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

Making headlines: ANC loses case against IEC, calls for ‘calm, discipline’ from members; South African inflation expectations stabilise in third quarter; And, Busa says ‘all-in response’ needed in murders as it offers support

ANC loses case against IEC, calls for ‘calm, discipline’ from members

The Electoral Court has delivered a blow to the ANC ahead of the November 4 local government elections, after it dismissed the party’s appeal against the Independent Electoral Commission’s rejection of 181 of the ANC’s candidate nominations, across six municipalities.

The ANC argued that it had met the August 28 deadline to submit these and all its other candidates on the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System but cited “technical failures” that had allegedly blocked final confirmation of the 181 nominations in question.

The party has stated that it did not ask the Commission to condone late nominations, but only sought the inclusion of names that were already on the system by the 17:00 deadline, with no amendments or reordering of any lists.

However, the Electoral Court ruled against the ANC’s argument today, which the party says it will appeal.

Following the ruling, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the party’s legal team will engage the court on questions from the judgment.

South African inflation expectations stabilise in third quarter

South African inflation expectations stabilised in the third quarter, a survey showed, after a steep rise in the previous quarter because of the oil price shock triggered by the Iran war.

The quarterly survey is commissioned by the central bank and guides its thinking on the appropriate level of interest rates.

The average forecast of analysts, business people and trade union officials was for headline consumer inflation of 4.4% this year, unchanged from the second-quarter survey.

The average forecasts for 2027 and 2028 declined to 4.0% and 3.8%, respectively, from 4.2% and 3.9%. Those forecasts are important as the central bank says interest rate changes affect the economy with a lag of about 12 to 24 months.

Inflation stood at 4.3% year on year in July, the latest month for which price data is available.

The central bank targets inflation of 3% with a 1-percentage-point tolerance band either side of that.

And, Busa says ‘all-in response’ needed in murders as it offers support

Business Unity South Africa has lent its voice to the recent outrage expressed by all sectors of South Africa’s society, following the discovery of eight women’s bodies, in murder cases being tracked by police across Ekurhuleni.

Busa said the murders are a national crisis that is an assault on constitutional rights and human dignity, as it relayed its condolences to the families of the victims.

It urged police to work quickly and thoroughly to resolve missing persons and gender-based violence cases, and welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for the cases to be prioritsed.

The business organisation said it will collaborate with government, labour, civil society and communities to assist with prevention, survivor support, safer workplaces and stronger accountability.

Busa also called on members of the public with information relevant to the cases to approach the police.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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