Update@Noon

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, is visiting Ditsobotla Local Municipality in Lichtenburg, North West, today. The visit comes a year after the municipality was placed under administration due to governance failures and poor service delivery. Hlabisa will meet with municipal councillors, business representatives and traditional leaders to provide an update on efforts to restore stability, improve basic services and rebuild the municipality's capacity. To share challenges of the municipality we spoke to Amalia Moipupi Legote a resident in Ditsobotla municipality

The Competition Commission says rural and township businesses face major barriers that limit their growth and ability to compete. The Commission released its first Rural and Township Economy Report today. The report identifies high procurement costs, limited access to major retailers and online markets, and regulatory red tape as key challenges. The Commission says these obstacles also affect consumers through higher prices and fewer choices, warning that removing them is critical to tackling poverty, unemployment and inequality. We spoke to senior economist at Competition Commission, Tessa Bleazard

Parents and caregivers are urged to watch closely for signs of dehydration in children as South Africa's rotavirus season continues, with health authorities reporting a drastic increase in cases in Pretoria and one death.We spoke to Head of the Center for Enteric Diseases at the NICD, Prof Nicola Page.

The Electoral Commission has denied claims that its Online Candidate Nomination System experienced technical failures. The ANC says it experienced difficulties in submitting its list of candidates contesting the 2026 local government elections. Close to two-thousand-300 candidates from 45 political parties have been disqualified from contesting after missing last week's deadline. We spoke to Elections Analyst, Wayne Sussman

The Chairperson of Parliament's Police Portfolio Committee Ian Cameron, says South Africa must urgently strengthen its response to international drug trafficking networks. He says authorities cannot focus only on arresting street-level dealers while powerful syndicates, financiers and corrupt facilitators remain untouched. Cameron's comments come at the time that police have in recent months discovered large scale drug manufacturing hubs within the country. Jon Gericke spoke to Private investigator and security expert, Mike Bolhuis