Joburg Governance: The City of Johannesburg has moved ahead with the appointment of Lesiba Malotana to head Public Safety despite security screening flagging him as a “potential security risk”, sparking coalition and DA backlash. Mining Finance: South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal cleared the way for the IDC to seize control of Daphne Mashile-Nkosi’s Kalagadi Manganese in a $375m/ R6bn debt fight. Public Accountability: Nkandla’s architect Minenhle Makhanya has been ordered to repay R147.27m to the state after a Special Tribunal ruling tied to over-designed upgrades and improper cost certification. Trade & Logistics: Fresh produce exporters warn that port and logistics bottlenecks are choking export competitiveness, with fruit building up as market access and customer confidence take strain. Energy Outlook: Standard Bank flags a looming “Gas Cliff” and “Power Cliff” and points to LNG import terminals as the route to stabilise supply and expand gas-to-power options. Security & Xenophobia: The UN CERD committee raised alarm over a surge in xenophobic hate crimes and displacement of migrants in South Africa. Cyber Risk: Hungry Lion faces a dark-web ransomware listing, renewing concerns about POS and branch-level systems. Municipal Finance: Johannesburg’s R72bn unpaid bills continue to feed a municipal finance “doom loop”, worsening service delivery pressure. Regional Humanitarian Crisis: Nepal-Tibet flash floods and landslides have killed at least 359, with 39 Australians reported missing.