Mandela Day offers an opportunity to give back, and the Corlett Drive community is calling on volunteers to roll up their sleeves for a neighbourhood clean-up on Saturday.

There is nothing glamorous about a " joint meeting of SADC Ministers responsible for Energy and Water." No fireworks, no viral soundbite, no drama for the news cycle. And yet this is exactly the kind of gathering that quietly decides whether the region moves forward or stays stuck. This week Pretoria is hosting SADC's Energy and Water Ministers, running from Tuesday through Friday, with South Africa in the chair's seat because it currently leads the relevant SADC Sectoral Committees. The agenda sounds technical. The stakes are not.

The Springboks and Wales meet in a round three Nations Championship match in Durban on Saturday, with kick off at 5.40pm. It is the 45th meeting between the teams. Here then are four things to keep an eye on at Kings Park. Bok debutants There will be four uncapped South Africans in action. Flyhalf Vusi Moyo is just 21 and has hardly played a game at senior level, having been a star of the Junior Boks. He’ll have plenty of attention on him. So, too, will it be the case with wing Jaco Williams, also from last year’s Junior Boks side. Then there are the two well-travelled men who’ll finally make their debuts – prop Carlu Sadie and lock Ruben van Heerden. All four men have a great chance to make their coaches put right ticks behind their names. Defence In three matches so far this season, in the non-Test against the Barbarians and Tests against England and Scotland, the Boks have scored a total of 25 tries which shows their willingness, and ability, to play attacking rugby. But they’ve also conceded 11 tries … four against the Barbarians, three against England and four against Scotland. The Boks will especially be aware of the big holes Scotland found in the backline at Loftus last weekend, and will want to make sure Wales don’t penetrate as easily in this match. Players on squad fringes With this the last match of the Nations Championship Tests this July, coach Rassie Erasmus will finalise a squad afterwards to take on Argentina in a warm-up before turning his attention to the four Tests against New Zealand in the Greatest Rivalry series. It is thus a last chance for some players, who’ve only played a few times for the Boks, or who’ve been recalled after a long absence, to impress and get into the mix for the All Blacks Tests. Here we think of Paul de Villiers (two Tests), Cobus Wiese (three), Andre-Hugo Venter (one), Ben-Jason Dixon (nine), and Herschel Jantjies (24, but back after three years out). Wales performance Not too many South Africans will be bothered by the standard of play that Wales produce, but it will nevertheless be interesting to see if they have really made progress since the Boks last played against them, in November last year. On that occasion the Boks won 73-0. Coach Steve Tandy’s team didn’t win a game in this year’s Six Nations, finishing last on the log, and in the Nations Championship so far this month have beaten Fiji, but lost to Argentina. How will they go in Durban, against a Bok team that is properly firing at the moment?

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has dismissed four officials from its Nebo office in Limpopo’s Sekhukhune district after they were found guilty of involvement in a R33 million social grants fraud scheme. The dismissals follow an internal investigation that uncovered how the officials allegedly manipulated the social grants system while working with external syndicates. Sassa said disciplinary proceedings were instituted against the officials, with dismissal imposed as the appropriate sanction. The officials appealed the decision, but the appeals committee upheld the dismissals, reinforcing what the agency described as the seriousness of the misconduct and the need to protect public funds. Officials worked with syndicates According to Sassa, the investigation found that the officials collaborated with syndicates to manipulate the social grants system, resulting in fraudulent activities worth R33 million. The agency said the outcome of the appeal confirmed its commitment to holding employees accountable for misconduct and protecting the integrity of the country’s social assistance programme. Sassa reiterated that it has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption, adding that social grants are intended to support vulnerable South Africans who rely on them for survival. Sassa vows tougher action against fraud Regional Executive Manager Mmapula Pheeha said fraudulent conduct by employees would not be tolerated. “Fraudulent activities undermine the trust placed in Sassa and deprive vulnerable communities of much-needed support. We will continue to act decisively against any employee found guilty of misconduct,” Pheeha said. The agency said it remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of the social grants system and ensuring that grant money reaches the rightful beneficiaries. Sassa added that protecting public resources remains a priority and that employees found guilty of misconduct would continue to face disciplinary action. Strengthening prevention measures To reduce the risk of similar incidents, Sassa said it is strengthening measures to detect and prevent fraud within the organisation. The agency said these interventions include enhanced monitoring of grant processes, stricter internal controls and ongoing ethics training for staff. Sassa said the additional safeguards are aimed at preventing abuse of the social grants system while ensuring greater accountability among employees. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the integrity of the social assistance programme and maintaining public confidence in the administration of social grants.

A few days ago, we told you about an unclaimed PowerBall prize with the clock ticking down. That window has now nearly shut completely, and whoever won it still hasn’t stepped forward. If this happens to be you, there may only be hours left to act. The final hours on this unclaimed PowerBall prize The prize in question is worth R509 925, won through a PowerBall 2nd Division match using the Absa banking app. The winning numbers were 5, 21, 26, 28 and 39, with a bonus ball of 6, drawn on 18 July 2025. Under National Lottery rules, prizes expire exactly 365 days after the draw, which puts the deadline at Saturday, 18 July 2026. How to check if you’re this unclaimed PowerBall prize winner Open the Absa banking app and scroll back to lottery purchases from around 18 July 2025. Compare those numbers against the PowerBall 2nd Division result from that date. This is the same prize we first flagged earlier this week, so even if you’ve checked already, it’s worth confirming again before the deadline. Why this unclaimed PowerBall prize may have slipped through Smaller wins bought through banking apps don’t always come with a notification from your bank, especially for divisions below the jackpot. It’s therefore easy to forget a ticket ever existed. Once 18 July 2026 passes, the money moves to the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, redirected toward charities, sport, arts and other community causes instead of the person who actually won it. I think this one is really coming down to the wire, literally hours now instead of days. It’s easy to assume a ‘smaller’ win like this doesn’t matter much in the bigger picture, but for one person, it’s the difference between a forgotten ticket and over half a million rand. Have you ever gone back and found an old ticket you’d completely forgotten about? Tell us in the comments … The South African is the first to deliver Lotto, PowerBall and Daily Lotto results every day of the week. Check back at 21:00 for tonight’s results.

We attended the media launch of the new General Tire Grabber Cross A/S in Cape Town this week. A versatile and capable new all-season tyre that trades under the motto, ‘Fast roads, tough trails.’ The General Tire brand, owned and manufactured by Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA), is the ideal replacement tyre for price-conscious buyers who still want performance and safety. While your average cash-strapped motorist doesn’t give a second thought to tyres, you shouldn’t forget those four small patches of rubber –  less than the size of your hand – are your vehicle’s only point of contact with the road. Which is why you should not skimp on a replacement set of tyres. And as we’ll explain later, in some cases, none-standard-fitment tyres can be superior to those your car came with in the first place … NEW GENERAL TIRE GRABBER CROSS As such, Ryan Visagie, Product Communications Manager for CTSA says: “When people buy a car, it is (hopefully) equipped with a tyre specifically designed for that vehicle. This should be optimised to perform under all driving conditions. However, when they come to replacing the tyres, owners will often make an uninformed decision. They will buy a tyre that is significantly cheaper than the car’s original tyres. As a result, they will not benefit from the same levels of performance, durability or safety. Unfortunately, they only get to experience this in an emergency situation where the cheaper tyre is not able to perform at the level expected.” This is where the General Tire Grabber Cross A/S comes in. It is not fitted as standard to any new vehicles yet. However, it is ideal when it comes time to replace your vehicles original tyres, whether due to damage or high mileage. This new tyre offers good handling on tar roads and protection against aquaplaning. It also offers safe driving in all seasons, and good traction when venturing off-road. Crucially, CTSA designed it for an 80/20 application (80% on-road driving, 20% off-road). So, it’s perfect for South Africa. MORE ROBUST THAN YOU’LL NEED The split is 80:20, which makes it ideal for crossovers that spend most of their time on-road and occasionally venture onto a gravel route. Image: File Key to its quality is the General Tire Grabber Cross A/S offers a stiff tread and a cut and chip resistant rubber compound. This ensures that the tyre excels on gravel roads and more challenging off-road conditions. We drove a fleet of new Ford Territory vehicles with the original tyres replaces with these excellent General Tire Grabber Cross alternatives. The drive was transformative. As we found, despite its enhanced off-road capability there is no compromise when it comes to on-road driving. For the South African market, General Tire offers 32 sizes between 16 and 22 inches, and depending on the size, the Grabber Cross A/S is approved for speeds of up to 240 km/h. For reference, the General Tire Grabber range includes the road-oriented Grabber GT Plus and all-terrain Grabber AT3. As well as the more aggressive all-terrain Grabber ATX, followed by the extreme terrain Grabber X3. GENERAL TIRE GRABBER CROSS A/S Several of the sizes of the new Grabber Cross A/S range are produced at the Continental Tyre South Africa plant in Gqeberha. This has been a key part of the automotive manufacturing industry in the Nelson Mandela Bay area since 1947. CTSA advises against purchasing tyres purely on price. “If you can’t afford the very best tyres for your vehicle, there are more affordable options that are still of suitable quality but won’t compromise your safety,” concludes Visagie. Upon reflection on our time at the launch, our belief that ‘tyres maketh the car’ is more steadfast than ever … But what do you think? Do you care about the replacement tyres you fit? Or do you only look at price? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below …

Chinese President Xi Jinping has cast Beijing as champion of a new AI order built on open-source technology.

The bakkie wars just got another jolt of electricity: BYD has launched the Shark 6 Performance in South Africa.