Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo believes a fresh start under Fernando Da Cruz can help him finally fulfil his potential after an injury-disrupted campaign limited his impact last season.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala court challenge must be allowed to run its course, insisting the parliamentary impeachment process should proceed only after the courts have ruled

Weltrade, a CFD trading firm with a 20-year footprint in the industry, was recently validated by traders and partners in Africa as ‘Best Synthetic Indices Broker’ and ‘Best IB/Affiliate Programme’. Both titles, awarded by The Trading Awards Africa 2026, are a huge nod to the broker’s commitment to serving clients around the world by providing not just excellent but ‘comfortable service and trading conditions’. This statement carries particular weight, and for Weltrade, ‘comfortable’ is synonymous with low-cost entry, thanks to its commission-free trading options and ‘the lowest possible spreads on popular assets’. In practice, this is evident in every aspect of Weltrade’s offering. Floating leverage, low spreads, which vary by account type, deposits as low as $1 (with the Micro account), and annual margin interest of up to 20% (with the SyntX account), paid out weekly, are among the standard benefits traders can enjoy. 20 years in a marketplace as densely populated as the CFD and FX brokerage sector, and remaining relevant is no easy feat. Weltrade has demonstrated not only resilience but also adaptability and the native ability to innovate. Weltrade is one of the few brokers to offer CFDs on synthetic indices. This makes it one of the few accessible options for synthetic indices trading in South Africa, where demand for round-the-clock instruments has grown sharply among retail traders. As the latest additions to Weltrade’s already extensive product portfolio, these synthetic instruments were purpose-built for greater trading flexibility and a superior trading experience. According to a spokesperson knowledgeable about the launch, ‘Synthetic indices represent the next stage of accessible, digitally driven trading. ‘By removing the dependence on real-world market hours and conditions, we’re giving traders a way to engage with the markets on their own terms, 24/7, with the same low barriers to entry that define everything we build. SyntX is proof that the future of trading is data-driven, always-on, and open to everyone.’ Arguably more flexible and attractive than traditional CFD instruments, synthetics allow traders to enter and exit trades even outside standard market hours and enjoy the same experience and equal exposure to OTC price action. Introducing the new pipeline in Africa SyntX and other Weltrade offerings, including copy trading and its attractive partner programme, were showcased at fmas:26 in Cape Town, where the broker stole the spotlight not only as an exhibitor but also as the proud winner of The Trading Awards Africa. The Trading Awards are some of the most coveted retail trading accolades worldwide. Crowning the boldest and the most forward-thinking brands in the CFD and prop trading space, they make a stark difference in the industry. Open to all but earned by very few, The Trading Awards recognise only industry players that truly ‘outperform the rest.’ Weltrade rose to this challenge not once but twice, proving its net dominance in South Africa’s prolific online trading sector across two verticals: retail traders and partners (IBs and affiliates). Providing access to a variety of opportunities across traditional and synthetic instruments, Weltrade thus reinforced its footprint in South Africa and the entire African region’s CFD trading industry, emerging as a strong competitor with a strong value proposition that can make traders pivot at any given moment. IBs and affiliates looking for a reliable broker partner may find an equally solid option in Weltrade’s partner programme, featuring a 35% payout structure, performance-based payments even during periods of market stress, a 90-day rollout window providing revenue security, and a multi-level scale. A winning brand ambassador Weltrade’s well-balanced value proposition for traders and partners is matched with a top-tier brand ambassador partnership. The broker inked a brand ambassador partnership with FC Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz in August 2025, whereby the superstar footballer became the official face of Weltrade. Bridging the high-performance world of trading with that of sports, this partnership proves that values and behaviours such as strategic thinking, resilience, perseverance, and preparation exceed the boundaries of a single domain or industry. And building a winner’s mindset requires consistency, an essential quality both on the football pitch and in front of the charts. To explore Weltrade’s full offering and see how you can benefit, visit weltrade.com.

National Treasury will release R7.1 billion in municipal equitable share transfers on Friday, 31 July 2026, despite municipalities failing to meet compliance requirements. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the move is necessary to ensure basic services are not disrupted in struggling communities. The funds had been withheld over governance and financial management failures, but Treasury said continuing to withhold them would risk further deterioration in service delivery. Twenty municipalities have received their full equitable share to date. Forty-nine municipalities will receive their outstanding equitable share on Friday, of which 21 have already partially received. The decision comes as the Free State remains one of South Africa’s worst-run provinces in local government, with municipalities crippled by financial mismanagement, mounting debt, crumbling infrastructure and an inability to provide even the most basic services. Funds released not because of compliance In a joint media briefing with National Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Godongwana said the decision to release the funds is to avoid an adverse short- to medium-term effect on the delivery of basic municipal services. This is after the funds have been held for almost a month. The minister further noted that the equitable share is an important source of funding for basic services, particularly services for poor households. Municipal equitable share provides unconditional national revenue grants to help local governments fund basic services for poor households, subsidise core administrative costs and fulfil their constitutional delivery duties. Funds released on conditional basis Godongwana added that National Treasury must therefore balance its constitutional responsibility to enforce financial management requirements with the need to avoid communities carrying the immediate consequences of failures by municipal institutions and officials. “The release must accordingly be understood as a conditional release, intended to protect basic service delivery while requiring affected municipalities to correct the serious weaknesses identified through the section 216(2) process,” he said. Godongwana said the municipalities that have not complied with the necessary requirements are not off the hook and will be required to perform. “Each municipality will receive a letter informing that municipality what the conditions are attached, what it is going to do between now and the next tranche. “We will also send similar letters to the MECs of local government and finance in each province and the premier of that province to be able to work with us in assisting those municipalities so that come the next tranche, there will be no need to withdraw the equitable share.” City of Joburg to receive R4m Intergovernmental Relations Deputy Director-General, Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, said the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) will receive R4.4 million on Friday, as the metro has received two tranches – the first R2.6 billion to pay Eskom and the second nearly R1 billion to pay Rand Water. Some of the municipalities that will be receiving funds include Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung Metro Municipality, City of Matlosana, Sedibeng and Maluti-a-Phofong. Godongwana said the municipalities that will receive the funds without compliance have until December to sort out the issues. Salaries and pensions not paid The minister also touched on the issue of municipalities not paying salaries, particularly in the Free State. “You must understand that in some municipalities, even if we didn’t take this action, they would still have a challenge. Particularly in the Free State, you will recall one of the municipality’s accounts was confiscated by a pension [fund] because the pension went to court and won,” said Godongwana. He also spoke about Masilonyana Municipality in the Free State. “As of Friday, all other municipalities had done agreements with the pension [funds] in order to have a payment agreement with the municipalities, [but] Masilonyana had not done that.” Godongwana said R1.7 billion was owed to pension funds by the end of February, and R1 billion was owed by the Free State. “So we need to think carefully when we talk about Free State. Free State has got 21 municipalities. In the list, they had 16, which means only five municipalities were not as affected.” Funds must be used prudently Cogta minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said municipalities need to use the funds prudently. “A simple message to all our municipalities would be [that] when communication letters are sent, municipalities must respond,” he said. “And we are going to work together to ensure that we provide support where it is necessary, because the truth is, we are at the tail end of the term of these councils. And we shouldn’t allow a situation that will collapse them before the 4th of November. “The new councils, when they take over after November, there will be little time before they receive the second equitable share, and the current council will need to take full responsibility in responding accordingly in every communication that will be directed to them, and we want to urge our municipalities.” Unfunded budget Hlabisa highlighted that unfunded budgets must come to an end. “A municipality that adopts an unfunded budget is committing lies to the public because you say I’m going to spend the money I don’t have,” he said. It raises speculation that some municipalities were not able to pay salaries because Treasury withheld their equitable shares. Hlabisa said this emanates from passing unfunded budgets. He added that going forward they are going to ensure that “no municipality passes an unfunded budget. [Cogta and Treasury are going to] ensure that you spend and you plan according to the money you have; that would be number one. “Number two, compliance. When money has been given to a municipality, the municipality must pay water boards, must pay Sars. Must pay Eskom, must pay everybody that a municipality owes so that they do not experience such a similar situation. “The government departments and provincial government must pay municipalities. The whole value chain must be made to move so that we don’t experience this again.” Businesses, households must do their part Hlabise said that some of the municipal dysfunction comes from households and businesses not paying for services. “You can’t expect municipalities to render services, yet we don’t pay,” he said. “All of us here. We are working, we are earning what we’re earning at the end of the month, but I doubt all of us will pay what is due to municipalities. “That is where we need to start also in order to have everyone accountable, us, municipalities and everyone in the value chain; then we will be over in this scenario.” Union welcomes decision The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has welcomed the decision to release funds to the rest of the municipalities; however, it cited the decision to withhold the funds as “reckless”. “We simply cannot move on as though nothing happened. The decision to withhold these allocations in the first place was reckless, ill-conceived and devoid of any appreciation of the realities confronting municipalities, workers and communities.” This comes after the union warned Treasury that withholding the funds would have serious consequences; however, the department that holds the public’s purse assured this would not happen. “We warned that workers would not be paid, third-party deductions would not be honoured and public services would be placed at risk,” said Samwu. Other alternatives The union said there were other measures Treasury should have applied instead of withholding equitable shares from municipalities. “Treasury could and should have worked with Cogta, provincial governments and municipalities on targeted interventions, including the constitutional mechanisms available under section 139 of the constitution.” Samwu has called on municipalities to pay all outstanding debts as soon as the funds are received. “Municipalities receiving funds must, as an immediate priority, settle all outstanding workers’ salaries, implement the salary increases due to workers and pay all outstanding third-party contributions.”

The Springboks have made a perfect start to the 2026 season, which saw the world champions kick off with a big win over the Barbarians before brushing aside England, Scotland and Wales. However, things are about to get a lot more challenging as a four-Test series against the All Blacks looms on the horizon, with this highly-anticipated ‘Greatest Rugby Rivalry’ sandwiched in between a one-off Test against Argentina and Australia respectively. At the end of the year the Nations Championship resumes, and for the Springboks, this will include games against Italy, France and Ireland. With this in mind, here are all the kick off times to jot down in your rugby diaries for the rest of the season. SPRINGBOKS’ REMAINING 2026 FIXTURES AND KICK OFF TIMES Once-off Test Saturday 8 August: Argentina v Boks Venue: Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires Kick-off: 21:00 Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (v All Blacks) Saturday 22 August: Boks v All Blacks Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg Kick-off: 17:00 Saturday 29 August: Boks v All Blacks Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Kick-off: 17:00 Saturday 5 September: Boks v All Blacks Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Kick-off: 17:00 Saturday 12 September: Boks v All Blacks Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, USA Kick-off: 18:00 (Expected) Once-off Test Sunday 27 September: Wallabies v Boks Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth Kick-off: 11:30 Nations Championship (End of Year Tour) Saturday 7 November: Italy v Boks Venue: Venue TBC Kick-off: 16:00 Friday 13 November: France v Boks Venue: Stade de France, Paris Kick-off: 22:00 Saturday 21 November: Ireland v Boks Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Kick-off: 19:30 27–29 November: Finals Weekend Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London Kick-off: TBC Boks not slowing down Recently, in a fascinating interview Eben Etzebeth conducted with The Verdict podcast, the veteran lock explained how Rassie Erasmus continues to best prepare the Springboks. “I don’t know if you’ve watched Prison Break, but there’s a guy on there, Michael Scofield. He was always one step ahead. “Every time people thought they were going to catch him, he’d already planned for it. That’s how Rassie is with the way he does things. He’ll do something today, but he’s already thinking about what’s coming next. He says even if you think it’s a bad plan, if everyone buys into it and everyone does it, it can actually become a good plan,” Etzebeth said. “With all the different things he tries and all the different moves, we just buy in. “It’s not like in some environments where a coach comes with a suggestion and senior players think one thing, junior players think another and then it doesn’t work. “With him, we just buy in. Most of it works.”

A South African living in Dubai has revealed he told his wife months ago that he was going to win the UAE Lottery – a prediction that came true when he landed the Dh5 million (about R22.7 million) Lucky Day second prize. Branden Tekram, 39, initially shared only part of his story after officials confirmed his life-changing win. However, a second interview revealed the remarkable prediction he had made long before the draw. The first interview Speaking to Khaleej Times shortly after the win was announced, Tekram described the overwhelming moment he realised he had become a millionaire. “We were in shock, but I told my wife, this is real,” he said. While the interview captured the family’s excitement, it omitted how he actually discovered the winning ticket and the significance the prize would have for their future. The details that emerged later Nearly two weeks later, Tekram revealed that he checked his ticket while his wife was helping their son get ready for school. He also shared that he had repeatedly told his wife in the months leading up to the draw that he believed a big lottery win was coming their way, even though neither of them fully believed it at the time. The prize money will now help fund a project his wife had already been working towards long before the family became millionaires. A milestone for the UAE Lottery Tekram’s Dh5 million prize was the first Lucky Day second prize to be won in a Wednesday draw since the UAE Lottery introduced its twice-weekly schedule. In addition to the headline prize, each Lucky Day draw also guarantees three Lucky Chance winners, with each receiving Dh50,000. For Tekram and his family, however, the draw will be remembered as the day a prediction made months earlier became a life-changing reality. It’s the kind of quiet belief-pays-off story that echoes another South African winner who never changed her numbers, and the money will fund a project his wife had already been building long before either of them expected any of this. Why the story stays grounded I think there’s something quietly reassuring, though, about a UAE Lottery winner whose prize goes toward a project already in motion rather than a spending spree. Would you keep your plans exactly the same if a windfall like this landed in your lap? Let us know in the comments below …

South African businesses are spending millions on cloud – and many have very little to show for it.

Wholesale, voice and data specialist Neill Nortje will lead the next stage of growth for the Zambian operator.