Category: English

Newly appointed Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Yusuf Cassim will on Thursday undertake his first official public engagement with a visit to the University of South Africa’s (Unisa) in Pretoria, where he will engage stakeholders on delays in National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowance payments.

The visit follows numerous complaints received through the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk from students regarding delays in the payment of NSFAS allowances and the discontinuation of data allowances for distance-learning students.

During the visit, Cassim will meet with student leaders and Unisa management to discuss the reported causes of the payment delays, assess their impact on students and receive an update on measures being implemented to resolve the challenges.

Cassim reaffirmed his commitment to the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk, established by his predecessor, Dr Mimmy Gondwe. The Helpdesk serves as a “helping hand”, providing swift and personalised support to students by escalating queries and grievances and driving meaningful solutions.

“Deputy Minister Cassim has long championed student access and success in higher education, dating back to his student leadership days. Therefore, as his first public engagement, he felt it is important to gain a firsthand understanding of the NSFAS allowances issue and the measures taken to address the challenges effectively,” the department said in a statement.

The Deputy Minister will be accompanied by senior officials from the Department of Higher Education and Training and NSFAS.

The department said the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk is being migrated to an online platform to provide faster, digitally enhanced support. In the meantime, students requiring assistance can submit queries via email to: Dmsdesk@dhet.gov.za – SAnews.gov.za

 

7

Deputy President Paul Mashatile is expected to officially launch the uMgungundlovu District Municipality’s Multi-Stakeholder Anti-Crime Council on Thursday, as government steps up efforts to tackle crime through stronger community partnerships.

The launch, taking place in Caluza, Pietermaritzburg, will see the inauguration of 300 Anti-Crime Councillors who will work alongside government, law enforcement agencies, business, traditional leaders and community structures to strengthen crime prevention across the district.

According to the Presidency, the initiative forms part of the Deputy President’s delegated responsibility to support the implementation of the District Development Model (DDM), which aims to improve coordination across the three spheres of government and address challenges including crime, poor service delivery, unemployment and poverty.

The invitation was extended by uMgungundlovu District Mayor, Councillor Mzi Zuma.

The uMgunglovu District comprises the Msunduzi, uMngeni, Mpofana, uMshwati, Impendle, uMkhambathi and Richmond local municipalities.

The Multi-Stakeholder Anti-Crime Council brings together stakeholders from government, the private sector, traditional leadership and local communities in a coordinated effort to combat crime and support law enforcement.

The Presidency described the launch as an important milestone in building a collaborative approach to crime prevention, with the newly appointed Anti-Crime Councillors expected to play a key role in mobilising communities and strengthening partnerships against criminal activity.

“The Deputy President has welcomed this multi-agency approach where all relevant departments, community stakeholders and the business community view crime prevention as a shared responsibility and collective priority, with government departments, traditional leaders, faith communities, families, schools, labour markets, retail establishments and law enforcement authorities working together to confront and ultimately defeat the scourge of crime,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za
 

7

eThekwini Municipality has taken a major step towards hosting matches during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 after Council approved the signing of a Host City Agreement with Cricket South Africa.

The agreement paves the way for Durban to host matches during one of international cricket’s premier tournaments, reinforcing the city’s position as a leading destination for major sporting events, tourism, and investment.

Council authorised City Manager Musa Mbhele to sign the Host City Agreement on behalf of the municipality.

The tournament is expected to attract thousands of international visitors, cricket supporters, commercial partners and global media, providing an opportunity to showcase Durban’s tourism attractions, cultural heritage, world-class sporting facilities, and investment potential.

The municipality said hosting the event is expected to stimulate economic activity across the hospitality, accommodation, transport, retail and entertainment sectors, while creating opportunities for local businesses, employment and skills development.

The Executive Director for Community Services, Dr Vusi Mazibuko has been designated as the lead executive responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Host City Agreement within the municipality.

“An allocation of R600 000 has been provided in the 2026/27 financial year budget to support preparatory and implementation activities linked to Durban’s Host City obligations.

“The full scope of municipal responsibilities and related operational requirements will be finalised during the implementation process and will be incorporated into future budgeting and approval processes,” the council said.

Durban, Portugal explore stronger ties

Meanwhile, eThekwini Municipality and Portuguese cities are set to explore closer cooperation in culture, trade and tourism following discussions between eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba and Portuguese Ambassador to South Africa, Carlos Costa Neves.

Neves and his delegation met with Xaba in Durban on Monday to discuss areas of collaboration, with a focus on preserving shared cultural heritage and exploring strategic socioeconomic partnerships.

Among the key outcomes of the meeting was an agreement to explore formal sister-city partnerships between Durban and the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto.

Xaba said the proposed partnerships will strengthen cooperation and promote mutual growth in key sectors including maritime trade, tourism, municipal infrastructure, and knowledge exchange.

“As a city, we view these developments as a significant step towards enriching Durban’s cultural landscape while unlocking new opportunities for international trade, investment, and tourism,” Xaba said.

Xaba also announced plans to relocate the statue of renowned Portuguese writer and poet Fernando Pessoa from the Durban Central Business District to the Durban Botanic Gardens.

He said the proposed relocation will preserve the monument while placing it in a safer, more accessible tourism and heritage destination.

“Fernando Pessoa occupies a unique place in Durban’s history. He lived in the city during his formative years from 1895 to 1905 and attended Durban High School. It was here that he mastered the English language, a skill that profoundly influenced his early literary works and contributed to his international acclaim,” Xaba said.

Neves welcomed the municipality’s decision to relocate the Fernando Pessoa statue and expressed support for strengthening collaboration between eThekwini and Portuguese cities. – SAnews.gov.za

0

National Treasury says it does not expect the recently announced withholding of July 2026 equitable share transfers to 69 South African municipalities to impact service delivery.

High-ranking department officials briefed the media in Pretoria on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s announcement.

Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Intergovernmental Relations at the department, Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, explained that portions of the share are released once municipalities submit signed payment plans with their creditors.

“This time last year, we had withheld for 75 [municipalities], but I can assure [you] that by early August, we had already released the money for everyone. So, it depends on how fast the municipalities sort out the payment plans and send us those payment plans.

“Once the portions are released, they pay [creditors]. Once they have done that, we release the whole amount. We are not expecting it to impact service delivery because… the majority of the funding at local government level is raised from own revenue,” Gaarekwe said at the briefing held in Pretoria.

The portion withheld amounts to some R13.5 billion from this year’s total R100 billion equity share.

The DDG was quick to emphasise that withholding funds is not punitive but corrective and also preventative, as non-compliance could lead to unintended real-world consequences.

“In our view, we are correcting the behaviour in municipalities. We need to get into the habit of paying our creditors. There are instances where pension fund monies are taken from salaries, but they are not paid over. So, if something happened… families are not able to claim because the municipality did not pay. 

“We are trying to make sure that people do not get used to not paying,” Gaarekwe explained.

The affected municipalities were given notice ahead of the withholding of funds and were also encouraged to furnish reasons to the department why funds should not be withheld. 

“The first set of letters were sent to municipalities on the 22nd of June and the 23rd. At that time, we wrote to 99 municipalities [and] 30 responded in a way that we have not withheld their money.

“This… is a last resort and we do not want to do it all the time. We are expecting that behaviour will change and we don’t have to do it again.

“We are really serious about compliance legislation so it’s important that municipalities…all three spheres of government comply with the legislation that we have,” Gaarekwe said.

Ripple effect

Chief Director of Local Government Budget Analysis at Treasury, Jan Hattingh, highlighted that continued non-payment by municipalities has a ripple effect that eventually leads to hamstrung service delivery.

“As a result of this action, jointly with the Department of Water and Sanitation, two water boards that were on the brink of being closed… are still operational. If a water board cannot proceed and provide services, the impact of that is much more negative, and that means communities cannot get water.

“There’s certainly a linkage [to the Auditor General South Africa’s 2024/25 Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes] but what we are trying to solve is when the Auditor General’s report is released, it’s after the event. What we have observed is that many councils adopt a budget that is not funded.

“So, part of our work and support… is to help them to table a funded budget and help them to deal with the planning problems upfront. If you don’t plan well and you overspend your budget, that portion is regarded as unauthorised expenditure,” Hattingh explained.

He added that the work National Treasury has been doing to guide municipalities has been “extensive”.

“We have even developed a framework for them to deal with consequence management. Ultimately, the councils make the final decisions, and therefore, they make the final choices.

“We are concerned that services are not rendered to communities. This is one of the issues that we are grappling with. [However], the real concern… is the fact that if municipalities don’t use grants productively and from time to time, the money gets surrendered back to the revenue fund.

“That is not the desired effect that we want because those services and that funding are meant to facilitate service delivery. Hence, we are working with provincial Treasuries and partners to equip municipalities to improve their planning [and] budgeting systems so that they can use this money properly, and citizens benefit from allocated resources,” Hattingh said. – SAnews.gov.za

0

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has formalised the renewal of six State-owned properties made available to the Western Cape Department of Social Development for the continuation of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) shelter services.

The properties in Aurora, Albertinia, Heidelberg, Laingsburg and Moorreesburg were being used to support shelter and care services for survivors of GBVF. The renewal will ensure the continuation of these services.

At the signing ceremony held at the Western Cape Department of Social Development on Wednesday, Macpherson formalised the renewal of the six State-owned properties made available to the Western Cape Provincial MEC for Social Development, Jaco Londt, for the continued provision of shelter and support services for victims and survivors of GBVF.

Macpherson said the renewal reflects the department’s commitment to ensure that public property is used for the public good and does not stand idle or vacant in communities across the country.

The renewal of the properties is part of the department’s broader work to ensure that state-owned properties are actively used to support service delivery alongside the 801 unused and non-essential state-owned properties identified by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for sale or repurposing.

“When I took office, I made it clear that public assets must be used for the public good. This renewal gives practical meaning to that commitment by ensuring that these state-owned properties continue serving as safe spaces for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“As the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, we are proud to support the Western Cape Department of Social Development and its partners in providing shelter, care and protection to victims and survivors of gender-based violence and femicide,” Macpherson said.

Londt said the partnership with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will play an important role in supporting victims and survivors of Gender-based violence.

“This renewal reflects our shared commitment to putting the needs of our citizens first. By continuing this partnership, we are ensuring that these properties remain safe havens for women, children and vulnerable people fleeing gender-based violence and other crises,” Londt said.

The renewal process forms part of Macpherson’s commitment to ensure that public assets continue to be used for the public good, particularly where they support vulnerable communities and frontline social services. – SAnews.gov.za

4

The Department of Home Affairs has noted the judgment handed down on Tuesday by the Constitutional Court in the matter between the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and the Minister of Home Affairs. 

The Scalabrini Centre is a non-profit organisation that assists migrants, refugees, and local South Africans.

The case between the centre and the Minister concerned the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Refugees Act relating to the asylum application process. The Constitutional Court confirmed the Western Cape High Court’s declaration these provisions were unconstitutional and invalid.

The court declared sections of the Refugees Act, which allowed for immigration officials to deport an asylum seeker if they are in the country without a transit visa, unconstitutional. A transit visa is issued at a port of entry to allow a person to travel to a refugee reception centre and apply for asylum.

“The department respects the authority of the Constitutional Court and will study the judgment carefully to consider its implications, including the reasons provided by the Court, before determining the appropriate way forward.

“The department remains firmly committed to upholding the Constitution, while restoring and maintaining the rule of law through a secure, lawful and well-managed immigration system. 

“We remain committed to protecting the integrity of South Africa’s immigration system, while ensuring that our policies and legislation continue to give effect to the Constitution and the country’s international obligations,” the department said.

The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, challenged the Minister of Home Affairs regarding practices related to asylum seekers and the “good cause” interviews required for their applications. If applicants failed to meet these conditions, they had to provide immigration officers with a valid reason and show “good cause” for lacking the required visa.

The case was brought to the Western Cape High Court, where the applicants argued that certain provisions of the Refugees Act unjustly barred individuals with irregular immigration statuses from seeking asylum, violating their constitutional rights and international non-refoulement principles

On 15 May 2025, the court ruled that specific sections of the Refugees Act were unconstitutional. The provisions in question included sections that penalised individuals for bureaucratic infractions, effectively blocking their access to refugee protections. 

The court emphasised that these regulations disproportionately affected vulnerable groups, particularly children, and failed to align with constitutional imperatives regarding the best interests of children. – SAnews.gov.za

4

The eThekwini Municipality has reopened its Special Debt Relief Programme for customers whose account disputes were still under consideration when the programme closed in January 2026.

The decision, approved by the eThekwini Municipal Council on Tuesday, applies exclusively to customers with unresolved disputes relating to electricity, water, and property rates accounts.

The reinstated programme is open with immediate effect and will remain open until the end of August 2026.

Approximately 154 qualifying account disputes, with a combined value of about R112.3 million, have been identified.

eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has called on eligible customers to take advantage of this once-off opportunity.

“When we first introduced the programme from May to June 2025 to write off 50% of qualifying debt owed to the city as at the end of January 2025, ratepayers and various key stakeholders appealed to us to extend the programme.

“As a listening and caring municipality, we responded by extending it from November 2025 to January 2026, to help alleviate the financial burden on households and businesses,” Xaba said.

The mayor said during continued engagements with the public, customers who had lodged account disputes with the municipality requested that they also be afforded an opportunity to benefit, as their disputes were still being considered when the programme ended.

“We have listened to our residents with genuine concerns, and we are pleased to provide them with this opportunity. We encourage all eligible customers to take advantage of the programme,” he said.

The Special Debt Relief Programme, which concluded in January 2026, resulted in the municipality writing off R515 million in qualifying debt, providing much-needed financial relief to more than 4 500 customers.

Xaba urged all qualifying customers with pending account disputes to visit their nearest municipal customer service centres before the reinstated programme closes at the end of August.

Progress in smart meter rollout

The council also noted the Accounts Management Dashboard Overview Report for the month ending in May 2026, which highlighted progress in modernising the municipality’s water and electricity metering systems to improve billing accuracy, reduce losses and strengthen revenue collection.

The report noted that the Smart Water Metering Programme has exceeded its annual installation target, with 1 865 smart water meters installed and 135 currently being rolled out in areas including uMhlanga, Westville, New Germany, Bellair and Amanzimtoti.

The programme is replacing ageing conventional meters with smart technology to reduce water losses, improve consumption monitoring, enhance billing accuracy, and ensure fair allocation of free basic water.

The rollout of smart electricity meters aims to address ageing infrastructure, faulty meters, electricity theft and billing inaccuracies.

The smart meters provide real-time consumption monitoring, tamper detection and improved integration with the municipality’s billing and vending systems, helping to improve customer service and protect municipal revenue.

The report highlighted that approximately 95% of urban water meters are read and billed based on actual consumption.

It also acknowledged ongoing challenges, including faulty electricity meters awaiting replacement, which continue to contribute to estimated billing.

The municipality said it continues to implement measures to improve billing accuracy, ensure compliance with legislative requirements and enhance revenue collection. – SAnews.gov.za

0