For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.

Making headlines: Mixed reactions to start of Madlanga Commission; Trump’s trade envoy to meet with Parks Tau; And, Uganda to cut public spending, domestic borrowing

Mixed reactions to start of Madlanga Commission

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development chairperson Xola Nqola has welcomed the commencement of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, while political parties have expressed disapproval or caution.

The commission, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, has begun its public hearings today, after its start was delayed owing to procurement challenges.

The commission was originally scheduled to begin on September 1.

The Democratic Alliance expects the commission to lay bare the scale of political interference and criminal infiltration across law enforcement and justice structures.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party is protesting the commencement of the commission, this after the party asked Madlanga to suspend its start until the Pretoria High Court passed judgment on the legality of the commission.

The case is set to be heard in the Pretoria High Court tomorrow.

Trump’s trade envoy to meet with Parks Tau

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau are expected to meet tomorrow in a bid to resolve an impasse over tariffs, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The parties will meet while a South African delegation visits New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, with the American leader falsely accusing the nation of conducting a genocide against White people.

South Africa’s trade-negotiation team has submitted a revised proposal to the Trump administration, in an effort to reach a deal and lower the 30% tariff levied on some exports from the continent’s biggest economy. But the US hasn’t responded to the nation’s trade overtures, which included making it easier for US companies to sell chicken meat and pork in South Africa as well as a pledge to buy liquefied natural gas from the US, the African nation’s government has said.

A spokesperson for South Africa’s trade department said talks with the US are “advancing,” but declined to share details

And, Uganda to cut public spending, domestic borrowing

Uganda plans to cut its overall spending in the 2026/27 financial year by 4.1% and will reduce its domestic debt issuance to trim interest payments, a Ministry of Finance document showed.

The East African country projects its public spending in the 12 months starting in July at 69.4-trillion Ugandan shillings, down from 72.4-trillion in the previous period.

During the next financial year the government will prioritise completion of the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline to enable commencement of crude oil production, the Finance Ministry said.

Spending will also be funnelled towards completion of mineral quantification for iron ore, gold and copper deposits and development of a refinery and the ongoing standard gauge railway project.

Planned domestic borrowing via Treasury bills and bonds in the next financial year is projected at 9-trillion shillings, down 21.1% from the previous period.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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