South Africa's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) is leading the country's delegation to the 2026 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26), held in Doha, Qatar from 9 to 27 November 2026. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) calls the Plenipotentiary Conference its highest decision-making body, and it meets every four years to set the Union's strategic direction, policies and priorities. The conference elects five senior officials of the Union and the members of the ITU Council. South Africa currently sits on the ITU Council, representing Region D, and is standing for re-election to that seat. Its negotiating positions cover affordable digital access, digital government, digital skills, data and cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital inclusion. The ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies.
Conference:2026 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26)Venue and dates:Doha, Qatar, from 9 to 27 November 2026South Africa's Council seat:a seat on the ITU Council representing Region D countries
Why it matters for exams: The ITU is the UN specialised agency for information and communication technologies, and its Plenipotentiary Conference is a recurring question on international organisations.
The 31st Conference of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) was held in Cape Town from 1 to 5 November 2026. Delegates came from across the Commonwealth, among them Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, who is the Society's President, and its Chairman Sir Nicholas Bacon. Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Ivan Meyer welcomed the delegates to the province. He listed climate change, water scarcity, rising input costs and supply chain disruption as the pressures on farming, and pointed to technology, precision agriculture and climate-smart farming as the openings. The conference brought together farmers, researchers and policymakers to work on food security, rural economies and sustainable agriculture. Agri-Expo, represented by Chris Fourie, sat on the organising committee.
Conference:31st Conference of the Royal Agricultural Society of the CommonwealthVenue and dates:Cape Town, from 1 to 5 November 2026Society President:Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal
Why it matters for exams: The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth is a Commonwealth body, and South Africa's Commonwealth membership plus Cape Town's role as the Western Cape capital are standard questions.
South Africa's National Treasury has announced that the country will host the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting in Cape Town from 27 to 31 March 2028. The meeting had first been expected in 2027, but the WEF revised the dates after changes to its international meeting calendar. The Special Meeting is part of the Forum's effort to widen its engagement beyond the Annual Meeting it holds at Davos. The Treasury said the gathering is meant to bring global leaders together on the forces reshaping the world economy, to identify growth and investment opportunities, and to build partnerships with economic results. For South Africa it is a chance to put its investment case to a global audience. The WEF is an international organisation for public-private cooperation.
Meeting:World Economic Forum Special MeetingHost city:Cape Town, South AfricaDates:27 to 31 March 2028
Why it matters for exams: The World Economic Forum and its Annual Meeting at Davos are frequently asked, and the venue of a special meeting is a durable fact about South Africa.
Mr Milingoni Fulufhelo Lloyd Nedohe has become the Director-General of South Africa's Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), with effect from 1 November 2026. Cabinet approved the appointment. GCIS is the body that handles government communication in South Africa, issues official media statements and runs the government's information services for citizens. Government Communications welcomed the appointment and said the new Director-General would help strengthen how the state explains its work to the public. The post of Director-General is the administrative head of a South African national department. Enquiries on the announcement were directed to Deputy Government Spokesperson William Baloyi.
Office:Director-General of the Government Communication and Information SystemHolder:Mr Milingoni Fulufhelo Lloyd NedoheEffective from:1 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: GCIS stands for Government Communication and Information System, and the office of Director-General is the administrative head of a South African national department - both are durable Polity facts.
South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has welcomed the outcomes of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Yerevan, Armenia from 19 to 30 October 2026. Parties adopted the Yerevan Pathway for Accelerated Implementation, meant to speed up work on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. On finance, the meeting set an intersessional process, and a study on broadening the contributor base will go to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation before COP18. The first global review found that fewer than half of the national targets assessed are on track for 2030. Deputy Minister Narend Singh led the South African delegation, and Malepo Phoshoko was elected to the COP Bureau. Learners from Sharpeville in Gauteng performed a biodiversity poem at the meeting.
Meeting:COP17 of the Convention on Biological DiversityHost city:Yerevan in ArmeniaOutcome adopted:Yerevan Pathway for Accelerated ImplementationSouth African delegation head:Deputy Minister Narend Singh
Why it matters for exams: The Convention on Biological Diversity, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the host city of each Conference of the Parties are standard environment questions.
South Africa's Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, has submitted a Cabinet Memorandum seeking concurrence for the appointment of Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the unit widely known as the Hawks. The memorandum is to be presented at the earliest Cabinet sitting. The appointment is made under Section 17CA(1) to (3) of the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995. Under that section the Minister of Police makes the appointment with the concurrence of Cabinet, and the appointment is then reported to Parliament. The DPCI investigates national priority offences, including serious organised and commercial crime and corruption. The statement was issued by the South African Police Service. Until Cabinet concurs, the proposal remains a request and not a completed appointment.
Office:National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime InvestigationOfficer proposed:Lieutenant General Nhlanhla MkhwanaziLaw:South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995, Section 17CA(1) to (3)
Why it matters for exams: The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, nicknamed the Hawks, and Section 17CA of the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995 are the durable body-and-law facts here.
Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced the outcome of Bid Window 1 of the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (GASIPPPP), run by the Department of Electricity and Energy with the IPP Office. Bid Window 1 set out to buy 2,000 MW of new capacity, a figure drawn from the IRP2019 and IRP2025 plans. A revised Request for Proposals went out on 20 October 2025, and four bids offering a total of 2,830MW came in on 29 May 2026. Bidders had to give assurances of gas supply, and none could do so at the level the Request for Proposals demanded, so none met the mandatory functional criteria. The result is that no Preferred Bidders were appointed and no generation capacity was awarded. The department noted that South Africa imports most of its gas from Mozambique and has no LNG receiving terminal. The Minister said the country is not retreating from its gas-to-power goals and will work on the infrastructure and commercial conditions needed for a future window.
Capacity sought:2,000 MW of generation capacityBids received:four bids offering a total of 2,830MW of capacityOutcome:no Preferred Bidders were appointedMain gas source:imports most of its gas supply requirements from Mozambique
Why it matters for exams: GASIPPPP stands for the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, run by South Africa's Department of Electricity and Energy under the Integrated Resource Plan - a scheme-and-ministry fact examiners use.
South Africa's Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of African Horse Sickness (AHS) in a single animal on a property in the Cederberg Local Municipality. Laboratory tests at the University of Pretoria's Veterinary Genetics Laboratory identified AHS virus serotype 7. The property lies inside the country's established AHS Protection Zone, and an outbreak containment area has been declared around it. Movement in the controlled area normally needs a permit from State Vet: Boland, and the department will issue no permits to move horses out of the affected area. Legal backing for the curbs comes from the Animal Diseases Act, 1984, read with the contingency plan of the provincial agriculture department in the Western Cape. Owners have been advised to stable horses from two hours before sunset to two hours after sunrise and to use registered repellents against Culicoides midges, the insects that spread the virus. Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp said there is no proof of large-scale disease activity beyond the property.
Disease:African Horse Sickness virus serotype 7Place:a property in the Cederberg Local MunicipalityLaw used:Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984)Testing laboratory:Veterinary Genetics Laboratory of the University of Pretoria
Why it matters for exams: African Horse Sickness is a notifiable animal disease spread by Culicoides midges, and the controls come under South Africa's Animal Diseases Act, 1984 - a named law an examiner can ask about.
Seventy-one firms have been cleared by South Africa's Department of Home Affairs in Phase II of its Trusted Employer Scheme. A total of 138 companies applied, and the department has now finished assessing them. Phase II was launched on 20 July 2026 and widened the scheme to strategic infrastructure projects, regional and global headquarters, and qualifying financial institutions. Approved employers get simplified visa processes, less paperwork and more predictable processing times when they bring in skilled staff from abroad. Minister Schreiber linked the scheme to the expansion of the country's Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system and to biometric verification, describing them as part of a wider effort to replace manual immigration processes with digital ones. The stated aim is an immigration system that is harder to abuse but easier for investors and skilled workers to use.
Companies approved:71 companies approved under Phase II of the schemeApplications received:138 companies appliedPhase II launch:20 July 2026
Why it matters for exams: The Trusted Employer Scheme and the Electronic Travel Authorisation are named instruments of South Africa's immigration policy under its Department of Home Affairs, the kind of scheme-and-ministry pairing examiners ask for.
South Africa, in the news this week for its elections and its mining expansion, holds twelve UNESCO World Heritage properties.
Seven are cultural: the Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa, Robben Island, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, the Khomani Cultural Landscape, The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa, and Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites.
Four are natural: the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, iSimangaliso Wetland Park - Maputo National Park, Vredefort Dome and the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains.
One, the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, is a mixed property.
Robben Island and the Fossil Hominid Sites were inscribed in 1999, Vredefort Dome in 2005 and the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in 2018.
South Africa ratified the World Heritage Convention on 10 July 1997.
Total properties:12Cultural:7Natural:4Mixed:1 (Maloti-Drakensberg Park)Convention ratified:10 July 1997
Why it matters for exams: Counting a country's World Heritage sites by category, and naming Robben Island and the fossil hominid sites, are standard UNESCO questions.
South Africa's growth and unemployment numbers are in the news this week, and both are read against the central bank's policy stance.
The South African Reserve Bank sets policy through its Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by Governor Lesetja Kganyago, and its policy instrument is the repurchase or repo rate.
At the decision announced on 23 September 2026 the Committee unanimously raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent, effective from 25 September 2026.
Earlier in the year, in the decision announced on 29 January 2026, the Committee had held the repo rate at 6.75 per cent with the prime lending rate at 10.25 per cent, two members favouring a 25 basis point cut and four preferring to hold.
The prime lending rate tracks the repo rate at a fixed margin of 3.5 percentage points.
The Bank's stated goal is to stabilise inflation at 3 per cent, with a tolerance band of one percentage point either side.
South Africa's currency is the rand.
Policy instrument:repo rateRepo rate:7.25 per cent, effective 25 September 2026Previous level:6.75 per cent, held on 29 January 2026Inflation objective:3 per cent, with a one percentage point tolerance bandCurrency:rand
Why it matters for exams: Naming the repo rate as South Africa's policy instrument, the rand as its currency and the MPC as the deciding body is the core of any central-bank comparison question.