The Eastern Cape has recorded the highest per-capita rates of both murder and rape in South Africa, with the latest crime statistics showing that people in the province face the country’s highest levels of lethal and sexual violence relative to its population.

The province recorded 16 murders per 100,000 people between April and June 2026, the highest murder rate nationally, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year released on Friday.

The Western Cape followed with 14 murders per 100,000 people, while KwaZulu-Natal recorded 10 and Gauteng seven.

The Eastern Cape also recorded the country’s highest per-capita rape rate at 22 cases per 100,000 people. The Northern Cape followed at 21 and the Free State at 20.

ALSO READ: MKP appoints mayoral candidates in six metros, says none of them have criminal records

Crime Registrar Major General Thulare Sekhukhune said the SAPS uses population estimates to standardise comparisons between provinces instead of relying only on the number of cases recorded.

“What is evident from this slide is that there is a proportionality between the total population of a particular province vis-à-vis [compared with] the total number of murders that normally happen within that province,” Sekhukhune said.

“We are trying to standardise the comparison so that we not only look at the numbers, but we also take into consideration the total population per province.”

Despite having the highest murder rate, the Eastern Cape recorded a 4.5% decrease in murders compared with the same period last year.

The province recorded the same number of rape cases as in the previous comparable period.

Sekhukhune said the SAPS had examined a sample of 5,170 murders nationally to establish where the killings occurred.

The largest category was public places, where 2,871 murders occurred.

A further 1,614 murders happened at the residence of the perpetrator, including residences known to the victim.

“This is almost 31% of the murders from the sample that we have drawn that indicate that people are not safe in their residences, including residences known to the victim,” Sekhukhune said.

He said some killings followed social interactions in which people consumed alcohol or other substances before arguments escalated.

ALSO READ: Gift of the Givers heads to Nepal as six South Africans remain missing

“It highlights an element of social interaction where the people initially interact, maybe through consuming alcohol and other mind-altering substances that they end up fighting. These fights in some instances result in murder,” he said.

The SAPS identified arguments, misunderstandings and provocation as a major contributing factor to murders. Of the 5,170 cases examined, 880 were linked to these factors.

The Eastern Cape had the second-highest number of murders attributed to arguments, with 195 cases, behind the Western Cape’s 210. Gauteng recorded 164.

Gang-related killings accounted for 251 murders in the sample, although the Eastern Cape accounted for only two of these. The Western Cape recorded 217 and Gauteng 29.

The Eastern Cape also recorded the highest number of police officers murdered during the quarter, with seven.

Nationally, 16 police officers were killed during the three months. Sekhukhune said 11 were off duty and six were killed while on duty.

The rape figures showed a similar concern about attacks occurring in places known to victims.

Of a national sample of 6,596 rape cases, 4,121, or 62%, occurred at the residence of the perpetrator, including residences known to the victim, perpetrator or family members.

“Again showing an element of acquaintances or social element in the rapes that we are experiencing,” Sekhukhune said.

Another 1,462 rapes, or 22%, occurred in public places.

The SAPS recorded 99 rapes at abandoned buildings and 84 at educational institutions.

The statistics also showed the role of alcohol in violent crime, with 250 murders, 620 attempted murders and 5,136 assault GBH cases nationally involving alcohol.

At places where alcohol was sold, the SAPS recorded 213 murders, 429 attempted murders, 69 rapes and 3,593 assault GBH cases.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said crime was highly concentrated in particular areas, requiring police resources to be directed towards identified hotspots.

“Crime is often highly concentrated in particular areas,” Cachalia said.

“That means that a relatively small number of policing precincts account for a disproportionate experience of violent crime.”

The government has identified 140 priority police stations nationally for targeted operational support, enhanced oversight and improved resource allocation.

Cachalia said the statistics showed that violent crime remained closely associated with alcohol consumption, particularly over weekends and at night.

“These stats show unmistakably a pattern that we have all been familiar with for a long period of time,” he said.

“Violent crimes occur mainly over the weekends at night, and they’re concentrated around liquor outlets, many of them unlicensed and operating without any regard for regulation.”

He said addressing violent crime would require cooperation between police, provincial governments, municipalities, the liquor industry and communities.

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The Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) has announced mayoral candidates for six of the country’s eight metros, saying the remaining two candidates for Tshwane and Cape Town would be announced at a later stage.

The announcement was made in Durban on Friday by the party’s Secretary-General, Sibonelo Nomvalo, following a two-day meeting of the national leadership.

He said the candidates were carefully chosen and none of the candidates have a criminal record against them.

ALSO READ: Gift of the Givers heads to Nepal as six South Africans remain missing

“Regarding the criteria that we have used to appoint these members, we have been meticulous, and we have used scientific criteria which is based on their profiles and which is based on their historical contribution and credentials in the revolution. We are going to publicise all their profiles… All of them here qualify for this job, all of them have got their own good histories respectively, and we will share it with you. None of them has a criminal record,” he said.

In the City of Johannesburg, the party announced Bongani Baloyi, who once served as the mayor of Midvaal under the DA and later defected to the MKP when he closed down Xiluva, the party he formed after leaving ActionSA in March 2023. 

In the City of Ekurhuleni, the party named Thulani Shongwe, who is currently serving as a member of the National Assembly (MP) in Cape Town and who shot to prominence during his input in the ad hoc committee probing the allegations that were made by Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that the justice system has been infiltrated by criminal elements.

Contrary to expectations, in eThekwini, the party named little-known Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi as its mayoral candidate. It was widely expected that the party was going to name either Zandile Gumede or Philani PG Mavundla as mayoral candidates.

Hlophe-Mkhwanazi will be up against Hanniff Hoosen from the DA, Zwakele Mncwango from ActionSA and Thabani Nyawose from the ANC, the likely candidate that would be announced by the ANC when it finally unveils its candidates for metros and big towns. 

In Mangaung, the party named Mapaseka Mothibi as its mayoral candidate, while in the Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape, the face of the party is Mzwandile Vaaiboom. In the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, which is also in the Eastern Cape, the MKP named Mvuleni Map as its mayoral candidate. 

Nomvalo said the endorsement of these candidates marks an important step towards consolidating the party’s electoral campaign and providing voters with clear leadership choices ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

“As the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, we will organise. We will mobilise. We will listen to our people. We will take the People’s Mandate to the masses. No one must be left behind,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Nomvalo said Dr Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala and Pumlani Kubukeli, the two MPs of the party who were expelled yesterday, did not undergo any disciplinary hearing because the constitution of the party gives its leader, Jacob Zuma to appoint members to positions and fire them when he deems it necessary.

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Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and controversial businessman and corruption and attempted murder accused Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala will remain in custody, while Ekurhuleni Fleet Manager Chris Steyn was granted bail.

Magistrate Trevor Classen of the Germiston Magistrate’s court granted Steyn R10,000 bail while Mkhwanazi and Matlala remain in custody, partly due to being involved in other cases.

“The court is satisfied that it is in the interest of justice to permit the release of the accused person on bail. His application for bail is granted,” Classen said.

ALSO READ: eThekwini gets R379m to tackle water losses as government expands municipal intervention

Steyn appeared alongside Matlala and Mkhwanazi, who were served with warrants of arrest on Thursday while they were already in court on other matters.

The three accused face multiple charges, including corruption, fraud and defeating the ends of justice, arising from allegations that blue lights were fitted to Matlala’s luxury vehicles and vehicles belonging to his companies, Medicare24 and Cat VIP.

Classen said the court had considered the provisions of Section 60 of the Criminal Procedure Act, submissions by the State and defence, as well as evidence placed before it.

“The court considered the provisions of section 60, specifically section 60, subsection 482 E, as well as subsections 5 to 9, furthermore, the court considered the submissions by the State as well as the evidence standard, as Exhibit B, and the further submissions on behalf of the State and the defence,” he said.

For Steyn, the magistrate concluded that his release was in the interests of justice.

Mkhwanazi’s application was a different matter.

Classen said there were outstanding issues that required further consideration before he could deliver his ruling.

He acknowledged that an accused person has a right to have a bail application finalised promptly, but said Mkhwanazi would not be prejudiced by the delay.

“I’m going to reserve a ruling in respect of accused number one, there are certain aspects of this matter that needs further consideration,” Classen said.

He referred to the 2003 Supreme Court of Appeal judgment, which recognised the urgency of bail proceedings and an accused’s procedural right to a prompt decision.

But Classen said Mkhwanazi was already in custody in connection with separate matters and would therefore not suffer prejudice from the reserved judgment.

“I am further of the view that the accused person, number one, will not suffer prejudice at this juncture, seeing that he in any event is in custody for the pending matter,” he said.

Mkhwanazi’s bail application has therefore been postponed to 14 September.

He will remain in custody at Benoni police station.

The matter involving Matlala and Steyn was postponed to 9 October, with Steyn ordered to appear at 8.30am at the Germiston Magistrates’ Court.

“Accused number one, remanded in custody, will be kept at the Benoni Police Station. Accused number two in custody. Accused number three, bail is granted in the amount of R10,000,” Classen said.

The “blue lights” scandal centres on allegations that private vehicles linked to Matlala and his companies were irregularly registered as City of Ekurhuleni municipal vehicles and fitted with blue lights, effectively giving private vehicles the appearance of official law-enforcement status.

The allegations emerged from evidence before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where it was alleged that Mkhwanazi facilitated memoranda of understanding involving Matlala’s Cat VIP and Medicare24, despite questions over his authority to enter into such agreements.

ALSO READ: eThekwini gets R379m to tackle water losses as government expands municipal intervention

Evidence before the commission has included WhatsApp exchanges and allegations of payments involving Mkhwanazi, Matlala and Medicare24 chief executive Mike van Wyk.

Mkhwanazi has denied wrongdoing, insisting he did not install the blue lights, brand the vehicles or authorise their registration as municipal assets.

All three accused remain before the court and the allegations against them have not been tested in a criminal trial.

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Gift of the Givers is preparing to head to Nepal following devastating floods that have left hundreds dead and thousands missing, as the organisation steps up efforts to assist and help locate six South Africans still unaccounted for in the disaster zone.

The decision was taken during an emergency meeting on Friday, held by the organisation’s Head of Search and Rescue, Ahmed Bham with the Nepalese government, the Foreign Minister for Nepal Shishr Khanal, Disaster Management officials and other authorities. 

Gift of the Givers founder and CEO Imtiaz Sooliman said in a statement that Nepal were interested in Gift of the Givers team composition and capability, with a particular interest in the K9 Dogs Unit. 

ALSO READ: ‘South Africa is bleeding’: Ramokgopa backs new system to prevent femicide

Gift of the Givers said its team, including South African Police Service dog handlers, was met at its logistics facility in Johannesburg at on Saturday morning to begin preparing rescue equipment.

A second search-and-recovery team has also been placed on standby.

The organisation said it was aware that Nepal currently had sufficient medical capacity but remained prepared to deploy medical teams if required.

“Nepalese Disaster Management confirmed that if a call for international assistance is made they will grant Gift of the Givers priority status, receive us, host us and blend our teams with theirs.” the statement said. 

The planned rescue mission came as six South Africans remain missing following the floods, with Gift of the Givers working directly with their families.

The six are Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife Anita Devi Maharaj, 67, from Ladysmith; Bavila Ramjee, 43, from East London; Vivaganathan Pillay, 66, and his wife Janet Pillay, 56; and Terricia Govender, 33, from Isipingo Beach. 

They are among a group of seven South Africans known to have been in the affected region.

The organisation said the seventh South African, Sulosh Pillay, safely crossed into Tibet two days before the disaster.

“Gift of the Givers are in contact with the families of the six missing South Africans,”  said Sooliman.

Meanwhile, Prashant Pokhrel, a South African music teacher who has lived in Nepal for several years, has circulated photographs of the missing South Africans through local media and activated contacts in the affected area to assist in locating them when conditions permit.

Gift of the Givers confirmed that the Depertment of Internationwl Relationa and Co-Operation (DIRCO) had written to the Nepalese government in support of efforts to locate the missing South Africans. 

According to DIRCO, the South African High Commission in New Delhi is accredited to Nepal and provides consular assistance to South African nationals there, including emergency assistance during natural disasters.

ALSO READ: Eastern Cape records SA’s highest murder and rape rates

The search for the South Africans is unfolding against the backdrop of a disaster that has rapidly escalated in scale.

Nepal’s disaster authorities said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 626, while 2,426 people remained missing. China has separately reported seven deaths and hundreds of people missing in Tibet.

Across Nepal and Tibet, the combined number of people missing is approaching 3,000, with hundreds of foreign nationals among those unaccounted for. 

The disaster struck on Wednesday, after the collapse of a glacier triggered a massive surge of water, rock, mud and debris through mountainous areas along the Nepal-China border.

Some of the worst destruction has been reported in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, while floodwaters also swept through areas further downstream, including Nuwakot and Dhading.

The force of the flooding caused widespread destruction to homes, roads and bridges and severely disrupted access to affected communities. The Trishuli River reportedly rose by about nine metres in just 30 minutes.

More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal, but rescue teams continue to face difficult conditions, including thick mud, damaged infrastructure, inaccessible roads and the threat of further flooding.

The scale of the emergency has prompted Nepal to seek specialised international technical assistance.

Nepalese officials thanked Gift of the Givers for coming forward to assist and recalled its intervention following the country’s 2015 earthquake.

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The eThekwini Municipality has secured R379 million over six years to reduce water losses as government expands its intervention in distressed municipalities from 10 to 38.

The funding comes as eThekwini faces major water losses, with Democratic Alliance MP George Michalakis telling Parliament earlier this week that the municipality was losing 65% of its water.

Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Friday that the funding had been secured through the Water Partnership Office, which is working with municipalities and the private sector to improve water service delivery.

“The Water Partnership Office assisted eThekwini Municipality to secure R379 million over six years to reduce water losses and is supporting eThekwini and the City of Tshwane with implementation,” Ntshavheni said.

She was briefing the media on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Michalakis raised eThekwini’s water losses while questioning President Cyril Ramaphosa in the National Assembly about the country’s water crisis.

He said eThekwini was losing 65% of its water, while Mangaung was losing 60%, and accused poorly performing municipalities of contributing to a “man-made” water crisis.

Ramaphosa acknowledged deep structural problems in the water sector at municipal level and said government was increasing support to struggling municipalities and strengthening interventions in poorly performing municipalities.

The intervention comes as municipalities face persistent problems with ageing infrastructure, water losses, weak financial management and poor service delivery.

The Water Partnership Office is part of government’s effort to strengthen municipal water services through partnerships with private-sector investors and technical partners.

Under its non-revenue water programme, the office is supporting eThekwini and the City of Tshwane in implementing projects aimed at reducing the amount of treated water lost from municipal supply systems.

The municipal intervention comes as government attempts to address both immediate water shortages and longer-term structural problems in the country’s water system.

Ramaphosa said the National Water Action Plan was being informed by lessons from the government’s response to the electricity crisis.

He said the government was also targeting problems including corruption, theft of metal infrastructure and criminal activity linked to water tankering.

The Water Partnership Office is supporting a broader water-reuse programme.

Ntshavheni said 34 municipalities had completed climate-risk assessments under the programme, while US$235 million had been secured from the Green Climate Fund to advance water-reuse projects.

Government is also developing a sanitation bond and fund to support non-sewered sanitation technologies in informal settlements and schools.

The Water Partnership Office is further working on desalination projects, with a proposal submitted to the City of Cape Town for the Paarden Eiland Desalination Public-Private Partnership Project.

At the same time, Cabinet was briefed on progress under the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy, which has now been expanded to 38 municipalities from an initial 10.

The strategy targets municipalities experiencing serious challenges with their financial viability, governance, service delivery, audit outcomes and internal capacity.

Ntshavheni said the government’s intervention was not limited to the initial municipalities identified for support.

“The intervention has been expanded from the initial 10 to 38 municipalities and focuses on improving financial viability, governance, service delivery, audit outcomes and internal capacity,” she said.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for the strategy is also supporting municipalities where previous government interventions have failed to achieve the desired results.

This means municipalities that have not improved despite existing support measures can face continued or additional interventions aimed at addressing the underlying problems.

The municipal turnaround programme comes against a backdrop of continued concerns over the ability of some municipalities to maintain basic services and manage their finances effectively.

The interventions are intended to help municipalities improve the reliability and sustainability of basic services while bringing additional private-sector financing and expertise into local government.

Cabinet said the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy would continue supporting distressed municipalities, particularly where existing measures had not produced the required improvements.

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Gauteng is shifting its agricultural programmes towards commercialisation, with farmers increasingly expected to sell produce, generate revenue, create jobs, attract finance and eventually operate without permanent state support.

Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa outlined the approach on Wednesday at the official launch of the Tarlton Agripark SMME Incubation Programme in Mogale City, where more than R8 million has been invested in upgrading the facility and incubating 11 agricultural SMMEs.

Under the theme “Transforming Agriculture Through Aggregation, Markets and Partnership”, Ramokgopa said agricultural transformation had to be built collaboratively, but around a clear commercial logic.

“Aggregation is one of the most important strategic interventions available to us to help small-scale farmers cross the gap between production and commercial markets,” Ramokgopa said.

“Our Agriparks must increasingly operate as commercial platforms, rather than simply as sites where farmers receive support.

“Government must use partnerships to bring capital, expertise, markets and proven operating models into this system, while judging our success increasingly by outputs and economic impact rather than by the number of inputs or grants distributed.”

She said the department wanted an agricultural economy that created commercially viable enterprises, increased food production, contributed to employment and food security, and placed historically excluded farmers, particularly women and young people, in a stronger position within agricultural value chains.

Citing Statistics South Africa data, Ramokgopa said women headed 52.9% of South Africa’s agricultural households in 2022, while Gauteng accounted for 24% of women-headed agricultural households involved in fruit and vegetable production, the highest share of any province.

However, women accounted for only 20.5% of owners of farming and related services enterprises and 15.6% of farm managers in the commercial agricultural economy.

“Women already participate extensively. Our challenge is to change the economic position from which they participate by creating pathways towards commercial scale, stronger markets, management, ownership and asset accumulation.”

Ramokgopa said aggregation could help small producers overcome the disadvantages of operating individually by combining volumes and making shared infrastructure, grading, packaging and transport more efficient.

“Transport can become more efficient. Buyers have a more reliable source of supply, while farmers gain greater market presence and bargaining power.

“This is important because scale does not always have to begin with one farmer becoming very large. Scale can also be created by organising many smaller farmers effectively.”

She said Gauteng had the advantage of a large consumer market on its doorstep, but the province needed to organise production more effectively so small farmers could collectively respond to demand.

“That means understanding what the market requires, coordinating farmers around those requirements, improving consistency and standards, aggregating volumes and building the infrastructure necessary to move produce efficiently from the farm into the market.”

The department currently has eight Agriparks operating across Gauteng, with Ramokgopa saying their success should increasingly be measured by whether farmers could produce competitively, reach markets, generate income, employ people, reinvest and eventually operate sustainably.

“This is consistent with the broader Gauteng vision set out in GGT2030 and our agricultural strategy, which connects Agriparks to township and rural economic development, employment creation, economic inclusion, food security, agro-processing and commercially sustainable agricultural enterprises.”

At Tarlton, the partnership between the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), the Nedbank Foundation and Rural Box Foundation has funded irrigation and fertigation systems, storage facilities, a packhouse and other productive farming infrastructure.

Ten of the 11 enterprises being incubated are women-led and six are youth-led. Each has access to a one-hectare farming unit, as well as irrigation, production inputs, training and mentorship.

Ramokgopa said infrastructure such as the packhouse, which allows produce to be aggregated, graded and prepared for market, had to form part of a commercial system rather than being treated as the end product of government support.

“Our ambition is for Agriparks increasingly to become places where farmers are organised around markets, where shared infrastructure lowers the cost of doing business, where production can be aggregated, where standards can be improved and where businesses can progress towards commercial independence.”

She said South Africa’s agricultural sector expanded by 3.9% in the first quarter of 2026, recording its sixth consecutive quarter of growth, driven particularly by field crops and horticultural products.

However, agriculture lost about 15,000 jobs in the second quarter, while the official unemployment rate rose to 33.6%.

“The lesson is important. Growth in an economic sector does not automatically produce inclusion, employment or new ownership.

“Those outcomes have to be deliberately built into the way we develop the sector.

“This is why our focus is increasingly moving from farmer support towards farmer commercialisation.”

She said government had traditionally assessed agricultural programmes through measures such as the number of farmers supported, hectares planted, inputs distributed, training delivered and grants allocated, but these could not be the final measure of success.

“The more important measures are what the farmer produces, what the farmer sells, what revenue the enterprise generates, whether it has secured repeat customers, whether it creates employment, whether it can attract finance and whether it eventually becomes strong enough to operate without permanent government support.”

Ramokgopa said market access should also become part of production planning, with farmers knowing before planting what buyers required in terms of volumes, quality, specifications, timing and prices.

“The market should shape production decisions, rather than becoming an afterthought once produce is already ready for sale.

“Aggregation gives us a practical mechanism to make that possible because it creates an organised point at which farmers, buyers, logistics providers and technical partners can meet.”

She said partnerships such as those with the Nedbank Foundation and Rural Box Foundation allowed government to combine public infrastructure and institutional support with private-sector resources, enterprise-development expertise, mentorship and market-oriented thinking.

“The significance of partnership, however, extends beyond additional funding. Government must be willing to learn from partners who understand how successful commercial operations work.”

Ramokgopa said government’s role was increasingly to “organise the ecosystem”.

She said partnerships could also make public money go further by attracting additional resources, expertise and market opportunities rather than requiring the state to fund every aspect of an enterprise indefinitely.

The ultimate goal of incubation, she said, was to produce bankable agricultural enterprises.

“A farmer with reliable production records, credible financial information, quality compliance, regular customers and demonstrated ability to fulfil orders represents a fundamentally different proposition to a financial institution from an entrepreneur who has been given inputs but has never established a commercial track record.

“That distinction is crucial if we want businesses to graduate.”

Ramokgopa also stressed the economic case for bringing more women into commercial agriculture, citing Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that closing gender gaps in farm productivity and agricultural wages could generate nearly $1 trillion in additional global GDP and reduce the number of food-insecure people by about 45 million.

“These are not marginal gains. They tell us that women’s economic empowerment in agriculture is fundamentally about productivity, growth and food security.”

For the 11 entrepreneurs entering the programme, she said the objective was not permanent incubation but progression towards higher output, stronger revenues, larger markets, additional investment and commercial independence.

“We want this one hectare to become a foundation from which viable businesses are built.”

“We want enterprises that eventually become employers, suppliers, processors and aggregators in their own right.”

Ramokgopa said lessons from Tarlton should inform the development of Gauteng’s other Agriparks.

“If aggregation works here, we must scale it. If a partnership model produces stronger commercial results, we must replicate it. If an operating model allows farmers to become sustainable more quickly, government should not be afraid to borrow that model and apply it elsewhere.”

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Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality has approved a R1.072 billion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, with more than R181 million earmarked for water, sanitation, roads, electricity and the upgrading of Nokaneng Stadium, Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga

The municipality’s overall allocation increased by about 4% from the previous financial year, with a large portion of the budget funded through national government grants and subsidies.

Executive mayor Nomsa Sanny Mtsweni outlined the spending plans during her 2026 State of the Municipality Address (SOMA) at Ga Morwe Community Hall on Wednesday, placing service delivery, economic development and financial governance at the centre of the municipality’s agenda.

The largest infrastructure allocation, R81.4 million, is for water projects, including the rehabilitation, maintenance and expansion of water infrastructure.

Mtsweni said the municipality was making progress in replacing ageing asbestos pipelines, including the bulk water line from Pieterskraal to Wolvekraal Reservoir and the bulk

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A senior Human Resources (HR) manager at the Durban Metro Police has taken early retirement after allegedly being implicated in a recruitment corruption scandal.

Mhlonipheni Bodlani recently left the force after taking extended sick leave, which he reportedly exhausted while facing questions about his alleged involvement in the recruitment scandal.

According to several sources, Bodlani allegedly solicited bribes of up to R50,000 from candidates in exchange for facilitating their recruitment into the Durban Metro Police, but allegedly failed to deliver on his promises.

The alleged victims subsequently reported the matter to authorities, with the investigation assigned to the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), an eThekwini Municipality unit responsible for investigating fraud and corruption involving municipal employees.

Durban Metro Police spokesperson Boysie Zungu confirmed Bodlani had left the force but did not provide details about the circumstances surrounding his departure.

“We can only confirm that Mr Bodlani

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The government’s so-called Strategic Integrated Projects portfolio has grown to R1.67 trillion from about R340 billion in 2020, Ramaphosa said at the third Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The projects span water and sanitation, transport and logistics, energy and electricity and municipal infrastructure,

The government will also begin publishing quarterly performance reports on the projects to track their progress, the president said.

Ramaphosa is seeking to turn the project pipeline into investment as South Africa struggles to raise economic growth to levels needed to address chronic unemployment and falling living standards.

The economy grew 1.1% in 2025, its strongest annual performance since 2022.

Investment has remained a

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Neighboring China has reported at least three people killed and 265 missing in a border community in the country’s Tibet region.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

UDIN DHUNGA, Nepal (AP) — Massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China on Wednesday killed at least 75 people and left hundreds of tourists, workers and others missing after sweeping through communities and bringing travel in parts of the Himalayan country to a halt.

Officials in Nepal said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals were reported missing. Sunil Sharma, a Nepal Tourism Board spokesperson, said 133 missing were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in China’s autonomous region of Tibet,

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