From its rugged styling, all-terrain tyres and minimalist cabin to its blistering Twin Motor performance and impressive electric range, he explores what makes this compact EV stand out.

He also discusses how it compares with rivals such as the BMW iX1, who it's best suited for, and whether South Africa's charging infrastructure is ready for more motorists to make the switch to electric.

Tune in every Thursday at 16:45 on Vuma FM for the latest motoring reviews and automotive news.

Dr Basil Enicker, the Head of the Discipline of Neurosurgery in the School of Medicine and at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH), has been appointed President of the College of Neurosurgeons of South Africa.

The College plays a pivotal role in upholding the highest standards of neurosurgical training, examinations, professional development, and patient care across South Africa.

Enicker, who is also the Scientific Chair of the Society of Neurosurgeons of South Africa, described his election for a three-year term (from 2026 to 2029) as an immense honour and privilege.

“I accept this responsibility with humility, recognising that this appointment is not merely a personal achievement, but a responsibility to serve the neurosurgical community, our trainees, and ultimately the patients who depend on access to safe, high-quality neurosurgical care.”

He added, “I look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues across all universities and provinces to strengthen specialist training, promote academic excellence, encourage research and innovation, and ensure that South Africa continues to produce neurosurgeons of an international calibre.”

The official announcement was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA), Professor Eric Buch, who said, “We look forward to working with and supporting the incoming President and Council as they undertake their responsibilities during the next triennium.”

Enicker, who has served as a CMSA’s examiner since 2013 and as convener since 2019, said his vision was to build on the strong foundation established by his predecessors while ensuring the College remains responsive to South Africa’s evolving healthcare needs.

Born and raised in Umlazi, south of Durban, Enicker’s journey into Medicine was inspired by a fascination with the human brain and nervous system during his high school years at St Francis College in Mariannhill.

A UKZN alumnus who completed both his undergraduate Medical degree and postgraduate specialist training at the University’s Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, Enicker’s clinical and research interests include pituitary/skull base surgery, paediatrics and neuro-trauma, and critical care.

His doctoral study, conferred in 2025, focused on paediatric hydrocephalus in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), shedding light on the burden of the disease and proposing an integrated model to improve patient outcomes.

One of the core responsibilities of the College will be to ensure that South Africa has robust training programmes, high educational standards, and appropriately accredited training posts. “By expanding training opportunities while maintaining rigorous standards, we are investing in the future of neurosurgery and ensuring that every South African, regardless of where they live, has access to world-class neurosurgical care,” he said.

Congratulating Enicker on his achievement, Dr Normah Zondo, Executive Director of the Corporate Relations Division, said, “On behalf of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, I extend a heartfelt congratulations to Dr Basil Enicker on his appointment as President of the College of Neurosurgeons of South Africa.

“This prestigious appointment is a testament to his outstanding leadership, clinical excellence, and unwavering commitment to advancing neurosurgery in South Africa.

“We are immensely proud that one of our own has been entrusted with shaping the future of the profession at a national level. We wish him every success as he leads the College in upholding the highest standards of neurosurgical training, research, and patient care.”

©Higher Education Media Services.

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He explores the A200's eye-catching styling, premium cabin, intuitive MBUX infotainment system, and engaging handling, while discussing whether its 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine delivers the level of refinement expected from the Mercedes-Benz badge.

He also turns his attention to the GLC 220d, highlighting its effortless diesel performance, outstanding refinement, impressive fuel efficiency, and why it remains one of the most accomplished luxury family SUVs on the market. Tune in every Thursday at 16:45 on Vuma FM for the latest motoring reviews and automotive news.

He also compares it with key rivals, including the Volkswagen Tiguan, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, and Haval H6, to find out whether Mazda's focus on refinement and driving enjoyment is enough to keep it ahead of the competition. Tune in every Thursday at 16:45 on Vuma FM for the latest motoring reviews and automotive news.

Hippopotami are known to be unpredictable and dangerous. While their bites are infrequent, they are deadly, partly due to complex bacteria in their mouths that are resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics.

The calm demeanour of a hippopotamus wading through water, its disproportionately tiny ears just peeking out, has cemented its stereotype as a comical river dweller. Yet its reputation among local communities tells a darker, more sobering tale.

Unlike crocodiles, which are feared for their stealth and aquatic ambushes, hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius) present a dual threat – they are equally dangerous on land and in water. With their powerful jaws and long, razor-sharp canine teeth, they are capable of inflicting grievous wounds. For those who survive an attack, however, the danger doesn’t end with the bite.

Until recently, little was known about the bacteria that live in the mouths of these formidable creatures. But a groundbreaking, novel study led by Professor Anita Michel of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria (UP) has illuminated a new layer of risk.

“We knew the injuries were extraordinary, especially with the exceptional biting force hippos possess,” she explains, “but we didn’t fully understand the link between the microbes and the severe complications from wound infections that clinicians have to deal with.”

Prof Michel and her team – which included UP veterinary specialist bacteriologist Dr Annelize Jonker and Francois Roux, an ecologist from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency – examined the oral bacteria of 34 healthy hippopotami captured during routine wildlife operations in the Mpumalanga province. What they discovered was a complex bacterial community: 41 different species, many of them typically found in aquatic environments and capable of causing opportunistic infections in humans.

“This was the first time that anyone has systematically studied the bacterial flora of hippos’ mouths,” Prof Michel says. “And what we found was concerning – not just the types of bacteria, but their resistance to some of the most commonly used antibiotics.”

The team tested the bacteria against a panel of antibiotic drugs and found moderate to high resistance to commonly prescribed treatments like amoxicillin/clavulanate and early-generation cephalosporins. These are staples in emergency medicine, especially for bite wounds from dogs and cats.

But as Prof Michel points out, “using these standard antibiotics for a hippo bite may delay effective treatment and allow infections to take hold”. Conversely, the study revealed that antibiotics from the tetracycline, aminoglycoside and quinolone families were more effective, offering a potential lifeline in future cases. Yet even with these options, time remains a critical factor. The researchers strongly recommend that wound cultures be taken as early as possible to identify the exact pathogens involved to ensure the best outcome for the patient admitted to a hospital.

“It is critically important that wound infections, whether in animals or humans, are treated early with an effective antibiotic regimen aligned with the expected causative infectious agents,” Prof Michel says.

The implications of this study extend beyond individual injuries. It offers a stark reminder that antibiotic resistance is not just a clinical or hospital issue; it is a wildlife issue too, shaped by ecosystems, species interactions and the limits of human preparedness.

“Our goal is to take a One Health approach with healthcare providers in regions where humans and wildlife intersect to ensure that they are not caught off guard,” Prof Michel says. “When you’re dealing with a hippo bite, minutes matter – and so does the right antibiotic.”

Why this research matters

The common hippopotamus occurs in rivers, lakes and wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa, and is known for its aggressive behaviour when defending its territory and its young. Their bites can be deadly – they kill about 500 people in Africa each year, more than twice the body count for lions. This groundbreaking study underscores the need for early treatment of bite wounds and highlights which antibiotics are most effective.

Fast Facts

• A hippopotamus’s bite force is about 8 100 Newtons, roughly the weight of a large grand piano or a small car.

• Hippopotami are one of the world’s deadliest mammals, even more deadly than a lion or bear.

• The word “hippopotamus” is Greek for “river horse”.

• 41 different species of bacteria are found in a hippopotamus’s mouth.

• A hippopotamus’s mouth is 0.6m wide but 1.5m wide when fully open.

• They have 36 teeth that are 40cm long for incisors and 50cm or more for canines

Professor Anita Michel of the Faculty of Veterinary Science and UP veterinary specialist bacteriologist Dr Annelize Jonker wrote this article.

© Higher Education Media Services

KIGALI, RWANDA – The Mastercard Foundation today announced the launch of the Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize, a first-of-its-kind annual award, supported by a USD 500 million commitment over its first decade. The AHEFT Prize recognizes higher education institutions in Africa that are driving sustained, systemic institution-wide transformation and expanding opportunities for young people.

The Prize’s inaugural winning institutions are Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia); the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering, (Burkina Faso); Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (Ghana); Muni University (Uganda); and the University of Rwanda, (Rwanda). Each recipient will receive USD 3 million to scale transformative work, through initiatives agreed with each institution to advance education opportunities for young people in Africa.

“For twenty years we have seen African institutions rethink what higher education can deliver. The AHEFT Prize turns that proof into momentum: we are backing homegrown excellence with a decade-long commitment, so that universities across the continent become engines of opportunity for millions of young people,” said Sewit Ahderom, President and CEO, Mastercard Foundation, below.

The 2026 AHEFT Prize Laureates

1. Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia

Category: Excellence in Research and Innovation

Recognized for its ability to align research with national priorities, strengthen workforce development, and connect scientific knowledge directly to economic opportunity, public services, and community wellbeing. AAU’s integration with Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, which serves approximately 884,000 patients annually, enables large-scale clinical training, research, and service delivery.

2. International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE), Burkina Faso

Category: Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Recognized for innovation in practice-based engineering and technical education and demonstrating how hands-on, problem-driven learning can produce highly employable graduates. Established by 16 African countries operating in the Sahel region, 2iE has trained more than 13,000 graduates with 70 percent securing employment within 12 months of graduation and more than 95 percent remaining and working in Africa in sectors including water, climate, energy, and infrastructure.

3. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana

Category: Excellence in Research and Innovation

Recognized for building one of Africa’s leading research-to-innovation ecosystems. Through platforms such as the Kumasi Business Incubator, Innovation Centre, and Technology Consultancy Centre, KNUST translates research into startups, industry solutions, and public impact, demonstrating how science, technology, and entrepreneurship can drive economic transformation and job creation.

4. Muni University (MU), Uganda

Category: Transitions to Employment

Recognized for creating effective pathways from education to employment for refugees and underserved youth. Through its Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment and Transformation Initiative (RETI), the university has enabled up to 70 percent of participants to secure employment within three months of completing the program.

5. University of Rwanda (UR), Rwanda

Sector: Excellence in Health

Recognized for its pivotal role in strengthening Rwanda’s health system and health workforce by training more than 26,000 health professionals. Its community-based training model reaches nearly 500,000 people through clinical placements, outreach programs, and university health services. Today, the University of Rwanda has evolved into a regional leader in digital health, vaccinology, biomedical engineering, and health systems innovation.

The AHEFT Prize recognizes institutions delivering transformational impact across thematic categories including Teaching and Learning, Transitions to Employment, Research and Innovation, and Entrepreneurship or within priority sectors including Climate and Environment, Agriculture and Agri-food Systems, Health, and STEM/Digital/Artificial Intelligence. Over the next decade, the Prize will recognize and award at least 150 institutions in Africa.

“This is the moment to reimagine what higher education institutions can do as engines of human capital development – not only as a place of learning, but as a direct route to work, to economic participation, and to a better future for young people across Africa’’– Dr. John Nkengasong, Executive Director, Higher Education Initiatives, Mastercard Foundation, below.

The winning institutions will be awarded at the Higher Education Transformation Convening to be held in Accra, Ghana, on September 22, 2026.

The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity, one of the largest foundations in the world, and the leading funder of education in Africa. It works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.

To learn more about the AHEFT Prize, the inaugural cohort, and eligibility for future cycles, visit Africa Higher Education For | Mastercard Foundation.

© Higher Education Media Services.

• UKZN student, Funeka Shabalala, has won the Sustainable Fashion Designer of the Year title at the national Green Campus Initiative,

• A fashion designer with no formal training, he creates innovative designs using biodegradable waste,

• Shabalala hopes to become a registered nurse and a sustainable fashion designer in the future.

Funeka Shabalala, a first-year Bachelor of Nursing student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), has won the Sustainable Fashion Designer of the Year title at the national Green Campus Initiative (GCI).

A self-taught fashion designer, Shabalala specialises in creating innovative designs from used shopping bags, paper, and plastic, all of which are biodegradable.

The GCI is a national university initiative aimed at promoting sustainability and environmental awareness amongst students, by encouraging them to develop innovative projects that reduce waste and promote green living.

More than 300 students and 120 staff members representing 21 universities from across South Africa attended the national competition, where Shabalala was crowned Sustainable Fashion Designer of the Year.

Shabalala, who initially studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree, was first introduced to the GCI competition in 2025, when UKZN’s Department of Student Residences (DSRAs) encouraged all UKZN residences to participate in a fashion show promoting environmental sustainability by repurposing waste materials into garments.

“My fellow House Committee members encouraged me to enter and create garments because they saw the potential and creativity I possessed,” Shabalala said.

Despite having no formal fashion design training, Shabalala grew up with a passion for sewing, but never took the art form seriously until he was tasked with designing and creating outfits for the GCI competition.

“That day, my garments won first place, and my models were crowned Mr and Ms UKZN GCI Ambassadors.”

Shabalala says that day solidified his belief in his talent, as he went on to win another university GCI event before being selected as one of 10 students representing UKZN at the GCI nationals held at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS).

“Winning at the national GCI event was one of the most humbling moments of my life.

“To be recognised as the top designer among students representing universities from across the country was something I never imagined, and I feel incredibly honoured, grateful, and genuinely overwhelmed,” Shabalala said.

The 21-year-old, who hails from uMnambithi (Ladysmith), aspires to become a registered nurse while also building a career in sustainable fashion.

“Both these fields have strengthened qualities in me such as discipline, attention to detail, problem-solving, compassion, and resilience,” Shabalala said. “These qualities have shaped the way I approach fashion design and remind me that both nursing and sustainable fashion are about improving lives and making a positive impact.”

Dr Normah Zondo, Executive Director of the Corporate Relations Division, congratulated Funeka on his achievement.

“His dedication to sustainable fashion brings pride to UKZN and also serves as an inspiration to others to become responsible stewards of the environment. We look forward to witnessing the continued impact of his work in advancing sustainable solutions.

“Funeka’s work also aligns with the University’s commitment to developing socially conscious and innovative graduates who are equipped to address complex local and global challenges with practical, forward-looking solutions,” Zondo said.

©Higher Education Media Services

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Wits has honoured Prof. Kubedi Patrick Mokhobo, a medical pioneer and southern Africa’s first Black cardiologist, with an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine.

The degree was conferred at the Faculty of Health Sciences’ graduation ceremony on 15 July 2026, which also included graduates receiving advanced degrees in health sciences.

The 94-year-old received a standing ovation as he crossed the stage in the Great Hall, with four generations of the Mokhobo family watching from the audience.

Reflecting on the honour, Mokhobo, who was the only Black student in his Wits class in 1953, said: “The English language, and indeed my own mother tongue, Setswana, are too limited to express the honour and gratitude that I really feel.”

His journey began in humble circumstances. Having started school at the age of 10, he pursued his education under apartheid, when Black South Africans faced severe restrictions on educational opportunities and even required government permission to study at white universities.

Despite these barriers, Mokhobo became the first Black registrar in paediatrics and internal medicine. In 1966, he became the first Black doctor to pass the prestigious Medical Fellowship examinations. Two years later, he wrote and passed the British Specialist Examination in the United Kingdom. His groundbreaking career culminated in his recognition as southern Africa’s first Black cardiologist in 1973.

Alongside his medical practices in Daveyton in Benoni, he became a founding member of the Pan Africanist Congress. His influence extended well beyond South Africa. As the first medical specialist in Eswatini and a founding figure of Lesotho’s medical institutions, he helped establish professional bodies, medical journals including the Lesotho Medical Journal and medical congresses that strengthened healthcare across the region.

He later served as Minister of Health in the former Bophuthatswana, where he championed community-based healthcare, expanded the role of nurses as clinicians and helped decentralise health services to reach underserved communities.

As an academic, Mokhobo shaped generations of medical professionals across several countries and contributed to the development of medical curricula and training programmes.

His remarkable life story is captured in his autobiography, From Nowhere to Somewhere: An Uncharted Destiny.

In an acceptance speech read by his granddaughter, Nonceba Nyoko, he encouraged graduates to use their knowledge in service of society.

“Your generation is destined to succeed in both exciting and challenging times. As we celebrate your achievements today, the future of our nation, our country and indeed the world rests on your shoulders.”

While urging graduates to pursue opportunities around the world, he reminded them to return home and use their skills to strengthen South Africa.

He concluded with a powerful reminder that their “destinies are inextricably tied to the future of Africa.”

©Higher Education Media Services.

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The real casualties of war are seldom those who declare it.

They are the mothers who wait at windows that never again frame the silhouettes of their children. They are the fathers who bury sons and daughters instead of watching them build futures. They are children who learn to distinguish the sound of artillery before they learn to read. They are grandparents left to raise another generation while carrying the unbearable grief of the one that was lost.

War is often spoken of in the language of strategy while human beings experience it in the language of loss.

Every missile that finds its target also finds a family. Every bomb that destroys a building demolishes memories that can never be reconstructed. Every bomb that claims a life tears through generations of dreams, traditions and relationships.

Casualties cannot be measured only by death tolls. They must also be counted in shattered identities, interrupted childhoods, broken communities and futures that will never come to pass.

The vocabulary of war is strangely clinical. Military analysts speak of "collateral damage," "strategic targets," "acceptable losses" and "operational success." These phrases, while useful in military planning, can unintentionally distance us from the profound human suffering beneath them.

There is nothing collateral about a child becoming an orphan. There is nothing strategic about a grandmother searching through rubble for family photographs. There is nothing acceptable about the lifelong trauma carried by those who survive.

The greatest wounds of war are invisible.

Psychologists have long documented the enduring effects of armed conflict.Survivors frequently experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and prolonged grief. Children exposed to violence are at greater risk of emotional distress, interrupted education and long-term developmental challenges. Even when peace agreements are signed, the psychological consequences often persist across generations.

Trauma has an extraordinary memory.

It echoes through families, shaping how people trust, love, parent and dream. Neuroscientific and social research increasingly suggests that severe trauma can influence subsequent generations through both social and biological pathways. Communities emerging from conflict therefore inherit not only damaged infrastructure but also invisible emotional landscapes requiring years, often decades of healing.

War also leaves deep economic scars.

Hospitals become battlefields instead of places of healing. Schools become shelters or ruins. Universities lose scholars. Farms lie abandoned. Businesses collapse. Healthcare systems weaken. Infrastructure painstakingly built over generations can disappear in days.

Rebuilding infrastructure is expensive. Rebuilding hope is immeasurably harder. The consequences extend beyond national borders. Armed conflict fuels displacement on an unprecedented scale. According to international humanitarian agencies, tens of millions of people worldwide have been forced from their homes by conflict, persecution and violence. Behind every statistic is a person carrying little more than memory, identity and the hope of survival.

Refugees rarely flee their countries because they seek opportunity. They flee from their families because staying means risking their lives .

War is also an assault on culture itself.

When Libraries burn and museums, schools and universities are destroyed, sacred places are reduced to rubble. Ancient manuscripts disappear forever. Languages fall silent when entire communities are displaced or annihilated. Humanity loses collective memory when lives are lost

Every civilisation is, in many ways, a conversation between generations. War interrupts that conversation. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the overwhelming majority of those caught in war never chose it. Children do not vote for conflict. Farmers do not negotiate invasions. Teachers do not author military campaigns. Nurses do not design battle plans.

Ordinary people become extraordinary survivors because extraordinary violence is imposed upon them.

International humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, seeks to protect civilians, medical personnel, humanitarian workers and prisoners of war, these legal principles reflect humanity's shared recognition that even in conflict there must be limits. Yet repeated violations remind us that legal frameworks alone cannot prevent suffering and xeath. Laws require political will, accountability and an unwavering commitment to our shared humanity.

Peace, therefore, cannot mean the absence of explosions. It must mean the presence of justice. The presence of dignity, opportunity. dialogue, compassion and truth.

Without these foundations, silence after war becomes only an intermission before another conflict. The greatest investment any nation can make is not in expanding the machinery of destruction but in strengthening the architecture of peace, quality education, equitable economic opportunities, accessible healthcare, accountable leaders, diplomacy, reconciliation, cultural understanding and the protection of human rights. They are the strongest forms of national security.

Peace is not passive. It is built deliberately, courageously and collectively.

Imagine, for a moment, a world where every child falls asleep to lullabies instead of air raid sirens. Imagine a moment where schools are filled with curiosity as apposed to fear. Imagine a moment where hospitals heal instead of treating the endless wounds of conflict; Imagine a moment where borders become places of cooperation rather than division, Imagine a moment where scientific discovery outpaces a missile, imagine a moment where governments compete to eradicate poverty instead of expanding arsenals. Imagine a moment where artists, teachers, doctors, engineers and young people become the architects of a shared future.

Such a world is not an impossible dream. It's an enduring aspiration grounded in international law, diplomacy, reconciliation and our common humanity. Peace is more than the absence of war, Peace is the presence of justice, dignity, dialogue and hope.

When peace reign, nations don't survive; they flourish. Perhaps then, history will no longer be written by the wars we fought, history would be written by the humanity we chose to protect.

The National Treasury has announced the temporary withholding of July 2026 equitable share transfers to sixty‑nine municipalities across South Africa, citing persistent failures in financial management and governance.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the decision, taken under Section 216(2) of the Constitution and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), was “extraordinary but necessary” to protect public money and restore accountability in local government.

“This is not punitive. It is corrective. It is designed to instill fiscal discipline, protect public money, and ensure that municipalities comply with the law,” the Minister said.

Treasury’s figures paint a stark picture. Since 2021–22, municipalities have incurred R24.12 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Irregular expenditure has reached R145.21 billion, with R40.14 billion recorded in 2024–25 alone. Unauthorised expenditure stands at R118.13 billion, more than half of which was on non‑cash budget items.

Budget credibility has deteriorated sharply: in 2024–25, 116 municipalities - nearly half - adopted unfunded budgets. By year‑end, municipalities owed R3.40 billion in interest to Eskom and R1.21 billion to water boards, while 48 municipalities had overdue third‑party deductions.

“These may sound like administrative matters, but to a household or a business they are deeply personal. They determine whether water flows, whether electricity is supplied, whether salaries are paid, and whether students can continue their studies,” Godongwana said.

Safeguarding Services

Treasury stressed that the withholding of funds is not intended to disrupt essential services. Instead, transfers are being redirected in tranches directly to Eskom, water boards, and statutory bodies to safeguard electricity, water, and pensions. Municipalities that demonstrate compliance will see their transfers reinstated.

Targets have been set: a 15% reduction in irregular expenditure balances by August and another 15% by September, alongside evidence of funded budgets, functioning disciplinary boards, and consequence management.

“South Africans deserve municipalities that are financially sound, accountable, and capable of delivering services. By invoking the Constitution, we are signaling seriousness about governance, fiscal responsibility, and the rule of law,” the Minister said.

Treasury highlighted that despite years of support, guidance, and training, many municipalities continue to adopt unfunded budgets, accumulate unauthorised and irregular expenditure, and fail to meet statutory obligations to Eskom, water boards, SARS, the Auditor‑General, and pension funds.

Godongwana noted that weak governance structures and ineffective Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) have compounded the crisis. “Non‑payment of service providers results in penalties, interest charges, and service interruptions. Weak governance erodes accountability and public trust,” he said.

Section 32 of the MFMA requires municipalities to recover unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) from those responsible unless certified as irrecoverable by MPACs. Treasury found that many municipalities have failed to process UIFWE cases, undermining consequence management.

“Transfers will resume once municipalities meet the required conditions and submit proof. Compliance will be monitored rigorously. Political and administrative leaders must fulfill their fiduciary duties,” the Minister said.

Corrective Measures

The municipalities affected span all nine provinces, including major metros such as Johannesburg in Gauteng, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City, and Mangaung. Smaller municipalities such as Makana, Modimolle‑Mookgopong, and Beaufort West are also on the list.

Treasury said municipalities had been given sufficient notice in writing and urged to take measures to change their financial management positions ahead of the withholding of funds. They were also provided a platform to submit reasons why their transfers should not be withheld.

“Our task is to ensure that corrective measures are understood as safeguards, not sanctions. We must demonstrate that fiscal discipline and service delivery can coexist,” Godongwane said.

Godongwana emphasised that restoring the credibility of public finance at both local and national levels is central to South Africa’s growth strategy. “It is about protecting the integrity of our institutions, ensuring that public money serves the public, and restoring trust in local government,” he said.

Treasury will continue to work with municipalities, provincial treasuries, COGTA, and other cooperative governance structures to strengthen financial management. Support will include circulars, one‑on‑one engagements, and training interventions.

“This is not a one‑off intervention. It is part of a broader effort to restore credibility, accountability, and sustainability in local government. Government stands firmly on the side of citizens, protecting their money, their services, and their future,” the Minister concluded.

Municipal Finances at a Glance

• Fruitless & wasteful expenditure: R24.12 billion since 2021–22

• Irregular expenditure: R145.21 billion, with R40.14 billion in 2024–25 alone

• Unauthorised expenditure: R118.13 billion, over half on non‑cash budget items

• Unfunded budgets: 116 municipalities adopted unfunded budgets in 2024–25

• Debt to Eskom: R3.40 billion in interest owed

• Debt to water boards: R1.21 billion in arrears

• Third‑party deductions: 48 municipalities overdue

• Municipalities affected: 69 across all nine provinces

©Higher Education Media.

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Nelson Mandela would cringe in his resting place at Qunu in the Eastern Cape given the current state of his beloved South Africa.

Mandela spent 27 years behind bars fighting for an end to apartheid. Since stepping down in 1999 as a one-term president, his successors, except for short-term appointment, acting President Kgalema Motlanthe, have consistently pissed on the ideals of the great man. If Mandela was about human rights and an inclusive South Africa, former President Thabo Mbeki’s statesman-like legacy is tainted by the signing of the R30 billion arms deal scandal in December 1999.

He further dented his credulity over his stubborn attitude to HIV/ Aids at a time when South Africa had one of the world’s largest HIV epidemics. Mbeki questioned the mainstream scientific consensus that HIV causes AIDS. He gave attention to a small group of scientists and commentators who disputed the link between HIV and AIDS and raised concerns about the safety and effectiveness of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines.

Critics argued that government policy delayed treatment and prevention programmes while AIDSrelated deaths rose. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) took the government to court and in 2002 the Constitutional Court ordered the state to make Nevirapine more widely available. Can one forget how Mbeki at a Youth Day rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on 16 June 2001, pushed away Winnie Madikizela-Mandela when she joined him on the podium to greet him. The television footage showed Mbeki pushing or brushing her away as she leaned in to greet or kiss him. In the process, her hat was knocked off and the two appeared to exchange angry words.

The former president striking the mother of the nation and its contribution to male chauvinism and the gender abuse prevalent in South Africa today is worth a study. Mbeki was protected just as his successor Jacob Zuma had been by the ANC Women’s League despite his treatment of women, including the rape allegation of a comrade’s daughter on which he had been acquitted.

The Nkandla scandal unravelled by the then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s Secure in Comfort report in 2014 found that several features installed at Nkandla were not legitimate security measures and provided undue benefit to President Zuma and his family. These included:

•A swimming pool (officially described as a “fire pool”)

• A cattle kraal;

• A chicken run;

• An amphitheatre; and

• A visitors’ centre and other facilities.

The report concluded that Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from these measures. State Capture with the fugitive Gupta brothers, which Zuma has amnesia about, is another example of a politician putting his interests ahead of the country. After Zuma, Motlanthe briefly held the reins before the arrival of Cyril Ramaphosa, whose tenure will be remembered for his not doing much, sitting on his hands, while South Africans suffered.

The raft of scandals arising out of COVID-19 scandals remains a stain on his Colgate smile. It would get worse with the Phala Phala scandal, controversy about a large cash theft at Ramaphosa’s game farm and allegations of a cover-up, raising questions about accountability, transparency and the use of state resources. Like the Nkandla scandal, Ramaphosa saw no action against him. That is, until the impeachment process gained traction this week.

With such strong bullies in charge of the ANC, you question whether its commitment to gender equality will ever see a woman at the helm? That’s for glossing over in August! Coupled with the rising unemployment, increasing poverty, the inability then of Eskom to keep the lights on, ongoing service delivery failures by the government, it is no surprise that voters turned on the ANC during the May 2024 elections.

Critics argue that current President, Ramaphosa, has delivery failures. Although there has been some improvement in reducing loadshedding and implementing economic reforms, many citizens believe these changes have been too slow to improve their daily lives. Ramaphosa has also faced criticism over the handling of corruption, with some arguing that accountability has not been strong enough despite promises to rebuild public trust.

The Phala Phala controversy further damaged public confidence by raising questions about transparency and leadership. It is important to acknowledge that supporters of Ramaphosa argue he inherited many of these challenges after years of state capture and institutional decline. They point to efforts to strengthen law enforcement, reform the electricity sector and stabilise key state institutions. Even so, many South Africans remain disappointed because they expected faster and more visible progress.

As Mandela Day nears, perhaps the ANC should be questioning whether it has anyone in its midst with the selfless care of Madiba than the selfish presidents we have seen after he stepped down. Critics claim that the ANC is on borrowed time. The local government elections will be another test or a nail in the coffin of the world’s oldest liberation movement.

Critics claim that the ANC is on borrowed time. The local government elections will be another test or a nail in the coffin of the world’s oldest liberation movement. Mandela has had his critics and many argue that his reconciliation allowed the Haves to hold onto what they have and not open access to South Africans.

Broad-based Black Empowerment beneficiaries like Ramaphosa, Tokyo Sexwale, Patrice Motsepe, Saki Macozoma and Cheryl Carolus minted money in the name of empowerment. Their families and friends benefited. South Africans got to marvel at the new black rich – and dream of one day emulating them. If Mandela was about reconciliation, he too failed South Africa by retaining the apartheid tags which continue to divide us 32 years after democracy.

The ANC fought against apartheid and strove for a non-racial society under one umbrella. Yet the ethos of apartheid built on the definition of South Africans as Whites, Indian, Coloured and blacks, is pretty much alive. Three decades after democracy, the ethos of a South African remains divided as if one does not belong. It is time to change this if we want the Rainbow nation to become no more than a wonderful phrase coined by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

While Madiba would cringe, the apartheid masters would be laughing in their graves. Apartheid may be gone by law but their grand creation to keep us separate lives on every day in a democratic South Africa when citizens are still defined by the racist tags bestowed upon them. Let’s be serious about being proudly South African. Mandela’s legacy will be celebrated by thousands doing their bit for 67 minutes on 18 July. Yet it remains a blemish on his selfless legacy – and the selfish men who followed in his footsteps, that South Africa is a pitiful welfare state, where people are used to handouts, instead of hand ups to do it for themselves.

When beneficiaries of handouts like Ramaphosa and company see nothing wrong, one cannot expect a nation surviving on grants, even the miserly R350 a month, which shows how out of touch the government is, to break the cycle of dependence. If he were alive, Mandela would probably tell you that it starts with looking at one’s own selfish behaviour – and returning to the ideals on which the Bill of Rights was established, from which the ANC has moved as far as possible. Mandela would hang his head in shame and cry at our divided South Africa.

This was published in the Mail & Guardian.

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By Ariellah Rosenberg

On 7 May 1996, Nelson Mandela stood before South Africa’s first graduating class of newly trained science and technology teachers. He called their work “an imaginative and far‑reaching contribution” to opening doors long closed to most citizens. Those doors, he said, led to growth, jobs, education and an honest state.

Thirty years later, too many remain shut.

Mandela set a target of six percent economic growth by the turn of the century. In 2025, South Africa managed just 1.1 percent — its best in three years, but far below his ambition. Sustained growth above five percent has been achieved only once, between 2005 and 2007.

Unemployment stands at 32.7 percent, with 8.1 million South Africans out of work. The crisis is sharpest among the young: 3.9 million aged 15–24 are not in employment, education or training. Nearly four in ten are disconnected from every pathway Mandela envisioned.

Mandela called teacher training the foundation stone. Yet PIRLS 2021 found 81 percent of Grade 4 learners unable to read for meaning - the lowest score among participating countries. Without literacy, the doors to coding, workshops and lecture halls remain locked.

Mandela trusted the state to invest in its people. Instead, corruption has drained resources. South Africa’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index score was 41/100, below the global average and unchanged for three years. Each weakened institution is a classroom not built, a teacher not trained.

Yet Mandela’s speech also prescribed hope: partnership between educators, business and government. That model persists. Across South Africa, NGOs, schools, companies and state departments are training teachers, mentoring youth, supporting township enterprises and building digital skills. Even government concedes it cannot act alone, urging private sector help to open pathways into work.

This Mandela Day, honesty demands we admit how many doors have closed. But Mandela never expected the state to open them alone. He prescribed partnership, education and shared responsibility. The doors he asked us to open still stand. So do the hands to open them.

This version is concise, structured around Mandela’s “doors,” and written in a clear news register. It highlights the failures with sharp data points, then pivots to the enduring partnerships as the hopeful close.

Ariellah Rosenberg CEO of ORT SA, a non-profit education, skills-development and entrepreneurship organisation celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2026.

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South Africa’s iconic Rooibos plant is heading to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a new education‑driven research initiative linking agriculture, space science and classroom learning. The project, led by the South African Rooibos Council (SARC) in partnership with MaxIQ Space and supported by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), will see Rooibos seeds launched to the ISS in October, where they will form part of a global wave of plant‑growth experiments in microgravity.

With long‑duration missions such as NASA’s Artemis programme accelerating interest in space‑based food systems, Rooibos joins crops like lettuce, peas and soybeans already tested in orbit to understand how plants respond to altered gravity and environmental stress. These studies are shaping future life‑support systems for deep‑space travel while offering insights that strengthen agricultural resilience on Earth.

SARC Director Dawie de Villiers said the mission reflects the industry’s commitment to innovation and scientific literacy. “Rooibos has long been part of South Africa’s agricultural heritage. This project places it within a broader scientific context, where plant biology, space research and education intersect.”

The initiative includes an extended STEM programme for participating schools, introducing learners to space science, plant biology and sustainable agriculture through hands‑on experimentation. MaxIQ Space co‑founder Judi Sandrock said the project gives learners access to “authentic scientific learning experiences” that build data analysis skills and an understanding of real research processes.

To broaden national participation, learners across South Africa will be invited to design the official Rooibos in Space mission patch during July and August.

At the launch, Western Cape Education Department Deputy Director‑General Bertram Loriston emphasised the importance of cross‑sector partnerships in expanding STEM opportunities, while SANSA’s Thandile Vuntu highlighted how space science increasingly shapes daily life and future career pathways.

UCT astrophysicist and SARAO postdoctoral fellow Dr Kelebogile Gasealahwe shared her personal journey from Kimberley to cutting‑edge research, encouraging learners to stay curious and open to diverse STEM careers. She also underscored the role of facilities like MeerKAT in strengthening South Africa’s global scientific contribution.

Public engagement will continue as the project moves toward its ISS flight, with updates, learner activities and mission milestones shared via www.sarooibos.co.za, @RooibosCouncil on Facebook and @SARooibosCouncil on Instagram.

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Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Yusuf Cassim, has stepped in to directly assist students grappling with delays and frustrations at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

His intervention has already led to immediate action, with NSFAS teams deployed to resolve outstanding allowance payments at the Central University of Technology (CUT).

The engagement took place on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, in Cape Town, where Cassim met with NSFAS Administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula and senior officials.

The Deputy Minister placed pressing student concerns on the table, many of which had been received through his Helpdesk and during his oversight visit to UNISA the previous week.

One of the most urgent issues raised was the delay in GAP investigations, which verify student registration, enrolment, accommodation, and academic results to prevent fraud. Cassim expressed concern that students were waiting up to five months for answers, leaving them unable to continue their studies.

“It is unacceptable for students to wait more than three months without clarity while their education and livelihoods are at stake,” he said.

NSFAS confirmed that 4,138 students remain under investigation due to missing academic data from institutions, while 2,361 cases have already been processed and funding restored.

Cassim requested a list of affected students per institution and instructed the Department’s University branch to assist NSFAS in obtaining the required data to expedite the process.

NSFAS committed to finalising 1,515 UNISA GAP cases by Friday, 17 July, and addressing over 400 Nelson Mandela University students on extended programmes.

Concerns Over Second Semester Admissions

The Deputy Minister also raised alarm over NSFAS’s lack of commitment regarding funding for students registering for the second semester, which begins next week.

NSFAS indicated that a funding submission is being finalised due to a deficit, but Cassim expressed displeasure at the delay and vowed to follow up to ensure students are not left stranded.

Cassim highlighted concerns about NSFAS’s monthly payment schedule, noting that funds are transferred about a week after the start of each month, leaving institutions with limited time to process payments.

He appealed for adjustments to ensure allowances, such as UNISA’s R316 Personal Care Allowance, arrive on time. NSFAS acknowledged the concern and promised to provide feedback.

Both parties also discussed broader policy issues, including the insufficiency of the Personal Care Allowance and the need to review the value and types of allowances available. Cassim noted that the ongoing NSFAS policy review and the imminent review of the NSFAS Act present opportunities to address these matters.

Cassim raised concerns about the lengthy appeals process, with NSFAS confirming that appeals will now be handled directly by institutions following the appointment of the Administrator. The Deputy Minister committed to monitoring this function closely to ensure students receive timely resolutions.

He also visited the NSFAS call centre, where he found that many student queries took months to resolve. “It’s important that we improve our response rate to student queries at all times,” Cassim said. He pledged to ensure his Helpdesk works closely with NSFAS to assist students more effectively.

Immediate Action and Reassurance

Following the meeting, NSFAS deployed teams to CUT to address allowance delays for students in non-accredited accommodation. Cassim welcomed this immediate intervention, describing it as a sign of responsiveness. NSFAS further reassured him that there are no outstanding allowances, including those for TVET students.

Cassim confirmed that his office will continue forwarding individual cases received via the Helpdesk to NSFAS for resolution. “My office is available to assist NSFAS in improving its services where it can,” he said, urging the Administrator to support officials committed to making a positive contribution.

The Deputy Minister’s intervention marks a significant step in addressing long-standing frustrations faced by students dependent on NSFAS. By placing student concerns at the centre of discussions and demanding accountability, Cassim has signaled a commitment to building a more responsive higher education system.

For thousands of students awaiting allowances, GAP investigation outcomes, or second semester registration, his actions have provided hope that government is listening - and acting.

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South Africa’s newly-appointed Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training has pledged to build a post-school education system that is more responsive to the needs of students, describing his role as “deeply personal” and rooted in a lifelong belief that education is the pathway to dignity and opportunity.

Speaking the National Press Club in Pretoria, DM Yusuf Cassim outlined a leadership philosophy centered on listening, acting with urgency, and removing barriers that prevent students from succeeding.

“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not,” he said, recalling how his father’s sacrifices and limited opportunities under apartheid shaped his own commitment to expanding access to education.

Cassim emphasised that higher education is not simply another government function, but a portfolio that touches the hopes of millions. He argued that freedom must be given practical meaning through education and skills development.

“Higher education is where freedom becomes opportunity, and where opportunity becomes dignity,” he said.

Since taking office on 1 July, he has focused on listening to students through platforms such as the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk, oversight visits, and direct engagement with institutions.

During a recent visit to UNISA, more than 400 students responded to his call for feedback, raising concerns about delayed allowances, unresolved funding queries, and accommodation challenges.

“Students experience government as one system,” he noted. “When an allowance is delayed or an appeal remains unresolved, they experience government. Students simply want government to respond.”

With more than 1.24 million students relying on NSFAS for funding, Cassim acknowledged the scheme’s critical role in bridging the gap between poverty and opportunity. He highlighted concerns about delays in resolving GAP funding investigations, call centre responsiveness, and coordination between NSFAS and institutions.

“These may sound like administrative matters, but to a student they are deeply personal - determining whether they can register, eat, have transport or accommodation, or continue their studies,” he said.

He welcomed commitments from NSFAS Administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula to accelerate progress, but stressed that responsiveness must become the defining standard of success.

One initiative he singled out was the digitisation of the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk, inherited from his predecessor Dr Mimmy Gondwe. Working with partners such as MICT SETA, the Helpdesk is being transformed into a faster, more accessible platform. More importantly, he said, it should serve as government’s “listening post,” identifying systemic challenges and informing policy.

“Good government begins by listening,” he added.

Cassim also addressed the Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racial prejudice he faced following his appointment. He reflected on his upbringing in Kariega, where his family lived in a community classified under apartheid’s racial laws, and where he grew up alongside friends from diverse backgrounds.

“South Africa’s diversity is not something to fear,” he said. “Our shared humanity is always greater than the labels others seek to place upon us. Leadership carries a responsibility not to deepen divisions, but to build bridges.”

He rejected attempts to pit communities against one another, insisting that South Africa’s future depends on recognising shared prosperity and success.

Throughout his address, Cassim returned to the theme of student advocacy. As a former SRC President at Nelson Mandela University, he recalled initiatives to improve transport, establish a student bailout fund, and create prayer facilities. Those experiences, he said, taught him that leadership is measured not by position, but by whether lives are improved.

“I am not here to cut ribbons,” he concluded. “I am here to stand with students, to push student issues, and to ensure they remain at the centre of everything we do. If, at the end of my tenure, students can honestly say that government became easier to reach, quicker to respond, and more committed to removing barriers, then I will consider my service worthwhile.”

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In a workshop in Lagos, a designer adjusts a seam just before sunrise. The fabric on the table carries patterns drawn from memory, culture, and ambition.

By evening, that same design enters a marketplace that stretches far beyond the room, finding its place on global runways and in wardrobes across continents.

This is how markets begin, quietly and locally, with a single idea shaped into something tangible. This is a story of design and enterprise — of how talent, when connected to capital, markets, infrastructure, and networks, becomes jobs, exports, and growth.

For years, fashion and the wider creative industries across Africa have been viewed through a cultural lens. That lens remains essential. But culture is also a source of economic power. It builds brands, drives demand, and anchors industries capable of generating jobs at scale.

The opportunity before us is to build the systems that allow fashion to function as the economic engine it can become.

That convergence is gathering pace. Creative industries generate $2.3 trillion in revenue annually and employ over 200 million people worldwide, representing 6.2% of global employment, according to UNESCO, particularly among youth aged 15–29. Yet, the sector remains underfinanced relative to its growth potential.

Within this landscape, fashion and textiles play a central role, connecting farmers to factories, designers to retailers, and local heritage to global value chains. They offer a direct pathway from SMEs and MSMEs to export-driven growth.

At IFC, we see this as one of the most compelling underfinanced growth frontiers in emerging markets. Since launching our dedicated creative industries effort in late 2022, IFC has committed close to US$1 billion across the sector, spanning audiovisual production, sports and entertainment, fashion, digital content platforms, and creative infrastructure.

This growing portfolio reflects a simple conviction: creative industries are central to development; they are investable sectors capable of creating jobs, building firms, and opening new export pathways.

The momentum is visible. In Accra, a designer who once worked from a single storefront now supplies international buyers. In Dakar, a brand rooted in African identity reaches customers across continents. In Nairobi, digital platforms allow creators to turn ideas into income in real time.

Each journey follows a similar arc: early talent, rapid demand, then a ceiling caused by weak foundations. Between creativity and scale sits a clear opportunity.

Small and medium enterprises in fashion and design often demonstrate strong revenues and clear demand while navigating constraints in accessing finance, strengthening supply chains, and building systems for expansion.

Creativity and demand continue to expand. The opportunity now lies in capturing more value within African firms—through stronger production ecosystems, expanded access to finance, robust intellectual property frameworks, and deeper links to global markets. This moment marks the transition from creativity to industrial scale—and calls for a shift in perspective.

African designers have already made a profound contribution to global fashion, particularly through the bold use of color, pattern, and textile heritage that now influences design language worldwide.

Fabrics such as kente and batik carry deep cultural meaning and strong commercial appeal, yet their value has often expanded beyond the continent without corresponding economic return to their originators. Influence has not always translated into ownership or income for African creators.

Stronger intellectual property frameworks — combined with business support, market access, and financing — are essential to ensure that cultural value becomes enterprise value. Fashion is an industry.

Creative sectors respond to capital, depend on infrastructure, and expand through networks. When structured effectively, they generate employment across entire value chains, from production and logistics to media, marketing, and retail.

At the World Bank Group and at IFC, this understanding shapes a growing commitment to fashion and the creative industries as engines of jobs and growth. The objective is clear: to help transform creative talent into investable companies, and companies into scalable platforms for jobs, exports, and long-term growth.

Through the SME Fashion Champions Program, IFC is building a pipeline of Africa’s leading export-oriented fashion and design firms, with a focus on helping high-potential firms become investment-ready and better positioned to access capital.

The program supports 30 high-potential SMEs across Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar, Senegal, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire with tailored advisory that strengthens operations and investment readiness.

In partnership with Boston Consulting Group and leading ecosystem actors, it connects these businesses to capital, global markets, and high-impact platforms such as Paris Fashion Week and the Africa Fashion Exhibition in Paris, translating creative excellence into commercial growth and long-term investment appeal.

These firms represent the leading edge of a broader movement, where individual success stories gather strength within a larger system that multiplies their impact.

Creative industries thrive where infrastructure, skills, and market access reinforce one another. Investments in production hubs, cultural institutions, and creative clusters create environments where talent translates into sustained economic activity, connecting entrepreneurs to markets, partners, and global demand.

Financing plays a central role. Innovative mechanisms, including partnerships with financial institutions, unlock funding for creative SMEs and enable them to invest in growth.

For many creative businesses, the issue is not the lack of demand but the mismatch between traditional financing products and the ways creative firms generate revenue, build assets, and manage cash flows. This combination of capital and capability turns promising enterprises into investable businesses.

The effect is cumulative. Entrepreneurs expand production, manufacturers upgrade operations, and creators build brands that travel across borders. Digital platforms connect supply and demand in real time, reinforcing an industry that generates jobs, drives exports, and strengthens economic resilience.

Africa’s demographic trajectory adds both urgency and opportunity. A young workforce is entering the economy with creativity, digital fluency, and global ambition. Fashion and the wider creative industries offer pathways into jobs while supporting firms capable of competing on a global stage.

The focus now turns to execution, translating vision into pipelines, pipelines into investment, and investment into sustained growth. This calls for alignment among investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.

For young people and women in particular, creative industries can open doors to entrepreneurship, formal employment, and new sources of income across both traditional and digital value chains.

Investors should treat creative industries as a core growth asset class. Financial institutions must design products that match the cash cycles, intangible assets, and growth partners of creative SMEs.

Policymakers need to modernise intellectual property and trade frameworks to ensure value is retained on the continent.

Together, these actions define the architecture of scale.

Africa’s fashion and creative industries carry a broader promise. They offer a model where culture and commerce reinforce one another, where local enterprises grow into global brands, and where value is created, retained, and reinvested across the continent.

Across workshops, studios, and production floors, that promise is already taking shape.

Fashion has proven its creative power. The next stage calls for recognizing its full economic potential and backing it with investment that matches its ambition. Africa’s creative talent is ready.

The task now is to match that talent with the capital, infrastructure, skills, and market access required to scale.

The threads are ready. The market is ready to be woven.

Ethiopis Tafara is IFC’s Regional Vice President for Africa. This piece is part of a continuing series exploring the role of Africa’s creative industries in driving jobs, investment, and inclusive growth.

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The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has played a pivotal role in the KwaZulu-Natal leg of the 2026 African Synergy Health (ASH) Mandela Week Surgical Marathon, helping deliver life-changing care to patients long stuck on elective surgery waiting lists.

Over five days (6–10 July), UKZN’s Discipline of Urology specialists and trainees joined forces with healthcare partners to perform surgeries on 74 patients at the Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex in Durban and Ngwelezana Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Empangeni. This marks a significant contribution toward the national campaign’s aspirational target of treating 200 patients by the end of Mandela Month.

The surgical teams carried out a range of complex urological procedures, including correcting congenital birth defects, reconstructing damaged urethras, and removing cancer-affected kidneys and testes. Several patients underwent multiple operations during the marathon, with the final tally of procedures still being consolidated.

Dr Cindy Zietsman, Head of UKZN’s Discipline of Urology and the KwaZulu-Natal Clinical Department of Urology, said the initiative highlights the power of collaboration.

“Treating 74 patients in just five days demonstrates both the commitment of our multidisciplinary team and the impact that strategic public-private partnerships can have on reducing surgical waiting lists,” she noted.

Zietsman added that demand for specialist urological services in KwaZulu-Natal continues to far exceed available capacity, with urgent cases waiting up to eight weeks and elective procedures stretching to 12 months.

To maximise access, theatre capacity was expanded: Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s ran eight slates daily instead of six, while Ngwelezana doubled from two to four.

The Surgical Marathon is being rolled out across six provinces under a Memorandum of Understanding between ASH and the National Department of Health. Having concluded in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, the programme is currently underway in Gauteng before moving to the North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo.

ASH Founder and CEO Dr Viola Morolo said the organisation’s vision is to eliminate elective surgical waiting lists through collaborative partnerships that strengthen South Africa’s healthcare system.

Morolo, alongside Dr Marissa Conradie, volunteered during three of the five operating days, working with UKZN specialists, registrar doctors, and surgical nurses.

The initiative’s impact continues to grow. In 2025, 38 patients underwent 118 procedures at Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s. This year, nearly double the number of patients were treated across two hospitals, underscoring the expanding reach of the partnership.

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South African banks are competing for staff who can manage digital platforms, analyse data, manage digital risk and meet regulatory requirements as more banking moves online.

A new Advanced Certificate in Digital Banking, registered at NQF Level 6, opens for enrolment at Regent Business School in the 2026 mid-year intake and gives banking professionals a direct route into roles such as Digital Services Manager, Risk and Compliance Officer, Data Analyst and Digital Banking Supervisor.

The qualification was developed by Regent Business School to close this skills gap. It carries 120 credits, runs over a minimum of one year and comprises eight modules covering digital banking, digital payment systems and e-banking services, blockchain and cryptocurrency, digital marketing for banks, data analytics, digital banking security, project management and digital transformation in banking.

Quick facts:

• Qualification: Advanced Certificate in Digital Banking

• NQF Level: 6

• Credits: 120

• Duration: Minimum one year

• Modules: Eight, including digital banking, digital payment systems and e-banking services, blockchain and cryptocurrency, digital marketing for banks, data analytics, digital banking security, project management and digital transformation in banking

• Entry requirement: NQF Level 5 qualification (for example a Higher Certificate) or equivalent

• Career pathways: Digital Services Manager, Risk and Compliance Officer, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst and Digital Banking Supervisor or Officer

• Intake: 2026 mid-year, applications open now

The qualification also opens pathways to Project or Product Manager for Digital Banking Initiatives and Customer Experience Manager roles.

Commenting on the launch, Dr Shahiem Patel, Academic Dean at Regent Business School, said: “Digital transformation is no longer a future consideration for the banking sector. It is a present reality that is changing operations, customer expectations, risk, compliance and how banks develop new ideas.

“The launch of the Advanced Certificate in Digital Banking reflects our commitment to developing relevant, industry-responsive qualifications for students and working professionals in a technology-enabled economy.

“This programme will help develop professionals who can engage confidently with digital change in banking while applying sound business, ethical and regulatory judgement.”

The qualification is designed to give students a strong understanding of digital banking concepts and tools. It also builds their ability to evaluate emerging technologies, use data and analytics for decision-making, manage risks associated with digital banking and understand the regulatory framework governing banking in South Africa.

Mr Ravin Baburam, Academic Programme Coordinator for the Advanced Certificate in Digital Banking, added: “The Advanced Certificate in Digital Banking has been designed to give students practical, relevant knowledge across core areas of modern banking.

From digital payment systems and cybersecurity to data analytics, blockchain and digital transformation, the programme provides a foundation for people who want to build careers in banking and financial services. It is suited to individuals who want to strengthen their digital skills and contribute new ideas within their organisations.”

On completion, graduates will be able to assess the impact of digital technology on banking, apply digital banking principles, manage digital banking security risks, evaluate emerging technologies and trends and contribute to digital transformation projects in the sector.

The minimum entry requirement is an NQF Level 5 qualification, such as a Higher Certificate, or an equivalent qualification.

Regent Business School said the qualification adds to its academic portfolio and reflects its focus on programmes relevant to industry needs.

Applications for the 2026 mid-year intake are now open. regent.ac.za

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Millions of people take daily vitamins and minerals, yet research suggests a significant proportion of what we swallow passes through the body without being used. The problem may not be the nutrients themselves, but the form they come in.

Spend any time in a pharmacy and the supplement aisle can feel more bewildering than helpful. Shelves stacked floor to ceiling with bottles promising immune support, better sleep, stronger joints and sharper focus; all containing more or less the same vitamins and minerals, and very little to help you understand why one might work better than another.

The answer lies not in what a supplement contains but in how that nutrient has been produced and what form it takes when it enters your body.

The absorption problem nobody talks about

When we eat a handful of blueberries or a plate of broccoli, we are not just consuming Vitamin C or iron or magnesium. We are consuming those nutrients embedded in a complex matrix of proteins, enzymes, fibre, phytonutrients and co-factors that the body has evolved to recognise and process. These elements do not work independently, they work together. The bioflavonoids in citrus fruit, for instance, are understood to support the uptake of Vitamin C. The fat-soluble co-factors in whole foods help transport fat-soluble vitamins to where they are needed. Think of it this way: nature packages nutrients with their own instruction manual, and the body reads it better than anything we can manufacture.

The majority of supplements lining the shelves do not replicate this complexity. Instead, they isolate a single nutrient - often synthesised in a laboratory - and deliver it without the supporting cast that makes it functional in a food context. The body may recognise the compound, but it does not always know what to do with it efficiently.

A meaningful proportion of synthetic vitamins are excreted before they can be fully utilised, which is why high-dose synthetic supplements sometimes produce vivid results in the bathroom but less measurable results in the body. You may be spending money on supplements that are, quite literally, going to waste.

What ‘food-grown’ actually means

The term ‘food-grown’ or ‘whole-food nutrition’ refers to a category of supplements in which vitamins and minerals are sourced from, or grown within, real food matrices rather than synthesised chemically. The nutrients are extracted from plants, fruits and other natural sources and retain the co-factors and enzymes that accompany them in their natural state.

Take Vitamin C as an example. Synthetic supplements typically use isolated ascorbic acid. Whereas a food-grown Vitamin C supplement might use acerola cherry which is a fruit with one of the highest natural concentrations of Vitamin C available. Research indicates that the vitamin C delivered in a food-grown form is absorbed 1210% more effectively than isolated ascorbic acid; and it delivers ascorbic acid alongside bioflavonoids and other naturally occurring compounds.

The same principle extends across the vitamin and mineral spectrum. B vitamins derived from fermented whole grains or quinoa arrive with the co-enzymes that support their conversion into active forms in the body. Plant-sourced magnesium tends to be more gently absorbed than high-dose synthetic magnesium oxide, which is notorious for its digestive side effects. Food-derived iron is generally better tolerated and less likely to cause the constipation associated with the ferrous sulphate found in many conventional supplements.

Absorption is only part of the story

Absorption is the central argument for food-grown nutrition, but it is not the only one. Conventional supplement manufacturing often relies on fillers, binders, artificial colourants and flow agents. In short, inactive ingredients used to make the manufacturing process easier or the tablet more visually appealing. These additives contribute nothing nutritionally and, in some cases, may interfere with absorption. Targeted supplementation, in a form the body can actually use, is a compelling proposition.

There is also the question of what is on the label versus what is in the product. Supplement regulation varies, and the gap between what a label claims and what a product delivers is not always scrutinised. Manufacturing to accredited standards under the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) guidelines and current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) protocols, for instance, provides a level of assurance that not every brand on the shelf can offer.

A different way to think about daily nutrition

For most people, the goal of taking supplements is simple: to fill the gaps that diet alone may not cover, and to support the body in functioning well. The logical extension of that goal is choosing supplements that the body can actually put to work, which means considering not just the nutrient but its origin, its form and the quality of the process behind it.

Food-grown vitamins and minerals return to the logic of whole-food nutrition applied to the convenience of supplementation. For anyone serious about getting genuine value from their daily routine, it is a distinction worth understanding.

Most people take supplements because they genuinely want to look after themselves – and they deserve to know that what they’re taking is actually working for them. Your body already knows how to use nutrients when they come from food. Taking a food-grown supplement just makes that easier to access every day.

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