R200 million national road upgrade, and South African police officers don’t have licences

The Gauteng Roads and Transport Department has confirmed that two sinkholes have affected the R563 and R500 for as long as 20 months.

It confirmed that work continues to implement measures to maintain road safety at both locations while it pursues the necessary interventions.

This follows pressure from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province regarding the R563 sinkhole in Krugersdorp, since the department has yet to address the situation.

The Roads Department said it is in final discussions regarding the appointment of a contractor to undertake repairs to the sinkhole, and expects to decide in this regard within the next few weeks.

Global Brent crude oil prices have taken a knock, rising to $110 per barrel overnight, despite continued support and a steady flow of product out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Bloomberg reported that shipments are now close to prewar levels after Iraq offered deep discounts to regional benchmarks.

At the same time, Russia’s crude oil production surged by 65,000 barrels per day to 8.43 million, but remained about 870,000 below that of a year ago, the International Energy Agency said last week.

Overnight, the South African rand strengthened ever-so-slightly to R16.40, gaining R0.05 against the US dollar since Monday.

5 important things

R227 million upgrade for a national road in one South African province: The Western Cape Government said that it is making good progress on its R227.2 million upgrade of the N9 and N12 between George and Oudtshoorn. The province explained that the project represents an investment aimed at improving road safety, strengthening regional connectivity and creating meaningful economic opportunities for local communities [TopAuto].

The country that buys most of its fuel from South Africa and charges R8.39 less per litre: Despite importing the majority of its fuel from South Africa, Botswana charges less per litre for petrol and diesel. Currently, Botswana pays 1,821 thebe (R21.86) per litre of 95 unleaded, R8.39 less than the cost in South Africa [BusinessTech].

24% of provincial police officers in South Africa do not have driver’s licences: Almost a quarter of provincial police officers working for the South African Police Service (SAPS) do not hold valid driver’s licences. This was revealed by the acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, in response to a parliamentary question from Member of the National Assembly Christiaan Smit [Newsday].

All-new Toyota Fortuner official reveal date confirmed: Toyota South Africa has confirmed the official reveal date of the all-new Toyota Fortuner will take place on the 1st of December, 2026. Details about the new ladder-frame SUV remain limited ahead of the official reveal [CarMag].

The next generation of hybrids won’t need much fuel: A new generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles will soon be able to cover even the longer trips on batteries alone. The standard 50km or so of electric range will be pushed close to 80km, analysts expect, and the top performers, including two models just unveiled by Volvo, will travel about 50% farther than that before the gas engine kicks on [Bloomberg].