What are the latest news in South Africa? August 31st, 2026
Major developments and headlines in South Africa for August 31, 2026, include:
- Energy & Electricity Reforms: President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the government’s commitment to restructuring the energy sector, confirming the rollout of a fully state-owned, independent Transmission System Operator (TSO) to open competitive electricity markets while stabilizing Eskom’s financial standing. South African Government News Agency———
- Constitutional Court Tax Battle: The Constitutional Court has reserved judgment on whether to confirm a High Court ruling that restricts the Finance Minister’s authority to unilaterally raise Value-Added Tax (VAT) rates without explicit prior parliamentary approval. -BusinessTech——–
- Fuel Price Adjustments: The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy confirmed fuel price increases taking effect at midnight on Wednesday, driven by recent global crude oil price fluctuations and currency exchange adjustments.
- SASSA Card Migration Deadline: The deadline for South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant recipients to transition from older gold cards to new Postbank black cards arrived today, concluding the phased migration.
- GBVF National Council Operationalization: The South African government formally advanced the operationalization of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), establishing a statutory multisectoral mechanism to coordinate national prevention and response efforts as Women’s Month concludes.- www.sanews.gov.za———
- Infrastructure Financing: The New Development Bank (NDB) and the South African government finalized loan agreements totaling $405 million designated for national water, sanitation, and transport infrastructure projects. -www.sanews.gov.za——–
- Sports & Rugby: The national rugby team, the Springboks, remains in the spotlight following their hard-fought Rugby Championship victory over New Zealand’s All Blacks.- www.sanews.gov.za———