Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
Newsbrief
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Mashatile opens constituency office in Ntuzuma north of Durban

Published

Deputy President Paul Mashatile opened a Parliamentary Constituency Office in Ntuzuma on Saturday. He said the office will let government track community complaints and hold officials accountable. He then visited residents in KwaMashu.

Mashatile said the office will compile reports on problems such as crime, burst pipes and water challenges. Ministers, deputy ministers, the municipality and the provincial government will receive the reports and act on them. He said: "Communities must not raise problems and nothing is done."

In KwaMashu, residents raised poverty, unemployment, healthcare and infrastructure concerns. Thulile Linda shares a two-bedroom house with nine family members. She said asbestos in the area poses a potential health hazard.

Michael Mcineka said his home has been without a water meter since 2021. Mashatile said officials from the Department of Social Development would assess the circumstances of a child-headed household and give the support it needs.

Thanduxolo Sabelo, the ANC eThekwini regional coordinator, said the office could speed up work on water and sanitation. He said the Deputy President chairs several interministerial task teams, including the one on water and sanitation.

Key facts

Who
Paul Mashatile (Deputy President); Thanduxolo Sabelo (ANC eThekwini regional coordinator); Thulile Linda (KwaMashu resident who shares a two-bedroom house with nine family members); Michael Mcineka (KwaMashu resident whose home has been without a water meter since 2021)
What
Deputy President Paul Mashatile opened a Parliamentary Constituency Office in Ntuzuma to bring elected representatives closer to communities, then visited residents of KwaMashu who raised poverty, unemployment, healthcare and infrastructure concerns.
When
24 October 2026
Where
Ntuzuma, Durban, KwaMashu
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update