Category: English

The Vaal River System remains in a strong position as South Africa heads towards the summer rainfall season, but the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is keeping a close eye on the potential effects of El Niño.

The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) is currently 98.2% full, unchanged from the previous week, giving Gauteng and surrounding areas a significant water reserve ahead of potentially more challenging weather conditions.

The department said the possibility of El Niño developing during the summer could bring below-normal rainfall and hotter, drier conditions to parts of Southern Africa.

Such conditions could place additional pressure on water resources by reducing river flows and catchment runoff, while higher temperatures could increase evaporation and water demand.

The department said climate variability and climate change were also contributing to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, including prolonged dry spells, changing rainfall distribution and higher temperatures.

Despite the potential risks, the Vaal system is entering the period with healthy storage levels.

Vaal Dam, which supplies Gauteng and surrounding areas, is at 101.0%, down slightly from 101.5% last week.

DWS said the decline reflected normal water-resource management, including the balancing of inflows, releases and demand. Grootdraai Dam remains at 96.9%, while Sterkfontein Dam is unchanged at 98.8%.

Bloemhof Dam increased from 108.0% to 109.8%, remaining significantly above its defined full supply level. DWS said storage above 100% requires careful operational management and controlled releases where necessary to maintain appropriate reservoir levels and dam safety.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is also contributing to the system’s strong position. Mohale Dam increased slightly from 101.7% to 101.8%, while Katse Dam declined from 82.5% to 81.9%.

The department said the current levels provide an important buffer should drier conditions develop over the coming months.

However, the department cautioned that strong dam levels should not lead to complacency.

“Every effort to prevent water losses, reduce wastage and promote the efficient use of available water remains essential,” DWS said.

The department said it would continue monitoring reservoir levels, rainfall, catchment conditions, inflows, releases, water demand and seasonal climate forecasts.

El Niño can influence Southern African weather patterns and increase the risk of drier conditions in some areas. If reduced rainfall persists alongside higher temperatures and evaporation, water resources could come under increasing pressure over time.

The department said the potential influence of El Niño therefore reinforced the need for sustained water conservation and demand management.

The department added that it remained ready to implement appropriate water-resource management measures if necessary to protect supplies and maintain the resilience of the Vaal River System. – SAnews.gov.za
 

A 50-year-old Thai national has been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport after allegedly attempting to smuggle 50 parrot eggs out of South Africa in a homemade incubator bag.

The suspect was arrested on 20 August 2026, following an intelligence-driven operation involving the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE) Environmental Management Inspectorate, known as the Green Scorpions, SAPS Crime Intelligence and Border Police, with support from the Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the eggs were from parrot species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The arrest follows another alleged smuggling attempt at the same airport on 16 July 2026, when a 23-year-old Thai national was intercepted with 418 parrot eggs concealed in two homemade incubator bags.

Investigations into both cases are continuing.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister David Maynier welcomed the arrests, saying they highlighted the importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in tackling organised wildlife trafficking.

“The complex criminal networks that support illegal wildlife trafficking can only be challenged by a coordinated defence of our natural heritage,” Maynier said.

The government has established the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (NISCWT), which aims to strengthen cooperation and intelligence sharing between government departments, law enforcement agencies, conservation authorities, customs officials, prosecutors and international partners.

Authorities say the illegal collection and trafficking of parrot eggs poses a serious threat to wild bird populations and animal welfare.

Eggs are often transported in improvised incubation devices, potentially compromising their viability and the welfare of developing embryos and hatchlings.

Several of the eggs seized in the recent operations have already hatched. Staff at the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s National Zoological Garden in Pretoria are providing the chicks with specialised veterinary and husbandry care.

The export of specimens from CITES-listed species is strictly regulated and requires permits from both exporting and importing countries.

Under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, a person convicted of certain offences can face a fine of up to R10 million, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

Maynier thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the operation, as well as SANBI staff for their work caring for the rescued eggs and hatchlings.

The DFFE said it would continue working with local and international partners to identify and prosecute individuals and criminal networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade. – SAnews.gov.za
 

South African farms and feedlots supplying livestock for red meat exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been given more time to comply with mandatory registration requirements.

Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp announced on Wednesday that the deadline for farms and feedlots to complete the registration process under Veterinary Procedural Notice 59 (VPN-59) has been extended to 31 December 2026.

The extension is intended to prevent disruptions to South Africa’s red meat exports to the UAE while producers and provincial state veterinarians complete the necessary compliance and registration processes.

Aucamp said the decision would help protect livelihoods in the livestock sector and maintain South Africa’s agricultural trade relationship with the UAE.

“This extension is critical for our livestock sector and agricultural trade relations with the United Arab Emirates,” Aucamp said.

He said the additional time would allow trade to continue while farmers and state veterinarians finalise registration, while ensuring that the industry continues to meet international standards.

However, the extension does not mean that unregistered facilities can freely supply livestock for export.

During the extended period, exports may only proceed if the relevant farm or feedlot has been inspected by the responsible provincial state veterinarian, compliance with the applicable requirements has been verified, and a compliant registration application has been submitted to the Department of Agriculture’s Directorate: Animal Health for processing.

Aucamp stressed that the extension does not exempt farms or feedlots from the registration requirements.

“After 31 December 2026, farms and feedlots that have not been registered will not be eligible to supply livestock for slaughter for the export of red meat to the UAE,” the department said.

Exports originating from unregistered facilities will therefore not be supported or endorsed after the deadline.

The department said the extension was aimed at facilitating the completion of the registration process and avoiding unnecessary interruptions to trade, while maintaining the required animal-health and food-safety standards. – SAnews.gov.za
 

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike has called for the social and solidarity economy (SSE) to move beyond the margins of South Africa’s economy and become a key vehicle for creating jobs, expanding ownership and delivering more inclusive economic growth.

Delivering the keynote address at the Catalyst Now South Africa Social and Solidarity Economy Symposium on Thursday, Letsike said South Africa needed to build economic institutions that translated the constitutional values of dignity, equality, freedom and democratic participation into people’s everyday lives.

The symposium, held virtually under the theme: “Building Inclusive Economies Through the Social and Solidarity Economy”, brought together representatives from government, organised labour, business, academia, civil society, social enterprises, cooperatives and community organisations.

Letsike linked the development of an inclusive economy to South Africa’s history of colonialism and apartheid, arguing that dispossession, extraction, migrant labour and exclusion from productive assets had left a legacy that continued to shape economic inequality.

She said the country’s constitutional democracy had made important advances, including dismantling discriminatory laws, expanding social protection and improving access to public services, but stressed that the constitutional project remained unfinished.

“The persistence of unemployment, poverty, inequality and spatial exclusion does not diminish the Constitution. It makes the urgency of its implementation even clearer,” she said.

According to Letsike, the SSE can provide part of the institutional machinery needed to turn constitutional rights into economic realities.

She described cooperatives, mutual organisations, associations, community enterprises and qualifying social-purpose businesses as organisations that undertake real economic activity while placing collective benefit, social purpose and democratic participation ahead of unrestricted profit.

However, she cautioned that SSE should not become another name for poverty or informal economic activity.

“It cannot become cheap outsourcing of public responsibilities, nor can social purpose excuse poor governance or exploitation,” she said.

The Deputy Minister said the need for a stronger SSE sector was particularly urgent given the country’s employment challenges.

She cited economic growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2026, but said that growth had not translated into inclusion at the scale required.

In the second quarter, 8.5 million South Africans were officially unemployed, with the unemployment rate at 33.6%. Youth unemployment had risen to 47.4%, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 37.5%, more than seven percentage points higher than that of men.

Letsike said the country could not expect young people to celebrate political freedom while almost half of those seeking work could not find employment.

She called for stronger pathways linking education and skills to employment, enterprise development, ownership and economic dignity.

Government programmes such as the Presidential Employment Stimulus and Social Employment Fund, she said, had created important entry points into the world of work. The Presidential Employment Stimulus had generated more than 2.5 million work and livelihood opportunities, mainly for young people and women.

The next challenge was to ensure that temporary opportunities became bridges to accredited skills, permanent employment, cooperative ownership, community enterprises and sustainable contracts.

Letsike highlighted the so-called “missing middle” as a major obstacle facing community enterprises and cooperatives.

While traditionally understood as the gap between micro-grants and commercial lending, Letsike said the problem was broader and included difficulties accessing appropriate finance, markets, contracts and institutional support.

She pointed to women-led community enterprises that may have demand and experience but lack collateral, audited financial statements or the capacity to compete for large tenders.

A recent assessment had identified 117 public MSME-financing mechanisms administered by 26 institutions, she said, arguing that the challenge was now to simplify access, diversify financial instruments and connect finance with capability and markets. – SAnews.gov.za
 

By Sihle Manda
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has urged couples in unregistered customary marriages to regularise their unions before the looming 31 August 2026 deadline.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Thursday, Deputy Director-General of Operations at the DHA, Thulani Mavuso, said the department was concerned about the legal difficulties that arise when customary marriages remain unregistered.

The registration allows couples to comply with the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998, and provides legal proof of their union. The Act came into effect on 15 November 2000 and recognises customary marriages concluded before its commencement. It also requires marriages concluded afterwards to be registered within three months.

However, Mavuso said many couples had failed to register marriages concluded both before and after the law took effect.

“The bigger problem then comes in when one of the spouses dies. We then find ourselves having to conclude a marriage posthumously. In most instances, those are contested by families, which creates problems for matrimonial property and also the conclusion of the estate,” he told the news platform. 

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schrieber gazetted the deadline in September 2024, using a provision in the Act that permits the Minister to prescribe a registration period longer than the standard three months.

The extended window covers older marriages that were never registered, as well as later unions whose statutory three-month registration period has elapsed.

Failure to register, Mavuso said, can leave surviving spouses struggling to prove that a marriage existed and expose them to disputes over assets.

“In most instances, women suffer if those marriages are not registered, and all the assets that belong to them in the marriage end up in the hands of the wrong people, be it the family of the husband or vice versa,” Mavuso said.

He cited a recent case in which a husband sought to register his marriage after his wife died, but her family disputed that the union was still valid because the couple had been living separately.

Mavuso said registration could also help establish the legal relationship between parents when official consent is needed for matters involving their minor children, including passport applications.

Couples seeking registration must provide evidence showing that customary negotiations or practices took place. This may include proof of lobola negotiations or a marriage ceremony. They must also bring witnesses who can confirm the union.

“It is actually a simple process because, if people leave these things longer, they create problems downstream,” he said.

Delayed registration could force the DHA to adjudicate conflicting claims between families and decide whether a marriage may be registered posthumously.

“It is a very difficult process that also subjects the department to litigation together with the applicant. We then have to go to court to defend a decision that would not have arisen had people taken into consideration that they are in these customary marriages and that they have to register them,” he said.

Marriage officers at the DHA offices can advise couples according to their circumstances.

Mavuso stressed that the 31 August deadline was intended to encourage people with longstanding unregistered marriages to come forward. However, the cut-off date does not mean Home Affairs will refuse every application submitted afterwards.

“We will not prevent them from registering that particular marriage, even after that particular period. But we do encourage people that this is a legally protected way of ensuring that your marriage is recognised in law,” he emphasised. –SAnews.gov.za

Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has called for a shift from symbolic commitments to measurable action on women’s empowerment, warning that South Africa’s progress on gender equality is being undermined by unemployment, violence and weak implementation of laws and policies.

Speaking at a National Press Club and stakeholder engagement at the UNISA School of Business and Leadership on Wednesday, Chikunga said the country had made significant gains since the 1956 Women’s March, but that the economic and social realities facing women showed that much work remained.

The engagement formed part of Women’s Month 2026 celebrations, marking 70 years since about 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956.

Chikunga said the demands contained in the 1954 Women’s Charter remained relevant seven decades later, particularly those relating to equal pay, ownership of property, childcare, economic opportunity and protection from violence.

“The Women’s Charter is not a museum piece. It is the founding mandate of the Department I lead,” she said.

She said government was working on several initiatives aimed at translating those historic demands into practical programmes.

These include the development of a national care economy strategy, gender-responsive budgeting through the Women’s Economic Assembly, the work of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, regulations following the signing of the Public Procurement Act, and progress towards a cooperative financial institution owned and governed by women.

Chikunga said the procurement reforms could bring government closer to legally requiring that 40% of government procurement goes to women-owned businesses.

“For years the 40% was a presidential target with no legal teeth,” she said, adding that government now had an instrument to move the target towards implementation.

Despite these developments, the minister acknowledged that women continued to face severe economic inequality.

She cited Statistics South Africa figures showing that women’s unemployment stood at 36.4% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 29.6% for men. Among black African women, unemployment stood at 40.5%.

Women’s median monthly earnings were also at 82% of men’s earnings, according to figures cited by Chikunga.

“Implementation remains our weakest link,” she said, warning that laws could exist without being effectively enforced and that procurement targets could fail to benefit women if government departments did not monitor compliance.

Chikunga also described violence against women as “our deepest failure”.

Citing the most recent national femicide study by the South African Medical Research Council, she said three women were killed by an intimate partner every day and that South Africa’s intimate-partner femicide rate was five times the global rate.

“We have the laws. We now have the Council. What we do not yet have is a fall in the number of funerals,” she said.

The Minister also called on journalists to scrutinise government programmes rather than focusing only on announcements.

She urged the media to “follow the money” by examining how much of the country’s R1.5 trillion procurement pipeline reaches women-owned businesses, follow gender-based violence cases from the police station through to conviction, and report on whether government commitments translate into actual delivery.

“An announcement makes a headline and delivery makes a life,” Chikunga said.

She proposed establishing a standing partnership between her department, the National Press Club, the UNISA School of Business and Leadership and research institutions. The partnership, she said, should meet quarterly, examine data and publicly assess whether commitments made during Women’s Month were still being implemented.

Chikunga also called for greater resources for her department, arguing that its mandate covering women, young people and persons with disabilities was not matched by its budget.

“A mandate of this scale requires means of a matching scale,” she said.

As part of her proposed long-term approach, Chikunga unveiled what she called the “Charter Compact: Seventy Years, Five Promises”, designed to turn the theme “Empowered Women Empower Nations” into a measurable movement beyond the 2026 commemorations.

The five promises focus on ownership, earnings, care, safety and power.

Under the proposal, progress would be measured through indicators such as land and property ownership by women, the gender earnings gap, recognition and payment of care work, the number of women killed, and women’s representation in institutions where decisions are made. – SAnews.gov.za
 

Police in Moeka Vuma, near Makapanstad in the North West, have launched a manhunt for a 41-year-old man who is wanted in connection with the brutal murder of three people.

This is as the South African Police Service (SAPS) intensifies its fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and serious and violent crimes perpetrated against women, children and vulnerable groups during Women’s Month. 

The 41-year-old James Mohajane is wanted for the murder of his girlfriend and her sister, as well as her sister’s boyfriend.

“It is alleged that the three victims were last seen together at a house belonging to Tshepo Molekwa. On Sunday morning, the bodies of the three victims were discovered at the house. They had allegedly been hacked to death with a spade,” the police said in a statement.

Police said the suspect was nowhere to be found when they arrived at the scene. However, police found his cellphone at the crime scene.

The motive for the killings is still under investigation.

In a statement on Wednesday, the SAPS appealed to anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of James Mohajane to contact Sergeant Nhlapo on 078 918 7746.

Members of the public are urged not to approach or confront the suspect, but to immediately provide information to the police.

“The SAPS reiterates its commitment to intensifying efforts to prevent and combat GBVF and violent crime, particularly crimes targeting women and vulnerable groups,” the police said. – SAnews.gov.za