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South Africa has shut down 1 041 mom-and-pop stores in a bid to stop people from consuming pesticide-laden food, which has led to the deaths of 38 children across the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's government also extended a deadline to register the stores, known as spaza shops, to February 28 in a bid to give itself time to prepare to regulate the stores, Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs said in a briefing on Wednesday.

The death toll from children consuming poisoned food has risen to 38 from 22 a month ago, Tebello Mosikili, police deputy national commissioner said at the same briefing. Three adults have also died. Chemicals such as Terbufos - meant for agricultural use - are often used in the stores as a pesticide to control rodent infestation in townships. Improper handling of the chemical results in the poison leaching into food items.

Ramaphosa plans to strengthen regulations and protocols for tracing, repacking and selling pesticides, insecticides and food. Fifteen health experts have also been appointed to a ministerial panel, and asked to develop medium-to-long-term prevention measures to curb the incidence of food-borne illnesses in the country, Hlabisa said.

There have been 890 reported incidents of food-related illness across the nation's nine provinces, Ramaphosa said on November15.

Government has extended the deadline for registration of all spaza shops and other food-handling facilities to February 28, urging municipalities to still reserve capacity to assist those who will be registering.

The initial deadline was December 17.

As part of government's response to address foodborne illnesses that have claimed the lives of children across the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa last month said all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must re-register with their respective municipalities.

The President directed that all spaza shops and other food-handling facilities must be registered within the municipalities in which they operate within 21 days from the date of the announcement and that any shop that is not registered within that time frame and does not meet all health standards and requirements would be closed down.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa was on Wednesday updating the media on government's work in implementing the action plan to address the challenges arising from food-borne illnesses, where pointed out that government still needs to do more work to ensure the sector is properly regulated and adheres to health regulations.

He highlighted that, notwithstanding the holiday scaling down of operations, municipalities must still reserve capacity to assist those who will be registering.

"We also urge business owners to continue with their registration process within their respective municipalities and not wait until the next registration deadline."

Hlabisa explained that government understands the concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the registration deadline for spaza shops.

"…however, it must be noted that the initial deadline was set to address the urgent need to ensure compliance with health and safety standards following the tragic incidents of food-borne illnesses. Registration ensures that all spaza shops meet minimum standards, regardless of their past operations," he said.

He noted that, in considering whether or not to extend the registration deadline, government considered its commitment to supporting small businesses, prioritising health and safety, ensuring inclusivity and fairness and maintaining its integrity.

BUSINESS REGISTRATION

Hlabisa emphasised that registering a shop or facility was not the end of the process.

"We need to explain that we are dealing with two distinct processes. The first process is business compliance, where you need to register the spaza shops or any food-handling business.

"The second process is compliance with health regulations. This process does not depend on whether you are registered or not. If you don't comply with the health regulations, the business is closed down immediately," he explained.

He pointed out that 1 041 spaza shops have already been closed for noncompliance with the regulations.

Ethiopia's parliament passed long-planned legislation on Tuesday allowing foreign banks to operate in the Horn of Africa country, part of government efforts to attract more overseas investment.

The country has been gradually opening up its tightly controlled economy, which is one of Sub-Saharan Africa's biggest, since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over in 2018.

However, a two-year civil war, slow progress with reforms and a foreign exchange crunch have deterred investors.

In June, the cabinet approved the draft law, which allows foreign banks to establish subsidiaries, open branches or representative offices, and buy shares in local banks.

Ownership of local banks by foreign strategic investors will be capped at 40%, a copy of the law seen by Reuters showed.

Ethiopia's banking sector is currently dominated by state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

Parliament overwhelmingly backed the banking law, although a handful of opposition lawmakers expressed concern that local banks would not be able to compete with foreign competitors.

The governor of Ethiopia's central bank, Mamo Mihretu, said competition would instead strengthen local lenders.

Ethiopia, with more than 120-million people, is one of the most populous on the African continent and has long been in the sights of foreign investors after being shut off for decades.

It secured an International Monetary Fund (IMF) support programme in July, hours after it followed one of the Fund's key recommendations and floated its birr currency.

Other reforms linked to the negotiations for an IMF programme included the adoption of an interest rate-based monetary policy regime.

Israeli officials say a ceasefire in Gaza is a more realistic prospect than at any time in the past year, suggesting a long-awaited deal to free hostages and boost aid to the beleaguered territory could be close.

A working group from Israel is in the Qatari capital of Doha this week to re-establish relations with mediators in the event of a breakthrough in negotiations with Hamas, said the officials, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive information.

Their optimism has been reflected in recent comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior cabinet members. Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking in a parliamentary committee in Jerusalem on Monday, said a truce is "closer than ever," while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told hostage families he's more upbeat than a month ago.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said on Army Radio on Tuesday: "There's a chance to reach a deal and, from what I know, it will involve all 100 hostages, first the humanitarian cases and then the rest."

There's been no official comment from the Hamas side.

An agreement to at least pause the Israel-Hamas war would end more than a year of frustration, during which talk of an imminent deal has bubbled up intermittently before swiftly collapsing. Negotiations are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with oversight from the US, and recent visits to the region from Washington officials may have helped advance the process.

Details are mostly under wraps, but two Israeli officials said the ceasefire plan being worked on would be in stages, starting during the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden and continuing after Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

Adam Boehler, appointed by Trump as a special envoy for hostage affairs in the upcoming administration, is currently in Israel meeting Netanyahu, among others. Trump has stated he wants the hostages freed before he starts his new term.

In the first phase of the deal under discussion, hostages defined as "humanitarian" - women, the ill and those older than 51 - would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. There would then be a ceasefire of six to seven weeks during which Israeli troops would withdraw from parts of Gaza, with talks beginning on a permanent truce.

Hundreds of aid trucks would enter the Palestinian territory daily during that period, bringing much-needed food, water and health supplies to a population the United Nations and aid groups say is gripped by humanitarian crisis.

The second phase, according to the officials, would bring back the remaining hostages - military-age men, mostly - in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. The third stage would see work begin on the reconstruction of Gaza and include the return of bodies of hostages. About half of the 100 still in captivity are thought to be dead.

In previous rounds of talks, a major obstacle has been the insistence by Hamas that, from the start, Israel agrees to withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel has refused, saying it will not stop its campaign until Hamas is destroyed and can no longer rule the territory.

Hamas hasn't publicly acknowledged a change in that stance but Israeli officials say the Iran-backed group has become more flexible.

A number of other issues still need to be negotiated, including what constitutes a humanitarian case for a hostage. Israel wants all the women released first, including soldiers.

A second sticking point is what security checks would be imposed on Gazans returning to the north of the strip. A third is from where Israeli troops must withdraw, and a fourth is that Israel wants to reserve the right to return to fighting in Gaza.

Any of those could stop a deal from reaching fruition.

The Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023 when thousands of Hamas militants raided southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1 200 people and abducting 250. Israel responded with a fearsome assault by air, sea and land, a war that has turned much of the coastal strip into...

South Africa's rand slipped against a stronger dollar on Tuesday, as investors turn their attention to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

At 0820 GMT, the rand traded at 17.93 against the greenback, about 0.4% weaker than its previous close.

The dollar index was last trading up about 0.2% against a basket of currencies.

The Fed will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday, with markets expecting a 25 basis point cut, but the focus will also be on the central bank's tone on rates for the year ahead.

"A conservative tone will likely support the USD and pressure EM (emerging market) currencies, including ZAR," said Andre Cilliers, Currency Strategist at TreasuryONE.

On the stock market, the Top-40 index was down about 0.9%.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was slightly weaker, with the yield up 1 basis point at 8.93%.

The GOOD Party said on Friday it strongly believes that Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk should have been permanently relieved of his duties.

The party accused the coalition in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality of protecting Van Niekerk by suspending him instead of relieving him of his duties.

Van Nierkerk is under investigation by the Hawks for cybercrime in 2022 and the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act, for which he appeared in court on Thursday.

He faced internal issues with his party, the Northern Alliance (NA), which resulted in him not attending council for almost 6 months.

GOOD Councillor Lawrence Troon said there was no provision in law for the suspension of a political office bearer, describing it as an unlawful and illegitimate "soft landing" for Van Niekerk.

Troon said the coalition between the African National Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters, Defenders Of The People, NA, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, African Independent Congress and the Abantu Integrity Movement chose to save Van Niekerk from a motion of no confidence and declared that fraud and corruption would continue under this new coalition.

Troon pointed out that a council meeting was originally scheduled for November 28 but was postponed twice, which he said was a ploy to avoid the vote of no confidence brought against Van Niekerk.

He explained that during his absence from council, Van Niekerk allegedly irregularly and directly sought a legal opinion, for party political purposes, despite being informed not to do so by the acting municipal manager.

"The municipality was billed for the work and has been in a dispute over the fees for the past two years. A multi-party committee has already investigated the issue and found Gary Van Niekerk unanimously guilty of breaching the code of conduct," Troon said.

He stated that Van Niekerk was also previously accused of abusing municipal vehicles for "personal joyrides, seriously damaging at least three, as well as an external rental car".

"In December last year, when he was still the mayor, he travelled to China and did not report to Council, nor did he disclose all the details and related costs. His actions and decisions have demonstrated a lack of commitment to the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability," Troon said.

Van Niekerk will remain an ordinary councillor and will still have a vote on municipality business, he pointed out.

South Africa recorded foreign direct investment outflows of R3.2-billion in the third quarter, compared to inflows of 16.6-billion in the second quarter, central bank data showed on Friday.

The South African Reserve Bank said in its Quarterly Bulletin that the outflows were due to domestic subsidiaries of multinational companies paying back their loans to the parent companies.

For the first time in two years, portfolio investments recorded inflows of 45.6-billion rand in July-September, from outflows of 20.1-billion rand in the second quarter.

Nthabiseng Molemoeng, head of balance of payments at the SARB, said the inflows were mainly due to an increase in foreign purchases of publicly traded government bonds following eight consecutive quarters of equity outflows.

"I think it was just a general decline in investor sentiment towards emerging markets," she said. "Now with this quarter the inflow is mainly from debt securities."

President Cyril Ramaphosa has legally recognised Princess Masalanabo Modjadji VII as the Queen of the Balobedu Queenship, in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, making it the only legally recognised Queenship in the country.

The Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya noted that the recognition of the Queen introduces a new chapter and is a moment of great significance to the Balobedu Nation.

Magwenya explained that while the Balobedu Queenship was recognised by government in 2016, in terms of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, at the time, Queen Modjadji was only 10 years old and could not legally ascend the throne.

"As a result, since the time of the recognition of the Queenship, His Royal Highness, Prince Mpapatla Modjadji, Queen Masalanabo Modjadji's maternal uncle, held the fort for her as a Regent until she turned 18," he explained.

The Queen has now turned 18 and ascends the throne as Queen Modjadji VII of the Balobedu Nation, stated Magwenya.

"In accordance with Section 12(8)(a) of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act of 2019, as soon as the successor to the position of a queen/king ceases to be a minor, the rightful successor must be recognised by the President as the queen/king. A certificate of recognition must be issued after her/his name has been published in the Gazette," he explained.

On behalf of government, Ramaphosa wished Queen Masalanabo Modjadji a long and prosperous reign and said he looked forward to working with her and the Royal Family to advance the socio-economic development of people living under the jurisdiction of the Balobedu Queenship.

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has decided to advance the South African Football Association R5-million, following reports that the federation is battling to pay player's salaries ahead of the festive season.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie wrote to the organisation to offer the advance, with the understanding that it will be subtracted from the grant paid in the 2025 financial year.

"This comes with the condition that Safa's leadership will need to provide reasons for why their financial affairs are so troubled, together with a viable turnaround plan to avoid such a situation in future. Safa agreed to the conditions and thanked the Minister for the intervention," said the department.

McKenzie said the department cannot allow players to go into the festive season without payment, particularly following recent sporting successes.

"The men's team recently qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and we need them to focus on preparing for this challenge, as well as making sure we get to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada," he said.

He also pointed to Banyana Banyana, which won the African Women's Championship in 2022 and participated in the FIFA World Cup last year.

In its correspondence with the Minister, Safa explained that sponsorship revenues had been insufficient, while the association also dealt with delayed payments from various partners.

Safa has been working on a financial turnaround strategy to increase revenues and cut costs, which will be presented to the Minister following the federation's upcoming national executive committee meeting, the department highlighted.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has extended well wishes to the Economic Freedom Fighters, as the party holds its third National People's Assembly between December 12 and 15, at the Nasrec Expo Centre.

The EFF's elective conference kicks off amid resignations from prominent members who have since joined former President Jacob Zuma's MKP.

This includes resignations from former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu as well as Mzwanele Manyi, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Dali Mpofu.

Malema recently lashed out at detractors, and also denied any relationship between the EFF and MKP, stating that any relationship was "even worse now when MKP has made it its programme to recruit leaders of the EFF".

However, Malema denied any animosity with Zuma, claiming a friendly relationship with the former President.

Meanwhile, Zuma's MKP on Thursday described the EFF as a "partner in the progressive agenda of the total emancipation of our people".

The MKP said it commended the EFF's "consistency and staying power", as it celebrates 11 years of existence.

"As the Progressive Caucus, we stand united in dismantling the imperial system and will continue to fight for the reclamation of our dignity, land, mineral resources and the nationalisation of mines," MKP said.