27 August 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Social Development said it has noted the termination of the Master Service Agreement (MSA) between the South African Post Office (SAPO) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) at the end of September 2025. The committee said SASSA has informed it that the resources that were allocated to the Postbank for the infrastructure for mobile cash withdrawal services will now be used to roll out its digitisation of its business processes, including the biometric verification of all new grant applications that will commence on 1 September 2025.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Bridget Masango said they have received a briefing from the Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, and SASSA today on the termination of the MSA. Masango said Tolashe explained that SASSA entered into a contractual relationship with the SAPO in 2018 after the Constitutional Court ordered the government to terminate the unlawful Cash Paymaster Service (CPS) contract.
“The liquidation of the SAPO in 2023 necessitated the closure of costly cash pay points and over-the-counter services, and the contract was ceded to Postbank.
“In 2019, the South African Reserve Bank limited the Postbank from issuing new bank accounts until it dealt with the replacement of the SASSA gold cards. These were the main elements of the MSA, hence with the withdrawal of these services render the MSA no longer serving its original intent,” she said.
Masango further said Tolashe assured the committee that there will not be any interruptions to the payment of grants as a result of the MSA termination. She added that payments will continue being disbursed through all the banks operating in South Africa, including Post Bank, as it is the current arrangement.
“The main interest of the committee is to ensure that there is no interruption of the payment of grants to the 3 million beneficiaries who bank with Postbank, post the termination of the MSA.
“The committee resolved to conduct an oversight visit to rural communities to assess the impact of the closure of the cash pay points services to grant beneficiaries,” said Masango.
Picture: NCC issues 37 compliance notices to suppliers of foodstuffs
By AGISANANG SCUFF
27 August 2025- The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued Compliance Notices to 37 suppliers in Mpumalanga following inspections that revealed multiple contraventions of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). The NCC said these inspections were conducted between February and June 2025 to ascertain compliance with the CPA by suppliers of foodstuffs, in particular.
The NCC acting Commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu said during these inspections, they discovered that some suppliers were selling expired, dented and damaged products. Ratshisusu said this including canned foods, beverages, snacks, jam, sauces, maize meal, peanut butter, and frozen items. Several of these goods lacked ingredient lists, had unclear or missing best-before dates.
“In some instances, consumers were denied refunds or exchanges for unsafe and faulty items. These practices violate consumers’ rights to safe, quality goods as outlined in Section 55(2) of the CPA, as well as the right to return unsafe or defective products under Section 56(2).
“The inspections further uncovered suppliers failing to provide complete sales records. In many cases, receipts were only issued when specifically requested and often omitted mandatory details such as the supplier’s name and CIPC registration number, address, VAT number, product descriptions, quantity, unit price, total cost and applicable taxes,” he said.
Ratshisusu further said this conduct is a direct contravention of Section 26(2–3) of the CPA. Ratshisusu added that inspectors noted widespread failure to display prices on products such as canned foods, maize meal and beverages, leaving consumers unable to make informed purchasing decisions.
“This is a contravention of Section 23(3) of the Act, while the sale of unlabelled or misleadingly labelled goods violates 24(1) and 24(2–3).
“Suppliers have been instructed to immediately remove and destroy all expired and damaged stock, to correctly label all goods in line with the CPA and its regulations, to clearly display prices on or near products offered for sale, and to issue complete and accurate sales records for every transaction,” he said.
Ratshisusu said they are required to comply within 15 business days of receipt of the notices. He said failure to comply will result in referral of the matter to the National Consumer Tribunal, where suppliers may face an administrative fine of up to R1 million or 10% of their annual turnover.
“Together with other regulators, the NCC focused on the Mpumalanga Province as part of efforts to ensure compliance with the CPA during the Consumer Rights awareness period, particularly on food safety.
“Whilst there is general compliance with the CPA, mostly in the formal sector, the NCC identified suppliers that were flouting certain provisions of the CPA, placing consumers at risk,” said Ratshisusu.
He said should affected suppliers fail to comply with these Notices, the NCC will take further appropriate steps.
Picture: Learners pouring water on a teacher/Screenshot
By BAKANG MOKOTO
27 August 2025- The North West President for the Representative Council of Learners (RCL), Bonginkosi Motaung, who is a Grade 12 learner at Holy Family Secondary School in Mogwase village, near Rustenburg, has strongly condemned the appalling behaviour of learners against their teacher at Hoer Tegniese Skool in Klerksdorp.
Motaung said on 19 August 2025, a group of learners who were dressed in overalls and balaclavas, entered the school toilets and disrupted learning and teaching at the school.
He further said a teacher responded by going to the restroom area to reprimand the learners to return to class. Motaung added that learners ended up pouring water on the teacher and throwing papers at him.
“We strongly condemn the incident. So, on behalf of all learners from the North West, we condemn the appalling behaviour by our fellow learners. We wish to distance ourselves from such learners. This behaviour is extremely unacceptable, and we discourage it from all our schools.
“I wish to convey our sincerest apologies to the affected teacher. As learners of the North West province, we stand with this teacher, and we want him not to be ashamed of himself. We are confident that the Department will take the necessary steps against these learners,” he said.
Motaung emphasized that their position is in line with the one of the North West MEC of Education, Viola Motsumi in calling for the psychosocial support for the affected teacher and the learners.
Meanwhile, The Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) Provincial Interim Committee, Pastor Lesiba Kgwele described the learners’ conduct as despicable, bordering on criminality and barbarism. Kgwele said the level of disrespect, abuse and violence that educators are subjected to on a daily basis has reached unacceptable, alarming proportions causing unimaginable trauma.
“This warrants adoption of zero tolerance and stringent counter measures because not only does such conduct undermine discipline, but a conducive atmosphere for effective learning and teaching particularly at most high schools.
“We commend the swift actions of school authorities assisted by learners to identify the culprits who were involved as well as instituting disciplinary action,” he said.
Kgwele urged education authorities and school communities not to allow schools to be breeding grounds of gangsters and criminality, pointing out that schools are microcosms of communities experiencing moral decay, collapse of family structures and senseless violence. He said this calls for united action as well as intensified effort to reclaim sound family and community values because the adopt-a-cop programme that is supposed to be part of the School Safety & the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QTLC) is in most cases either dysfunctional or overwhelmed by gangsterism, bullying, drug and substance abuse among learners as well as violent crimes that are encroaching into the school environment.
27 August 2025- The NWU’s Faculty of Engineering and Executive Dean, Prof Liezl van Dyk said the North West province of South Africa is sitting on bedrock of riches. Van Dyk said from platinum to chrome, vanadium to gold, the region is among the most mineral-endowed in the world.
She further said yet its communities remain scarred by poverty and unemployment, relics of a resource economy too often divorced from local benefit. Van Dyk added that for a province where mines dominate both the landscape and livelihoods, the need to convert mineral wealth into long-term skills, jobs and technological leadership is a necessity.
“The North West University (NWU) believes it has found part of the answer, a new School of Mines and Mining Engineering. We frame the initiative as both a provincial obligation and a national necessity.
“The NWU School of Mines and Mining Engineering project aligns four strategic priorities. First is our commitment to serving our community and province through relevant meaningful, high-impact engagement,” she said.
Van Dyk said second is to strengthen the faculties of Engineering, and Natural and Agricultural Sciences in areas where they are already leaders, such as minerals beneficiation, environmental and geospatial sciences, and professional programmes in industrial, mechatronic, electromechanical and minerals engineering. She said thirdly is their commitment to contributing to much-needed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills in South Africa.
“And finally to advance the NWU’s drive towards internationalisation. Through this initiative, we are building strong partnerships with universities across the world, including institutions in Arizona, Chile, Peru, Sweden, Austria, and Australia.
“This is no abstract plan. The first tangible fruits have already appeared: online postgraduate diplomas in Sustainability and Mining began enrolling students in 2025,” said Dyk.
She said by 2027, an undergraduate BSc specialisation in Sustainable Mining will follow. Dyk said in Rustenburg, at the heart of the platinum belt, NWU researchers are already embedded in continuing education and industry projects.
“Parts of our plan are already running: The first students for the new online Post Graduate Diploma Programmes in Sustainability and Mining registered in 2025.
“An undergraduate BSc specialisation in Sustainable Mining will run from 2027. In Rustenburg specifically, we are already engaged in research and continuing education. While several projects are active, our goal is to establish a physical office in Rustenburg by 2026,” she said.
Dyk said the second phase, planned for 2029, will see the establishment of an expanded facility. She said from here, they will offer block classes and hands-on training in engineering, science, business programmes that will serve the mining sector and related industries.
“The ambition stretches further. As phase 3, our ultimate vision for 2032 onward is a Rustenburg satellite campus from where professional engineering programmes, including mining engineering, will be presented.
“The establishment of a satellite campus is a complex process that is dependent on the conclusion of several internal and external processes,” said Dyk.
She said in this regard, the first steps are in progress, which is the development of a comprehensive business case study that accounts, among others, for a market and socio-economic perspective, infrastructure and architectural planning as well as academic programme viability. Dyk said the finalisation of the third phase will be concluded after the confirmation of the necessary higher education governance processes.
“South Africa’s mining industry has long been a paradox. It is globally competitive, technologically sophisticated, yet plagued by labour disputes, environmental damage and uneven social dividends.
“By anchoring education and research within mining communities themselves, the NWU hopes to tilt the balance. The aim is not merely to train engineers but to seed innovation in minerals beneficiation, sustainability, and community upliftment,” she said.
Dyk said if the plan holds, a generation of graduates will emerge equipped not just to work in mines, but to redefine them. She said for a province where unemployment hovers stubbornly high, that could be as valuable as the platinum beneath its soil.
Picture: Northern Cape MEC Social Development, Nontobeko Vilakazi
By REGINALD KANYANE
27 August 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Social Development, Nontobeko Vilakazi is expected to lead the Career Exhibition and Substance Abuse Awareness Programme at Bongani Community Hall in Douglas on 28 August 2025. Vilakazi said the programme seeks to empower young people by exposing them to diverse career opportunities and providing guidance on career pathways.
“It will also raise awareness about the dangers of substance abuse, which continues to be one of the major social challenges affecting youth in our communities.
“As part of the programme, there will be various exhibition stalls, including the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Sol Plaatje University (SPU), and the Premier’s Bursary Fund, among others, to provide valuable information on opportunities available to the youth,” she said.
Vilakazi further said the event will bring together government departments, educational institutions, community organisations, and professionals to offer mentorship, support and practical information to young people.
Setshwantsho- Monna o latofadiwa ka go bolaya mosadimogolo ka garawe
Ka OBAKENG MAJE
27 Phatwe 2025- Monna wa dingwaga di le 33 o solofetse go tlhagelela kwa kgotlhatshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la kamoso mabapi le polao. Go begwa fa monna o, a ile a bolaya mosadimogolo wa dingwaga di le 77 wa kwa kgaolong ya Dipitsing kwa motseng wa Magogong, gaufi le Taung, ka garawe mo letsatsing la maabane.
Sebueledi sa sepodisi mo sedikeng sa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen are go begwa fa mmelaelwa a ne a tlhagola fa moswi, Masechaba James a ne a mo kopa gore a se epe mosima mo thoko ga legae la gagwe. Van Rooyen are go begwa fa go ile ga tsoga kgakgauthano magareng ga bobedi jo, mme mmelaelwa a teketa moswi ka garawe go fitlha a tlhokafala.
“Mmelaelwa o ile a tshwarwa, mme o tla tlhagelela kwa kgotlhatshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la kamoso. Ene o lebagane le ditatofatso tsa polao,” van Rooyen wa tlhalosa.
26 August 2025- Two accused persons aged 33, briefly appeared before the Ga-rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on charges of business robbery and extortion. The accused court appearance stems from their arrests on Sunday morning, 24 August 2025, following investigations into the reported case of business robbery.
The North West police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the reports suggest that the suspects entered a tuck shop owned by a foreign national at around 7pm on 23 August 2025, at Extension 2, Mothotlung village, outside Brits and accused the owner of selling liquor. Mokgwabone said one of the suspects allegedly demanded money from the tuck shop owner.
“The pair then took various food items and cold drinks worth R650 and fled from the scene. The incident was reported to the police and that led to the arrest of the suspects after being linked to the crimes,” he said.
In reacting to the incident, the acting North West Police Commissioner, Major General Asaneng said: “The South African Police Service would like to send a strong message and warning with these arrests that lawlessness, vigilantism and extortion by anyone will be dealt with decisively regardless of who is involved.
“The SAPS recognises and encourages communities to be part of their local Community Policing Forums (CPFs) and not unlawful extra judicial structures such as Operation Dudula, which seek to usurp the work of the police and to undermine the authority of the state.”
Asaneng said while the constitution of the Republic recognises and guarantees freedom of association and the right to protest, it must be equally clear that these rights are not extended to vigilante or criminal groupings and gangs whose main objective is to promote anarchy, insurrection and to undermine the rule of law.
26 August 2025- The South African Union Council of Independent Churches (SAUCIC) on Tuesday called for intensified efforts to rid the South African Police Service (SAPS) of elements involved in crime. This follows the arrest of three Mpumalanga officers aged between 32 and 35 allegedly involved in the death of a motorist following a multiple-vehicle accident in Embalenhle.
According to police, when the officers arrived at the scene on 17 August 2025, one of the motorists involved in the accident fled on foot. The officers gave chase and, after catching him, allegedly threw stones at him. The injured man was later transported to the hospital by ambulance, where he died several hours later.
The arrests followed an intensive investigation led by both Saps Detectives and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
The call by SAUCIC representing affiliated Federations of Charismatic, Evangelical Outreach Mission Ministries and Pentecostal Churches also followed Monday’s death of a 54-year-old Pienaar Detective who died following a dramatic attempted robbery and shootout with police in Belfast on Friday night.
Three of the detective’s accomplices were reportedly arrested after a high-speed car chase and a shootout with members of the Anti-Hijacking Task team that ended when the getaway vehicle, Nissan Go, crashed into a tree on Bhekumuzi Masango Drive. Two firearms and ammunition were recovered at the scene.
SAUCIC President Cardinal Archbishop Dr Modiri Patrick Shole mentioned that ridding the police service of those who are running with the hares and hunting with the hounds will restore the confidence of communities in policing.
“The cancer of corruption and the war against violent organised crime which is claiming the lives of law-abiding citizens and police officers must first be won within SAPS before it can be won in communities.
“Nothing less than a major clean-up of the network of greed and its criminal syndicates will restore the credibility and integrity of the SAPS. We call on the Provincial SAPS Management in the province to be urgently stabilised for effective policing,” he said.
Shole further said this including strengthening of partnership with business, churches, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, crime prevention structures and communities. He added that lifting the protracted suspension of the Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela in compliance with the High Court orders will be in the interest of policing in the province.
Shole called on the Acting Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia’s intervention to resolve the lawfare impasse between Manamela and National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
26 August 2025 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Xola Nqola said he has noted with concern the announcement of the delay in the proceedings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. Nqola said the commission, headed by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, previously announced it will start its hearings on 1 September, but today it became apparent that the commission is not ready to proceed on that day.
“It is especially concerning that the delay seems to be due to public servants not executing their responsibilities. This commission is of utmost importance to restore credibility for the country.
“This follows the media briefing by Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi today, where she admitted that “certain issues could’ve been avoided” by administrators in the Department of Justice in relation to the delays in ensuring the Madlanga Commission had the necessary resources to start on 1 September 2025,” he said.
Nqola further said she went on to announce that she has placed the department’s Director-General, Advocate Doc Mashabane, and Deputy-Director-General responsible for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Jabu Hlatshwayo, on immediate suspension pending a full investigation and disciplinary process. He added that this is because of the failures and lapses on the system and also not being able to do due diligence in ensuring that the commission starts on time.
Nqola said it is regrettable that these public servants have not done their work to ensure this process starts on time. He said they call on the Minister to closely monitor the progress to ensure the work of the commission commences speedily.
26 August 2025- A Chief Director at the Northern Cape Department of Education Curriculum Management Unit, Gobonamang Doris Sibiya (59), a former Director of Tshela Bophelo Wellness Solution, Tshegofatso Kenabatho Gopane (44) and an entity, Tshela Bophelo Wellness Solution, were arrested earlier this morning by the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation team facing charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering.
The Hawks spokesperson in Northern Cape, Warrant Officer Nomthandazo Mnisi said it is alleged that during May 2020, the department awarded a tender to Tshela Bophelo Wellness Solution to conduct Covid-19 orientation and training with ongoing support of 554 schools in Head Office and five District Offices in and around Kimberley for an amount exceeding R6.5 million.
Mnisi said Sibiya allegedly submitted a motivation for the company to be awarded the contract in accordance with the single service provider method as per department’s Supply Chain Management policy, whereas the company did not possess/meet the unique requirements.
“Investigation further revealed that Sibiya accepted an amount of R10 000 from Gopane without any declaration. Accused were granted R10 000 bail each and the case was postponed to 17 September 2025,” she said.
The Guardian 