Final voter registration weekend is here

South Africans who have not yet registered to vote or need to update their details, have been urged to do so during the final voter registration weekend on 1 and 2 August.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) said it had completed its preparations for the final voting station-based registration opportunity, with 23 699 voting stations set to operate across the country from 8am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

IEC Chief Executive Officer Sy Mamabolo called on eligible voters to use the opportunity to secure their place on the voters’ roll, ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

“The Commission calls on all eligible South Africans who have not yet registered as voters; those who are registered but have not yet inspected their address details for completeness, or those who have moved residence since they last registered, to use this final opportunity to secure their place on the voters’ roll,” Mamabolo said.

The IEC will deploy 48 212 trained electoral officials to assist voters with registration, updating their details and verifying their registration information.

The Commission has also adjusted its voting district arrangements following an assessment of voter activity during the first registration weekend, reducing the number of districts from 23 706 to 23 699.

During the first registration weekend on 20 and 21 June, more than three million registration transactions were recorded.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has also urged citizens to take part in the final registration drive, stressing that active participation is essential to improving local government.

“Go and vote for people who will serve you. It is not going to help to complain if you don't participate in selecting who should be your candidate,” Hlabisa said.

He said the quality of local government depended largely on the calibre of councillors elected to serve communities.

“If we want to fix municipalities, we must fix who becomes a councillor. That is the bottom line,” Hlabisa said.

Hlabisa also urged voters to participate in the candidate nomination process and elect leaders who will ensure that municipal funds are directed towards essential services and priority needs.

The Department of Home Affairs will align its operating hours with the registration weekend to assist eligible voters who require identity documents.

Following the final registration weekend, the IEC anticipates that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will proclaim the date of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

Mamabolo said the voters’ roll would close at midnight on the day the election is proclaimed.

Thereafter, no new registrations or changes to existing voter details will be permitted until after the elections, and the IEC will cease registration drives and deactivate its online registration portal. 

Two firearms seized, two men arrested in Western Cape operation

Police have arrested a 36-year-old man and seized two firearms, ammunition and imitation weapons during an intelligence-driven operation in Ottery, Cape Town.

The operation was conducted on Thursday, 30 July, by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Anti-Gang Unit, supported by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), under Operation Prosper.

Police targeted a residence at Hohenhort Court in the Ottery area after receiving intelligence about suspected illegal firearms.
During a search of the property, officers seized a CZ100 pistol and a Ruger pistol, two imitation firearms, three magazines, 29 rounds of ammunition of various calibres and a blank round.

A 36-year-old man was arrested and is facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as the illegal possession of two imitation firearms.

He is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court.

In a separate operation conducted as part of the same deployment, police tracing wanted suspects arrested a 51-year-old man for allegedly contravening the Domestic Violence Act.

The arrests come as police intensify operations targeting illegal firearms, which authorities have identified as a major contributor to violent and gang-related crime in the Western Cape.

Acting Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Major General Luyanda Damoyi said the recovery of illegal firearms could help prevent further violent crimes.

“The proliferation of illegal firearms continues to fuel violent crime and gang-related violence in our province,” Damoyi said.
He said police could not determine whether the recovered firearms had previously been used in crimes until ballistic testing had been completed.

“Every firearm recovered is one less weapon available to criminals to rob, intimidate or take innocent lives,” Damoyi said.

He added that police would continue conducting intelligence-driven operations to remove illegal firearms from circulation.

SAPS has urged communities to provide information that could assist police in recovering illegal firearms and identifying those involved in their possession and use.

President green-lights report on electricity sector restructuring

President Cyril Ramaphosa has endorsed a landmark report by the Eskom Restructuring Task Team (ERTT), setting out the framework for establishing a fully independent state-owned Transmission System Operator (TSO).

The report sets the stage for a restructuring of the electricity sector to “create competition, unlock investment, reduce electricity prices and ensure energy security for sustained economic growth and job creation.”

“This report shows how government can ensure that the architecture of the electricity sector can change as the sector continues to evolve, creating the foundation for South Africa’s growth.

“It is welcomed that all the key stakeholders are aligned on this objective,” President Ramaphosa said in a statement on Friday.
According to the Presidency, the report sets out recommendations for an “independent Transmission System Operator separate from Eskom.”

“The TSO is a key enabler of a successful competitive wholesale electricity market that is expected to deliver reliable and cost-effective electricity. This reform will support higher rates of economic growth, investment and job creation,” the Presidency said.

The report includes recommendations that:
-show that the restructuring is feasible, in line with international best practice, and can be done in a manner that does not compromise Eskom’s financial sustainability.
-highlight that the growth in municipal arrear debt to Eskom needs to be addressed because of the threat it poses to Eskom and the broader electricity sector.
-identify several actions that can be taken immediately to enable the restructuring.

“In Phase II, which starts immediately, the detailed transaction structure and implementation plan will be developed. Phase II will proceed over the next three months.

“The ERTT has proposed that a working group develop a consolidated action plan, encompassing all initiatives aimed at arresting the growth in municipal arrears and identifying those to be scaled up and accelerated.

“Such initiatives include stronger enforcement of credit controls, rolling out smart meters and Distribution Agency Agreements (DAAs), and stricter license enforcement, as well as the continued implementation of the Municipal Debt Relief Programme, Metro Trading Services Reform and the Electricity Distribution Industry (EDI) Reform Roadmap,” a Presidency statement noted.

Actions that can be implemented immediately include:
-strengthening interim measures to support the existing National Transmission Company of South Africa’s (NTCSA’s) independence and the internal ring-fencing of the NTCSA’s different licensed activities.
-taking first steps toward unbundling tariffs.
-clarifying the payment waterfall within the restructured market environment.
-developing mechanisms to insulate market participants from non-payment.

“The proposals to strengthen NTCSA’s independence during the interim period until the TSO is established include various requirements to ensure good governance and strengthened regulatory oversight.

“Directors serving on the Eskom board will not be appointed to the board of the NTCSA or serve on the boards of both the NTCSA and Eskom. The appointment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and senior management of NTCSA will be the sole responsibility of the NTCSA Board,” the statement read.

Furthermore, there will be “clear delegation of authority from Eskom to the NTCSA of all decision-making related to the market, financial and operational ring-fencing of NTCSA from Eskom”. 

“Decisions on access to the transmission network are to be relocated to the NTCSA and eventually to the TSO. This includes cases in which connections are at the distribution level but have implications for the market or transmission network.

“Eskom Distribution will retain a Grid Access Unit to manage connections to its distribution network where projects connect at this level,” the statement concluded. 
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