Thursday, 13 August 2026

A new witness was due to testify behind closed doors at the Madlanga Commission after IPID’s Len John alleged rogue KwaZulu-Natal SAPS task teams carried out unlawful killings and received suspicious cash deposits linked to a lieutenant colonel and his wife.

City Power said almost 7,000 outage calls were logged across Johannesburg, blaming aging infrastructure, vandalism and the cold snap; staff on leave were recalled and contractors doubled to cut the backlog.

Parliament’s transport committee said the Road Accident Fund is showing recovery, pointing to 8.9 billion rand paid out in the first quarter and 80,665 claims settled, up 54% on the same period last year.

Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela said NSFAS faces a 15 billion rand funding shortfall and still has tens of thousands of students in non-accredited accommodation, even after improvements in bank verification and direct payments.

CoGTA said local government elections are set for 4 November and pushed a coalitions bill to stop unstable coalition swaps; the minister said the government and IEC are ready and urged voters to back councillors who can deliver services.