These feelings are normal at this time of the year, says clinical psychologist Chris Kemp. 

“There are a lot of people out there struggling with feelings of loneliness or feelings of insecurity around this time, so if you are someone who feels this way, even though you feel alone, you aren’t alone. 

“There are a lot of people feeling very similar to you,” Kemp said.

The festive season is associated with joy and festivities with loved ones, but for some, these societal expectations induce pressure and feelings of loneliness. 

“The media and social expectations portray this time as one of celebration and connection, but for people who may be experiencing loneliness, unresolved grief or fractured family relationships, this stark contrast can heighten feelings of isolation and sadness,” said another clinical psychologist, Anele Siswana.  

For those who have lost a loved one, the December period is a reminder of their loss and grief, according to Cassey Chambers, the operations director at the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag). 

“It might be the first — or even fifth — Christmas after losing a loved one, or perhaps dealing with financial stress, so this holiday season is going to look very different than before,” Chambers said.

Sadag receives more calls from older people during December, many grappling with loneliness and depression because they don’t have children or family who visit. 

On the other hand, visiting home and family could trigger unresolved trauma or suppressed emotions, Siswana said, adding that “black tax” — a reference to how many black people feel obligated to provide financial support to extended family members — can cause more pressure. 

“It is seen as one of the socially constructed ideas driving mental health. There’s an undertone of unreasonable expectations and demands from family,” he said. 

Year-end reflections can spark depression because “focusing on perceived failures, missed opportunities or unfinished goals can exacerbate feelings of hopelessness and anxiety”, Siswana added.

“Financial stress is one of the most significant contributors to mental health challenges during the festive season. The pressure to spend on gifts, travel and celebrations can become overwhelming.”

She said the reality of “January blues” — where financial strain spills into the new year — also weighs heavily on people’s minds.

Kemp said acknowledging these feelings, instead of suppressing them, is the first step to lessening the load. 

“When we talk about depression or feeling low, obviously we always want people to sit with their feelings. We want people to be able to acknowledge their feelings; we don’t want them to force them aside.” 

People should try the “opposite action” method — doing the opposite of what you feel like doing. 

“Depression tends to drag us down and make us do things that hold us in that space. 

“So, instead of staying in bed all day, or not seeing people or not interacting enough, simple things like getting up, getting dressed, getting out of bed or getting out of the house and going somewhere nice or doing something that sort of feeds your soul or that you enjoy.”

People should also embrace self-awareness and accept their feelings without judgment. They must set boundaries to protect their energy, finances and mental health and say “no” to draining activities and stick to a realistic budget, Siswana said. 

It is also important to reflect on the past year and plan small, achievable changes for growth in the new year, emphasising progress over perfection, he added.

“It’s also important to understand that being human means navigating both light and shadow, joy and pain. 

“Feeling overwhelmed during certain seasons or moments in life doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you; it means you’re alive, you’re processing, and that’s okay. 

“Life brings challenges — whether it’s personal loss, family pressures, financial worries or feelings of loneliness — and your reaction to these experiences is real and unique to you.” 

• Sadag counsellors offer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week

• Toll-free helpline: 0800 567 567 or 0800 456 789

• SMS counselling: Send a message to 31393 and a counsellor will call you back

• WhatsApp support: Send a message to 076 882 2775 (8am to 5pm) and chat live to a counsellor for free

• Visit www.sadag.org for more information.

According to data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group, the prices of some items have gone up slightly while others have eased.

The net result is that the average price of a food basket this year is R1 600.45, down slightly from R1 654.07 last year.

A 10kg bag of rice costs R171.08 compared with R167.54 in November last year, a 2% increase, while a 30kg bag of maize meal went up to R328.17 this year, from R300.09 last year. 

A 10kg portion of frozen chicken costs R403.00 this year, compared with R400.60 last November, showing a 1% increase. 

But the price of 2kg of beef has dipped to R179.65, from R181.64 last year, while 60 eggs now cost R166.69, a 13% drop from R191.83 last year, when prices were driven up by the Avian flu outbreak.

A true South African Christmas meal has the “seven colours” vegetables on the plate.

The food survey shows the cost of a 10kg bag of potatoes is R112.17, down from R130.02 last year, while a 10kg bag of butternut has dropped to R95.04 from R148.87 last year, a 36% decrease. 

The price of eight bunches of spinach has, however, increased to R104.19 this year from R96.28 last year, while two heads of cabbage would now cost R40.56, compared with R38.37.

All in all, the cost of the items in the seven-colour food basket is R351.96, whereas it would have set buyers back R413.83 last year. 

In putting together the food price data, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group works with women living on low incomes in Johannesburg’s Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa and Hillbrow, the Cape Town areas of Gugulethu, Philippi, Khayelitsha, Langa, Delft and Dunoon, as well as KwaMashu, Umlazi, Isipingo, the Durban CBD, Hammarsdale, Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg and Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal and Springbok in the Northern Cape.

South African consumers have developed “food coping strategies” when it comes to buying food and other consumables for the festive period.

These often include buying from a more affordable retailer and more affordable food, said Hester Vermeulen, a consumer analyst at Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, a non-profit organisation which provides data and analysis on the agricultural industry.“Considering the significant income pressure that is being experienced by many South Africans, it is very possible that consumers will shop around for special price offerings — possibly resulting in less loyalty to a specific retailer — try less expensive brands and cut back on luxuries,” Vermeulen told the Mail & Guardian.

The government has more work to do to ensure that the sector is properly regulated and adheres to health regulations, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosi Hlabisa told a media briefing on Wednesday.

“The government understands the concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the registration deadline for spaza shops but the initial deadline was set to address the urgent need to ensure compliance with health and safety standards following the tragic incidents of food-borne illnesses,” he said.

Registration would ensure that all spaza shops met the minimum standards, regardless of their past operations, Hlabisa said, adding that any businesses that did not comply with the health regulations, or were run by foreigners who were in the country illegally, would be closed down, even if they were registered. 

Hlabisa said there were two distinct processes during registration, the first being business compliance and the second compliance with health regulations.

“This process does not depend on whether you are registered or not. If you don’t comply with the health regulations, the business is closed down immediately,” he warned.

Since 15 November, 42 915 applications have been filed to operate spaza shops and food handling outlets. Of these, 19 386 were approved while 1 041 businesses were forced to close.

Deputy national commissioner responsible for policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, said 41 deaths from food-borne illnesses had been reported this year, 38 of them children. Thirty-two cases had been opened to investigate food-borne illnesses, she added.

Mosikili said three people had been arrested and prosecuted for poisoning-related matters prior to the September to November period, and these cases were still under investigation. 

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told journalists that the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development was also investigating the origins of the organophosphate Terbufos — the pesticide identified as the cause of the deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto. 

“Out of the five manufacturers of this organophosphate called Terbufos, which they have inspected and tested … there is the conclusion that it must be coming from outside the country, because it was not similar to the one that is manufactured by the five companies,” Motsoaledi said.

Multidisciplinary enforcement teams were conducting door-to-door compliance checks; intelligence-led operations on warehouses and supermarkets and other food handlers; closures of non-compliant premises and confiscations of non-compliant or illegal goods, Hlabisa said. Inspections of imported food items, medicines and pesticides had been intensified at ports of entry. 

Law enforcement would target tuck shops and spaza shops around schools in January, before schools are reopened, to ensure they have gone through the application process and are compliant with health regulations. 

“The rising number of deaths — especially that was concerning us most for our children — has really come down and that is what makes us pleased about the intervention and that is what is going to make us ensure that we do not go back to where we were,” Hlabisa said.

Scores of people were waiting in queues at the Jabulani Civic Centre in Soweto on Tuesday morning — the last day for them to register their businesses with the municipality as ordered by Ramaphosa on 15 November to ensure they comply with food safety regulations.

Salomendaba Mofokeng, who has been running a spaza shop in the area for 24 years, told the Mail & Guardian that she had gone to the municipal offices a few times but was told each time that she didn’t have the right supporting documents. 

“I came on Friday, with all the documents, because they’ve checked everything. I’m left with only one certificate that I need to re-apply for. It’s only one certificate but they are telling me I need to follow the queue again,” the frustrated Mofokeng said.

Other women who run food businesses in the area also lamented the lack of information from officials.

“It’s not even fair because the security guards don’t tell you that, when you come back, you must bring one, two, three, four. They tell you you must bring an ID only, and now I find out I must bring other documents, and I don’t have all those things,” said one woman, who asked not to be named, asking for an extension of the registration deadline.

“We are expected to fail already, because we are going to leave this place — and it’s tiring,” another woman said.  

Some of the documents required when submitting an application for a food business include the physical and postal address; a description of the goods or services that the business will sell or provide to the community; the citizenship status of the applicant and the passport number, a permit or valid visa for foreigners. 

The applicant must also provide an affidavit stating that they do not sell illegal goods and that their business will operate according to the applicable norms and standards. 

Mofokeng was waiting in another queue nearly two hours later to submit her certificate but she said she would leave if she could not finalise her paperwork on Tuesday.

“If today I don’t come right, I am going to keep all my papers and I will work in my shop. If they come, I will tell them that I took the initiative to come [re-register],” she said.

“All those days when the president said we must do this, I’ve tried. I ran up and down. I don’t even have money now. We closed the shop; we are not operating. We are trying to fix this. There is no money coming in but there is money going out.”

The Gauteng provincial government said in a briefing last week that, as of 10 December, 13 616 spaza shops had been issued with registration forms. Of these, 1 916 forms were returned and 2 605 applications were submitted by non-South African spaza shop owners. About 541 spaza shops were closed for non-compliance.

The provincial government said businesses that missed the registration deadline would be closed down. 

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosi Hlabisa is expected to provide an update on the re-registeration of businesses on Wednesday, his spokesperson said.

This week alone, new temperature highs were recorded in several parts of the country, data from the South African Weather Service shows. 

Fitchett said every month of this year has been at least 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial conditions.

“The thinking was that the current conditions [the heatwaves and their duration] would happen towards 2030 and later, and they’re happening now,” she said.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to keep the long-term global average surface temperature increase below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

A new temperature record of 37.4°C had been reached in Bethlehem in the Free State this week, higher than the previous record of 36.2 °C set in 2015, said Samkelisiwe Thwala, a forecaster at the South African Weather Service. 

In the Northern Cape, Vioolsdrif had recorded a record 45.3°C. 

Prieska, Postmasburg and Vaalharts in the Northern Cape, as well as Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, had experienced temperatures of above 40°C. 

Fitchett said scorching temperatures are least favourable to nations in Southern Africa because of their reliance on agriculture and tourism — which is sensitive to climate — to boost their economies. 

“All of these things together mean that we should be very worried here in Southern Africa, because this is just the start.” 

An agroclimatology and climate change researcher at the Agricultural Research Council, Sarah Roffe, said Southern Africa is warming more rapidly than many other regions because of the influence of high-pressure systems.

She said these “tropical high-pressure pulses” are expected to intensify over time.

“These contribute to drier conditions, but also play a very big role in our region warming at a rate that is faster than the global average. In fact, the Southern Africa area is warming at quite an alarming rate compared to many areas across the world.” 

Some parts of South Africa had last year experienced a “flash drought” — an intense and rapid onset of dry weather. In combination with poor rains so far this year, these were causing major problems for agricultural production, Roffe said.

“We’ve not really had a great onset of the summer rainfall season. Coupled with the heat, this has resulted in a loss of soil moisture, which affects crops and livestock,” she said. 

Thabile Nkunjana, an economist from the National Agricultural Marketing Council, said the heat and dryness were a worry for food production. 

“We are seeing sporadic droughts, together with sometimes prolonged drought spells, and the reality is that they are getting worse,” he warned.

“We are experiencing quite unusual climate patterns that are somehow linked to climate change. These are creating uncertainty about how we are going to be able to produce our food.”

Twelve and 24-month standard precipitation index maps in the October drought bulletin of the weather service show that conditions across South Africa have been somewhat dry, with moderately dry to extremely dry conditions over the Northern Cape, Gauteng, North-West, Limpopo, the northern half of the Free State, northern and eastern parts of the Eastern Cape and eastern parts of Mpumalanga. 

Nkunjana said substantial rainfall is needed to alleviate dry conditions in these areas. Although there has been some rain, most was concentrated in small regions.

He added that farmers who would normally plant crops in mid-October would have to wait until the end of November to early December to plant, because the soil is not in a suitable state. 

In drought-affected areas such as the Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, “livestock is dying because there hasn’t been rain for quite some time”. 

“This is very unusual for this time of the year,” Nkunjana said. “We are really experiencing quite unpredictable circumstances.” 

In terms of crop production, he said South Africa had seen a fall in the production of soya beans, and a slight reduction in maize and dry beans as a result of drought. 

Fitchett said that although the trend over the next few decades would be towards greater warmth, there could be occasional “cool year” interruptions. 

“We could have a very cool December between now and 2030 or 2040 because of all of the interplays between the different drivers,” she said. 

Roffe stressed the importance of human economic activity as a major driver in changing weather patterns.

These factors included car emissions, electricity production and consumption, as well as agriculture, which is a notable emitter of greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. 

“Those greenhouse gases basically sit in the atmosphere and they trap heat, and that’s the problem,” she added.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 15 November that all food handling facilities and spaza shops should register their businesses within 21 days and 17 December is in that period.

The directive came amid a number of cases of food-borne illnesses being reported across the country, which have killed more than 20 children.

“The counting of the 21 days started on Monday, 18 November considering that municipal offices are closed on weekends and public holidays,” the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said in a statement on Thursday.

It reiterated that businesses that missed the registration window would be closed down.

The Gauteng provincial government said this week that as of 10 December, 13 616 spaza shops had been issued with registration forms. Of these, 1 916 forms were returned. Some 2 605 applications were submitted by non-South African spaza shop owners. 

Additionally, 541 spaza shops were closed for non-compliance. These did not have a Companies and Intellectual Property Commission registration, which is a legal requirement for businesses operating in South Africa. 

Other issues of non-compliance included not having certificates of acceptability or comment from the City of Johannesburg’s environment health department and failure to pay operating licenses obtained from municipalities. 

“Businesses operating from unsafe premises and within a hazardous environment have also been closed for non-compliance,” the Gauteng government said.

In his 15 November announcement, Ramaphosa also ordered the spaza shops implicated in the deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto, to be closed immediately. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases had found that their deaths were linked to a harmful agricultural pesticide called Terbufos. 

Ramaphosa said the government interventions were aimed at preventing food borne illnesses and to get pesticides off the streets. He added that a multidisciplinary team would also conduct door-to-door inspections of all spaza shops, tuck shops and other informal traders. 

On Thursday the GCIS said these teams are identifying and closing non-compliant businesses and “confiscating illegal and unsafe products that pose risks to public health”.

They are also doing compliance checks and intelligence-led operations targeting food warehouses, supermarkets and other food handlers. 

These inspections will continue beyond the 21-day period, the statement said.

These fans have coughed up from R745 for “general admission standing” up to an eye-watering R5 774 a person for the “presidential suite” to hear him perform hits such as With You, Forever and Under the Influence.

Despite efforts from organisations such as Women for Change, which started a petition raising 51 000 signatures, to stop Brown from performing, the artist brazenly responded on their Instagram page: “Can’t wait to come,” followed by a heart emoji.

The “King of R&B” rose to stardom in 2005 but his career has become clouded by his run-ins with the law over charges of domestic abuse, sexual assault and other violent crimes.

The most prominent case dates back to 2009, when he was arrested for beating up his then-girlfriend, fellow singer Rihanna. 

He pleaded guilty to the charge and served five years of probation, in addition to community service, and went for domestic violence counselling. 

Another former girlfriend, socialite and actor Karrueche Tran, later got a restraining order against him.

The series of allegations against him was detailed in a documentary, released in October, titled  Chris Brown: A History of Violence. 

It launched Investigation Discovery’s third annual No Excuse for Abuse campaign. 

The film includes explicit details of the night he assaulted Rihanna in a car after a Grammy party. It quotes Brown’s threats: “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home,” and even, “Now I am going to kill you.”

The documentary includes an expose from a woman who claims that Brown raped her on a yacht belonging to the now-disgraced rapper P Diddy in 2020. 

It exposes how, after the attacks on Rihanna, Brown faced multiple accusations of sexual assault by several women, which he denied, as well as public acts of violence.

He smashed a window when he appeared on the Good Morning America show in 2011, assaulted a man in Washington in 2013, damaged his mother’s car in the same year and, in 2016, punched the Brazilian model Liziane Gutierrez.

In addition, his former manager sued him for assault that year, with the case settled in 2019. 

He was also sued for sexual assault in 2018, arrested for assaulting a photographer (charges dropped), detained in France for alleged sexual assault (charges dropped) and a had an assault charge brought against him by four concertgoers (trial pending).

The founder and executive director of Women For Change Sabrina Walter said the organisation was taking a stand against “individuals with a history of violence against women”.

Given South Africa’s staggeringly high rate of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide cases, “I felt that we simply could not condone abusers in our country, no matter how famous they are.”

Walter wrote to the departments of home affairs and sport, arts and culture and Big Concerts calling for the performance to be cancelled but they failed to respond.

“We have asked [home affairs] to explain why Chris Brown was granted a visa, despite his conviction, his 108-day imprisonment and 28 other reported violent incidents, which, under the Immigration Act, should render him an undesirable person,” Walter said.

The Act states: “Anyone with previous criminal convictions without the option of a fine for conduct which would be an offence in the republic with the exclusion of certain prescribed offences. 

“Upon application from the affected person, the department may waive any of the grounds of undesirability provided that it reports such decisions to the minister and the board with reasons.”

Attorney Ashraf Essop, who specialises in immigration, told the Mail & Guardian that home affairs should have denied Brown a visa and entry to the country because of his history of domestic violence and abuse against women.

He explained that the issuing of a visa is a privilege, not a right, and although the application form doesn’t have provision for people who have a history of violence, “The host state can say, ‘We don’t think that you’re good for our locals. 

“‘We have 16 days of activism but you’re not a good role model.’ They could’ve taken that route.”

Essop said that someone with a criminal record shouldn’t be allowed to come to South Africa, let alone come to make stacks of money.

“One of the [considerations] is that [the home affairs department] has discretion but it didn’t apply its mind to relevant facts. It only applied it to irrelevant facts. Irrelevant facts are the man is coming here and it’s a commercial enterprise. He’s got no other benefit.”

He added that it would have been compulsory for Brown to produce a police clearance certificate to enter the country.

The M&G repeatedly contacted the departments of home affairs; women, youth and persons with disabilities and sport, arts and culture, as well as Big Concerts, for comment but did not receive a response.

The concert coincides with South Africa’s 16 Days of Activism campaign which creates awareness around the abuse of women and children.

According to the police crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, murders of women increased by 7.9% to 966, while attempted murders went up by 16% to 1 644 and assault (grievous bodily harm) rose by 69% to 13 757 incidents. Sexual offences in general declined 0.4% to 11 566 but rapes rose 0.6% to 9 309.

Despite this, prominent figures have tried to justify Brown performing here.

Former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng shared on X that she would be attending the concert.

“I am totally against GBV and condemn it. I believe that those who perpetrate GBV should face the full might of the law without exceptions or leniency,” she said.

Then went on to say, “But let me be clear, just in case the message didn’t sit well: I am going to attend Brown’s concert if he comes. These two things are not mutually exclusive.

“To suggest that enjoying a concert aligns you with every past action of the artist is, at best, simplistic and, at worst, intellectually dishonest.

Phakeng said in her post that “music is bigger than the individual” and that boycotting Brown’s concert wouldn’t end GBV in South Africa.

“Attending the concert does not magically erase our moral stance on GBV,” she said.

South African actress, author, film-maker and activist Rosie Motene said while the government promotes 16 Days of Activism, it fails to take notice of issues on the ground.

“It’s all about showing face and pushing those kinds of things, but when it comes to implementing things on the ground or in your own spaces, nobody’s really taking accountability for it, nobody’s really doing anything about that,” she said.

There are several precedents for countries barring Brown from performing after he was arrested for assaulting Rihanna. The UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all prevented him from doing shows.

In 2010, the UK government said it “reserved the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offense”.

“Public safety is one of our primary concerns. Each application to enter the UK is considered on its individual merits.”

Essop said that officials at the home affairs department are obliged to act accordingly and they should be trained on how to evaluate people applying to enter the country — “especially now, when there’s such a heightened awareness of disrespect for human beings, generally”.

Walter said that the government’s failure to act showed that there is a long way to go in holding institutions accountable.

“If the concert proceeds despite our efforts, the international coverage and public outcry, it will send a clear and troubling message about where the government and Big Concerts truly stand on combating gender-based violence.”

Walter added: “In a country plagued by one of the highest rates of GBV, continuing to support musicians and artists accused or convicted of sexual abuse sends a dangerous and damaging message.

“If we continue to allow abusers to work without accountability, we normalise their behaviour and undermine the fight against GBV. 

“This needs to end.”

The application, filed in the Western Cape high court on Thursday, says the “state has failed to discharge, diligently and without delay, its obligation under section 25(5) of the Constitution to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions to enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis”.

It cites the speaker of the National Assembly, the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the president and the minister of land reform and rural development as respondents.

In the papers, the foundation asked the state and the other parties to “ensure that national legislation is enacted within 18 months” and addresses the definition of “equitable access” to land; how land is to be identified and acquired; how beneficiaries are to be selected and supported; the multiple land uses as well as integration with other elements of land reform.

It says land reform in South Africa is “on a path of policy failure” noting that, in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, from an estimated 77.58 million hectares of white-owned farmland in 1994, only 19.3 million hectares or 25% had been redistributed. 

The foundation launched the application on Thursday, the 11th anniversary of the death of its patron Nelson Mandela. 

The foundation said it considers “the right to equitable access to land and, more broadly, the advancement of land reform, as unfinished business in relation to the legacy of Madiba”.

“It is intolerable that we live in a society in which the benefits and burdens are not equally shared — with a small number of people enjoying the benefits while the majority carry the burdens. Realising section 25(5) of the Constitution can help us correct this injustice,” it  added.

Should the state seek to oppose the application, it must do so within 10 days of receipt of the application and deliver its answering affidavit within 15 days, the foundation said.

Presenting the performance of the division during the 2023-24 financial year on Thursday, the NPA Gauteng director of public prosecutions Sibongile Mzinyathi said the division had convicted 88.9% of organised crime cases and 90.5% of complex commercial crime cases. The conviction rate for complex tax cases was 90.9%.

Mzinyathi outlined four high-profile cases that the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) — part of the organised crime division — was involved in, the first being related to illegal mining kingpins in which the unit secured three forfeiture orders to the value of R18 million in March.  

The properties “are proceeds of unlawful activities of a syndicate dealing in unwrought gold in the Khutsong area, Carletonville”, Mzinyathi said, adding that the case had been postponed for trial in the high court in February.

The AFU also secured two forfeiture orders worth R33 million from the Pretoria high court in March for properties which were the proceeds of unlawful activities at Eskom’s Kusile power station, “following allegations of serious maladministration and corruption”.

In another case related to the electricity utility, the Pretoria AFU was granted an order by the high court in November 2023 to freeze properties and cash worth R29 million belonging to a syndicate that had stolen from Eskom. 

The AFU also conducted a financial investigation which uncovered an elaborate scheme that stole millions from the National Lotteries Commission, Mzinyathi said. 

“The AFU brought applications for forfeiture totaling 18 against various individuals who were implicated in the theft to the value of approximately R93 million. Some of the applications were opposed but some were not.

“The AFU confiscated various assets in the form of houses and more vehicles. The investigation continues,” he said. 

Mzinyathi said the NPA in Gauteng was facing challenges due to a lack of skilled personnel to deal with difficult cases. 

“We continue to experience challenges in the finalisation rate of corruption matters. These cases require prosecutors with specialised skills. These cases are often hotly contested by accused people, which results in lower finalisation rates,” he said. 

He added that, due to the complex nature of the offences heard in the specialised commercial crimes unit, “matters take longer to finalise”. 

Referring to the ongoing Senzo Meyiwa murder case, Mzinyathi said he is “assured now that it is nearing, at least in so far as state evidence is concerned, it is nearing the state where the state case is going to close … and then we will hear what the defence and the accused are doing”.

Mzinyathi said during the 2023-24 financial year the NPA in Gauteng convicted 81.7% of murder cases, 100% of femicide cases, 97.2% of intimate partner femicide cases and 77.5%  sexual offences cases.

Temperatures in major cities such as Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Polokwane hovered between 30°C and 35°C this week, the weather service said.

Over the past two days, the heatwave has been felt mostly in the northern parts of Free State and the North West, as well as Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, South African Weather Service forecaster Edward Engelbrecht said.

Temperatures are expected to drop slightly by Friday but pick up again over the weekend and reach the mid 30s again into next week, he told the Mail & Guardian. 

“We can expect temperatures reaching high degrees, especially in the Lowveld and western Bushveld of Limpopo. As for Gauteng, we can also expect temperatures to come back to the mid 30s, even the high 30s, in mostly the northern parts of Gauteng,” Engelbrecht added.

Although it’s not unusual to have heatwaves at this time of the year, he said, they would not normally last this long.

“It’s quite weird to see a heatwave lasting this long, because we’ve already experienced it from the beginning of this week, for the whole week, and then again from the weekend. 

“It is a bit unusual that a heatwave continues for such an extended period of time and then we also see that it is looking at temperatures above 40 — it is above normal temperatures for this time of the year,” he said. 

The surge in temperatures had been caused by a phenomenon called “heat low” over parts of Namibia, as well as not enough cool air coming in from the ocean.

“We don’t have any cold fronts or cold air over the country, so we see the same conditions persisting every day and that’s increasing the temperature day by day,” Engelbrecht said.

He said the weather service expected scattered showers and thunder showers in some regions, including parts of the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, on Thursday, that could reduce temperatures in the afternoon, “but it shouldn’t result in any significant cooling”.