Update@Noon

Madlanga Commission evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson has argued that the Commission does not have the power to declassify documents relating to Dr Ntandazo Sifolo's evidence. Sifolo is the Acting Coordinator of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee. The evidence leaders have applied for his testimony to be heard in camera, a move opposed by three media organisations: amaBhungane, News24 and Daily Maverick. Representing the media organisations, Advocate Ben Winks argued that the Commission has the power to decide whether evidence can be heard publicly, despite its classification. 

Cosatu Parliamentary Coordinator Matthew Parks says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana must address plans and mechanisms to deal with challenges facing workers when he tables the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the afternoon.  Parks says Godongwana must among other things prioritise the debt owed to municipalities as well as to Eskom and combating crime. To look more into the Medium Term Budget Sakina Kamwendo spoke to  Head of Tax Technical at the South African Institute of Taxation, Gert van Heerden....

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting American envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo Norway. 
This after U.S. President Donald Trump called for someone else to negotiate peace with Russia on Kyiv's behalf. Relations have deteriorated over Trump's recent diesel deal with Russia that undercut sweeping sanctions with Zelenskyy accusing Washington of betrayal and rewarding President Vladimir Putin. Trump says Ukraine's leader is obstructing peace efforts. The talks come as Kyiv reports delays in American weapons deliveries and disruptions to military satellite support—claims Washington denied as reflecting a deliberate withdrawal of assistance. Sherwin Bryce-Pease reports.

Angry residents and parents at a Junior Primary school in Zola, Soweto have called for justice to prevail. This after the alleged rape of a nine-year-old Grade 4 learner. The suspect, who is an English teacher at the school is accused of attacking the minor inside the school toilets. Police confirmed that a case has been opened and handed over for investigation. Our reporter, Puseletso Mokoena has more ...

Rise Mzansi's Jo'burg mayoral candidate, Lukhona Mnguni, says his party will do away with the City of Jo'burg's agencies in an effort to fix the causes of poor service delivery in the metro. He said this at the launch of the Rise Mzansi's Governance Plan for the City of Johannesburg which took place in Rosebank, Johannesburg.  The party, together with its campaigning partner the GOOD Party, has also warned residents of the country's richest metro against voting for DA Mayoral candidate, Helen Zille. Busi Bopela reports... 

Analysts say finance minister Enoch Godongwana will aim to strike a sustainable balance between spending priorities against collected revenue while seeking to narrow the budget deficit and contain debt when he tables the midterm budget policy statement in Parliament on Wednesday.   Government data shows that revenue improved at 39-percent of the budget supported by a commodity price boom recorded this year.  SABC Economics Reporter Naledi Mabitsela-Ngcobo filed this report

The FF-Plus it targeting the City of Tshwane, and is open to form coalition governments after the local government elections. That's what party leader, Dr Corné Mulder, told the party's supporters during a community meeting in Durbanville, Cape Town last night (20 October). Yamkela Mtshiyo reports...

Informal Early Childhood Development Centres in the Eastern Cape have pinned their hopes on Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, to prioritise their needs when he delivers the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. These Centres operate under conditions which need serious attention. They lack the necessary resources to the make the facility conducive for teaching and learning. Hlumisa Qabaka reports.....

Some of the political parties represented in Parliament say they want Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to table a Medium Term Budget Policy statement that will ease households from the burden of the high cost of living. Godongwana will table his Mid-Term Budget Speech on Wednesday at 1400. Abongwe Kobokana reports.... 

The people of Bronkhorstspruit in the City of Tshwane say they are living in fear after high levels of E. coli contamination were found in tap water. So far, more than 400 cases of gastrointestinal illness have been reported this month alone, with some victims being children under the age of four. No deaths have been reported. Residents have been urged to avoid using municipal tap water for domestic purposes, except for flushing toilets. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Waste Water Management Expert, Benoit le Roy....