Polity.org.za Audio Articles

South Africa's central bank raises main interest rate to 7.25%

South Africa's central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.25% on Wednesday, saying it wanted to steer inflation towards its 3% target.

The decision by policymakers at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) was unanimous.

The majority of economists polled by Reuters had expected the 25 bps increase, as the escalation in the Iran war since the SARB's last policy meeting in July has driven up oil prices and dampened the global economic outlook.

The SARB targets inflation of 3% with a tolerance band of 1 percentage point either side.

Data earlier on Wednesday showed headline inflation edged up to 4.4% year on year in August from 4.3% in July.

NSFAS records over 51 000 early applications for 2027, stresses strict deadline for submissions

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) announced on Tuesday that it is "highly encouraged" by a massive wave of early submissions following the official launch of its 2027 application window. A total of 51 474 applications were successfully completed within the first four days of the cycle opening.

The application process kicked off last week following an official announcement by Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela.

Speaking at a launch event in Johannesburg, Manamela confirmed that the 2027 NSFAS application window will remain open until October 31.

Crucially, the Minister pledged that funding decisions will be communicated to applicants in December, a move designed to provide students with financial certainty well ahead of the 2027 academic registration period.

The latest dashboard statistics show an initial student headcount of 49 413 distinct applicants who have already initiated their journey toward post-school education.

Data released by the scheme provides an insightful look into the demographics and backgrounds of the current applicant pool, noting that the vast majority of submissions – 43 297 applications – came from first-time entering students and prospective applicants.

Senior students looking for continued or new funding accounted for 1 312 applications.

A total of 6 865 applications have been registered by further education and training college applicants, while the system successfully captured 12 625 applications from South African Social Security Agency beneficiaries and 52 applications from students living with disabilities.

The scheme announced that female applicants heavily dominate the early numbers, making up 74.06% (38 121) of total submissions, compared with male applicants who account for 25.94% (13 353).

The overwhelming majority of applicants fall between the ages of 18 and 29, illustrating the high demand for financial support among matriculants transitioning into the post-school education and training sector, NSFAS said.

NSFAS noted that significant headway has already been made in processing the initial influx of data. The scheme extended its gratitude to learners, parents, guardians, schools, and community stakeholders for supporting prospective students through the initial steps.

However, the financial aid scheme issued a strong warning against complacency.

The NSFAS board has explicitly stated that there will be no extensions granted beyond the deadline.

Prospective students are urged to submit their applications as early as possible to avoid a last-minute rush. Furthermore, applicants must ensure that all mandatory supporting documents are uploaded correctly and that required consent forms are fully completed to prevent any delays in the verification process.

Mandela Foundation wants voters to demand action on GBVF ahead of elections

As South Africa approaches the upcoming local government elections, citizens are being urged to leverage their vote as a tool for "profound social change".

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has issued a call to action, reminding the electorate that the ballot box is not the end of democratic duty, but rather the beginning of sustained, active citizenship.

With public office seekers hitting the campaign trail, the foundation emphasised that voters have a "vital opportunity" to interrogate candidates on how they plan to build safer communities, restore functioning institutions and protect core constitutional rights.

"Our responsibility, however, does not begin and end at the ballot box," the Foundation stated. "Democracy requires active citizenship: holding institutions accountable, challenging injustice in our communities and recognising our own role in building a society in which constitutional rights can be lived."

At the heart of the foundation's call for accountability is the ongoing crisis of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Nearly a year after the government classified GBVF as a national disaster, serious questions remain regarding the efficacy and funding of the State's intervention.

The foundation noted that the initial classification was the acknowledgment that violence against women and children in South Africa is both persistent and systemic, demanding a coordinated response across all sectors of society. By law, this status mandates affected organs of State to report on their progress and places the responsibility of coordination on the national executive.

However, the foundation noted that public declarations have not yet translated into change.

"Serious questions remain about whether the response has been adequately resourced. Concerns about funding have persisted since the classification, including questions about what additional resources have been made available to give practical effect to it," it explained.

South Africans have a right to know what has materially changed, where implementation is falling short, and what corrective measures are being deployed to bridge the gaps, the foundation stressed.

While the establishment of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide and recent emergency measures in Ekurhuleni are recognised as important milestones, institutional setups are no longer enough, it added.

The foundation warned against a reactive system that only intensifies when "horrific" cases dominate the news cycle.

Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi stressed that the impact must be felt on the ground.

"South African women cannot be expected to measure progress in the fight against GBVF only by the establishment of councils and the issuing of declarations. They have to be able to feel that something is changing in their homes, communities, police stations, courts, workplaces and places of learning," he said.

The scale of the crisis is illustrated by recent data. According to figures from the South African Police Service, a staggering 50 511 GBVF cases were reported during the 2025/26 financial year.

Solving this crisis requires moving beyond policing after the fact, the foundation said, adding that it demands a sustained, multi-pronged approach that targets prevention, justice, survivor support, education, and deep-seated cultural attitudes.

Buthelezi noted that government or foundational work cannot solve this alone; it requires a collective societal shift.

"It requires men to challenge other men," Buthelezi said. "It requires all of us to stop protecting perpetrators because they are our relatives, friends, colleagues or community leaders, and to listen to and support survivors."

As the country heads to the polls, South Africa cannot afford to be a society that only expresses outrage when a tragedy captures national attention, he said.

"True democracy requires voters to demand...

DA takes ActionSA, EFF, MKP, and GOOD party to Electoral Court over 'hidden' candidate lists

The DA has launched an urgent application in the Electoral Court against ActionSA, the EFF, the MKP, and the GOOD party, accusing them of undermining electoral laws ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

The legal challenge centres on allegations that these parties are deliberately concealing their proportional representation (PR) candidates from the public by submitting lists containing just a single name.

DA Federal Council chairperson Ashor Sarupen stated that the opposition parties are misinterpreting a legal provision meant for unexpected electoral surges.

The law allows the Independent Electoral Commission to ask a party to submit extra names after an election, but only if they win more seats than candidates initially registered on their PR list.

"They are bending the rules, and attempting to mislead voters," Sarupen said.

He argued that the provision was never intended to be used as a pre-planned strategy to hide councillor candidates until after the ballots are counted.

"The principle at stake is so fundamental that it cannot go unchallenged: parties are required to present voters with the names of their candidates before voters go into a voting booth to choose their political parties, not after the votes have been counted," Sarupen noted, adding that past court rulings have deemed voters' right to information ahead of an election as sacrosanct.

The DA highlighted that the EFF was contesting almost every ward with thousands of individual ward candidates, yet only submitted a single PR candidate per municipality.

The party pointed out that ActionSA nominated over 2 000 ward candidates while using one-person PR lists across nearly every contested municipality—including Johannesburg, where the party currently holds dozens of PR seats.

The MKP and the GOOD party are following the same pattern, the DA claims, even in municipalities where the GOOD party already holds multiple PR seats.

The DA pointed out that ActionSA publicly admitted to the strategy. The party reportedly stated it submitted one name so it could supplement the list later, using the remaining seats to reward party members who work hard during the campaign.

The DA criticised this approach, accusing ActionSA of putting party interests ahead of residents.

The DA's application asks the Electoral Court to determine the legality and constitutionality of using list "topping-up" as a deliberate electoral strategy to avoid identifying candidates early.

Sarupen compared the situation to previous elections where the ANC was disqualified from contesting certain municipalities after failing to submit its candidate lists on time.

He argued that if the ANC had used this "wilful deception" by submitting just one name, they would have safely remained on the ballot.

"Voters must be presented the candidates they are voting for," Sarupen said. "Elections cannot become games of sleight-of-hand. The ballot box must determine which candidates are elected."

DA calls for debate on GBVF as three suspects appear in court in Ekurhuleni cases

Three suspects are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrates' Court on Monday, marking a major breakthrough in the investigation into a horrifying string of women's murders that has gripped the country.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) announced the arrests of one man and two women over the weekend, following an operation by members of the Gauteng Murder and Robbery Unit, in connection with the murder of a ninth victim.

Between July and September 2026, the bodies of nine women have been discovered dumped across the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg.

The discoveries over this two-month period have sparked national outrage, widespread community protests, and a large-scale police probe into whether a serial killer or multiple perpetrators are behind the atrocities.

Acting National Commissioner of the SAPS, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, confirmed that police are "fully seized" with all nine murder cases, promising that each is receiving priority attention.

"We remain committed to ensuring that these investigations are pursued with the urgency and determination they require. Our investigators are following all available leads and are working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice," Dimpane said.

In response to the escalating crisis, parts of Ekurhuleni – including KwaThema and Nigel – are currently under localised lockdowns, with increased police visibility deployed to boost safety.

The breakthrough comes amid surging political pressure on national and local government structures.

Last week, DA mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni Khathu Rasilingwane, launched a full-scale petition rallying residents and women across the municipality to reject government instructions urging women to "protect themselves".

In a direct bid to accelerate the investigation, Rasilingwane announced that the DA is offering an additional R500 000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and successful criminal prosecution of the murderer.

Concurrently, the DA has written to the Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza, requesting an urgent debate of national importance on the escalating gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) crisis gripping Ekurhuleni.

DA spokesperson on Police Lisa Schickerling, insisted that Parliament must hold those responsible for protecting women and children strictly to account.

"Violence and the threat of violence are a daily reality for women in our communities. These tragic deaths are part of a devastating cycle that demands urgent action from government, including the President, the South African Police Service, the Department of Justice, and other departments responsible for protecting women and bringing perpetrators to justice," Schickerling said.

She highlighted that despite widespread calls for a multidisciplinary team and intensified focus from civil society, the vast majority of these cases have remained unsolved until this weekend's arrests.

She emphasised that while GBVF has long been on Parliament's agenda, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Ekurhuleni demands immediate and specific intervention.

Last week, Amnesty International South Africa called on the State to recognise femicide as a distinct crime, warning that failure to do so leaves the targeted killing of women largely unaddressed.

Femicide, defined as the gender-motivated killing of a woman because she is a woman, is currently not classified as a separate offence under South African law.

Key African central banks set to keep high rates as buffer against shocks

African central banks from South Africa to Egypt are poised to keep their interest rates high for longer, seeking to shield their economies from shocks such as surging energy prices caused by the Iran war and to support their currencies.

Of the 11 central banks due to deliver their interest-rate decisions over the next two weeks, seven are expected to hold, three hike and one is set to cut.

"Africa's monetary-policy cycle is becoming increasingly uneven," Angelika Goliger, EY Africa chief economist, said. "While earlier disinflation has created room for rate cuts in some economies, renewed energy and food-price pressures mean central banks are likely to remain cautious."

The escalating conflict in the Middle East has restricted global oil, diesel and fertiliser supplies causing prices to spike. Brent crude broke through $100 a barrel almost two weeks ago, compared with an average price of around $85 a barrel when most African central banks last deliberated on interest rates, and a super El Niño event is expected to devastate harvests, fuelling inflation. Food accounts for as much as 50% in some African countries' consumer price indexes.

The US is also presenting an external risk to African economies.

"With US monetary policy still relatively restrictive following September's first rate increase since 2023, African policymakers will be alert to exchange-rate weakness, capital outflows and imported inflation," Goliger said. "Even where domestic inflation is easing, these pressures are likely to limit the pace of rate cuts."

Policymakers will also want to maintain a sizeable spread between the benchmark rate and annual inflation, which are among the world's widest, as a defence against current and future shocks.

"Africa's been very resilient in part because interest rates started quite high," said Charlie Robertson, chief economic adviser at Equity Group Holdings Plc. "We've not had the cuts" in countries such as in Egypt, Nigeria or Kenya that the market was expecting, he said. "Instead high nominal rates have become a buffer."

The upcoming interest-rate decisions will start with Nigeria and Morocco on Tuesday, followed by South Africa on Wednesday and Egypt, Ghana, Lesotho and Eswatini on Thursday, before Tanzania rounds out the cycle on October 8.

Nigeria's monetary policy committee has room to ease but it is expected to remain cautious and retain its policy rate at 26.5% for a third straight meeting as recent fuel-price increases could reverse the downtrend in inflation.

With price pressures building in Morocco as the effects of a good harvest fade and hefty fuel-price increases feed through, Bank Al-Maghrib will probably keep its policy rate at 2.25% for the next three meetings to monitor price dynamics, François Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note.

"Egypt's still-high inflation and exposure to regional and energy shocks will also argue for patience rather than immediate easing," Goliger said. It could hold rates at 19% through the rest of 2026, with cuts becoming more likely next year, she said.

External spillovers from the Iran war could also see Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania stand pat to further assess the risks to their forecasts.

South Africa and its neighbours Eswatini and Lesotho, whose currencies are pegged to the rand, may raise their interest rates by a quarter point to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.

South Africa's central bank, in particular, has seen risks to its inflation forecast materialise. Rising energy prices, exchange-rate volatility and higher US interest rates could generate second-round inflation effects, said Goliger. To reinforce policy credibility, the MPC could increase the interest rate to 7.25%.

Zambia will likely break from the pack and cut interest rates due to disinflation.

DA challenges Lamola to oppose 'ANC's race-based' policies after US Apartheid 2.0 remarks

The DA has challenged International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola to oppose race-based policies within South Africa's own Cabinet, following his recent public condemnation of race-based entry systems while visiting the US.

This after Lamola addressed the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, where he criticised certain US refugee and immigration frameworks, reportedly describing race-preferential entry systems as "Apartheid 2.0".

Lamola argued that allocating opportunities or entry based on race undermines peaceful coexistence and revives historical injustices.

DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation Ryan Smith seized on Lamola's remarks, calling for consistency between South Africa's foreign rhetoric and its domestic policies.

"If opposing race-based policies is now a matter of principle for Minister Lamola, and not merely a matter of diplomatic convenience, he must use his position in Cabinet and Parliament to condemn the ANC's own battery of race-based laws and policies back home," Smith stated.

The party argued that the ANC continues to classify citizens by race and allocate economic opportunities along racial lines, which the DA claims divides and impoverishes citizens rather than empowering them based on actual need and merit.

The DA reiterated its commitment to eliminating all forms of race-based policy to build a non-racial South Africa.

The disagreement unfolds against a backdrop of escalating diplomatic tension between Pretoria and Washington.

The South African government recently rejected unilateral visa restrictions introduced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The US restrictions target individuals deemed complicit in land expropriation frameworks without compensation, systemic race-based discrimination and the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups.

Lamola hit back at the US policy, defending South Africa's domestic legislation as a sovereign right and a constitutional imperative designed to heal past racial injustices rather than target minority groups.

He expressed deep concern that Washington's actions rely on a "mischaracterisation" of South African policies, driven by fringe groups falsely claiming to represent the broader Afrikaner and other minority communities.

To counter allegations of unchecked racial hostility, Lamola highlighted the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act 16 of 2023, emphasising that South Africa maintains a stringent, legally binding framework to prosecute hate crimes across State and non-State actors.

Despite Lamola's domestic defence, the DA maintained that the Minister cannot credibly lecture the global community on non-racialism while his party upholds race-based legislation at home.

"We are delighted that Minister Lamola has now publicly adopted this principle too," Smith concluded, urging the Minister to prove his "genuine opposition" to racial categorisation by challenging the ANC's legislative framework in the Cabinet and in Parliament.

NSFAS opens 2027 applications, assures 'major system upgrades' after returning to board governance

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela announced on Friday that the 2027 National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) application cycle is officially open until November 18.

Speaking at the launch event in Johannesburg, Manamela promised that funding outcomes will be communicated in December to give successful applicants certainty ahead of the 2027 academic registration period.

"To all prospective applicants: do not wait until the closing date. Apply as early as possible. Applying early gives you time to verify your information, submit outstanding documentation, and seek assistance if you encounter challenges," Manamela urged.

During the 2026 application cycle, NSFAS received a record-breaking number of applications from young South Africans.

To cope with this pressure and address historical service delivery issues, Manamela revealed that NSFAS has spent the past year implementing crucial upgrades designed to improve data integrity, accuracy, and processing speeds for the 2027 funding cycle.

He explained that student information will now be pulled directly from institutional systems to minimise errors and expedite funding decisions, and the scheme is introducing automated document verification and electronic document signing to shorten response times.

Manamela said NSFAS is collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs to strengthen the verification of student registration and banking details.

He announced that the development has officially commenced on a dedicated Loan Management System to administer student loans for middle-income households, and the administration of appeals has been restructured with clearer rules and strict timelines to rectify past administrative weaknesses.

The launch follows a turbulent four-month institutional transition for the financial aid scheme. After navigating a period under strict State administration, NSFAS has officially returned to a board-led governance arrangement.

Manamela noted that the public, parents, and tertiary institutions have closely watched these structural shifts, reassuring stakeholders that the interventions were entirely focused on stability and effectiveness.

"The stability of NSFAS is not an end in itself. Behind every application is a young person whose future depends on this institution functioning effectively. Behind every funding decision is a student who wants to become a professional, an artisan, an entrepreneur, a teacher, a scientist, or a contributor to the economy and society. That is why the integrity, stability, and effectiveness of NSFAS matter," he said.

Prospective students are encouraged to gather their identification documents, academic records, and parental proof of income immediately to submit their applications via the official NSFAS portal before the November 18 deadline.

Policing is political, DA says as it offers collaboration in East Rand murders

The DA said on Friday that it is willing to work with anybody who "genuinely" wants to take action in delivering justice to the families of the women whose bodies were recently found across the East Rand, in Gauteng, as it stressed that policing is political.

After the discovery of the body of a ninth victim in Ekurhuleni, DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said women in the province needed more than just advice on how to avoid becoming victims.

"We should be asking: what more can we do? The DA is ready to work with government, SAPS, communities and civil society to find these killers and prevent further deaths. But collaboration requires government to engage with criticism in good faith and not dismiss it as political opportunism because it doesn't like a mirror being held up to itself," he said.

The DA has pledged a R500 000 reward for information that leads to the identification, apprehension and conviction of the person/s responsible for the murders and has also launched a petition rallying residents and women across the municipality to reject government instructions urging women to "protect themselves" and to rather demand systemic accountability.

However, the DA is urging the Gauteng provincial government to collaborate with willing participants to find the perpetrator/s of the murders.

"Government says that it wants cooperation. Then it should welcome every credible effort to find these killers, protect women and address the failures that allowed this crisis to develop in the first place," said Msimanga. "The responsibility now lies with all of us, but particularly with those entrusted with the power and resources of the State, to make South Africa safer.

"And yes, this is political. It is political because policing is political."

Amnesty International demands SA criminalise femicide to expose 'hidden' crisis

Amnesty International South Africa is urgently calling on the State to recognise femicide as a distinct crime, warning that failure to do so leaves the targeted killing of women largely unaddressed.

Femicide, defined as the gender-motivated killing of a woman because she is a woman, is currently not classified as a separate offence under South African law.

Instead, these deaths are categorised under general murder statistics, a practice that advocates argue masks the systemic nature of the crisis.

South Africa continues to grapple with some of the highest femicide rates globally.

According to the latest annual crime statistics, 5 578 women were murdered between 2023 and 2024 – an average of roughly 15 women killed every day.

Despite these stark numbers, the true scale of the violence remains obscured. The South African Police Service (SAPS) has not published disaggregated crime data regarding the murder and assault of women and children since August 2025, citing internal accuracy concerns that require investigation.

Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed emphasised that treating femicide as standard murder ignores the patterns of gender-based violence that typically precede it, such as stalking, rape, and intimate partner violence.

Without a distinct legal category, these warning signs are tracked as isolated incidents.

"You cannot fix what you are not tracking," Mohamed stated, noting that reliable data is a vital prerequisite for State accountability.

While criminalisation alone will not instantly halt the violence, Amnesty International argued it provides a critical mechanism to hold the government accountable.

Legally defining the crime would compel the State to allocate dedicated resources specifically tailored to combating and preventing femicide, track accurate, gender-disaggregated data to identify high-risk patterns and confront systemic failures in current institutional protection measures for women and girls.

Mohamed said 33 countries have criminalised femicide.

In Africa, only Gabon and Morocco have codified it into law.

Amnesty International South Africa maintained that by failing to join these nations and properly record these targeted killings, the South African State is actively failing to protect its citizens from the most extreme manifestation of gender discrimination and inequality.