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KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers has launched the Provincial Treasury Digital Access Programme (DAP), an initiative aimed at expanding access to digital learning tools and infrastructure, with a particular focus on schools in rural and under-resourced communities.

The programme, unveiled on Monday at the Sizani Combined Primary School in Salt Rock, within the iLembe District Municipality, seeks to enhance learning outcomes and equip learners with skills for participation in the digital economy.

Rodgers, who also serves Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) Political Champion for the iLembe District, was joined by Member of the Provincial Legislature and Education Portfolio Committee member, Sakhile Mngadi, as well as KwaDukuza Local Municipality Senior Councillor, Privi Makhan.

Speaking at the launch, Rodgers underscored the importance of equitable access to technology in education, describing digital connectivity as essential for inclusive economic growth.

“Digital access is no longer a luxury but a necessity. If we are serious about building an inclusive economy, we must ensure that learners in all parts of our province are equipped with the tools and skills required to succeed in a digital world,” the MEC said.

Rodgers announced that the programme will be expanded to districts.

“Our intention is to scale this programme beyond iLembe. We will be extending the Digital Access Programme to uMgungundlovu and Sisonke to ensure that more learners, particularly those in rural and under-resourced areas, are not excluded from the opportunities created by digital learning,” Rodgers said.

Sizani Combined Primary School principal Ntombenhle July welcomed the initiative and expressed appreciation for the MEC’s intervention and support.

“You have addressed one of our most pressing challenges by improving digital access for our learners. This initiative gives us renewed hope and confidence that our children can acquire relevant skills and ultimately play a meaningful role in the digital economy,” July said.

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury reaffirmed its commitment to supporting developmental initiatives that contribute to improved service delivery, inclusive growth, and long-term socio-economic development across the province.

The department said it will continue to prioritise key frontline departments, including Education, Health and Social Development, with public resources directed towards strengthening service delivery in these departments. – SAnews.gov.za
 

The Special Investigating Unit has secured preservation orders for assets belonging to Nako Mang Trading Enterprise CC after the company allegedly submitted R19 million worth of fraudulent claims to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) under the COVID-19Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS).

The claims were discovered by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) following an investigation which found that the claims were submitted over a three-year period and included misrepresented employment relationships.

“Affidavits from purported employees confirmed the company never employed them. Instead of paying workers as required, the funds were diverted into personal accounts of directors and associates.
“The SIU’s investigation revealed that Mr Nikluis Manuel, director of Nako Mang, purchased vehicles in cash immediately after UIF disbursements and retained portions of the funds as ‘commission’.

 Downstream beneficiaries included Ms Khanyi Angel Nokukhanya, who received R569,920.21 from Nako Mang’s UIF proceeds, later applied towards property acquisitions.

“This pattern of layering and integration is consistent with money laundering, which disguises the unlawful origin of public funds through movable and immovable assets,” the SIU said in a statement.

The assets to be preserved are:
•    Two residential properties in Turffontein, Gauteng
•    An agricultural holding in Union Forests Plantation Agricultural Holdings
•    Toyota Dyna,
•    Hyundai TQ H-1
•    Mercedes-Benz W205
•    Karet 1800 T Nosecone trailer

“The Special Tribunal has interdicted the respondents from selling, transferring, or encumbering these assets, and directed the Registrar of Deeds to endorse title deeds with restrictions and register caveats to prevent disposal without Tribunal approval.

“The preservation orders ensure that these assets remain secure and are not dissipated before the finalisation of civil recovery proceedings. The SIU will seek to recover losses suffered by the UIF, which amount to more than R148.4 million across multiple companies implicated in fraudulent TERS claims,” the statement continued.

The corruption busting unit vowed to hold accountable “those who unlawfully benefit from public funds” and to ensure that “monies intended for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic are recovered”.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the SIU to investigate allegations made in respect of the affairs of the Unemployment UIF in terms of Proclamation R.8 of 2021. The SIU investigated TERS payments to persons who were not entitled to receive such payments; submitted false, irregular, invalid or defective applications to the UIF, including the causes of such maladministration.

“In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996 (SIU Act), the SIU will refer any evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during its investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action,” the statement concluded. – SAnews.gov.za

Emerging opportunities in an era where the global economy is experiencing structural changes could pave way for the Northern Cape to write a new economic story for its people.

This is according to Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau who delivered the keynote address at the Northern Cape Investment and Job Conference on Tuesday.

The province stands at the intersection of a trifecta of economic potential with its endowment of mineral resources, high levels of solar irradiation and vast open land.

“The global economy is undergoing a structural shift. The transition to clean energy is an economic inevitability.

“The demand for critical minerals is the foundation of the technologies that will define the next industrial era. And the race for green hydrogen is no longer speculative — governments and corporations across Europe, Asia and the Americas are committing billions to secure supply chains. The Northern Cape sits at the intersection of all three: namely clean energy, critical minerals and green hydrogen.

“Certainly, this province has the land, the sun and the wind to become one of Africa’s pre-eminent renewable energy production zones. Through Boegoebaai and the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy, it has the infrastructure anchor to build a hydrogen economy of genuine scale. These are live policies and programmes with government commitment and investor interest behind them,” Tau said.

The province stretches some 372 000km and has the smallest population – making it an ideal destination for technological use.

“Beyond energy, the Northern Cape’s vast open spaces, low population density and potential water access through desalination make it an ideal destination for data centres — among the fastest-growing infrastructure investment categories globally.

“And agriculture, particularly in raisins, table grapes, dates and protein crops, remains a strong foundation with significant room for agro-processing and value chain development,” Tau added.

These opportunities, the Minister added, “add up to a new economic story for this province”.
“This is a story of industrialisation, not extraction. Value addition, not raw throughput. Long-term sustainable growth, not dependence on commodity cycles.

“To show that we are serious about making an impact, this story is bringing together a partnership not seen in South Africa’s history,” he said.

Three-pronged strategy
Tau told delegates at the conference that the department’s industrialisation drive in South Africa continues around three themes: Decarbonisation, Diversification and Digitalisation all of which “align almost precisely with where the Northern Cape’s competitive advantages lie”.

“The [European Union’s] Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is already changing the calculus for South African exporters. Our response is to position our industrial base as a low-carbon production platform. Green hydrogen, green steel and battery storage are sectors where the Northern Cape’s feedstock advantages allow us to compete.

“The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan is mobilising capital for exactly this shift. This is how we decarbonise,” he said.

Turning to Diversification, the Minister stated the South Africa is looking elsewhere, “building manufacturing value chains beyond our traditional strengths”.

“Rather than exporting manganese ore, we want to export manganese products. Rather than exporting iron ore, we want to export steel. The logic of beneficiation is clear, and the Northern Cape’s mineral endowment makes it a natural site for that industrial deepening.

“The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and our Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme are the institutions and instruments we are deploying to make that happen. In relation to the unilateral imposition of tariffs, by some countries, we are also diversifying our trading partners.

“We are building new networks across the world and leveraging from our Global South partners. We are doing this derisking while continuing to strengthen the relationships we have with our traditional partners,” Tau explained.

He noted that in terms of Digitisation, South Africa’s infrastructure requirements for the digital economy, namely power, land, connectivity, overlap with what the Northern Cape can offer.

“Data centres create skilled jobs, require local supply chains, and build the platform for broader digital industrialisation. The Northern Cape has the conditions to lead that story.

“These three pillars of our industrial policy are simultaneous and mutually reinforcing. An investment in green hydrogen here is a decarbonisation investment, a diversification investment, and a digital infrastructure investment. That convergence is precisely what makes this province so strategically compelling right now,” Tau said.

Removing barriers, building partnerships
Prior to the opening of the main conference, the provincial government opened the One Stop Shop facility in Kimberley – designed to clear the ease of doing business and reduce regulatory red tape for investors both at home and abroad.

“Yesterday’s launch of the One-Stop-Shop by InvestSA…is a practical commitment to making investment facilitation faster and more responsive.

“As you know, investors do not want to navigate multiple government departments. Instead, they want a single point of contact, clear timelines, and a system that treats their capital and their time with respect. In this regard, the dtic is committed to making this instrument work for the Northern Cape,” Tau reflected.
He called on investors to join government in driving the economy towards prosperity – citing the green shoots of reform as an indication of a country moving forward.

“No province transforms its economy through government action alone. As you would agree, South Africa is in a different moment to where we were two years ago.

“The energy crisis that constrained investment confidence has been resolved. Operation Vulindlela II is driving structural reform. And the national investment drive has secured over R1.5 trillion in investment pledges during the previous cycle, with a meaningful portion now flowing into production. Of course, our ambition is to attract a further R3 trillion over this next cycle as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“This conference is the provincial expression of that national commitment. The sectors on the agenda here – renewable energy, green hydrogen, critical minerals, agriculture, data infrastructure – are exactly where South Africa needs to build new industrial capacity,” the Minister urged.

He reiterated the outcomes of South Africa’s G20/B20 Presidency to bring together government and business to “realise the Northern Capes potential and position it as South Africa’s next economic frontier”.
“We will be partnering with the private sector together with the Premier, across all three spheres of government, and in a number of sectors including critical minerals, renewable energy and new energy technologies to realise the full potential of this great province.

“Indeed, the Northern Cape’s people have waited for the economic transformation that geography and geology have always promised. This conference may well be the moment when that story decisively accelerates,” Tau concluded. 

At the start of the conference on Monday, Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, said he looks “forward to … presenting the Northern Cape as a province of real potential and real partnerships.

READ | Northern Cape woos investors to expand and create jobs opportunities

– SAnews.gov.za

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) invested in the Divercity housing development in central Cape Town to demonstrate its commitment to investing in projects that bring people closer to economic opportunities.

“This is about more than buildings. It is about making cities work better for people, so that living closer to work is not a privilege, but a possibility for more South Africans,” PIC Chairperson Dr David Masondo said on Tuesday after conducting a site visit at the development.

This investment marks the PIC’s entry into the multi-family rental housing sector and forms part of a broader strategy to diversify its portfolio while supporting developments that deliver both strong long-term returns and real social impact.

Divercity’s model is to build affordable, well-located rental housing in city centres, close to jobs, transport, and essential services. 

In doing so, it directly addresses one of South Africa’s most persistent historical challenges – apartheid spatial planning, which placed Black people far from employment opportunities.

 “For many South Africans, it is not only what they need do to earn an income or make a living that matters; where they live also continues to determine how they live. Developments like Divercity are beginning to change this by reducing travel time, lowering transport costs, and improving access to work and economic opportunities. This is a key priority for the PIC,” Masondo said.

Divercity also plays a critical role in closing a long-standing gap in the housing market. 

It provides an option for households that do not qualify for government-subsidised housing but are also unable to access mortgage financing from commercial banks. 

By offering affordable rental housing in well-located urban areas, the model creates a practical pathway into the city for a broader range of South Africans.

The investment is already supporting over 1 100 jobs, with that number expected to grow to 2 800, as the platform expands toward its target of 15 000 units.

South Africa’s housing market continues to face a structural shortage of between 2.3 and 2.6 million units, with a significant portion of demand concentrated in the affordable housing segment.

The demand for affordable rental housing is estimated at over 250 000 to 300 000 units per year, while delivery remains significantly constrained, reinforcing the need for scalable, institutional solutions.

The PIC has committed 24% shareholding, as part of a long-term investment strategy focused on stable income, inflation-linked rental growth, and capital appreciation.

The project also shows what is possible when public capital partners effectively with private capital and developers. 

It offers a scalable model for addressing South Africa’s urban housing shortage within a framework of strong commercial returns for investors, including pension funds.

The PIC invests on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and remains focused on opportunities that deliver sustainable financial returns and contribute to inclusive economic growth.

“Today’s visit provided an opportunity to see, on the ground, how these investments are improving lives while building a more integrated and economically active urban future, whilst generating financial returns for the workers’ pensions,” Masondo said. –SAnews.gov.za

The Government of South Africa is hosting representatives from Kenya, Ghana, and the Netherlands in Johannesburg for discussions on strengthening national action to adapt to climate change impacts.

“Successful adaptation requires an integrated approach. This includes factors that turn adaptation planning into reality, from effective governance and institutional arrangements to active engagement with key actors and strong mechanisms to track progress,” Ambassador of the Netherlands to South Africa, Joanne Doornewaard, said.

The four-country peer learning event will explore approaches for how to move national priorities for climate change adaptation through planning processes to implementation in an effective, inclusive way.

The event, starting on Tuesday until Thursday, is co-hosted by the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network for countries to learn from one another on climate action. 

It will unpack how countries are preparing to implement the climate change adaptation priorities outlined in their NAPs.  

“The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS)/NAP acts as a common reference point for climate change adaptation efforts in South Africa, guiding all levels of government, private sectors, and stakeholders affected by climate variability and change. 

“It is a policy instrument in which national climate change adaptation objectives for the country can be articulated to provide overarching guidance to all sectors of the economy,” Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Chief Director for Climate Change Adaptation Tlou Ramaru said.

The event will explore at the technical level how countries can implement the adaptation priorities set out in NAPs.

“We are here to listen and learn alongside our partners from South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya, as we collectively work to advance national adaptation planning and action,” Doornewaard said.

 The Government of the Netherlands, which is also responding to climate hazards through innovative solutions, actively collaborates with African partners on climate change adaptation, including projects focused on water security, agricultural and urban resilience. 

This peer learning event builds on these efforts, fostering knowledge exchange and joint solutions to shared challenges through national adaptation planning processes.

On the international level, the NAP process was established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 for countries to identify and address their medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to climate change. 

The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement calls on countries to undertake national adaptation plan processes, and almost every country in the world has a NAP process underway.

“We are seeing more momentum on national adaptation plan processes than ever before. Through this peer learning event, we are aiming to strengthen the enablers that can allow countries to take effective adaptation action through their NAP processes,” said Dr. Orville Grey, the Head of Secretariat for the NAP Global Network, which is hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

The NAP Global Network helps accelerate climate change adaptation efforts around the world by supporting partner countries in advancing their NAP processes. 

Peer learning is a key pillar of the NAP Global Network’s support to countries on NAP processes, and it has engaged more than 1,000 adaptation planners from 84 countries to participate in peer learning. 

This peer learning event is taking place with funding from the Government of the Netherlands. –SAnews.gov.za

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has welcomed the decision by the Association of Comms and Technology (ACT) to withdraw its court application challenging fee corrections related to the department’s Online Verification Service (OVS).

ACT had filed legal papers in December 2025 in the Gauteng High Court, opposing the revised fee structure introduced for private companies using the OVS to verify client identities against the Population Register.

The corrected fees were implemented on 1 July 2025 following a period of public consultation and with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, in compliance with the Identification Act.

On 8 April 2026, ACT’s attorneys formally notified the court of the withdrawal of the application. 

At the same time, several mobile network operators affiliated with ACT have initiated engagement with the department to support government’s digital transformation agenda, including the development of a Digital Identity system aimed at improving access, efficiency and security.

The department has provided the OVS since 2013, but prior to July 2025 there had been no fee adjustment for 12 years. 

The low cost of 15 cents per real-time verification limited the department’s ability to maintain and upgrade the system and contributed to excessive usage, which led to system downtimes. By 2025, more than half of all verification attempts were failing, and even successful verifications often took hours to process.

Following the introduction of a new fee of R10 per real-time verification and a R1 off-peak batch option for private sector users, the department implemented significant upgrades to the system. 

These improvements have increased uptime to 99% and reduced response times to seconds. 

Public sector users continue to access the service at no cost.

Schreiber said the upgrades and fee corrections had enabled the department to replace a system on the verge of collapse with a world-class verification service. 

He added that the reform is central to a new digital partnership with the banking sector, which has already expanded Smart ID services to 110 bank branches within a month of implementation, with further expansion planned.

He expressed optimism about collaboration with mobile network operators to address challenges and opportunities in identity verification, including SIM card registration and the rollout of Digital ID. 

Schreiber said the withdrawal of the court challenge creates an opportunity for telecommunications companies to play a meaningful role in the country’s digital transformation, which is already delivering tangible benefits. – SAnews.gov.za