@enquires.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his deep sadness at the passing of renowned photographer, cultural activist and jazz organiser Rashid Lombard, who has passed away at the age of 74.

Mr Lombard was an Esteemed Member of the National Order of Ikhamanga (Silver), which he received in 2014 for his excellent contribution to arts and culture and his dedication to promoting jazz music that has put South Africa on the map for many jazz enthusiasts around the world.

President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the Lombard family and Mr Lombard’s extensive network of friends, comrades and creatives nationally and internationally.

Mr Lombard has been the organiser behind the positioning of South Africa through the arts in the North Sea Jazz Festival, Cape Town, now known as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival), and was the Festival Director of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Mr Lombard was born in North End, Gqeberha, and moved to Cape Town in 1962.

Originally qualified as an architectural draughtsman, Rashid Lombard became an industrial photographer and later a renowned news and documentary photographer, and photographic artist.

He built on his creative media career by becoming an influential jazz promoter and founder of the then Cape Town edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival.

President Ramaphosa said: “We have lost a cultural icon who not only documented our history of struggle but made history in his own right.

“Rashid Lombard’s fearless depiction of apartheid’s endemic inhumanity and violence and his compassionate focus on the lives of oppressed communities and disadvantaged individuals is a powerful record of our struggle for basic human rights and dignity.

“His creative and entrepreneurial ability gave rise to his establishment of the Cape Town Jazz Festival through which he bolstered South Africa’s integration into global culture and linked this prestige event to the development of historically disadvantaged communities.

“Rashid achieved a remarkable feat with his love for the diversity and vibrancy of our nation.

“He did so with passion and humility that endeared him to everyone with whom he interacted and whose lives he touched. We reflect on his life with gratitude and with liberation and joy he leaves behind as his legacy.”

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President –
media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria