Source: Government of Qatar
Doha | August 18, 2026
HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi met on Tuesday with HE Ambassador of the State of Libya to the State of Qatar Mohammed Mustafa Al Saghir Al Lafi, on the occasion of the end of his tenure.
HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended thanks to HE the Ambassador for his efforts in supporting and strengthening bilateral relations, wishing him success in his new duties.
Source: APO
Parliament has approved a motion calling for improved geriatric healthcare and stronger social protection for older persons with legislators pressing government to honour its commitment to increase the Senior Citizens Grant for the Elderly (SAGE) from Shs25,000 to Shs35,000 a month.
Sironko District Woman Representative, Hon. Asha Mafabi moved the motion on Tuesday, 18 August 2026 amid concerns that Uganda’s growing population of older persons is struggling to access specialised healthcare, social protection and money meant to support them.
The debate also exposed the gap between government’s announcement of a higher SAGE and its implementation with the Minister of State for Elderly Affairs, Hon. Jacqueline Mbabazi admitting that the Shs35,000 payments was not provided for in the 2026/27 national budget.
She said government nevertheless needed to find the money because older persons were supporting millions of dependants.
“The people above 60 are looking after families with a population of 7.2 million people and they are the only ones looking after these people. And therefore, it is important to get that Shs35,000,” she said.
The motion noted that Uganda has more than 1.4 million people aged 60 and above many of whom face age related and non-communicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and dementia.
Mafabi called for dedicated geriatric units, trained health workers, age friendly facilities, regular health check-ups and expanded community and home based healthcare, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
MPs also raised concerns about the accessibility of SAGE payments.
Kole South MP, Hon. Boniface Okot said older persons often travel long distances to receive the grant and urged government to explore alternative payment platforms.
“Government should consider accessible platforms like mobile money so that the older people do not travel these long distances,” Okot said.
He also questioned the cost of administering the programme saying about Shs30 billion of the approximately Shs120 billion allocated to SAGE goes towards administration.
Okot called for investment in specialist training noting that Uganda currently lacks institutions offering geriatric medicine at master’s level.
The shortage of specialists was echoed by Hon. Mbabazi who said Uganda has only three geriatric nurses and no formal training programme for geriatric healthcare personnel.
“As a ministry, we are engaging the Ministry of Health so that we discuss this area of geriatric care,” she said adding that government is also engaging Makerere University to introduce geriatric doctors and nursing training.
The Chief Government Whip, Hon. Jane Ruth Aceng however, said geriatric care had already been incorporated into the National Development Plan IV, including provisions for training doctors and nurses.
Aceng also cautioned against creating a health insurance scheme exclusively for older persons arguing that a national scheme based on solidarity will provide better protection.
“If we are to have an insurance targeted only to the elderly, as a country we are likely to fail. We need an insurance scheme that covers all of us, including the children because the principle is solidarity,” she added.
Rukiga County MP, Hon. Patrick Kiconco said reducing the eligibility age to 65, as previously announced by government will increase beneficiaries to about one million and require substantially more funding.
He proposed a phased expansion beginning with older age groups before eventually covering everyone aged 65 and above.
Kiconco said the current programme supports about 316,000 older persons and warned that the 65-year threshold requires an additional Shs252 billion bringing the total annual requirement to Shs373 billion if the grant is set at Shs35,000.
Older Persons Representative, Hon. Catherine Mavenjina Akumu urged government to introduce health insurance for older persons as they await the promised increase in SAGE.
Ntenjeru County South MP, Hon. Fred Baseke described support for older persons as a national obligation saying many remained in poverty while dealing with chronic illnesses and limited access to healthcare.
“Investing in older persons is not a burden on government. It is an investment in dignity, welfare and social stability,” Baseke said.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David James Cantor, Director of the Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, University of London
The eruption of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2026 sparked a major crisis.
Transmissions and deaths are skyrocketing, and no vaccine is currently available.
This virus is notably prevalent in settlements and communities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and communities. This happened too with the Mpox outbreak that started in the Congo in 2025 and spread to the rest of the world.
But who are “internally displaced persons”? And why are they disproportionately affected by disease outbreaks such as Ebola and mpox?
Across Africa, there were estimated to be 31.7 million people living in internal displacement camps as of the end of 2025. More than 29 million of them were displaced due to conflict and violence.
Sudan hosted the largest number of internally displaced people of any country in the world – approximately 9.1 million of its total population of around 52 million. Another 2.8 million remained displaced outside the country as refugees.
Over 20 years ago, I began doctoral research in Colombia with more than 40 displaced communities living in conflict-affected regions. This has since extended to include research on Mexico, central America and Yemen. I then helped set up networks to support researchers and policymakers working on internal displacement in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This work led to the recently published Handbook of Internal Displacement.
Based on this work, it’s become clear that the issue of “internal displacement” remains poorly understood despite the very large number of people involved and their significant role in shaping social trends.
This may be about to change. The Handbook includes expert input from over 70 researchers globally. Its 45 thematic chapters offer a comprehensive reference point for work across many different fields. These include sociology, politics, economics, history and law, as well as development, humanitarian, migration and conflict studies.
The Handbook opens up new ways of thinking and engaging with the consequences of internal displacement in Africa and beyond.
It also offers a crucial resource. It highlights the fact that internally displaced people – rather than refugees – make up the bulk of displacement globally. This points to the need for resources to be allocated to the challenges that come in the wake of displacement.
Global policy describes internally displaced people as those
who have been forced (…) to flee or to leave their homes (…) and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.
The term is a convenient policy label to distinguish them from cross-border refugees. But, within their own countries, IDPs are really just “the displaced”.
Africa records the highest levels of war-related internal displacement of any region globally. In 2025, even with the new wars raging in the Middle East, Africa remained the epicentre with 14.5 million new internal displacements.
In 2024, it saw vastly more displaced people (11.5 million) than every other region combined (8.5 million).
The scale of displacement reflects the high number of countries in Africa that are in conflict, as well as the large, protracted wars that displace huge numbers of people each year. This includes the DRC, which reported 9.7 million war-related internal displacements in 2025.
Yet war is just one driver of displacement.
In Africa, a multitude of climate-related hazards – such as cyclones, flooding and drought – generate cascading risks. In 2025 alone, they pushed an additional 2.9 million internal displacements.
Other displacement drivers in Africa include criminal, extremist and terrorist violence and large-scale development projects.
Each driver further weakens people’s ability to cope, while displacement itself creates additional pressures. In many African nations, war and disasters occur simultaneously and can interact in ways that intensify internal displacement.
Internal displacement can disrupt lives to a shocking extent.
It has wide-ranging effects on society, affecting the communities that host IDPs, the places they pass through and the home communities to which some eventually return.
Unlike refugees, IDPs stay within their country and remain exposed to the dangers and devastation caused by the conflicts and disasters they fled.
Although they may be citizens, they are often treated with suspicion and end up marginalised and hidden in local populations. Where they lose access to land, housing, work, and social and family support networks, they often experience high levels of poverty.
These accumulated disadvantages often make IDPs, such as those in the DRC, more vulnerable to illness and death than other war-affected populations (including refugees).
African countries have traditionally relied on settlements and camps as a way of responding to displacement.
The “protected villages” policy in Uganda was an early example of encampment, resettling displaced people into villages ostensibly removed from the conflict between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army in the 1990s. More recently, the majority of the 4 million displaced Ethiopians in 2023 lived in camps or camp-like settlements.
Internal displacement in Africa is increasingly an urban phenomenon, and feeds into wider trends towards urbanisation.
As a result, cities and towns, such as Mogadishu and Baidoa in Somalia, now host many displaced people. This creates a whole new set of development challenges.
The losses caused by displacement can undermine development. National development plans can also be thrown off course when people are no longer where those plans expect (or want) them to be.
In cities, heightened pressure on local services also creates a need for flexible and imaginative urban planning.
Africa is the only region globally where governments have created regional legal treaties for protecting IDPs.
For example, in 2006, countries in central Africa created a pioneering Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons. The African Union then spearheaded the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa in 2009.
But IDPs still attract relatively little political interest or funding from the wider international community. Unlike refugees, they are too often seen by donors as a faraway problem confined to poorer parts of the world.
This is wrong. Disasters create many IDPs each year, even in countries like the US. What is more, the low profile of internal displacement has real-life consequences for IDPs in regions like Africa. One study found that between 2010 and 2019, per capita health aid to people displaced by conflict was less than one-seventh of that provided to refugees.
Aid cuts by major donors like the US, the UK and Germany in the 2020s have exacerbated the problem. This has forced aid agencies into “hyper-prioritisation” – using scarce resources only for the most urgent needs – since 2025.
Across its many chapters, the research in the Handbook of Internal Displacement underlines that internal displacement – and the vulnerabilities it creates and worsens – cannot be ignored. The needs of internally displaced people (and host communities) must be properly factored into social assistance, humanitarian and development interventions.
The Handbook offers detailed guidance on how this can be done, while supporting the efforts of displaced people to protect themselves during crises and overcome displacement-related vulnerabilities.
– Millions of Africans are displaced without crossing a border – and their needs are often overlooked
– https://theconversation.com/millions-of-africans-are-displaced-without-crossing-a-border-and-their-needs-are-often-overlooked-289499
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Marc Van Goethem, Microbial ecologist, University of Pretoria
Microbial ecology (the study of how tiny microbes interact with each other and their environment) underpins the health of every ecosystem on Earth. The microbes living in soil recycle nutrients, support plant growth and help ecosystems respond to environmental change. In this explainer, microbial ecologist Marc Van Goethem tells us why microbes are critical to human life. They can also provide an early warning if Africa’s drylands are approaching ecological tipping points, offering new ways to monitor and protect vulnerable landscapes.
Microbial ecology is the study of how microorganisms, like bacteria, fungi and the viruses that infect them, interact with one another and their environment. Together, microorganisms exert considerable influence on their immediate environment. Some examples include the breakdown of organic matter to release nutrients into the soil, digesting the food in our guts, and storing carbon dioxide.
Studying microbial ecology is an effort to make sense of these combined biological and chemical processes in nature. This information can then be used to predict how an environment might respond to future changes or why, for example, crops grow better in one field compared to another. Microorganisms quietly shape our lives even though they get less recognition than more easily observed animals and plants.
Soil microorganisms are very small (micrometres); we can only see them under powerful microscopes. Their small sizes, however, make their roles in nature even more profound. In soils, bacteria, fungi and viruses form microbial communities that operate like mini-cities. We call these communities “microbiomes”.
On a single grain of sand you could find thousands of bacterial cells interacting by sharing nutrients and genetic material. They also compete for space and resources by producing antibiotics, which are compounds that kill other bacteria. Around 70%-80% of clinically used antibiotics originate from soil bacteria like Streptomyces.
The soil microbiome is central to the carbon cycle. Microbes can absorb carbon and bury it in the soil, or degrade plant and animal matter, which releases carbon into the atmosphere. These processes are extremely sensitive to environment changes. Increasing temperatures, caused by global warming, may increase microorganism activity. Buried carbon may be sent back into the atmosphere. Too much atmospheric carbon acts as a blanket and increases global temperatures – and the cycle escalates.
My work hinges on the knowledge that microorganisms respond fast to environmental changes – faster than plants or animals can. Microorganisms detect and react to signals that we can’t perceive. Some examples include changes in soil pH, moisture content or temperature.
Microbial responses are leading indicators of changes to temperature, water or physical disturbance in soil and the health of the above-ground ecosystem. I believe we can use this knowledge before we see visible changes like plant death.
The central aim of this work is to identify the tipping points at which drylands begin to lose the resilience provided by the soil microbiome. The proposed research will collect representative soil samples from four African deserts: the Namib, Kalahari, Sahara and Sahel. I hope to provide meaningful data points, like data about which microbes are present or absent in soils, and what they are doing under various environmental conditions across drylands to map the microbiome across stages of desertification. Desertification is the process in which fertile lands in dry areas completely lose the ability to support plant, animal and human life.
These samples I hope to collect will come from
intact ecosystems
at-risk ecosystems
degraded soils.
Through metagenomic sequencing (where we sequence the genomes of the entire microbiome simultaneously) and associated metadata (climate and soil chemistry information) we hope to identify the markers of desertification. This could be in the form of a specific microorganism disappearing and the mini-city then collapsing, or the microbiome losing an important function such as making nitrogen available to a plant.
Using these insights, I hope to provide a measure that shows the difference between healthy dryland microbiomes and those actively experiencing desertification.
This information will be provided as a reference accessible by researchers and policymakers to compare data from their drylands to estimate whether their landscapes are at risk of desertification.
– The soil’s early warning system: microbes can predict desertification before plants start to die
– https://theconversation.com/the-soils-early-warning-system-microbes-can-predict-desertification-before-plants-start-to-die-289000
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Robyn Tyler, Senior Researcher, University of the Western Cape
South African no-fee primary schools use African languages as well as English for teaching and testing. Before 2025, children started learning in their home language in the first three years and then switched to English in Grade 4 (aged 10 and 11). Now, bilingual education is extending gradually into the upper primary grades.
South Africa’s public basic education system serves roughly 12.7 million learners. Eighty percent of these learn through a language that is not their home language.
I am an education researcher with a special interest in language across the curriculum in multilingual contexts. In a recent case study of a bilingual science learning intervention in a Cape Town school, I wanted to know how effective it was to teach and test in more than one language, and what parents thought of the approach. Past studies hadn’t made it clear whether parents usually supported it.
The study found that teaching and testing science topics in the children’s home language and English produced much better results than using English only, and that parents were in favour of it.
The results suggest that bilingual classroom teaching and assessment could be used more widely, and it’s important to make sure parents understand why.
The study took place in a school in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. The no-fee school attracts learners from a wide area because it is well run. At the time of the study, the school language policy was English medium in all subjects in Grade 4, including science. The principal, however, agreed to try the bilingual approach in science for the study.
We gave 168 Grade 4 learners a bilingual science textbook in English and isiXhosa, their home language. The same teacher taught four classes bilingually, and learners used both languages in writing in their exercise books. One class was given a bilingual test while the others wrote the conventional English-only test.
The findings showed that children were more engaged in their learning in class compared with similar aged children who were learning in English only. In our study children contributed more to class discussion and wrote more in their exercise books.
In addition, those who wrote the bilingual test, with all questions written in isiXhosa and English, scored an 86% pass rate. Those who wrote the English-only test scored a 51% pass rate.
The parents of the children in the study said during a feedback session after the test was written that they were very happy with the programme. They commented on how the bilingual textbook connected them with their child’s learning at home. Parents said their children taught them about science while at home – making links between the world around them and the concepts they were learning at school.
One parent said:
My child came back home more interested in things happening around us.
Another mentioned their own ability to get more involved in their child’s schoolwork when using their own language:
Sometimes a parent may be busy cooking, so when they ask a question you are able to answer even if you didn’t see the question.
Similarly, a parent said:
I went through the pages and read for myself without calling my child and asking what it said.
Parents also described how using more than one language was common in their neighbourhoods. Their children were multilingual and translated for one another when something was not understood. Therefore, the bilingual model of language use at school was closer to language use at home.
One parent noted that they had high hopes for their child continuing with science as a career one day because of this strong start. Parents also wanted to know if mother tongue based bilingual education would be rolled out across the country and in all grades.
None of the parents expressed a concern about their children losing out on English.
This last point is important because the dominance of English in society leads to a popular belief that the earlier children learn through English only, the better equipped they will be for the world of higher education and the workplace later on. Teachers report feeling a pressure from parents to avoid code-switching from English into an African language.
Read more: In South Africa, science should be taught in only one language – how about English?
In reality, research shows that English-only education contributes to the low achievement of South African children, especially in subjects such as mathematics and science.
When parents have been surveyed on their opinions about language in education, they have usually been given an unenviable choice between monolingual English or monolingual African language instruction.
Furthermore, parents have had little to no exposure to strong models of bilingual education in English and an African language to draw on in their responses. Often the only association Black South Africans have with home language teaching is with Bantu Education, the inferior system that the apartheid state designed for Black children between 1953 and 1979.
The bilingual science study demonstrates that when a bilingual programme is well resourced with teaching, assessment and bilingual learning materials it can produce excellent results.
Furthermore, when parents are well informed about bilingual learning, they support it. Parents can appreciate the positive impact of children’s full participation in their learning, both for school and for life outside school.
– What happened when a South African school switched from English to bilingual science tests
– https://theconversation.com/what-happened-when-a-south-african-school-switched-from-english-to-bilingual-science-tests-289528
Source: APO
A delegation of the KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) permanent delegates to the NCOP has launched a firm accountability drive aimed at unblocking delayed and incomplete infrastructure projects across the province.
The delegation is in the province as part of the NCOP’s annual flagship NCOP’s Provincial Week programme. As part of the programme, the delegation will summon provincial departments, municipalities and implementing agencies to account for undertakings made during the 2024 and 2025 oversight programmes.
The delegation will inspect Woodlands Primary School, the Umkomaas Water Project, the Kennedy Road Housing Project, and the Aquadene and Mega housing projects.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Mzamo Billy said: “Communities cannot live on promises, presentations and repeatedly revised completion dates. We want evidence of progress, clear explanations for delays, named responsibility and enforceable timeframes for completion.”
The delegation will independently verify whether official reports reflect the reality on the ground. Where undertakings have not been honoured, the responsible departments and municipalities will be required to explain the failure and provide credible recovery plans.
The successful completion of Menzi High School in uMlazi demonstrates the value of sustained parliamentary oversight. The project had suffered repeated delays and criminal disruption linked to the construction mafia before being completed earlier this year.
“Menzi High School proves that stalled projects can be rescued when oversight is followed by cooperation, accountability and political will. Provincial Week is not a ceremonial visit or a talk shop. Our objective is to unblock projects and secure tangible results for communities,” Mr Billy said.
The delegation acknowledged the cooperation of Premier Arthur Thamsanqa Ntuli, Legislature Speaker Nontembeko Boyce and Legislature Chief Whip M. B. Gwala.
“We expect every participating institution to approach this programme with urgency. Delayed infrastructure denies communities education, water, housing and dignity. Excuses will not build schools, deliver water or provide homes,” Mr Billy concluded.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Source: APO
State House, Banjul, 18th August 2026: His Excellency President Adama Barrow accompanied by First Lady Madam Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow has concluded his visit to the Gabonese Republic where he was Special Guest of Honour for the 66th anniversary celebration of the Gabonese independence.
The celebration day was marked by almost 5 hours of military parade of the country’s defence and security outfit. Students of the military academies and professionals from the various security and defence forces beautifully displayed their uniforms, operational suits and military equipment, ranging from medical to engineering. With about 25% of its national budget spent on defence , the celebration was an opportunity for a public display of Gabonese military might and capabilities.
A state cocktail reception followed the parade and H.E. President Adama Barrow was given an inspirational tour of the new city of ‘Belle Roi’ built on reclaimed land from the sea.
Later on Monday evening, President Barrow accompanied by First Lad Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow met with over five hundred Gambians living in Gabon. They expressed their delight in meeting the President and assured him of their support as they witnessed the unprecedented developments shaping the country.
President Barrow reiterated his gratitude to his host for the hospitality extended to him during his visit. Responding to their concerns, the Gambian leader assured them of his determination to continue attending to the needs and aspirations of the people. Despite criticism of his government’s efforts to provide Gambians abroad with identity documentation, he pledged that his administration will facilitate the process for them. “Gambians living in other African countries are part of the Diaspora,” he emphasised.
President Oligui Nguema and First Lady Zita Nyangui Oligui Nguema saw off the Gambian leader and delegation on Tuesday morning as they departed Leone Mba Airport for Banjul. The Presidential delegation included the Foreign Minister, Honourable Sering Modou Njie and the Chief of Staff, Alieu Loum.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of The President- Republic of the Gambia.
Source: Government of South Africa
Government outlines plan to lower electricity costs
Government has proposed a set of measures aimed at reducing the high cost of electricity while ensuring that tariffs remain cost-reflective and that vulnerable households and strategic economic sectors are protected.
The measures are reflected in South Africa’s Revised Electricity Pricing Policy, which Cabinet approved for public comment last month.
The policy updates the 2008 Electricity Pricing Policy to reflect developments in the electricity supply industry, including ongoing market reforms linked to the unbundling of Eskom and the implementation of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act, 2024.
It establishes national principles and tariff-path certainty, provides a framework for transparent, efficient and cost-reflective tariffs, guides the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), Eskom and municipalities, aligns prices with a competitive market, and strengthens social protection and accountability.
“Over a period stretching back to 2007, electricity tariffs have increased by about 977%. A number of things have changed since that period, and that is a trigger as to why we are presenting this set of proposals before you,” Ramokgopa said on Tuesday in Pretoria at a media briefing.
Ten-year price forecast
The Minister said the policy seeks to establish a tariff path that will provide some certainty on the cost of electricity over the next 10 years.
“It is for this reason that, as part of this Electricity Pricing Policy, NERSA will be required to publish a 10-year price forecast. This is important because, for heavy industries, when people want to make significant investments in the South African economy, and they’re investing in a sector that relies on electricity, they want to compute their return on investment. If electricity is a big part of the input cost, you need to have an appreciation of what the price path looks like,” Ramokgopa said.
The pricing policy will provide a framework for transparent and efficient cost-reflective tariffs to avoid hidden costs being included in electricity tariffs.
Once adopted, the policy will guide the work of NERSA, Eskom, municipalities and other actors across the electricity ecosystem.
Open the market to competition
As part of reforms in the sector, government is liberalising the electricity market to ensure that Eskom is no longer a monopoly and to introduce greater competition.
“By that I mean, as you know, as part of our comprehensive set of reforms, we’re introducing new generators. We’re going to allow a bilateral arrangement, where someone who is a generator can enter into an agreement with someone who is an off-taker.
“Off-takers are entering into bilateral arrangements outside the realm of Eskom for the supply of electricity. That means that there’s a set of rules that must govern this new dispensation,” the Minister said.
Ramokgopa said South Africa is moving towards a wholesale electricity market.
“So, this policy extends beyond what has been the traditional ecosystem of electricity in the country, because that was really Eskom-heavy and municipality-predisposed,” the Minister said.
Strengthening social protection
He emphasised that the Electricity Pricing Policy will strengthen social protections.
“So, the support we are providing to the poor, the indigent and the vulnerable, will articulate most comprehensively what these kinds of support are that we are providing to these vulnerable communities,” Ramokgopa said.
The Minister explained that Eskom debt increases when consumers do not pay municipalities and, in turn, municipalities do not pay Eskom.
The current tariff structure enables Eskom to recover municipal debt through the tariff.
“If you look at the current tariff, anything between 1% to 2.5% of the tariff that you are paying is on the basis that Eskom is unable to recover what the people are owing, and municipalities, they put in the cost of supply studies the fact that they are being owed a lot of money and then it means that they are putting additional pressure on diligent consumers. In terms of this policy, that’s not allowed,” the Minister said.
Ramokgopa said the policy will enable action against those who do not pay for electricity and those who are illegally connected to the grid.
“We are insisting that the provider of electricity must be efficient. And when it is efficient, you will see that the price of electricity will not be what we are currently charging,” he said.
Free basic electricity
The Minister said there will also be an intervention on free basic electricity for indigent households.
“We’re also going to modernise free basic electricity administration. We’ll establish a central and nationally accessible free basic electricity database. With the new age of technology, we’re able to have that database in place.
“That is possible because we integrate this database with existing databases of Home Affairs and also with the social grant databases, so there’s a good chance that someone who qualifies for the social grant will also qualify for free basic electricity,” he said.
Support for energy intensive industries
Government is also introducing, through the Electricity Pricing Policy, a Negotiated Pricing Agreement instrument to support industries that rely heavily on electricity.
“The current articulation of the Negotiated Pricing Agreement only triggers to qualify for, or to make an effort to qualify for, a negotiated price agreement when you are in distress.
“We’re also introducing another criterion. This could be industries that are not in distress, but if they were to get concessional funding, they’re able to support the national interest in that they’ll be able to accelerate the growth in the priority sectors of the economy; they’ll be able to create employment. We’re using it as a pre-emptive strike to rejuvenate the South African economy,” the Minister said. –SAnews.gov.za
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Source: Government of South Africa
KZN Treasury moves to secure Ithala’s future after reported liquidation withdrawal
The KwaZulu-Natal Treasury has called for a meeting involving all key stakeholders, including national and provincial authorities, regulators and Ithala representatives, to address outstanding issues, clarify the way forward and explore measures to preserve the value that remains within Ithala Bank.
This comes after reports that the Prudential Authority has withdrawn its application to liquidate Ithala SOC Limited.
In a statement issued by the KZN Treasury on Tuesday, the department said a legal team has been tasked with assessing the veracity of the reports but — and if confirmed — KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers said the development will represent an important step towards finding a sustainable solution for Ithala, which has played a critical role in advancing financial inclusion and economic development in the province.
Rodgers has consistently opposed the liquidation application, a position shared by senior leaders within the Provincial Government, who have long argued that any intervention affecting Ithala must support the institution’s ability to regain control of its core assets and revenue streams in order to meet its financial obligations and secure its long-term sustainability.
“While this will be an important development, the key issue that now requires urgent attention is Ithala’s ability to regain control of its loan book. We remain concerned that these assets, which are critical to the institution’s viability, should not be under the control of the Repayment Administrator.
“Ithala requires access to its loan portfolio and the proceeds from its insurance businesses if it is to meet its financial obligations and chart a sustainable path forward,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers also expressed concern regarding the continued involvement of the Repayment Administrator Johan Kruger, noting that Ithala’s recovery efforts should focus on restoring the institution’s operational capacity and ensuring it can effectively utilise its assets and revenue streams.
“It is our considered view that the current arrangement has not advanced the objective of restoring Ithala to financial stability. The priority now must be to ensure that Ithala has control over the assets and revenue streams necessary for its operations, including its loan book and insurance proceeds. This is essential to rebuilding confidence, meeting obligations and securing the institution’s future,” the MEC said. – SAnews.gov.za
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Source: Government of South Africa
Inspection of voters’ roll closes today
Ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections on 4 November, the voters’ roll closes today.
0n 11 August, the Commission made the provisional voters’ roll available for inspection at its national, provincial and local offices, opening the period for lodging objections to the provisional voters’ roll.
According to the Electoral Commission, the Commission will consider all objections and notify objectors of its decisions by 24 August 2026.
“The Chief Electoral Officer will certify the final voters’ roll for the 2026 Local Government Elections on 26 August 2026,” the Commission said.
The certified voters’ roll will be published and electronic copies provided to certified contestants.
Earlier this month, the Electoral Commission welcomed the proclamation of the election date by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa.
READ | Electoral Commission publishes Election Timetable
“The proclamation provides certainty by formally setting Wednesday, 4 November 2026, as Election Day. It also marks the commencement of the country’s 89-day Election Timetable leading up to the elections,” Electoral Commission Chairperson Commissioner Mosotho Moepya said at the time. – SAnews.gov.za
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