The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago said it is still too early to determine the full impact of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
He has warned that risks of secondary effects on inflation continue to weigh on the country's economy.
Kganyago said this could force the bank to keep inflation anchored at its 3% target.
He was speaking at the first Monetary Policy Forum of the year on Tuesday night.
“We have learnt our lesson from the previous shock of 2002. It was a costly macroeconomic lesson.”
Kganyago said that despite current global shocks, the bank will not tinker its inflation target to deal with current shocks.
This comes as central banks seek to find ways to deal with the impact of the Middle East conflict while keeping a hold on prices.
“The inflation target is 3%, and it remains 3%.”
He said the bank cannot wait before inflation is broad-based in the economy before acting.
Meanwhile, the acting head of economic research at the central bank, Theo Janse van Rensburg, said there are renewed concerns about global stagflation.
He said the trajectory of monetary policy has become increasingly uncertain amid the ongoing conflict.
“The impact is still uncertain as the conflict is evolving.”
He said markets are now anticipating central banks to hike interest rates in response.
FOOD PRICE INFLATION LIKELY TO RISE
The SARB said multiple pressures could push food inflation higher as fertiliser and diesel costs and the impact of foot-and-mouth disease put a strain on food prices.
It added that weather-related risks, including the possibility of a strong El Niño effect, may further disrupt agricultural output.
On Wednesday, Statistics South Africa will release the latest inflation numbers, which are expected to show a moderate uptick in food inflation.
Janse van Rensburg said the start of the conflict in the Middle East has sharply increased oil prices.
This, together with increased fertiliser prices, has seen global food prices rise for a second consecutive month in March, since September last year.
“To plant and to harvest, you need a lot of fuel. That’s going to raise the cost of food production, but also fertilisers are going to be more expensive, and because of that, we’re likely to see food prices rising going forward.”
*This article was first published by IOL News
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has warned that the national airline, South African Airways (SAA), is still a long way from being a profitable entity.
Creecy also said it’s "unacceptable" that the national carrier has received two consecutive disclaimers from the Auditor General (AG), the worst possible audit outcome.
Creecy and SAA’s top management and board briefed Parliament’s Transport Committee on Tuesday about the airline's annual report for 2024/25 as it continues to struggle financially.
SAA came out of business rescue five years ago, but it’s still struggling to get back to its days of profitability and having large control of the local market share.
The AG said SAA remains a “going concern with material uncertainties” after achieving yet another audit disclaimer.
SAA made a R150 million profit in the year under review after selling its Heathrow Airport slot, but Creecy said the entity is still far from being profitable.
“While there were some improvements in passenger numbers and in passenger revenue, I think that we’re still a long way from being a profitable entity, which is where we would want to be.”
The AG said that SAA's subsidiary, Air Chefs, improved from a disclaimer to a qualified audit outcome, but overall, other SAA entities remain stagnant.
*This article was first published by IOL News
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme has confirmed the disbursement of April 2026 allowances to over 200 000 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.
In a statement this week, NSFAS said a total of 203 653 qualifying TVET students received their allowances on April 17, with payments amounting to R621 million.
“This disbursement was executed in line with planned timelines and forms part of NSFAS’s ongoing commitment to efficient and reliable funding support that enables uninterrupted teaching and learning across institutions,” the scheme said.
The payment comes amid continued efforts to ensure that students dependent on financial aid are not disrupted in their academic programmes due to funding delays.
However, NSFAS revealed that approximately 12 000 student records were excluded from this payment cycle due to verification issues.
“As part of standard verification processes, approximately 12 000 student records were identified as non-qualifying for inclusion in this specific payment run,” NSFAS noted, adding that the exclusions were due to “data inconsistencies identified during the usual data exchanges between NSFAS and Colleges.”
To address the issue, NSFAS has moved to work closely with institutions to resolve discrepancies and ensure that qualifying students are not left behind in future disbursements.
“NSFAS has shared the affected student records with the respective Colleges,” the scheme said. “Institutions are requested to review and correct the identified discrepancies.”
It added that a dedicated intervention team has been deployed to speed up the process: “NSFAS has dedicated a team led by senior managers, to support Colleges with this process.”
Colleges have been urged to act swiftly to correct data errors and align submissions with funding requirements to avoid further delays.
“Colleges are encouraged to prioritise the review of submitted data to ensure alignment with NSFAS funding conditions and to facilitate the inclusion of eligible students in subsequent payment processes.”
Despite the setbacks affecting a portion of students, NSFAS reiterated its broader commitment to improving payment efficiency and data accuracy across the TVET sector.
“NSFAS remains committed to working collaboratively with all TVET Colleges to ensure the accuracy of student data and the timely disbursement of allowances,” it said.
*This article was first published by IOL News
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has amended a determination issued in December that could have seen municipal managers in some of the biggest municipalities earning up to more than R4.4 million a year.
The determination issued on December 18, 2025, made provision for 91 municipalities that adopted unfunded budgets for the 2025/26 financial year to remunerate their senior managers with pay scales at a higher level until such a time they were no longer on the list of municipalities that adopted unfunded budgets.
In addition, the determination also lowered the maximum total remuneration package a municipal manager can be paid from about R4.25m to R3.66m.
Hlabisa stated that any council resolution, remuneration adjustment, or other administrative decision lawfully implemented in reliance on the December 2025 determination prior to the publication of his amendment notice a week ago and which was lawful and in compliance with the notice, shall remain valid.
The minister said his decision took into account the need to prioritise service delivery to communities and to sustain viable local government and the fiscal capacity of different categories of municipalities, which provides a strategic framework for remuneration of senior managers across all municipalities.
“The development of this notice took into consideration the core reward principles aimed at ensuring an appropriate remuneration mix and sought to ensure that the remuneration of senior managers is cost-effective, consistent, internally equitable, externally competitive, and aligned to the achievement of the objectives of municipalities while providing a uniform remuneration framework for local government,” reads the amended notice dated April 14.
According to the notice, the upper limits constitute an integral part of the human resource value chain in building resilient administrative institutions underpinned by the intent to enable municipalities to attract, appoint, and retain suitably qualified and competent senior managers necessary for effective performance of their functions.
“To strengthen the capacity of municipalities, this notice reinforces the statutory obligation binding on municipalities to appoint senior managers who meet the minimum prescribed competencies, higher education qualifications, work experience, and knowledge,” it explained.
The lowest paid municipal manager will earn R1.42m, while senior managers directly accountable to municipal managers will be paid between R1.1m and R2.75m.
Municipalities have been warned to remunerate their senior managers only within the framework of the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) and the notice, setting out the upper limits of the total remuneration packages payable to senior managers.
Any remuneration paid to a senior manager other than in accordance with MSA or any benefit is an irregular expenditure and the municipality must recover that remuneration and benefits from the senior manager concerned.
“A municipality that remunerated a senior manager in contravention of the criteria governing the offer of remuneration on appointment, and in the absence of a waiver granted by the minister, must correct the total remuneration package and recover any resultant overpayment in accordance with Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act and other applicable legislation and legal principles governing the recovery of debts,” declared the notice.
Meanwhile, Acting Department of Public Service and Administration Director-General Willie Vukela announced that Public Service and Administration Minister, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, has determined that salary scales that applied in the 2025/26 financial year, which ended on March 31, will be adjusted by 4% for 2026/27 across all salary levels with effect from this month after the National Treasury confirmed projected consumer price inflation for 2026/27 at 3.4%.
The 4% increase applies to employees in national and provincial government departments on salary levels one to 12, and those covered by the occupation specific dispensations who are appointed in terms of the Public Service Act.
In 2025/26, public servants received salary increases of 5.5%, in terms of the agreement reached at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council in January last year.
*This article was first published by IOL News
South Africa’s commitment to phase out childhood stunting by 2030 is facing persistent structural and implementation challenges, according to new research released by Stellenbosch University.
The findings follow President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, where he reaffirmed the government’s focus on the first 1,000 days of life and targeted nutrition support for pregnant women with stunted infants.
Despite this commitment, researchers from Stellenbosch University say progress has been limited.
“South Africa has one of the highest rates of stunting among upper-middle-income countries globally, with little change in the last three decades despite the government’s efforts to tackle poverty and expand access to social grants,” the report states.
In South Africa, more than a quarter of children under five experience stunted growth, largely due to chronic malnutrition that often begins before birth.
Professor Ronelle Burger of Stellenbosch University said the economic argument for action is clear.
Burger added: “Without addressing stunting first, beginning in utero and when children are very young, we dilute the impact of the money spent downstream on early childhood development centres, schools, and clinics because we reach children too late.”
The findings are published in a special issue of Development Southern Africa, bringing together 10 peer-reviewed papers on causes, interventions, and governance failures linked to stunting.
“South Africa’s nationally representative surveys have produced stunting estimates ranging from around 20% to over 30% for the same period,” the report notes, adding that “it makes it difficult to know whether the problem is getting better or worse.”
On governance, the research is equally direct.
“Responsibility for reducing stunting is spread across government departments of health, social development and education, meaning no single department is clearly accountable,” it states.
Liezel Engelbrecht, Nutrition Lead for the Hold My Hand Accelerator, said coordination remains a major gap.
On Ramaphosa's stated goals, she said "this requires political commitment, which we are now seeing, but it also needs a clear national plan with targets. This is especially important considering that the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan has lapsed".
Researchers are calling for a dedicated government stunting strategy with clear accountability, district-level targets, and regular public reporting.
They also recommend the establishment of a Food and Nutrition Security Council to oversee implementation.
Although regulations on infant formula marketing have been in place since 2012, researchers say enforcement remains weak and “industry self-regulation has not been sufficient”.
The findings were released with support from the DG Murray Trust.
*This article was first published by IOL News
The Northern Cape’s gambling and liquor law is heading to the Constitutional Court to confirm that it is unconstitutional because the legislature didn’t hold a proper public consultation process.
In addition, the Kimberley court stated that the notice of a hybrid consultative meeting was sent just six days prior, while the ruling also noted that the provision in 2024’s Northern Cape Gambling and Liquor Act for longer trading hours was problematic.
“Needless to say, the respondents must be acutely aware of the harmful effects of alcohol abuse. They do not dispute this,” said the ruling.
The Act made provision for selling alcohol between 10:00 and 02:00, Monday to Sunday.
List of respondents
The case was brought by the DG Murray Trust, which challenged both the process followed in passing the law and aspects of its content.
It took several entities to court, including the speaker of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, the gambling and liquor board, the premier, as well as other politicians at both provincial and national levels. In total, 22 parties were cited as respondents.
In declaring the law unconstitutional, the judge said that there wasn’t enough public consultation. “It is declared that the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate public involvement,” the court found.
The ruling added that “public participation constitutes a fundamental component of participatory democracy and the legislative process. It serves to enhance the legitimacy of legislation by ensuring that the voices and interests of the public are duly considered.”
Flawed process
At the centre of the ruling was how the legislation was adopted.
The court found that a revised version of the Bill, which contained significant changes, was never properly published for public comment. Instead, it was circulated only to selected stakeholders.
Public participation was also limited. The key public hearing that was held with just six working days’ notice was conducted largely online, effectively excluding many rural and vulnerable communities without reliable internet access.
The legislature also failed to widely advertise the process through mainstream channels such as radio, social media or newspapers. Even the respondents acknowledged shortcomings in the process, conceding that they could not say with certainty whether it met constitutional standards.
The court found these failures undermined the principles of transparency, openness and inclusivity required in a constitutional democracy.
Irrational provisions
Beyond procedural flaws, parts of the law itself also came under scrutiny. The court found that one provision relating to traditional beer licences was so poorly drafted that it effectively allowed trading outside prescribed limits.
The clause “defies logic,” the court said, noting that it appeared to permit trading beyond regulated hours and did not provide reasonable certainty to those affected. This lack of clarity meant the provision failed to meet constitutional standards.
Citing other case law, the judge said “the doctrine of vagueness is founded on the rule of law, which, as pointed out earlier, is a foundational value of our constitutional democracy. It requires that laws must be written in a clear and accessible manner. What is required is reasonable certainty and not perfect lucidity”.
Other sections of the law were also found to be irrational, particularly where trading hours deviated from national norms without clear justification.
Off to the ConCourt
While the court found that regulating alcohol sales is a legitimate function of government, it emphasised that laws must still be passed in a constitutionally compliant manner and be rational in their design.
The judgment and order will now be referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation, as required in cases involving declarations of invalidity. “It follows that any declaration of constitutional invalidity made by a court other than the Constitutional Court does not take effect unless and until it has been confirmed by that Court,” the judge said.
The judge added that “in these circumstances, a suspension order would serve no purpose. For that reason, such an order is not only unnecessary but also incompetent”.
*This article was first published by IOL News
