Portfolio committee | Bizcommunity

Portfolio committee | Bizcommunity

News

Primary & Secondary Education

When bullying becomes lawsuits: What recent court rulings mean for SA schools

13 hours

Source: Supplied. A photograph of the outbuildings and farmhouse comprising the Mouton House in McGregor, taken in 2018 before it was completely stripped by vandals.

Property

Heritage farmhouse in McGregor unlawfully demolished by municipality

Steve Kretzmann 26 Jun 2026

Image source: Fedor Selivanov –

Legislation & Regulation

'Use it or share it' - call for comment on ECA Amendment Bill

Daniel Pretorius, Claire Franklyn, Bradley Dunbar, Enock Mogajana and Kalenda Opai-Tetteh 26 Jun 2026

The Department of Social Development underspent on social grants in the 2025/26 financial year. Illustration: Lisa Nelson

Health & Social Welfare

R4.8-billion meant for social grants goes unspent

Marecia Damons 25 Jun 2026

Source: ©ammentorp via

Tourism & Travel

Cape Town updates events by-law to ease approvals

17 Jun 2026

Secunda CTL is a synthetic fuel plant owned by Sasol at Secunda, Mpumalanga, in South Africa. It uses coal liquefaction to produce petroleum-like synthetic crude oil from coal. Image credit: , , via Wikimedia Commons

Coal, Oil & Gas

SA’s fuel supply and the Iran war: data black holes and low strategic stock put the country at risk

Rod Crompton and Bruce Douglas Young 3 Jun 2026

Source warrenski/ Flickr via

Public Transport

MyCiTi fare hikes loom as diesel prices surge

22 May 2026

Pensioner buys old petrol station to start upskilling rural youth

How To Start Up

Pensioner buys old petrol station to start upskilling rural youth

Issued by Cape Chamber 18 Mar 2026

One man. One backpack. One 1,600km journey to redefine what “home” means in South Africa

CSI & Philanthropy

One man. One backpack. One 1,600km journey to redefine what “home” means in South Africa

Issued by Cape Union Mart 20 May 2026

A person in protective clothing walks next to an ambulance during an evacuation operation of suspected hantavirus patients, following an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, in Praia, Cape Verde. Image credit: Reuters/Danilson Sequeira

Infectious Diseases

South Africa traces 62 contacts after fatal Andes hantavirus found

7 May 2026

Berenice Paulsen (left foreground) at the Bellville Sassa office in November 2025. We then that she had been trying for five months to help her sister Desiree Fredericks (right foreground), to get an Older Persons Grant. Archive photo: Marecia Damons

Health & Social Welfare

New Sassa system piloted in Bellville office

Marecia Damons 4 May 2026

Image credit: Sassa

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa digitises 70% of records, steps up fraud interventions

30 Apr 2026

Image source: Josh Sorenson from

Primary & Secondary Education

KwaZulu-Natal launches tech initiative to boost digital learning in rural schools

15 Apr 2026

Image source: jcomp from

Bursaries, Scholarships & Finance

NSFAS directed to activate forensic unit to work with SIU

30 Mar 2026

Source: Postbank/Facebook.

Banking

Landmark FSP license moves Postbank closer to state bank goals

20 Mar 2026

Podcast with MacG is widely popular in South Africa with hundreds of thousands of views per episode. Source: YouTube.

Podcasts

Government takes baby steps to regulate podcast industry

Karabo Ledwaba 18 Mar 2026

Moving South Africa's education needle forward

Primary & Secondary Education

Moving South Africa's education needle forward

Issued by Bullion PR & Communication 26 Feb 2026

Google launches local language pilot for SA publishers

Technology

Google launches local language pilot for SA publishers

20 Jan 2026

BAT South Africa's 50-year legacy ends as illicit market forces factory closure

Design & Manufacturing

BAT South Africa's 50-year legacy ends as illicit market forces factory closure

15 Jan 2026

MDDA mourns the passing of newly appointed board member, Dr Natalie Skeepers

Media

MDDA mourns the passing of newly appointed board member, Dr Natalie Skeepers

Issued by Media Development and Diversity Agency 17 Dec 2025

MDDA welcomes new board members Dr Skeepers and Ms Malefane

Media

MDDA welcomes new board members Dr Skeepers and Ms Malefane

Issued by Media Development and Diversity Agency 17 Dec 2025

Sassa expects to save more than R341-million in the next financial year after about 35,000 grants were ended after recent reviews. Illustration: Lisa Nelson

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa expects to save R341m by tightening screenings

Marecia Damons 24 Nov 2025

Source: GroundUp/Tsoanelo Sefoloko. A large stalled social housing project next to the Bridge City shopping centre in KwaMashu, north of Durban. The developer was Instratin.

Property Development

Parliament takes social housing regulator to task over stalled projects

Matthew Hirsch 25 Nov 2025

Source: GroundUp/Sechaba Mokhethi. A Qingjian Group Company plant in Qacha’s Nek during construction of the Makhaola Lerotholi Highway.

Construction & Engineering

Lesotho community left in ruins by highway project

Sechaba Mokhethi 14 Nov 2025

Western Cape pensioners have petitioned government to increase their grants. Illustration: Lisa Nelson

Health & Social Welfare

Pensioners ask Parliament to increase grant to R5,000

Marecia Damons 11 Nov 2025

Image credit: on Pexels

Tuberculosis

Department of Health relaunches South Africa’s TB Caucus

29 Oct 2025

Government Asked to Step Up Ending Captive Breeding Implementation Process

Environment & Natural Resources

Government Asked to Step Up Ending Captive Breeding Implementation Process

Issued by FOUR PAWS 1 Dec 2022

Image credit: Sassa

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa's record year: Serving over 28 million people in 2024/2025

10 Oct 2025

Image source: rawpixel.com from

Legislation & Regulation

Liquor Amendment Bill moves to ban alcohol advertising

Sabrina de Freitas and Juliet Killick 2 Oct 2025

Sassa's biometric drive enrols 42,000 beneficiaries in two weeks

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa's biometric drive enrols 42,000 beneficiaries in two weeks

18 Sep 2025

Financial Services

Sassa says it has fixed most of its audit problems but gaps remain

Marecia Damons 16 Sep 2025

SAPS HQ fiasco: MPs lose patience with Public Works Minister

Infrastructure & Utilities

SAPS HQ fiasco: MPs lose patience with Public Works Minister

Matthew Hirsch 16 Sep 2025

Image source: rawpixel.com from

Higher Education

"War room" for 2026 academic year

16 Sep 2025

Image credit: on Pexels

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa and NDA make significant strides in improving South Africa's social services

11 Sep 2025

Film & Cinematography

National Film Foundation falters as leadership instability continues

11 Sep 2025

Advertising

EFF seeks to curb alcohol ads with proposed bill

10 Sep 2025

The deadline for the phasing out of SASSA’s Gold Card has been extended for 15 months. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

Health & Social Welfare

New deadline for phase-out of Sassa Gold Cards

4 Sep 2025

About three million SASSA grant beneficiaries receive their grants through Postbank. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Health & Social Welfare

Sassa assures Parliament grants will be paid when Postbank contract ends

Marecia Damons 1 Sep 2025

Tributes continue to pour in for actress Nandi Nyembe

Film

Tributes continue to pour in for actress Nandi Nyembe

25 Aug 2025

Gauteng initiative to support small auto businesses launching soon

SMEs

Gauteng initiative to support small auto businesses launching soon

31 Jul 2025

Source: Makhanda Tourism.

Infrastructure & Utilities

Makhanda: The collapse of an iconic South African city

Steve Kretzmann 30 Jul 2025

Higher Education

Manamela appointed Higher Education minister as Nkabane sacked

22 Jul 2025

Tourism budget proposes R2.4bn for 2025/26

Tourism

Tourism budget proposes R2.4bn for 2025/26

10 Jul 2025

Parliament recently heard submissions on the One-Stop Border Post Bill. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Legislation & Regulation

New border control plan could harm asylum seekers, say critics

Jan Bornman 11 Jun 2025

Financial Services

Cabinet sent basic income grant plan back to the drawing board

Marecia Damons 9 Jun 2025

Residential Property

Luxury home of Lottery “kingpin” frozen by Special Tribunal

Raymond Joseph 5 Jun 2025

Source: Wikimedia/Lschefa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Lesotho’s capital.

HIV/AIDS

Lesotho’s health system has been decimated by US funding cuts

Sechaba Mokhethi 2 Jun 2025

Scientists at the University of Pretoria have found that fresh vegetables are being contaminated by disease-causing bacteria through irrigation from polluted rivers and boreholes. Photos: Steve Kretzmann / GroundUp

Food, Water & Energy Security

South Africa’s polluted rivers pose food contamination risk

Steve Kretzmann 26 May 2025

Vaping is not a safe form of smoking for youngsters (or adults) warns CANSA

Oncology

Vaping is not a safe form of smoking for youngsters (or adults) warns CANSA

Issued by CANSA 26 May 2025