South Africa’s newly crowned Men's Player of the Year Aiden Markram is hoping to win more trophies with the Proteas over the next 18 months.

Reflecting on the promises made by President Ramaphosa in 2019, the writer examines the state of the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption and the urgent need for accountability and renewal.

A senior North West ANC leader is taking his corruption fight to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. The man, who does not want to be named for fear of victimisation, implicates the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in North West, alleging in an affidavit submitted to the commission it has failed to pursue prosecutions despite overwhelming evidence. Affidavit raises concerns over prosecutions His submissions to the commission contain official documents from the Hawks, revealing that 14 cases were opened for investigation following complaints by the North West members of the standing committee on public accounts regarding corruption in the provincial government. “The members had concerns about alleged irregularities within government departments and municipalities,” the document read. According to the senior ANC leader: “The director of public prosecutions (DPP) has shown that it does not have the appetite to investigate these cases involving powerful politicians and tenderpreneurs in the North West. “The Hawks have done their work, but the problem is with the DPP, as they are the last line of defence. They are failing to prosecute,” he said. NPA rejects political interference claims NPA communications officer Lindiwe Mabasa rejected these claims, saying: “The NPA categorically rejects any suggestion that prosecutorial decisions are influenced by political considerations. “In line with the constitution, the NPA Act and the prosecution policy, every decision to prosecute or decline to prosecute is based solely on the available admissible evidence and whether there are reasonable prospects of securing a successful prosecution,” Mabasa said. According to Mabasa, the DPP in North West, Rachel Makhari, has instructed that the relevant case dockets be revisited and, where necessary, that further investigations be conducted. The cases referred to the DPP for a decision include a department of human settlements project that was meant for Rustenburg local municipality for a housing project in 2022, but was instead referred to Bojanala district municipality. High-profile cases remain unresolved In 2021, the Hawks finalised investigations and submitted a docket to the DPP following a complaint laid by then cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs MEC Mmoloki Cwaile, who alleged that R3 000 000 was paid in advance to a company named Electronic Connect before work was done. He also alleged the director of the company at the time was in a romantic relationship with the then Rustenburg mayor, Mpho Khunou. ANC MPL Aaron Motswana opened a case involving R54 million, which was meant for community social residential units. To this day, the houses stand incomplete behind Mmabatho Stadium. The case was referred to the DPP in Gauteng South on 6 October, 2021. The other cases the North West DPP declined to prosecute include alleged excessive payments from Rustenburg Local Municipality to ENS Forensic in 2018, which amounted to R15 million and did not match the nature of the work contracted for. Madlanga commission seen as last avenue Mabasa attributed the declined case to complex evidential and legal challenges, especially involving financial crimes and corruption. “Where investigations do not yield sufficient admissible evidence to sustain a successful prosecution, the NPA is duty-bound to make decisions that are consistent with the law,” she added. The ANC senior leader in the province said: “I have been fighting corruption in the North West, but the DPP does not support me and like-minded people. “I end up convinced that they work with those who are causing harm to state institutions. The Madlanga commission becomes the last option to help hold lawbreakers accountable,” he added.

Political parties and candidates that spread disinformation during election campaigns – online or offline – will face serious consequences, as a new code of disinformation has been gazetted by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC). Under the proposed measures, every political party and candidate must formally acknowledge the importance of information integrity, transparency and trustworthy media in enabling voters to make informed political choices. Parties required to uphold information integrity The proposals are open for public comment until Tuesday, 21 July and once public comments and comments from the parties and candidates are received and refined, they have to sign the code, which also requires them to recognise the harm that disinformation poses to free, fair and credible elections and to take steps to counter it. These measures are contained in the Electoral Code of Conduct on Measures to Address Disinformation in Local Government Elections, commonly referred to as the disinformation code, recently gazetted by the IEC. This additional code was introduced to counter the deliberate spread of falsehoods during the upcoming local government elections. Any contravention or failure to comply with a provision of the disinformation code constitutes a breach. Breaches could lead to sanctions In that case, the party or candidate involved would be subject to sanction in terms of the Electoral Act and/or any other relevant law. The disinformation code applies to all election-related communications, conduct and campaign activities throughout the electoral cycle and to both paid and unpaid content and communication. The rule requires political parties and candidates to refrain from and prevent any deliberate manipulation of the public, including through digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and inauthentic online behaviour and social media. Parties and candidates are duty-bound to take immediate steps to publicly retract and correct any disinformation or other false and misleading information that has been disseminated by them or on their behalf. They are compelled to publicly censure any person responsible for disseminating such disinformation. New rules target digital manipulation The rules encourage transparency in information dissemination and would require parties to proactively disclose key information in the public interest and relevant to the elections or the electorate, including information relating to their structures, processes, decisions, expenditure, and policies. “Every party and candidate undertakes not to use, or to encourage or sponsor the use of, any technology or tools that give rise to or amplify the spread of disinformation or intended to manipulate political discourse or the electorate,” the Government Gazette said. This includes “falsified, fabricated, doxed or stolen data or material; targeted advertising, micro-targeting or prioritisation of targeted falsehoods directed at particular individuals or groups”. The new measures also cover the IEC.

Eskom has informed customers in Sandton of a planned electricity supply interruption to allow for maintenance on the distribution network. The power utility says the outage will run from 6:00 to 18:00 on Sunday, 19 July, giving technicians a full day to complete the necessary work on distribution power lines in the area. Affected suburbs listed by Eskom The interruption will affect customers in Benmore Gardens, Hurlingham, parts of Morningside, Parkmore, parts of Sandhurst, Sandown and Strathavon. Eskom has urged residents in these areas to plan around the extended outage window and to treat all electrical appliances as live at all times during the disruption, as a safety precaution against unexpected reconnection. The utility apologised for any inconvenience the maintenance work may cause, adding that the interruption is necessary to keep the distribution network functioning reliably. Eskom also cautioned that the planned work could be affected by circumstances beyond its control, meaning the maintenance may not go ahead exactly as communicated if unforeseen issues arise. How to stay updated Residents wanting further information or wishing to report supply-related issues can contact Eskom through several channels. These include the “MyEskom Customer” self-help app, WhatsApp on 0860037566, or the Alfred chatbot via Alfred.Eskom.co.za/chatroom. Bill-related queries can be checked online at csonline.Eskom.co.za between 8:00 and 16:00 on weekdays, while the contact centre remains available around the clock on 08600 37566 for supply-related enquiries.

Public schools will reopen for Term 3 on Tuesday, 21 July, according to the 2026 Calendar for Public Schools published in the Government Gazette. The term runs for 10 weeks and closes on 23 September, giving pupils 47 school days in total, minus one public holiday that falls within the term. Term 3 follows a mid-year break that pupils and teachers will have used to prepare for the second half of the academic year. The Department of Basic Education structures the calendar to balance teaching time with rest periods, ensuring schools meet the required number of instructional days while still allowing pupils adequate holiday time between terms. What falls within the school term Families should note that Heritage Day, observed on 24 September, falls just after the term ends, meaning pupils will already be on holiday by the time the public holiday arrives. Within the term itself, National Women’s Day on 9 August and an additional public holiday on 10 August will interrupt the school week, giving pupils a short midweek break roughly three weeks before the term concludes. Parents planning family time, medical appointments or travel should factor these dates in early, as attendance remains compulsory outside of the confirmed holiday periods. Planning ahead for the rest of the year Once Term 3 ends on 23 September, pupils will enjoy a short break before returning for the fourth and final term of the year, which opens on 6 October and runs until 9 or 11 December, depending on the specific school’s administrative arrangements. The Department of Basic Education has structured the year to total 43 weeks of school time, comprising 200 to 204 actual school days once public holidays and administrative days are accounted for.

Prosus is set to pocket about €2.1-billion from the sale of its remaining stake in Delivery Hero to Uber.

Frontier labs have backed Demis Hassabis’s call for a self-regulator, but critics warn it hands Washington the off-switch.