DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CLARIFIES INACCURACIES IN CARTE BLANCHE BROADCAST

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CLARIFIES INACCURACIES IN CARTE BLANCHE BROADCAST

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​PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – The Department of Agriculture has formally addressed and corrected several factual and legal errors from a Carte Blanche investigative feature broadcast on 26 July 2026, which raised questions regarding administrative appointments and product safety under the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947).

​Designation and SACNASP Affiliation

​The Department rejected claims made in the broadcast regarding the legal qualifications required for the Minister's delegated authority:

• ​Legality of Appointment: Mr. Maluta Jonathan Mudzunga serves as Chief Director: Inspection and Quarantine Services following his promotion from Director: Agricultural Inputs Control. He was lawfully designated by the Minister under Section 2(1) of Act 36 of 1947.

• ​SACNASP Membership Not Required: The Department clarified that statutory designation under Section 2(1) does not mandate affiliation with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). None of Mr. Mudzunga's predecessors held SACNASP registration—largely because the professional body did not exist as a legal entity at the time of their designations.

​Reporting Lines and Operational Hierarchy

​The Department dismissed assertions that Mr. Mudzunga holds multiple conflicting posts or "reports to himself":

• ​Single Substantive Post: Mr. Mudzunga holds a single post as Chief Director: Inspection and Quarantine Services. His former role, Director: Agricultural Inputs Control, is currently filled in an acting capacity by the Head of Inspection Services.

• ​Delegated Authority: In terms of Section 2(2)(a) of the Act, operational responsibilities are lawfully delegated to the Head of Inspection Services, who acts as the de facto registrar.

• ​Accountability Structure: Mr. Mudzunga reports to the Deputy Director-General: Agricultural Production and Natural Resources Management, and ultimately to the Director-General and the Minister.

​Status of Product Registration & Livestock Investigation

• ​Pre-existing Registration: The agricultural product featured in the television segment was registered prior to Mr. Mudzunga’s tenure as Registrar.

• ​Ongoing Probe: The Department confirmed that, outside of the specific case highlighted by Carte Blanche, no further reports of livestock fatalities or adverse reactions associated with the product have been logged.

• ​Premature Liability Assertions: A comprehensive investigation is currently underway. The Department emphasized that claims attributing the farmer's losses to departmental negligence are premature and legally unfounded until formal findings are concluded.

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 MINISTER HLABISA URGES SOUTH AFRICANS TO REGISTER BEFORE ELECTION PROCLAMATION ON 7AUGUST2026

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

MINISTER HLABISA URGES SOUTH AFRICANS TO REGISTER BEFORE ELECTION PROCLAMATION ON 7 AUGUST 2026

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​PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, has called on all eligible South Africans to register and verify their voter details before the official proclamation of the 2026 Local Government Elections date on 7 August 2026.

​In accordance with Section 159 of the Constitution and the Municipal Structures Act, the CoGTA Minister holds the statutory duty to proclaim municipal election dates. Once the date is gazetted on Friday, 7 August, the voters' roll will officially close at midnight, preventing further registrations or address modifications for the upcoming polls.

​Key Highlights & Voter Guidelines

• ​Registration Weekend Impact: The call follows the final registration weekend on 1–2 August 2026, which saw ~1.7 million citizen interactions with the Electoral Commission (IEC)—including 291,806 first-time voters and over 1.5 million detail updates.
• ​Ward-Based Voting Requirement: Unlike national or provincial elections, local government legislation mandates that voters may only vote in the specific ward where they are registered.
• ​Final Registration Window: Unregistered citizens and voters who have moved can still complete their registration or update details online via the IEC’s Online Voter Registration Portal up until the proclamation gazette is issued on 7 August.
• ​Election Day: The 2026 Local Government Elections are scheduled to take place on 4 November 2026. 

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MINISTER GAYTON MCKENZIE CLARIFIES GOVERNMENT FUNDING FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

MINISTER GAYTON MCKENZIE CLARIFIES GOVERNMENT FUNDING FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT

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​PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has issued a firm clarification regarding the government's role and legal limits in funding local and international sporting events.

​The statement addresses public debate and political criticism surrounding athletes or national federations seeking financial support for international tournaments, with the Minister urging sport administrators to take commercial responsibility for their organizations.

​Core Principles of Government Funding

• ​Fixed Parliamentary Allocations: The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) provides baseline financial assistance to more than 60 national federations. Funding allocations are fixed by Parliament and administered strictly under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

• ​Administrative Base, Not Full Coverage: State support is designed to cover essential administrative operations, not to fully fund international travel, event hosting, or full operational budgets for every code.

• ​Commercial Responsibility: Federation boards carry the fiduciary and commercial duty to develop viable business plans, create marketable products, and secure private corporate sponsorships.

• ​National Honor vs. Entitlement: Minister McKenzie highlighted that representing the nation abroad is a national privilege rather than an automatic financial claim on public funds. Major federations like SA Rugby, Cricket South Africa, and SAFA fund their national team activities independently.

​Federation Compliance and Interventions

​The Minister stressed that high governance standards will be enforced, with non-performing or non-compliant federations facing regulatory review:

• ​Basketball South Africa: Following prolonged administrative and governance failures, Basketball SA had its official recognition status revoked. DSAC is currently stabilizing the sport in partnership with FIBA Africa and SASCOC.
• ​Targeted Support: Performant federations that demonstrate strong governance and audit compliance remain eligible for discretionary project support. DSAC recently allocated over R4 million to send 34 chess players to the Commonwealth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka and 54 athletes to the Africa Youth Chess Championships in Uganda.

​"Lazy federation bosses who don't understand their job, and with no ideas on how to further their sport, think this is open season to run to the media... If they wish to raise more money, they need to think commercially, and operate commercially." — Gayton McKenzie, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture 

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DURBAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS FOR R3.7 MILLION SARS VAT FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

DURBAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS FOR R3.7 MILLION

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​DURBAN, KWAZULU-NATAL – The Durban Regional Court has sentenced 53-year-old Khanyisile Casianna Gumede to an effective 18 years' direct imprisonment following her conviction on five counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.

​Her close corporation, GG Catering and General Services CC, was handed a R2 million fine, wholly suspended for five years on condition that the entity is not convicted of fraud or theft during the suspension period.

​Modus Operandi and Investigation

​Gumede served as the registered Value-Added Tax (VAT) representative for GG Catering and General Services CC.

• ​Fraudulent Submissions: Between February 2018 and October 2018, Gumede submitted inflated input tax declarations alongside nil output tax claims on behalf of the company.
• ​Zero Trading Activity: SARS auditors established that the company was non-operational during that period and had incurred no qualifying business expenses to justify the tax claims.
• ​Financial Impact: The scheme resulted in SARS suffering an unrecovered loss of over R3.7 million, which Gumede utilized for personal gain and to settle corporate liabilities.

​Sentencing Breakdown

​During trial proceedings led by State Advocate Zinhle Mthembu, five State witnesses testified—including SARS officials and a former employee. A SARS criminal investigator emphasized in aggravation of sentence that none of the R3.7 million had been recovered, directly impairing the state's capacity to deliver essential public services.

​The court sentenced Gumede as follows:

• ​Fraud (Counts 1–5 consolidated): 15 years' imprisonment
• ​Money Laundering: 10 years' imprisonment
• ​Effective Sentence: The court ordered 7 years of the money laundering sentence to run concurrently with the fraud sentence, resulting in 18 years' direct imprisonment.
• ​Firearm Ineligibility: Gumede was formally declared unfit to possess a firearm.

​The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence, highlighting the joint investigative efforts of the NPA, SARS, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in curbing tax fraud and fiscus depletion.

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VOTERS' ROLL SURPASSES 29 MILLION FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION DRIVE AHEAD OF 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

VOTERS' ROLL SURPASSES 29 MILLION FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION DRIVE AHEAD OF 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

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PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – Over 1.7 million citizens engaged with the Electoral Commission (IEC) during the final voter registration weekend on 1 and 2 August 2026. The milestone brings the total voters' roll to over 29 million registered citizens ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.

Of the 1.79 million total transactions, 291,806 (16%) represented first-time voter registrations, while over 1.5 million existing voters inspected and updated their registration details to ensure compliance with ward-based voting rules for local elections.

Provincial Breakdown and Registration Channels

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest overall registration activity, followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

Provincial Performance

• KwaZulu-Natal: 427,592 total transactions (71,932 new registrations)

• Gauteng: 314,856 total transactions (55,879 new registrations)

• Eastern Cape: 313,797 total transactions (37,897 new registrations)

• Limpopo: 209,516 total transactions

• Western Cape: 134,291 total transactions

• Mpumalanga: 133,378 total transactions

• North West: 116,104 total transactions

• Free State: 97,211 total transactions

• Northern Cape: 47,306 total transactions

Registration Modalities

• Voting Stations: Remained the primary channel, accounting for 1,555,318 in-person applications across 23,699 stations.

• Online Voter Portal: Recorded 238,733 transactions, led by urban centers in Gauteng (86,492), KwaZulu-Natal (41,334), and the Western Cape (33,783).

Youth Engagement and Gender Dynamics

• Youth Turnout: Youth aged 16 to 29 accounted for 485,757 (26%) of all transactions over the weekend. Crucially, 46% of all new registrations were completed by voters under 29 years of age.

• Gender Balance: Female voters made up 56% (1,005,790) of total weekend activity, maintaining the historic trend of higher female representation on the national voters' roll. Exactly 50% of first-time registrations were female.

Launch of WhatsApp Registration Ahead of Proclamation Deadline

To maximize voter inclusion before the voters' roll officially closes upon election proclamation on Friday, 7 August 2026, the IEC has launched voter registration directly via WhatsApp (0600 088 000).

The messaging interface incorporates identity verification, OTP authentication, ID document uploads, and location verification to allow citizens to register or update details seamlessly from their smartphones.

Next Phase: Election Proclamation and Timetable

Following the announcement by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), official proclamation will take place on Friday, 7 August 2026.

The IEC will hold a media briefing on Proclamation Day to publish the formal Election Timetable, detailing candidate nomination deadlines, voters' roll certification dates, and logistical milestones leading up to Election Day on 4 November 2026.

• Check Registration Status: SMS ID number to 32810

• Contact Centre Support: Call 0800 11 8000

• WhatsApp Support & Registration: Message 0600 088 000

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