First Take SA

President of the Barberton Community Party in Mpumalanga, Ayanda Magagula, says his party will prioritise giving necessary support to the education sector should they be elected to power in the local government elections. This is after his party handed out stationery to children from needy families during their election campaign in Barberton. Magagula says they have also noted that the lack of clean drinking water is a major problem faced by many communities in the Ehlanzeni Region. Mthobisi Mkhaliphi reports...

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi says there's progress implementing the interventions aimed at tackling Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The interventions include deploying more than one-thousand GBV response teams across 122 high-risk areas, adding 56 social workers to strengthen the seven specialised sexual offences courts and improving support services for survivors. This follows a spate of women getting in Ekurhuleni between July and September, which prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to call for urgent intervention. Our reporter, Luyanda Danca has the details…

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) says it is ready to safeguard the 2026 Local Government Elections, with security measures in place across all nine provinces. NATJOINTS says 139 dockets related to electoral crime have been opened since the commencement of the 2026 Local Government Elections process. Voting stations have undergone security assessments, while police deployments are informed by intelligence and identified risks. The security cluster has warned political parties and their supporters against intimidation, violence and attempts to disrupt the 2026 Local Government Elections. Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Policing in SAPS, outlined the state of readiness during a media briefing on Sunday evening. Culvin Mabasa reports…

Some youngsters in the KwaNkunzi area of oPhongolo in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal, say they might not vote on Wednesday. This as they spend their days digging for gold in an abandoned mine in the vicinity. To avoid conflict and congestion underground, they work in shifts. Each group is allocated about 12 hours to operate, then have to make way for the next group. They say they'd rather use their allocated time to dig for gold, than go to vote. Khalesakhe Mbhense visited the abandoned mine and spoke to the young people.

The Independent Electoral Commission in the Western Cape says it is ready for the upcoming local government elections . The Commission officially launched its Provincial Results Operations Centre, in Century City Today. Special voting starts on Monday until Tuesday. Yamkela Mtshiyo reports.