In case you missed it: Is Zille too old? | Fake sick notes cost SA R18bn | Inflation hits 5.0%

News today includes as the DA’s top leaders have defended their decision to field Helen Zille as their mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg despite concerns about her age.

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Meanwhile, high‑profile figures accused of faking illness to avoid appearing before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry have reignited debate over invalid sick notes and their impact on employers.

Furthermore, South Africans are once again facing rising living costs after annual consumer inflation accelerated to 5.0% in June 2026, up from 4.5% in May, driven mainly by higher transport costs, housing and utilities, and insurance and financial services.

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Is Zille too old to lead Joburg?

DA’s Helen Zille at Eyethu Shopping Centre in Soweto on 20 September 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi

The DA’s top leaders have defended their decision to field Helen Zille as their mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg despite concerns about her age.

Zille is 75 years old, but the party’s campaign manager, Ashor Sarupen, told reporters on Wednesday that Zille is the right person to fix Johannesburg.

“What Johannesburg needs is someone who is going to deal with the fact that the mafia state has set into the supply chain networks and has the fortitude to go and deal with those tender networks and clean them out,” he said.

CONTINUE READING: Is Zille too old to lead Joburg?

Idac solicited affidavit from Adams that led to Khumalo’s arrest, Madlanga commission told

Idac head Andrea Johnson testifies at the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system at Good Hope Chambers on 6 November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach.

Madlanga commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga has questioned whether the section 27 referral that led to the arrest of Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and his co-accused met all the legal requirements for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) to initiate an investigation.

Idac head Andrea Johnson returned to the Madlanga commission on Wednesday to respond to allegations that Idac unlawfully operates outside of its mandate and that it pursued a criminal case against Khumalo and other officials at Crime Intelligence due to interference at the South African Police Service (Saps).

Khumalo was arrested on 26 June 2025 in connection with the alleged irregular appointment of a former BMW employee to the rank of brigadier.

CONTINUE READING: Idac solicited affidavit from Adams that led to Khumalo’s arrest, Madlanga commission told

Fake sick notes cost South Africa R18 billion every year

Picture: iStock

High‑profile figures accused of faking illness to avoid appearing before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry have reignited debate over invalid sick notes and their impact on employers.

Labour experts warn absenteeism linked to false medical certificates costs South Africa’s economy billions each year.

According to Unu Health, an online health platform, absenteeism is estimated to cost the economy about R19 billion annually.

CONTINUE READING: Fake sick notes cost South Africa R18 billion every year

State maps out alleged contractor links as Mapisa-Nqakula pleads not guilty

Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Picture: Gallo Images / Deaan Vivier

Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula pleaded not guilty to multiple corruption-related charges as her trial commenced before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.

Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and money laundering, with the state alleging that she solicited R4.55 million in bribes from South African National Defence Force (SANDF) contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu between December 2016 and July 2019.

The alleged offences date back to her tenure as minister of defence and military veterans, a position she held from June 2012 until August 2021.

CONTINUE READING: State maps out alleged contractor links as Mapisa-Nqakula pleads not guilty

South Africans face higher living costs as inflation hits 5.0%

Picture: iStock

South Africans are once again facing rising living costs after annual consumer inflation accelerated to 5.0% in June 2026, up from 4.5% in May, driven mainly by higher transport costs, housing and utilities, and insurance and financial services.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released the consumer price index (CPI) for June on Wednesday, revealing that prices of goods and services increased by 0.7% on a monthly basis, signalling renewed price pressures on households already grappling with tight budgets.

The CPI is the primary tool used to calculate the rate of inflation. June’s inflation is above economists’ expectations of 4.7% and the SA Reserve Bank’s (Sarb) inflation target of 3.0%.

CONTINUE READING: South Africans face higher living costs as inflation hits 5.0%

Yesterday’s News recap

READ HERE: Mkhwanazi, ex get bail | Johnson alleges death threats | Why SA feels poorer

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