Category: Africa

The Department of Health has announced a 2.88% increase to the Single Exit Price (SEP) of all registered medicines listed on the national database effective from 1 October 2026.

In a statement, the department said the move is part of government’s efforts to “respond to exceptional domestic and geopolitical pricing pressures affecting the pharmaceutical sector”.

“The 2.88% increase is intended to provide manufacturers with relief to sustain medicine supply, while maintaining affordability for patients and medical schemes. This extraordinary price adjustment applies to all medicines registered and listed in the national database as at 30 September 2026, including all related pack sizes.

“This decision follows sustained engagement between government and the pharmaceutical sector, which identified rising input costs, supply chain pressures, and geopolitical factors as key risks to medicine availability,” the department said.

Furthermore, the adjustment is part of ongoing efforts to “balance affordability with sustainable supply”.

“It is expected to provide temporary relief to manufacturers facing cost pressures arising from, among other factors, geopolitical tensions.

“The Single Exit Price is South Africa’s regulated maximum price for medicines sold in the private sector. It is the only price at which a manufacturer or importer may sell a medicine to any buyer, including pharmacies, dispensing doctors, hospitals. The SEP does not apply to the State.

“The SEP framework is designed to improve the affordability and predictability of medicine costs, while preventing different buyers from paying different prices for the same medicine,” the department noted. – SAnews.gov.za

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Steve Letsike has called for a youth development system that gives young people opportunities to recover from setbacks and re-enter education, employment and the economy.

Letsike was speaking at the launch of the Take 2 campaign at the Orange Farm Multipurpose Centre in Gauteng on Tuesday.

The Take 2 campaign is a localised social and behaviour change initiative empowering adolescent girls and young women aged 15 – 24.

The campaign brings together HIV testing, family planning, counselling, mentorship, entrepreneurship, self-care and hygiene support to help young women make informed and empowered lifestyle choices.

Letsike emphasised the need to address the barriers that prevent young people, particularly adolescent girls and young women, from accessing healthcare, education and economic opportunities.

She said the initiative presents an opportunity to address the “inequality of second chances”, where young people from disadvantaged backgrounds often have fewer opportunities to recover from setbacks, compared to those with access to financial and social support.

“Beginning again should not be a privilege available only to those who can afford it,” Letsike said.

She said the Constitution’s commitment to human dignity, equality and freedom must translate into tangible improvements in young people’s everyday lives, including their ability to make informed decisions about their bodies and reproductive health.

Letsike also highlighted what she calls “option poverty”, which refers not only to a lack of financial resources but also to the absence of meaningful choices.

“For many young people, choice is constrained long before a decision is ever made. A young woman may know that contraception is available, but still not feel able to negotiate its use safely,” Letsike said.

The Deputy Minister noted that transport costs, limited access to reliable information, economic dependence, gender-based violence and inaccessible services continue to restrict young people’s ability to exercise their rights and make decisions about their futures.

She also warned against placing the responsibility solely on young people to make better choices, saying meaningful choice requires access to knowledge, safe and accessible services, freedom from coercion and an environment free from stigma and discrimination.

Letsike said sexual and reproductive health, particularly for adolescent girls and young women, should be addressed alongside economic empowerment, education, gender-based violence and broader social circumstances affecting their lives.

“Government may have separate departments, separate budgets and separate programmes, but a young woman does not live a departmental life. She lives one life.”

She called for a more integrated approach to service delivery, ensuring that young people who experience violence, leave school, seek employment or live with disabilities are not excluded from the support and opportunities they need.

Letsike emphasised that youth development programmes should be measured not only by the number of young people enrolled, but also by whether they complete their programmes and successfully transition into further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.

She also stressed the importance of creating opportunities for young people to return to education and training, acquire new skills and re-enter the labour market when they experience interruptions in their personal or professional lives.

“Youth development must have no dead ends,” she said, calling on government, healthcare institutions, educational institutions, employers and communities to reassess how their services and systems respond to young people’s needs.

Letsike said government needs to ensure that public services are accessible, respectful and responsive, while schools, colleges and universities should provide pathways for learners whose education have been interrupted.

She also urged employers to reconsider the demand for prior work experience when young people were still seeking opportunities to gain the necessary skills and exposure.

Communities, Letsike said, have a responsibility to challenge social norms that condone violence, stigmatise young mothers, restrict girls’ choices and exclude persons with disabilities.

Welcoming the integrated service provision and experiential zones included in the Take 2 launch, Letsike said partnerships are meaningful when they help to bring services closer to young people.

She commended Tiko South Africa and its partners for involving young people in the initiative, emphasising that adolescent girls and young women should participate in designing solutions that affect their lives.

“The voices of adolescent girls and young women matter. We should not be designing solutions for young people in rooms from which young people themselves are absent,” Letsike said. – SAnews.gov.za

By Ryan Peter
Over the years, I have stood in front of many coastal interpretive signs. All but very few tell you what you may not do. Some tell you about the birds, the dunes and rock pools. None can be read by people with poor eyesight, and very few talk to people whose language is isiXhosa or isiZulu.

This changed somewhat on 11 February this year when South Africa’s first Braille coastal interpretive signs were unveiled in Eerste Steen at the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve, created by Blind SA’s Braille, where blind people contributed directly to the design of the signs.

We continue on 6 October 2026, at Grotto East in Hermanus with the unveiling of seven prototype Living Coast signs as part of a new national series, to be launched during Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa’s (WESSA) Coastal Celebration, celebrating 100 years of WESSA and 25 years of Blue Flag in South Africa.

Living Coast builds on something which started more than two decades ago when the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) installed coastal interpretive signs at beaches around the country as part of the CoastCare initiative. A library of fact sheets accompanied these signs to schools and libraries from Alexander Bay to Kosi Bay.

The signs have served their purpose well. They told us why the dune is important, what lives in a rock pool, and why cars must not be on beaches. Signs age, science changes, and our expectations evolve. Many original signs have become faded, damaged or even lost. Instead of reprinting the signs, however, we asked ourselves a more fundamental question: if we were to design coastal interpretation today, what would it look like?

The answer lies in the principles of the Integrated Coastal Management Act: the seashore and sea are coastal public property owned by the state for the benefit of all South Africans, giving everyone the right of reasonable access. While we spent many years fighting to establish the principle of physical access, we have ignored a different kind of exclusivity – a coast which one can reach but cannot comprehend.

A sign that can be used effectively only by sighted and English-speaking adults is a sign which has already made the decision of whom the coast belongs to. Along South Africa’s 3 593 km coastline, this decision has been made countless times, usually without our realisation.

Living Coast represents an attempt to correct this situation. Every installation includes two components. The main board tells the interpretive story using highly readable formats, the specially-designed typeface for people with poor eyesight and an anti-glare coating making the text easy to read in strong sunlight.

Beneath it, there is an independent accessibility rail, placed at the seated height level and designed in such a way that a person in a wheelchair, child or a blind visitor can use it on his/her own. Braille is not a decoration. Each plate with text is manufactured and verified by Blind SA, with the text printed in uncontracted Braille, thus allowing even newer Braille readers to use it.

Once we discovered that each sign requires seven or eight Braille plates instead of the expected three, our first reaction was about the cost. The second reaction, however, was a realisation that this is what taking the reader seriously means.

The content of the signs has been designed to work across the languages. English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa and isiZulu versions can be produced without any changes in the design. Hermanus prototypes include English and Afrikaans versions with Braille, while Afrikaans digital guides have already been made. Other languages will follow as part of this series.

While a physical sign can contain only a limited amount of information, a QR code can give you access to an entire library.

Each Living Coast sign gives visitors access to an expanding range of digital guides, including audio tours, a species guide featuring more than 279 original illustrations, a coastal quiz, a citizen science guide, visitor information, a plain-language fact sheet about coastal policies, tide and weather information, and the national ocean and coast information system. A beach-safety guide, developed in consultation with emergency services, is also added.

The audio plays the same role as Braille. The visitor unable to read the board can listen to it. Cooperating with the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, we have also provided synchronised and sentence-by-sentence subtitles for the visitors with hearing loss and those who prefer to read along.

It is a simple goal – to provide the information in the way most suitable to the visitor. Such elements have been implemented in some places elsewhere. Some US and UK national parks provide audio posts together with the interpretive boards. In some places, there are QR codes providing beach information in multiple languages. Wayfinding in Braille is also common in public buildings.

What we tried to develop is the national coastal interpretive system incorporating these elements: Braille, large print, accessibility positioning, multiple languages, narrated and subtitled audio, and a set of digital information accessible via a single code.

The entire Living Coast series will include 97 signs, stretching from the West Coast to the northern coast of KwaZulu-Natal and covering estuaries, dunes, kelp forests, coastal birds and the communities and reserves in-between.

We could have waited until we finished everything. Instead, we decided to install seven prototypes in Hermanus, watch how people use them, consult Blind SA, the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Pioneer School learners and Overstrand Municipality residents, and fix our mistakes before launching the signs widely.

This is the value of collaboration. DFFE is leading the design and development of the series. WESSA, the Overstrand Municipality and CapeNature are manufacturing and installing the prototypes. Blind SA is producing the Braille, while the NCPD is providing the expertise on accessibility.

Our coast belongs to all of us. A sign may seem like a small thing, but it is one of the first things telling a visitor whether he/she is welcome.

The first generation of coastal signs told South Africans what was worth caring about. This generation of signs is trying to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to hear, read and touch it.

*Peter is the Director responsible for Coastal Development and Coordination at the DFFE

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Dean Macpherson, has welcomed the appointment of Alford Sifiso Nsibande as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) following Cabinet approval on 23 September 2026. 

“Nsibande has served as Acting CEO of the IDT since 4 November 2025. The process to appoint a permanent CEO commenced in February 2026 following the resignation of the previous suspended CEO,” the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure said in a statement on Tuesday.

The department said  Nsibande, working alongside the IDT Board of Trustees, had overseen significant improvements in the organisation’s financial and operational position while he was the Acting CEO.

“In the 2025/26 financial year, the IDT’s confirmed order book has grown from R2 billion to R6 billion, while its cash on hand has tripled from a position in which the organisation was facing severe financial constraints,” the department said.

The IDT also delivered a strong performance in the same period, completing 279 social infrastructure facilities against a target of 244.

In a statement, the Board of Trustees of IDT said Nsibande’s appointment is effective 1 October 2026, following the successful conclusion of a comprehensive and competitive recruitment and selection process.

“The appointment of our new CEO comes at a critical stage for the entity. Mr Nsibande’s leadership as Acting CEO has already resulted in tangible improvements in the organisation, and his successful track record at CIDB, particularly in delivering a clean audit, gives us every confidence that the IDT is on the path to achieving similar results,”  said Zimbini Hill, Chairperson of the IDT Board of Trustees.

An entity of the DPWI, the IDT is a built environment project management agency which manages and delivers integrated public infrastructure programmes.
– SAnews.gov.za

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, through the National Language Service Chief Directorate, joins the world in celebrating International Translation Day (ITD).

The celebration offers an opportunity to draw attention to the importance of language practitioners, especially translators, terminologists and interpreters, whose invaluable contribution to communication often remains unacknowledged and unknown.

ITD acknowledges the contribution of not only translators but also language practitioners in general to bridging the communication divide across various languages and cultures.

This year’s celebration is under the theme: “Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights,” with the subtitle: “The power of being understood”.

Among others, the theme highlights the fundamental role of translation, interpreting and terminology in fostering inclusion, equity and participation in an increasingly interconnected world.

“The role of translation and language practice in general is invaluable in fostering social cohesion and promoting nation-building by ensuring that communities access quality governmental information and services irrespective of the language they speak, and in turn, they are enabled to hold government accountable,” the department said.

The actual day, 30 September, was selected for the celebration because it is the feast day of St Jerome, a Christian scholar and priest who was the first person to translate the Bible into Latin from the original Hebrew.

St. Jerome has long been considered the patron saint of translators and interpreters throughout the world. – SAnews.gov.za

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Sudan’s leaders to urgently address outstanding challenges ahead of the country’s first general elections since attaining independence, stressing that credible elections must be underpinned by an inclusive political process.

President Ramaphosa was speaking on Tuesday at the Summit of the African Union Committee on South Sudan (C5) Plus, which brought together leaders and representatives to discuss the political and security situation in South Sudan and preparations for elections later this year.

South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. The country is expected to hold its elections in December 2026.

He said the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan remained the only internationally recognised framework for implementing the country’s political transition.

“We know that elections on their own are not a sufficient guarantor of peace and democracy.

“Holding credible elections must be preceded and accompanied by a genuine, inclusive political process, bolstered by security arrangements and protection of electoral staff and civilians,” he said in the virtual meeting.

The President said the electoral process also requires a clear legal framework, adequate financing and capable institutional and operational capacity.

He urged South Sudan’s leaders to use the current period to overcome their differences and address the challenges facing the country.

“Inclusive dialogue is a vital guarantor of the future of South Sudan and its peoples. We call on the leaders of South Sudan to seize this moment to come together despite their differences to discuss the problems and challenges that stand in the way of their advancement as a nation,” the President said. 

President Ramaphosa said the call came amid significant developments in South Sudan over the past week, including the dissolution of the Transitional Government on 22 September 2026, amendments to the National Elections Act of 2012 and the commencement of the Inter-Party Political Dialogue on 24 September 2026.

“These developments take place against the backdrop of preparations for the first general elections since attaining independence,” the President said. 

He said the C5 Plus looked forward to receiving further information from South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the impact of these developments.

The President also welcomed the appointment of former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete as the African Union (AU) High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.

“Your Excellency President Kikwete, we wish you well as you deploy your extensive expertise and considerable energies to assist the government and the people of South Sudan,” he said. 

President Ramaphosa also acknowledged the work of the AU’s technical pre-election and needs assessment mission, which visited Juba from 23 to 28 August 2026 under the leadership of former Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama.

He said the AU Member States wished the people of South Sudan well as they prepare to go to the polls.

The President stressed that AU Member States had a collective responsibility to support South Sudan in overcoming its challenges and advancing its national vision of unity, peace and prosperity.

He said the C5 Plus was ready to support South Sudanese leaders and citizens as they worked towards lasting peace.

“As the parties to this Summit, we stand ready with our support, counsel and solidarity as the leaders and people of South Sudan continue along their journey.”

“The people of South Sudan must know that they do not stand alone. Their peace is our peace, their stability is our stability and their success is our success,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) Minister Parks Tau says South Africa’s efforts to enhance financial integrity and combat money laundering will be implemented through the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) beneficial ownership register and inter-agency collaboration.

Tau was speaking at the launch of the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Module for Law Enforcement Agencies hosted on Tuesday in Pretoria.

According to Tau, the new model will expose ownership links and make tracing easier for law enforcement officials.

“The companies that the CIPC registers can be abused by people who set them up for the wrong reasons. Shell structures, layered ownership, chains of entities designed so that no one can tell who is really in charge. 

“The answer to secrecy is visibility. Under this new module, accredited users from law enforcement agencies get beneficial ownership information in real time, twenty-four hours a day, without obstruction. They can view the supporting documents and download them,” Tau said.

Tau said explained that the purpose is to end a culture of disregard for accountability and transparency, and to stop financial crime in its tracks.

“With the upgrade, investigators can take a single director and see every other entity that person is linked to, active or inactive. They can take an entity under investigation and connect it to every other entity in the CIPC database, not only those on the beneficial ownership register,” he said.

Tau said the dtic will keep working to build a culture of transparency and accountability among corporate citizens. 

He said government will keep the country off the grey list, and make South Africa a place where no one can hide behind a company.

“We are held to a higher standard, and we chose to be. We meet that standard by working together with Treasury, the CIPC, South African Revenue Service, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the South African Police Service, National Prosecuting Authority and the private sector, and we give that cooperation its force by putting good data in the hands of the people who fight financial crime,” added Tau.

Speaking at the same launch, the CIPC Commissioner Advocate Rory Voller said collaboration is important to have much greater breakthroughs against financial crime.

“A new cycle of mutual evaluation is ahead of us where the effectiveness report is due on 19 October 2026 to Financial Action Task Force. 

“This is saying, let us take advantage of the tools we have and the availability of this newly upgraded Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Module to achieve even more successful investigations and prosecutions and mitigate the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing,” said Voller.

Since the register opened on 1 April 2023, the CPIC has received more than three million beneficial ownership filings, covering local and international owners. It has concluded more than 618 investigations,and it has issued more than 350 compliance notices to entities that did not comply, or that tried to abuse the system with false supporting information. – SAnews.gov.za

Police are investigating the seizure of approximately 40 kilograms of suspected cannabis (dagga) transported in a vehicle belonging to a park concessionaire at the Kruger National Park.

Security discovered the dagga during ongoing access control at Malelane Gate last Sunday. 

“The discovery was made as part of ongoing security and access control measures aimed at safeguarding the park and ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

“The suspected cannabis was confiscated, and the matter was immediately handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further investigation and processing. The South African National Parks (SANParks) is cooperating fully with SAPS as they pursue the matter.” 

In a statement on Wednesday, SANParks said it maintains a zero-tolerance approach to any unlawful activities within its national parks and associated operations and remains committed to supporting law enforcement efforts to combat criminal activity.

“As the matter is now under SAPS investigation, SANParks will not comment further at this stage.” –SAnews.gov.za

A 46-year-old woman is expected to appear in the Protea Glen Magistrates Court this morning, following her arrest in Gauteng during a multi-disciplinary, prosecution-led takedown on Tuesday.

According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, the woman faces charges of fraud, racketeering, corruption and contravention of the Immigration Act.

During December 2021, the Gauteng DPCI Serious Organised Crime Investigation, based in Germiston, working in concert with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Anti-Corruption unit based in Head Office, and the National Prosecuting Authority with its Asset Forfeiture Unit, received information that a foreign national was colluding with Home Affairs officials to obtain fraudulent South African passports.

Following the complaint, a modus operandi was compiled, and an investigation was launched.

“Preliminary investigations confirmed that officials from DHA and vulnerable South African citizens were recruited, then paired with foreign nationals they photo-swopped and left personal details to legitimise the document,” the Hawks said ahead of Wednesday, 30 September’s court appearance.

“The DHA officials were paid between R10 000 and R15 000 per application while South Africans were paid R500 whilst the foreign nationals were charged between R50 000 and R100 000. 

The team registered a project dubbed “Project Humulani” on 12 April 2022, which included cases registered in Krugersdorp, Kliptown, Fairlands and Tubatse as well as an enquiry in Germiston.

“The investigation continued under the project and bore fruit wherein, for two cases, Krugersdorp and Fairlands, the alleged kingpin was successfully traced, arrested, convicted and sentenced to 14 years’ direct imprisonment,” the Hawks said. 

During the project, three Toyota Fortuner SUVs were seized, and several hundred passports were blocked and cancelled. – SAnews.gov.za