AS KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) recorded the highest number of reported sexual offences in the country, children and women protection organisations warn that the figures represent a crisis that cannot be reduced to statistics.

Iran says it attacked a US naval drone near the Strait of Hormuz as tensions escalate following strikes on oil tankers by both sides

The ANC’s failure to submit portions of its candidate lists before the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) 28 August deadline has placed Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula under mounting pressure, with senior party leaders demanding answers over omissions that could affect the ANC’s prospects in key municipalities ahead of the 4 November local government elections. The controversy emerged after the ANC announced last week that it had been unable to capture all its candidates on the IEC’s system due to what it described as a technical glitch. Dispute The party has since engaged with the electoral body to ensure all its candidates are considered for the upcoming polls. However, the issue has become increasingly contentious after the IEC publicly denied that its system experienced any technical problems. The dispute has also drawn attention to the ANC’s internal candidate registration process, with reports suggesting that a number of candidates were left off the final lists submitted to the IEC. Omissions The full extent of the omissions remains unclear as the IEC has not yet published the complete list of registered candidates. However, the electoral body recently confirmed that its system reflected 2,274 candidate nominees from 45 political parties whose details had been captured but not formally submitted. ANC veteran Frank Chikane, NEC member and Deputy Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nocawe Mafu, and former ANC Youth League deputy president Andile Lungisa are among those omitted from proportional representation lists, according to a Sunday Times report. Lungisa reportedly said he had been assured that his name would be added during the amendment process. Criticism The issue has sparked criticism from within the ANC’s leadership structures, with several National Executive Committee (NEC) members reportedly arguing that Mbalula must account for what happened. Some party leaders believe the omissions could affect the ANC’s electoral prospects in municipalities across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Free State. NEC member Mondli Gungubele was among those who publicly criticised the matter. “The failure to submit municipalities and a set of candidates to the IEC is a scandalous incident that cannot be joked about. As leadership, if we cannot be embarrassed by this, we aren’t worth the idea.” Blame Another NEC member told the Sunday Times: “Mbalula cannot be absolved from blame. Mbalula is a law unto himself.” The paper reported that at least nine NEC members believe the ANC secretary-general should be held accountable for the omissions. Affected provinces The Eastern Cape is understood to be among the provinces most affected by the candidate-list problems. Candidates in the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo district municipalities, as well as the Sundays River Valley and Walter Sisulu local municipalities, were affected by the omissions. In Port St Johns, the ANC reportedly failed to submit the names of 20 ward councillor candidates and 19 proportional representation candidates. The Alfred Nzo District Municipality mayor Tsileng Sobuthongo was among those omitted from the lists. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where the ANC is attempting to regain support lost to the MK Party, the governing party reportedly failed to field candidates in uMshwathi municipality. Candidate lists The controversy has also raised questions about how the candidate lists were managed internally. According to NEC members, regional and provincial leaders were allegedly allowed to amend the lists after they had already been approved by the NEC. One NEC member questioned why the final lists were not submitted immediately after the NEC completed its work. “The NEC finalised that list on Wednesday, and it meant that either on Wednesday night or Thursday he should have submitted it, as is.” Mbalula acknowledged during a meeting with the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee that the ANC’s lists were submitted shortly before the deadline expired. “Mbalula has seriously damaged the ANC. If he survives this for any future candidacy of any kind when it comes to 2027, I’ll say that his ancestors are with him,” an ANC insider said. Criticism Mbalula has dismissed criticism over the matter and continued to maintain that a technical glitch was responsible for the problems. Speaking at an ANC Women’s League event, he said: “I am not scared of ANC members. I understand the ANC and its members.” “I know the duplicitous, I know the honest, and I know the liars who are not working for the party; they specialise in being vocal.” Ramaphosa On Saturday, The Citizen reported that ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa had addressed concerns about the party’s failure to meet the IEC deadline for submitting some candidate lists. Speaking at a campaign event in Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said he had been informed that 34 political parties had been affected by similar technical challenges during the submission process. He argued that technical difficulties should not ultimately prevent voters from supporting their preferred candidates. The ANC president also confirmed that the party was considering legal avenues, including approaching the Electoral Court. “The Electoral Court is a specialist institution mandated to deal with these types of disputes and challenges. It should be able to provide certainty on the matter.” Electoral court The ANC has since approached the Electoral Court after the IEC declined to hear its case. IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo confirmed that the commission had received the ANC’s appeal and was considering the legal issues raised. Not everyone within the ANC believes Mbalula should be solely blamed for the situation. One NEC member defended the secretary-general, saying: “The SG doesn’t run electoral processes. You can’t just blame someone because you don’t like him. You ask for a report first from the committee.” ANC The Citizen also reached out to ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu for comment on the allegations surrounding the submission process and claims that candidate lists were altered after receiving NEC approval. However, she told the paper that the ANC remained confident in its internal procedures and also rejected allegations that candidate lists were reopened after the NEC meeting.

After kicking up a fuss about the scrums in the second Test, All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said he had “no issue” with the Springbok scrums in their third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry match in Soweto on Saturday. South Africa won the third match 29-24 to gain an unassailable 2-1 lead before the final Test in Baltimore, with scrum penalties finally being awarded by referee Nika Amashukeli helping them gain momentum after several collapsed New Zealand scrums went unpunished by Angus Gardner in the second Test in Cape Town. Rennie complained about the scrums in the second Test, as a narrative formed about the Springboks allegedly “walking around” the scrums, and Rennie asked World Rugby for clarity on the matter. The Springboks vehemently denied the claims. After the third Test, Rennie accepted that the scrums were performed and officiated fairly, even as the Springboks earned a penalty try through one in the first half. All Blacks happy with scrums “So no issues with that,” the All Blacks coach said simply, adding that they will have to do better at the set-piece in Baltimore on the weekend. “Our lineout was strong tonight… the room is pretty gutted. There are a lot of heads down. There’s no doubt our mindset will be to bounce back next week. “We’re flying on a plane together tonight, which is a little bit different. I said to Rassie we’d have a beer afterwards regardless of the result. So we’ll do that.” Rennie said his team lost the game through their own fault, being unable to maintain their tempo from the first half after they made so many errors and infringements that the Boks were able to slow the game down with scrums, which they used for penalties, possession and opportunities. Regular captain Ardie Savea will miss the Baltimore Test after suffering a shoulder injury in Soweto. Picture: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images Savea ruled out On the injury front, regular captain Ardie Savea will miss the fourth Test after suffering a shoulder injury. It was a heavy blow for the team after he played brilliantly to score their first two tries. “He certainly won’t be travelling to the States. He was massive. But Wallace [Sititi] came on and played well. We certainly won’t use that as an excuse.” Centre Quinn Tupaea also suffered a knee injury. Rennie said they were not sure of the extent of it, and it may even be a serious MCL injury. They do not know whether Tupaea will be able to play yet.

The Springboks broke the “Calabash curse” with their win over the All Blacks on Saturday. South Africa defeated New Zealand 29-24 in the third Test to take one step closer to sealing Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. Heading into the game, the Springboks’ record was 0-2 at the FNB Stadium in Soweto. What happened in the third RGR Test? The match was a ding-dong clash, with South Africa and New Zealand trading blows throughout the 80 minutes. All Blacks’ captain Ardie Savea scored a try in the 11th minute, with Ruben Love converting. South Africa hit back 11 minutes later through an unconverted try by wing Kurt-Lee Arendse. Savea then crossed the whitewash to extend the lead, with the TMO needing to check the build-up play first. Just before half-time, South Africa levelled the score after putting New Zealand under scrum pressure, with referee Nika Amashukeli awarding a penalty try. The teams then went into the shed even at 12-12. The All Blacks took the lead again in the 56th minute thanks to some Will Jordan brilliance. However, just a minute later, Jesse Kriel broke through the defensive line to level the scores again. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no mistake with the conversion to give the Springboks the lead. Game turned The game then turned in South Africa’s favour, with Malcolm Marx crashing over from the rolling maul for a converted try. Feinberg-Mngomezulu then extended the gap with a successful penalty in the 71st minute. With the clock in the red, New Zealand showed their mettle to score at the death. However, the Springboks had finally exorcised their demons with a historic 29-24 win. At the Calabash, South Africa lost both previous Tests against the All Blacks in 2010 (29-22) and 2012 (32-16). South Africa now leads the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 2-1 heading into the fourth and final Test in Baltimore in the United States on Saturday, 12 September. Kick-off is at 23:00 (SA time). Deon Fourie extends record, Siya Kolisi makes more history Meanwhile, utility forward Deon Fourie extended his record as the oldest-ever Test player to represent the Springboks. He already held the record after starting in the 33-26 win in Cape Town on Saturday, 29 August. Fourie made an appearance off the substitute’s bench to extend his record further, which now stands at 39 years and 345 days. He was already the oldest player to debut for his country, according to Springbok Rugby History. Siya Kolisi also enriched his record as a visionary captain. He has now surpassed John Smit’s total wins as Springbok skipper, adding to his impressive resume as a two-time World Cup-winning leader. With the victory in Soweto, the loose forward now has 55 wins at the helm which is a 74.3% win-rate. South Africa now looks ahead to a historic Test against the All Blacks on US soil. WHO WAS THE STANDOUT PLAYER FOR THE SPRINGBOKS IN THE THIRD TEST? Let us know by clicking on the comment banner below …

The Springboks defeated the All Blacks 29-24 at the third Test of the historic Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between the the two teams, which took place at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday, 5 September. South Africans are usually so full of pride and excitment. However, this time, fans are were upset over the ticket prices. PRICE OF SPRINGBOKS VS ALL BLACK TICKETS Ticket prices are the largest expense of attending a rugby match, with official sales showing that seats range from about R1 650 per person in the lower categories to R4000 each for premium seating. With cheaper tickets sold out early, most families will be looking at mid-range or premium options, which pushes the spending even higher. Take a look at how much it costs to take your family of four to a Springboks game here. FANS REACT TO TICKET PRICES ON X “Tickets prices for Springboks Vs All Blacks this Saturday at FNB Stadium in Western and Easter lower are R4,000 per ticket 😂. And it’s just general stands, no hospitality anything in there 😭. Unbelievable,” wrote @JoBertrand19. “Normal stadium seat tickets for the NATIONAL team being R1,7k is criminal,” wrote @ntandomatini_. “Actually I hope the Springboks lose the next World Cup. 1st, for the lack of transformation in rugby. 2nd for making ticket prices expensive that the ordinary black South African can’t even afford it. 3rd for not even broadcasting the games on our national broadcaster,” wrote @ncobyle. Still worth it? Let us know by clicking on the comment banner below … READ | How much does it cost to: Visit the Two Oceans Aquarium? READ | How much does it cost to: Take your family to Johannesburg Zoo? READ | How much does it cost to: Take your family to Gold Reef City? READ | How much does it cost to: Take the family to uShaka Marine World? READ | How much does it cost to: Attend the Nedbank Golf Challenge? READ | How much does it cost to: Visit Kirstenbosch Gardens? READ | How much does it cost to: Attend St Stithians? READ | How much does it cost to: Catch the Cape Town Red Bus? READ | How much does it cost to: Visit Cape Point? READ | How much does it cost to: Buy a Kaizer Chiefs season ticket? READ | How much does it cost to: Take the cable car up Table Mountain? READ | How much does it cost to: Take the family to watch the Springboks?

ACT CEO Nomvuyiso Batyi answers Wapa’s Paul Colmer on the operators’ rural infrastructure exemption application.

Icasa opens a market inquiry into telecoms affordability, the fifth such process in under a decade.