October 12, 2026.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines:

Ramaphosa says expanding, transforming South Africa’s agricultural base is a must

Former Home Affairs officials arrested for issuing fraudulent passports to non-nationals

And, UN refugee agency's funding shortfall is impacting refugees worldwide

South Africa’s population continues to grow and with it, so does the demand for food. Being reliant on the productive capacity of a relatively small segment of the population to meet the country’s food needs is unsustainable, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In his latest weekly newsletter, he says that, despite a flourishing farming sector, many communities remain on the periphery.

Ramaphosa says the local sector still has "two agricultures", noting that predominantly white-owned commercial farms account for the bulk of the country’s commercial farming output, while black farmers only account for about 10%.

He emphasised the need to cultivate a new generation of farmers to address the inequalities of the past and to meet the needs of the future.

Hence, he argues that the productive agricultural base has to be expanded, outlining the need to build a pipeline of skilled and productive commercial farmers who can sustain the sector.

Two former Home Affairs officials have been arrested for fraudulently issuing South African passports to foreign nationals for up to R100 000 each.

In a statement issued today, the department said the syndicate exploited weaknesses in the manual passport process for “photo swapping”.

The arrests follow a joint investigation by the Department's own Counter Corruption Unit and the Hawks into a syndicate uncovered in 2022, which exploited a loophole known as "photo swapping", where the identity details of legitimate South African citizens were used to obtain passports bearing the photographs of foreign nationals, the department said, using the case as a reason to digitally transform Home Affairs.

As part of Home Affairs reforms, biometric verification is now used to link people to their applications, including when photographs are taken.

Home Affairs said the digital takeover at the department will reduce human intervention and in turn remove opportunities for corruption.

Deep funding shortfalls are forcing the UN refugee agency to make painful cuts across its humanitarian operations worldwide, and there are limits to how much restructuring can offset shrinking donor support, its chief said today.

The agency has secured only $3-billion, or 35% of the $8.5-billion in funding it requires for 2026, High Commissioner Barham Salih told the agency's executive committee at a meeting in Geneva.

The shortfall follows aid cuts by countries including the United States under President Donald Trump ​at a time of record global displacement.

Funding for next year remains uncertain although the expected figure of around $2.68-billion could improve after a donor pledging conference in December, Salih said.

The UN refugee agency has launched one of its largest restructurings in the agency's history because of the budget squeeze, with Salih saying its workforce had been reduced since 2024 from 20 000 employees to just under 12 000.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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