Local Elections Readiness: South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Committee says preparations for the 4 November 2026 local government elections are progressing, but with only four weeks left it stresses tighter coordination to close outstanding gaps. Procurement & Productivity: At the Smart Procurement World Indaba, business and procurement leaders argued that smarter purchasing can unlock supplier growth and resilience, while a separate piece warns that outcome-based outsourcing beats “pay for presence” labour hire by tying service providers to results. GBV Starts in Classrooms: A commentary says South Africa’s gender-based violence can’t be solved only in court because many perpetrators’ first assaults begin before age 20, with attitudes formed during school years. Education & Tech in Teaching: Three Western Cape teachers won National Teaching Awards, including a category for technology-enhanced learning. Cape Town Foreshore Housing Scrutiny: Cape Town’s Foreshore plan promises affordable housing but has no unit target yet, drawing pushback over cost, timelines and how many homes will actually be delivered. AI for Misinformation: NWU research is building multilingual AI to detect misinformation in English, isiZulu and Sepedi. Health Sovereignty: President Mahama urged Africa to treat health as an investable economic sector, not just social spending, at the Alamein Africa Forum. Digital Travel: Home Affairs says a new biometric e-passport is coming, with upgrades to reduce fraud and speed border checks. Smartphones: Honor launched the X5ds in South Africa with a rear secondary screen for selfie framing and controls.