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South Africa’s youth unemployment rate has risen to 47.4%, meaning almost one in every two young people in the labour force cannot find a job. The latest figures from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) show that 5 million young people aged 15 to 34 were unemployed in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of …
South Africans don’t just drive their vehicles – we name them, personalise them, and make them part of the family. The new Chery bakkie is arriving with everything Mzansi needs, except one important thing: a name. This is your chance to give a future favourite its identity. Share your suggestion below. We’ll capture your name, …
Every time African migrants are attacked in South Africa, outrage ripples across the continent. Governments issue condemnations, civil society mobilises, diplomatic tempers flare and then, within a news cycle or two, the story fades. That condemnation is justified. No African should be assaulted, displaced or killed for having crossed a border in search of safety …
South Africa will push SADC countries to adopt a more orderly approach to migration and sign a protocol allowing the free movement of people as President Cyril Ramaphosa takes over the regional bloc’s chairship. Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said migration governance would be among South Africa’s priorities during its …
Unisa SBL brings energy leaders together to ask: Can South Africa keep the lights on? Unisa SBL brings energy leaders together to ask: Can South Africa keep the lights on? South Africa’s dramatic shift from years of rolling blackouts to more than 450 consecutive days without load shedding took centre stage at the University of …
Ngcobo shut down for fourth day as residents call for removal of municipal manager
Uganda’s central bank kept its key lending rate unchanged at 9.75%, extending its cautious monetary policy stance as policymakers assess […]
Oversight visits have exposed serious operational failures within Operation Prosper following a joint oversight visit by the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Police Portfolio Committee in the Western Cape.
The post Operation Prosper Focusing on Tuck Shops and Shebeens While Gangs Run Rampant appeared first on ActionSA.
A woman recovering from a C-section was handcuffed and taken to Muizenberg SAPS
Protesters threaten to “shut down the N2” if water and electricity demands ignored
The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and Minister in the Presidency, Mr Rikus Badenhorst, said the decision by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson to take Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) recruitment onto the SA Youth Mobi platform represents an important shift in how government should create opportunities for unemployed South Africans.
Mr Badenhorst said that for too long allegations of political gatekeeping, patronage and abuse in the allocation of opportunities have been made against the EPWP. The Minister's nationwide EPWP listening tours heard these concerns directly. The answer cannot be another policy document. It must be reform that changes how the programme actually works.
Digitising recruitment begins doing exactly that. By making opportunities visible and applying rules-based matching according to factors such as location, education and eligibility, the space for the politically connected middleman deciding who gets an opportunity and who does not is reduced.
Importantly, the SA Youth Mobi platform is zero-rated, meaning unemployed young people do not require airtime or data to access it. That matters in a country where the cost of simply looking for work can itself become a barrier.
But the more significant reform is what Minister Macpherson is trying to achieve through Working on Infrastructure. EPWP cannot remain a revolving door where people enter a short-term programme, perform temporary work and emerge no more employable than when they started.
Working on Infrastructure seeks to change that model through longer-duration participation, practical infrastructure repair and maintenance experience, mentorship, training, certification and pathways towards recognised occupational opportunities and ultimately permanent employment.
Mr Badenhorst welcomes this direction. “South Africa does not need government programmes that simply improve participation statistics. We need programmes that improve people's prospects,” he said.
Parliamentary oversight will take place over implementation, accessibility and whether these promised pathways actually translate into sustainable employment. Reform must be measured by results.
But the principle is correct: remove political discretion, open access, teach marketable skills and give participants a genuine pathway beyond EPWP, Mr Badehorst said.
“Minister Macpherson is demonstrating that public employment programmes can be reformed rather than simply defended. Government should not merely give somebody a temporary job. It should give them the skills and opportunity to build a future.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
The Select Committee on Agriculture Land Reform and Mineral Resources said Sogima Mining has complied with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources' requirements. However, Sogima remains unable to resume its mining activities.
The committee expressed this view during the last day of its oversight visit. It met with Sogima Mining, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR), the North West Department of Human Settlements, the Housing Development Agency and Madibeng Local Municipality.
Committee Chairperson Mr Mpho Modise said when the committee adjourned its meeting the previous day, there was an agreement that the DMPR and Sogima Mining would meet and report back with a possible solution and way forward to bring the matter to finality.
“To be honest when we concluded yesterday's meeting, I felt that we had made significant progress. In my assessment, we had addressed approximately 60% of the issues and were moving steadily towards a resolution. Today, however, having heard the report presented to us, I feel that we have moved backwards rather than forward.”
The committee noted with concern the DMPR's proposal for another meeting with the 46 community members who objected to Sogima Mining's activities. The proposed meeting would include relevant stakeholders and record the reasons for the objections and concerns about relocation. Members questioned whether another meeting would help resolve a matter that has been outstanding for several years.
Members were concerned that relocation issues continue to dominate discussions and delay economic development and job opportunities in the area. The committee said the government cannot allow economic development, job creation and poverty alleviation to be blocked before a mining company can operate. Government must take responsibility for matters that fall within its mandate.
Members questioned why the company continues to go through repeated processes after meeting previous requirements. The committee heard that Sogima Mining had held consultations, redesigned its blasting method, repaired damage caused by earlier blasting and prepared legal agreements, as requested by the department. The company said it had spent substantial amounts over the years to meet these requirements.
The committee expressed concern that the DMPR appeared to move the company from one process to another without finalising the matter. Members said each time a requirement was met another one appeared to follow.
During the discussions, members raised the difference between consultation and agreement. The committee said the law requires consultation and not unanimous agreement. It warned that a mining project should not be delayed indefinitely when lawful consultation has taken place.
Members asked how the DMPR has dealt with similar cases in other mining communities where there are different views. They also asked whether the approach in the Sogima Mining matter is consistent with approaches used elsewhere in the mining sector.
The committee questioned the need for another meeting with community members who object to blasting when extensive consultations had already taken place. Members advised that repeating consultation could reopen issues that had already been addressed and delay the matter further.
The committee was told that Sogima Mining had consulted 106 households in the affected area. Of these, 46 objected and said relocation should take place first. Members questioned the difference between these figures and earlier presentations, which indicated that more than 200 households could be affected by relocation.
The committee said failures in planning and coordination by government should not result in one mining company carrying the burden of past decisions made by different authorities. Members said Sogima Mining should not carry the full financial burden of relocating a community from an area where settlement should not have been allowed.
The Chairperson expressed disappointment that several reports requested by the committee during the March oversight visit had still not been submitted. Mr Modise said only Sogima Mining had submitted the requested information. Reports from other government departments still remain outstanding.
In its final deliberations, the committee resolved that the DMPR, Sogima Mining and relevant stakeholders should proceed with the scheduled meeting on 18 August 2026. The committee said it expects the meeting to finalise all outstanding issues so that the company can find a way to resume mining operations. The committee requested that a report on the outcome of the meeting be submitted immediately after the engagement.
Mr Modise said the committee will meet after receiving the report to assess the outcome and decide on the next steps. If satisfactory progress is not made, the committee will consider other avenues to bring the matter to a conclusion with the assistance of Parliament's legal department.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
ActionSA North West has today submitted written questions to the newly appointed MEC for Education, Dr Desbo Mohono, seeking urgent answers on the 2 346 vacant teaching posts recorded in the North West as of 30 June 2026.
The post ActionSA North West submits written questions to Education MEC over 2 346 vacant teaching posts appeared first on ActionSA.
The Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development welcomes the stringent internal controls and due diligence measures implemented by the Department of Small Business Development and the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency (SEDFA) to ensure that the Spaza Shop Support Fund reaches its intended beneficiaries: qualifying South African citizens operating legitimate spaza shop businesses.
This follows the committee's engagement with the department and SEDFA on 12 August 2026 about the allegations that the Spaza Shop Support Fund had been disbursed to spaza shops operated by foreign nationals through South African fronts.
The committee Chairperson, Ms Masefako Dikgale, said the committee was encouraged by the assurance that applications are subjected to stringent verification processes before any funds are disbursed.
She said: “The committee welcomes the robust internal controls put in place by the department and SEDFA to protect public funds and ensure that the Spaza Shop Support Fund benefits the South Africans it was established to support. Where an application reveals an operator mismatch or other indicators of fraud, that application must not proceed to disbursement.”
The committee's engagement with department and SEDFA follows the Public Protector's announcement on 17 July 2026 that her office had issued a Section 7(9) notice from a systemic investigation into food-safety regulation and enforcement at spaza shops and other informal food businesses in Gauteng.
The investigation identified verified cases of business fronting, beneficiary mismatches, fraud and misrepresentation, including instances where South Africans were registered as licence holders or beneficiaries while foreign nationals operated the businesses. These findings formed the basis for allegations by members of the public that some funding from the Spaza Shop Support Fund may have reached spaza shops operated by foreign nationals.
Ms Dikgale said the committee regarded the allegations seriously, particularly because the fund is intended to support qualifying South African-owned and operated businesses.
The department informed the committee that its internal due diligence processes had successfully identified and flagged operator mismatches and other fraudulent applications before payment. As a result, no financial disbursements were made in respect of the fraudulent applications identified through the verification process.
According to the department, as at 31 July 2026, a total of 930 disbursements had been made, amounting to approximately R57 million. The department further assured the committee that no single disbursement had been made to a spaza shop owned by a foreign national.
The committee commends the department and SEDFA for strengthening verification mechanisms and expects these controls to remain firmly in place throughout the implementation of the Fund. Ms Dikgale said the committee would continue exercising parliamentary oversight to ensure that the fund achieves its intended objectives.
“We will continue to exercise oversight over the department and SEDFA to ensure that every rand intended for qualifying South African entrepreneurs is protected and accounted for. Support must reach genuine beneficiaries, not fraudulent fronts. The committee will remain vigilant against any attempt to circumvent the rules or defraud the state,” she said.
The committee encourages members of the public and small-business stakeholders to report suspected fraud, fronting or misrepresentation through the appropriate channels. It further calls on all beneficiaries and applicants to comply fully with the Fund's requirements and to provide truthful information during the application and verification processes.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Friday, 14 August 2026: Eskom continues to meet peak winter demand and deliver sustained energy security as a result of the focus on operational and financial sustainability as the turnaround plan progresses. These achievements reflect Eskom’s progressive shift from recovery to reliability and sustainability, with the year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) reaching 67.55%, the strongest...
Poor management has caused frequent, prolonged water outages and left many families dependent on water tankers
President Dr. Patrick Herminie will attend the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government, taking place in Durban, South Africa, from 15th to 19th August 2026.
The official Opening Ceremony of the Summit will take place on Monday 17th August, where President Herminie will deliver his maiden address to the Summit.
The President will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure, and the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Ms. Jeniffer Vel.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.
14 August 2026 – Sasol Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis was full of praise for her charges after they defeated a spirited Nigeria 2-1 on Thursday night and advanced to the next stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification play-offs. In what was dubbed the final before the final, South Africa made
The post The dream is still alive – Dr Ellis after Banyana down Nigeria in FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off appeared first on South African Football Association.
The Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, has welcomed the launch of South Africa's locally developed IRIS AI Humanoid Tutor manufacturing plant and showroom at Dube TradePort in Durban, saying the initiative has the potential to create jobs while transforming teaching and learning.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Republic of South Africa.
Ghanaian cocoa farmers are opposing a new law that would restrict how they can use their farmland, arguing that some […]
Apex court sets aside Shell and Impact Africa’s exploration right
Many organisations know more about their pipeline than the people expected to convert it. Sales leaders can see every opportunity, every conversion rate and every forecast in real time. AI is helping teams prepare for meetings, generate proposals, analyse conversations and predict outcomes with remarkable speed. So, why do some salespeople consistently outperform everyone else? …
Durban: The employee who is hardest to replace may be the one quietly holding your business together. By Arnold Muscat, Director of College Africa Group CAG Executive Question of the Week If the person who understands one of your most important business processes resigned today, could somebody else take over tomorrow? At 08:07 on a Monday …
The Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative of Alibaba Philanthropy, today announced the 20 entrepreneurs who will advance to its 2026 Semi-Final, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 21–22 August.
The Top 20 were selected from an expanded Top 100 cohort drawn from more than 24,000 applications across all 54 African countries. Candidates advanced through three-person judging-panel interviews that assessed leadership, innovation, impact, scalability and commercial strength. The process was reinforced by on-the-ground visits to every company advancing to the Semi-Final and comprehensive due diligence conducted by PlusVC, allowing ABH to test the written applications against the businesses, teams and communities behind them. The selected 20 entrepreneurs will now compete for 10 places in the ABH semi-final.
Together, the ABH 2026 Top 20 cohort represents 12 African countries and 11 sectors, with 8 women entrepreneurs accounting for 40% of the cohort. Collectively, their businesses generated approximately US$85 million in 2025 and span diverse sectors including agriculture and agritech, healthcare, manufacturing, climate technology, financial services, education, energy, and technology.
Site visits reveal the people and purpose behind the businesses
Site visits are central to ABH's approach because they reveal what even a strong application or pitch can miss: whether a founder has earned trust, whether a team can execute under pressure, and whether demand is real. That context matters in African markets, where sophisticated businesses are often underestimated because their strengths are not always visible through conventional investment filters. By combining interviews and due diligence with on-the-ground observation, ABH does more than identify compelling storytellers; it surfaces entrepreneurs with the operational depth, community legitimacy and resilience to build lasting enterprises. The platform then helps close the gap between proven local capability and the capital, networks and visibility required to scale it.
Building global connections through Hangzhou, China
The second edition of ABH's Hangzhou learning and market-access trip will take place in China from 14–18 September, extending the program's support well beyond the competition stage. Approximately 40 participants from more than 10 African countries are expected to join, including primarily 2024 and 2025 Top 10 Heroes, alongside other alumni, selected entrepreneurs, judges and participants from the Alibaba Digital Lion program. The trip reflects a central part of ABH's value: giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to step outside their immediate operating environments, learn from a leading technology and commerce ecosystem, exchange ideas with peers and return home with new inspiration, practical knowledge and a broader sense of what their businesses can become.
A return to Nairobi
The 2026 Semi-Final marks ABH's return to Nairobi, the city that hosted the program's very first Semi-Final. The return carries both symbolic and practical significance. Nairobi has developed into one of Africa's most dynamic centers for technology, entrepreneurship and investment, bringing together ambitious founders, established businesses, universities, innovation hubs, development institutions and a growing community of local and international investors.
This year's event will welcome a larger investor audience, giving participating entrepreneurs more opportunities to engage directly with funders and strategic partners from across Africa and beyond. Their presence reflects a broader ambition for the Semi-Final: to serve not only as a competition, but also as a marketplace for ideas, relationships and capital through which investable African businesses can be discovered, understood and supported.
Join Africa's leading entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem builders in Nairobi for two days of live pitches, insights and connection. Register to attend the 2026 ABH Semi-Final (https://apo-opa.co/4gu8hJY).
Experienced judges bring investor, operator and alumni perspectives
The Top 20 will present before a distinguished judging panel:
Meet the 2026 Top 20 Heroes
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH).
Media resources and press kit:
2026 ABH Top 20 (https://apo-opa.co/4xE80tE)
For media inquiries:
pr@africabusinessheroes.org
About Africa's Business Heroes:
The Africa's Business Heroes Prize Competition identifies, supports and celebrates talented entrepreneurs from across Africa who are creating economic and social impact in their communities. The program provides grant funding, mentorship, training and opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with business leaders and investors from Africa and around the world. Learn more at https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org
About Alibaba Philanthropy:
Alibaba Philanthropy is the social-impact arm of Alibaba Group and is committed to harnessing technology and partnerships for good. Its work spans rural revitalization, environmental protection, disaster relief and the empowerment of vulnerable communities. In Africa, Alibaba Philanthropy supports flagship initiatives including Africa's Business Heroes, helping entrepreneurs build inclusive and sustainable growth across the continent.